Chapter 119

But that’s just it.

Now that I think about it, Deca should have been feeling a great deal of stress about putting together an expeditionary team with barely enough money.

So I’m going to stop picking now.

If Fabian ate the candy anyway, he would have a hard time with him as well.

I had done my best to save April from her scheduled suffering.

But, aside from what I didn’t want to do, Deca wasn’t the kind of person I could do that.

Deca was suspicious and blind to Fabian.

There was no one else who gave affection like April. He was not an easy person to win over in many ways.

Anyway, all that remained was to return to the Imperial Palace. It was really fortunate that the debriefing ended while we were still in the dungeon.

The Fabian Expedition also had to go to the Imperial Palace with us even if there was nothing to report to the emperor.

The Fabian expedition was on the way to go together, so they wanted to have a small conversation with each other.

It was a pretty good deal no matter where you went to attack a dungeon with the Black Knights, not to mention friendship with the Black Knights.

But it’s not like the Black Knights met one or two expedition members who were sticky like that.

No one from the Black Knights approached the Fabian Expedition in a friendly manner. From the beginning, there was a blatant attempt to block their approach.

In the end, the Fabian expedition was unenthusiastic and secured their lines piece by piece.

At that moment, April leaned over Jeanne’s shoulder and managed to whisper to her. She took Jeanne with her and approached the direction where the Black Knights were.

It was me, to be exact.

Jeanne looked up at April, a look of tears on her face, but April averted her gaze.

April slightly pushed Jeanne’s back and sent her forward with an awkward smile at me.

“Um, can you take care of Jeanne at the Black Knights?”

“… Jeanne?”

I asked back awkwardly.

I wanted to ask what exactly she was doing and why Jeanne was the only one, but I held back and pressed on for the sake of the ears around me.

Fabian and other Fabian expedition members looked dumbfounded by April’s sudden bombshell remarks. It didn’t seem easy to understand what they heard.

“She showed an unreliable appearance in this dungeon, but she’s the best level wizard in our expedition.”

“I know that Jeanne’s talents are outstanding. This time the dungeon just didn’t fit her propensity…”

“Thank you for looking at it like that.”

April giggled. It was a smile that seemed to be happier than any compliment she had received herself.

“The gate opened early and we were there to pick her up because she was a child who had lost her parents and her home, but… We are a small expedition and it is somewhat difficult to take care of young expedition members. That’s why we went ahead with an impossible schedule like this dungeon…”

It was a statement that could have been blamed on the Fabian Expedition.

As April’s words grew longer, Jeanne’s face turned white.

Jeanne hurriedly tugged on April’s clothes, looking at Fabian’s expedition, but April continued, staring at only me.

“But the last time I saw the wind wizard, the Black Knights didn’t seem to overwork the young wizard no matter how talented he was.”

I think that could be misunderstood…

As soon as April’s words fell, August and the rest of the Black Knights secretly looked at me. It stung.

Although I educated Sevi a little severely… No, no matter how much I did, I didn’t abuse him like that.

The moment I coughed in a small way, Fabian, who came to his senses late afterward, shouted and approached April.

“What are you talking about, April!”

Fabian grabbed April’s forearm roughly and turned her around. His face was full of red, perhaps because he was angry to the tip of his head.

He roared at April.

“Why do you say you’ll send away an expedition member however you want? You should have discussed it with me and Deca!”

“…Would you have agreed if we had discussed it?”

“That’s…”

Fabian was speechless at first.

His agitation, however, did not last long. Fabian soon spoke quietly, lowering his voice to soothe April.

“What makes you trust them when we just shared a dungeon with them? Jeanne is a member of our expedition. Even if she goes to the Black Knights, she’s just a stone that rolled over.”

“…”

“Do you think Jeanne will be treated properly by the Black Knights? Rather, they’ll roll her more roughly over there.”

“I understand the bewilderment of the Fabian expedition leader, but that doesn’t mean you should evaluate us like that.”

Axion smirked and interrupted him.

Just when I wanted him to interrupt, he came up with a timely remark. It was at times like this that I really thought that Axion could read my mind.

