April was wearing a plain brown dress—something that would allow her to blend seamlessly into the crowd of villagers. It was clearly meant as a disguise.
Seeing her in a dress felt strangely unfamiliar, but her face remained exactly as I remembered.
Long, golden hair that shimmered with clarity, bright green eyes reminiscent of nature, and a face that looked as youthful as a girl’s.
“Ah, g-good evening....”
Just earlier, when I saw the emperor’s face, Winter, and Aquila, I had thought about how time had changed everyone’s appearances.
Yet April alone seemed untouched by the passage of time.
‘What is this? Does time itself avoid her?’
And that only made her more terrifying. She looked exactly as I had once known her—that same kind and gentle face.
No, that wasn’t kindness. It was the expression of someone holding something back. I understood that now.
I turned my gaze toward the others, silently pleading for help, but even Karon—who had displayed nothing but unwavering loyalty to me—averted his eyes.
No way. Is this a character break? I never really evaluated Karon’s status as a male lead before, but in this moment, Karon, your male lead score is -40.
“You can talk casually with me.”
I tried my best to avoid eye contact, but April continued to smile sweetly, either ignoring my discomfort or deliberately pretending not to notice.
“I’m not even your senior anymore.”
“Haha, there’s no way I could do that....”
“If you keep acting like this, it feels like I never even got discharged.”
Realizing that her words were less of a suggestion and more of a demand, I made an attempt.
“Ah, got it... g-got it, uh... I will....”
“...What?”
“I’ll speak... casually... I will....”
“.......”
Damn it. My entire body was rejecting this.
“Hahahaha!”
April, who had been watching me with an unreadable expression, suddenly burst into laughter.
Oh, so it’s funny, huh? This is funny to you?
“What, you’re already a Senior Private?”
Her green eyes widened as if she had just noticed the insignia on my uniform.
“Now that I think about it, you’ve managed to survive all this time? Ha, Salvia, I can’t believe you’ve actually made it this far.”
“Haha... ha....”
Standing in front of her, I felt like nothing more than a recruit again. It was as if I had gone straight back to my first day of enlistment.
“Let’s see, who else was there back then~?”
April scanned the area with curious eyes, and the other Senior Privates tensed up. Even the notorious ‘Personality Disaster, Batch 85’ recruits were avoiding her gaze. The First-Class Privates and fresh recruits, who didn’t yet understand what April was, looked bewildered.
“Haha....”
Even Ishina let out an awkward laugh, trying to dodge her attention.
“Oh....”
Then April’s gaze landed on Karon.
“He got huge. He was your direct junior, right?”
“Yes....”
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“It’s so weird seeing you all with ranks now, haha.”
April flashed her signature gentle smile before her gaze finally landed on Aquila. And once again, she let out a small exclamation of surprise.
“Oh....”
Her eyes flicked back and forth between me and Aquila.
“...Why are you looking at me like that?”
My speech was becoming increasingly unnatural.
“...No reason, it’s just kind of funny.”
April’s expression was one of pure amusement, and that made me uneasy. Nothing good had ever come from April being in a good mood around me.
Finally, after expressing her disbelief that Winter was still serving as an officer, she got to the point.
“Well, it’s nothing big. That black magician from earlier? I caught him and I’ll be taking him to headquarters. Good job, everyone.”
“Oh, so he really was a black magician? I heard there were supposedly three big black magicians in this region or something.”
“So, have you officially joined the Black Magic Investigation Special Forces?”
Winter asked the question before I could, and April nodded in response.
“Yeah. That guy from earlier? Looked like he was trying to kill the emperor.”
The atmosphere instantly grew heavy at the casual way she mentioned the emperor.
I signaled to Karon with my eyes, and he quickly took the First-Class Privates and recruits further away. Winter scanned the surroundings with sharp eyes.
“...Why the emperor?”
“Well, isn’t it obvious? Because he’s cracking down on black magic.”
April’s tone was light and unbothered.
“He had a prepared curse totem in his hands. Looked like he was planning to use it, but I destroyed it before he could.”
“Where did you detain him? Are you sure he won’t escape?”
“Hmm. Do you think he could?”
Her smirk sent another wave of silence over the group.
Yeah... I’m sure she handled it. Poor bastard.
“There are more black magicians in the empire than I expected.”
We had already encountered two out of the so-called ‘Three Great Black Magicians.’
April, being part of the Black Magic Investigation Special Forces, probably knew even more about black magicians than Sanchez. It seemed like a good opportunity to gather some information.
‘Maybe I can find a clue on how to break this damn magical contract.’
At my question, April’s green eyes locked onto me, her expression unreadable.
“Of course. There was a time when black magic was practiced on an empire-wide scale.”
“Oh, really?”
“Especially before we conquered the lands where the Arkons lived. Black magic was extremely common back then. It was only after we became part of the empire that it started cracking down on it.”
She spoke about such a dark history in the brightest, most cheerful tone. Classic April.
“Even the spell that binds us in this military service was created with black magic. And now, they turn around and tell black magicians not to use it? Of course, they’re pissed.”
