At first, I thought I heard it wrong.

There’s already a rumor about my title?

I turned to the place where the voice came out without realizing it. As soon as I did that, a scream-like voice rang loudly.

“The Tyrant looked at me!”

“Don’t say nonsense. It’s a coincidence!”

“No! Lady Jun’s bright red eyes definitely turned towards me! You’re doing this because you’re jealous, right?”

And Lady Jun…

I knew that the Black Knights, including the elite troops, were treated as a kind of idol, but I never thought that even I would be treated that way.

Unlike the people around me who jokingly called me Tyrant, when they sincerely and seriously called me that, I broke out in a cold sweat.

Is the title really okay? Am I the only one who’s weird? Why is everyone so natural?

My face was rejuvenated as I heard people chant Tyrant.

I glanced at Meyer’s face in front of me.

His face, which was seen obliquely, was full of smiles as if he was so happy that everyone was lifting my title and praising me.

Yeah, it’s a relief that even Meyer is satisfied…

I averted my gaze with a sigh and rushed to look ahead.

Considering the ripple effect of people’s eyes meeting and spreading once, it seemed I would have to stare only forward from now on.

The special unit, perhaps inspired by the fact that someone had noticed them, looked a little upbeat and raised their hips.

They all seemed to want to look plausible and good-looking.

Sevi, pretending to be a grown-up next to me, raised his chin and complained in an envious voice.

“The Vice Commander has a title, it must be nice.”

“What do you mean it must be nice? And you’re going to have one soon.”

“Hehe.”

Sevi’s cheekbones twitched up. Just thinking about it seemed to be exciting.

“Wow! Black Knight! Tyrant!”

“The only hope of mankind!”

People blindly praised the Black Knights.

Flames of hope and expectation blazed from their fervent gaze.

A thirst so intense that even I, glancing sideways at them, could feel it.

That’s when a little girl came out of the crowd.

“Miss Tyrant!”

“…!”

More than the ridiculous designation of Miss Tyrant, my horse’s spine sharpened, startled by the child that had suddenly jumped out at it.

I hurriedly grabbed the reins of the surprised horse and calmed it down. Whether she knew she was almost stepped on by a horse, the child calmly gave me a fist.

“Please defeat the Demon King!”

The child handed me a white wildflower.

I couldn’t help but take the flower. It seemed as if she tightly gripped them, the stems were crumpled by her small hands, but the petals were intact and beautiful.

“This child is in danger… I’m sorry. The child doesn’t know anything…!”

Later, a person who appeared to be the mother of the child hugged the child and bent down to me.

The surrounding area was so noisy that I couldn’t hear it even if I was told to pay attention, so I just waved my hand as if I knew.

The sound of the child’s mother holding the child tightly and scolding her sounded distant.

“Don’t you know what kind of person she is, how dare you approach her like that?”

“I know. She’s the one who will defeat the Demon King.”

“Sigh. The Vice Commander is a person of high integrity, so she didn’t yell at you. You mustn’t do that again.”

“But daddy died because of the Demon King. So I really wanted to ask her to defeat the Demon King.”

I watched the child’s face for a while as her mother held her and told her she was whining.

It’s already been 17 years since the gate opened. It’s been so long that they’re sick of it.

Behind the seemingly peaceful landscape of the capital lurked the fear and anxiety of never knowing when and where the gates would open and the demons would pop out.

They were all waiting for the day to come when they could go out into the fields to herd sheep, plow the fields, and sleep with their legs stretched out without any worries.

To do so, we must resolve the war against the Demon King and end this war.

Faced with people’s fervent expectations, I realized that the load on my shoulders was heavier than I had expected.

But the load that Meyer was holding must be much heavier and much older.

This little wildflower-like expectation I had received today was received dozens~hundreds of times.

I looked at Meyer’s broad back as he moved silently forward amidst the cheers of the people.

His black cloak swayed in the wind. He was alone in the midst of the deafening cheers.

***

It was time for the performance report meeting.

As the Black Knights entered the ceremony hall, everyone looked at the Black Knights with awe.

The people who had looked at me last year and whispered in my ear were no longer there. Everyone naturally treated me as the vice leader of the Black Knights.

