Chapter 109
What is this? Is this the camaraderie of the original male lead?
“…Or is it just typical fantasy romance plot development?”
But it was hard to believe this was standard fantasy romance development, because the situation wasn’t very romantic…
―If you’re there, I’ll follow you even to hell.
That would be a normal romantic line.
―If you’re there, I’ll follow you even if it’s a sewer.
―If you’re there, I can be with you under the depths of the sea.
―If you’re there, I’ll follow you even into a blazing inferno.
All of these are genuinely romantic lines.
―If you’re there, I’ll follow you even to the disciplinary cell.
This… isn’t romantic. Why is a disciplinary cell coming up in a fantasy romance line? Are you kidding me?
Anyway, I’ll stop pondering whether this is typical fantasy romance development—the answer is far too obvious.
“Just wait a few days. I’ll handle everything before I have to go to the disciplinary cell.”
I really had a secret method to avoid the cell. I hadn’t intended to go this far, but seeing Aquila about to strike made me lose my composure for a moment.
Rather than waiting for Ishina to play the mastermind first, it seemed better for me to handle things my own way.
By the way, I was grateful that Aquila didn’t stop me in that moment and trusted my words, so I smiled at him.
“You probably didn’t understand what I meant earlier, but you held back well.”
However, what came out of Aquila’s mouth was an unexpected response.
“I didn’t fail to understand.”
“Huh?”
“From the look in your eyes, it seemed like you had a definite plan.”
“…Ah.”
It was something I had already realized when we escaped the trap at the dark magician’s house together last time, but still, Aquila really knows me well.
It’s always a pleasant feeling to realize that the other person is thinking about you just as much as you’re thinking about them. I smiled faintly and lightly patted his arm.
“When did you start knowing me this well?”
“And you?”
“Well… we’ve survived life-threatening situations together a few times, so I guess it doesn’t really matter.”
Aquila quietly looked at me and, like I had done earlier, gave me a small smile. For someone who usually shows little emotion, it was a rare occurrence.
“Sarubia, don’t you think Dalin might be waiting for you?”
“Ah, right! I’ll just—”
Watching Sarubia dash off to “deal with Dalin,” Aquila couldn’t help but smile. He thought her coral-colored hair bouncing as she ran looked like a cute little fox tail.
“When did you start knowing me this well?”
Recalling what Sarubia had said, Aquila tilted his head.
“Yeah… when did I start knowing you this well?”
But his face soon returned to its usual expressionless state. Speaking as if someone else was nearby, he said,
“Time to come out.”
At that, Ishina slowly rose from the bushes. Leaves clung to his hair, but they blended naturally with his green hair. He reluctantly brushed them off.
“I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop.”
“Why are you here, Ishina?”
“I know you come here often. If I leave you alone, who knows what might happen?”
Ishina smiled, but it wasn’t exactly a friendly expression.
Even with Ishina out, Aquila didn’t stop and spoke again in a firm tone.
“Karon, come out too.”
As soon as he spoke, Karon appeared beside where Ishina had been, smiling brightly.
“Why are you here again?”
“I thought it would be fun to imitate Ishina hiding, so I followed!”
“Ishina, you should have stopped him… wait, that’s not it.”
Aquila’s gaze sharpened as he regained focus.
“Did you hear what I just said? Sarubia had a dark magic artifact, and it must not have been discovered by Rosan.”
“What? Why were you carrying a dark magic artifact?! Seriously…”
Ishina grabbed the back of his neck in frustration, but Aquila continued, unfazed.
“Apparently, Sarubia intends to handle this herself, but I have no intention of leaving Rosan alone.”
Even though he didn’t know anything, Karon nodded in agreement with Aquila.
“So, Rosan is bothering Sarubia?”
“Yes.”
“Then we must get revenge!”
Karon clenched his fist, and as Aquila discussed the situation seriously with him, Ishina muttered weakly from between them.
“Now it’s dark magic artifacts… why do they never listen in every way possible?”
“By the way, Ishina, do you have some plan in mind?”
“What do you expect from me…?”
I asked, just in case, but Ishina never revealed his plan. That made him even more like a true mastermind.
Honestly, no matter what scheme he had, I had my own plan, so it didn’t matter. I entered the female dormitory and lay down.
“Hmm.”
Lately, I had been spending most of my time quietly in the dormitory.
After that incident, Rosan couldn’t contain his anger and reported it immediately, and the next day I was summoned to the company commander’s office.
No matter how much I denied it, the commander probably believed Rosan’s claim that “Sarubia had a dark magic artifact,” because he outranked me.
Instead of scolding me or giving me punishment, the commander told me to stay in the dormitory. He said he would inform me of the official disciplinary result, but for now, the cell was confirmed. How many days I would remain there was the question.
‘Originally, Rosan threatened the commander, suggesting a search of all the soldiers’ lockers.’
Despite the threat, the locker search never happened. Aside from that watch, there wasn’t anything to find, and it was a relief to avoid unnecessary trouble.
While I waited, contrary to my expectation that Rosan would come to harass me, he never showed up.
So, my waiting period passed rather peacefully, with no work to do.
“Ugh, this is boring…”
Lying down, I waved my hand and noticed a book nearby, so I grabbed it.
It was a military law book.
Dalin had brought it recently, saying, “Sarubia, I’ll look for a way to prevent you from going to the disciplinary cell!” But after reading the first page, she didn’t understand anything and gave up.
“Sigh.”
Having read so many books recently about monsters, even seeing text made my stomach churn, but staying idle was more boring, so I opened the book haphazardly.
‘Who would voluntarily read a military law book unless they were Winter…’
Legal terminology was difficult to grasp, so I skimmed through most of the 600-page book without really reading it.
Finally, as I mindlessly flipped through the pages, I reached a blank page. The book had ended.
But as I flipped through the empty pages…
“…Huh?”
A small note was tucked between the blank pages.
I didn’t know what it was, but I carefully took it out and unfolded it. It looked like a large piece of paper folded into a small note.
Finally, the note was revealed…
“Wait, this is…”
『However, the author did not observe any signs of monsters appearing naturally.
Monsters appear randomly, and there seems to be no common pattern in the time or place of their appearance.』
It was the content I had been desperately searching for—the part about “monsters that are born naturally”!
‘Why is this here?’
I had no idea who had folded this note and tucked it here, but I quickly read its contents.
『Monsters that are born naturally all appear outside the borders.
Only thirteen soldiers from the border defense force have witnessed naturally occurring monsters.
Thus, it is presumed that the natural emergence of monsters is fairly common.
However, notably, during the time when other races inhabited territories where monsters existed, there are no records of naturally occurring monsters.
It could simply be that the records didn’t exist, but it can also be inferred that naturally occurring monsters have not existed for long. Of course, precise conclusions require further research.』
‘So naturally occurring monsters only started appearing after these other races were incorporated into the empire?’
Why could that be? Are monsters inherently formed from evil energy, and has the empire been gradually corrupted recently?
Of course, whatever speculation I make, being trapped in the border defense force means I have no way to confirm it directly.
Then a sudden question came to mind.
‘So who tucked this note here?’
No one in the border defense force would read a military law book. Perhaps only Winter, who knows all the military laws… wait, not just him.
I knew one more person who had voluntarily read this book.
