Ravi was gentle and kind, but at times, she had a tendency to speak in a brutally direct manner.
To put it nicely, she was pure-hearted; to put it bluntly, she had no filter.
However, the ones who usually bore the brunt of Ravi’s blunt remarks during their time at the academy were people like Alvis—never Bryden.
Bryden had never imagined, even in his dreams, that Ravi would express such blatant anger toward him.
With his mouth agape, he sat there in stunned silence, unable to find the words to respond.
Snapping back to his senses, Bryden tried to reason with Ravi.
“Ravi, I think there’s a misunderstanding. That’s not what I meant—”
“A misunderstanding? What kind of misunderstanding? Didn’t you just say it yourself, Bryden? To think realistically, that the Carrot Principality is a weak nation and that the Bunny tribe is small in number, so we should step back and accept protection? And that you would station members of the Goddess’ Sword Unit here to keep watch? Is that surveillance for our sake, or is it to monitor whether we dare to rise against the Empire?!”
“R-Ravi? You seem a little too worked up—”
Celine, who was close to Ravi, desperately tried to calm her down, but Ravi, already furious, wasn’t listening.
“Celine, as his lover, are you just going to sit there and watch Bryden say things like this?! He’s treating us as a country that can’t even defend itself and has no choice but to crawl under the Empire’s rule, and even beyond that, as an inferior race that can’t even secure a proper place to live! Shouldn’t you be stopping him?!”
“I—”
“Or do you agree with him? Do you also think that the Carrot Principality is weak and the Bunny tribe is inferior, so we should just crawl under the Empire’s rule?”
“I-I wouldn’t say inferior! I just…”
Just that, as a small ethnic group in a weak nation, aligning with the Empire and avoiding unnecessary conflict was the best course of action.
Deep down, Celine had believed this.
And now, unable to refute Ravi’s words, she cast her gaze downward.
Seeing her closest friends from the academy like this filled Ravi with utter disappointment.
With tears welling up in her eyes, she gritted her teeth and spoke.
“…So, all that kindness you showed me at the academy wasn’t because you saw me as an equal, but because you wanted to feel morally superior for befriending an ‘inferior race,’ huh?”
“N-No, Ravi! I never thought of you that way—”
“Do you even know what the Bunny tribe does when we’re physically exhausted?”
“……?”
Ravi’s voice was calmer than before, but it had grown icier.
“Do you know what happens to our ears when we’re tired? What habits we have as a race? Do you even know that such habits exist?”
“……”
“Do you know what we do when we’re happy? What little quirks we have when we’re angry? What makes us feel joy, what makes us upset? Not just things that all races share, but the unique joys, sorrows, and anger that belong to the Bunny tribe alone—do you know any of them?”
“That…”
Neither Bryden nor Celine could answer.
Ravi felt even more bitter.
Alvis, despite not being a Bunny himself, knew every single one of these things.
The very person she and others at the academy had tried to avoid, the one they never even wanted to have a conversation with, truly understood the Bunny tribe and saw them as equals.
Yet the two people she had been closest to for three years—Celine and Bryden—couldn’t answer a single one of her questions.
A wave of emptiness washed over her.
What had the past three years meant?
What was the point of all the friendships she had built?
In the end, despite spending three years as her closest friends, Bryden and Celine had never truly cared about the Bunny tribe.
To them, her homeland was nothing more than a weak nation incapable of defending itself.
Clenching her fists, her body trembling, Ravi spoke in a voice that was now cold and unwavering.
“Please leave.”
“Ravi…”
“Leave. I have no intention of accepting your proposal. Right, Father?”
Given how fierce his daughter’s resolve was—and since Duke Liev himself had no desire to hand their country over to the Empire—he silently nodded in agreement.
“Indeed. Holy Knight, it seems you took another nation too lightly. While it is true that we are a weak nation in terms of national strength, offering ourselves to the Empire is an entirely different matter. I understand why you have come, but to be honest, I find it quite offensive. I know you had no ill intent, so I will keep this matter between Ravi and myself. Now, please leave.”
Realizing there was no room for persuasion, Bryden bowed his head with a somber expression.
“I apologize for my words, Your Highness. Robert, let’s go. Celine, we should leave. And Ravi… I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry, Ravi. I really didn’t mean it that way…”
“……”
Despite Bryden and Celine’s apologies, Ravi remained silent, arms crossed, refusing to accept them.
After Bryden, Celine, and the Third Division Captain Robert left, Ravi, deeply disheartened, buried her face on the table and murmured.
“I’m sorry, Father… This was something you should have decided, but I acted on my own…”
“No, Ravi. My conclusion would have been the same anyway. But I must admit, I was surprised. I’ve never seen you get that angry at someone in my entire life. Our daughter is quite terrifying when she’s mad.”
“Don’t tease me…”
“Haha, alright, I won’t. But seeing your ears droop like that, I suppose it’s not the time for jokes. Do you want to be alone?”
“Mm… No, actually, never mind. I’ve said everything I needed to, so I should start heading back soon.”
Duke Liev’s rabbit ears perked up.
“What? Already?! You haven’t been back in months! At least rest for a few more days!”
