If the tail is long, it will be stepped on, and eventually, they ended up being scowled at by the vice head of the Black Knights

And finally, they kept their mouths shut.

But when the banquet was over and they returned to their quarters, the bad-mouthing began again. Perhaps it touched their self-esteem that they had seen the complexion of a wizard who was only a support wizard, they began to accuse even Jun along with Jeanne.

“She’s very proud and full of the Black Knights on her back.”

Deca recalled the ideal expedition he had drawn when he formed an expedition with Fabian and April.

Now it was completely different from that. Was it okay as it was…?

As Deca was filled with skepticism, he heard especially clearly the mocking tone of the mumbling voice of the shield guard that Countess Nerus had attached.

“Soon, she won’t be able to even make a sound.”

“… What does that mean?”

Deca quickly dug into it.

As if he had made a mistake belatedly, the shield kept his mouth shut. He replied back, clicking his tongue as if he had become annoyed.

“It’s nothing. I made a slip of the tongue.”

The shield shrugged and shut his mouth.

“I don’t think it’s nothing. Tell me in detail.”

“What are you digging for? Phew, I feel like I’m a sinner.”

The shield laughed and shook. Other troops giggled as if they were mocking Deca.

The Vice Commander’s authority had long been in the ground.

Deca’s pride was hurt, but he deliberately questioned the shield. But there was no information to be gained.

He was just convinced that Fabian was definitely up to something strange with Countess Nerus.

Come to think of it, things seemed to have taken a strange turn since he had joined hands with Countess Nerus.

There was now a whole lot more that Deca did not know, and Fabian was also mingling with the people that Countess Nerus had put on him.

It was no wonder that the new influx of people ignored Deca, as they got along with him better than Deca, the Vice Commander of the group.

He tried to talk to Fabian several times about that phenomenon, but Fabian just dismissed it as if he was worried for nothing.

What the hell was holding back and what was coming back to its place?

Fabian’s words were vague like catching a floating cloud.

In addition, after coming to the capital, the tendency to exclude Deca became more severe.

How did this happen?

It had been a long time since the family-like expedition, which was warm and smiling just by sitting together, disappeared.

The lounge, where the expedition members were gathered, was no longer comfortable.

Deca couldn’t stand the stifling air in the break room that constricted his breath, so he quietly walked out.

He swept his face, which was awfully dry, as he strode down the hallway in a wide stride without a destination. What was he going to do now?

At that moment, someone who had been following Deca hurriedly touched his shoulder.

It was an overly intimate approach.

Except for Fabian, no one in the capital could act like this to Deca. Deca looked back, frowning between his eyebrows.

“Who…”

The other party quickly pulled the black veil over their face.

Deca’s eyes grew big and wide as he finally saw his opponent, and they warped with a bright smile.

“Long time no see, Deca.”

“What’s going on?! April!”

The melancholy that had been hanging over Deca’s face vanished without a shadow of a trace. Deca greeted his long-time friend and hugged her.

It was the first time in what seemed like a year.

Since they had always been together since childhood, that year apart felt really long. There were so many things he wanted to know about April during that time. Deca asked in a rather high-pitched and lively voice.

“How… in the capital. Are you trying to come back to the expedition?”

When asked by Deca, who was inflated with anticipation, April only smiled vaguely.

“Um… Deca. I have something to say without anyone knowing. Can I have a moment?”

“Anyone? Without Fabian knowing?”

“To be exact, it’s a story that shouldn’t fall into Fabian’s ears.”

When Fabian’s name came out, an indescribable contempt and hostility came to April’s face.

“What in the world… What happened the day you left?”

Deca asked, perplexed.

The memory of that day was as vivid as if it were yesterday. Fabian said he had seen off April well…

At the same time, Fabian’s words that he had a quarrel with another expedition on his way back came to Deca’s mind.

With the thought of “No way,” Deca looked at April with a firm face.

April was still awkward and ambiguous, with a rigid smile somewhere. April asked once again.

“So… Do you have time, Deca?”

