“——Or perhaps, Tisha, you should decide.”
Weiss picked up the thread, drawing both pairs of eyes to himself.
Thinking carefully, that did make sense.
Although he had agreed to Fiya’s request and decided to let her live, ultimately, it depended on the young captain’s report to conceal the truth about the surviving knight.
So, strictly speaking, it was Captain Lorti Tisha to whom the knight lady owed a favor.
Lorti Tisha was truly the one qualified to decide Fiya’s fate.
As for himself, Weiss didn’t feel any desire to control others’ lives or deaths; in fact, he found it somewhat troublesome.
After listening to his words, Lorti Tisha’s cool, emerald eyes turned to Fiya, her scrutinizing gaze resting on the female knight for a moment.
“What is your will?”
Fiya straightened her back, her kneeling posture steady as ever. She lifted her head, her gaze resolutely meeting the captain’s.
“I wish to follow Lord Weiss.”
Her voice was not loud, but it was clear and steadfast.
“This is for the sake of my own future, but also to repay Lord Weiss’s gracious mercy. I admit there are selfish considerations in this, but my loyalty is genuine and without falsehood.”
To follow Weiss?
A flicker, barely noticeable, passed through Lorti Tisha’s eyes.
Originally, after this battle, she’d planned to formally invite Weiss to stay in the army.
With his strength, wandering outside as a mercenary was a waste of talent.
Most importantly, that way she could keep him truly at her side and see him every day.
As the captain of the Vanguard Squad, she certainly had the right to choose her own recruits.
Especially as someone of her distinguished merit—no one from above would question her over keeping a person or two.
As long as Weiss agreed, she could justifiably keep him close.
But if Fiya wanted to follow Weiss, that was clearly not the right situation.
However, even though she hoped for Weiss to stay, that was only her plan after the fact—she had never revealed even a hint.
After a moment’s thought,
It might be a good opportunity to ask Weiss his intentions…
Lorti Tisha shifted her gaze from Fiya to Weiss.
“And you… what are your plans next?”
The question came rather abruptly. Weiss was caught off guard, his expression a bit surprised.
But he didn’t overthink it and answered casually,
“I’ll continue with the commission.”
After all, the commission to find that wealthy merchant’s daughter was still hanging over his head.
Not only was the promised “Wish Points” reward generous,
After this episode with the Calamity Tide, the situation had become exceptionally perilous, and the difficulty of the commission had soared.
Perhaps that merchant’s beloved daughter was trapped in danger, desperately wishing for rescue—
If he arrived just in time, wouldn’t that mean another big haul of Wish Points?
The news that the source of the calamity was solved likely hadn’t reached the Empire just yet, so while danger still lingered, he had to hurry while it was still “hot.”
To put it a bit indelicately, if the girl herself found out she was safe before he arrived, where would he get his points then?
Points that could have been his would be lost—a pure loss, all things considered.
Still, though Weiss was thinking all this,
His offhand “continue with the commission” had a very different meaning in Lorti Tisha’s ears.
——Continue.
He was going to continue as that wandering mercenary.
He was leaving.
Lorti Tisha’s heart suddenly sank.
Just like that time they parted—he was always someone who couldn’t settle down.
Always on the road, always venturing into danger, always helping those complete strangers.
An impulse surged to her throat.
“Could you stay?”
She almost blurted it out.
But seeing the yearning and energy in Weiss’s eyes, she swallowed the words.
Yes,
That was the Weiss she knew.
“I understand.”
Lorti Tisha nodded slowly, her gaze turning back to Fiya. Her tone regained the captain’s usual calm and decisiveness.
“Then, as you said, you’ll follow Weiss.”
“Eh?”
Weiss almost bounced off the bed.
Lorti Tisha added an explanation to him:
“You’re always in danger. With her around, she can help.”
Hearing the young captain say this, Fiya’s eyes shone with incredulous gratitude, her feelings written plainly on her face.
Weiss looked at her, then at Lorti Tisha, realizing that both pairs of eyes were fixed on him without blinking.
He scratched his head.
Well, he’d meant for Lorti Tisha to decide anyway.
“If Tisha says so, then let’s do it.”
The moment the words left his lips, Fiya’s long-tense face finally relaxed into a relieved smile.
But Lorti Tisha’s cool voice quickly rang out again, breaking the light mood in the tent:
“Don’t celebrate too soon.”
Fiya’s smile faded, and she immediately regained her knight’s seriousness.
“We’re still in the camp. Don’t let your guard down.”
Fiya of course understood the gravity of the situation.
A Sanctum Paladin who was supposed to have “died in battle” appearing here—if discovered, would bring tremendous trouble to Weiss and Lorti Tisha.
“I understand. I’ll leave the camp shortly.”
She answered respectfully, then turned to Weiss,
“May I ask Lord Weiss about your next destination, so I can prepare in advance?”
“The next step…”
Weiss stroked his chin in thought.
Before starting that search commission, he really needed to return to Quiet Sun Town.
He had to double-check his equipment—there might even be components of the “Dust and Journey Home” left there.
“It should be Quiet Sun Town.”
“Yes, I’ll wait for you in Quiet Sun Town, Lord Weiss.”
Fiya replied immediately, her eyes shining with a new sense of purpose and motivation.
Weiss was still a little uneasy and frowned in concern.
“Quiet Sun Town is within the Calamity Tide disaster area. Will you be alright?”
“This tide hasn’t lasted long. The corruption hasn’t fully silenced the disaster area.”
Lorti Tisha spoke calmly—as the Vanguard Squad, first stationed at the defense line, she knew this area best.
Fiya nodded as well:
“Though the affected region won’t recover immediately after the Calamity Tide recedes, and there are still Stray Calamities wandering, with the disaster’s source destroyed, the remaining Calamities aren’t a threat—not to a Sanctum Paladin.”
Only then did Weiss let out an “oh,” finally at ease:
“Then just be careful on your own. That’s settled—once I’ve sorted things out, I’ll find you in Quiet Sun Town.”
Receiving a clear promise, joy flashed in Fiya’s eyes. Still, she suppressed her excitement, bowed again to the two, and responded sincerely,
“Yes.”
She didn’t linger for a moment longer, swiftly leaving the captain’s tent. Her figure quickly vanished into the deep night of the military camp.