Ch.BONUSAfterword) The Case of the Knight Commander and Vice Commander

*Scritch-scratch.*

In the silent room, the only sound was that of a pen nib moving across paper.

A tower in Rondan, once the Princess’s fireplace and now operating as a knights’ building.

In the knight commander’s office in the basement of that tower, the vice commander was busily working the pen to process documents.

Beside the busy vice commander, the knight commander was staring into space, lost in thought.

“I said I would do it.”

“I’ve been handling things well while you were away, Commander. Handing it over to you now would be like dumping work on a superior.”

“…Wouldn’t that make me negligent in my duties?”

“The Empire is bathed in peace anyway. Rondan, being at the farthest frontier, doesn’t have much to do.”

The knight commander pouted as the vice commander spoke with the nuance of ‘Don’t trouble yourself unnecessarily, just rest.’

“By the way, when did they say the lord of Rondan would arrive? After all, with His Majesty absent, we need a noble to manage our territory.”

“They’re still focusing on rebuilding the capital, Lintpia, so we’ll have to wait quite a while longer.”

“…Hmm. That’s why you’re working so hard, yet you don’t seem particularly bothered?”

The knight commander approached with a playful smile, and the vice commander gave a brief laugh with an expression that seemed to say ‘there’s no stopping you.’

“I’ve lost count of how many times you’ve said that. It’s not about complaints—I’m just doing what needs to be done.”

“Well, I suppose that’s true.”

The relaxed knight commander approached from behind the vice commander, leaned against his back, and draped an arm over him.

This startled the vice commander who had been concentrating on work.

“C-Commander.”

“But I have many complaints. If the vice commander keeps working, I can’t see him properly.”

“…That’s—”

“Yes, since you’re doing all my work too, you deserve a reward. I am your superior, after all.”

The knight commander said this while pulling the vice commander’s face toward her own.

As if entranced, the vice commander stared at the knight commander with wide eyes.

The knight commander’s face slowly approached.

The vice commander sensed that indulging the knight commander’s whims here would lead to no end, but his reason wouldn’t listen.

The long period they had spent apart.

That void of time couldn’t be filled, even now that peace had been restored and he could remain by the knight commander’s side.

“Marenne.”

“Commander…”

The knight commander closed her eyes first, and just as the vice commander, who had been watching until the last moment, closed his eyes—

BANG!

“Vice Commander!”

A knight burst in, roughly opening the door.

The knight who had entered to deliver news noticed the knight commander and vice commander turning their heads away from each other while clearing their throats.

Though finding it strange, the knight knew that wasn’t important right now.

“Um…”

“Didn’t anyone teach you to knock before entering the commander’s office?!”

Startled by the vice commander’s flustered reprimand, the knight stood at attention.

“I-I’m sorry!”

“So what was the news you wanted to deliver?”

“You know how Senior Tanthyn went missing recently?”

“…You found him?”

“Yes!”

Since this was fairly good information despite interrupting their intimate moment, the vice commander relaxed his stern expression and sighed with relief.

After all, Raedan Tanthyn’s disappearance had been major news that stirred the entire Empire.

“Where was he found?”

“Well, according to rumors, he was in the station manager’s office.”

“…At Rondan Station?”

“Yes!”

The vice commander couldn’t understand why Tanthyn had been discovered there.

He wondered if Tanthyn had run off with the White Mask, but then thought that was unlikely given how Tanthyn was already surrounded by women.

…Considering there were gods among Tanthyn’s harem, the vice commander found himself silently praying for Tanthyn’s soul, thinking perhaps he had been caught while trying to escape.

“I understand.”

“Yes, I’m sorry!”

“Just don’t do it again. You may go now.”

At the vice commander’s words, the knight saluted and gently closed the door.

Once the vice commander realized the knight had completely left the tower, he couldn’t help but sigh.

This sort of thing happened often whenever something was about to happen between him and the knight commander.

He knew it himself.

Until the lord arrived, he needed to keep his wits about him.

Sad as it was, there was no time to dally with the knight commander.

But when the knight commander approached so seductively like today, the vice commander truly had no way to resist.

