After finishing their meal to some extent, it was time to get to work.
After putting on their Ministry of Magic uniforms again, they went downstairs to the first floor, where several palace officials were present.
Dana and Edwin greeted them briefly before heading toward the training ground.
Soon, the doors of the training ground opened, revealing a spacious area.
The reason for conducting medical examinations there was simple—it was the largest available space.
The training ground, now cleared of weapons, was lined with the latest medical equipment and nutritional potions brought from the palace.
The palace officials were busy ensuring that the medical devices were functioning properly.
Dana led Edwin to the far end and began opening the stacked potion boxes.
“Just think of it as a simple health check-up. Our job is to distribute potions to the knights after their examination.”
“Do we give them one bottle each?”
“For most, yes. But some might have nutritional deficiencies, so check the examination results carefully.”
Edwin nodded in understanding.
At the same time, Dana picked up a box.
“I’ll handle organizing the potions. Please check if any of them have gone bad, Senior.”
Since the potions were under preservation magic, there was no way they could have deteriorated.
In other words, Edwin was telling Dana to just sit and rest.
Dana was about to refuse, but Edwin’s voice echoed in her mind.
‘From now on, just accept whatever I give you.’
Dana decided to change her mind.
Since she was receiving it, she might as well enjoy it.
With a bright smile, she said,
“Thank you! I’ll relax just as you want me to.”
Seeing her playful expression, Edwin burst into laughter.
Not long after, the Rune Knights entered the training ground.
Since they went on monster extermination missions almost daily, they all had impressive physiques.
Unlike their usual demeanor, the palace officials looked tense.
They had heard rumors that the knights were a gathering of the empire’s lunatics.
‘They’re not suddenly going to go wild, right?’
‘Stay calm, everyone!’
The palace officials whispered anxiously.
The knights, who had entered the training ground in a rush, suddenly started moving in a big way.
The palace officials instinctively rushed to protect the valuable medical equipment.
Contrary to their concerns, all the knights were doing was forming a line.
As they calmly arranged themselves in order, the palace officials felt embarrassed.
‘It seems like we misunderstood them.’
‘Of course, they follow the code of chivalry. There’s no way they would behave strangely.’
Feeling guilty, the officials welcomed the knights.
They had significantly relaxed—until the first knight spoke.
A palace official approached a particularly large knight.
“Sir Max, do you have any discomfort anywhere?”
“I do.”
Max’s serious expression quickly crumpled into distress.
“My arm… my arm is broken!”
“This morning? Let me see!”
The startled palace official suddenly found himself staring at a stuffed rabbit.
“Why are you looking at me like that?! It’s my Merida that got hurt!”
Tears welled up in Max’s eyes.
Forcing a smile, the palace official looked at the stuffed rabbit.
The stitching had come undone, and one of its arms had completely fallen off.
“Uh… um… it’s a doll.”
“Merida is not a doll! She’s my little sister!”
While Max raged, a second knight stepped forward to another palace official.
This knight was covered in hair—his beard and hair extended all the way down to his feet.
The palace official assigned to him hesitantly asked,
“…Sir Harriet, if I may ask, what exactly happened to you?”
“I added two drops of hair-growth potion to my drink.”
“…Why did you do that?”
“It tasted bland.”
Hearing this, the palace official swallowed hard.
After a long pause, he picked up a pair of scissors.
With a snip, he cut off a chunk of Harriet’s hair.
Harriet grinned, baring his teeth.
“Oh! You’re a master doctor!”
Next, a third knight approached an empty seat.
He placed a small but visibly furious puppy on the chair.
“Grrr…! Hiccup!”
“…..….”
The palace official blinked in confusion.
The knight beside him spoke in a solemn tone.
“Lord Coco’s hiccups won’t stop.”
“…I think you should take him to a veterinarian.”
“What?! Useless!”
With an indignant huff, the knight picked up the puppy and left.
Coco, the puppy, growled in agreement.
Grrr, hic! Grrrrrr, hic!
The knights continued their check-ups.
However, due to communication issues, the line barely moved.
Even after a long time, not a single knight had finished their examination and come to receive a potion.
