"Judging by how surprised you all look, I'm guessing this blond knight was originally part of your dungeon party? And you've seen that Sighing Faerie yourselves? Then you should know I'm not making things up."
Leon smiled.
Hearing that, Caron stared at the blond knight lying in the corner.
He clearly understood just how rare it was for someone possessed by a Sighing Faerie to come out alive.
Generally speaking, the best-case scenario was that before the possession took hold, companions dragged the victim away from the faerie's range.
The second-best case was someone who surpassed the faerie by at least two tiers—or someone protected by divine blessing, a saga's protection, or the kind of existence that had already completed a major merit—who could brute-force endure the first wave and escape.
The worst case was simple: possessed, then killed.
At that moment, a brown-haired knight with relatively lighter injuries stepped away from the two men supporting him and walked to the blond knight on the ground, checking his condition.
"Tor is alive," the brown-haired knight said in a low voice. "And there are no signs of ongoing mana or vitality drainage."
He continued, "Thank you for the rescue. I also heard you are a mage of the Court Mage Corps? I am Schwadton Teim Holrus—captain of the Third Squad of the Royal First Knight Order, fourth-tier knight."
"First-rank Court Mage, Leon Bellron."
"Elven Holy Land Diplomat, Iris C. Forlorn."
"Under Captain Schwadton of the Third Squad—Third-tier Knight Mire Dal."
"Under Captain Schwadton of the Third Squad—Third-tier Knight Tidu Tori."
"Deputy Commander of the Court Mage Corps—Mage Caron von Hoinpis."
They quickly completed introductions.
This was basic etiquette in the kingdom.
When meeting in a dungeon, people typically stated names and origins—so that if one side died during exploration, it would be easier to investigate exactly which floor they fell on.
Leon didn't know much about Schwadton as a character.
He only knew the man was also from a quasi-baron background, had successfully married into a count's family, and through war merits and fourth-tier strength became a squad captain in the First Knight Order.
He had participated many times in Oradu explorations, was decent as a person, beloved by subordinates, had a stable family life, and in Part One's final boss battle he sacrificed himself to rescue civilians.
Overall, an ordinary yet respectable character.
Not much plot weight—but his eldest son developed well in the future. With Schwadton's legacy, he quickly became a well-known court strategist, overseeing multiple post-disaster reconstruction projects and economic reforms—genuinely talented.
As for the other two third-tiers, Leon truly had no memory of them at all.
"Leon—if you don't mind, tell us how you rescued Tor," Caron asked.
From his look, he'd been curious about the answer for a while—he'd just patiently waited until introductions were done.
Iris stopped Leon and met Caron's eyes.
"Respected deputy commander, Leon may be your subordinate, but what he did is not a small matter. If he explains it, can you guarantee you won't twist his words—and that you'll properly publicize his merit?"
Leon was a bit surprised. Even though Iris still had lingering doubts about him, she was clearly protecting him here.
Was that the 66% affection at work? Or was she repaying him for helping her avoid a direct Sighing Faerie charm attack?
At that moment, Schwadton couldn't help saying, "With all due respect, Miss Iris—Tor is a minor figure. Saving him hardly counts as a notable merit."
Iris glanced sideways at Schwadton. She recognized that look—someone trying to get her attention.
She replied coolly, "With all due respect as well, Mr. Schwadton—your ignorance is regrettable. You don't even understand how truly terrifying Sighing Faeries are, nor what it means to rescue someone from their possession."
"Watch your words, diplomat!"
Mire, one of Schwadton's subordinates, drew his sword partway in anger, clearly defending his captain.
Leon placed his palm on Iris's shoulder and smiled.
"Relax, Iris. I trust the deputy commander and the knights' character."
Iris almost jumped at Leon's sudden touch. But she realized her body wasn't actually that resistant to his contact, and it would look awkward to shake him off in front of outsiders—so she pretended she didn't care and addressed Caron and the others:
"Before any merit is publicized, if it is misinterpreted and the story becomes distorted, then even if it later produces a world echo, it could weaken the power of the personal saga obtained in the future. So what you hear next—please, after leaving the dungeon, spread it accurately."
Hearing a diplomat speak so solemnly, both Caron and Schwadton understood she wasn't joking.
Caron smiled faintly.
"Don't worry. This old man's greatest strengths are a pair of ears that listen carefully, and a mouth that never embellishes with empty praise."
