‘Ah.’
I was a little taken aback.
That Giscard would express his gratitude to me so honestly—
I hadn’t even imagined it.
And—
‘I had no idea.’
That Giscard also feels fear whenever he faces the monsters.
Maybe that’s why.
“To be honest… I was scared this time too.”
The truth slipped from my lips.
“I really thought I was going to die here, you know?”
I found myself whining a little without realizing it.
Normally, the usual Giscard would have scolded me for acting so childishly.
“I understand.”
But the Giscard before me now only gave a quiet nod.
Seeing that calm reaction somehow put my mind at ease.
‘But still—’
I lit up with determination.
Right?
I couldn’t just break down pitifully like this on my own.
“Even so…”
I clenched my fists tightly.
“I don’t want to lose to those monsters.”
“…Administrative Officer Astrid?”
“You, Commander, and the other knights have been fighting those monsters all this time.”
I lifted my head proudly.
“I may not have any power, but I’m a member of the Azure Dawn Knights too.”
I spoke clearly, with conviction.
“I didn’t come all the way down here just to crumble in fear.”
Yes, that was right.
I had come down to support the Azure Dawn Knights.
Not to act spoiled in front of people who were already leading such a hard life defending the Empire.
“So—”
After taking a deep breath, I reached out my hand to Giscard for a handshake.
“I’ll be counting on you from now on too.”
“……”
Giscard looked down at my hand with a curious expression in his eyes.
And then—
“I’ll be counting on you as well, Administrative Officer Astrid.”
Giscard gripped my hand firmly.
I felt a tingling sensation deep in my chest.
‘It’s really touching…’
To be honest, up until now, I hadn’t completely blended into the Azure Dawn Knights.
No matter how hard I tried, I still felt a bit like an outsider.
But just this moment.
‘I really feel like I’ve become a fellow knight.’
Ah, so this is what they call being “comrades”…?!
A warm atmosphere settled between me and Giscard.
After shaking hands with Giscard up and down in a big motion, I let go of his hand.
And then—
“Still, I think we’ll need medical support,”
I declared with a serious expression.
Until now, I had been putting on airs, saying things like, “Ah, I’m a knight too, you know? I won’t flinch in front of demonic monsters.”
But in truth, psychological trauma isn’t something to be taken lightly.
You need to receive proper treatment for it.
Isn’t that right?
Even our knights, while they may look fine on the outside, might be rotting away inside!
Meanwhile, Giscart looked at me with a dumbfounded expression, then gave a hollow laugh.
“Seriously, Administrative Officer, you really are something…”
What on earth is the meaning of that satisfied smile?
It’s like a father who has a troublemaker of a child thinking, ‘Oh dear, what’s gotten into that rascal, saying something so commendable for once?’…?!
While I was facing Giscard with that subtly complex expression—
‘Wait a minute.’
I suddenly widened my eyes at the sense of incongruity that brushed through my mind.
“Um, Commander?”
“Yes, what is it?”
“Even after returning to the quarters, you still haven’t taken the purification elixirs, right?”
“No, I haven’t.”
As soon as the purification elixirs were brought up, Giscard also looked puzzled.
“Has your physical condition been alright? Any signs of going berserk, even later on?”
“As I said before, I’m perfectly fine.”
Giscard replied like that, narrowing his brow as he muttered.
“I think it’s a little strange too. My condition is just too good.”
It’s clearly far too different from how it was described in the original story.
Even after Giscard took down eight demonic monsters on his own, he’s still in such a stable state without even a hint of side effects from using aura.
‘What could have caused this?’
As I was pondering, I suddenly stiffened my shoulders.
‘Hold on.’
The crucial difference between the original and the present.
That would be…
‘It’s me?!’
In the original, Cassia dies at the hands of the monsters.
But I survived to the end, and was by Giscard’s side the entire time as he dealt with the monsters.
What’s more, the monsters…
‘They left Giscard alone and relentlessly chased only after me.’
In that moment, my gaze sank deeply.
‘I need to look into this more closely.’
* * * *
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Ab update after so long 😭 I was worried