Chapter 13
While I was asleep, Elline worked so diligently that it went beyond my imagination.
She was worried that if she reported it to the Team Leader, the news would reach the Crown Prince first.
So instead, she went through the trouble of submitting the documents directly to the royal palace.
Maybe it was because she was the heroine.
Her ability to take action was incredible.
Mine, on the other hand, was taking years off my lifespan.
“Did I do well?”
“…”
“Rosé, you always said this, didn’t you? There are moments that, if you don’t seize them now, will never come back.”
I think it’s a great tragedy that everyone finds romance in different things.
Sometimes…
Strong determination and great ambitions don’t put food on the table.
Instead, they throw us into danger.
But Elline didn’t seem to know that at all.
‘The water has already been spilled.’
At that moment, Elline confidently said,
“I think you’re changing me. It’s all thanks to you, Rosé.”
“That sounds like a pretty dangerous thing to say.”
The report delivered to the King overnight immediately became a classified royal document.
They decided it was worth investigating.
The next day…
Inside the tightly locked Security Department…
The secret field mission was officially approved.
Reports sent to the royal family were always anonymous.
The team members had no idea who had suggested this insane plan.
They quietly looked over the work schedules they had each been given.
I honestly wanted to cry.
The defensive magic in the three territories still wasn’t completely repaired.
It was still hanging over my head.
I thought I could finally go home after finishing all of that.
But now they suddenly wanted us to go on a field mission.
And not just any mission.
An exploration mission.
This was exactly why a righteous heroine was so hard to deal with.
Wasn’t the Security Department supposed to protect security?
Shouldn’t we just stay where we belonged and quietly protect our homes?
A task that could have been handed over to the Exploration Department somehow became the Security Department’s responsibility.
Our workload immediately swelled like a balloon.
“Alright, everyone. It’ll probably be a two-day, one-night business trip. Is anyone willing to volunteer?”
The Team Leader clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention.
But he spoke so quietly.
It almost sounded like he didn’t want to go himself.
I wasn’t expecting anything anyway.
His wind magic was far too weak to fight the monsters of the Demon Realm.
If he let his guard down for even a moment…
He would be eaten alive.
‘It’s unfortunate, but…’
I held back the familiar urge and only nodded.
Even so…
The Team Leader was still an important character.
I couldn’t deal with him myself before his time.
Surprisingly…
Even the Team Leader, who spent every day doing nothing but loafing around, had his own role.
He was a flattering opportunist who desperately tried to get close to the Crown Prince.
Whenever he got bored, he secretly made Elline’s life difficult.
You could call him the office version of Rosé Stein.
Being compared to him annoyed me.
But it wasn’t exactly wrong.
Romance stories always needed conflict, crises, and climaxes to strengthen love.
That’s why people like me existed.
And people like that useless Team Leader too.
Just then…
Elline’s eyes lit up, and she quickly raised her hand.
“I would like to go, Team Leader.”
“Ahem. Miss Elline, I can’t approve your field assignment. Miss Rosé, however…”
I laughed awkwardly.
Why was he suddenly calling my name?
Was he crazy?
After the last monster attack…
I wanted nothing to do with monster hordes.
I’m not going.
Absolutely not.
A bad feeling washed over me, and I hurriedly shook my head.
“I’m already busy enough. I don’t think I can handle a business trip too.”
“Really? The reward is one week of paid leave.”
“…In that case, I’ll go. Challenging my limits has always been my favorite hobby.”
Ah.
I couldn’t resist a week’s paid vacation.
Even as I willingly walked into a pit full of monsters…
I forced a smile onto my face.
Smile.
The one who smiles wins.
When it looked like I would once again be taking the field assignment instead of Elline…
She hurriedly spoke up.
“I’ll go with Rosé!”
“No. I’ll go with Sir Carlo.”
I felt a little sorry for him.
But to protect Elline…
I needed a suitable sacrifice.
I pointed at Sir Carlo, who had been quietly standing nearby.
“Our magical compatibility is very good. Um… what was the word? Like soulmates.”
“Are you two close?”
