The Suspicious Junior
We returned once again to the Goethle Mines, bringing Lord Doyle and Lady Alyssa along to inspect the new mana ore mining site.
“Th-this is the mines…”
“It’s got a scarier atmosphere than I expected…”
The two were already startled by the presence before even entering the tunnel. As soon as we arrived, we summoned Amira and had her thoroughly investigate the surroundings, but no monsters were detected. Well, that doesn’t mean we can be completely at ease. There could still be cases like the Jewel Lizard—no signs might appear, but we can’t let our guard down.
… Also, there was one more thing bothering me.
“Heh, so this is the new mana ore mining site.”
This was Latasha, the junior who came along as Lady Alyssa’s personal guard.
She was the first junior I ever had, and since she was assigned as a guard knight to the McCreed family, we hadn’t seen each other. To think we’d meet again in a situation like this.
After surveying the mine, Latasha let out a deep sigh.
“Is something wrong?”
“No, it’s just… seeing Senior Justin, whom I admired, wasting away in a place like this despite holding the title of Holy Knight…”
“Ah…”
I understood what she meant. When Latasha and I were in the same unit, I was nothing but an ambitious person desperate to climb the ranks.
But ever since I started living in this Abbott region, I’ve felt my values change drastically. Money, status, fame—all that stuff doesn’t matter anymore. When the Kingdom Council decided to expel Hank’s knights and invited me back to the capital, I ultimately declined.
Even now, I’m sure that was the right choice.
I love the life I have now—but if I’m compared to my once hungry, ambitious self, I can’t blame anyone for saying I’ve become a pushover. Though I haven’t said it aloud, maybe Latasha secretly thinks the same when she looks at me now.
“You’ve been serving the duke’s family for years, haven’t you? You might have polished your skills so much that you’ve even surpassed your senior.”
Maybe those words reflected her feelings about me now—that’s probably just me reading too much into it.
But… somehow, she seems different than the last time we met.
“Senior, what’s wrong?”
Elina’s voice snapped me back to reality.
For now, I’ll just focus on the task at hand.
What do you think about this chapter?
