The rain was pouring down relentlessly on Count Hacknestine’s domain where Martin was staying.

Listening to the noisy sound of raindrops beating on the tent, Martin quietly murmured.

The name of the one who occupied his mind.

“…Yulia.”

Yulia had always been Ernant’s person from the beginning.

She herself reaffirmed that fact through her actions shown last time.

So even if Yulia recklessly went on an expedition alone, it shouldn’t have been Martin’s concern.

That should have been clear.

But.

“Tsk…”

He kept worrying about it.

Yulia von Schneestern… A nail-like existence that he had to keep around despite clearly knowing she was Ernant’s person.

It would be nice if he could just pull out that nail, but he couldn’t.

Whether she was the Emperor’s person or whatever, Yulia was a rare high-grade awakened one with excellent skills as a knight.

If Yulia went off alone and died, it would be like losing a valuable talent.

So Martin accepted Karl’s request to follow Yulia.

Because he couldn’t lose important personnel.

Because he didn’t want to lose her.

Having thought that far, Martin unconsciously muttered as he brushed back his hair that had come down cumbersomely.

“I don’t know how to deal with her.”

“Who? That woman?”

Simon, who had come in at some point, asked in response to Martin’s soliloquy.

Lost in thought, Martin gave no answer, and silence enveloped the two.

In that silence, as Simon was sinking into his own thoughts, he suddenly snapped his fingers as if he’d had a good idea.

“If it’s such a headache, why don’t you try to win her over?”

“What?”

“Deputy Commander Yulia von Schneestern. She’s loyal to the Emperor partly because she’s a knight, but also because she harbors deep affection for him, right?”

Not noticing Martin’s face colored with bewilderment, Simon continued to explain his brilliant idea proudly.

“So, you need to break that affection. You, Commander.”

“…What on earth are you talking about?”

“Oh my. You’re so clueless.”

Giggling, Simon lowered his voice and whispered to Martin.

“I’m saying you should captivate that woman so she can’t love the Emperor more. As a ‘man’.”

“…”

“Then she’ll stop reporting your activities to the Emperor too. Because she’ll be completely smitten with you and become someone only for you.”

Having heard that far, Martin was momentarily at a loss for words.

After staring at Simon with a gaze filled with various complex emotions, Martin eventually sighed.

“Simon.”

“Yes?”

“That’s enough nonsense. Run to the stream and back 30 times from here.”

“What?! But I just came back from work—”

“Go now. It’s an order.”

“…”

As Simon gave a sad look as if wronged, Martin glared at him sharply.

Unable to withstand that fierce gaze, Simon finally trudged out.

In the tent that had finally become quiet, Martin heaved another deep sigh.

Captivate Yulia? And as a man at that?

He couldn’t understand what nonsense that was.

Yulia had already given her heart to the Emperor for a long time, so that love must be solid.

Too solid for Martin himself to dare break.

“…”

Afterward, Martin kept his head down for a while.

It was because he felt disgusted with himself for seriously considering Simon’s nonsense, even if just for a moment.

Beyond the rift that Karl and I entered, a vast desert stretched out.

A desert so vast that the end was not in sight.

I felt reassured anew, thinking it was exactly the same as when I came here before the regression.

The wide, endless sand dunes looked dangerous at first glance, but the monsters weren’t actually that strong.

It was a rift I could handle sufficiently on my own.

Karl insisted on coming along and asked me to rely on him more, so I ended up entering together with him.

Anyway, I was planning to quickly deal with it and leave, when Karl spoke up.

“Shall we check the Queen’s location with a magic detection item?”

“No, I know where the Queen is. See that oasis over there? It’ll be there. More precisely, under the water of that oasis.”

I told him that, tracing my memories from when I conquered this place before the regression. Karl’s eyes widened in surprise.

“You directly sensed the magic again this time, right?”

“Mm, that’s right. As you’ve probably heard from the Commander, my sense for detecting magic has become much keener lately. So I’ve become able to quickly see through the characteristics and locations of monsters, you could say?”

I lied vaguely like that again this time.

Fortunately, like everyone else, Karl believed my lie without any particular suspicion.

“That’s amazing, isn’t it? To find the monster’s location so quickly, you don’t even need magic detection items anymore, do you?”

“Yeah, we won’t need them. I’ll tell you all the monsters’ locations from now on. Anyway, let’s hurry and move. The sun is hot.”

“Yes! I’m glad I brought an umbrella. It won’t block all the sunlight, but still.”

Karl held the umbrella he had brought from outside the rift over my head like a parasol.

The scorching sunlight that had been beating down on my crown became a bit more bearable.

We trudged along like that, treading on the golden sand as we moved towards the location of the oasis.

I didn’t want to waste energy while moving if possible, but unfortunately, Karl was as talkative as Elma.

He didn’t stop talking by my side even as he moved his feet hurriedly.

“Doesn’t this remind you of the old days? When you and I first entered a rift together.”

“Ah, you mean when we entered that swamp rift? We couldn’t find the Queen’s location right away and walked for a long time.”

“Back then too, you and I walked and walked together…”

It was about a year ago when Karl and I first teamed up to tackle a rift together.

It was shortly after I had joined the Order of Knights.

I laughed lightly, recalling that time.

“You didn’t say a word to me back then. You were very wary of me.”

“Well, I respect Commander Martin. You had entered the Order through the Emperor’s influence, so at the time, I thought you might be harmful to the Commander.”

“Do you still think that way?”

At my question, Karl burst into laughter as if he’d heard an amusing joke.

“Of course not. If you hadn’t saved me in that swamp rift back then, I wouldn’t even be here now.”

I vividly remembered saving Karl back then too.

In that rift, Karl nearly died from a monster’s attack, but I, who was with him at the time, saved him.

Karl also seemed to be recalling that time as he murmured in a wistful voice.

“After that day, I completely fell for you, you know?”

“Why?”

“Because you were truly amazing. You instantly froze the ground with your ability, making the monsters unable to move. Then you slashed them mercilessly… It was like watching a dance. I really fell for you then.”

Karl’s eyes sank as if he were dreaming.

Was he recalling my appearance at that time?

Anyway, receiving the compliment made my cheeks flush with embarrassment.

“Is that so? But don’t use the phrase ‘fell for’ carelessly with women. It can be misunderstood.”

“Misunderstood…”

Maybe because of the dry desert wind, Karl’s voice replying to me was low and subdued.

To the point where I thought it sounded sorrowful.

But that was only for a moment; soon his voice was bright as usual.

“Anyway, I’ll never do the foolish thing of being wary of you again. Now you’re someone I respect as much as the Commander. That’s why I always rely on and depend on you… but you don’t do the same with me, and that’s the problem.”

“I’ll try. I’m still afraid of losing you all, but I’ll try to lean on you. If that’s the way to create a better future.”

Both outside the rift and after entering it, Karl had been consistently telling me to rely on him.

To me, who had tried to bear everything alone out of fear that relying on others would put them in danger too, he was offering a shoulder to lean on.

It was only natural that my hardened heart would loosen.

And that loosened heart created a small gap in my vigilance.

Rustle. Rustle.

“…!!”

When had it started? The unidentified rustling sound had come quite close to us.

If I had walked quietly with my hearing sharpened as usual, I would have noticed it right away, but I hadn’t because I was talking with Karl.

I only detected it when the sound had come right up to us.

“Karl. Don’t panic and stay still.”