2. Did you hear the news? (2)

“Are you still training?”

The first time I had a conversation was on a winter night the year before I became an adult, when I was training alone with a wooden sword at the academy’s training ground. This was before the flame Maxim held in his sword turned to ashes.

Theodora’s visit to the training ground was accidental. On her way back to her dormitory, she found a lighted training ground and, without thinking, intending, or aiming, entered it like a moth attracted to the light.

“Because it’s not enough.”

If Maxim looks back on that time, he will evaluate it as a time when he was crazy about swords. Fascinated by his master’s sword, he began to wield it, but he had never even gone crazy with his toes. While others smoked aura blades, Maxim still insisted on practicing swordsmanship. Looking back now, it was a very foolish act, Maxim thought.

He had no interest in others, especially the opposite sex. Social life was satisfied with a relationship with a few friends. After that, it was only a sword. He remained at the training ground until late at night and drew swords. Few people knew about it.

So, Maxim could not have imagined that the person who opened the door would be a celebrity in the academy. It was only when he realized that the voice he had been hearing was not a familiar one.

“…Theodora Benning?”

A low voice flowed from Maxim’s mouth as he put down his sword for a moment. Seeing this, Theodora raised a corner of her mouth faintly.

“Now you see here, Maxim Appart.”

At that time, Maxim saw Theodora properly for the first time. I remembered the impressive fluttering platinum hair. I also remembered the gray eyes of swirling dark clouds. He lived his whole life thinking that only swords were beautiful, but Maxim realized that there are other beautiful things besides swords.

dated a girl for the first time For the first time, I loved someone outside of my family. They longed for martial arts together and swung swords together. They held hands, hugged, kissed each other, and kissed each other. In the end, though, they broke up due to some kind of incident.

And now, it is not an exaggeration to say that the lives of the two are opposite. Theodora Benning has now become a rising star not only in the kingdom but also in the continent as a whole.

A dancer who wields an aura blade that is as beautiful as her appearance, with fluttering shiny platinum hair. The family that supports her is Countess Benning, who has a reputation for swordsmanship. Theodora’s status was high enough that her name went up and down as the next-generation corps commander.

On the other hand, Maxime Appart. There are no modifiers. A spec that cannot be called an ordinary article. The only thing he could boast of was the fact that he had learned German swordsmanship from a wandering adventurer. Even that was often ignored. I heard that he had a talent for swordsmanship, but Mana’s talent was not as good as Beomjae’s. The battlefield that I had to go to as a first-time worker was not even the front line, but the periphery. The place where I was issued after wandering around the periphery was the Knights of the Jackdaw.

“Huh.”

“Vice-captain, please stop breathing. How many minutes have you been alone now?”

“You don’t know this feeling.”

“I won’t even tell you what’s going on, so how do you know how I feel?”

Christine snorted as she tossed the mop into the bucket. The soup splattered and splashed on the floor. The cleaning of the office has already entered the final stage. Maxim mobilized some of the members who at least listened to him and cleaned up the headquarters of the Knights, almost turning it upside down. It was fortunate that Theodora’s messenger had arrived and informed them of the time of their visit.

“What the hell are you thinking? I can’t understand the intentions of my superiors.”

Christine ran her finger across the window frame and frowned.

“what?”

“To appoint the famous Theodora of Beninga as the leader of this order.”

Hearing that, Maxim’s stomach ached. The famous Theodora of Beninga. Maxim felt the urge to sigh again. Of course, I couldn’t execute it because I saw Christine next to me.

Of course, aside from Maxim’s personal circumstances, this greeting could be controversial. A knight with a reputation on the continent beyond the kingdom was placed in the position of leader of the knights who had no answer. Even if you think of it as the footsteps of the reorganization of the knights, that much was severe.

“Are you really thinking of resurrecting this order of knights now?”

“I guess so. Without doing that, there’s no way an article like Theodora Benning would be published.”

There was bitterness in Maxim’s voice.

“Isn’t it nice, Vice-captain? At least we won’t have to beat the knight up amicably.”

