I'm Not the Final Boss' Lover Volume 4 (novel), page 10
April nodded in return. “I’ve decided. If you accept me, I’ll serve the Dark Knights to the best of my ability.”
At last, I had brought April to the Dark Knights as well. It was such a hard-earned achievement that it made me remember the first playthrough. While in the second playthrough I could find talents anywhere because I belonged to the Dark Knights, I had gone through so much trouble to win them over the first time around. Mostly, I would have to do them a favor they wanted and make them trust the Fabian Corps while resolving their problems. It was somewhat helpful that, by dint of being the protagonist, Fabian frequently met people by fate. It would’ve been more difficult if there were no destined meetings in the first place.
Of course, it was now an irrelevant story to me. I spoke to April encouragingly, “You’ve made the right decision. Jeanne will also be able to adapt to the new life much more easily if you are beside her.”
Now able to move around, April slowly lifted her body. I quickly helped her. She slowly straightened herself and said, looking at me, “But… the person I will entrust my loyalty to is not the Dark Knight.” When I was bewildered at her sudden remark, she knelt before me.
Flustered, I tried to stop her, but she was firm.
“Jun,” she said, looking up at me. “You’re the only one who tried to save me and didn’t give up on me.”
Her calm voice quietly echoed in the empty lot. Not knowing what to do, I was still perplexed, but April didn’t back down as if she had made up her mind. “Jun, please give me a new name. You will be my new hero.”
“But!”
“I know I’m making it difficult for you, but I…” April stubbornly shook her head.
Swearing her loyalty to the Vice-captain in front of the captain served to directly ignore Mayer. If he took it the wrong way even slightly, she could be considered rebellious. He had already shown reluctance about April. As we would be working closely with her from now on, it would be troublesome if she fell into Mayer’s disfavor. I hastily studied Mayer’s expression.
He slowly opened his mouth. “Things like ‘captain’ and ‘Vice-captain’ are just titles.”
Mayer was more blasé toward this than I had expected. Was it because he had absolute confidence in himself or faith in me?
He looked at me as if April’s pledge was no threat to him at all, and just jerked his chin toward her. “You saved her, so it’s right for you to be in charge.”
“…Okay.” I nodded, and April finally relaxed.
The first thing I did after bringing April to the resting quarters was to secretly inquire about finding someone: an ordinary-looking woman of April’s age and physical build.
Not long after that, August brought a woman who met those conditions, a peasant who lived in a town at the edge of the capital. Once she arrived, I cast a transformation spell on April.
The peasant woman was startled by the never-before-seen magic. “I didn’t know something like this would be possible with magic!”
“You must keep this a secret at all times. If you blab about this, the Dark Knights won’t forgive you,” I warned her.
Startled, the woman’s face turned pale. “Oh god! Don’t worry about it. The money you gave me is more than compensation for such a petty favor. I know my place. I will do my best to live quietly, not going around so much and staying only in town.”
“Good.” I nodded in satisfaction.
Even if I didn’t warn her, Mayer would’ve made sure to seal her lips, but I had to show April that we were investing this much for her.
April touched her new face, still bewildered, and I was quick to assure her. “It’ll be a little difficult to get used to it, but please hold on. It’ll be troublesome if someone recognizes you.”
“I’m fine, but… Will your mana be okay? You can’t maintain the transformation magic forever.”
“This doesn’t affect me much,” I casually replied.
It was the truth. Thanks to how much I had leveled, this sort of magic wasn’t much of a burden. Others would have many things to consider while using magic, but it didn’t matter to me because I usually only needed to cast the magic.
April laughed awkwardly at first, thinking that I was joking, but her face soon turned pale upon realizing that I was serious. She looked at me as if I wasn’t a human. On the other hand, Mayer and August were calm.
“She’s the Vice-captain of the Dark Knights. She’s not to be judged using normal standards,” Mayer casually said.
“…Why are you flattering me, Captain?” I asked.
