Ch.7474. I’ll Believe You

Inside this completely enclosed building, Elin’s robe billowed violently as if caught in a gale. Rex carefully observed Elin. Her face remained shrouded in dim shadows, making it impossible to discern her expression.

Yet strangely, he could tell that Elin was extremely displeased at the moment.

“It’s a misunderstanding. With Chloe, nothing…”

He opened his mouth quickly to escape the situation, but unconsciously let his words trail off. He had intended to say they hadn’t done anything, but unfortunately, the memory of Chloe’s lips suddenly flashed through his mind.

Elin stared blankly at Rex before turning her head away. Chloe, who had been fidgeting with her fingers with a thoroughly reddened face, startled when her eyes met Elin’s and lowered her head. Seeing the vivid blush on Chloe’s cheeks, Elin’s brow furrowed.

The way she shyly glanced at Rex was unmistakably that of a girl in love.

“……”

People who didn’t know Elin well often considered her emotionless. She rarely spoke and was awkward with expressions.

‘This is difficult.’

But of course, though far removed from ordinary human desires, Elin did have emotions. She felt sad seeing a beautiful flower trampled underfoot. She enjoyed the gentle breeze when she closed her eyes. She would smile when eating sweet fruit.

However, the emotion she felt now was truly unfamiliar. Her chest ached, and an inexplicable irritation welled up inside her.

‘Why?’

Elin lowered her gaze. The robe she always wore came into view. She had been wearing it ever since leaving her homeland, the Great Forest of Albheim. This robe was magically treated to prevent others from seeing her true appearance.

For the past ten years, Elin had not shown her face to anyone. There was only one exception—Rex, sitting right there. The boy with sunshine-like golden hair and eyes like blue lakes.

Looking at him always created ripples across the previously calm surface of her heart. This had never happened before, so why now? It had started when she saw Rex suffering from nightmares in the tent.

Thinking about it, even for traveling companions, it was strange that she had readily agreed to share a tent with someone else. Normally, she would have refused outright, but at the time, she had gone along with it without much thought.

At first, she was merely curious. What circumstances could make this young boy suffer so much? That curiosity, born from such questions, grew stronger the more time they spent together, until it had infiltrated her daily life.

She was concerned about him.

She wanted to get closer to him.

She kept finding plausible excuses to keep him near.

Elin wasn’t particularly interested in appearances, but she knew that Chloe was objectively a very beautiful girl. In some ways, Elin was better than most at reading others’ psychology, and she had noticed that Chloe harbored romantic feelings for Rex.

That bothered her.

Elin still didn’t know what to call this emotion.

[I just want to see only me.]

Suddenly, Rex’s words from their time at the magic tower flashed through her mind. Along with the foolish expression on his face when he had stared blankly at her after she removed her robe.

“…Hmph.”

Elin’s floating robe gradually settled down.

“I’ll believe you.”

Chloe tilted her head in confusion. Had Elin just glanced at her with triumphant eyes, or was she imagining things?

“Thank you.”

“It’s fine.”

Rex breathed a sigh of relief. He didn’t understand why he needed to explain such a trivial matter, nor why he felt relieved that Elin had accepted it, but he felt as though he had overcome a major hurdle.

“Ahem. Well, considering Chloe’s matter settled, let’s move on to the main topic.”

Harald, who had been watching Elin cautiously, cleared his throat and changed the subject. He took a sip of his newly ordered beer and stared at Rex.

“Can you resume dungeon exploration now? I may be ignorant about noble politics, but I know that the Underhand Clan has connections with several nobles. There must be lingering consequences.”

Chloe had only explained her family situation without mentioning what happened afterward. Since Rex had secretly left the orphanage at dawn, Chloe was equally unaware of the specific circumstances.

Rex gathered his thoughts briefly before speaking.

“In the end, everything worked out well.”

Raimund, the head of the Lindenbach family, had shown him leniency, and as a result, the vassals involved with the Underhand Clan would soon either lose their heads or at least be stripped of power and expelled.

After his lengthy explanation, everyone nodded with relieved expressions.

“That’s fortunate.”

“Seems the lord has taken a liking to you. Well, being a merit knight’s disciple, he couldn’t just dismiss you. Hey, does this mean you’ll become a knight and rise to prominence in a few years?”

Corner snickered with a sly expression.

“That’s right.”

“Huh?”

As he had been about to discuss that very topic, Rex awkwardly scratched his cheek.

“Um… this might be hard to believe, but I’ve become a knight. To be precise, not right now, but I’m scheduled for an investiture ceremony three months from now.”

Everyone’s mouths fell open. Rex gave a bitter smile. It was the reaction he had expected. Honestly, even he still felt that becoming a knight seemed like a distant dream.

