It was clear that he was quite disappointed in me…

He didn’t want to see my face. Thinking like that, a corner of my heart became heavy…

I trudged back to my room. My head was blank. That day, I spent the whole day locked up in the room.

When I was eating and drinking in bed with the covers completely pulled over me, Mary, who couldn’t bear to see me like this, asked me a question.

“… Vice Commander, did you do something wrong to His Excellency by any chance?”

“No… Why do you think so?”

When Mary was asked to confirm, I asked back unevenly, with only my head sticking out of the blanket.

No matter how much she gets paid by Meyer, it’s too much to be sure that I did something wrong right away!

Mary added with a clear-voiced laugh, perhaps amused by my own pursed lips.

“If His Excellency did something wrong, he wouldn’t run away like this. Rather, he would sit in front of the Vice Commander’s room on his knees.”

Correct.

Mary’s reasoning was perfect.

I was speechless and fell silent. Mary comforted me.

“But His Excellency will be angry soon.”

“… Is that so? I hope he didn’t run out of love for me…”

I murmured my words. If I was normal, I wouldn’t have cared so much about what happened anyway… but I cared very much about what I had done.

Mary, who didn’t know a bit about my feelings, laughed once more as if it was outrageous.

“Does His Excellency not have an attachment to the Vice Commander? It doesn’t make sense.”

“I made a mistake…”

“His Excellency doesn’t run away from people he’s not attached to. Rather, he lets the other person go.”

That’s what it was. Just thinking about Tragula’s case, didn’t he spend a year in exile?

But when it became me, he couldn’t see the situation so objectively.

Meyer ran away because he couldn’t let me go. I’m the only one who can use attribute conversion…

Shoveling was Meyer’s specialty, but now we became more alike as we were together.

Seeing that I was depressed, Mary realized that the situation was more unusual than she thought, and she comforted me.

“You have time until you go back to the dungeon, right, Vice Commander? By then, His Excellency will be back… If you meet over time and talk calmly, the misunderstandings that have accumulated will be resolved.”

“I hope so… Thank you for comforting me, Mary.”

“Well. I shouldn’t have asked.”

“No.”

“Don’t worry too much. The Vice Commander is special.”

“Haha…”

I chuckled bitterly. I knew very well that I was special to Meyer. Rather, there was a bigger problem because I was special.

But Mary was right, too. Maybe it was my greed that made me want to meet him now and apologize. I can’t wait to shake off the debt feeling in my heart…

Let’s wait for Meyer for now.

That’s what I thought as I got up from the bed where I had been twisting the pillow all day.

***

No matter how much the Black Night unit was an old expeditionary force, it was much harder to attack a chain of dungeons than it would have been for a physically younger expeditionary force.

I thought they’d go around a dungeon or two and come back soon…

But no matter how long I waited, Meyer never came back.

In the meantime, the break of the special unit was also over. It was time to go back into the dungeon.

“Vice Commander, I think it’s time…”

It was enough to make Sevi cringe.

It wasn’t anyone else, but whenever I had a hard time in the dungeon, Sevi, who was grumbling, urged me to go in…

I certainly couldn’t wait for Meyer forever. Because the Demon King will not wait for us.

The first thing to do was to level up the special unit. I nodded my head dimly.

“Yeah, we have to go now.”

Only then did the expressions of the special unit brighten up. I guess I’ve been acting weird for the past few days.

I tried to smile brightly and said jokingly.

“Since you asked me to go so enthusiastically, Sevi, I’ll trust that you won’t ask me to rest in the dungeon.”

“No way!”

Sevi shouted. Then Julieta and Nova laughed as they watched us talk

“You made me do it because you knew this would happen!”

Nova shook his head solemnly.

“No. You have the longest work experience, Sevi. You’re the oldest among us in the Black Knights.”

“Of course. Originally, such things are supposed to be reported by the second-in-command. If the Vice Commander has a Vice, then it must be you, Sevi.”

Julieta also smiled and complimented him. When the two of them said that, Sevi also didn’t have a second word.