Perhaps it was because I had passed the 60th level.

But it must have been a deeply moving change, considering that when I had passed the 60th level in the first round, all I got back was taunts that I was not up to par.

This is why treatment at home is so important.

A son who is not spared at home will not be spared outside the home, and a troop member who is not recognized by the expeditionary team will not be recognized by anyone…

It had nothing to do with me now. I sat down naturally in the chair Meyer had given me and looked around the ceremonial hall.

Naturally, the Black Knights were in first place again this time and were placed closest to the Emperor’s seat.

However, there was something unexpected that even I didn’t see coming. It was that the Fabian Expedition was in a higher rank than I had expected.

As I thought, there was no Aegis, and the majority of the existing expedition members did not appear.

However, the vacancy was filled with people who I couldn’t recognize.

‘I’ve never seen them in character settings…?’

The person who appeared to be a wizard looked very familiar.

However, seeing that I couldn’t remember at all, I thought they were a person who passed by at the time of the first round.

Fabian was proudly raising his chin. At the same time, glancing slightly toward me seemed to want to see me break down.

Don’t be ridiculous with your friends.

With a small snort, I didn’t even turn my head to that side.

There was also a title awarding ceremony at this year’s performance report meeting.

Last year, no one was level 60, but this year was different. This year was different because even excluding the special unit, each expeditionary force had one or two people who were level 60 by now.

“It is the great happiness and hope of mankind.”

The emperor laughed out loud in delight at the appearance of level sixties.

Fabian was also above the 60th level and was included in the list to receive the title.

One or two of the 60-level expedition members were called up, and now it was Fabian’s turn.

I surreptitiously looked at Anasta and Jeanne’s faces. Jeanne shrugged her shoulders so as not to catch Fabian’s eye at all.

Anasta, on the other hand, remained on her haunches, staring ahead.

However, she could not turn off all of her thoughts, and her hands on her knees trembled finely.

Still, both of them reunited with Fabian more resolutely than I had expected.

The more I understood Jeanne and Anasta’s feelings, the more I cheered for them in my heart, in a small way.

Fabian, who walked proudly, knelt in front of the emperor. It was a majestic atmosphere as if it were a ceremony to appoint a knight.

But for me, it was just a skit. I crossed my arms and watched his ridiculous appearance.

The emperor said, tapping Fabian’s shoulder with a sword twice.

“I will give Fabian Ignis of the Fabian Expedition the title of Crimson Prosecutor.”

“…Thank you.”

Fabian’s expression, who received the title, hardened.

The title of Crimson Prosecutor was not very bad, but there was a lot of difference from the title of Crimson Warrior in the first round.

‘He was dreaming that he would be given the title of warrior again this time.’

The title of the warrior was not given to anyone.

In the first round, Fabian’s qualities had stood out, but now he was out of the emperor’s eyes due to the Minor Forest Dungeon, which earned Fulgor’s Pumpkin last year.

It must have been frustrating to be tested for not being a brave warrior, but moreover, the moment he received his title was different from the first round, and his concentration was different.

All the spotlight was in the past, and now he was merely a complementary figure.

People’s attention was immediately drawn to the titleholder as he passed by.

Titles were sometimes given by the emperor based on a combination of a person’s skills, job group, and reputation.

If there was a nickname that was strongly etched in the minds of the people around them early on, he would give it to them.

Some examples reflected the opinions of the people involved, but if they thought it was excessive, it was dismissed.

‘A warrior became a prosecutor.’

Of course, if someone’s hard breathing intervened, as mine did… No matter how excessive it was, I just had to put it on.

After their turn was over, it was finally the turn of the Black Knights’ special unit.

Anasta, whose name was called, made her way to the front of the emperor. Her body wobbled due to the tension in her body.

“I give Anasta Quattr of the Black Knights the title of ‘Black Veil.”

The title of Anasta had been requested of her. In honor of April’s death, she submitted a new title, Black Veil, which meant funeral.

Black Veil Anasta.

Her gaze flickered over Fabian for a moment. Fabian didn’t even notice that moment.

Anasta, who had turned away completely, was still holding all her emotions.

I greeted her quietly, pretending not to know anything.