“yes. He must be a much more proper person than the current leader.”

what a lot If you put them on the same line and compare them, it’s at a level where you can go overboard with swearing. Maxim clicked his tongue slightly.

“But why is the reaction so bad?”

Christine asked.

“I don’t know. Are you done cleaning?”

“It’s been a while since I cleaned it all up. So, this time, a good leader is coming, but why is the reaction so bad?”

Maxim cobbled together excuses in his head. Even if someone beat him to death with a club, he had no intention of telling the truth.

“Think about it, if there is a reorganization, there is a high probability that the existing personnel will also be changed, but can we be safe?”

“,,,At the very least, I won’t kick out the only wizard and vice-captain in the guild.”

Christine said in a sullen tone. She quietly sat down on the vice-captain’s desk.

“Even if that’s not the case, Vice-captain, your current situation is a bit strange. Can you please tell me?”

Christine looked at Maxim with bright eyes. Rather than the look of concern for Maxim, it was the look of a luxury man who smelled the gossip and could not hold back his curiosity.

“Never mind. You did a good job cleaning, and now let’s do it after disbanding. I must prepare to welcome the new captain.”

Maxim exaggeratedly stretched and pushed Christine out of the room.

“Ah, the vice-captain…”

“It’s noisy, it’s annoying, so don’t be mean.”

“But please answer this one thing…”

Crying.

Maxim’s eyebrows curled. If Christine didn’t answer this question, she was going to stay in his office until the end. Maxim shook his head and looked at Christine.

“What.”

“Vice-captain, are you by any chance familiar with Theodora Benning?”

Maxim inadvertently shook his head.

“Can it be?”

“Hmm.”

Christine narrowed her eyes and looked at Maxim’s face. Green eyes pierced Maxim’s face.

“No, I don’t know, so why are you looking at me like that?”

“Well, okay. I just need to be content with having a good leader come in.”

Seeing Maxim’s more stubborn attitude than expected, Christine gave up and opened the door to her office.

“Go out and get some rest. Come back later at half past four.”

“…Do I have to stay too?”

“Because you are actually my assistant. Wouldn’t it be nice to be together?”

Christine’s expression went blank, then she burst into laughter. As Maxim was taken aback by the sudden change, Christine pretended to steal her eyes.

“Really…Vice-captain is too.”

“Suddenly you’re laughing again. Not crazy.”

“No. Then I’ll come later.”

thud.

The door is closed. Maxim shook his head and began to think about what to say to his new manager and ex-girlfriend.

—

smart.

A knock was heard at the office door. Maxim looked in the mirror carefully examining his tidy hair.

‘This is enough…’

smart.

Christine knocked again.

“Vice-captain, are you ready?”

“It’s done. come in.”

The door is open. Christine came in hesitantly, dressed in a neat uniform. Her hair, which she usually wore loose, was tied back and tidied up, and she wore light makeup to create a natural look. The winged staff insignia on her chest indicated that she was a wizard.

However, contrary to the well-decorated look, Christine’s expression when she saw Maxim was crumpled as if she had seen the worst.

“No, vice-captain.”

“why?”

Christine let out a big sigh.

“Wouldn’t it be better if the person without makeup was better than the person with makeup?”

The corners of Maxim’s lips twitched.

“No, isn’t it okay?”

“It’s okay, you bastard!”

Christine approached Maxim in an instant. I wish I could move so quickly during training. Maxim couldn’t bear to say that and tried to talk to Christine, who was fiddling with her hair with frowning eyes.

“Uh… Wizard Christine Watson?”

“Look there. Why did you put so much oil on your hair? Also, if you put it on and decorate it cool, why the hell did you do that with messy hair that doesn’t suit you?”

“Isn’t that cool…”

Christine shook her head.

“I can’t do it with first aid. I’ll bring you that comb.”

Christine quickly returned with a comb. And even with a little magic, Maxim’s head was returned to its original state. Maxim kept his eyes on him silently, then quietly spoke again.

“Christine…even if you don’t care this much…”

“It’s because I’m embarrassed. Are you going to be ridiculed by the whole town after going out looking like this?”

