Chapter 96
When I looked again, April was wearing a plain brown one-piece dress. Judging by how naturally it allowed her to blend in among the villagers, it seemed to be a disguise.
Seeing her in a dress like that felt extremely unfamiliar, but her face itself hadn’t changed at all.
Clear, shimmering long blonde hair. Light green eyes that looked as if they held nature within them. A youthful face that still looked like that of a girl.
“Ah… hello….”
Earlier, when I saw the Emperor’s face—and Winter’s and Aquila’s too—I’d thought that everyone’s appearances had changed as time passed…
But April alone seemed like someone completely untouched by time.
‘What is this? Does she even avoid time itself?’
And that was precisely why she was even more terrifying. She still had the same gentle-looking face I remembered…
No—this wasn’t a gentle face. It was a face that was enduring something deep inside. I know that now…
I cast a pleading look toward the others for help, but even Karon—who had always shown me unwavering loyalty—avoided my gaze…
No, wait. Isn’t this character assassination? I’ve never evaluated Karon’s male-lead potential before, but at this moment, Karon, your male-lead score is –40.
“You can speak casually, you know.”
I tried desperately to avoid her gaze, but April spoke with a bright, beaming smile, as if she were deliberately pretending not to notice my discomfort.
“I’m not your senior anymore, after all.”
“Haha, how could I possibly do that….”
“You’re making it seem like I still haven’t been discharged.”
Only then did I realize that was a threat disguised as permission to speak casually. I tried to drop honorifics with her, but…
“Ah, I— I got it… got it-sa—.”
“…What?”
“I’ll try to… speak casually… sa—.”
“…….”
Damn it, my entire body was rejecting this….
“Hahaha!”
April, who had been staring at me, burst out laughing as if she found my speech hilarious.
Is it funny? Is this really funny?!
“What, you’re already a corporal?”
Her eyes widened as she checked the insignia on my uniform.
“Come to think of it, you really survived all this without dying? Ha, Salubia, you’ve really got some time under your belt now.”
“Hah… haha….”
In front of her, I was nothing more than a fresh recruit. It felt like I’d gone straight back to the day I enlisted….
“Alright, who else was there back then~?”
April scanned the area with amused eyes, and the other corporals stiffened. Even the infamous Class 85—known for their terrible personalities—avoided her gaze, causing the privates and trainees who didn’t know April to stare in shock.
“Haha….”
Isina gave an awkward laugh, trying to redirect April’s attention.
“Oh….”
April let out a sound of admiration when she spotted Karon.
“He got really big. He was your junior, right?”
“Yes….”
“It’s really strange seeing you all with seniority now, hoho.”
She smiled with her usual kind-looking expression—then her eyes met Aquila’s, and she admired him again.
“Oh….”
She looked back and forth between me and Aquila.
“W-why… are you looking… like that…?”
…My speech was getting stranger by the second.
“…Nothing. It’s just funny!”
She genuinely looked amused, which made me uneasy. Whenever this crazy woman was in a good mood, nothing good ever happened to me.
After marveling that Winter was still serving as a commanding officer here, April finally got to the point.
“Well, it’s nothing major. I caught that black magician earlier and I’ll be handing him over to headquarters. You all did good work too.”
“Oh, so he really was a black magician? I heard there were three major black magicians or something strange like that in this region.”
“Did you join the Black Magic Suppression Special Unit, April-nim?”
Winter asked after I did, and April nodded at everyone’s questions.
“Yeah. That guy earlier looked like he was trying to harm the Emperor.”
The moment she casually mentioned the Emperor, the atmosphere grew heavy.
I signaled to Karon, and he quickly moved the privates and trainees far away. Winter scanned the surroundings with sharp eyes.
“Why would he target His Majesty…?”
“Well, it’s obvious. Because black magic is being suppressed.”
She said it lightly, as if it were no big deal.
“He was holding a pre-made cursed totem. Looked like he planned to use it, but I destroyed it properly.”
“Where have you subdued the black magician? There’s no chance he escaped, is there?”
“Well. Do you think he could?”
She smiled slyly, and the mood grew solemn again.
Yeah… of course she handled it thoroughly. Poor black magician….
“It seems there are far more black magicians in this empire than I thought.”
I’d already encountered two of the so-called ‘Three Great Black Magicians.’
April, being part of the Black Magic Suppression Special Unit, likely knew more about black magicians than even Sanchez. Since I’d met her, I thought it might be good to get some information.
‘Maybe I can even get a hint about breaking this contract magic.’
At my question, April stared at me with those mysterious green eyes and replied.
