Chapter 107

For a moment, I was flabbergasted. It was obvious why Fabian would ask such a question.

Was he trying to blackmail Meyer into revealing the truth?

I wanted to laugh at him because it was useless, but it was a pity that I couldn’t.

I did my best to act scared, hoping that he would just tone it down.

“…What’s wrong with knowing?”

“I’ve been thinking. Why did the Black Knight even let you, a support-type wizard, sit in the position of the vice commander… Isn’t it strange that he not only accepted a support-type wizard he met by chance into the Black Knights but also made her sit in the position of Vice Commander?”

Fabian never doubted that it was a coincidence that Meyer had come for me.

Well, even I couldn’t believe that Meyer had come all that way to pick me up.

But I can’t believe I thought this guy would be the only one who would recognize me. At the time, I really felt like I had broken eyes.

Or maybe Fabian hid his true feelings in the first round.

Maybe Fabian broke down somewhere after the second round.

In the past, he had kept his true feelings well hidden with decorations, but now he didn’t have the strength to hide them anymore.

Just as Meyer, who pretended to hang out with people in the first round, was acting exclusively at a distance in the second round…

But he wasn’t Meyer, and Fabian’s situation was not something I could consider.

Fabian, who didn’t know anything about me, proudly affirmed.

“You must have sold the first round information you had in connection with your ability. Right?”

There were some minor differences, but not really major mistakes.

But it was not enough to threaten me that much.

I scratched him, eager to know what it was that Fabian was holding.

“So? Do you want to tell Meyer that the world is now in its second round and that I seem to know the information well because I remember the first round? Do you think that’s a threat?”

“No. You’ll only get more preferential treatment for that fact alone. I’m not a fool either, Jun.”

Fabian nodded at my words. Then he continued with a voice of joy.

“However… If he finds out that you tried to assassinate him in the first round, will he trust you as he has done so far?”

“… What?”

Until now, I pretended to be surprised, but now I was really surprised.

“Did you know I tried to kill Meyer?”

I couldn’t help but be perplexed, as I had no doubt Fabian didn’t know about it.

I was so anxious not to be caught by the expedition members that I was close to Nova in the first round.

As my position in the expedition was not good at the time, I wanted to avoid any misunderstandings.

‘…But both Fabian and Meyer knew I approached Nova on purpose.’

All my trepidation felt like a waste of time.

Whether I was devastated or not, Fabian shrugged with condescension.

“Of course.”

“If you knew, why didn’t you pretend you did? Shouldn’t you be a public figure?”

My mouth was quivering in mockery.

He’s been working so hard to make himself a hero, and he was just standing back and watching the whole thing?

But Fabian had always been beyond my imagination. He spoke with shamelessness.

“My faithful subordinate says they won’t refuse to do dirty things for me, but if I pretend to know it, it becomes what I ordered. You wouldn’t have hoped for that either.”

“…”

Wow, I really have nothing to say.

Whenever I guessed that Fabian’s bottom would be this much, he showed a lower personality than that.

Well, what did I want from him?

He had a despicable personality that had already ended at the point where he freely used what I had done for him as a threat.

As soon as I was speechless by Fabian’s pathetic behavior, Fabian smiled confidently, perhaps because he thought I was scared.

“If I tell the Black Knight all of this, will he be able to trust you as he has done so far?”

… I don’t think Meyer would care much.

Had it been the first time I met Meyer in the second round, I would have been greatly shaken by Fabian’s words.

However, it has been almost a year since I met Meyer.

To say that I had a complete grasp of Meyer is a bit of an exaggeration, to be honest…

Having learned to some extent, he was never a person to doubt or abandon me for that reason…

‘He can be a little annoying, asking if I was loyal enough to do things for Fabian.’

Therefore, Fabian’s threats were only funny.

“There’s no evidence. Do you think he’ll believe you?”

I struggled to keep my voice shaking. But it wasn’t easy.

I was worried that I would come off as too much of an actor, but luckily Fabian seemed to think I was bluffing.

Or that he never dreamed that he was at my mercy.