The edge stood at Christine’s words. Maxim, realizing that it would not work if he said more, decided to keep his mouth shut. As Maxim became quiet, Christine’s hands became busy.

“Okay… that’s it.”

Maxim’s hair, which Christine had spent dozens of minutes on, was completely changed. After neatly flipping it over, parting it, it was trimmed with oil and fixed.

“how about it?”

Christine held out the mirror. Seeing his drastically changed appearance, Maxim laughed involuntarily.

“This Christine Watson assures me, the vice-captain is much better now. Now I’m buying a frame.”

Maxim couldn’t be bothered any more. It was because the hair that Christine had done was objectively much better. I’m meeting my ex, shouldn’t I go out looking as cool as possible? Of course, Christine wouldn’t know that, but it was clear that she had unintentional help.

“Ike, vice-captain, time is running out.”

It took more time for Christine to change her appearance because Maxim was scared to look like she had dressed up in her own way. Maxim and Christine hurriedly headed outside.

Ten minutes before 5:00 p.m., the strong sunlight of early summer hit the streets. The grass lies down. The wind blowing was still cool. The shadow reflected on the lying grass was short.

At the entrance of the Knights Headquarters, Maxim and Christine are ready to welcome the new leader dressed in the official uniforms of the Jackdaw Knights. Of course, the current leader did not come out. In the first place, at four o’clock, he was a person who would leave the Knights without anyone noticing. Of course, today’s Maxim was preoccupied with other thoughts, so he didn’t care whether the leader appeared or not.

Maxim shyly touched the hair that Christine had tidied up. I didn’t know that he had such a talent for decorating. Just as she was about to thank her again, Christine, who had seen Maxim’s appearance, pulled her back.

“You look like a pooping puppy right now, Vice-captain.”

Maxim pinched Christine’s soft cheek, who had begun to babble next to her, and nervously tapped the ground with her foot.

“Ah yayah…ahh…it hurts, Captain B…”

“Could you stop scratching your temper?”

“Hey Aratsu, because it’s Aratsu…”

Maxim let Christine go. Christine rubbed her slightly reddened right cheek and glared at Maxim with all her might.

“I pinched a little hard.”

“Sorry. Still, you can’t mess around.”

“Yes, yes.”

While Maxim and Christine were bickering, I felt the presence of people at the end of the uphill road. The two quickly corrected their posture and stood upright.

“Can you feel the presence?”

“yes. Very strong.”

Christine asked, and Maxim nodded. There are three signs of people coming up the hill. The two leading the way were ordinary, but the one following them was mighty. It was sharp and cool. It felt as if my skin had been stabbed with an ice pick.

“It’s pretty daunting.”

There was a slight tremor at the end of Christine’s words. Maxim nodded without saying a word. It was a very familiar feeling to him. The sharp gaze I felt every time I sparred with her. The cold yet intense presence she gave off when fighting against herself.

It was much stronger than it was in my memory, but the feeling was the same. Maxim struggled with the waves of memories that surged through his head.

It’s going to be harder to hold on to than I thought.

Maxim laughed inwardly at his own weakness. I thought it disappeared over time, but I never thought it would be such a burden to face the upcoming memories.

“…! I can see it, Vice-captain.”

I started to hear the sound of footsteps. Maxim raised his head. The two soldiers ahead were armed. The bright sunlight reflected off the silver armor, hurting her eyes. And after that, an unarmed, proud knight walked by.

Damn it.

My heart was beating unnecessarily. My mouth went dry. The moment I opened my mouth and spoke, my voice vibrated and seemed to tremble. Maxim deliberately blurred his vision and did not want to see the face of the new leader.

I didn’t want to meet you. I didn’t want to see face to face. Even if we met, I never wanted to meet in this form.

The couple got closer. Maxim cut off the endlessly circulating flow of thoughts. It wasn’t like this, but at least the first greeting had to be normal and calm.

It’s okay, just don’t stutter.

Maxim took a deep breath.

“Ha, welcome to the Jackdaw Knights.”

Ah, f*ck.

f*ck.

f*ck…