Schwadton said heavily, "The knightly code I've always upheld is uprightness and honesty. You may doubt my character, but you can trust my professional honor!"
The Knight class had a special buff: once a knight chose a code and lived by it consistently, their combat power gained extra reinforcement.
Any knight who reached fourth tier had a relatively high level of adherence to their code.
As an aside, if adherence rose even higher, there was a chance—upon advancing—to class-change into the rare class of Holy Paladin.
"In that case, I have no objection," Iris said, nodding slowly. The seriousness on her beautiful face was oddly captivating.
Leon glanced at her and suddenly had the urge to touch her cheek and tease her a little—but with others present, he suppressed it.
He began explaining the details of how he captured the Sighing Faerie.
The method wasn't actually that mysterious. If you carefully observed the traces on the blond knight's body, you could reason it out.
And once Leon eventually advanced to sixth tier and gained a world echo, this deed would become known anyway.
After that, Sighing Faeries would no longer be so "unsolvable."
So for Leon, the more important thing was the dual-merit implication behind the deed.
…
"I never would've imagined that approach," Caron exclaimed, genuinely impressed. "It's astonishing. This truly could become a dual merit—and it's absolutely worth publicizing."
"And you're one of the rare dual-class talents," he added. "Why didn't you mention that when you joined the corps?"
By explaining the details, Leon had inevitably exposed the fact that he was dual-classed.
But Leon didn't mind—so long as his triple-class status stayed hidden.
Dual-class was rare, but not unheard of.
Triple-class was virtually unheard of.
"At the time, the corps only required one class description," Leon replied with a low chuckle. "It didn't require a second."
"You brat—were you worried we'd persecute you?" Caron said, stroking his white beard. His tone was warmer now. "Relax. The commander's been researching multi-class theory lately too. When your tier rises, there'll be tasks for you."
"Deputy commander, you jest," Leon said with a shrug. "I simply followed the rules."
The three knights, who had just been scolded for ignorance, now understood the deeper significance from Caron's tone and attitude and wore ashamed expressions.
Being criticized as ignorant by a young-looking girl—and being unable to refute it—was indeed awkward.
Caron ignored their embarrassment and mused aloud.
"Your problem-solving is clever, and your execution is outstanding. You thought of 'slow-boiling' the faerie—and you had the discipline to carry out the tactic, steadily weakening it. Maybe… you're well suited to learning ancient magic."
Leon's heart stirred.
Was there hope now for what he'd wanted before—learning rare and ancient spells from Caron?
"Then I hope you can give me some guidance in the future, Deputy Commander."
"Of course," Caron said with a smile. "We'll talk when there's a next chance."
When there's a next chance?
Wasn't that just another way of saying next time, for sure?
Leon frowned inwardly.
Caron brought up ancient magic first; Leon followed up—and yet Caron still gave no concrete commitment.
What, was he trying to dangle a hook?
Leon didn't continue the topic, choosing instead to watch.
Seeing Leon stop pressing, Caron smiled and changed the subject.
"Looks like you two plan to keep exploring?" he said. "Perfect timing. We're returning from the 35th floor, and we cleared everything we could on the main routes. If you have somewhere to reach, move quickly—once the monsters respawn, it won't be so comfortable."
He yawned as he spoke.
"Old bones, old bones… We'll head back to the surface. You two youngsters keep it up. As for Leon's merit, I'll find a bard I know to spread the story for you. Don't worry."
As he said that, he even waggled his eyebrows at Leon, wearing that "men understand" sleazy expression.
Catching it in the corner of her eye, Iris felt a flicker of disgust. It was exactly like most men in her experience.
Leon, by contrast, had always been elegant and composed—never once showing that kind of look.
A strange thought suddenly rose in Iris's mind.
Come to think of it, she and Leon were exploring the dungeon alone—no other teammates—just a man and a woman. Wasn't that… a little abnormal?
Why had she insisted on becoming his teammate to verify whether he'd lied to her in the first place?
Why had she been so bold—willing to enter a dungeon with someone she'd met only a few times, someone whose motives she'd even suspected?
And this was her first time exploring a dungeon with anyone other than her mother!
Was the problem… me?
For a moment she couldn't make sense of it.
So she forced herself to repeat: Forget it. Don't overthink. Keep probing. It hasn't been long—there's no way to tell yet if Leon is trustworthy.