CH 132

His gaze wasn’t as fierce as I had expected. On the contrary, there was even some apology mixed in there. What did Mayer have to be sorry about? Was I hallucinating out of a desire to escape the situation? While I was puzzled, he sighed again and said, “I was being temperamental. Surely you treated Tragula the way you did for good reason…” He trailed off, at a loss. The back of his hand slid down my cheek, the tip of his fingers brushing by my chin. “So do not make that face.”

I had no idea what expression I was wearing for Mayer to act this way. Bewildered, I forced a laugh out and shook my head. “Me? I’m completely fine.”

“Did I not say that you have poor control of your expressions?”

Mayer took another step closer and grabbed my hand, which happened to be trembling slightly. I tried to protest that it was only a mild hand tremor, but I saw my figure reflected in his golden eyes, ridden with fright to the extent of causing him to worry. Yes, I looked like I was afraid of something…

Mayer said consolingly, “I will listen without anger, so take your time explaining.”

* * *

“No matter how much fury Tragula causes me, I would never take my mood out on you.” Mayer sat me down on the sofa, poured me a cup of warm tea, and even wrapped a blanket over my shoulders. Seeming to judge that his near presence made me feel threatened, he sat a little further away. Clicking his tongue, he added, “So do not act like I am about to hound you.”

“…I never acted like that.”

“But you did. And you still are.”

Clicking his tongue again, he poured himself a cup of tea as well. Being taken care of Mayer Knox like this… How rare. Perplexed, sipped at the tea put in my hands, thinking some liquor would have been even better. Still, taking something warm inside made me feel a little calmer. Although I did put up a strong front against Mayer, I was honestly frightened. Only, I didn’t know why I felt so afraid. Was it his menacing air? But thinking about it, he had acted fiercer when I cut my arm during the Blue Flames incident. It could just be a guilty conscience at work, making me timider because I had something to be sorry about.

I held the teacup in my hands and sighed. “…To be honest, I’m sorry about not letting you know beforehand, Captain.”

“So you do feel sorry?” Mayer reproached playfully. I noticed then that the same teacup I held looked very small in his hand.

“I didn’t mean to ignore your words…”

“Yes. It did seem that way from your reaction.”

“I just felt that it’d be a waste to give Tragula over to Fabian… I was going to tell you about it in advance. But…”

“Tragula’s early arrival disturbed your plan?”

“Yes.” I nodded fervently in my desire to convey sincerity and Mayer laughed softly.

“Alright. You look a bit better now that you talk. Before, it looked like you would never speak to me.”

“…It wasn’t that bad. People can break down sometimes.”

“And you just had that moment?”

“That’s right.”

The atmosphere eased amid our trivial exchange. I scanned Mayer’s face and he didn’t look as averse to talking about Tragula as before. This being the case… perhaps now was the time to persuade him? I began cautiously, “The Dark Knights won’t be missing the title of strongest this time so Tragula won’t betray us.”

“I still do not feel good about him. The man is not trustworthy.”

“I’m not suggesting that we trust in him. It won’t be much different from before. My idea is just to use him more efficiently. There’s no need to do Fabian a favor and increase his power, after all.”

“Hmm…”

Mayer still appeared disagreeable. Feeling urgent, I continued in a rushed tone. “Not everyone closes dungeons out of duty like you do, Captain. Tragula only became an expedition corps member because he desired honor, not because he feels particularly obligated or responsible.” I shared my analysis of Tragula’s nature and he listened quietly. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking inside. “He doesn’t want to be the head of a dog. He wants to be the tail of a lion. Tragula is perfectly okay with things so long as he belongs somewhere with good name value, regardless of what treatment he receives.”

“Hmm.”

“It’s due to that nature that he continues to remain in the Dark Knights despite your harsh treatment… Anyway. As long as you treat and reward him appropriately, he won’t betray us. After all, even if he left right now, the best thing he’d have going for him is the former glory of being one of our elites.”

After listening to my passionate presentation, Mayer exclaimed quietly, “You seem to know more about Tragula than I do.”

“You were betrayed, Captain, but I was pushed out of my position. I had no choice but to observe closely.” Having calmed down, I managed to respond with far more composure than before despite Mayer’s rather pointed question. As a matter of fact, it wasn’t like I had little to grudge about Tragula.