"Why?"

Gwen was somewhat puzzled.

Victor came with the Knights, but then suddenly suggested that they split up and act alone.

She didn't quite understand why Victor would follow the Knights if he didn't need their protection.

Or rather?

What exactly was his purpose in coming to Mount Vesuvius?

"I want to go to the crater first."

That's what Victor said.

Under Gwen's righteous heart, all lies will be exposed.

But he wasn't lying, which means Victor did indeed intend to go to the crater.

Gwen then remembered Viktor's initial reason for accompanying her.

"Could it be that the kind of monster you're talking about is right there in the crater?"

"Um……"

Viktor paused for a moment, his mind now filled with the image of that colossal demonic beast.

So he replied.

I guess so.

...What does "calculate" mean?

The other person hadn't lied, which piqued Gwen's curiosity, but she wasn't one to pry into other people's privacy.

This is, after all, an extinct volcano, and Victor has also said that he is very familiar with the terrain of Mount Vesuvius.

There shouldn't be any problems.

Gwen nodded and agreed to his request to leave the team.

"I will come to you after I finish what I need to do."

As soon as Victor finished speaking, a blue magic circle with twinkling stars appeared beneath his feet.

A flash of blue light, and his figure vanished without a trace.

The sight of a living person vanishing right before her eyes left Gwen somewhat dazed.

A knight who had witnessed the entire exchange between the two noticed Gwen still in a daze and approached her to ask her a question.

"Knight Commander? You two...had a fight last night?"

Gwen turned her head and opened her mouth.

"No, it's not what you think..."

Before she could finish speaking, the knight continued:

"Sigh, it's normal for couples to have disagreements. I often argue with my wife too, but our son is already eight years old."

"A quarrel at the head of the bed is resolved at the foot of the bed; there's no such thing as a grudge that lasts overnight between husband and wife."

The more Gwen listened to him, the redder her face became.

"Enough talk! Let's get going!"

She cursed at the knight and left in a hurry.

“Huh? Knight Commander Gwen! I didn’t say anything wrong… Sigh, girls these days are so pretentious. I was right about this.”

Gwen didn't quite catch what the knight said next.

Her face flushed slightly, like a little girl whose secret had been revealed.

But in reality, she knew better than anyone else.

There was no relationship between her and Victor.

Just as she would never fall for Viktor, Viktor would never fall for her.

Gwen mounted the white horse, her heart filled with a sense of melancholy.

If nothing unexpected happens, she will probably end up marrying Victor.

After all, the marriage agreement between the two families had been set long ago.

Gwen is the second daughter in the family, and she can only obey the family's decisions and cannot change them.

Gwen didn't want to get married, especially since she had a terrible impression of Victor from before.

'How could I possibly marry such a bastard?'

As this thought flashed through her mind, she suddenly recalled what had happened last night.

He was like an elegant nobleman, every move he made was like that of a gentleman.

I don't even know when it happened, but he gave up the only bed for me.

When she woke up, she found Victor sitting quietly in a chair, looking at the obscure and difficult magic book, having sat there all night.

She felt guilty, but Victor told her that mages had their own ways of resting, and all they needed was quiet.

Is he... a jerk?

Gwen couldn't help but think to herself.

Despite her ambition to become a knight of absolute justice, Gwen never truly hated anyone.

Even if that person is Victor.

'I think I was pretty quiet last night...'

Shaking off the unnecessary thoughts in her mind, she raised the silver sword in her hand and swung it forward.

"Set off!"

...

A blue rain of light fell from the sky, forming a teleportation array in mid-air and revealing Viktor's figure.

He opened his eyes, and the scenery around him had changed noticeably.

The surrounding area was so desolate that there was almost nothing left, except for a few scattered charred rocks standing on the hillside.

He was currently halfway up the volcano, well ahead of the Knights.

This is the maximum range within which teleportation magic can be used.

It's clearly not very realistic to teleport all the way to the mountaintop in one go.

Seeing that no one was around, Vega, perched on his shoulder, shouted at him:

Why did you choose to break up with them?

"The Knights' route should be the same as yours. If you follow them, you'll get here sooner or later."

Victor patted its head and explained:

"They are not needed to accompany us."

"There are some things I need to investigate myself; there's no need for others to know."

Vega found it strange; judging from Viktor's expression, it seemed like he had been planning this for a long time.

Recalling how interested he was when he heard about Mount Vesuvius, Vega couldn't help but suspect that the other man knew something.

A man and a bird walk on Mount Vesuvius, which has erupted once before.

However, after that incident, Mount Vesuvius lost its ability to erupt and became an extinct volcano.

The residents at the foot of the mountain built a town here, which has a history of several hundred years.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!