His head hurt. He had nausea, chapped lips, and a dry throat due to lack of moisture. But before all that discomfort, the first thing that registered his mind was a question.
Why do I feel this way?
The deputy commander of the Sawtooth Clan, James Calla, gasped like a man coming out for air and opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was an unknown ceiling. A beautiful drawing was carved from the luxurious wood and in the center was a dazzling chandelier hanging from a chain.
As he tried to figure out where he was, a man's face appeared in his field of vision. «It seems like you're already awake». It was the paladin, Jun. When Calla first saw this man, she wondered how such a handsome paladin could possibly be at this meeting.
«Ah...!» Remembering his last memory before losing consciousness, Calla jumped up. He turned to the paladin, who luckily had moved just in time to avoid being hit in the face. «The fight... how did the fight end?».
The paladin awkwardly raised the corner of his mouth. «You already know that».
«So...»
«Yes, we lost. That man was strong in many ways».
Unlike the paladin, who didn't sound disappointed at all, Calla found himself sighing.
«Is it difficult for you to admit defeat, Mr. Calla?».
«No... is that. I just don't know what to say to the Alminus Company and the Adventurer's Guild after they believed in me and supported me»..
«You can just tell them the truth».
«That four people fought and lost against a barbarian man and ended up having to give him the position? How can I say... Why are you smiling?»
«Oh, sorry. Your use of the word 'barbarian' impressed me».
At that moment, Calla admitted that she was wrong. He realized what it must look like, saying such slanderous things after losing. It must have sounded like he was trying to belittle Schuitz, just like the countless vile henchmen he encountered when he rose to the position of deputy commander.
«Do you still find it difficult to accept it, Mr. Calla?».
«That is...» The man interrupted himself and reluctantly admitted: «No, it is not». It was the pure truth, not a lie. Even if he had said «barbarian» at first, that was only because the first impression the man had left on Calla had been very strong. «That man... is intelligent».
The paladin agreed. «Yes it is».
«Looking back, we were playing into his hands from the beginning. I thought he was looking down on us. But in reality, it wasn't like that at all».
«You're right. I'm ashamed to say it, but I didn't think we would lose until the end either. It must be that I still need training».
Calla completely agreed. If he hadn't laughed the first time he heard the nickname «Blood Spirit Man» and instead investigated further, things might not have ended that way.
«The problem is that I don't know how others will take it. Ah, where are Sir Kaislan and Miss Akurava?»
«They are in another room. They were unconscious before, but now I don't know. His injuries were more serious than yours».
«...It would be better to go see for myself».
The two got up and headed to the other room. Apparently, the others had been healed by a priest, and all that remained was to wait for them to wake up.
As Calla sat next to her bed, Titana Akurava soon opened her eyes. «Judging by the look on your face... I guess we've lost?». Unlike Calla, he didn't ask too many questions, nor did he seem to expect an answer. He remained silent for a while, with an illegible look, before asking where the others were.
«I see you're awake too, Miss Akurava», Jun said. «How are you?».
«I'm fine, luckily. But... where is that man?».
«Well, I'm not sure about that either. Maybe it's giving us time to wake up and compose ourselves».
«It can't be that that man is so considerate». At Akurava's forceful statement, the gloomy atmosphere in the room dissipated somewhat.
As their conversation continued, Kaislan soon woke up. «...That man! What happened to that man?»
The time had come to talk seriously about what happened.
«I see. We lost...» he murmured, his voice filled with deep regret and rage for no apparent reason. Kaislan the knight clenched his fists. «I can't accept it».
«What have we lost?» Akurava asked.
«No, I'm not stupid enough to deny it. However, the fact that we lost the battle and that he won the position of commander are two different things».
«Wow, so you're saying you plan to break a promise made in front of the marquis?».
When the marchioness was mentioned, Kaislan shuddered slightly, but it was not enough to break his stubbornness. «So, are you all going to accept it willingly? We are talking about thirty people! Not just thirty people, but the best talents who carry the future of this city behind them! Do you want to trust their lives to someone who only has power? For the common good, I cannot sit idly by».
Calla grabbed her throbbing head at that high-pitched scream. He hadn't realized that this man was such a lost cause. «Mr Kaislan, are you claiming that you are better than Mr Schuitz in areas other than power?».
«I'm not just talking about myself, I'm talking about all of us. Aren't we better than someone who just showed up out of nowhere?»
«I see. So can you explain to me why you think that way?».
«I don't understand why you look at me like that. Didn't we just have an in-depth conversation about what an ideal commander was? Other than that man, none of us talked about power».
«That's true.»
«Are we not all in agreement? When it comes to leadership, power is the last quality that must be taken into account».
Even Calla thought the gentleman was right about that. A commander brandished a great sword, he didn't necessarily have to be a master swordsman.
But as long as we have the marquis as a witness, we cannot change the terms now. It's better to call him here.
Calla finished her political calculations and opened her mouth. «I don't think that man is inferior to us in terms of his other qualities».
"...¿Which?"
«This may sound strange coming from one of the people who lost, but he wasn't significantly stronger than the four of us». Calla really thought this. If they had had time to establish some teamwork beforehand and had seriously fought that man from the beginning, the battle would have had a different outcome.
But none of that matters now.
«We lost the only fight we had, and he won. Do you know what made the difference?» The gentleman simply glared at him and did not respond. Calla didn't bother to wait for him before continuing. «We were missing information. As soon as I saw him fight, I knew. He already knew too much about us. What essences we have, and even what equipment we use».
