/
Ah, right. I have something to say to Dante.
“Dante.”
Wait. It’s harmful to my heart because that face is facing this way at a very close distance. All over again, I realize that I’m weak against his face. Feeling a moment of danger, I hurriedly backed away and continued.
“Are you not on good terms with your colleagues?”
As I took a step away, Dante, who had taken that much forward step, hesitated.
“
Why do you think so?”
“Your expression hardens when you’re with your colleagues.”
It’s like what I’ve heard so far, and it doesn’t seem like there’s a camaraderie that usually comes to mind when one thinks of their colleagues. Rather, it was closer to the feeling that the people of the contingent were unilaterally reluctant to Dante.
What if that was because of some previous conflict with Dante?
Well, that doesn’t mean I can imagine him and them getting along, but

While I continued to think, Dante, who paused for a while, answered.
“It’s not that we’re not on good terms.”
“Really?”
What is it, why are you looking at me? What else do you want to say?
“It’s not that my expression becomes like that because we don’t get along, it’s just
 as long as I’m with other people, my expression hardens.”
“What? Ah, so that’s just your basic expression?”
“Mm.”
To think that such a cold face is seen even though it’s not that they’re not on good terms. I’m sure it wasn’t like that before. In any case, judging objectively, I could count on my hands the number of times I’ve seen Dante’s expressionless face. Because he was busy laughing in front of me.
Dante’s eyes turned, as if trying to avoid my gaze. A reaction as if he was caught doing something he didn’t want to be caught. I bet he didn’t know I could recognize his expression.
Well, actually, it doesn’t matter.
“So you didn’t fight?”
“Mm.”
“Yeah, if you didn’t fight, that’s enough.”
Dante’s eyes widened at my words.
“Aren’t you saying anything?”
“What do I have to say? I don’t intend to bet on every single one of your expressions.”
In a similar vein, my expression isn’t criticized. When I roughly waved my hand, Dante, who had a dazed expression for a moment, smiled broadly.
“I thought you would tell me not to do that.”
“No, your expression is your freedom.”
“You seem to have become quite friendly with the people there. I thought you would tell me to be kind.”
“Because a cold face isn’t rude
 I’m not saying you should just tell them to leave, Dante.”
Saying that, he lightly frowned, and Dante let out a small laugh.
It took a while for his expression to naturally relax at the sound of laughter.
“Were you worried that I might have had a fight with them?”
“Yeah, I was worried.”
Dante’s question raised my eyebrows once again. Really, I was worried that they might have been unilaterally beaten by Dante. If so, I wondered if I should apologize in his stead.
Whether he knew what I was thinking or not, Dante’s smile grew even brighter when he heard those words.
“That’s why you’re probably the only one who cares about me.”
“I don’t think this one should be concerning you
 Ugh, enough.”
Just listen to whatever you want to. As I added that, I sighed, and I heard his laugh once more. It was the sound of laughter that echoed right nearby, as if he had taken another step before I knew it.
And the warmth that surrounded me as if it were natural.
I said as I obediently embraced Dante.
“Don’t fight again.”
“Yes, I will never fight.”
“Really?”
“Mm.”
Great. In response, I nodded his head in satisfaction, and stretched out his arm to hug Dante.
***
You say you don’t fight, you liar.
***
K4.
Kade’s encounter with the Master of the Magic Tower was purely accidental.
Right before the stairs, at the end of the hallway. It was all that their eyes met for a moment as they passed by, but Kade quickly noticed that the atmosphere of the Master of the Magic Tower had changed. It still looked cold, yet somehow it seemed that a certain corner had softened.
And only one person comes to mind in that change.
One day, the brown eyes that looked over the horizon and the back of someone standing with their back to him flashed in front of his eyes.
And her face when she said she was glad that the Master of the Magic Tower recognized her at once.
“Master of the Magic Tower.”
Opening his mouth and calling the opponent was an act of impulse.
Pause. The Master of the Magic Tower, passing by, stopped his steps, and their eyes immediately met.
“Can I ask you something?”
“
”
The cold eyes didn’t go anywhere because the atmosphere had softened a little, yet Kade didn’t mind.
If he was going to lose his spirits at that appearance, he wouldn’t have fought near the Master of the Magic Tower during the war, and he wouldn’t have called him like this.
Only Kade’s voice echoed in the quiet space.
“Ei said that she knew that you were the Master of the Magic Tower through someone else’s mouth.”
As expected. As soon as Ei’s name came out, the Master of the Magic Tower’s expression hardened visibly.
“And now you know that even if Ei dies, she doesn’t die. Is that correct?”
“What do you want to say?”
The strangely stiff atmosphere quickly began to cool down. But like before, Kade didn’t stop talking.
He was originally someone who didn’t care about other people’s feelings, and now he wasn’t even looking at them.
“I’m just a little curious.”
If he had cared about other people’s feelings, he wouldn’t have said this in the first place.
The words he was saying now didn’t just stem from his doubts. Asking questions so aggressively started with negative feelings that even Kade himself couldn’t figure out.
There are two people he can’t quite understand, and whenever he sees them, he feels down for no reason.
Kade couldn’t stand things he couldn’t understand. Much less so, even if it’s himself.
His silver eyes were faintly frowning as he gazed at the Master of the Magic Tower.
“How can married couples not know each other that much?”
Half of it was a tone of sincere incomprehension, and the other was a tone of sarcasm.
In a good way, it was a direct question, and in a bad way, it was a fight. If it was him, he would certainly not have asked the Master of the Magic Tower such a question.
Yes, if it was the usual him.
It wasn’t until after he spit out that question, and after hearing the question change that the Master of the Magic Tower’s expression changed, that from the moment Kade entered the Magic Tower, he admitted that he wasn’t in a good mood.
As if following a prickly temper, his tone, which wasn’t originally friendly, jumped out more sharply.
“Even if it’s true that you didn’t tell her that you’re the Master of the Magic Tower, the result of not being told that she wouldn’t die was quite significant. You know that best.”
“
”
There was no answer coming back.
However, it didn’t matter because he didn’t expect it in the first place. It was more like a resentment of sorts.
“Did you ask why she didn’t tell you earlier?”
The attitude as if one clearly knew that he didn’t. Even in the midst of that, the Master of the Magic Tower’s silence continued.
Kade had already noticed that he was meaninglessly getting on one’s nerves. Clearly, what he was talking about was their own problem, and it was the kind of thing Kade couldn’t get involved with. His common sense already thought that he might have crossed the line.
He didn’t want to stop, thus he didn’t.
“Even if you know that the other person is indifferent enough not to tell you that.”
Kade nodded and tilted his head. The slightly frowning expression was already distorted enough to fill the entire face.
“Are you willing to continue loving that person?”
The moment that one word fell like a knife blade.
With a thick shadow cast, the gaze of the Master of the Magic Tower, which was facing the floor, turned to him.
“You
 ”
Paradoxically, he felt funny at the brutality that seemed to be clamping down on his surroundings.
Certainly his reaction is more intense this way.
It was distinctly different from the other side, where she didn’t show off even when she was in a bad mood.
“How dare you.”
A short yet clear voice.
As soon as he realized that the Master of the Magic Tower was angry, a loud roar rang out.