“But Commander, isn’t today the day of the regular meeting? There isn’t much time left before it starts…”
Dezert, my adjutant, reminded me of my schedule while keeping his eyes fixed on the rabbit.
Right, the regular meeting!
“Maria! Please take care of the rabbit for a bit!”
“Pii?!”
I handed the rabbit over to Sir Beth, the oldest member of the Golden Lion Division, and immediately started running toward the meeting hall.
If Cassium was going to be there, I absolutely couldn’t be late.
‘If that guy makes a snide remark about me being late…’
My pride wouldn’t be able to take it.
‘It’s been a while since I last saw Cassium.’
When I saw him today, I planned to give him a proper scolding for standing me up last time.
Fortunately, I arrived at the meeting place on time.
But strangely, the seat of the Black Panther Division Commander—Cassium’s seat—was empty.
Where did he go?
“Sir Valtier of the Black Panther Division is absent today due to other matters. Let’s proceed. Golden Lion, please begin your briefing.”
At Commander Denver’s words, I stood up and began briefing the current issues.
Even as I spoke, my mind was filled with thoughts of Cassium.
That bastard—today was the day we agreed to have a match, and he just doesn’t show up without a word?
After the meeting ended.
“Golden rabbit, sorry. You’ve been waiting, haven’t you?”
When I returned, the golden rabbit had been dressed up beautifully.
A pretty ribbon was tied around its black fur, and it was even wearing a lovely yellow cloak from who-knows-where.
The rabbit looked stiff—no, almost enlightened, as if it had transcended everything.
“Commander! Please let us spend a little more time with the rabbit!”
“This rabbit is the mascot of our Golden Lion Division!”
“Give it back.”
“No way, Kim-toki!”
I coaxed the clearly sulking golden rabbit and brought it with me.
At that moment, the rabbit spotted people walking from the other side and suddenly dashed toward them at an alarming speed.
Members of the Black Panther Division were approaching.
Why is the rabbit going over there?!
“Ah! Is it a monster?!”
Startled by the rabbit’s overwhelming momentum, the Black Panther knight Hedel quickly stepped back.
“Calm down! It’s just a rabbit!”
Knight Milia, who had retreated even farther, blinked rapidly as she spoke.
The rabbit had suddenly started running, which startled me—but of all people, it was in front of the Black Panther knights, whom we weren’t on good terms with.
I couldn’t lose face, so I hurried toward them with as much composure as possible.
“Sir Hedel, what’s wrong?”
“What do you mean, Milia?”
“You’re glaring and twitching your fingers five times per second.”
“Well… it’s Commander Cassium. I’m worried he might be starving somewhere…”
“Stop! Don’t say another word!”
Milia Aswid clamped her hand over Hedel’s mouth. Hedel Busen coughed and looked at her resentfully.
“You asked me, Milia.”
“Commander Cassium is not someone who would starve no matter where he goes. At worst, he’d eat grass—but he’d never end up weak from hunger or become even more ill-tempered than he already is just because he’s hungry!”
“Ah, got it, Milia.”
As Milia rattled off her words like a machine gun, Hedel’s fingers twitched even more nervously.
“You’re right, Milia. The Commander would make sure to eat well—even if he had to act cute for it—and he’d probably be resting, taking naps. He hasn’t disappeared; he’s just enjoying a vacation!”
“Everything except the ‘acting cute’ part is correct!”
Hedel smiled hopefully, and both he and Milia let out an awkward cough.
Just then, something came rushing toward them from afar.
“Ah! Is it a monster?!”
“Calm down! It’s just a rabbit!”
Their words tried to calm each other, but their feet had already fled far away.
Behind the sturdy rabbit, a knight was quickly approaching. Hedel narrowed his eyes.
Red hair, a perfectly tailored white knight uniform, sharp features but with slightly displeased green eyes.
Lips tightly shut as if she only intended to handle business and leave. And on her shoulder, a silver insignia—
It was Lize Artiela, Commander of the Golden Lion Division.
“What is the matter?”
Hedel asked, unsure whether to look at the rabbit or Lize.
“Cassium didn’t attend today’s meeting.”
“Ah, yes. The Commander is currently on a mission.”
“The one where he went to retrieve the heart of Lagon?”
“Yes.”
“It’s been several days since he left, yet he hasn’t returned. I suppose Cassium’s hands are slower than I thought.”
Hedel felt resentful toward Lize for saying such things.
The Commander must be struggling somewhere, fighting hard—and here she was mocking him.
“Commander Cassium is—”
“Pii.”
