Dark Fantasy: Super Coward Mode

Haa

As soon as the deputy director’s dream ended, his spirit vanished from the realm of the unconscious.

Honestly, I wasn’t sure if it would even work, but thankfully, it seemed I could heal a bit of the deputy director’s heart.

This is the right situation.

As I thought that, Nutricha approached, twisting her lips as if she was displeased about having to do something embarrassing for me.

“…Well, it’s fine since the work ended well, but making me do something like this… What the heck?”

“…Why?”

Nutricha, who had been grumbling, looked at me with surprise and pointed at my face with her finger.

“Why, why are you crying like that?!”

“Sob…”

Ha, but…

I can’t help it.

Who would have imagined that Deputy Director, who seemed indifferent and rude, had such a backstory?

“Sigh… Nutricha, this is it, right? Isn’t it?”

“Uh, yeah. Since it’s done well, he should be okay. Aren’t you being a bit too emotional…?”

It wouldn’t be weird if I didn’t cry, but of course, there are people who can’t help it either!

I was struggling to hold back tears while persuading the deputy director the entire time.

“This, it’s all your fault!”

“What?! I just did what you told me to!”

“It’s because you’re too good at acting!”

“If I do what I’m told, it’s your problem!”

Still, you should act moderately well; I thought the knight commander from the deputy director’s dream was perfectly recreated!

Plus, bringing in the ‘God of War’ and the other knights just unnecessarily elevated the atmosphere.

I only asked to have the knight commander act!

“Anyway, it’s your fault! You take responsibility!”

“What? How do you want me to take responsibility? Should I just live with you?”

“…”

“Don’t get shy over there, you crazy person!”

It felt like everything was perfectly in sync for a good moment to hit the brakes.

Haha, it’s been a while since I had such a good back-and-forth since Agartha.

…A bit of a different story, but through this story, I understood why Muyun was so obsessed with becoming stronger.

I had told her this while on the way to deal with the gardener, but I hadn’t realized how tragic the Snow Mountain expedition disaster had been, so it had come off as a passing story.

If we say that the knight commander survived due to some otherworldly strength, then I couldn’t shake off the feeling that even the God of War might have survived somehow.

If he had strength almost equal to that of the knight commander, it would only make sense.

It wouldn’t be a bad idea to try looking into it later.

Who knows?

Maybe he’s being well-protected, captured by a nice outsider like the knight commander.

…Damn, this meddling of mine is a problem.

I keep piling up more to do.

“Tch, saving this guy just ate into my free time.”

“Thanks, Nutricha. I’ll bring something awesome next time.”

“Do you know how many times you’ve said that? How do you plan to deal with accumulating that karma?”

How should I deal with it?

If I let them taste the wonders of the world I lived in, poof, they might just disappear!

Even if they’re outsiders, they can’t be immune to the pinnacle of human science and creativity.

“Anyway, it’s time to wake up. Thank you for today.”

“Yeah, you too, Nutricha.”

With that last word, I drifted away from the unconscious realm.

#

The events that happened to the deputy director were likely not widely known among anyone but the branch manager, Alpha, Beta, and me, so it felt like there was no significant fallout.

Even when I stood up and focused my hearing, the peaceful atmosphere of the knight corps headquarters proved that nothing unusual was happening.

When I went to check on the deputy director, he had already gone out somewhere with the knight commander.

It seemed they wanted to spend some alone time together, lost in their own feelings.

Just witnessing the absence of the knight commander and deputy director made me feel strangely moved.

Now wasn’t the time to get sentimental.

I had things to do.

I had to reconnect with the elite outsider, follow the mystics to trace the record keeper, and… prepare for the interrogator’s presence as well.

As I was thinking about this, I accidentally bumped into something.

“Ugh!”

I fell back from the reaction and rubbed my back as I got up.

It was Alpha and Beta.

“…You.”

“What are you doing here?”

Could they still not know that the deputy director has woken up?

They were looking at me with curious expressions, tilting their heads.

I contemplated whether to share the whole story but didn’t want to show my feelings, so I simply shrugged.

“Just had some work to do.”

“Work at the knight corps?”

“Resting in the shelter isn’t called ‘work.'”

The unnecessary synchronization of our breaths made my head spin.

It wasn’t wrong.

I had just been taking a ‘nap’ until a moment ago.

But it still felt a bit unfair.

Not wanting to show it, I gave them a casual smile as I headed toward the main door, prompting them to head towards the deputy director’s office with puzzled expressions.

Seeing Alpha and Beta, I thought about leaving but paused and spoke again.

“Ah, right! The deputy director went out with the commander.”

“…!”

Did they just turn around at that? I could hear the sound of a puppet head turning.

There was no need for them to look back; I waved and headed for the door.

They could surely understand what I meant with what I just said.

“…The deputy director was right.”

“He’s indeed a great problem-solver.”

I couldn’t ignore the voices that echoed back.

My heart felt oddly warm.

#

On the quiet way home.

I had a lot to do ahead, but I felt comfortable knowing I had managed everything for now.

As soon as I returned to the branch, I reported my return to the branch manager, but for some reason, the way he looked at me was strange.

“Branch manager…?”

“…Now, I have no idea how I should treat you.”

What on earth was that supposed to mean?