“Aha....”
“But wait, do you seriously not know something this basic?”
April gave me a skeptical look, and under her gaze, I instinctively shrank back and had no choice but to answer.
“Well, yeah. I never really learned much, haha....”
“Do you think this is funny?”
“I’ll be more serious—no, I mean, I apologize....”
“I wasn’t scolding you. I was just genuinely asking if you found it funny.”
Before I could collapse in on myself from sheer pressure, Ishina intervened.
“Haha, it’s possible to not know things. You’re gonna make the kid cry at this rate.”
I was genuinely touched. Wow... all this time, I kept suspecting Ishina of being some hidden mastermind villain, but here he was, taking my side.
Feeling a surge of gratitude, I shifted behind him, using his broad back as a shield. Facing April head-on was just too much.
As I peeked around Ishina’s shoulder to keep an eye on April, Winter must have thought I looked too pathetic to ignore because he stepped in as well.
“There’s no need to worry. I make sure Salvia learns everything she absolutely needs to know.”
“...Winter, you’ve really grown up, huh?”
“.......”
Even Winter wasn’t immune to April. He lost too. His male lead status—minus... No, wait, I won’t dock him points. This is just because April is too damn strong.
“So, a lot of interesting things must’ve happened while I was gone....”
April muttered to herself, and the amusement in her voice was so genuine that a few people involuntarily flinched.
Then, she noticed the company commander and took a step back.
“Well, I guess I’ve been interfering too much. I’m not even part of this unit anymore. I’ll be on my way.”
“P-please take care....”
“...Would you be interested in joining the Black Magic Investigation Special Forces—”
“N-no, thank you....”
“I was serious, though?”
April smiled prettily, tilting her head slightly.
It was the exact same smile I had seen on my first day of enlistment.
‘T-that smile....’
My body immediately started trembling, but April didn’t care. She simply kept smiling as she continued speaking.
“By the time you get there, the Black Magic Investigation Special Forces will be a much better place.”
That sounded oddly ominous, but I had no desire to dig any deeper. I just... I just didn’t want to get any closer to April.
“Haha... ha.... I really must decline.”
Looking at her, my resolve strengthened. I was never, ever going anywhere near the Black Magic Investigation Special Forces.
***
After parting ways with her, we returned to the unit.
Some of the younger recruits seemed curious about the terrifying force that had just shaken us all.
“Salvia, who was that earlier—”
“Do you really think you’ve earned the right to be that curious at your rank?”
“S-sorry....”
Of course, I had no intention of telling them anything.
It had been one hell of a day. Not only did I run into that crazy bitch April, but I also met that bastard of an emperor. Oh, and there was that lunatic black magician too.
‘Everything about today was annoying.’
The magical contract binding us was created through black magic, and the young Arkons were being exploited by black magicians. We had suffered more than enough because of them, so it was only natural to be pissed off at black magicians in general.
But at the same time, I almost wanted to applaud the black magician for trying to take out the emperor, because, well, fuck that guy too.
‘So, the imperial family basically used black magic to control us, and now that they’ve gained enough power, they’re tossing black magicians aside like trash?’
It was infuriating.
I hated the emperor, and I hated the black magicians who opposed him just as much. If I ever did anything after getting discharged, it would probably be making sure both the imperial family and the black magicians got obliterated.
Seriously, why the hell were there so many people in this world that I just couldn’t stand?
“...Ugh.”
As I let out a deep sigh, I could feel the younger recruits around me flinch. Not that I cared.
“...Ugh.”
I sighed again, and this time, Aquila, who had been quietly observing me from the side, finally spoke up.
“Salvia, what’s wrong? Is it because of Lady April?”
“Oh, right... she was a thing too. But no, that’s not it.”
Now that I thought about it, even Karon—who had the lowest seniority among the male leads—had made it to Senior Private. I had expected them to at least have some level of dignity by now, but remembering how they all cowered in front of April... Yeah, no. Their dignity was still severely lacking.
At this rate, none of them were ever getting their pride back before discharge. The root of all evil in this world was the Border Defense Army.
“It’s just... there’s a lot that’s bothering me.”
“Like what? A person?”
“...Why? What would you do if it was?”
“If you want, I’ll take care of anyone for you.”
I looked into Aquila’s orange eyes, which held a serious glint, and then let out a quiet chuckle, curling one corner of my lips.
“Oh? Then could you take care of Lady April for me?”
“...That’s...”
“Haha, I’m kidding.”
Yep, male lead points, minus 10 for all of them.
Honestly, out of everyone I knew, April probably had the highest ‘male lead’ power ranking. No matter how I thought about it, she felt like the most powerful protagonist out of anyone here.
“Well, kidding aside, it’s not just one thing that’s bothering me.”
Right now, the two things taking up the most space in my head were the emperor and the black magicians.
Even if dealing with black magicians would be a pain in the ass, I could at least overpower them if I really had to. But as for the emperor... I had no idea how to deal with him.
If I really did end up cutting off that bastard’s head, I’d probably end up making an enemy of the entire empire, huh?