My story sounded pretty reasonable. He let out a depressed groan as if he was struggling with what to do.

Oh, look at him believing me again…

I was looking forward to seeing Meyer’s joy and sorrow at my every word, but I didn’t want to disturb his concentration with this kind of thing before the Demon King battle.

I patted Meyer on the back of his big hand and said firmly.

“I won’t do it. I won’t do it. I’m not going to let them make a fuss about it. I’m too busy just raising my big dog.”

“Dog? Since when did you have a dog?”

asked Meyer, jumping. His eyes were filled with wonder. No matter how much I looked at it, he didn’t seem to understand my joke.

It was embarrassing to say with my mouth that I called him a dog. Feeling awkward, I changed the subject.

“There is such a thing.”

“Have you been raising it secretly? Secretly from me? Why? For what?”

“Oh, seriously.”

***

Even though I pardoned the mental wizard, I had no intention of letting him join the Black Knights.

For whom should I leave alone to get a spoon of rice? Even the guy who tried to overturn the rice by kicking it.

Since he was only separate personnel to clean up after me, I had planned to leave him unattached and make him my private enlisted after we came out of the battle of the Demon King.

However, since there was no specific place for him, I decided to place him first in the dormitory of the Black Knights.

I was worried about what would happen if Pedica made any futile attempts, such as wandering around here and there, being overbearing, or trying to act like a know-it-all to the Black Knights, but he remained locked up in his room and didn’t move.

He seems to have a grasp of the subject matter.

Perhaps as everyone in the Imperial Palace learned that he was a mental wizard, he could not withstand the unpleasant glances of the people around him.

The trial was shortly followed by the execution of Countess Nerus.

Although it was scheduled, the taste was not refreshing.

Just then Tragula came to visit me.

Perhaps he had returned from seeing Countess Nerus off at the end, but a faint scent of blood permeated him.

“Thank you for leaving the House of Nerus.”

He gave me a thank-you message.

The day before the trial of Countess Nerus, Tragula, who had been agonizing for a long time, asked me to make sure that she was the only one responsible for the sins of Nerus.

To be honest, I did not have much against Countess Nerus.

If he wanted Countess Nerus’ life to be left, but to leave the family behind, it was at least a request that I was willing to listen to in order to gain Tragula’s trust.

So I asked the emperor to leave the House of Nerus alone.

But there was something I did not understand.

“Well, it wasn’t a big deal. It’s just… Tragula, I thought you would want to destroy Countess Nerus completely.”

“…is that so?”

Tragula smiled bitterly.

“Why don’t you at least get back the Golden Falcon? It looks like it is now owned by her successor, Optatio. Given her sin, perhaps he would be honest enough to return it to you.”

“… Optatio has it?”

Tragula opened his eyes wide as if he had not expected it. I shrugged my shoulders and delivered the information I knew.

“At this performance report meeting, you might have guessed that things might go wrong… It seems that all the important artifacts have been transferred to the successor.”

“…”

For a moment, Tragula shook his head low.

“That’s enough of the Golden Falcon. It looks like it’s already out of my hands.”

He looked somewhat refreshed. It’s a waste.

“Why? After all, the heir won’t be able to use the Golden Falcon. It’s said that the bloodline of the other heavenly palaces held by Countess Nerus was younger… But do you really need to bury it there?”

Moreover, the successor was young.

Everyone was watching Nerus like a wildcat, with only the young successors remaining, and it was doubtful how long Optatio, now the owner of the Golden Falcon, would be able to protect that treasure.

At that time, something popped into my mind.

The bloodline of the Heavenly Palace, as Tragula said, is in his early teens. and Optatio, the heir to Countess Nerus, was ten years old…

“The blood of the Heavenly Palace…”

“Yes. Optatio is… He’s my son.”

Said Tragula, nodding his head. I asked back in perplexment.

“But Optatio is the heir to Countess Nerus. Countess Nerus has your son as her successor?”

“Because he is also a child of Countess Nerus.”

Tragula made a shocking statement with a calm face.

I stared at him blankly, not knowing how to react to his shocking confession.

Tragula smiled bitterly.

“At that time, I was desperate enough to give her the lineage of the Heavenly Palace… Maybe, at the time I made that choice, I didn’t deserve the Golden Falcon.”

