The rabbit picked up a branch and casually lifted it.
The next moment, a deep, abyss-like light began to coil around the wood.
Aura.
"...!"
In the Empire, there were only three people capable of using Aura.
Denver Eden Dayslan — the Emperor's younger brother and the strongest swordsman alive, commander of the Erne Knights.
Olimia Setrin — the retired former commander of Erne.
And Casium Ruden Valteir.
The commander of the Black Panther Division of the Erne Knights.
Hedel's direct superior.
Even among the Empire's greatest swordsmen, Aura users were exceedingly rare.
So which was more likely?
That a rabbit possessed Aura...
Or that this rabbit was Commander Casium?
"Pi."
As Hedel stood there with his mouth hanging open, the rabbit let out an impatient squeak and pointed somewhere.
Under the shade of a tree, letters had been written into the dirt.
'Said'
Hedel Said Büssen.
It was Hedel's name.
But almost nobody knew his middle name, Said.
Only a handful of close acquaintances.
And Commander Casium.
"Pi."
Hedel slowly raised his head and looked at the rabbit.
Those eyes.
Indifferent, intimidating, as though nothing in the world interested him.
They were unmistakably Casium's.
"Commander!"
Hedel cried out involuntarily.
"Shh. Pi."
"How in the world did this happen?!"
"Shh."
Casium pressed a fluffy paw against his mouth, signaling him to be quiet.
Hedel hurriedly nodded and sat down, lowering himself to meet the rabbit's eye level.
The rabbit began writing in the dirt again.
'Dark Magic'
Commander Casium, turned into an adorable little rabbit by dark magic.
The world spun before Hedel's eyes.
"Who would do such a thing?!"
"Pibi."
Casium shook his head once.
"You don't have any suspects?"
"Pi."
"Then I'll find a way to break the curse immediately!"
"Pii."
Casium waved a paw dismissively.
Then he erased the words with his hind foot and wrote another sentence.
'Need something.'
"Just say the word! Hngh... You must have suffered so much..."
Emotion suddenly welled up inside Hedel.
He wiped at his eyes.
He had stayed strong in front of Milia and Nervan, but the fear that something terrible might have happened to his commander had kept him from sleeping properly.
"Anything you need, Commander."
Casium nodded.
Then he wrote:
'Marriage proposal.'
"...What?"
Hedel blinked.
"A marriage proposal?! You're getting married, Commander?! Wait—hold on! You're a rabbit right now! How is that supposed to work?!"
Casium continued writing before Hedel could spiral any further.
'Valteir. Servant. Marriage proposal. Deliver. Stop it. Tomorrow.'
Hedel pieced it together instantly.
"Your servant from House Valteir will be delivering a marriage proposal somewhere tomorrow, and you want me to stop it?"
"Pii."
Casium nodded.
"Where is it being sent?"
The rabbit shook his head.
"You don't know?"
"Pii."
A nod.
Then he wrote again.
'Please.'
The stubby rabbit paws weren't exactly made for writing quickly.
Still, Hedel read every word with utmost concentration.
'Sorry.'
"No, Commander."
Hedel straightened his back.
"I'll carry out your orders without fail."
The message was clear.
I'm sorry to ask this of you, but you're the only one I can trust.
Hedel felt his chest swell with emotion.
"Should I tell the others? The other adjutants? Commander Denver?"
"Pibi."
Casium shook his head.
It wasn't that he didn't trust them.
But the fewer people who knew the truth right now, the better.
Information didn't only leak through malicious intent.
Sometimes words simply grew wings.
Birds heard them by day.
Rats heard them by night.
And among the elders were plenty who disliked Erne's younger division commanders.
If they learned something had happened to him, they would descend like vultures.
That's probably why Commander Denver hasn't publicly announced my disappearance either.
Until the mastermind behind the dark magic was uncovered, minimizing risks was the safest choice.
"Understood, Commander."
"Pibi."
Casium wrote again.
'From now on. Don't act familiar. Talk like you're talking to yourself.'
Meaning that even if they met again, Hedel should pretend he was speaking to himself.