He spoke with great enthusiasm.

“He won’t believe it all at once, but he will suspect you. He’ll try to find out what’s going on with me. Don’t you think so? He might even suspect that you might steal some information. Of course, he’ll have his use for you, so he won’t get rid of you all at once, but he’ll see an opportunity to see when he can get rid of you after the distrust. After you’ve endured such humiliation, will you come to me?”

Aha, he’ll cause internal strife within the Black Knights…

Oh, what should I do? I’m sure he’s confident in himself.

As I knew the reality of all this, it was just ridiculous.

I fumbled to cover my face with my hands.

Unbeknownst to myself, my mouth was hanging open in an attempt to mock him.

I’d had enough of Fabian’s babbling idiocy for this long.

It was time to get out of this incoherent feast of dog noises.

I countered with an effort at facial control.

“How are you going to reveal that to Meyer? Will you let Meyer know that you’re on your 2nd round?”

“That’s…”

“What if Meyer kills you for trying to monopolize information? Like you abandoned me.”

Of course, it can’t be.

Meyer would not kill an expedition member easily if they would help him close the dungeon to dust. Even if it was Fabian, it was the same.

If I were Meyer, I would have killed Fabian as soon as I remembered the first round.

To be honest, Meyer’s broken beliefs were sometimes admirable.

However, Fabian did not know Meyer’s nobility.

Fabian’s face, which had been relaxed, cracked by my bluffing intimidation.

He didn’t even think the aftermath would affect him.

Fabian couldn’t get the words out easily, just a quivering lip on his face as he took a hit.

He was going to threaten me with his confidence, but instead, I threatened him, and the back of his head would twitch.

‘Well… I’ve told him this much, so what’s the point of hanging around Meyer for the time being and revealing the truth? And he won’t go against his feelings.’

In the end, I’m the one who has to relieve Meyer’s feelings when he feels uncomfortable. I grumbled little by little.

Come to think of it, I have to get out of this place slowly before Fabian comes to his senses…

The moment I looked at the sky, thinking it was time, I saw Sevi stepping into the air from afar toward me.

Perfect timing.

“Vice Commander!”

Sevi jumped out of the sky in front of me.

Fabian stepped back in surprise at the sudden appearance of the wind wizard.

Sevi approached me and bowed his head without even looking up at such Fabian.

“What’s going on?”

“A dungeon has been opened! All the expedition teams are gathering, so we have to go quickly. The Commander is waiting for you, too.”

Only then did Fabian remember what happened in the first round, and his face was distorted.

“Jun, don’t tell me you…”

“I can’t leave the Commander waiting, I better get going.”

I cut off Fabian’s words and slowly held Sevi’s hand. Then, I passed Fabian and said goodbye to him with only the tip of my chin.

“Then I’ll be on my way now. It was a useful conversation. See you later, Fabian Ignis.”

“… Jun Karentia!”

Fabian shouted from behind me.

He seemed to have noticed that I had returned what he had said last time.

Perhaps it was quite upsetting, Fabian’s mana waves soared.

He couldn’t even speak when Meyer was around, but it seemed that Sevi looked like he was worth rubbing against

As soon as Fabian threatened me, Sevi blocked the space between Fabian and me at an angle, as if to protect me.

Sevi didn’t back down one bit and stood tall in front of Fabian, who was a higher level. But it wasn’t a safe situation.

Even if I cast a magic spell for support, Sevi was at a disadvantage in attributes, and his battle experience was not a melody to rub against Fabian, who had memories of the first round.

But this was the Imperial Palace.

The difference in skills was not large enough for him to handle us without making a fuss.

Whether Fabian knew that, he grumbled and calmed down his mana.

“… You’ll see. I’ll make you regret it later.”

I think you’ll be the one to regret.

But I had no time to reproach him, and Fabian hurried away.

Sevi, who was suddenly attacked while picking me up, looked at Fabian’s back and asked as if it was ridiculous.

“What’s wrong with him?”

“He’s trash.”

I answered calmly.

Then I took another peek between the branches of the overgrown trees and quickly got to my feet.