At that moment, a sound came from below.
Hedel looked down at the rabbit.
The dressed-up rabbit was looking up at him, making a small sound.
Their eyes met. Both Hedel and Milia stared at the rabbit.
“Pii.”
The rabbit let out a cynical squeak.
‘What is this? That gaze… it feels strangely familiar.’
Hedel blinked. Somehow, that cynical look resembled Commander Cassium’s…
“What is this strange-looking rabbit, Lady Artiela?”
Milia suddenly shouted. Hedel snapped out of it.
To think he’d had such irreverent thoughts about a rabbit raised by the Golden Lion Division!
Milia lifted her chin arrogantly and snapped at the rabbit.
“Strange? Sir Aswid, it’s a cute rabbit.”
“To me, it looks strange.”
“Pii.”
The rabbit extended its paw cutely, but at Milia’s fierce glare, it slowly withdrew it.
It was strange to say, but the rabbit somehow looked a bit dejected.
Though it looked downcast, it still emitted a strong aura.
Hedel felt intimidated by it, but Milia only flinched briefly before lifting her chin again.
“It seems the Golden Lion Division is relaxed enough to raise rabbits like this!”
“And it seems the Black Panther Division lacks the composure to tolerate even a rabbit.”
“Composure and liking rabbits aren’t necessarily proportional, you know?”
Milia retorted boldly.
The rabbit let out a “pii,” but Milia scoffed and fired back.
“Besides, this isn’t just a rabbit—it looks like a monster!”
“Pik.”
The rabbit looked even more dejected as it stared at Milia.
Milia felt like she was doing something terribly wrong, though she couldn’t understand why.
To resolve that discomfort, she spoke even more coldly.
“What are you looking at, you ugly rabbit?”
The rabbit’s expression hardened.
“Ugly rabbit.”
And in the next moment—
“Ah, golden rabbit!”
The rabbit kicked off the ground and leaped high in a single bound.
It happened so quickly—and it jumped above the knights’ heads—that they could only look around in confusion.
“Ugh.”
Hedel and Milia groaned as the rabbit lightly stepped on their shoulders.
Its hind feet landed right on the spot where the Black Panther Division insignia was on their shoulder straps.
The two, now with dirt on their emblems, looked back and forth between each other and the rabbit. The rabbit calmly landed and shook the dirt off its feet.
“My.”
Lize chuckled lightly.
“The Black Panther knights are quite warm-hearted. Offering their shoulders even to a rabbit.”
“Better to offer them to a rabbit than to a dirt-colored lion.”
Hedel replied instinctively, but a thought grew in his mind—
This rabbit was definitely not ordinary.
“So, when is Cassium returning?”
“Please come back in a week. But why are you looking for the Commander?”
Hedel brushed the dirt off his shoulder as he spoke.
“I had planned a hunting wager with him today.”
Lize’s eyes and voice grew colder. Her displeasure was obvious.
“When the Commander returns, tell him this: among the people the Golden Lion Division does not tolerate, one type is those who take promises lightly.”
After saying that, Lize turned away.
Normally, they would have replied—but her voice was unusually chilling.
And the rabbit, now snugly inside her bag, was staring at them so intently that neither of them could say a word.
“Cassium, just how lightly does he take me?”
As I walked through the forest, I muttered in irritation.
I had kept my composure earlier, but the anger rising to my head refused to subside.
Standing me up—not once, but twice?
Just how important is this mission of his?
‘Did he really go on a mission?’
I’ve known him for years. No matter the mission, Cassium always finishes within a week—and he takes at least one of his three adjutants with him.
But Milia and Hedel were at headquarters, and the other adjutant, Nervan, was out on a date in Elincitz Street earlier.
And yet he’s on a mission?
It almost felt like he was just making excuses to stand me up.
“Whatever.”
My steps grew heavier as I walked.
Today was the day we were supposed to go to the Forest of Monsters and have our wager.
I recalled what happened a few days ago.
“We need to locate the lair of the monster Luxka in Bezen Forest…”
“I’ll do it.”
Before Commander Denver could even finish speaking in the Knight Order’s office, Cassium and I answered at the same time.
I shot him a glare, but that annoying man simply stared ahead with an indifferent expression.
“I believe this task is more suitable for the Golden Lion Division. Large-scale monster subjugation is our specialty!”
“It’s not about scale, but method. Whether you value brute force or strategic, systematic approaches—the Black Panther Division excels at everything.”
I glared at Cassium coldly.
But he only looked back at me with shameless eyes, as if he’d done nothing wrong.
