Desmond, the Second Knight Commander, opened his mouth to speak when he saw me, but then shook his head as if changing his mind.
"Why Quentin is drenched and why he prioritized a meal with Fia over the council meeting, I have a mountain of questions, but no time. We need to hurry. But Iâll ask you all about it later!"
Commander Desmond pointed to the entrance of the dining hall and started walking briskly ahead.
"Damn, whenever a commander acts out of character, it seems Fia is involved again..."
I thought I heard my name, but Commander Desmondâs mutter was too low to make out clearly.
With no choice, I followed Commander Quentin and Commander Desmond. Zabiria slipped into my uniform, her usual spot, and rubbed her face against my stomach. She must be ready to sleep...
I patted Zabiria lightly on my uniform and continued walking. We arrived at the main building of the knights. We walked deeper and deeper down the long corridor, where many knights were passing by, and stopped in front of a particularly ornate door. Two knights standing by the side opened the door for us.
Beyond the door was a spacious room with a large glass window from ceiling to floor facing the courtyard, letting in sparkling light. In the center of the room was a large, polished round table, and several knights were seated around it.
"Quentin, youâre cutting it close, arenât you?"
One of the seated knights, with rusty-colored hair, stood up and called out. The rusty-haired knight, after taking a few steps, noticed me standing behind Commander Quentin and called out to me.
"Fia! You still look as energetic as ever!"
"Um, ..."
I tried to recall if I had met him before and checked the color of the sash slung over my shoulder. Ah, right. He was the commander who was glaring at his subordinates during the meat festival after we defeated the Flowerhorn Dia.
"Hello, Commander Zachary of the Sixth Knights. Yes, Iâm doing well."
It seemed he had mistaken me for someone else and called out so familiarly, but I had only seen him briefly during the meat festival and never spoken to him, so I gave a polite, non-committal response.
"Haha, youâre not calling me Zachary like last time?"
As he said this, Commander Zachary ruffled my hair.
Hey, stop it. Youâre messing up my hair.
And I donât know who youâre mistaking me for, but Iâm not the type to call a commander by their first name!
As I was mentally protesting, Commander Zachary bent down, put his arm around my neck, and whispered in my ear.
"We share personal erotic information. You can call me by my first name, you know."
Hey, whatâs this "personal erotic information"? What kind of lowbrow term is that!
No, really, youâre mistaking me for someone else!
I tried to protest, but Commander Zachary had already shifted his gaze to Commander Quentin, who seemed surprised by his wet hair.
"Hey, Quentin! Youâre dripping wet! What happened, did you get drenched?"
Commander Quentin replied casually, as if it was no big deal.
"This? Lady Fia blew water into my face from her mouth."
Instantly, Commander Zachary turned to me with a loud, shocked voice.
"Fia! You have such a kink?!"
"I donât have such a kink!!"
I reflexively denied the baseless accusation. Quentin Commander! How could you say that? And Zachary Commander, please stop shouting and drawing attention!
I hurried to explain to clear the misunderstanding, but my voice was drowned out by Commander Zacharyâs loud outburst.
"Quentin, what about you? Why didnât you wipe off the water? Is it comfortable to be wet like that?!"
Of course itâs not comfortable!! Commander Zachary, please choose your words more carefully!
The surrounding knights, who heard me call the woman "Lady," started murmuring that Commander Quentin must be a complete masochist.
Wait, wait! While I donât care about Commander Quentinâs reputation, if this continues, my reputation will also be tarnished!
No, no, if that happens, Orianna will be angry!
And while I canât see clearly because Iâm avoiding eye contact, I can feel a cold aura coming from the right, which Iâm pretty sure is Commander Cyril glaring at me.
"Hey, Quentin Commander, that was an accident, right? During the meal, I accidentally choked and blew out the water, right?"
As I desperately tried to explain, Commander Zachary exclaimed in surprise.
"What? Quentin, you had a meal with Fia? I thought you never eat with women, even if theyâre subordinates?"
Wait, wait! What kind of special rule is that for Quentin Commander? Donât bring that up now!
Desperate to calm the situation, I searched for the right words, but Commander Quentin, oblivious to my efforts, continued with a dreamy expression.
"Lady Fia invited me, and I couldnât refuse. To be precise, we didnât eat. I couldnât swallow anything with Lady Fia there. But it was wonderful to be with her. That meal was priceless. If I could have such a time, Iâd be willing to sacrifice anything. Even being drenched with water is a nice accent."
The surrounding knights, seeing Commander Quentinâs dreamy expression and his disturbing words, shuddered and backed away.
Yes, exactly! I understand the shudder! It sounds like a knight commander who enjoys being drenched with water blown from someoneâs mouth!
I couldnât help but step forward and rebuke Commander Quentin.
"Really, enough already! Your word choice is the worst! How can you make such a terrible story out of this?"
Caught off guard by my sudden rebuke, Commander Quentin stammered an apology.
"Lady Fia, please donât be angry! I sincerely apologize!!"
"Thatâs exactly the problem with your word choice! Please, donât say another word! I canât take it anymore!"
As I shouted, a calm voice came from behind me.
"You always seem to be causing a commotion, Fia. Whenever thereâs a disturbance, youâre always there."
I turned around and met the eyes of Chief Savis, who had just entered the room. It seemed he had been led in once all the attendees had arrived.
"Savis Chief!"
I called out to him as if I had found a savior. The Chief raised an eyebrow and prompted me to continue.
"Whatâs the matter?"
Feeling that he might listen, I ran to his feet.
I thought it might be inappropriate for a new knight to consult the Chief, but he was the only one who could save me now, so I clung to him desperately. Before anyone could accuse me of being disrespectful, I started speaking quickly.
"Please listen, Chief Savis! My schedule clashed, so I happened to have lunch with Commander Quentin! During the meal, a sudden topic came up, and I accidentally blew water at Commander Quentin. I know it was my fault for blowing the water. But when Commander Quentin retells the story, it makes us sound like perverts! If this continues, all the knights will misunderstand and think I have strange fetishes! Please do something about this knight commanderâs way of speaking!"
Chief Savis listened to me silently, and when I finished, he tilted his head as if processing my words.
"Iâm aware that when youâre involved, even the most capable knights start acting suspiciously. Itâs probably their reaction to a new stimulus. Quentin is probably just exhausted from the long expedition and has gone a bit overboard. Heâll be back to normal soon."
"Thank you, Chief Savis!!"
Feeling vindicated, I turned to the others triumphantly.
Chief Savis has explained that Commander Quentinâs strange behavior is due to exhaustion from the long expedition. Did you hear that, everyone?
"You seem to have reached a satisfactory conclusion. Then, please come this way."
As I felt a sudden relief, a cool voice called out. I turned to see Commander Cyril smiling and beckoning me.
"During the council meeting, commanders usually bring one or two subordinates, but Iâm alone today. Since you belong to the First Knights, please come this way."
I looked around and saw that only the commanders were seated around the round table, with one or two knights standing behind each of them.
I understood and was about to step forward when Commander Quentin grabbed my arm.
"What are you talking about, Cyril? I brought Lady Fia here, and sheâs currently working on our unitâs tasks. Itâs only right that she stays with me."
Commander Cyril, still smiling, narrowed his eyes.
Wow, Commander Cyril! To convey displeasure while smiling is quite an advanced technique!
"Haha, to avoid any conflict, come to me, Fia!"
Commander Zachary of the Sixth Knights called out.
...Wait, what? I thought I had calmed the situation, but it seems Iâm about to be drawn into a new one? ...When did this happen?
Confused, I stood there, and Chief Savis called out to me with interest.