IPMPBB 31

Chapter 31

“I, I’m… Sir Ivach…”

The saintess looked utterly flustered as she glanced at Carlos.

She clearly hadn’t expected such words from him.

“An investigation must proceed, so please ask the knights for protection, Saintess.”

Carlos politely dismissed her.

The saintess turned beet red and fled the scene.

Well, I hadn’t expected an apology anyway.

That idle thought crossed my mind as I watched her disappear.

‘That’s intense. Really intense.’

I could feel Carlos’s stare on me.

When I turned, I saw him watching me with a complicated expression.

“What’s wrong? Do I have something on my face?”

I tried to lighten the mood with a joke as I touched my cheek. But Carlos didn’t laugh.

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

He asked.

“If I hadn’t overheard your conversation with her from the start—”

“Even so, I didn’t think you’d judge me based solely on her words.”

“……”

Carlos fell silent.

“You’re not the type to jump to conclusions after hearing only one side, Sir Ivach.”

Sure, I’d mentally checked out earlier, but I never believed Carlos would condemn me.

I thought he would realize something was off about the saintess.

And frankly, anyone with eyes could see her behavior was strange.

There was a reason she acted that way, though.

‘Given Elia’s usual conduct, it’s no surprise she reacted that way.’

Considering my past behavior, most people would have sided with the saintess.

But…

“I was sure Sir Ivach would listen to both sides.”

Carlos’s face twisted in confusion.

“How…?”

After a long pause, he finally spoke.

“Why do you believe I’m such a just person, Captain?”

“Huh? Because I’ve seen you in action.”

I answered absentmindedly, thinking of all the just deeds Carlos had performed in the original story.

“……”

After a long silence, I realized how that must have sounded to him.

Like a supervisor secretly watching their subordinate—how creepy!

“Ah, I didn’t mean I was spying on you or anything! You just naturally caught my eye during work. That’s all.”

I rambled on, trying to explain.

But Carlos didn’t look convinced.

In fact, the longer I spoke, the more oddly he looked at me.

“…Sorry. That made you uncomfortable, didn’t it?”

I ended up apologizing, which was rare for me.

I’d never actually monitored him, but avoiding misunderstandings was more important.

“……”

But Carlos still said nothing.

The awkward silence returned.

“Shall we go wrap up the scene?”

Fidgeting nervously, I finally suggested something. That’s when Carlos finally spoke again.

“Ah, right. We should.”

Glad to be free from the awkward topic, I responded brightly.

We arrested everyone involved in the illegal auction and confiscated all items.

Carlos handled everything so well that all I had to do was secure the cursed sword.

By the time we finished and returned to the knights’ headquarters, it was already evening.

“Looks like we’re stuck with overtime today.”

Cesare, who had been by my side while Carlos was busy, commented.

Yikes… Was this overtime my fault?

“Still, the 3rd Order finally achieved something other than hunting heretics. That makes the overtime worthwhile.”

Seeing my expression, Cesare added quickly,

“There’ll be rewards once our contributions are acknowledged.”

That finally let me breathe a sigh of relief.

“I’ll deliver the paperwork to your office.”

I thanked him and headed off.

I tried to be helpful, burying myself in documents until the sky outside turned dark.

Knock knock.

As I was lighting the oil lamp with clumsy hands, someone knocked.

I opened the door to find Carlos holding a thick stack of papers.

“This is the interim report for the higher-ups.”

He placed it on my desk.

“It includes details on those involved in the auction, the confiscation plan, and ties to the gambling ring.”

“This might take a while to review. You can go ahead and leave.”

“You’re going to review it yourself?”

“…Yeah, I figured I’d start looking through the paperwork now.”

Come to think of it, Elia never reviewed these kinds of reports properly—just scribbled her signature.

Sometimes she even ran off just to mess with subordinates, forcing Carlos to chase her down.

“I’ll wait.”

Well, I wasn’t going to stop him… but it really might take a while.

I read through the report under the warm orange glow of the lamp.

Thanks to Carlos and the 3rd Order’s excellent work, everything was organized and clear.

When I turned the final page, I finally reached the signature fields.

“Huh.”

There were two signature boxes.

One was clearly for confirmation, but the other was a bit ambiguous.

I quickly read the label above it.

「Field Command & Investigation Lead」

Ah, so this is the line for the actual person who deserves the credit.

According to Elia’s memory, this was the name that earned the rewards.

And Elia always wrote her own name in both fields.

I picked up the pen and signed the first box with a slightly shaky hand—it didn’t matter if it wasn’t perfect.

As for the second box…

“Sir Ivach, come here.”

“…?”

Carlos looked puzzled but approached the desk.

With only the oil lamp illuminating the room, his hair looked even more vividly red.

“Is there a problem with the report?”

“No, it’s not that. It’s about this field.”

“Yes, you normally write your name in both.”

“What if I put your name here instead?”

Carlos looked up at me.

In the flickering lamplight, his brown eyes almost looked golden.

And they were filled with deep confusion.

“I may have discovered the auction site, but it was you who raided and secured the scene.”

I held his gaze.

“So it makes sense for your name to go here.”

“…Are you serious?”

Carlos asked, unable to hide his disbelief.

“Yeah. The person who did the work should be the one recognized. We can’t keep filing false reports forever.”

And, of course, there was another reason I couldn’t tell him.

‘Carlos needs recognition so he can approach the imperial center—and root out the evil within.’

I just wanted to live peacefully.

So as long as I wasn’t kicked out, I planned to support Carlos however I could.

The saintess bond? Given her strange personality, I wasn’t sure if it would ever happen.

“Here.”

I handed him the pen.

“You need it, don’t you?”

Carlos’s eyes trembled violently.

Reaching the imperial court and learning the truth about his origins had always been Carlos’s dream.

“I…”

“What are you hesitating for?”

I asked him gently.

His trembling stopped. Determination filled his face.

Slowly, he reached out and grasped the pen.

Carlos and I both held it together, looking at one another.

Somehow, it didn’t feel like just passing a pen.

It felt like a deeper act. Like… trust.

Was I overthinking it?

Still, I let go of the pen.

Carlos leaned down and signed his name in the second box.

“Thank you.”

He said quietly and then exited the office with the report.

“That’s one thing taken care of.”

I leaned back in my chair and exhaled deeply.

It had been a truly long day.