His voice died down. His eyes, with his eyelashes hanging down, became dim as if they were reminiscent of the child.

“The Vice Commander might want me to have the Gulden Falcon, but… I am more pleased with the slightest possibility that the child may defeat a demon that threatens his life than I am with the Golden Falcon to kill a thousand demons to save the world from danger.”

His face was filled with a contradictory feeling of remorse and relief.

I couldn’t find any words to say to the man, so I just stayed silent.

Tragula smiled and looked at me.

“So I’m just afraid of the Golden Falcon… The Vice Commander may think I’m being foolish.”

“…how many people can be wise when it comes to the past? I think each person has a different way of getting refreshed. If you chose that way, it would be the best we could choose.”

I comforted Tragula. Of course, I don’t know how comforting my words would be.

“Are you going to reveal the facts to Optatio and have him enroll in Cornu?”

“He grew up to be Nerus. He’ll find out anyway, but he’ll be confused right away… For now, I am a traitor to his mother.”

“But you’re going to take care of him from behind, aren’t you?”

Instead of answering, Tragula smiled quietly.

Tragula held and unfolded his hand. It was a gesture that seemed to reflect on the weight and shape of the Golden Falcon he had always held.

“However… it is foolish to give up strategic cards in pursuit of individual stubbornness in this situation. Having given up the Golden Falcon out of greed, I am not yet qualified to be a hero. I give up on the last seven.”

“Tragula.”

“You may not have considered it in the first place.”

As soon as I was about to dissuade him, Tragula added with a laugh. It was a joke, but it felt sharp, like a stab in one corner of my chest.

I shook my head in a hurry.

“No, you’re an excellent archer. I’ve been thinking about it.”

“It’s good news while I’m listening to it.”

Said Tragula, looking out the window of the drawing-room.

The sky, filled with a magical atmosphere, was so dim that it was hard to tell whether it was night or day. He looked out the window and mumbled something to himself.

“I’m glad there are people in the Black Knights who are better than I am. And… Seven heroes are not the only ones who can save the world. I will try to protect this world in my place.”

After finishing his speech, Tragula smiled broadly and reached out to me.

I held his hand firmly together. Trust needed no more words.

***

Fabian, who had escaped by using the movement scroll, staggered through the forest. A knife wound throbbed and stabbed him.

It was luck that he had gotten the scroll.

An item he happened to get in a dungeon that was no big deal.

While going around the other dungeon, which was not in the first round, he looked forward to it, but the movement scroll was all he got at first.

Fabian moved to a hideout built in the woods around the capital.

The place where the Demon King Gate was to be opened was near the capital, so he had built it just in case, but he had no idea it would be used so much…

The hiding place was a place that Jun did not know and was created after the last performance report meeting. Since there were very few acquaintances, the information would not be leaked easily.

It was a safe space. And in the safe house, there was holy water just in case.

Fabian headed to the safe house. When Fabian arrived at the safe house, he was greeted by Deca from the safe house.

“Fabian.”

“Deca!”

Fabian was facetious and welcomed Deca with open arms.

Perhaps the capital captured the Fabian Expedition… He never told Deca about the plan to brainwash Jun, so he didn’t expect Deca to get out.

Indeed, Deca was an archer. It should not have been difficult for him to get out of the Imperial Palace, just because he was quick and swift.

Hope sprouted in Fabian’s heart at the unexpected strength.

Yes. With Deca, the possibility of recovery was a little greater.

It was not over yet. Fabian leaned against the approaching Deca and hurriedly said,

“You’re just in time. First, pick out the supplies that I have… Keuk!”

“…”

Fabian’s abdomen burned in a circle. Muscles ripped and nerves felt like they were burning. It was painful enough to swallow the pain of his limb torn by a sword…

There was a knife picking at his abdomen.

Fabian’s hand held on to Deca. Fabian shouted, staring at Deca with his bloodshot eyes wide open.

“Deca, you…!”

Fabian’s face was twisted and full of betrayal.

On the other hand, Deca’s complexion did not change much from before he stabbed Fabian.

Deca asked quietly.

“Why did you do that?”

“You… Keuk, are you crazy? What are you doing!”

“Why did you want to kill April?”