‘No, really, why does he keep doing that?’

I puffed up my cheeks and glared at the back of the man’s head standing in front of me.

At Bowser’s mansion, all four knight orders had gathered, and now on the high platform, the captains of the knight orders were standing and conversing.

Among them, the one I was glaring at was, of course, Cedar.

A handsome face as if smoothly carved from a yew tree, a deep navy uniform befitting the name of the Azure Dragon Knight Order.

As usual, he looked more solemn with his black hair neatly swept back without disheveling.

But that handsomeness didn’t catch my eye. I pouted my lips and grumbled inwardly.

‘Really. He should either look properly or not at all. Why does he keep looking and then avoiding eye contact when we meet? It makes me feel like I’ve committed some crime. What’s wrong with hugging Grisha, who’s like a little brother, in reunion? Grisha doesn’t seem to mind at all.’

Stop brushing people off and leaving! Say what you need to say fair and square!

As I was thinking that, a knight standing beside me smiled and spoke to me friendly.

“Magician, are you very bored?”

“Huh? Not really.”

“You’ve been staring intently at the captain’s back for a while now. I thought you were eager to go inside.”

“Haha…”

Was I putting so much force into my eyes that even those beside me noticed? I scratched my cheek awkwardly.

‘I thought they wouldn’t notice since I’m wearing a hood.’

No, then that sensitive man must have surely noticed my gaze too!

‘So he’s been ignoring me while knowing all along!?’

I became even more displeased.

I glared at Cedar again with renewed intensity. Then another knight besides the one who spoke to me said,

“You’re staring because the captain is so handsome. Don’t you know that?”

“…”

No, that’s not it either. I covered my flushed cheeks with both hands and lowered my head. It was true that Cedar looked handsome.

‘This, this isn’t my fault either. They say men look four times more handsome in uniform anyway.’

Why does that man have to be a knight captain too? While making unreasonable complaints, I turned my body away completely.

Otherwise, I felt like I would keep looking at Cedar even without meaning to.

The knights chuckled, seemingly having some thoughts as they watched me turn away. The knight who first spoke to me pointed to the right and whispered.

“The White Tiger Knight Order is very curious about you, Magician. They keep glancing over even now.”

I had only been glaring at Cedar, not knowing someone was looking at me. Startled, I hunched my shoulders.

“What? At me? Why?”

“Among the four knight orders, only the White Tiger Knight Order has an official magician member, not a dispatch. They seem to have become wary now that we, who they usually ignore, have brought two magicians this time.”

“I, I see.”

When I glanced over slightly, I saw an older gentleman holding a staff looking in my direction.

I was startled and pulled my hood down, biting my lip. From my position of wanting to maintain a dormant state until inheriting the estate, it was unwelcome attention.

Unlike the White Tiger Knight Order scrutinizing this side, the Azure Dragon Knight Order members somehow looked triumphant.

As if boasting, ‘We have a magician too!’ I tilted my head.

‘Is that kind of power struggle important? We have Cedar Granite anyway.’

In the end, the military power of a knight order is determined not by magicians, but by its members.

And no one here possessed as intense magical power as Cedar.

Breaking my resolution to never look at Cedar again, I turned around.

All four standing on the platform had powerful magical energy, but Cedar was the only one who made even the surroundings look distorted.

‘I heard all four knight order captains are Sword Masters. But even among Sword Masters, not everyone has the same power.’

That’s obvious if you think about it. Not all magicians can use the same level of magic either.

‘Not everything that shines is a star.’

Cedar standing straight didn’t speak as much as the other captains, but just his presence was enough to exude an aura.

Like the sun shining on its own.

‘This is somehow making me proud.’

Before I knew it, I too was feeling smug like the other Azure Dragon Knight Order members.

As the White Tiger Knight Order captain, who was the eldest, finished his speech, the knights pulled me along.

“Let’s go to our area now. The tents should be set up.”

Since not everyone could stay in Bowser’s mansion, the four knight orders each set up tents in designated areas.

As they had all been on subjugation expeditions before, everything proceeded smoothly.

Among them was a small one-person tent that was my lodging.

The knight who set up my tent bowed his head politely and asked for understanding.

“We’ve never had a woman in our knight order before. Please be understanding if there are any inadequacies.”

Somehow, their attitude towards me seems to be getting more polite as time passes, rather than when I first joined the knight order.

