CH 131

Cold sweat ran down Tragula’s face. But, to achieve his purposes, he was capable of enduring an instant of ferocity. He did his utmost to not look at Mayer as he asked, “If there is room for the dragon-slaying, can you take me with you? If there is no space for squad Yellow Lightning, then I could go by myself. I don’t lack skills, so I can assure you that I will pull my own weight.”

Tragula was making his appeal to me, not Mayer. I knew the man was sharp. He had already understood that talking to the captain would be useless. Also, he clearly figured that I held power over the raiding members. Moreover, he was shrewd enough to give up his own squad. The sight of him struggling to seize the opportunity at hand made me even feel admiration.

But although I wanted to take him along, I couldn’t completely ignore Mayer. I had to convince the captain first. Looking at the way he was fixedly staring at the side of my face, it didn’t seem like an easy task. As I couldn’t give an immediate guarantee, I gave a vague response. “The initial list has already been released. I’ll think about it a little more before giving you an answer.”

“I hope that your contemplation will be resolved positively.”

Speaking up to that point, Tragula promptly scurried out of the office like his feet were on fire. It was as if the man had never lingered here. I could only see it as him fleeing from Mayer. I then pondered over how I was to go about persuading the captain, as well as making bygones be bygones. There was a long way ahead of me.

* * *

Tragula ran away, leaving only the two of us in the office. Long gone was the warm atmosphere before his arrival. An awkward silence fell, amidst which I timidly observed Mayer. “Jun Karentia,” he called out with a deep sigh. I felt an unusual pressure from those five syllables. Before I could say anything, he stood up. The man was big so when he stood up suddenly like this, it gave off the illusion of a bear standing on two feet.

“What did I tell you a few days ago?” Mayer asked softly, and when I didn’t reply, he continued. “I definitely told you to keep your distance from that man.” He drew closer to me, step by step, his armor clanking with extraordinary clarity to my ears. The intimidating approach caused me to retreat out of instinct. “And I told you to ignore him even if he talks to you.”

Did he really tell me that…? My memory was fuzzy. I had been listening noncommittally at the time, but it didn’t feel like the time to confess this.

“Yet you spoke to him first, and even got close. Judging by how friendly you were, you seemed intent on getting to know him.” Mayer’s gaze was right before my nose. He had come so near me that his breath was touching my forehead. He sneered, “Why, were you so glad to see an old comrade?”

My head dropped even lower. I knew I hadn’t done anything wrong and that it wasn’t something I had to be so cautious about. But no matter how brash I could be, seeing Mayer so menacing in front of me, I didn’t feel up to arguing straight back. I had done nothing to be guilty about until now, but this time was different. Why that dratted fellow Tragula had to arrive before I could lay the grounds for persuasion…

I opened my mouth in vain several times, but I couldn’t get any words out at the thought of what made Mayer react like this. He must’ve felt that I had completely ignored his warnings so of course, he was angry. The captain was touchy when it came to Fabian, whose betrayal ruined his relationship with me. Besides, Tragula was someone who had betrayed Mayer himself… There was no way he wouldn’t take a sharp stance.

I wished this time would pass by quickly, but Mayer’s steel plate boots showed no signs of moving away from my shiny leather ones. It felt as if he would stay like this forever unless I answered. So, pressured by the silence, I had no choice but to start speaking, albeit hesitantly. “That is… Uh…”

Mayer sighed, seeming frustrated by my foolish response, very unlike my usual arguing self. “Raise your head and look at me.”

I slowly looked up, but I was still looking slightly away from him. I had guts, but I still didn’t have the confidence to have a battle of stares with Mayer in a temper. But my aversion was in vain as he adjusted the angle of my head, pushing my cheek with the back of his hand. I met eyes with him, shuddering from the coldness of his plate gauntlets.

“Jun,” he murmured.