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“You’re soft-hearted after all.”

Meyer clicked his tongue low.

However, he opened his hand more gently than I thought. Fabian’s hand, twisted by Meyer’s hand, fell to the floor and his body also collapsed.

“Ugh, heuaaak…”

Fabian rolled around the floor and grabbed his left arm. The twisted hand was bizarre.

If strong pressure was applied, his hand would be gone. Fortunately, or unfortunately, Fabian’s hand was still attached.

I stared at Meyer’s hands.

‘I was caught in those hands…’

I drooled over without realizing it.

I could definitely see why August hated it so much when I awakened Meyer’s mana. It was a force far beyond what I thought.

Fabian grabbed his arm and found April.

“Keuk… April!”

“April, please treat Fabian!”

Deca and the other expeditionaries all looked at April with earnest eyes.

With a low sigh, April approached Fabian and treated his left arm.

The healing magic of this world could also be used on an arm that was cut off. The muscles of the torn arm were at least repaired nicely.

Even if his hand had been attached properly, the phantom limb pain would still remain and would torment Fabian for years to come. Fabian was ambidextrous, but the minute he gripped his sword with his right hand, he would struggle for a while.

It was also questionable whether a dungeon attack would be possible.

I stared at Fabian.

He used to be such an imposing man, shining brighter than the sun in the sky.

I felt a mixture of joy and disturbance in my heart. Catching my breath, I spoke to Meyer.

“Please excuse me while I have a word with Expedition Commander Fabian.”

“But.”

“Since there are the eyes of others anyway and the Commander is here, he won’t be able to do anything nonsense. And the pain in his arm will remain.”

Even if I didn’t hide much about the existence of the first round, I didn’t have to go around blatantly telling everyone about it.

Realizing that I was going to talk about the first round, Meyer nodded as if he couldn’t help it.

“I can’t wait that long.”

“Yes. There’s not much to talk about.”

After asking Meyer for permission, I was bitten around. Meyer finally shot Fabian with a disapproving look and left.

At the same time, he ordered Tragula to point his bow at Fabian, as if he was anxious.

I was left alone with Fabian, who was breathing heavily. Fabian staggered to his feet, his eyes filled with venom.

Maybe it was because I was always looking at Meyer. Fabian’s shoulders were much lower and more diminutive than I remembered.

I looked through him with a dry look and sarcasm.

“I’m glad your arm is attached, Fabian. It was more painful than that when I lost my arm instead of you.”

“… You!”

Fabian shouted. Half of his voice was empty, mixed with the wind, probably because of the pain.

“How does it feel to be stabbed in the back of the head?”

“…How did you seduce April? Ha, I was really impressed this time. It’s amazing. I can’t believe you’re doing such a harsh thing to make me judge your value again…”

“What bullshit are you spouting?”

I gave a small laugh at how ridiculous he sounded in this situation. I wasn’t even angry right now because I couldn’t grasp him like this.

“What’s the meaning of the value you’ve judged? You are not the strongest expedition leader as before. You need to know the theme.”

Fabian shook his fist at my contemptuous gaze. It seemed that he had never thought the game would change like this.

Fabian shouted as if he was wrongly accused.

“Did you have a grudge because I didn’t pick you up? That’s why you used April to cause internal strife in our expedition?”

“You were trying to provoke internal strife in the Black Knights, and I can’t? How can you be so selfish?”

I asked back, smiling with my eyes bent.

I hadn’t originally intended to go this far, either. April, quite frankly, I was the one who actively invited her, but Fabian was the one who brought the whole Tragula thing on himself.

“You’re really foolish, too. You’ve taken Tragula in the first round, and there’s no way I brought Tragula to the dungeon without any countermeasures, knowing that I’ll encounter you.”

“… Ha!”

I only brought him here because I thought he might be interested, but did he really want to use Tragula?

I don’t know if I should say it was as I expected, or if I should say that I’m surprised because it was too much as I expected…

“And April… Why are you asking me this when you’re so irritatingly cruel to Jeanne? You know how much April cares for Jeanne.”

“…”

Fabian bit his lip. As much as what he had done to Jeanne, there would have been no point in turning back on himself.

“Jeanne is a waste to you.”

“What qualifications do you have!”

“I’m overflowing with qualifications.”

