I Just Traded in the Forest of Monsters, but the World Changed - Chapter 26

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 26
‘Se Hee’s complexion wasn’t looking good.’
On the surface she seemed fine, but the way she was holding herself together was only too apparent.
Where had that commanding presence gone—the one that had dominated the knights mere moments before? Her small frame looked ready to shatter at any instant.
Yet Se Hee still gripped her chopsticks in one hand and carried on as though nothing were amiss.
“Would anyone care for more?”
Her words were clear enough, but even from a distance you could see the tension in her grip.
Cassian moved without a sound.
A large shadow fell across Se Hee’s back.
“Oh? Your Grace?”
Cassian dragged a chair behind Se Hee and set it down.
Before she could lose her balance, the chair was there to catch her.
“Sit.”
The words came out as a command, yet his manner was tender.
Now that he’d drawn close, the two of them stood pressed together more intimately than expected.
It was only a brief phrase, but there was something in his voice that made refusal extraordinarily difficult.
“Ah, then.”
Se Hee found herself lowering onto the chair without quite meaning to, bewildered by her own compliance.
Cassian didn’t stop there.
The instant he noticed her brow furrow slightly, he turned his gaze away.
‘Is that the cause?’
He realized the Magical Lamp illuminating the Clearing was far too bright.
“Rowen.”
At that single word, Rowen’s head snapped up and he looked at Cassian.
“Yes, Your Grace.”
“It’s too bright.”
“I’ll adjust it at once.”
Rowen immediately turned toward the Tent.
A moment later, the brightness of the Knight Order’s Magical Lamp gradually dimmed.
The harsh glare that had irritated the eyes transformed into a soft amber glow, wrapping the Clearing in gentle light.
“The light was too harsh. Your eyes must be tired.”
“Ah, thank you.”
Se Hee’s chest tingled at the realization that Cassian had deliberately shown her such consideration.
The moment she lowered her gaze, Cassian smoothly took the chopsticks from her hand.
“Your Grace, those are―!”
“I’ll manage. I’ve watched long enough.”
Every eye in the Knight Order widened simultaneously.
The Iron-Blooded Duke was holding chopsticks instead of a weapon.
And using them to roast some nameless snack at that.
……
“I’ve lived this long and never seen the like.”
“Keep quiet. I can hear you.”
Rowen and the other knights nearly dropped the tent stakes.
Cassian held the chopsticks with an utterly composed expression and gazed at Se Hee.
For a moment, the tension seemed to ease.
That was when it happened.
An oblivious knight approached, carrying an empty cup toward Se Hee.
‘Someone stop him!’
Naturally, a silent uproar rippled through the Knight Order’s ranks.
Cassian fixed him with a sharp look that clearly said: do not approach.
But the knight, oblivious to everything, simply continued forward.
He was a recruit who had only recently joined the Knight Order.
The youngest member of this expedition, famous among them for his keen sensitivity.
Rowen’s eyebrows twitched.
‘This fool…!’
He reached out reflexively to grab the Recruit Knight’s Cloak.
“Wait―”
But he was already a step too late.
The Recruit Knight walked straight toward Se Hee, utterly unaware.
His foot brushed through the scattered ash beside the fire, producing a soft crunching sound.
“Hey, hey there! Manager!”
His face was flushed like freshly grilled skewered rice cake.
“Yes? Is something not to your liking?”
Se Hee tilted her head with a practiced smile.
In that brief moment of eye contact, the Recruit Knight’s reason scattered like mist.
“No! That’s not it… You’re truly beautiful……. Wait, that’s not it either—could I possibly have another one of these?”
All sound in the Open Field vanished in an instant.
At those words from the Recruit Knight, the other knights swallowed hard and stared at Cassian, tensed.
‘……Has he lost his mind?’
Rowen’s pupils darkened with shock.
He instinctively studied Cassian’s expression.
The chopsticks in Cassian’s hand crackled softly, bending ever so slightly.
No one dared stop him.
Even the wolf remained still this time.
Erasmus, who’d been sipping Mix Coffee beside him, even clicked his tongue.
But the Oblivious Youth did not pause.
He placed a hand over his heart and cried out with even greater earnestness.