The commotion caused by his sudden announcement continued for some time. Harald was spilling beer from his mouth, and Corner, thoroughly excited, was spouting incoherent words. As Rex was answering awkwardly, Patrick offered him a wooden cup.

“Have a drink first. Congratulations.”

“Patrick.”

“That’s enough, everyone. Shouldn’t we congratulate him first?”

Eira calmed the men with a gentle smile. Rex bowed his head in gratitude. Just then, Chloe asked anxiously from beside him.

“Does this mean we can’t travel together anymore?”

Sensing her unease, Rex smiled and shook his head.

“No. It’s not the kind of appointment that binds me to a lord, so it’s fine. I’ve been appointed as a free knight. I can move as I please without being bound by obligations or responsibilities.”

“Reeally?”

Chloe tried to respond as nonchalantly as possible, but couldn’t stop the corners of her mouth from turning upward.

“That’s good.”

Elin extended her palm with an indifferent tone. There was a piece of dried fruit on it, which Rex took and put in his mouth, causing her to show signs of satisfaction.

“Anyway, can we assume you’ll rejoin the party like before?”

Harald asked while stroking his beard. Rex finished chewing the fruit piece and nodded.

“Yes. I apologize for being absent on my own for a while, but I plan to enter the dungeon again from now on. There’s a limit to just repeating training.”

“We were about to start exploration soon anyway, so that works out well.”

During the past three months, the party members had periodically explored the dungeon. For adventurers, dungeon exploration is directly linked to their livelihood. They couldn’t stop their expeditions just because Rex was training elsewhere.

There hadn’t been any particular problems. From the beginning, the group was a party composed entirely of high-ranking adventurers. They had been exploring dungeons extensively even before Rex came to Lindveil, and above all, with the help of Elin the mage, they could explore higher levels than before.

Yakoff and Conrad. The strange one-eyed creature. And the Minotaur that appeared—the crisis they experienced recently had given the party members quite a shock. They had prided themselves on being veterans, but the world was full of dangers that could treat them like mere insects. That shock eventually turned into a desire for improvement.

While Rex was aiming for the Radiance stage, the party members also worked hard to become stronger. Although they couldn’t receive blessings or become Holy Flames, they had managed to grow stronger than they were three months ago.

“We’ll go to the 10th floor.”

Harald looked around at everyone with a solemn face.

“Rex has returned, and we’ve developed enough skill to aim for the deeper levels. The Trial… is still beyond us. But our ultimate goal is to steadily build up achievements and earn qualification for the Trial.”

“Understood.”

“We depart in two days. Let’s meet in front of the temple.”

As Rex nodded, Harald let out a hearty laugh and raised his wooden cup.

“Now that the boring business talk is over, let’s all have a toast.”

***

The drinking party finally wound down as the sun was setting.

The group had long since returned to their respective homes, and Elin had also left earlier, saying she had matters to attend to at the magic tower.

Chloe, who had been gazing at the retreating figures, shifted her gaze slightly. Rex had stayed with her until the end. The reason why didn’t require much thought.

“Chloe—”

“Hey.”

Just as Rex was about to speak, Chloe reached out and covered his lips with her hand. Meeting his puzzled gaze, she spoke hesitantly.

“Yesterday, that… do you remember? D-don’t say anything! Just listen. That was my first time too, but no. That’s not what I mean.”

Chloe took a deep breath and continued.

“At that time, I was a bit… my mind was all over the place, and I did it without thinking. Of course, that doesn’t mean I dislike you, Rex! Anyway, what I want to say is…”

Rex stared at Chloe with wide eyes. The hand covering his lips fell away and caressed his cheek. Chloe hopped back a step and smiled brightly.

“It feels wrong to just let this pass without saying anything. I’ll say it again. Thank you, Rex. For saving me.”

“…Chloe.”

“Don’t worry about what happened yesterday. I was the one who pounced on you. My feelings haven’t changed, but… expressing them comes later. Yes. That should do.”

Chloe muttered to herself before turning around with a radiant smile.

“See you tomorrow!”

Before Rex could respond, Chloe waved her hand playfully and ran off.

‘Later, she says?’

Doesn’t that mean she’ll continue to like him?

Rex let out a small laugh and stood watching Chloe running energetically under the sunset, only moving his feet after her figure had completely disappeared from view.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve seen Kaordix.’

He hadn’t met him once during Gear’s training. Still, he should have accumulated enough achievements fighting the Underhand Clan, so it seemed about time to visit the mental realm.

With these thoughts, he returned to the inn.

But that night, Kaordix did not appear.