Noel, who had unleashed his magic power, was truly worthy of being called a descendant of the royal family.

He could understand why Tanner had insisted so strongly.

Carving out troll hearts with blades of wind, Noel was truly terrifying.

“Why is he over there?”

Percy said, reading the atmosphere.

“I think he might have fallen for that knight commander.”

“Fallen for?!”

“He’s been glancing at her all the way here, and now he’s gone over there to kill trolls for her.”

Percy tried to joke, but Leon’s hardened expression didn’t soften.

“Percy, take good care of the others. I’ll go fetch Luke.”

“Yes, don’t worry about it.”

Even in the absence of their commander, the knights didn’t waver.

Rather, they snickered as if excited at the thought of piling up carrots.

“Looks like Luke’s on carrot duty again today.”

“That guy always loses his mind when it comes to the Wilkins family.”

“He’s going to get a good scolding one of these days.”

“She is really pretty though. And her chest isn’t that big.”

“……”

Everyone’s gaze turned to Sam at once.

Sam was the new knight who had said he liked small br*asts before.

Fortunately, Sam didn’t die that day.

More precisely, he managed to escape death because he didn’t prefer short women.

“Are you… persistent? Or just oblivious?”

“I think he just has no sense.”

Sam refuted Gerard’s words.

“No. I just don’t have a life.”

“What?!”

“His Grace said so. That I don’t have a life, so I’m brave.”

“……”

Percy shook his head, looking at the beaming Sam.

“That crazy bastard… He thinks that’s a compliment.”

* * *

“You idiot. What are you doing here?”

Leon called out to Luke while taking down a troll blocking his path.

“I knew this would happen. Some are killing monsters like their lives depend on it, while others are just spectating from inside a shield.”

Luke seethed, looking at the Wilkins Knights deploying a defensive formation inside the wind shield.

Of course, Noel was attacking the trolls, but this was to protect his own family, not the expedition.

However, neither Luke nor the Hunt Knights had the right to criticize.

After all, the Hunt family had been acting the same way until now.

It was the same when they were attacked by wyverns just recently.

“If you put it that way, we’re the same.”

“It’s different! His Grace stepped up like this in our moment of crisis, didn’t he?”

It was then.

“Luke!”

Leon shouted towards Luke.

Busy venting his complaints, Luke hadn’t noticed the troll’s club flying towards him from behind.

As Luke belatedly tried to move his sword, it happened.

{Uuuh…!}

“……?”

Suddenly, the troll staggered.

The hand holding the club had been cut off and fallen to the ground.

This was clearly a blade of wind.

“……?”

Luke turned around.

There stood Kieran in an awkward posture, having unknowingly left Noel’s shield.

Luke’s face contorted.

“Who asked for your help!”

Kieran flinched at the fiery shout.

“I thought you didn’t know…”

“I saw everything. I was about to attack!”

“Luke! Get your act together!!”

The troll’s arm was regenerating again.

It would soon lead to a one-hit magic attack.

As Leon hurriedly tried to move towards Luke, it happened.

{Graaah-!}

This time, the troll suddenly screamed.

Soon after, the troll’s remains, not just torn by sharp wind but shattered to pieces, fell upon Luke.

“……!”

Luke gritted his teeth, suddenly covered in troll blood.

“What is this…”

“You’re quite harsh to someone who helped you.”

Noel, withdrawing his ability, glared at Luke who now looked like a drenched mouse.

“Luke, was it?”

The wind that had whirled around finally subsided, pushing Luke and Leon away as if telling them to stop.

“I’ll remember that name well.”

* * *

“Charlie.”

Hector, who had been watching Noel, Leon, and Luke, turned his gaze to Charlie, who had been closing her eyes for a while.

“Why are you closing your eyes?”

“Well…”

Why indeed, it’s not like this was some toy where pearls come out of the chest.

With hearts popping out here and there, and green blood she’d never seen before.

Not to mention the flesh scattering in the air.

Wouldn’t it be stranger to be perfectly fine after seeing such a scene unfold before your eyes?

“Uh…”

However, the Hunt Knights were killing monsters to protect the expedition.

Even going so far as to reveal their hidden powers.

Of course, their grinning faces made them look quite insane.