Dana, slumping into her chair, sighed weakly.
“At this rate, we’ll never finish.”
Edwin noticed how exhausted she looked.
He smiled and stood up.
“That won’t do. You still have to eat with me later, Senior.”
With that, he casually walked into the crowd of knights.
Dana, startled by Edwin’s sudden action, hurried after him.
She had no idea what might happen to the kind and gentle Edwin in the middle of that rowdy group.
“Edwin, wait—!”
As Edwin stepped past the knights and stood at the center, the entire atmosphere of the training ground changed.
The knights suddenly fell silent.
Edwin slowly looked around at them.
Then, in a soft voice, he said,
“Shall we play a game?”
“…..….”
The previously noisy knights all shut their mouths.
Even their breathing became audible in the silence.
“The game is simple: your check-up must not exceed one minute per person.”
“….……”
“If you exceed the time limit… the next game will be with me.”
“……….”
“One-on-one.”
His last words were terrifyingly sweet.
Max was the first to react.
Even though his beloved Merida’s arm dangled loosely, he kept his eyes forward and marched ahead.
With a pale face, he told Dana,
“Please give me a potion.”
“…Here you go. Thank you for your hard work—”
Before she could finish, Max disappeared in a flash.
One by one, the knights played along with Edwin’s ‘game.’
They answered quickly and vanished immediately.
The stock of nutritional potions began running out.
Even Coco, the growling puppy, was so startled that his hiccups finally stopped.
The palace officials, who had been flustered by the absurd situation, started to notice something else—the dark circles under their eyes were disappearing.
Thanks to the unexpectedly swift check-up process, their faces visibly brightened.
“Sir Ray, do you have any pain or discomfort?”
“None!”
That was the entire conversation.
When the knights came to collect their potions at the end, they didn’t even dare meet Edwin’s eyes.
In the end, the entire medical check-up was completed in less than thirty minutes.
The palace officials, relieved and overjoyed, gathered around Edwin with bright smiles.
“How in the world did you do that? You actually got the Rune Knights to move!”
Edwin responded with a calm expression.
“I don’t know… Maybe they just enjoy games?”
Ah… games! The palace officials all nodded in understanding.
Leaving their admiration behind, Edwin walked over to Dana.
“Great job, Senior.”
“No, thanks to you, everything went smoothly.”
Hearing that, Edwin smiled with his eyes.
After tidying up the potion boxes, it was finally lunchtime.
Since they were staying at the knights’ base, they had to eat with them.
“You must be hungry, Senior.”
As they walked, Edwin firmly held Dana’s hand, making sure she didn’t slip on the icy path.
“No, I had a big breakfast, so I’m fine.”
“That’s a relief.”
Soon, they arrived at the knights’ quarters.
They lined up to receive bread, meat, and vegetables.
Since the palace regularly supplied food, the meal was quite decent.
Edwin led Dana to an empty table near the knights.
Then, with a gentle gesture, he pulled out a chair for her.
The knights’ eyes widened.
Suddenly, all their attention was focused on their commander.
This was the first time they had seen him display such human-like consideration.
Dana, who had just sat down, called out to Edwin.
“Hey, Edwin.”
“Yes, Senior?”
Looking at his bright and innocent face, Dana spoke with concern.
“Don’t step in so easily like that again.”
“Like before?”
“Yeah, when you told the knights to hurry up.”
Ah. That was already a distant memory for Edwin.
“What’s wrong with that?”
Seeing Edwin’s puzzled expression, Dana sighed.
“Compared to them, you’re too delicate.”
“….…….”
“You had to postpone starting work for a month because you were sick, and you’re not exactly the toughest person either.”
This was the first time in his life that someone had worried about him like this.
Edwin smiled, realizing that Dana was looking out for him.
“Are you worried about me?”
“Of course I am.”
“Well, I suppose I am a bit delicate.”
At those words, coughing noises echoed from all around.
Did they all choke at the same time?
As Dana wondered about the strange reaction, Edwin gently placed a piece of bread into her mouth.
The knights, watching the scene unfold, suddenly lost their appetites and began leaving the table one by one.
Delicate 〈ಠ‿ಠ〉. This is fun.