It was at that moment, while trying to quickly cast a teleportation spell while the opponent had his eyes closed. A small, white hand slipped between Matapju and the man.

“Hmm?”

It was a woman wrapped tightly in robes and a hood around her body.

As her magic casting was interrupted, Matapju’s gaze toward the woman naturally chilled.

“That side is not the person I’m looking for.”

“……. ”

The woman hesitated for a moment, then blatantly blocked Matapju’s way. Matapju chuckled quietly at her bold posture, hiding the man behind her.

The owner who cared about the slave to a dreadful extent was right.

Matapju squinted his eyes and carefully examined the woman from top to bottom.

If the man was Leodelt Gwendhil, what about the woman in front of him? A scammer? Or an enemy?
What was certain was that Matapju was the person Leodelt Gwendhil needed the most at the moment. Matapju, with his characteristic arrogant expression, was about to reprimand the woman’s attitude when she unexpectedly raised her voice.

“You, you’re too much!”

“……!”

The voice was so distorted that it was difficult to distinguish the gender. Matapju was taken aback by the bizarre voice he had never heard in his life.

“Why are you coming here and blaming Ren? What did Ren do wrong?”

“Ren?”

It was the first time Matapju had heard that name.

Before he could ask who that was, the woman expressed her grievance.

“And, who did Ren harass? Even if Ren looks scary and talks a little rough, he’s not the type to bother anyone.”

“No….”

In response to the small and gentle woman’s harsh protest, Matapju couldn’t even open his mouth and hesitated.

Momentarily confused, Matapju glanced behind her, silently pleading for assistance.

However, looking at the man smiling contentedly behind the woman, Matapju was momentarily speechless.

‘…Is he smiling?’

The man hidden behind the woman, who was laughing continuously, was really the Duke of the Empire? Moreover, his face was delighted, not mocking the opponent.

Matapju thought something was strange, but suddenly, he felt that he himself looked completely unimposing now. Thinking that the other person might be impolite due to his lack of dignity, Matapju adjusted his expression.

Matapju cleared his throat.

“I’m not blaming him, I’m Matap…”

“Yes. Ren is the one being harassed by those Matap-affiliated magicians.”

“Harassed, what happened? By who? Is it him? No, to whom? Matap, to our people? Harassment?”

Matapju opened his mouth slightly with an expression of confusion that he had never shown in his life. He wondered if he had heard correctly and even checked his ears.

When Matapju seemed perplexed, a ridiculous small snorting sound came from inside the hood as if to express disbelief.

“Why are you accusing Ren here? Even though Ren is bothered by the fact that he continues to cling to him, saying things like a slave or an accident in front of people, that’s beyond rudeness, it’s harassment.”

“…….”

“Ren just briefly stood there after making a contract with the official magician of the Crople Mercenary Corps. That’s right, Ren?”

“Yes.”

The man nodded casually.

Matapju, with eyes witnessing the bizarre scene, looked at the two.

‘Should I speak louder? Except for the Emperor, shouldn’t the Duke, a high-ranking noble, speak louder to anyone?’

Matapju couldn’t hide his confusion now. It was beyond confusion, it was chaos.

“So, are you…”

“Miss, what is your relationship with that person?”

It couldn’t be helped but to ask. Who on earth was speaking so boldly?

The subtle gaze of Matapju was closer to pure curiosity than mockery.

“Ren is my, my assistant. And I am .”

“Your master whom I serve.”

“…….”

The man subtly took the woman’s hand. Due to the blindfold, his lips, which had risen unusually smoothly, twitched.

Matapju kept his thoughts to himself.

‘Does a war hero really see someone in that way? Is that how he treats someone so cautiously?’
Matapju pondered.

‘Would a war hero see someone like that? Being so cautious?’

As the initially boiling thoughts rapidly cooled down, the reasoning became calm.

Matapju took out the scroll again and carefully examined the man and the person in the portrait.

They looked incredibly alike, but upon closer comparison, they were merely similar.

‘I don’t feel the unique aura of a Sword Master.’

Although distinctive, it was nothing more than extraordinary.

With a sharp demeanor, he might be a fierce beast at best, but there was no imperial sword-like aura of Newton Empire’s royalty.

‘But they look so alike.’

Matapju wanted to ask right away if he knew the name ‘Leodelt Gwendhil.’ He wanted to ask directly, pointing to the portrait of Duke Gwendhil and asking if they were the same person.

However, Matapju only bit his lips and covered his mouth with his sleeves.

‘Is it because of the taboo magic?’

If so, it was understandable to be cautious about wizards.

Not only was it not an easy matter to bring up, but the possibility of hiding power also needed to be considered.

In fact, this village was owned by Darrhan Brydend, the leader of the noble faction, as a hidden village. Matapju didn’t know if Duke Gwendhil was preparing a counterattack, turning the crisis into an opportunity.

‘Let’s observe for now.’

Matapju suppressed the urge to take the man to Matap immediately and confirm the whole story.

‘If he is really Duke Gwendhil, there’s no way he won’t recognize me. So, for now, it’s better not to reveal myself.’

With minor misunderstandings, Matapju postponed the impulse to take action against the man.

And observing Matapju’s agitated decision in real-time, Sharti, who was watching, swallowed dryly.

‘This person seems like Matapju…?’

Sharti glanced at the scroll Matapju was holding.

At first, she thought he was a high-level magician who had come to inquire about what had happened during the day on behalf of Matap. However, Matapju’s first impression, relayed by the villagers, was the same, and above all, the relaxed and arrogant atmosphere was unique.

‘The thing in his hand is undoubtedly a wanted poster.’

However, Sharti’s attention was more focused on the scroll he took out as soon as he saw Ren than on the unexpected appearance of Matapju.

Matapju’s eyes, alternating between Ren and the scroll, seemed to match and not match, making Sharti uneasy.

‘He must have come to find him.’

Thinking that way, the suspicious actions of Matapju, who seemed to be trying to use magic as soon as he saw Ren, were explained.

With a big misunderstanding, Sharti firmly grasped Ren’s hand. And Ren, who had been quietly closing his eyes behind Sharti, instinctively realized.

‘Someone who knows me.’

Only Ren seemed to approach the truth.