Jeanne and April laughed quietly. It was much better than the depressed look on my face that had been hanging in the air earlier.

This was all thanks to the trio who spoke with more exaggeration than usual. Earlier, the gloomy atmosphere was evoked by my self-consciousness, but it was made much better.

I was proud of them.

I patted Sevi on the head. Sevi gave a small sigh and shrugged, pretending not to know anything.

I’m sure I acted in an immature manner. How dare I let my personal feelings get in the way of the troops…

August gave me a subtle look as he watched me. He looked like he was sorry, but didn’t know what to say.

After Meyer left like that, August came to apologize.

But it had not been August’s fault. It would have been better if he had kept the secret, but I was also guessing that he would’ve never been able to hide it.

But it was just too soon, and not a very good time.

I readily received August’s apology, and there was no regret left for him.

I didn’t think Meyer would avoid me to this extent.

‘Phew.’

I shook my head from side to side. Surely, there was no time to waste. I just got ready to enter dungeons.

Things went smoothly.

The supply and troop organization had been prepared in advance without my daring to do anything about it, and the most important thing was the dungeon list and the growth direction of the troops.

I didn’t hesitate to organize the dungeons from A to C, as I did from time to time.

It was a shame that I hesitated and missed one dungeon, but… It was well within the scope of what we could cover if we worked that hard.

Of course, it might be a decision that the unit would appreciate.

Time is medicine, and if you’re busy spending your time going around the dungeon like crazy, you’ll understand the complexity of true feelings.

The scattered emotions and my lost mind…

The clues to my relationship with Meyer, vague and unseen now, might finally be found then.

I encouraged the special forces to head for the dungeon.

***

“Do you want to stop by Nokentoria Castle this time, just to resupply and go back to the dungeon right away? Or…”

“I’ve been trying to hold back my voice asking of when we’re going to rest so far… Well, it’s been about two months. I endured it for a long time…”

“H-how long are we going to continue?”

Sevi grumbled. I and all the other troops burst into laughter.

I was actually thinking of going back to the castle for a long time this time. My relationship with Meyer had to recover…

Hiding such an innermost feeling, I cleared my throat and spoke naturally.

“The trend of levels going up was faster than expected. If the trend continues, we’ll be at a steady level of 60 before next year’s results meeting.”

“Those words…”

“Yeah. It means I can afford a few days. Since Sevi wants it this much, shall we take a break?”

“Yes!”

“Wow!”

Jeanne’s face turned red and she shouted with joy as Sevi raised her hands and shouted.

It was the first time Jeanne had ever shown such a blatant reaction. All the eyes of the special unit were focused on Jeanne. Jeanne smiled awkwardly and embarrassedly and bowed her head.

Sevi looked around at the other expedition members and was confused.

“That’s why I have to talk to you just once. If I hadn’t told you, Vice Commander, I’m sure you would have pretended you didn’t know and gone right into attacking the dungeon, right?”

“You’re quick-witted. How did you know?”

“Hmph. It’s easy to figure out.”

After poking and prodding like that, I soon returned to Nokentoria Castle.

At this time of year, everyone was busy closing dungeons. We remained at the castle, where the few expedition members and the servants welcomed us.

Vince, the butler, approached me in a panic.

“Vice Commander. The Black Night Unit is waiting for you.”

“Not the leader, but the Black Night Unit…? Why?”

“That’s…”

Vince was at a loss for words. I was at a loss as to where to begin.

That’s when the Black Night Unit flew at me from afar. The sight of the old knights in black armor rushing towards me like a herd of buffalo was intimidating.

“Vice Commander!”

The title of Vice Commander resonated desperately in Nokentoria Castle.

The trio came out wondering and whispered while alternating between the Black Night Unit.

“Why is the Black Night unit desperately looking for the Vice Commander?”

“Did the Vice Commander borrow something and not return it?”

“There’s no reason for the Vice Commander to borrow anything. His Excellency gives her everything.”

Aigoo.

The children seemed to be still children. I glanced at the trio and turned my head to the approaching herd of buffalo and asked.

“So what’s going on?”

“His Excellency, please stop His Excellency!”