"I understand, Co—"
Hedel caught himself.
"...Got it, Rabbit."
"Pii."
The rabbit wrote one final line.
'Please. Definitely.'
Please make sure it succeeds.
Hedel could practically hear Casium's voice.
"I'll make it happen, Rabbit."
Their eyes met.
One human.
One rabbit.
Sharing a look of absolute determination.
"All remaining members have been dealt with."
Inside Commander Denver's office at the Erne Knights headquarters, I stood straight with my hands behind my back and delivered my report.
"After eliminating the leader, monster-related reports from the nearby villages dropped from an average of thirteen per day to two."
"Good work, Lize."
"The remaining reports didn't involve any casualties. Now that the remnants have been cleaned up, they'll probably decrease even further."
"Excellent. The Empire's vigilance regarding Luxca has increased everywhere. The Imperial Family is paying close attention to the regular reports as well."
"Thank you. And..."
I started to say something, then stopped.
I had been about to ask about Casium.
But then a thought crossed my mind.
Why am I even curious about that idiot?
So I shut my mouth.
"Go on. You know I hate people bottling things up."
Well.
Since the commander was pressing me...
No reason not to ask.
"Do you know where Commander Valteir of the Black Panther Division is?"
The Black Panther knights insisted he was still carrying out the Heart of Ragon mission.
But too many things didn't add up.
He'd been gone for days.
And Casium wasn't the type to spend that long on any assignment.
What the hell are you doing?
The dream I'd had inside the cave surfaced in my mind.
Maybe that weird dream happened because the guy had vanished without a trace.
"He's on a mission."
"What mission?"
"The Heart of Ragon—"
"Commander."
I cut him off.
"You know I'm not naive enough to believe that."
"You were such an innocent rookie knight just yesterday..."
"Commander."
I stared at him.
Commander Denver, who had been on the verge of wiping away imaginary tears of nostalgia, coughed awkwardly.
Then he looked at me in silence.
"Lize."
"Yes."
He hesitated for a long moment.
Then spoke in a heavy voice.
"The truth is..."
"Golden Rabbit."
As soon as I returned, Golden Rabbit came running toward me.
"Aww, were you waiting for me?"
"Pii."
Despite sprinting over at top speed, the rabbit answered with cool indifference.
As if to say,
Not really.
Arms crossed.
Head tilted.
Pure attitude.
"Didn't wait for me?"
"Pii."
"Then I guess I'll leave you behind."
I spun around dramatically.
The rabbit immediately panicked and sprang into the air, landing right in front of me to block my path.
I opened the oversized rabbit carrier.
Golden Rabbit slipped inside with practiced ease.
"Pii."
"Golden Rabbit, I heard something shocking today."
"Pii?"
"Let's talk on the way home."
The rabbit's large ears perked up.
I held out my hand.
After a brief hesitation, the adorable creature gently placed its paw against mine.
"Just seeing you calms me down. You're the best, Golden Rabbit."
"Pii."
I held the soft little paw for a moment, recharging my emotional stability.
So cute.
A desk mirror reflected my expression.
I was smiling.
A genuinely happy smile.
"Lize. Do you hate smiling in front of me that much?"
"Do you want me to smile in front of you?"
"Yeah."
"At least come up with a believable joke."
Back when we attended the Academy together, Casium and I had exchanged those words.
At the time, I hadn't taken them seriously.
What difference did it make whether I smiled or not?
Does it really look better?
For a moment, I wondered if he'd actually meant it.
But the thought quickly faded.
I stood up.
"Let's go, Golden Rabbit."
"Golden Rabbit, remember when I said I heard something shocking from Commander Denver today?"
"Pii."
The rabbit poked its head out of the bag and nodded.
"To explain it, I should probably tell you who it's about first."
"Pii."
"It's about someone named Casium. We were classmates at the Academy, and now he's the division commander of the Black Panther Division."
"Pii...?"
"Golden Rabbit? What's wrong?"
"U-Uh... pii..."
The rabbit twitched its ears and gestured for me to continue.