I laughed out loud. I couldn’t stop laughing. I’ve never laughed so happily. I felt my voice was unfamiliar. Suddenly, I saw the people near me wince as I laughed.

I laughed even more at the sight of people sitting in the middle of the path, wondering if they should approach me.

Fabian looked at me blankly, as if I were a madman. His thoughts must have been of a small-minded and gentle companion.

It was only natural that he should be perplexed by this sudden frenzy of mine since I had responded only rationally and without raising my voice after we met again.

After laughing for a while, I wiped away my tears.

“Do you think it’s just Jeanne? The crown that would have been placed on your head, the honor that should have been circled on your back, the power that you would hold in your hands…”

I mentioned everything I thought Fabian might have in the first round.

They would disappear from Fabian’s life, leaving only virtual images like a mirage. That’s how I was going to make it.

“I’m going to take all that was yours. Just watch me.”

“Jun Karentia!”

After finishing my sentence like that, I turned coldly.

A scream that sounded like Fabian’s rang out behind me.

Up until now, no matter how much I hated him, he’s heard it in his ears, but now he seemed to sense the reality and urgency of the situation.

Without regard for Fabian, I headed for where April was.

April, who was sitting in the middle between the Black Knights and Fabian’s expedition, faced me with a stiff face here and there.

I smiled softly and pushed my hand out to reassure her.

“Okay. We’ll take Jeanne. I won’t let anything dangerous happen. I swear on St. Marianne.”

“Thank you.”

It was only then that April breathed a sigh of relief and held my hand.

At the end of the first round, I never thought that she and I, who once worked together to make Fabian a warrior as his colleague, would become like this.

This was the beginning of Fabian’s ruin.

CHAPTER 14. Death in April

We left the Fabian Expedition behind and headed for the capital.

It was only when we came to the dungeon that we had to enter together, so we aligned ourselves, but there was no need to do so when we left.

‘The atmosphere is also a mess.’

Before I left, I met April one last time.

For April, it was not a situation to meet me openly.

April’s face was full of fatigue, perhaps because it was hard to sneak out. The Fabian expedition seemed to be very wary.

I said with concern.

“April, I want you to come to the Black Knights, too. If you’re that talented, the Black Knights will welcome you.”

I didn’t just say it, I meant it. She was talented enough to be chosen as the main healer for the main party.

However, April gave a small shake of her head.

“Thank you for the offer, but I’m also Fabian’s best friend. We’ve been running around together since childhood, and we’ve been together the moment we made an expedition… I can’t abandon Fabian and go to another expedition.”

“Will Fabian understand how you feel? For Fabian, you’re just a random traitor.”

I’m sure Fabian would be angry at her for being so reluctant to join the expedition.

“Fabian won’t know.”

April mumbled absentmindedly to herself where the Fabian expedition was.

Her face was full of regret as she stared at the sight of Fabian’s red hair swaying in the sunlight.

“What I heard from you will continue to be a secret.”

“You can reveal it to Fabian. That I told you about the first round.”

“No, it’s just the first and second rounds… It was something I shouldn’t have known in the first place. If I needed to know, I would have returned with memories with you and Fabian. There must be a reason why St. Marianne didn’t leave me a memory.”

April said firmly. Perhaps it was because she was mentally tired of unexpected truths. She showed a more defensive attitude than at first.

But that didn’t mean I could just send her to the Fabian expedition like this. I repeatedly persuaded April.

“Fabian now is not the person you know. He’s completely different. Fabian might kill you at this rate.”

“Then that’s my business, too.”

I was at a loss for a moment to persuade April’s small words.

“I have a promise to Fabian. Even if I can no longer be with Fabian’s expedition… I can’t work for another expedition that competes with him. My only expedition leader is Fabian.”

After saying that, April returned to the place where Fabian’s Expedition was.

It’s something April doesn’t remember, but I got help during the first round… It was uncomfortable to keep her on the sinking ship, but April was stubborn and I couldn’t help it.

Behind April, my old self overlapped. Me in the first round, who was blind and knew nothing but to follow the one path given to me.

Suddenly anxious at that moment, I held April’s arm trying to move away in a hurry.

My reflection in April’s embarrassed eyes was somewhat desperate. I was in a hurry to say it.

“April, maybe…”