“I was admiring my discernment in choosing you.”
I shook my head at Mayer’s joke. April looked at Mayer and me with vacant eyes.
Glancing at her, I chuckled. “What is it? Didn’t you expect that the captain and the Vice-captain of the Dark Knights would banter with each other?”
“I’m not joking,” Mayer said.
“…To be honest, yes. Your team has a much more flexible environment than I thought,” April agreed with a nod. She was still dazed-looking, so I laughed quietly and went close to her.
“We have are and aren’t like other corps. You’ll have to get used to them from now on… April Pious is dead. You are now Anasta. Yes, you’re going to be Anasta.”
I put my hand on her shoulder. And just like that, Fabian lost his left hand, and the Dark Knights gained a new talent.
“Yet, that was truly stupid of him. Killing and getting rid of his former main healer. He should’ve at least considered trying to talk her around and…” Mayer clicked his tongue.
Now that we were alone after sending April and August out, he seemed quite relaxed. Sitting across from him, I took a sip of the tea he had brewed for me. Was it because he had always done it that his serving me tea had become so habitual?
Staring at the smooth surface of my drink, I remembered Fabian. Would he be filled with pride thinking that he had screwed us, or would he be filled with self-pity?
“He couldn’t have spared a thought to the future, I think. He must’ve been extremely anxious that April might follow Jeanne and also join the Dark Knights,” I replied.
A cornered person would make a stupid choice. Though Fabian was an able enough leader during the high stakes of a dungeon raid, it seemed he was terrible at political matters. I hadn’t seen this side of him in the first playthrough. ‘Decca and April used to help him a lot when it came to dealing with people… Besides, I also secretly fed him information. He’s probably used to having the upper hand. He doesn’t know how to handle being outmaneuvered.’
I thought that the empire was unlikely to last long if Fabian became the emperor after killing the demon lord. ‘If that's not the case, then... I might have ruined the environment for Fabian to mature.’ He was originally meant to grow while going through hardships, doing his best to understand other people, and bowing and scraping to them.
In that respect, the information I gave him could have made things far too easy. However, Fabian wasn’t a child. He was already an adult by the time we met. There was a saying: if you want to know one’s true nature, give them power. That he had turned out this way after I had helped, not hindered, him was revealing of his true nature.
Pondering about it after listening to my thoughts, Mayer quietly said, “I sometimes think that way.”
“Think what?”
“That your existence is what makes me different from Fabian.”
“You’re kidding.”
“I’m serious. If you didn't choose me, I could’ve turned out that way. I could have been so stubborn, engrossed with only the thought of killing the demon lord…”
Why was he being ridiculously sentimental? Sometimes, he could be so sensitive and have ridiculous thoughts like these once in a while.
I grumbled, “Even now, you only think about killing the demon lord.”
I thought Mayer would just awkwardly agree with my scolding and laugh it off, but he just silently stared at me, seemingly wanting to say something that he couldn’t dare to.
‘What’s wrong? He usually doesn’t react even if I am much ruder, but did I just offend him?’ He was indeed hard to understand. I had an extra sensitive and picky man as my boss. If I told this to someone who didn’t know Mayer, he would clearly tell me to quit my job immediately.
Sighing inwardly, I carefully changed the subject. “Anyway, don’t have such weird thoughts. You kept Tragula alive even though you knew he would betray you, but Fabian killed April just because he thought she might. You are completely different.”
Mayer didn’t respond.
“Fabian dug his own grave… Things are only going to go downhill for him now, so don’t think about him too much,” I said before knocking back the rest of my tea. It was a habit of mine that involuntarily slipped out, which was more appropriate for drinking alcohol than tea.
Mayer replied with a sigh, “…My heart feels much lighter now that you say so.”
‘Sir, you still look uncomfortable…’ But it felt unnecessary to stubbornly ask the reason for his discomfort. Well, he said he felt comfortable now.
