Ainz Ooal Gown: Noble Knight

"He agreed." The Queen's voice returned to its usual tone, no longer the soft and pitiful one from before.

"Yes, Your Majesty." The Prime Minister bowed slightly. "Lady Aindora is indeed a loli... cough cough, as expected, she is willing to risk her life for the Dragon Kingdom."

Derodile's lips curved slightly, but she quickly closed them again.

"...Does he really think I'm pathetic?"

Her tone was somewhat complicated when she asked that question.

The prime minister did not answer.

He actually couldn't quite figure out what the young man was thinking.

The moment Rune stepped out of the palace, he felt his breathing become easier.

He took a deep breath; playing the role of a lolicon was still too difficult.

"Lord Rune."

Sebastian's voice came from behind.

"Is there something you need, Sebastian?"

“No.” Sebastian shook his head. “I was just thinking that you agreed too readily just now.”

Rune turned around and looked at Sebastian.

“Sebastian, don’t worry.” He smiled slightly, the sunlight falling perfectly on his profile, casting a soft golden halo. “I’m confident in handling this risk.”

"Besides, how can we use this as a reward to obtain secret information about dragons if we don't take some risks?"

Sebastian stared at Rune's profile bathed in sunlight, feeling slightly dazed.

His golden hair was almost transparent in the light, and his light green eyes held a calm smile.

'So, Lord Rune took such a great risk all for me.'

From the Kingdom of Riestij to the Dragon Kingdom, from annihilating the Eight Fingers to taking on the decapitation operation.

Rune did all these things to take care of him and Suo Liuxiang.

Sebastian silently made up his mind.

We absolutely cannot allow Rune to be harmed in this decapitation operation, even if it costs him his life.

'The Orc King, is it? Bring it on!' Sebastian will give it his all.

Sebastian firmly believed that if Lord Tapimy were here, he would have made the same decision.

"Sebastian?" Rune's voice pulled him back to reality. "What's wrong?"

“No.” Sebastian shook his head slightly, a smile appearing on his lips. “It’s nothing, Lord Rune, let’s go back to camp.”

Rune nodded and turned to walk towards the outer city.

Sebastian followed behind him, but his gaze remained fixed on Rune, lingering for a long time.

"Please wait a moment, Lord Rune!"

A voice came from behind, sounding somewhat urgent.

Rune stopped and turned around.

A young man is running this way.

He wore light leather armor, with a long sword hanging at his waist. He had a handsome face and short blond hair, but the tuft of hair sticking up on his head slightly ruined his appearance.

There was something very familiar to Rune burning in the man's eyes.

The will to fight.

That fighting spirit, that yearning to prove himself and to be recognized, leaped like flames in his eyes.

Cerabrae.

The leader of the only adamantite-grade adventurer party in the Dragon Kingdom, [Crystal Tears].

Rune recognized him. They had had a few brief exchanges when they visited the Dragon Kingdom in previous years.

But each time, this steel-class adventurer's attitude was anything but friendly.

It wasn't hostility, but more like a child whose beloved toy had been taken away, instinctively raising barbs in protest when facing the person who took it.

Serabreu ran up to Rune and stopped.

He bent down, his movements so fast it was as if he was eager to complete the process.

"First of all, thank you for coming to support the Dragon Kingdom once again and for being willing to undertake such a difficult task as killing the Orc King."

He then straightened up at lightning speed.

The movements were fluid and graceful, and the speed was so fast that it even created a considerable gust of air.

Rune even felt that the time it took him to bow was shorter than the time it took an ordinary warrior to swing his sword.

Did this guy use a [martial skill]?

Serabreu stood up straight, his eyes burning with fighting spirit as he stared directly at Rune.

“Then,” he raised his voice, “while Her Majesty the Queen has entrusted you with such a heavy responsibility, it does not mean that you have already won.”

Rune blinked.

What is he saying?

His mind went blank for a moment; Rune was a little confused about Serabray's thought process.

Seeing Rune's confused expression, Serabreu's lips curled up even more.

In his view, Rune's silence at this moment was a sign of admitting defeat.

He straightened his chest, raised his chin slightly, and said in an almost assertive tone:

"To tell you the truth, if you fail the mission, Her Majesty the Queen will assign it to me again!"

His voice was full of pride, like an athlete who had been pre-selected as a substitute and was showing off his eligibility.

Rune looked at him.

There was not a trace of joking on that upright face.

Those eyes, burning with fighting spirit, seemed to say, "You were just lucky to be chosen."

'...'

Rune's lips twitched slightly.

'All right.'

He thought to himself silently.

'I take back what I just said.'

'There are still people in this world who would happily do dangerous things just because a little girl begs them.'

“How about that!” Cerabreu raised his chin even higher, exuding an aura of “Are you scared?”

Rune looked at the growing pride in his eyes.

'Isn't this the Queen's backup plan?'

Rune thought to himself silently.

'To find a sense of superiority in being a backup option, that's quite an achievement.'

“Mr. Serabreu,” Rune almost laughed, “I understand.”

"You know that much," Serabreu snorted, turned, and strode away.

His back was straight, his steps were brisk, and even the tuft of hair sticking up in his hair seemed to exude a sense of triumph after a victorious battle.

Rune watched the departing figure.

I suddenly felt a little envious; such a pure idiot must have no worries.

'I'm probably one of the few things that bothers him.'

On the way back to camp.

The sun had already sunk behind the city walls, and the entire city was shrouded in an orange-red twilight.

The houses on both sides of the street cast long shadows, and the lingering warmth of the afternoon still lingered in the cracks of the stone pavement.

Sebastian walked beside Rune, hesitated for a moment, and then asked:

“Aren’t you angry about what happened just now, Rune?”

“What’s there to be angry about?” Rune replied casually. “I won’t argue with a lolicon.”

Sebastian's expression began to look strange.

His gaze lingered on Rune's face for a moment, then he silently looked away.

That being said, doesn't Lord Rune also like the petite and cute type?

However, out of respect for Rune, Sebastian did not say it aloud.

By the time we returned to camp, it was completely dark.

The campfires were already lit, their orange flames leaping between the tents, casting long and short shadows of the night watchmen.

A bloody smell filled the air.

Rune was slightly taken aback, then saw more than twenty sheep piled up at the entrance of the camp.

Its fur was relatively clean, indicating that it had been slaughtered recently, as blood was still dripping from its body.

An adjutant stepped forward, his face beaming with joy.

"My lord, this was sent by the Prime Minister as a token of his appreciation to the soldiers on their expedition."

Rune looked at the sheep and felt a pang of emotion.

The Dragon Kingdom already had a shortage of food, and meat was even scarcer. Bergman, that old fox, was unusually generous at this time.

He nodded.