Then the branch manager raised his finger and began counting one by one as he spoke.

“Quelling the hearth fracture incident, rescuing the knight commander, dealing with the dragon slayer, suppressing the cultists ahead of time, and now even solving the group nightmare incident. Any one of these events alone would be enough to promote you to a high-ranking official.”

Dammit.

I see, it looked like he was trying to worship me like the deputy director.

“And you didn’t even receive any compensation for handling each incident? Tanton, what on earth are you…?”

“I-I didn’t do much! I’m not sure about the nightmare incident, but the others were mostly others’ achievements…”

“No, you should stand a little taller. Even from a third-party view, your actions are just too incredible. Immediately propose to the deputy director that he has to reward you, if only forcibly…!”

“Ugh, no! Please stop! I’m going in now!”

“Tanton, wait!”

If I didn’t hurry in, he looked ready to come after me too, so I quickly dashed into my room, shut the door, and took a deep breath.

No, really, I hardly did anything!

People tend to exaggerate too much.

As I thought this while turning around…

I found someone I hadn’t seen for a few days lying on my bed, face buried in the pillow.

“…Asti?”

Upon calling her surprised name, Asti simply turned her head to look at me.

Her expression and atmosphere emanated an infinitely polite feeling.

“You’ve come, my master.”

And she casually greeted me as if her actions weren’t strange at all.

No, no matter how I think about it, it’s strange.

Why is she burying her face in my pillow when she has her own room?

If she said she fell asleep, that would be one thing, but those sparkling eyes definitely didn’t belong to someone who had just woken up.

“What… are you doing?”

“I was preserving your energy since it was about to run out completely.”

…She was even saying something embarrassing with a nonchalant gaze!

“What does that even mean…?”

Given that I hadn’t been able to pay much attention to Asti over the past few days, that was true.

Still, this behavior was just absurd.

Is this a new way to make me suffer?

If that was her intention, she seemed to have succeeded splendidly.

My head felt a bit dizzy.

Just as I thought it might be over and Asti began to get off the bed slowly…

“…?”

For some reason, she was still standing there, gazing up at me.

With a ziip, feeling.

“Ha, I get it.”

As I understood Asti’s request and slowly patted her head, she gave me a sparkling look.

She soon closed her eyes as if fully savoring the sensation of my hand.

Really, watching this made her no different from a cat.

“How about we go to the market together?”

“Yes.”

She responded blandly but seemed to be in a pretty good mood.

#

On the way to the market.

This time, I wanted to treat Asti to a meal, so I decided to stop by the restaurant together.

I asked Asti what she liked, but all I got was “What you like, master, is what I like,” so I just chose a decent meat place.

She’s probably in her growing phase, so eating meat would be good for her.

Thinking like that, I opened the shop door and walked in.

“Oh.”

“Whoa.”

For some reason, the knight commander was sitting at a table, looking quite cheerful.

Did she come straight here after leaving?

“I didn’t expect to bump into you here; it’s definitely a popular spot.”

As I thought, I soon saw the deputy director coming with a bottle of water.

I quickly saluted her, but she waved her hand as if to say it was unnecessary.

“I can’t have my savior giving me salutes today.”

“…That’s.”

“Since you woke up later than me, it was easy to deduce.”

Saying that, she knelt before me just like when she rescued the knight commander.

As I panicked and stammered, the knight commander chuckled, finding this funny.

“Thank you for awakening me to a fact I didn’t know, Tanton. If it weren’t for you, I would have undoubtedly ended up buried in the abyss, never to face any facts and ending an unfinished story with a period.”

“I-I knew nothing of it. Haha, did that happen?”

“…Your humility is something I should learn from as well.”

The deputy director said this, standing up and taking something from his pocket to hand to me.

“What’s this?”

“This is a reward. No one else can use it as well as you. Use it when things don’t go well, it will assist you. Take it.”

What the deputy director gave was a long stick-like object with a button on it.

Pressing it seems like it would activate something.

“I hope you don’t press that button just yet. For example, it would be good to use it when performing tasks outside of Rondan.”

What is it?

What, is it a self-defense weapon against outsiders?

I wanted to ask more, but the deputy director’s playful expression suggested he wouldn’t tell me, so I decided to let it go for now.

“Is the child next to you one you rescued from an illegal slave trader?”

“That’s right.”

“I see.”

The deputy director wore an unusually refreshing smile and pulled out two chairs.

“How about joining me? I’ll cover the meal.”

“Uh, about that…”

“Aren’t you here to eat anyway? Think of me as a passing uncle treating you, just eat comfortably.”

How can I treat the deputy director as a passing uncle?

If he’s affiliated with the knight corps, that would be almost impossible…

But it felt odd to skip out now, so I accepted it.

The knight commander seemed intrigued by the offer, nodding slightly.

“Oh.”

“I’ll also cover the commander’s share. Eat as much as you want.”

“Hehe, make sure to enjoy it.”

Nice.

Hmm…

Wondering if she might feel uncomfortable, I glanced at Asti, who seemed peaceful, her eyes closed, indicating she was okay.

I felt sorry for interrupting this precious moment, but on the other hand, I felt a warm happiness as I sat down.

Gently chatting about daily life while preparing to eat, my heart felt like it was already full.

It was a warm day.

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