The next morning, I came out of the commander’s tent and wandered around the campsite.

Moderate exercise was necessary for my body to recover.

As I was walking around, squad members who spotted me greeted me with delighted expressions.

“Vice Commander! Are you feeling better now?”

“We were so worried when we heard you were poisoned by a monster!”

“The Commander was so concerned, he spent all day nursing you!”

There was actually another purpose besides nursing for why the Commander stayed by my side all day.

Fortunately, everyone seemed unaware of that other purpose.

I replied to them with relief:

“Ah, it was tough. I was bedridden all day, unable to move due to the poison. If the Commander hadn’t nursed me, I’d probably still be lying down.”

Of course, I had no intention of ever revealing that nursing wasn’t the only thing I received from the Commander.

That was a precious secret only the two of us should keep.

As soon as I recalled that time, my face flushed with heat, so I was fanning my cheeks to cool them down.

“Vice Commander!”

Hearing a bright voice from behind, I immediately turned my head.

Elma was running towards me with tears welling up in her eyes.

“Elma!”

As I called out and opened my arms, Elma ran into them and hugged me tightly.

Elma squeezed me with her strong arms and then exclaimed her joy:

“I’m so glad you’ve recovered!!”

“I heard you were very worried about me. The Commander told me.”

“I was so worried about you, Vice Commander, that I couldn’t eat, train, or go to the rifts! Really, truly, please don’t get hurt again!”

“Haha, I won’t get hurt. And even if I do, there’s no need to worry too much. My lifeline is extremely tough, you know.”

I wondered if anything could actually kill me.

Surviving after drinking poison, surviving monster attacks, surviving being stabbed in the back…

Would it take about 20 consecutive lightning strikes to finally grant me rest?

While I was thinking this, Elma shook her head and responded:

“How can I not worry! I know the Vice Commander’s lifeline is tough, but you collapse so often! From now on, I’ll have to protect you by your side. This won’t do! Can I go with you when you go to clear rifts, Vice Commander?”

“Ah, about that…”

Feeling apologetic, I trailed off before forcing myself to speak again.

“Actually, I don’t think I’ll be able to go rift clearing for a while.”

“What? Why?!”

Not just Elma, but other squad members were also sending questioning gazes, seemingly curious.

After pondering how much to tell them, I cautiously revealed:

“I have somewhere else to go. With the Commander.”

This morning when I woke up, I confessed to the Commander.

That I had actually signed the contract item offered by Ernant in the past and ended up cursed.

Of course, I didn’t mention what I saw in Ernant’s lab that day, as the curse would activate immediately and kill me if I spoke of it.

Even so, the Commander believed my words and suggested a solution to me.

−”I know someone with the ability of curse-breaking. They’re an Awakened One known to be so skilled that there’s no curse they can’t break. We’ll go see them today.”

Afterwards, I was scolded for a while.

For not telling him about being cursed.

Not telling the Commander right away was something I regretted now too.

At the time, I was worried that the relationship between Ernant and the Commander would become even more hostile, and I thought I could somehow resolve it on my own, so I didn’t say anything.

But in the meantime, my heart had gone through many changes.

Rather than trying to resolve the situation alone, I wanted to rely on the Commander a little more.

That’s why I ended up asking him for help.

So I subtly informed the squad members that we would be going to find that Awakened One, and as expected, Elma expressed her concern.

“Going somewhere else with the Commander… You’re going to another dangerous place, aren’t you…?”

She seemed worried about me leaving for somewhere, so I pondered words to comfort Elma.

I couldn’t think of any grand or cool words.

Still, I could come up with something that might be fairly consoling.

“Don’t worry. If it looks like my lifeline might be cut, I’ll survive even if I have to turn back time. Since I’ve done it once, the second time should be easier.”

“Turn back time? Ahaha! Vice Commander, you sometimes say such random things out of nowhere.”

Elma burst out laughing, thinking it was a joke.

It wasn’t actually a joke, but that was fine.

As long as she was laughing, that was enough.

After comforting Elma like that, I returned to the Commander’s tent.

He was packing his belongings to leave with me.

Looking busy, he suddenly asked me:

“Are you ready to leave?”

“When have I ever been properly prepared before leaving? I just need to bring my sword and body, that’s all.”

“…You always forget to bring potions and end up borrowing mine, you know.”

“I’ll borrow yours this time too, then.”

“I’m not planning to lend them for free anymore.”

Saying that, the Commander flashed a lewd smile.

Not lending for free…

I also smiled lewdly as I replied:

“I wasn’t planning to just borrow them either. But I don’t have a single coin, so what should we do?”

“If you don’t have money, there’s no choice. I’ll have to take payment in another form.”

He said such suspicious words as he came closer.

Coming near, he then whispered even more secretively into my ear.

“What can you give me? You just said you’re only bringing your body and sword, but I don’t particularly need the sword.”

“Then I only have one thing to offer―”

“Commander! Are you inside? I have something to report!”

Just as we were exchanging something close to lewd talk, one of the squad members called out from outside the tent.

Startled, we hurriedly moved apart from each other.

If the squad member had entered the tent without calling from outside, they would have caught us close together.

Thinking we should be more careful next time, the now calmer Commander replied to the squad member outside:

“Something to report? What is it?”

“His Holiness the Pope has arrived here. He says he has something urgent to tell you.”

At the news that Frit had come, I felt glad.

I had been feeling bad about not being able to say goodbye properly before suddenly becoming distant from him, but now he had come to visit.

However, unlike me who was pleased by his visit, the Commander’s expression was hardening.

Feeling puzzled by his reaction, I still suggested to him:

“Let’s invite him in. His Holiness the Pope helped me a lot during my stay at the Grand Cathedral.”

“…”

“He’s a trustworthy person. Since he says he has something urgent to tell you, I think it would be good to see him right away.”

“…”

The Commander remained silent for a while, as if displeased by something.

Then he let out a long sigh and confessed:

“I don’t like that guy very much.”

“…? Why?”

“Why, you ask?”

He asked back with a hollow laugh, then spat out the answer to my question as if chewing on it:

“Because he hid you from me.”

Towards me who had stopped in momentary surprise, the Commander continued:

“He kept you with him but didn’t send me a single letter. It means he hid you from me.”

“He must have been cautious. He probably couldn’t carelessly reveal my whereabouts without properly understanding my situation. I actually wanted to hide for a while too. So out of concern for me―”

“If he was concerned about you, he should have told me all the more.”

The Commander cut off my words decisively and whispered with a smile close to a sneer:

“If he cared about you, he should have contacted someone who could properly protect you. Don’t you think?”

His chillingly low voice sounded pleasant, but separately, I couldn’t understand.

Why was the Commander showing such hostility towards Frit?

Was Frit hiding me such an unbearable thing for the Commander?

So I quietly thought about it.

If I were in the Commander’s position, how would I have felt if someone else had hidden the Commander without telling me?

“…”

Thinking about it that way, I finally seemed to understand.

How the Commander was feeling now, and what words I should say to him.

“Even if His Holiness the Pope hid me, I’m here now in the end.”

“…”

“By no one else’s side but yours.”

As I said that, the Commander’s expression finally softened.

At that moment, the squad member waiting outside asked again:

“Should I send him away?”

To that, the Commander looked at me once more, then replied to the squad member outside:

“No. I’ll meet him and hear what he has to say. Bring him here.”