Chapter 16 - Comeuppance

I gave him an awkward smile. I couldn’t help it; how was I supposed to explain that it was thanks to the information I had about the Mayer from the first playthrough? “Well… You just need to look at the man and you’ll know, don’t you think?”

 Although my reply was evasive, fortunately, it seemed to work on Axion since he nodded in agreement.

* * *

My place was right behind Mayer, slightly angled from where Axion was. In other words, the very front. Even after I had become an old-timer in Fabian’s corps, I had never been in such a position—it had belonged to his childhood friends and close aides, Decca and April.

 Thinking about it now, I was not like them, so why did I think Fabian wouldn’t cast me aside? My last self, in retrospect, seemed all too laughable and the good treatment I was receiving at the Dark Knights made the contrast even more obvious.

But that didn’t mean I could fully trust Mayer Knox; giving my heart away only to receive betrayal in return wasn’t an experience I wanted to repeat. I swore to myself I’d keep the relationship between us as collaborators only, nothing more and nothing less. This time I would draw a line, bold and clear.

 I glanced at Mayer Knox, who was facing forward. His sharp side profile that almost seemed like it had been carved with a knife was exceptionally eye-catching. “Let us depart,” he commanded and the Dark Knights immediately began their march.

The villagers could only watch us leave from afar. Some among them spotted me riding a horse right behind Mayer, kitted out in the corps’ uniform, and turned wide-eyed. “Over there… Isn’t that Jun?”

 “She was alive? I mean… Why’s she over there?”

 “Could it be that Jun… with the Dark Knights…?”

 “But ain’t she a support type?”

 “A mere supporter joining the Dark Knights? That’s absurd.”

 “Hey, Mr. Karentia. What’s going on? Do you know anything?”

Even with so much distance already between us, I could hear their chattering. Apparently, neither the village chief nor my parents had said a word about me. They must have been too embarrassed to say anything, considering how they were chased off and carried away by several of the expedition members.

 “Tsk.”

 I heard Mayer click his tongue, annoyed. If I could hear them so clearly, then he surely could hear them even better. I felt a bit embarrassed by those people’s behavior, like a shameful side of me had been exposed.

He slowed down his horse and waited for me to catch up until we rode side by side. As I shot him a wandering look, he began talking loudly as if he wanted everyone to hear what he was saying. “What do you think of receiving this province as a gift for your enlistment, Jun?”

 “This province?”

“Yes. Becoming a provincial lord is not a bad option,” he continued, voice still raised. “You get steady taxes and you can replace whomever you like, be it a village chief or whatnot.”

 Not even a moment after Mayer finished speaking, I heard the gasp of an old man in the distance. Probably the village chief. “Giving them some support is not bad either, considering this is your home. If there is a guild you want to establish, I will accommodate you to the best I can,” he added.

 It was only then that the villagers looked at one another in realization. “Why, it looks like Jun truly is one of the Dark Knights?”

“You fool. She’s wearing their uniform, isn’t it obvious? Must be quite the high position if she’s going to be granted land…”

 “Then shouldn’t we be buttering up to Jun?” They murmured among themselves, finally figuring out how far I’d climbed up the social ladder.

 “Our village would grow in leaps and bounds even with just a single large guild established…”

 “I know, right? It’s always hard going to the village beyond the mountain for work.”

“Lots of other villagers would come over, so we’d have more businesses, too.”

 The villagers became radiant at the thought of their dreams coming true. So long as they received proper support, it would only be a matter of time for their small rural village to develop into a city.

 “But… would Jun be willing to support our village?”

 “Speaking of that, the chief was the one who had Jun forced inside the dungeon. She won’t be forgetting that.”

 “Besides, her parents were always unfair to her. Figures why she’d be through with them.”

The complexions of the village chief and my parents worsened more and more as the villagers continued talking. Concluding that their opportunity had been stolen by the three, te villagers glared at the culprits with bared hostility.