“The Black Knights roll in and do not judge people by their own merits, but… The Vice Commander said she is an outstanding wizard, so we will naturally treat her as we would a superior wizard.”

Began also stepped up.

Fabian’s face twisted as the Black Knights interrupted.

All the while, April’s expression was uniform.

It was as if she had anticipated all this chaos and Fabian’s opposition.

Fabian struggled to hold onto reason and gritted his teeth.

“It’s within our expedition, so don’t interfere.”

“If the expedition leader Fabian hadn’t mentioned the Black Knights, I wouldn’t have thought of interfering.”

Axion replied, wrinkling his brow.

At first, he thought it was ridiculous, but Fabian’s hostility had been more than he had imagined, and he had been a little confused and annoyed.

‘Well, even if Axion has met a lot of people who feel inferior to him, it would be the first time he has expressed it this openly.’

For the current Fabian, dealing with Began would be the limit…

Fabian, unfortunately, fluttered like a fish that came out of the water every time Axion said something.

“Is it my fault? Aha. I guess the Black Knights usually siphon off other expedition talents like this and put out their flippers.”

“Fabian’s expedition leader was whispering to me well in the dungeon, but I don’t know if he’s in a position to shout that loudly.”

Tragula, who had been taking a step back so far, sarcastically interrupted him.

Axion and the others would not have known, but Tragula seemed to be poked and prodded as if he had done his bit. Fabian’s face scrunched up.

He dug his own grave. As I watched this ridiculous confrontation, I couldn’t help but mutter.

“Anyway… He doesn’t know who he’s blaming for his inability to manage the expedition.”

Everyone was sensitive for a while because we had just confronted demons. Everyone there heard me muttering.

“Oh, mistake. Stop thinking about it.”

I shrugged my shoulders naturally.

Fabian’s anger soared like a flame. He fired up his boiling anger at me.

“Jun Karentia! This is all because you made it up!”

Fabian’s left hand headed to my neck.

It looks like he’s trying to catch me? I had a sense of déjà vu from when we met again at the Imperial Palace.

We were almost the same level, but Fabian was a swordsman and I was a wizard with low physical stats. I knew I would get caught, but there was no way to avoid it.

Before Fabian’s sharp fingertips snatched my neck, his hand was held in the air. It was Meyer.

“That’s the second time.”

“What?”

“That you reached out to Jun’s neck.”

Meyer was calm as he stared at Fabian.

His expression was nonchalant, but as I faced him right in front of me, I could see that his eyes held a heat so hot that it could melt gold.

And Fabian would also have felt the pressure and threat. He clenched his teeth and tried to pull his arm out of Meyer’s grasp, but there was no chance.

And so, lest Fabian should squirm in vain, Meyer’s great hand grasped it in its entirety.

Lightly, as if there were nothing to take in his hands.

Crush, clench.

“K-keuaaaak!”

Fabian tried to endure it, but the pain of bone crumbling and muscle bursting was not a tolerable kind.

Fabian’s chills were broken and his body sank to the floor. However, because of his arm held by Meyer, his body stopped in the air.

All Fabian expedition members shouted, pulling out their weapons and saying, “That kind of guy who jumps on senseless opponents without fear is also an expedition leader.”

“Meaningless threats and violence between expeditionary units are prohibited by discipline, Grand Duke Knox!”

They shouted boldly, but their spirit went that far. They clenched their teeth and aimed the end of their weapons at Meyer, but could not dare to attack.

Meyer burst into laughter quietly. Their desperation must have felt like a charge of ants to him.

“Meaningless? I’m punishing those who have meaninglessly threatened my Vice Commander.”

“…Please, generosity.”

Deca struggled to say in a cold sweat. It seemed difficult to endure Meyer’s momentum.

I have a lot of trouble cleaning up after Fabian’s uncharacteristic deviations, which he usually pretends to be virtuous.

Realizing that I was a step behind, I gave a small smile and a simple thank you to Meyer.

“Thank you. I’m still not used to this kind of rudeness. I was a little carried away.”

“It’s the ones who are disrespectful that are the problem.”

Thanks to Meyer, I didn’t get a hair out of place. A guard dog would have been less faithful than Meyer Knox.