In any case, Charlie, who knew them better than anyone, couldn’t say she was scared.

It was just a bit nauseating to actually see it.

She didn’t feel afraid of the knights or repulsed by them.

But if she were to open her eyes, she felt like she might throw up on the spot.

“…My eyes are a bit dry.”

“Dry?”

“They feel sticky… Maybe it’s because of the wind.”

Hector looked around.

There wasn’t even a breeze, let alone wind.

The red flag symbolizing the Hunt family didn’t show even the slightest flutter.

Just then, Hector’s gaze fell on Mateo, who was trembling while tightly clutching his magic pouch.

“Perhaps you’re scared?”

“No, not at all.”

Charlie shook her head vigorously.

Her pheromones didn’t indicate fear either.

“It’s because of the wind, I tell you.”

Charlie emphasized again with her eyes closed.

Hector looked down at Charlie with a puzzled expression, unable to understand.

“I told you not to lie.”

“Huh?”

“There’s no wind right now.”

“……”

Damn, the wind that was blowing just fine decided not to blow now of all times. Charlie clicked her tongue inwardly.

“No, it’s just…”

“Just?”

“It’s not exactly a beautiful scene to look at, is it?”

“……”

Hector, lost in thought for a moment, raised his hand.

“I see.”

Eventually, his large hand gently covered Charlie’s eyes as if to block her view.

“I didn’t realize.”

“……?”

At that moment, Charlie’s eyes flew open.

But it was too brief a moment to say it wasn’t okay.

Kwagwang-!

“……”

Fire arrows rained down from the sky, landing precisely on the trolls’ heads.

The giant bodies engulfed in powerful flames instantly turned to ash and scattered.

But all Charlie could see was Hector’s hand blocking her view.

“……!”

The imperial army, encountering the fire ability for the first time, froze at the powerful magic they felt, and the same was true for Cedric, Noel, and the Hunt Knights.

It was as if time and space had stopped.

If it weren’t for Hector’s low, deep voice, they would have truly thought time had stopped.

“It’s cleared.”

* * *

On the grass of the Hunt family’s camp under the pouring sunlight.

Today, instead of card games, they were busy showing off their auras.

“Miss Charlie. Did you see my aura?”

Percy spoke to Charlie while Leon shook his head.

“When it comes to swords, it’s swords, when it’s aura, it’s aura. Wouldn’t my aura as the knight commander have overshadowed it?”

“……”

The trolls had turned to ashes and disappeared with Hector’s ability.

Thus, the expedition safely arrived at the encampment after passing through the ravine.

The rugged terrain blocked by cliffs was too narrow to set up a proper camp.

As a result, the distance between each family’s area was closer than before.

The imperial army was positioned at the entrance of the encampment.

If they were to be attacked by monsters, it would be most efficient for the Edwards Knights, who specialized in defense, to block them.

The Wilkins family was at the left side of the encampment, below the sheer cliff.

And the Hunt family settled near the stream on the right side.

“Why are we talking about swords here?”

Percy’s bottom jumped up a span in agitation.

“And what kind of sword is this?”

The Hunt Knights’ swords were masterpieces personally crafted by the best blacksmith in the duchy.

Moreover, the sword handles were embedded with priceless, top-grade magic stones.

Originally, magic stones help amplify magic power and aura.

That’s why the knights’ magic consumption wasn’t high even though they wrapped their entire bodies in aura.

But Leon snorted.

“It’s still far inferior compared to this precious sword passed down to the family’s knight commanders for generations.”

“……”

The branches have spread, branched out, and even flowered.

Charlie let out a deep sigh.

This commotion was caused by Charlie’s words.

[You all worked hard.]

The knights, who suddenly lost their work due to Hector’s ability, were quite deflated.

So she had said those words to cheer them up. A sense of guilt also played a part.

[Thank you.]

However, for the knights, Charlie’s words were a thank you they had never heard before.

Just look at the expedition.

They avoided the knights like monsters, reluctant even to make eye contact.

Of course, no one expressed gratitude.

But Charlie had said those words, so their emotion was indescribable.

It was so moving that even Hector left the knights to rush towards Charlie alone.

But right now, Charlie couldn’t care less about auras.

Even Hector being cool and exciting was secondary.