* * *
“Aren’t you two a little too cozy for this early in the morning~?”
“Wow~ Anyone who didn’t come with their wife today must be dying of loneliness.”
“……Still, I’d appreciate it if you could maintain your noble dignity in front of others.”
“Seriously~ There are a lot of eyes watching!”
The gathered knights each threw out playful remarks.
Some even started whistling.
If you’re asking whether I was embarrassed—of course I was.
But before I even had time to blush, I quickly stood up and straightened Klen upright.
Then, I stepped back.
“I only grabbed him because Klen was about to fall.”
I spoke calmly, then fussed with my collar and brushed off some dust for no real reason.
That really was all it was, yet I couldn’t meet anyone’s eyes.
“Oh my, young master. Are you saying you leaned on your fragile wife?”
“Hey, hey. Do you really think the young master did that on purpose?”
“Right. He treasures him so dearly.”
“Even yesterday, he picked out all the meat in the stew to give to his wife…”
“What?”
“You idiot, why would you say that out loud?”
No wonder there was so much meat in the stew yesterday—it was picked out just for me?
Before I could even turn my head, a soft hand rested lightly on my shoulder.
Bracing myself with all my strength, I resolved not to be dragged away this time.
But instead, he stepped even closer to my side and said with a smile so dazzling it was almost overwhelming:
“It’s only right for a husband to look after his wife’s health.”
“Wow~”
“So jealous~!”
“……”
A rush of heat surged to my face.
I had barely managed to keep from blushing when I fell, but once the spark was lit, the rising heat flared up instantly.
The knights’ affectionate teasing was unfamiliar—and mortifying.
“Are you alright?”
Klen’s cool hands cupped my cheeks, as if trying to soothe the heat from them.
At that, the knights’ eyes lit up.
They welcomed the perfect teasing opportunity, unable to keep their twitching lips still.
Bwooooooo—
Just as one of them was about to blurt out something else embarrassing, a deep trumpet blast rang out.
“……!”
“That’s the signal to assemble.”
Thanks to that, the grinning knights, who had been smirking just like Klen, suddenly tensed up.
They quickly scattered and began preparing the area.
The knights, who had been noisily bustling around all night, were now once again assembled before the Count, their figures restored to dignified form.
Klen, who had previously limped as if his leg had gone numb, was now walking perfectly fine again.
He must have found it too bothersome to keep up the act.
The Count slowly swept his gaze over the gathered group.
“Now that everyone’s here, let’s hear the results.”
“Yes. First, we confirmed the location where the monster appeared through Klen-nim’s report and investigation…”
Whoever had joined in on the investigation was nowhere to be seen; only one person stepped forward to report.
His unfocused eyes scanned the long scroll, and the dark shadows beneath his eyelids were striking.
Had the others all collapsed?
He looked like he might fall asleep any moment, yet he kept speaking, eyes cast downward.
“Indeed, we found traces of a summoning spell drawn at the location. The target was a monster. It was a contact-activated spell… What was peculiar was…”
He trailed off awkwardly, glancing between me and Klen before tilting his head slightly.
Despite having conducted the investigation himself, he blinked rapidly, as if he couldn’t believe it.
“Keep talking.”
“There was a restriction on the spell… It would only summon monsters weaker than the caster.”
“?!”
Even if I hadn’t drawn it, the spell had triggered because of me after all.
The spell randomly summoned something weaker than the one who activated it—and it had brought forth a gargoyle?
“It would’ve been more fun if it had been a dragon.”
I quickly erased that fleeting thought.
No matter what anyone says, dragons are legendary creatures.
If one had actually appeared, it would’ve made for a much more exciting battle than any I’d had before.
But not here.
If it had, not just the city, but the entire surrounding area would’ve been decimated.
And my life wouldn’t have been guaranteed either.
“…Weaker?”
“Weaker, and yet it was a gargoyle?”
The air stirred with unrest.
Given the situation, the spell must have been triggered by either me or Klen.
Which meant that at least one of us was stronger than a gargoyle.
“Let’s hear the rest first.”
The Count’s calm voice dulled the tension, though it didn’t erase it entirely.
“That’s… Well, we’ll need to investigate further, but there may have been some kind of error. It’s hard to say the spell was drawn by someone skilled… However, one thing is clear—the spell had a specific goal.”
“A goal?”
“To win the hunting competition.”
The rippling murmurs and suspicious gazes turned back to us.
The whispers grew clearer and reached my ears.
“That makes sense. Wanting monsters weaker than oneself means the caster intended to defeat them personally.”
“It’s also evidence that they didn’t mean to cause chaos.”
“……”
The intent of the spell was to summon monsters one could definitely kill.
The caster must have been confident in their abilities and aimed for victory in the hunting competition.
And by that logic, the most likely suspect would be whoever had the best chance of winning.
“Recently, Adrian has shown a keen interest in summoning magic…”
“No, that’s—!”
I was about to protest when the Count raised a hand to stop me.
So this investigation I’d pursued for the sake of future safety ended up causing trouble.
Now it’s time to explain why I was studying summoning magic?
‘Why, you ask?’
To prevent an enemy ambush.
To protect this city—and further, the forest.
That was all.
I bit down hard on the irritation that surged within me.
But even if I explained, would anyone believe me?
I was still new to this region and had only seen the forest twice.
“Adrian.”
Even though I tried to swallow it down, the irritation must’ve reached Klen beside me.
He placed a hand on my shoulder and gave it a comforting pat.
The steady rhythm of his hand was unusually warm and gentle—completely unlike him.
In this place where I felt utterly alone, it was the only warmth I could feel.
“Ahem. That wasn’t to accuse Adrian—I just wanted to hear his thoughts. But we’ll move on for now. From what we’ve confirmed, we believe no one here directly drew the spell.”
“…No one?”
I narrowed my eyes and glared at him.
Sensing the hostility, the man flinched and looked over in alarm, only for me to quickly withdraw the killing intent.
He wiped the sweat off the back of his neck with a hand, glancing nervously around.
‘That’s something you should’ve said first, dammit.’
This is why the order of things is so important.
The way he said it, I almost ended up falsely accused.
“Then, you haven’t caught the culprit?”
“We ran out of time. It’s possible someone else commissioned the spell rather than drawing it themselves.”
“Hm.”
“What do you all think?”
Now that the investigation results had been presented, it was finally time for us to speak our minds.
As before, the elderly knight stepped forward first.
“I believe the last statement is the most decisive. One can commission a spell without drawing it themselves. There aren’t any monsters worth hunting in the direction of the forest. So the person who went that way is the most suspicious.”
“But there’s no evidence that it was either of the two.”
Willoy stepped in to counter.
* * *