“We will be.”
“Starting today.”
Ha.
Sir Carlo let out a quiet laugh.
When our eyes met…
He folded his arms as if telling me to keep going.
For some reason…
I became slightly flustered.
“Or not? Maybe we won’t become close…”
“You’re mistaken.”
“We’re not becoming close.”
“We’re already close.”
His words made me pause.
“Uh…”
Wasn’t “we” a little too much?
Recently…
We had spent a lot of time together as coworkers and comrades.
So it probably didn’t sound strange.
But why did it make me feel oddly embarrassed?
To be honest…
The part about magical compatibility was only half serious.
The soulmate part had been half a joke.
I never expected him to answer like that.
‘…That was unexpected.’
As I frowned slightly…
I heard someone chuckle beside me.
“…?”
I saw Sir Carlo turn his head away with a faint smile.
Then…
As if nothing had happened…
He continued speaking to the Team Leader.
“But shouldn’t we wait for now? The situation isn’t serious enough to send people into the Demon Realm without proper preparation.”
“B-But if we reduce the danger beforehand… won’t everyone be safer? Peace might even come sooner…”
“If peace were that easy…”
“It would have arrived long ago.”
When Elline quietly interrupted…
He answered her coldly.
“An exploration mission isn’t something you decide to do just because someone mentioned it.”
“If the destination is the Demon Realm, the risks become even greater.”
“It means someone may have to risk their life.”
His words made the weight of this mission feel much heavier.
“Exploring the Demon Realm is no different from invading its territory.”
“The exploration team won’t be treated the same way as monsters that invade the Human World.”
Everything he said was true.
But for some reason…
His attitude felt unusually sharp.
Maybe because it was the first time I had seen Sir Carlo speak so much.
I stopped listening to another team member’s argument.
Instead…
I looked straight at Sir Carlo.
Half of his face seemed covered by a shadow.
He looked troubled.
Did he know something?
Or…
Was he trying to stop this?
‘Elline?’
More precisely…
Was he trying to protect Elline from danger?
I narrowed my eyes.
The atmosphere had already turned heavy.
Everyone remained silent.
Meanwhile…
Elline stood there helplessly after being left speechless by Sir Carlo.
Unlike last time…
The tips of Elline’s ears were slightly red.
Suddenly…
I remembered the last field mission.
Sir Carlo’s face came to mind…
The moment Elline held his hand and asked him to accompany us.
For some reason…
The situation now felt strangely similar.
“Why were you like that earlier?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean… you really crushed Elline’s spirit.”
“That was…”
“I was wondering if… since it’ll be a two-day, one-night trip… you wanted to stop her because it’s too dangerous.”
Just like I wanted to protect Elline…
Maybe he wanted to stop her dangerous expedition too.
According to my own theories…
He was one of the candidates for the second male lead.
“…If that’s true…”
“Then that’s a problem too.”
“Huh?”
After the meeting ended…
We stepped into the hallway.
Sir Carlo was about to hand me a drink.
But then his expression suddenly became serious again.
“I didn’t think about… staying overnight.”
“I was only focused on the exploration.”
“Right… but are you still going to give me that drink?”
I was thirsty at the perfect moment.
As I reached for the juice…
Sir Carlo suddenly stopped walking.
“…Maybe I should’ve just said I’d go.”
“Sir?”
What had he been talking about this whole time?
While I waved my hand in front of him in confusion and tilted my head…
His expression somehow became colder and colder.
I flinched again before asking,
“Um… did something happen during lunch? You don’t look well… and you seem to be in a really bad mood.”
Why did he feel like a block of ice today?
His mood had been changing all day.
Now it was as cold as freezing winter.
“It’s nothing.”
After returning to the laboratory…
As if out of habit…
He placed the strawberry juice on the corner of the desk near the door.
“My problem is simply…”
“…”
“I finally had the chance to use the ticket I had been saving with the person I wanted to go with.”
“But I lost that chance right in front of me.”
After saying that…
His gaze remained fixed on the desk with the juice for a long time.
That desk…
Was mine.
