“Tomorrow morning, we board a ship to Tallocium. Prepare.”

At Tesetan’s command, every member of widened their eyes.

But Tesetan had already picked up the sword he had been leaning against the sanctuary wall.

Allerik hurried after him.

“Leader. You’re not planning to storm the Association headquarters, are you? Please tell me you’re not.”

Tesetan turned back and smiled in a way that sent chills down the spine.

“That wouldn’t be bad either. But later. We don’t even know where the Association headquarters is yet.”

“Then why leave tomorrow—”

“I’m going to meet the King of the Dead.”

“Whaaat?!”

Ribia, who had been following behind, stared in shock.

“We’re meeting the King of the Dead? Us?!”

Instead of answering, Tesetan quickened his pace.

“Stop talking and get ready. We’ll be crossing blades with them.”

At the word “crossing blades,” Ribia stopped in her tracks.

Even Allerik froze with his mouth open.

Inside the sanctuary.

Only the executives of remained.

Victor spoke first.

“The duel the leader mentioned... was that really against Agavert?”

Ribia snapped her head up in irritation.

“Do you even use your brain? Who else would we duel—monsters?”

A duel.

It was an old term, one no longer used.

Even among those who did use it, it was usually only a handful of high nobles educated in history.

A duel was a contest from long ago, where knights fought each other staking their honor.

Before it began, they would swear an oath in the name of the Empire.

And after it ended, that oath had to be fulfilled—without exception.

Victor shot Ribia an annoyed look.

“That’s something knights do. I asked because I’ve never seen mercenaries use it.”

Ribia muttered, “As if,” and raised her middle finger.

Meanwhile, Allerik, who had been deep in thought, spoke quietly.

“It won’t happen. At best, it’ll turn into a brawl.”

Traditionally, a duel required both sides to agree.

Because of the oath, the risks were too great.

If the loser failed to fulfill the oath, they would be sentenced to death under imperial law.

Even now, though duels had nearly disappeared, that law still remained.

“There’s no reason for the King of the Dead to accept a duel. That person lacks nothing right now.”

Victor and Ribia nodded.

The three of them—Victor, Ribia, and Allerik—were Tesetan’s first members.

Though they had joined at slightly different times, they had all stayed by his side for a long time.

Victor let out a sigh.

“Is the leader truly feeling threatened this time?”

Until now, Trevaga had been the undisputed strongest mercenary group in the Empire.

They had endured despite the indifference of the imperial family and the pressure of the religious order.

Maintaining the number one rank without a single state commission was something every member of was proud of.

But—

‘For the time being, you don’t need to take on internal conflict work.’

‘About the escort contract within Tallocium... we’d like to put that on hold for now.’

‘Ah, no need to come! We’ve already found another contractor.’

Recently, Trevaga had been losing an unusual number of clients.

For a group that handled more personal commissions than most, it was a direct blow.

And before long, they learned where those former clients were going.

‘I heard they tried to commission Agavert, but got rejected.’

‘...Is that really true?’

‘It is! The Grand Duke Bellardin was furious about it—said how dare mere mercenaries act so high and mighty. But even so, that place is overflowing with clients. Everyone’s trying their luck just in case.’

Across the continent where Tallocium stood, and even the Northern Continent—

From islands to deserts to vast plains, people’s attention was focused on Agavert.

Unprecedented dark-attribute magic.

The King of the Dead who wielded it like something beyond human.

And the strongest mercenary group led by her.

Everything about them stirred people’s curiosity.

“Still... a brawl is a bit...”

Ribia raked her fingers through her hair.

Trevaga had clashed with countless mercenary groups before.

But what Tesetan was about to do felt like a deliberate, full-scale war.

“I don’t think it’s so bad if we get pushed out of first place. At this point, there’s no one on the continent who doesn’t know our name anyway.”

“Who doesn’t know that, Victor?”

Allerik cut him off.

“We’re not the problem. Whether Trevaga stays number one or not doesn’t matter to us. The problem is the leader.”

None of them knew Tesetan’s past.

He had never once spoken about his history, his family, or his background.

But Allerik, Victor, and Ribia could guess.

That there was something dark in his past.

“For the leader, is his entire life.”

Tesetan was someone who found meaning in Trevaga.

‘Trevaga will remain at the top forever. I’ll make sure of it.’

And Tesetan had a strong self-destructive tendency.

He regularly threw himself into dangerous environments.

And only in those moments did his eyes shine as if he were truly alive.

Tesetan never tolerated even the slightest drop in siege numbers.

Whenever the second or third-ranked groups began to close the gap, he would widen the distance again like a madman before finally calming down.

“We need to handle this well.”

Victor said.

“We knew someone would eventually appear who could surpass him. The leader... isn’t a god.”

As Victor said, the executives had expected this.

Someday, someone would appear who could truly threaten Tesetan.

And when that day came, their role was clear.

To support him so he could safely let go of his obsession with first place.

And ultimately, to protect both him and Trevaga.

Ribia waved her hand, trying to lighten the mood.

“Yeah, well. Let’s think about it later. The duel won’t happen anyway.”

“...How can you be so sure?”

Ribia grinned.

“Is the King of the Dead crazy? Why would they accept a duel that has nothing to gain?”

Two days later.

That evening, when Trevaga arrived at the northern docks—

A letter flew into Agavert’s base.

“Waaah, it’s so pretty!”

Tie’s eyes sparkled as she opened the letter, sealed with an elegant blue crest and tied with a sky-colored thread.

She slowly read the words written on the paper inside.

“Fro... Frost Association?”

From the kitchen, Basto came running in a hurry.

“Tie, what did you say? Where did the letter come from?”

Tie handed the letter to the visibly alarmed Basto.

He read it, then swallowed hard.

“...It’s a state commission.”

“What?!”

This time, Bale came sprinting down the stairs from the second floor.

Nordix, who had just entered from the garden behind the mansion, stopped at the doorway.

“A state commission... has come to Agavert.”

A smile spread across Basto’s face.

A state commission.

For mercenary groups, it was both a great opportunity and a dream assignment.

“It’s a siege mission that requires cooperation with the Holy Knights. It says the Luminel knights will be participating.”

Basto fell silent.

Below that—

Bold text written at the bottom of the letter caught his eye.

[This summons is an important step in proceeding with the state commission. We would appreciate confirmation of attendance in advance.

The temporary assembly is scheduled for tomorrow evening, beneath the clock tower at the imperial main gate.]

“The clock tower!”

Tie’s face lit up.

She had seen the clock tower every time she went to the Rewards Bureau.

Standing in the middle of the large central plaza, it was enormous.

It was so tall that its top could even be seen from Tie’s house in Rosewabel.

“This is exciting! Tie is going to work now!”

And they ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ would be working with the Luminel ducal family!

From now on, they wouldn’t have to pretend not to know each other when they met outside.

Overjoyed, Tie rushed up to her room.

She spent a long time picking out what to wear tomorrow, then fell fast asleep.

Because of that, she didn’t hear Kkamani knocking on her door late at night.

Nor did she see the light turn on in the house next door beyond the window.