I, reincarnate as the leader of the villainous knight order

Chapter 59: Fragrance

“Ahh… I’m tired…”

Returning to my room after the evening gathering, I tossed off my cloak and collapsed onto the sofa.

“Justin! I was really good, right!? I’ll get some cookies, won’t I!?”

“Yeah, you were very good. Come here. There’s only these left for now, but I’ll make something else later.”

Sitting on the sofa, I took out all the remaining cookies from the magic bag and placed them on the table, then called Jest on my back. He climbed onto my back and, looking over my shoulder at the cookies, landed on the table with sparkling eyes.

“Yay! Are there other delicious things too!?”

“Well, I can’t make many, but there are various things you can buy at the store. Should we go buy some next time?”

“Nah, I want the ones Justin makes!”

The ones big brother makes! The words my little brothers used to say to me. Suddenly, my vision blurred, and when I blinked, tears fell onto my knees.

“Justin…?”

“Sniff, it’s nothing. I see, you want the ones I make. Can’t be helped.”

It’s good that I’m in my own room. If my subordinates saw me like this, I wonder what they would say. Since the time I remembered my past life and cried, they haven’t mentioned it, so maybe they’ll just leave me alone.

I stroked Jest’s head to block my view, and in that moment, wiped away my tears. Maybe he doesn’t mind since he’s a dragon, but it’s still embarrassing to be seen crying at this age.

“I’m going to have dinner now, what about you, Jest? Will you wait here in the room?”

“Yeah, I’ll just sleep like this, I’m still kind of sleepy.”

“I see, it’s fine to sleep in bed.”

“Okay, good night.”

Changing clothes is a hassle, so maybe I’ll just go to the dining hall like this. Today, the cooks will provide meals in the dining hall until late for the knights on guard duty. As I descended the central staircase, my subordinates returned.

“Welcome back, good job out there.”

“We just got back! When did the commander return?”

“About fifteen minutes ago, I’m just about to have dinner.”

As I answered Marius’ question, Simon and Arnault sniffed my body.

“Hey, what’s going on!?”

“It smells nice…”

“Hey! We’ve been diligently guarding those troublesome nobles in the cold all this time, and what’s the commander doing? Eating delicious food at the evening gathering and enjoying the fragrance of women! We want in on that too! Give us those delicious missions!”

Simon was bustling around me, making a fuss without knowing my worries. I grabbed his neck with one arm, plastering on a smile as I put him in a headlock and slowly rotated my fist against his head, pressing firmly.

“Owowowow!! It hurts being squeezed, but this hurts like crazy too!”

“The fragrance probably stuck to me when I lent my cloak to the saintess. With all the nobles and the prince coming to greet the saintess one after another… the trouble is beyond your imagination, isn’t it? If you could take over, I would have gladly let you.”

“Wow, Commander, I didn’t expect you to torture with such a refreshing smile. But still, it’s surprising that you’re on such friendly terms with the saintess to lend her your cloak.”

“I was escorting her by royal order. I only lent it to her when we went out to the garden during the break. I couldn’t just let her shiver, could I?”

“Was I the only one who thought the commander might say something like ‘If you’re cold, go back by yourself’?”

Even though my fist had stopped, Simon, still in my headlock, imitated me and said something unnecessary again. Of course, my fist started moving again.

“Ouch, ouch, ouch!! Everyone’s thinking the same thing but just not saying it!!”

When I glanced at the other subordinates, they all averted their eyes at once. Well, it could have happened with the previous me, Justin. Even this time, because it was a royal order, I took care of everything until the end, but if it hadn’t been for them explicitly asking for help in words in front of me, I probably would have ignored them.

“Well, whatever. Since it’s later than usual, finish your meal quickly. The guards who have finished their duties will start coming back one after another.”

As I released the arm that had been holding Simon in place, he flew backwards like a shrimp and escaped. Immediately after, he crouched down and held his head in pain while I headed towards the dining hall.

“Oh no, am I going bald?”

“Oh… Simon…”

“Huh!? What? Am I really bald from what just happened!?”

“Nah, your scalp is just a little red.”

“Don’t say things that could be confusing!!”

I could hear Simon and Arnault messing around, but Gaspard and Marius had cleverly followed me. Perhaps hunger had reached its limit. Even though he was a squire, Gaspard’s resilience in leaving Simon and Arnault, who were knights, was a bit unusual.

Later, Marius made sure to prepare meals for the two who arrived late as well. I should consider Marius as a candidate for vice commander Orel’s successor in the future.