It was excessive treatment for me, who had lived as a slave to professors at the academy. I waved my hands in refusal.

“Oh, don’t worry about it. Just think of me as someone who’s not here.”

“We can’t do that. Please let us know if there’s anything uncomfortable.”

The refusals and requests went back and forth like ping pong. It was Grisha who cut off that meaningless conversation.

“I’ll take care of her, so you don’t need to worry too much.”

“Grisha.”

Grisha, who had left saying he had some issues to deal with, was suddenly behind me.

Grisha smiled gently and pushed my back.

“Let’s go in for now. Just being a female magician attracts a lot of attention. That would be troublesome, right?”

“Yeah.”

With only a few weeks left until the inheritance, there was no reason to be careless at the end. I entered the tent.

The tent was a bit stuffy since the wind didn’t pass through, but it was cozy and clean.

I could feel how much they tried to accommodate me from the thin makeshift bed filled with straw to make it soft, though I didn’t know when they made it.

I plopped down on the bed and shrugged.

“With so many people here, demonic beasts will appear? That’s strange too.”

“They probably won’t appear normally, but they become extremely sensitive during breeding season. It’s the same for animals, right?”

“Is that so? I’ve never even kept pets, actually.”

If I don’t even know much about animals, would I be able to observe demonic beasts well? That part worried me belatedly.

‘I did look up as many books as I could. I should review what I know again.’

Did I pack paper and pen in my bag properly? Did the magic stones arrive safely?

As I was organizing various things, a knight slightly parted the tent and poked his head in. His purpose was not me, but Grisha.

“Um, Magician. Could you perhaps look at my magic circuit too?”

Grisha turned to me as if it was natural when asked. I waved my hand lightly.

“Go ahead.”

“You have to stay inside the tent.”

“Don’t worry.”

Grisha hesitated as if leaving behind a child. I smiled brightly to reassure him.

Although hesitant, Grisha followed the knight out. Through the briefly parted tent flap, I could see knights lined up.

It will take quite a while for him to return if he’s going to examine all those people.

‘I said not to worry, but I can’t just stay inside!’

I sprang up from my seat too. Then I pulled the hood I had loosened over my head and went outside.

I caught a familiar-faced passing knight and asked about the destination.

“Excuse me, where is Cedar’s tent?”

My target was Cedar Granite! Because it was unbearably annoying how he kept avoiding my gaze all day, I was determined to catch him and ask why.

I was prepared to wander around if the knight didn’t tell me, but unexpectedly, he gave me a bright smile and immediately told me where Cedar’s tent was.

“Ah! The captain uses the tent with the flag over there.”

“Thank you.”

If it were a battle against humans, they would never set up the captain’s tent in a way that exposed his position, but perhaps because the opponent was demonic beasts, they were openly displaying which tent was the captain’s.

Even I, with a poor sense of direction, wouldn’t get lost if I just followed the tall Azure Dragon Knight Order flag.

Leisurely greeting the knights I encountered, I opened the flap of Cedar’s tent and entered.

The tent, slightly larger than the one I was using, was empty.

‘He’s not here. Well, he probably has various things to discuss before setting out.’

A makeshift bed was installed right up against the partition used for changing clothes.

I plopped down on it. Naturally, the image of Cedar I had seen from below earlier came to mind.

‘So does he fight in that uniform? It looks cool, but it seems very uncomfortable.

Of course, that level of discomfort would be nothing to a Sword Master. But isn’t it dangerous when facing demonic beasts?’

Still, Cedar in uniform was nice. How did they make it fit so perfectly, with his chest bulging as if about to burst…

“Hey.”

That was the moment. A voice that shouldn’t be heard sounded from behind me.

I turned towards the voice in surprise. Cedar walked out from behind the partition behind the bed I was sitting on.

“Hand over the clothes this way…”

“Gasp.”

But what in the world is this! He was naked!

‘Ah, he was changing clothes!’

Right, he can’t fight in that uniform. But still!

‘There’s no need to come out without a single thread on!’

I looked at Cedar’s face with wide eyes, then slowly lowered my gaze.

It wasn’t that I was trying to do anything, it was instinct.

And I ended up seeing the body that was inevitably different between a man and a woman. So.

“…Dragon.”

“What?”

“Is it a dragon?”

Cedar, who came to his senses a beat later than me, flushed bright red and yelled.

“Don’t say weird things and close your eyes quickly!”