I had said what I had about Fabian partially to relieve Mayer’s worry, but it was also because I thought I could predict what was going to happen next. ‘Since April’s no longer there, things that Fabian can’t take care of are going to surface one by one. Moreover, Decca is keen… No matter how well Fabian explained away what happened to April this time, he will have noticed that something’s fishy already.’
“…Come to think of it, Fabian, do you know which corps that you had trouble with?” Decca asked.
“…Why are you asking so suddenly?” Fabian said.
“It wouldn’t hurt to know. If they talk badly of us later…”
“That’s never going to happen. Don’t waste your time worrying about it, Decca.”
Decca was quiet.
‘And also Aegis… According to what I remember about her, she’s not very strong-willed despite her appearance. Can Fabian look after her well without April? Wait, does he even take care of his team members at all?’
“Fabian, I have something to say. This is important.” Aegis said.
“…What is it?” Fabian replied.
“I’ve been thinking about it, but I… want to quit the corps.”
“What?”
“I realized that I still don’t have enough experience as a tank… Jeanne got hurt because I let the enemy get past me. She could’ve been killed if things had gone wrong.”
“Wait, Aegis. That was inevitable. You did your best and—”
“I did, but she was hurt. All the attackers did their best, but I… It’s my fault. Jeanne is still a child. I should’ve protected her, at least.”
“Aegis, Jeanne was also a member of our team. We pledged several times that we wouldn’t treat her as a kid when she first followed us.”
“I’m sorry, Fabian. I can’t be as cool-headed as you are. I might be powerful but…. I don’t think I have what it takes to be in an expedition corps.”
“Aegis, Aegis!”
However, it was only my assumption that Fabian would have problems with Decca or Aegis. Fabian could overcome this crisis better than I expected. If he would resolve himself, he could recover from April and Jeanne’s departure and rebound.
Yet, seeing his twisted heart at the point that he attempted to kill April, I could see that his fall was already set and only a matter of time. We would see how poorly the Fabian Corps had fared at the next year’s performance report meeting. Meanwhile, I should focus on empowering the Dark Knights.
I had already grown so attached to them and their big captain, who was like an unpredictable beast. I didn’t want to experience the people close to me dying again. Besides, now was the second playthrough, the last chance. I would feel much more at ease to train them even more harshly so that they would never die. It was also for my own peace of mind.
Thinking about the list of the dungeons that we’d be going to, I laughed quietly. Now that all our business in the imperial palace was over, it was time to leave the capital.
ACT 15: UNABLE TO SPIT OR SWALLOW
We decided to leave the capital as soon as possible for April. Even though all the Dark Knights wondered about the healer who had suddenly appeared, they understood and let it go when I told them that she was a talent I had found when I went to the cathedral with August.
“April… No, Anasta’s hometown could’ve been suspicious, so you backing up her identity was a big help, Reverend August. Thank you,” I said.
“...Do you truly think it’s all because of me?” August asked.
“…Of course?”
As I thanked him, August frowned and scowled at me with strange eyes. Then, he shook his head as if he would rather not waste his breath.
‘What’s the matter with him when I gave him a compliment?’ I shrugged and left to deal with other business. As there was much to do as Vice-captain, I was all over the place.
Tragula had decided to remain in the palace when everyone left the capital to speak to Countess Nerus. Would Countess Nerus agree to exchange the Golden Falcon with Fulgor’s Amber?
“I truly hope that you’ll have the outcome you want,” I said.
“…As do I.” Tragula awkwardly smiled. He ran his fingers uneasily over the Golden Falcon, his face gloomy and full of doubt. I wondered if he was scared of the conversation with Countess Nerus or if he wasn't sure of the choice he had made. I thought that it might be both.
The moment I reached out to him to lightly pat his shoulder to encourage him, Mayer called me from afar. “Jun! Can you come here for a second?”
‘What timing.’
