CHGD 14🎉

Chapter 14

‘His nickname is Wendy? Doesn’t suit him.’

Ikavel’s impression was the most fitting for an escort knight. He was shorter than Myrdi, but I could glimpse a trained body under his clothes, and his demeanor was quite sharp.

“……Sir Ikavel doesn’t seem pleased with this position.”

I sat down and said casually. As I sat, the three candidates also took their seats in a row. Servants, who had appeared from somewhere, began placing food before them and me.

“Hmph, if it weren’t for the Count’s orders, I wouldn’t have come at all.”

‘I suppose I should be grateful he at least uses polite speech.’

I took a sip of tea and observed their reactions.

At Ikavel’s arrogant response, Myrdi seemed flustered, while the nameless candidate clumsily began eating with a knife.

‘For now, I’ll exclude the second one and choose between the remaining two.’

Actually, thanks to the conversation just now, the candidate was already decided.

I suppressed a smile and continued the conversation.

“Sir Ikavel seems quite loyal to the Count.”

“Isn’t that obvious? How great of a being he is.”

“Is that so? To me, he just looks like an ordinary human.”

“Hu—!”

Ikavel jumped up and clenched his fist. He looked like he was about to strike the table at any moment.

“Wendy.”

At that moment, Myrdi called him in a cold voice.

Startled, Ikavel looked at Myrdi’s expression and quickly unclenched his fist, straightening his posture.

“……The Count is a much greater being than he appears. Please do not insult him.”

And he corrected his words, pretending not to be angry.

‘Myrdi is colder than he looks. And he seems to be the one holding the reins among the three.’

Seeing that even the hot-tempered Ikavel couldn’t rebel, I could roughly guess the dynamic among them.

“Sir Myrdi, what do you think? Didn’t you mind being asked to be an escort? It was a sudden proposal, after all.”

“Of course not! If you entrust me with the task, I’ll serve you with all my heart! I really love helping others!”

Myrdi’s eyes sparkled with excessive enthusiasm. His loyalty and favor toward me were on a different level from the other candidates.

The Count probably arranged this group with Myrdi as the most promising candidate.

‘I feel a bit sorry. I’m not going to choose you.’

What I needed wasn’t a diligent escort knight.

It was an escort knight I could hold in my hand and use, like Roaz.

“By the way…… the nickname Wendy is cute. Can I call you that too?”

*Crunch.*

Ikavel gnashed his teeth and glared at me. He looked ready to stab me in the neck with a knife at any moment.

Seeing that, I raised the corners of my mouth.

You know how when a thug shows up at an interview, the boss says something like:

“Hire that guy. I’ll break him in myself right beside me.”

That was exactly the situation.

Ikavel was destined to become the second Roaz.

—

After the meal interview, I moved on to individual interviews. This time, the interview location was my bedroom.

Myrdi refused, saying he couldn’t enter the lady’s bedroom, but he followed after I said I had nowhere else to go anyway, with a hint of sympathy.

“If, if I become the lady’s escort……!”

Thus began the individual interview.

Myrdi boasted about his usefulness with all his might.

I wasn’t sure why he was bragging about knitting and brewing tea, but he had a certain cuteness to him, so I listened with a smile.

“……I’m good at protecting.”

The second candidate said just one sentence and left. Though memorable, it was hardly an effective strategy.

For reference, while in the bedroom, I communicated telepathically with Roaz. When the second candidate entered, Roaz grumbled in an annoyed voice.

[Don’t pick that one. Just looking at him gives me chills.]

‘Which is more dangerous, the maid or that person?’

[Definitely this one. That maid is fine as long as you don’t lift the veil.]

I hadn’t planned on choosing him anyway, and Roaz’s words only confirmed it.

Finally, it was Ikavel’s turn.

“Pick Myrdi.”

He recommended Myrdi as soon as he entered.

I was sitting on a chair, resting my chin on my hand, and I tilted my head as if to say, “Explain more.”

Ikavel, holding back his irritation, wrinkled his nose and spoke.

“Since you arrived here, Myrdi has been waiting for his turn. That guy is interested in the human…… the outside world. He also likes helping others.”

“So you’re saying Sir Myrdi is the right choice?”

“Yes, well…… you weren’t planning on choosing another candidate anyway, were you?”

Ikavel seemed to accept his own elimination as a given.

The second candidate was a given, and he’d shown a defiant attitude toward me, so he figured there was no way he’d be chosen.

‘What a shame, I like you better.’

Seeing me smile silently, Ikavel frowned, perhaps growing uneasy.

“I’ll take that as your agreement. I’ll be on my—”

“Wait, Sir Ikavel.”

I called Ikavel back and rose from my seat.

“I understand your opinion. I also thought Sir Myrdi seemed the most outstanding.”

The word ‘most’ seemed to irk him, and the corner of Ikavel’s mouth twitched and twisted slightly.

“But actually, Sir Myrdi also recommended you, Sir Ikavel.”

“Me?”

Ikavel’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Yes. He said that even though you seem rough on the outside, you’re a truly loyal knight…… Am I wrong?”

“Well, that’s true.”

As expected, Ikavel was sensitive to the word ‘loyalty.’ Seeing him secretly pleased that Myrdi had praised him, I smiled brightly.

“I’d like to choose Sir Myrdi, but since you two recommended each other…… how about we have a conversation all together this time? I’d like to learn more about both of you.”

Ikavel looked uneasy, as if suspicious of my kindness, but he readily nodded at the suggestion of talking together, showing no particular objection.

“Then wait here for a moment. I’ll bring Sir Myrdi.”

“I could go instead.”

“I think it’s better if I explain the situation directly.”

And so I concluded the conversation and headed outside the bedroom. Ikavel, left behind in the room, waited in an awkward posture.

I closed the door and walked toward where Myrdi was. I felt a slight pang of guilt at Ikavel’s innocence, having fallen for my lie.

‘Well, of course Myrdi is capable. Who doesn’t know that?’

He’s loyal to the Count, polite, and has the composure to restrain his comrades. Though he seems clumsy on the outside, he’s probably the diligent type on the inside.

And that was a personality I didn’t particularly need.

On the other hand, Ikavel was perfect.

His loyalty to the Count was the same as Myrdi’s. But he was hot-tempered and held considerable animosity toward me.

Probably thinking, “As if I’d serve a mere human.”

That arrogant mindset was exactly what I wanted.

‘Arrogance leads to carelessness, and carelessness leads to mistakes.’

Just like Roaz. In fact, he was an easier target than Roaz, whose goal was clear.

‘Now then…… nice to meet you, Senior Roaz.’

Since it was his junior’s turn, he’d handle himself appropriately.

Imagining Roaz’s mischief, I turned my steps back toward the bedroom. I looked forward to seeing satisfying results by now.

Ikavel disliked Deliana.

It was only natural. For him, who took great pride in being Haster’s subordinate, having a mere mortal as his superior was hard to accept.

So he wasn’t pleased when he received the escort proposal. When he heard he had to go through an interview, he even considered sending a subordinate instead.

He only attended because Myrdi had insisted it wouldn’t be right.

‘Well, Myrdi will become the escort anyway, as planned.’

The reason Haster had placed Ikavel beside Myrdi was obvious. He and ßIJĦж were essentially disposable pieces.

Ikavel thought it was for the best. He didn’t want to face Deliana again if he could help it.

In the first place, he didn’t like the fact that she, a human, had such unfathomable eyes.

Ikavel waited for Myrdi and Deliana, muttering a sigh-filled soliloquy.

“Haster, how long are you going to keep playing these childish games?”