CH 148

This could perhaps be the biggest change in Mayer Knox’s 28 years of life… Well, it would be more than 28 years if counting the first playthrough as well, but anyway. I decided to endure his fretting with a little more magnanimity. It wouldn’t be long before that mighty magic power he had tried so hard to hide would become an object of praise and adoration. When that time came, he would feel a little more composure… Or so I hoped.

Tragula’s gaze was odd as he watched Mayer scrutinize me so carefully. I supposed he would find it odd. Heck, even I thought this situation would look strange to others. Meanwhile, August approached us with a hard and solemn face as usual. He said to Mayer, “Do not worry too much, Your Excellency. I shall see to it that not one fingertip of the vice-captain will be harmed.”

His voice contained such piety that the air around him was filled with the dignity of a priest. However, his strange tone of voice made it clear he was asking for Mayer to stop his fussing. Mayer, though, didn’t seem to mind much. Apparently, what mattered wasn’t the intent of the speaker, but the result. “Yes, I leave her in your hands.”

August’s face crumpled into a frown, and I shook my head while listening to them. There was no beating the captain since your words just didn’t get across.

* * *

Impressed, Tragula reaffirmed his opinion that Mayer Knox was the strongest indeed. He observed as the captain quietly cleared up the dungeon. Even after not seeing him for so long, Mayer was still unfathomably strong. The man’s power was irreplaceable and beyond human limits, a might he had forgotten for a while. After witnessing it anew, Tragula realized how foolish his thoughts had been.

He knew the captain was mistreating him and he would’ve tried to ease the man’s ire had he at least guessed the reason. But one day, suddenly, Mayer had put distance between them and chased him and his squad to the front lines. Nevertheless, Tragula didn’t give up hope. He continued to obey Mayer’s orders to try and please him, but it was in vain. He was gradually being pushed out of the Dark Knights. How could the captain hide the vice-captain appointment from him, an elite member! Because of this, he decided to go against Mayer’s orders and returned to base early on purpose. It was to make up his mind whether to leave the Dark Knights or keep hanging in there.

His decision to return had been correct as thanks to that, things became clear. Leaving the Dark Knights would be foolish as long as Mayer Knox was still holding a strong position. He had to stick with the corps no matter what. If there was anyone who could oppose the demon lord, it could only be Mayer Knox. That man would slay the lord of evil and become the emperor of these lands. It could very well be considered a prophesied future. And he, Tragula, would stay by Mayer’s side, come what may. He would drink from the sparkling nectar of success regardless of how much the captain disapproved of him. Settling in his shadow was the surest way to success, after all. For the sake of reviving his family name…

Tragula had inherited the bloodline of the Celestial Archer, one of the seven heroes that defeated the demon lord during the first sacred war a thousand years ago. The expedition leader of the seven heroes became the ruler of the empire, while the remaining six each received the title of a grand duke. But, over a thousand years, the grand duke families disappeared one by one. Only the Knox family remained. The others had disappeared due to losing their lineage or being purged for treason.

The family of the Celestial Archer had fallen to ruins centuries ago. Debt had piled up due to a lifestyle of prodigious extravagance, a debt so large they had no choice but to sell the title of Grand Duke. It was a shameful sin committed by Tragula’s ancestors.