Unlike last year, when I only avoided people, I actively contacted other expeditions at this performance briefing session and embraced the surroundings.

The gist of the question was which region they would like to see taken care of when the Demon King Gate was opened.

Many points were frustrating because we could not reveal the fact that the battle of the Demon King was at hand.

So, in the end, I had to ask and negotiate with them, but since Meyer, the leader of the group, would not have been able to appear in person, I, the vice leader, had no choice but to do so.

‘In retrospect, it’s all for peace in the world where we’re going to live.’

Moreover, I was a better negotiator than Meyer.

Still, it was quite rewarding to see a significant decrease in the number of people who were actively engaged in the process, as was the case last year.

I don’t know if it’s because I’m now over level 60 and they’re afraid to push as hard as they used to, or if it’s because I was so effective last year in spreading the rumor that I was in a relationship with Axion…

I’m not sure which one it was, but it was certainly welcome that the troublesome thing had disappeared.

“Do you have to do this?”

Nova, who had followed me as an escort, asked curiously.

I explained roughly what would happen if the Demon King Gate was opened and what we needed to do, but he still did not seem to understand.

“There’s no need for the Vice Commander to match it this much.”

“But that’s pretty cheap.”

I replied with a laugh as if nothing had happened. If it had been a truly outrageous request, I would have run over and said, “Go to Meyer now and say it again,” but he, too, kept straight and narrow in his own way.

“And there was something to check while facing them like this.”

“Check?”

“Who has what kind of dream… Something like that.”

“Do you do mind-reading, too?”

Nova was surprised and asked back. I had no choice but to laugh a little louder than before.

“Mind-reading is that? There’s just something I can see.”

There was no need to see exactly what they were thinking.

It was enough to figure out if there was any connection with Countess Nerus.

And that goal had been fully achieved.

There were about three expeditions that were ascertained to have joined forces with Countess Nerus, out of the ten ranked expeditions.

However, they may have been completely encompassed, and they too seemed to be in a state of liver watching.

(T/N: liver typically refers to one’s bravery/foolhardiness in Korean.)

‘Who would want to confront the Black Knights openly?’

I smirked. Still, as there was enough possibility to shake the back of my head, I could not completely entrust them with the defense.

They should be placed where they are relatively unimportant and cannot act halfway.

Perhaps they should be kept far apart so that they cannot gather and conspire with each other.

In this way, I was immersed in the expeditionary team layout at the time the Demon King Gate was opened, and at the moment I was passing through the corridor to get to my lodgings, someone suddenly shouted my name.

“Jun!”

There are not many people who could suddenly call my name. Moreover, if the other person was a middle-aged woman.

I furrowed my brow at the unpleasant prospect and looked ominously behind me.

Sure enough, I saw some not-so-pleasant people.

“… how did you guys get here?”

“I can’t believe you’re calling us ‘you’! We’re your parents!”

My stepmother screamed. The evil way she screamed remained the same as she had been at the time she had hammered me alone in the dungeon.

My father also stood behind my stepmother. He pretended to be all by himself, classy in his position, one step back, as usual.

“Do you know how embarrassing it was for us to leave the village like that? We have never raised you as a child who neglects her parents!”

I don’t think you’ve ever raised me properly in the first place…

As soon as I clicked my tongue, my stepmother shouted, reaching out to my hand.

“Your brother Eugene is quite sick. That child hangs around sick and cries to see you. Yet you are going to shun us so coldly?”

My stepmother’s hand never reached me. It was because Nova beat back her hand.

It was a very quick assessment of the situation, perhaps thanks to the precedent of Julieta’s parents.

Nova stood firm against them.

“Don’t approach the Vice Commander.”

The faces of my stepmother and father contorted when Nova blocked them. Immediately they yelled out loudly.

“You disrespect your parents this much just because you became a Black Knights member!”

I was confused by their unexpected appearances, but my head slowly sank coldly.

And as a result of calmly examining them, I was able to grasp the hidden innermost thoughts under their atrocities before long.

They appeared to act brazenly, but somehow they seemed impatient and desperate…

It was as if they were being threatened.