And so, as time progressed, the question Jared had asked her slowly turned the other way around.

Maria began to feel it… her inadequacy.

“Am I disturbing him?”

That question kept bothering her.

So many things had happened, and now… she had, for the first time, asked him to his face.

In all honesty, she expected her heart to be shattered.

Even though she had trained very hard, Jared surprised her in the Royal Court. It was clear that he had reached another height that she couldn’t comprehend.

Would someone like him really not find her bothersome?

However, upon hearing his unexpected answer… Maria was shocked, to say the least.

“… I’m interested in you…”

Maria’s cheeks reddened even more.

‘How does he not get embarrassed? He really said that with a straight face!’

She couldn’t deny that those words made her happy, though.

Even if she hadn’t quite measured up to his abilities, she knew that her abilities had vastly improved from the time when they were together at Ainzlark.

It had been 3 whole Years. A lot had changed now.

For one, the girl who was always with him was nowhere to be found.

That’s right… Ana was currently absent!

This was Maria’s perfect opportunity.

“I’ll show you, Jared…” A whisper escaped her lips.

Of all the men she had ever met, this was the only guy who got her so hung up on him.

Until she proved herself and answered that question with her abilities, Maria surmised that she wouldn’t be able to rest.

“I’ll prove that I can be useful to him too! T-then… after that… will he finally…”

A distant thought appeared in her head as she touched the shoulder on which Jared had placed his hand.

The moment the image appeared, Maria shook off the perverted idea that popped up alongside it.

‘It’s too soon! Too soon!’

She wasn’t even an adult yet… how could Jared intend on marriage at this point?

‘In a year’s time, maybe…’

That meant she had only a year to prove that she wasn’t being a bother!

‘Alright! I can do this!’

Jared already said he was interested, right? That was the first step.

Hopefully, their time together would give Maria lots of opportunities to prove to him, and herself, that she was capable enough.

‘I can do this…’

With that repetitive thought echoing in her mind, Maria Helmsworth returned to her quarters.

Rest was important, after all.

****************************

“Looks like everyone is here! Am I late? Sorry. Hahaha! I had to take care of so many things. Forgive me, hahahahaha!”

The current person speaking was none other than the representative of the Research Department.

Well, calling him a representative was an understatement.

“Hi! My name is Bradford Levyfield. I’m the current Head of the Research Department! Please take good care of me!”

That’s right.

The current middle-aged, shabbily-bearded man was none other than the overall Head Of Research in the Eastern Kingdom.

His bright personality and overly energetic exuberance made me cringe for some reason.

At the moment, almost every member of the Envoy was gathered. We were currently at the lounge area of the Capital’s Main Gate.

It was an interior area made to house important individuals before they entered the city.

Every large settlement needed to have one of these places.

In case the important person’s visit was sudden, or it was a suspicious person, there had to be a secure place used to keep them temporarily.

We had been waiting here for our last two members when our newcomer, Bradford Levyfield showed up.

The man who introduced himself to all of us seemed friendly and harmless, yet why was I feeling so uncomfortable?

I glanced around to see the expressions of everyone else.

I could tell that they all—with the exception of Maria, thanks to her lull face—felt the same way I did.

Apparently, this man, Bradford Levyfield, was late because he had to delegate tasks to his subordinates so that he could come with us.

Was he hoping for a vacation, or…?

“Man, I can’t wait! When I heard that we would be exploring strange lands, seeing more things beyond the Kingdom, I realized that I had to go! The King readily agreed, so I’m so happy right now!”

The more I heard of King Albion, the more I was beginning to see him as a pushover.

‘He probably didn’t want to deal with this guy for very long, so the King just approved.’

Since his presence of absence wouldn’t exactly affect the plan, I had to accept things as they were.

“Glad to have you on board, Bradford Levyfield. My name is Jared Leonard, pleased to make your acquaintance.” I suppressed mg dissatisfaction and stretched out my hand.

>VWOOSH!<

In a flash, he lunged out both of his and shook mine violently.

“So, you’re the great Jared Leonard, eh? You look much younger than I expected! So you’ll be our team leader, right? I look forward to working with you!” The man kept yammering on.

‘Well, he’s wrong about one thing…’

“Ahem!” An obvious excuse for a cough rang out.

“Oh? What is it, Fabian?” The oddball, Bradford, called the Prince by his regular name.

That was an obvious sign of familiarity… or disrespect.

‘I didn’t think Fabian would be well acquainted with this guy…’

“Shouldn’t you address me formally?” Fabian responded harshly.

As I thought, they weren’t at all acquainted.

“Oh, please. Formality isn’t my thing. Besides, I even call Albion by his name, so don’t take offense, ‘kay?”

“Pfft!” I uncontrollably burst out with a mild snicker.

I couldn’t help it.

“Well, that’s a good way to live, sir. Can I also address you informally too?” I laughed, shaking Bradford’s hand too.

“Definitely! Call me Bradford!”

Even though his beard looked too full, and his overexcited personality was a pain, I couldn’t despise people like this.

“Whatever. In any case, you’re wrong about the leader of this Envoy, Bradford.” Our dear killjoy, Prince Fabian emphasized.

He was right, though.

“Oh? Who’s the leader, then?”

“Who else, you dunce!” Damien Lawcroft burst out, apparently unable to control himself any longer.

“His Highness, the Prince is here. Of course, he will be leading the Expedition!”