“…Then I wish you luck.” I bid Tragula a brief farewell and took my hand back as Mayer continuously called me. Wondering what was the urgency, I rushed to Mayer. “Why did you call me?”
“Can you hold these for a moment?” he asked, handing me his horse’s reins. Given how well-trained it was, Mayer’s horse would remain still even without someone holding its reins. There was no reason for me to run all the way over here to hold them.
I looked at Mayer with narrowed eyes. “You called me on purpose, didn’t you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he replied.
“Do you hate that I was speaking with Tragula so much?”
“I do!” He had pretended that he wasn’t, but his true intention came out not even 30 seconds later.
Mayer looked at me shamelessly, but if he thought he could use his good looks to have me let this slide, he was wrong.
I plainly expressed my dumbfoundedness. “It’s just a farewell.”
“You’ve never asked me how I am doing even once, and you say a farewell to him?” Mayer replied.
“Oh, when did I… Are you talking about the time when I was busy leveling up the special unit and closing dungeons by any chance?”
He just scoffed as if he couldn't believe I couldn't remember that. I clicked my tongue at his attitude, muttering to myself, "Why is my captain sulking again?"
I knew I had to comfort him so I could clear up this grudge he seemed to have. I went up to my bratty captain and poked his arm that was thicker around than my thigh. "Were you upset because I didn't ask how you were doing back then?"
“…I don’t get upset with you.”
“You look like you’re upset with me.”
“I’m not.” Mayer knitted his brows and shook his head.
“Are you sure?” I asked, watching as his high and mighty attitude began to shrivel up under my repeated questioning.
“…If I looked like I was angry, that’s a misunderstanding. It’s not that I was upset with you but—”
“Hmmm. Well, then. Okay. Let’s say you’re right.”
“It’s not that you have to ‘say’ I’m right. I’m really not upset,” he grumbled, seemingly confused that he was the one having to explain himself now.
He had probably thought he had the upper hand at the start of all this, but I couldn’t help but giggle at the sight of him clinging to me now that the tables had turned. However, as I reveled in him groveling before me, I belatedly noticed the unhappy eyes of other members of the Dark Knights.
Thinking for a moment, I realized that, as captain and Vice-captain, this situation didn’t set a good example for the rest of the team. I awkwardly laughed and pushed him away. “I understand, so why don’t you stop now?”
“Do you really understand? If you felt that I was angry at you—”
“I said I understand.” I tried to shut him up as I felt a little embarrassed. Yet, Mayer Knox wasn’t someone who cared about people watching him. He clung to me to hear me say that he was never upset with me. Only after struggling to get him off of me for a long while could I barely manage to get on my horse.
‘Jeez, I can’t blame anyone since I’m the one who caused this situation… Why did I act that way when I knew Mayer’s personality?’ In fact, I knew the answer to this question. Honestly, I liked it when he tried so hard to appease me. Since I had fanned the flames for my own amusement, I had nothing to say to defend myself.
While I was chewing over my mistakes, Axion sneakily rode his horse toward me and added fuel to the fire.
“So now that the performance report meeting is over, am I being abandoned after being used as your fake lover?” he asked.
“You’re being ridiculous,” I replied.
“Ehem. You can tell me honestly. So, I was for camouflage, right? A cloud of smoke to hide your relationship with the captain… I completely understand.”
“No, that’s not it!”
“I was just being used,” Axion said tearfully, hiding his head in his arm as he shook with pretend sobs.
I glared at Axion and said, “You’re having a blast, aren’t you?”
“You noticed?”
Noticed? He wasn’t even trying to hide it in the first place! When he lifted his face, there was a saucy grin on his face. He had been looking for a chance to get back at me since I had said we were even regarding the dungeon raiding promise after we had gone to the Minor Forest together. He was clearly getting back at me by teasing me like this. Axion continued to poke fun at me like a pesky mosquito. It was quite a talent to move around so frantically while riding a horse.