“Might you have any plans to come to the Capital? I know a truly wonderful tea house there, and I would so dearly wish to see you again in that place……!”
“There will be no such occasion.”
A voice like the growl of a beast cut through the Recruit Knight’s words without mercy.
The Open Field froze in an instant.
“Why is everyone so quiet?”
The Recruit Knight seemed not yet to grasp the situation.
Se Hee lifted her head with a start.
‘Wow……. He’s completely oblivious.’
This was definitely an atmosphere she needed to defuse.
Se Hee looked up at Cassian carefully.
“I can just make one more, can’t I? Your Grace, the chopsticks, please. I’ll handle it.”
Her voice carried a quiet intention to end this before it spiraled further.
Cassian’s hand paused, ever so slightly.
Every knight’s gaze darted between them simultaneously.
“Is that… all right?”
“I have no idea.”
Yet Cassian did not move.
“I’ll make it. Stay right there.”
At Cassian’s cold voice, the Recruit Knight’s body went rigid.
Only then did the Recruit Knight sense that something was wrong.
“……Huh?”
He looked around, belatedly.
Every knight was staring at him with a hardened expression.
Rowen shook his head, his temples pinched tight.
‘We warn him about it all the time.’
The boy was always causing trouble through his lack of tact.
‘But of all moments, why did his obliviousness have to show up again, right now?’
The Recruit Knight’s gaze turned toward Cassian’s hands.
The Duke was flipping the skewered rice cake with an expressionless face.
The moment he saw that, color drained slowly from the Recruit Knight’s face.
His lost eyes became all too visible.
“Y-Your Grace? That’s not what I meant…… I was only…….”
He’d only just realized who he’d just ordered around.
Cassian placed the perfectly cooked pieces into a cup as though it were nothing at all.
Then, without a word, he held it out to the Recruit Knight.
“Thank you very much!”
The Recruit Knight accepted the cup with both hands.
The moment their eyes met, cold sweat trickled down his spine.
“I’ll…… enjoy it!”
He nearly shouted it like a report before hastily stepping backward.
His feet tangled and he nearly fell, barely catching his balance.
The instant the Recruit Knight disappeared into the Tent, one of his companions whispered.
“Is he going to be all right?”
“…….”
He couldn’t respond.
Among the knights watching the scene, hushed murmurs erupted.
“Hey, are you seeing this? Is the Duke really handing it over himself?”
“That’s not even the issue. Look at his eyes. It’s like he’d slash anyone who dared approach.”
“That’s…… not just a simple gesture, is it?”
Rowen pressed his palm against his forehead.
Yes. Cassian’s actions had exceeded the bounds of mere goodwill.
‘Your Grace…… Who, who in the world acts that way!’
Rowen, having glimpsed the truth that Cassian himself remained oblivious to, could only sigh.
Meanwhile, the man at the center of it all sat ignorant, lost in other thoughts entirely.
‘Wow, this is incredible.’
Se Hee blinked beneath the subtle Magical Light that Cassian had adjusted for her.
Her gaze drifted toward the Tent.
‘Does this knight have two livers or something?’
Se Hee reclined in the now-comfortable chair, letting her mind wander.
‘Still…… I never expected he’d go this far.’
She twitched her toes lightly, brushing her fingers across the wolf’s fur.
If this elite continued assisting her like this, Grade Elevation was only a matter of time.
Erasmus murmured from beside her.
“Heh, Miss Se Hee is truly a frightening person. You’ve turned the Empire’s lion into a kitten.”
Se Hee merely bobbed her head as if she hadn’t heard.
‘A windfall that rolled in as a package.’
The corner of her mouth rose ever so slightly.
Beneath the soft Magical Light, Se Hee’s expression had grown noticeably more relaxed.
Cassian, observing her, let his gaze drop lower.
A massive wolf had settled itself near Se Hee’s ankles.
Its thick tail swept lazily across the ground.
Cassian’s eyebrow twitched—just barely perceptible.
He stepped forward without a word.
With the tip of his Military Boot, he nudged the wolf’s flank lightly.
But the wolf didn’t budge an inch.
A subtle contest of wills unfolded between the wolf and Cassian.
Neither appeared willing to yield even a fraction.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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