«So you're saying it fits the description of the ideal commander you were talking about? Wake up! He only got that information from the marquis».
«Isn't that the scariest part? While we didn't know anything until we got here, the marchioness was different.»
Kaislan didn't waste any more words on Calla. «Okay, I see what you mean. You're just going to see that man above us. Are the rest of you of the same opinion?». Kaislan's eyes then wandered to the ninth floor adventurer, Titana Akurava.
Unfortunately, he didn't get the fire support he expected. «Even if you look at me like that, that won't change the fact that I have a similar opinion».
«...Why? Is it because you are afraid of the marquis?»
«I wouldn't say it's not a contributing factor at all. But, there is an even bigger reason than that».
«A bigger reason?»
«Yeah. I don't think that man is worse than us». Kaislan narrowed his eyes, clearly lost. Akurava shrugged. «What impressed me was not who has his back, but how innately meticulous he is».
«Meticulousness...?». Kaislan snorted as if that seemed ridiculous to him.
«Yeah. Meticulousness. For example, what was it like during lunch? He already knew everything about us, but he acted like he didn't know, and made a huge display of arrogance to get us to take the bait.»
That was not all. He did the same during the battle, hiding various essences and abilities until the end and taking them out only when they gave him the best result. For example, Shut up. When he was knocked out at first, it had placed a greater burden on the three remaining.
«And this... cannot be exactly attributed to good judgment, but his senses, at least during the battle, were almost divine».
«...He had a natural talent», Calla said.
Although that man looked like he was burning, when they came to their senses, they were the ones engulfed in flames. And after all that, the man had smiled satisfied.
«At the time, I thought his battle strategy was based solely on instinct, but now that I remember, he made decisions based on completely rational deductions», Jun said.
«If that's true, it's really amazing. To think that giving up an eye and taking down Sir Kaislan with a hammer was a rational decision».
«Since that was when our battle line began to collapse, he benefited greatly from doing so.».
As Calla and the paladin exchanged words of praise, Kaislan gritted his teeth. I couldn't understand them at all.
What's wrong with these people? They should know how important the position of Commander is, and yet they act like this?
He was almost beginning to wonder if they had made a secret pact with the marquis while he was unconscious. But despite their concerns, the conversation continued.
«To be honest... What I find most commendable is his determination to achieve his goals».
Ha, now it's determination?
Kaislan snorted, but the paladin continued to ignore him. «As Mr. Calla said, he was not significantly stronger than the four of us. But despite that, it even provoked arrogance in us».
They shattered his bones countless times, cooked his intestines and even ended up with an arrow embedded in his eye, but he never fell. He let his skin burn to break through walls of fire and spit out blood after biting his tongue. Even when his shoulder blades sank and his arm was left hanging, he continued to brandish his hammer.
«Is there anyone else here who can go this far?».
«I am ashamed to say that I have never seen anyone fight in such a state without hesitation».
Not even a man like that could have enjoyed that effort. It must have been painful. Everyone would have understood if he had chosen to give up. That's how obvious it was that he had reached his limit.
«A normal person is forced to start hesitating in such a situation. 'Yes, that's enough. I've done enough'. They will begin to make concessions and look for excuses to convince themselves that they tried their best». But that man didn't do that. How was it possible? As a follower of God, the paladin found the answer to be faith. «He has faith that he will never fall. And because he has such strong faith in himself, he was able to avoid collapsing, and overcame the trials before him to achieve victory.»
«I suppose that means you also agree to that man becoming a commander, Sir Jun», Kaislan grumbled, in an almost dismissive tone.
The paladin responded without a hint of hesitation. «Yeah. If I have to follow anyone here, he is the one I trust the most. Even at a time when anyone else would give up, that man will stand his ground».
It seemed that the paladin had fallen in love with the man. Calla, meanwhile, was worried about the marquis, and Akurava did not seem to want to renege on her agreement with Schuitz out of pride.
«Admit it», Akurava said. «We have lost. He never complained, not even when one of us healed and returned to the front after falling. At the time, we were too busy fighting to think about it, but that's no different from cheating.»
«The reason he stayed quiet was probably because he thought we would need something like that to accept that he had won.».
As long as the other three agreed, Kaislan could no longer do anything.
That's a relief, Calla thought. If that man protested the result and asked for revenge, it was impossible for a man like the marquis to take it as a joke.
Avoiding the crisis, Calla let out a sigh as she looked at Kaislan, who had pursed lips. Of course, that didn't mean there wasn't still friction.
«Since you all agree, I won't talk about this anymore. Let you know it's a mistake. As I said before, only discipline and strong control can create a strong group. I refuse to believe he has that level of control». His stubborn attitude prevented him from recognizing his opponent until the bitter end. It was clear that he would use any excuse to challenge the status quo if the opportunity presented itself. If that happened inside the maze, it could become a big problem.
Toc, toc.
They heard a knock from outside the door.
«Ah, I guess everyone's awake». The man entered the room without even waiting permission, and Calla was spared the slightest hint of anxiety. «Since you are now my subordinates, I will speak to you casually», the man murmured, even though he never used honorifics on them in the first place. His eyes wandered to the side and he tilted his head. «Gentleman, why are you blinking like that? Has the blow you gave yourself earlier destroyed your head?».
It was something truly incredible. Calla didn't know when exactly it had happened, but the gentleman who had just shouted at the top of his lungs about the importance of control had suddenly lowered his eyes.
«Answer me. I'm asking you».
«N-No...» It seemed very natural.