“That’s probably true. Long ago, black magic was practiced on an empire-wide scale.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes. Especially before the lands of the Archons were conquered, black magic was very commonly used. Only after we were incorporated did the empire grow strong enough to suppress it.”
She spoke of such dark history in an incredibly bright voice. As expected of April….
“Even the magic placed on us right now was cast using black magic, but now they’re telling people not to use it. You can see why black magicians would be furious, right?”
“I see….”
“But you didn’t even know such basic knowledge?”
April looked at me suspiciously, and once again I shrank under her gaze.
“Well… I didn’t really learn much, haha….”
“And that’s funny?”
“I’ll correct— I mean, I’m sorry—.”
“I just meant, is it actually funny?”
Unable to bear watching me shrink any further, Isina stepped in.
“Haha, it’s possible not to know. You’ll make the kid cry at this rate.”
I was deeply moved. Seriously… I’d suspected him of being some kind of mastermind every time something happened, but here he was taking my side.
Truly touched, I hid behind Isina. Facing April head-on was too much.
Seeing me peeking out from behind Isina, Winter also stepped in to help.
“I make sure to teach Salubia everything she needs to know, so there’s no need to worry.”
“Winter, you’ve grown a lot.”
“…….”
Winter loses to April too, huh…. Male-lead score minus— no, let’s not deduct this. April is just too strong….
“Sounds like a lot of interesting things happened while I was gone….”
April muttered, sounding genuinely amused. A few people flinched.
Then she noticed the company commander and stepped back.
“Well, I’m not even part of this unit anymore. I suppose I interfered too much. I’ll be going.”
“S-safe travels….”
“If you ever want to join the Black Magic Suppression Special Unit—”
“Ah, no, that’s alright….”
“I’m serious, you know?”
April smiled beautifully, lifting the corners of her lips.
That smile—
The very one I saw on my first day of enlistment!
‘C-crazy….’
My body started trembling uncontrollably, but April didn’t care and continued smiling.
“By the time you come, the unit will be an even better place than it is now….”
It sounded meaningful, but I had no desire to understand it. I just didn’t want to get any closer to April.
“H-haha… I’ll have to decline.”
Seeing her only strengthened my resolve to never go anywhere near the Black Magic Suppression Special Unit.
Absolutely not.
After parting with her, we returned to our unit.
Some of the juniors were clearly curious about April’s identity after seeing how tense we’d been.
“Salubia-nim, who was that person earlier—”
“With your level of seniority, you’ve got curiosity now?”
“S-sorry.”
Of course, I had no intention of telling them.
What a turbulent day. I ran into that crazy woman April, met that damn Emperor, and even encountered a lunatic black magician….
‘They all get on my nerves.’
The contract magic placed on us was black magic, young Archons were being exploited by black magicians—considering all the damage caused by black magic so far, it was natural that black magicians annoyed me.
And the Emperor annoyed me enough that I almost wanted to applaud the black magician for trying to attack him.
‘So the imperial family used black magic to rule us, and now they’re trying to use us to rule black magic?’
It was infuriating.
I hated both the Emperor and the black magicians opposing him. Honestly, after discharge, I felt like smashing both the imperial family and the black magicians to pieces.
Damn it, why are there so many people I hate in this world?
“Sigh….”
I let out a heavy sigh. I felt the juniors nearby flinch, but I didn’t care.
“Sigh….”
When I sighed again, Aquila—who had been watching me carefully—asked,
“Salubia, what’s wrong? Because of April-nim?”
“Ah, right… her too. But that’s not it.”
Come to think of it, even Karon—the youngest among the male leads—had become a corporal, so I thought they’d finally have some presence. But remembering how helpless they were in front of April, their presence was still lacking.
At this rate, none of them would regain their dignity until discharge. Truly, the root of all evil was the Border Defense Corps.
“It’s just… a lot of things bothering me.”
“What things? A person?”
“Why? What if it is?”
“If you want, I’ll take care of anyone.”
I looked into Aquila’s orange eyes, serious and sincere, then smirked and lifted one corner of my mouth.
“Then can you take care of April-nim too?”
“…That’s….”
“Just kidding.”
As expected—male leads, all of them: dignity –10.
Honestly, among everyone I know, isn’t April the one with the most presence? No matter how I think about it, her male-lead potential feels the highest.
“Well, jokes aside… it’s just that there’s more than one thing bothering me.”
The images of the black magician and the Emperor lingered in my mind.
A black magician could be subdued by force if necessary, but I couldn’t think of any way to deal with the Emperor.
If I really took his head, wouldn’t I be turning the entire empire against me?
