Chapter 6 – Are You Jealous, Captain? (Part 2)

Having rushed out of the captain’s study, Lena diligently went on her patrol rounds. Though it was partly an excuse to escape the situation, work was still work.

The first place she visited was the monster laboratory within the knights’ order. It was where they occasionally conducted various experiments on unusual captured monsters.

“Hello, Sir Atul.”

“Oh, if it isn’t the assistant. On patrol, I see.”

“Yes, how’s Toto doing?”

“He’s very lively.”

Ironically, the rabbit Lena had brought here out of pity was now living in this place. On the desk in the spacious laboratory lay various unknown plants and flowers scattered about.

“What’s this plant?”

Unable to contain her curiosity, Lena picked up a plant that looked like a common seedling.

“It’s called Shenkervell. It causes neurotoxic poisoning in monsters…”

“Oh…”

Seeing Lena’s unimpressed expression, Atul quickly summarized his explanation.

“In short, it’s a poisonous weed!”

Rolling her eyes, Lena looked at the small rabbit hutch in the corner of the laboratory.

A tiny rabbit, no bigger than her palm, was nibbling on the grass inside the hutch.

‘Did I bring Toto to the wrong place?’

Her pet rabbit, Toto, whom she had even named herself. Perhaps it was just her imagination that she felt like she had placed this poor, cute little creature into a lion’s den.

Lena approached the rabbit, took it out of the hutch, and hugged it.

“You’re eating well.”

As she fed it cabbage leaves by hand, its nose twitched, and it eagerly nibbled away.

Not all monsters were carnivorous. Some, like this one, primarily ate plants, while others uniquely fed on minerals.

“That little one is already a big eater. He’s showing great potential for the future.”

“Really? That’s a relief.”

Worried that it might not adapt to the unfamiliar environment, seeing that it was doing well brought some relief.

“Next time, let’s visit our captain’s house!”

There, you can let it play on the wide lawn instead of being stuck in a cramped cage.

‘But I guess I’ll have to entertain that black-haired beast myself.’

Hmm, it might not be so bad?

Thinking back on past affairs made her blush unconsciously. Lena quickly shook her head and hugged the snow-white rabbit tightly.

“Oh! Is there anything you need?”

Momentarily lost in her rabbit reverie, Lena quickly turned back to Atul. She had almost forgotten that she was there for work.

“Ah, we could use some more capture traps.”

After pondering Lena’s question, Atul clapped his hands as if he remembered something.

They had used a lot of traps in the Adelman Forest, so their numbers must have decreased significantly.

“Okay! I’ll check and contact the tower.”

“Thank you, assistant.”

“I’ll ask for the best ones since we need to take good care of our Toto.”

“Oh! Looks like this rabbit is having a special day today!”

Exchanging light-hearted jokes, Lena dawdled a bit more before heading to the training ground. As she made her rounds, a few knights who recognized her ran over cheerfully.

“Assistant!”

“What brings you here?”

It seemed to be breakfast time for the knights, as they were all shirtless with towels around their necks.

‘Wow, eye candy.’

Her eyes were filled with the sight of well-defined pectorals and impressive abs. Seeing all these well-sculpted muscles gathered in one place brought a smile to her face.

Come to think of it, the captain had an amazing external oblique line.

The line running along the side of the chest, which curved inwards along the waist and then spread out again at the hips, was a perfect torso with no excess flesh.

Among them, the rectus abdominis muscles are divided into eight parts, each forming a complete rectangular shape in perfect symmetry.

Especially the inverted triangle positioned on the lower abdomen looked beautiful at a glance, but when it met the thing that hung precariously on the pelvis, it was so tantalizing erotic that it made one’s mouth water.

The bronzed presence positioned at the end of it was fantastically captivating, to the point where it drove people crazy…

Huh?

‘What am I thinking right now! Lena, are you crazy! Get a grip!’

Lena, who had been distracted by the well-defined muscles, quickly shook her head and smiled.

She didn’t know why her thoughts always ended up drifting towards the captain.

“Aren’t you working too hard?”

“Did you get scolded by the captain for slacking off?”

Before she knew it, people had gathered around Lena, each chiming in with a comment, making her feel dizzy. Lena quickly slipped away from the crowd.

“Well, I was just checking if you needed anything. Oh! I also need to visit Training Ground 1! Excuse me, I’ll be going now…!”

“Hey, assistant!”

“Stay a bit longer!”

Burdened by the intense gazes, Lena fled to Training Ground 1. She had chosen it because there were relatively fewer people, but it turned out to be a wrong choice.

Within the knights’ order, the training grounds were divided into three types. Training Ground 3 was for the newly arrived trainees. Training Ground 2, where she had just met the knights.

“Oh? Kid! What brings you here? Did you come because you missed your big brother?”

And… Training Ground 1, where the elite among the knights gathered. Here was none other than Aran Radiero.

As soon as she heard the familiar voice, Lena frowned. She slightly turned her head to face the owner of the voice.

“Ugh, it’s been a while, Sir Radiero.”

“Kid. Can’t you do something about that stiff title?”

“It’s working hours right now.”

At her arrival, the nearby knights gathered around once again. It felt as if they were observing a rare animal. A dumb smile spread across their faces.

“Assistant!”

“Isn’t it the Assistant?”

Lena greeted them briefly.

“Ah, everyone, be quiet. Kid, did you come because you’re bored? Should this big brother entertain you?”

“No, thank you.”

Aran’s pointless joke made Lena’s face grimace. She ignored him coldly and looked around where the knights were.

She desperately searched for Hyde Cashetra, Aran Radiero’s only break.

‘That human whose muscles even fill his brain.’

He wasn’t outright rude, but he was ignorant enough to drain one’s energy just being around him.

The only one who could stop such Aran was Hyde Cashetra.

“Sir Cashetra is not here?”

Everyone was slacking off, taking a break during breakfast time, but Hyde was nowhere to be seen.

Lena, looking distressed, glanced at the nearby knights. Naturally, the answer came from Aran’s mouth.

“That model knight doesn’t know what it means to rest.”

“Ah…”

It seemed that Hyde was training separately. Being an archer was a unique case, so it appeared he didn’t train with the swordsmen.

“Kid, since you’re here, let’s have a drink.”

“Drinking during working hours is not allowed, ah!”

Aran threw an arm around Lena’s shoulder and forcibly led her out of the training ground. It felt as if she was a maiden being dragged away by a brute.

Of course, the place this brute dragged her to wasn’t some shady alley but the cafeteria within the squad.

“Did you have breakfast?”

“I did.”

While the knights had early morning training and came in early for that, Lena primarily handled administrative tasks.

Naturally, her start time wasn’t at dawn, so she had breakfast before coming. The knights were just about to eat after finishing their training.

Knowing this, Aran shamelessly tapped a chair at the long table.

“At best, you probably had a few greens. Sit down!”

“I don’t eat a heavy breakfast.”

“Breakfast should be meat!”

“No…”

Conversations with this person always went this way. He would push his way through with his own logic, just like a tank. It was no different from when Aran stood before a horde of monsters, lifting his massive shield and roaring.

“Sigh.”

Before she knew it, Lena was surrounded by knights and holding a spoon. She poked at the hamburger steak on her plate and rolled her eyes.

Desperately, she searched for one person among those entering the cafeteria.

Hyde Cashetra.

Even though Hyde was known for being someone far from resting, he was strict with his self-discipline. He would surely come to the cafeteria for mealtime.