“You look unhappy. You seem lonely—shall we continue where we left off?”

The vice commander thought to himself that this person had no sense of atmosphere whatsoever.

Sighing, the vice commander rose from his seat and walked toward the door.

“Where are you going?”

“Isn’t it mealtime? Shall we go eat?”

“Hmph, I suppose we shall.”

Recognizing the vice commander’s actions as an attempt to escape the situation, the knight commander followed behind with a subtle smile.

The vice commander realized the knight commander had misunderstood, and he couldn’t help but sigh.

#

The vice commander and knight commander came to the restaurant.

Whether it was instinct remaining from when she had lost her memories, the knight commander was particularly fixated on meat dishes.

Given her physically demanding profession, eating a lot of meat wasn’t a problem, but the extent was concerning.

For example…

“Ex-excuse me? Are you sure you ordered six portions of steak…?”

“That’s correct.”

“Ah, yes! Understood!”

She ordered such large quantities of meat that the waiter was taken aback.

The vice commander put his palm to his face, feeling awkward.

He couldn’t help feeling embarrassed whenever waiters reacted like that.

“Vice Commander? Are you feeling unwell?”

“No. I was just thinking that you still eat well.”

“I do eat quite a bit.”

The vice commander was about to retort, ‘No, you barely ate half a bowl of rice,’ but he shook his head with a sigh.

Well, it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

It felt a bit strange when ordering, but when he saw her eating heartily, the vice commander couldn’t help but feel pleased.

It was much better to see her eating well than not eating enough.

“May I ask a question?”

“What is it?”

“I’m curious about the god inside you, Commander. Are you and the god one entity now, or are you still separate beings?”

After hearing the vice commander’s question, the knight commander quickly chewed and swallowed the meat in her mouth, then drank some water.

“Hmm. I’m not sure myself. I never imagined that the being that entered my body would still have its own personality. I only found out when I saw one parasitizing the War God.”

“I see…”

“But why do you ask?”

When the knight commander questioned with a puzzled expression, the vice commander flinched and shifted his gaze elsewhere.

“Well, you know. Couldn’t such things become problematic in the future? It was just a question born from needless worry.”

The knight commander went blank for a moment after hearing the vice commander’s words.

She was analyzing the vice commander’s intended meaning.

‘Needless worry? Even if it were a separate issue, it wouldn’t cause major problems in daily life. If anything, the only concern would be the anxiety that the god might emerge occasionally. But the vice commander knows better than anyone that such a thing won’t happen.’

Unaware of the knight commander’s deep contemplation, the vice commander continued eating.

Whether it would be unfortunate news for the vice commander or not, the knight commander finally realized what he meant.

The knight commander’s face reddened, her cheek muscles rising.

“Vice Commander.”

“What is it?”

“Don’t worry. My genes won’t be twisted.”

“Ah, that’s a relief… wait!”

The vice commander was about to respond without thinking but stopped mid-sentence as realization dawned.

But the key word had already been thrown out.

The knight commander rested her chin on her hand and gave the vice commander a pleased smile.

“To think you’re already having such thoughts. Vice Commander, you’ve become quite naughty.”

“T-This is…!”

“I know, I know. How could I not understand your feelings? It’s something to consider when thinking about the future.”

“You don’t understand at all!”

The knight commander smiled contentedly at the vice commander’s reaction.

Raedan Tanthyn.

The one who rescued her when she had lost her memories and restored the daily life she wanted back.

Without Tanthyn, the knight commander herself would have had to live eating only the Outer God’s cooking for the rest of her life.

Living as an empty shell, having forgotten everything precious to her.

She wouldn’t have known it then, but thinking about it now, it was a terribly dreadful thought.

‘Yes, I had to come back.’

If she hadn’t returned, it would mean she couldn’t have seen this dignified man flustered before her.

At that thought, the knight commander let out a chuckle.

‘I couldn’t miss something so precious.’

“Commander, are you listening to me?!”

“Of course I am.”

“You’re not reacting like someone who’s listening!”

“What was the topic again? Was it about how the vice commander turned out to be cuter than I had imagined?”

“Commander!”

“Haha.”

It was summer.