“I’ve rested enough. Besides, I promised to return two weeks after I left. If I don’t leave now, I’ll be late. And who knows what might happen on the way? I need to set out with enough time to spare.”
“Then… you’re going to fight those underground creatures again? And people like Vector? Isn’t that too dangerous?”
At her father’s concern, Ravi simply shrugged.
“Of course, it’s dangerous. Last time, I was completely useless. But that doesn’t mean I’m just going to sit back and be protected. If you were in my position, you’d do the same, wouldn’t you?”
“Well… I suppose I would…”
“And this time, I have comrades who truly care about me. So there’s nothing to worry about!”
As she said this, a certain man came to mind.
Duke Liev placed his hands on his daughter’s shoulders, his face filled with concern.
“Ravi, if things ever seem too dangerous, don’t do anything reckless. Your life comes first. Promise me that.”
“Mm, I promise.”
Father and daughter shared a light embrace, and soon after, Ravi gathered her travel funds and necessary supplies before setting off once more for Aldebaran in the Kingdom of Pratea.
Upon returning to the barracks of the Goddess’ Sword Unit within the Empire, Third Division Captain Robert locked the door to his office.
He then placed his hand on a specific part of the bookshelf and silently channeled mana into it.
The bookshelf distorted, warping into the shape of a twisted portal.
As he stepped through it, the surroundings instantly transformed into a dimly lit underground catacomb.
As Robert appeared, the figures who had been waiting inside all turned their gazes toward him.
Each of them was shrouded in black hoods and robes, their faces barely visible.
“The result?”
“They refuse to bend, no matter what. Especially the princess—her will is completely unyielding.”
“How peculiar… From what we heard, the Bunny tribe’s princess harbored romantic feelings for the Holy Knight. We assumed that would make things go smoothly.”
“This reliance on uncertainties is exactly why we failed with the gargoyle cave incident and now this as well, Bastol.”
“You exaggerate, Robert. The outcome merely shifted slightly from our initial expectations—it was not a failure.”
“I worked tirelessly alongside the Holy Knight to persuade the Carrot Principality, only for it to end in complete failure. And now what? Given the princess’s stance, I doubt a second attempt would change anything. We’ve lost the chance to use the Bunny tribe as sacrifices.”
Bastol stroked his beard, contemplating for a moment.
Then, with a sly grin, he chuckled.
“It’s different from what we expected, but this might actually be better. Sometimes, the simplest and most brute-force method is the most effective.”
“Are you planning to start a war?”
“Yes. After all, what matters most is blood and life, and there’s no easier way to secure that than war.”
“And the justification?”
“We’ll hand some money to the Black Shadow Mercenary Corps and have them stir up conflict near the empire’s border. Those guys would never refuse a request from their biggest client.”
Bastol took out a pouch full of money and handed it to an agent responsible for contacting the Black Shadow Mercenaries.
The agent accepted it without hesitation and disappeared beyond a portal.
Bastol then shifted his gaze toward an enormous man, who looked more beast than human.
“Dantalion, did you find anything unusual at the site where Vector died?”
“The traces have faded over time, but I definitely detected remnants of the Goddess’s power.”
Robert, who had infiltrated as a commander of the “Blade of the Goddess” unit, clicked his tongue in frustration.
“It was annoying enough babysitting a fake Holy Knight, and now there’s a real one running around? There’s no way Vector revealed himself first—he must have been exposed. That means we can’t afford to let our guard down.”
“Looks like this knight is actively hunting us down. He’s the only real obstacle in our plan. We need to track him down no matter what. From now on, our sole focus should be identifying the real Holy Knight.”
Dantalion, the beastly giant, snorted in disdain.
“Are you suggesting we cower in fear over some knight? Not happening. My experiments are almost complete, so I’ll continue my work as planned.”
A Few Days Later
After several days of marching, Ravi finally returned to Aldebaran, the capital of the Kingdom of Fratea.
However, she noticed that the atmosphere in the city was slightly different from when she had left.
“Our Mercenary King has done it again!”
“I saw the fight! There were dazzling bursts of light everywhere as he completely annihilated the enemies!”
“Could he be a Holy Knight?”
At the mention of “Holy Knight,” Ravi felt a twinge of irritation.
Curious about who they were talking about, she pushed through the crowd toward the area where the most people had gathered.
“They said he was just a servant, but that guy is no ordinary servant! His magic was razor-sharp—he’s definitely a skilled warrior!”
“Hey, Mercenary King! Can’t you stay here a little longer?”
“We’ll make you an honorary member! We could even retire your number permanently!”
“Sorry, but I have to refuse. I’m leaving in two days. In the meantime, just treat me to some good food.”
At the sound of a familiar voice, Ravi nearly forgot that she was wearing a hood and almost perked up her rabbit ears.
Turning toward the source of the voice, she saw a tall, somewhat roguish-looking young man with brown hair standing next to a blonde-haired girl with drill curls, both basking in the cheers of the crowd.
The gathered people raised their drinks high and shouted in unison:
“To the Mercenary King Alvis and his servant girl, who have once again brought peace to Aldebaran!”
“To them!!”
“…Mercenary King? Servant?”
Ravi was starting to feel like some very strange things had happened while she was away.