"… I'm sorry I couldn't be by your side."
"No need to be sorry. About, Lord Rixis ..."
Irene had been contemplating whether to ask about him or not, carefully told Noel. Then Noel responded while applying ointment to Irene's wound.
"I didn't kill him."
Watching him calm, speaking as if nothing had happened, Irene was speechless for a moment.
"Otherwise, I won't be able to convict him."
"Then Noel, did you get injured…."
"Not a single scratch."
Noel answered quickly, he wasn't trying to be conceited, but it was to ease her worries. Despite his answer, Irene checked every inch of Noel's body. Although he had a long coat, he didn't appear to have been hurt.
'Ascardo is also a first-class swordsman.'
He wasn't even inflicted with a small wound while fighting against such a powerful opponent as Ascarodo. Now that she understood the attitude of the mercenaries, Irene overcame her worry and became ashamed of herself.
As she looked away with embarrassment, Noel took another step towards Irene and hugged her, burying his face in the crook of her neck.
Due to his sudden action, Irene and the mercenaries observing the two held their breaths from shock from a distance.
"N, Noel?"
"It's all because of you, Irene."
"Why...?"
What did he mean it was all thanks to her? When she asked again, not being able to understand what he was getting the first time, Noel looked into her eyes and said.
"I knew you would be worried, so I couldn't afford to get a single scratch. It was all thanks to you that I was able to stay safe like this."
His words sounded like a sweet confession, and Irene felt that her heart would spontaneously combust.
"So, don't get hurt too, don't stray away from me, and always stay by my side."
In fact, Noel felt like he would go crazy with anxiety after letting her go independently. He wanted to follow her right away because he was worried she'd fall at the hands of an assassin sent by the Emperor.
The more those dark thoughts invaded his mind. The more Noel tried to be calm and cool-headed. So, perfectly defeating the enemy before him was the fastest way to reach her.
When he finally saw her safe and sound, Noel felt relieved and embraced her without thinking.
-Chime -Chime
The bell rang, announcing that it was 9 o'clock.
Noel and Irene exchanged looks calmly and nodded at each other.
After summoning her spirit, a strong gust of wind blew. On appeared in front of Irene and grumbled.
[There are more humans than you told me before.]
In response to his grumbling, Irene smirked.
"Come on. I'm begging you, On."
The mercenary members tilted their heads in confusion as they watched Irene talking to herself, but their bodies soon floated into the air. Even though the mercenaries were already aware they'd be transported by air, they still made startled noises when their feet left the ground.
[Alright, let's go.]
After receiving Irene's approving nod, On shifted the wind around the travelling party and began to fly towards the Imperial Palace at full speed.
It only took a few minutes to fly from the Grand Duke's Mansion to the Imperial Palace. As soon as they landed in the backyard of the Imperial Palace, the Ram members bent down and vomited.
"Leader, I think I am about to die…."
"Who knew that I was going to live to experience the sensation of flying."
"I thought I was going to fall and die at any moment."
Irene had multiple experiences flying to and from the gym with On's power. Noel and Louiselle were well aware of Irene's abilities, so they were not flustered, but the Ram members who had only heard a few words beforehand couldn't digest how fast On was.
"Are you okay?"
Irene asked out of concern at the motion sick mercenaries, but Noel answered instead.
"They're okay. Only weak people talk about dying like this."
"But…"
"Haha, Leader is right. We indeed are weak."
"Our Ram is strong. Why are you talking about."
The mercenaries ridiculed him for being cold-hearted, but Noel didn't respond, so the mercenary members stuck out their tongues at him.
Noel wanted the Ram mercenaries to have a level similar to his own. It was easier said than done because even the first mercenaries to join still weren't on par with his skills, so Ram's mercenary team had to work hard to meet his expectations. Thanks to that, Ram's mercenary corps was ranked at the top, but still, the members weren't satisfied with the results.