Side Story 23: The Civil Officials' Banquet (1)

A few days after Roa was recruited by the Tenth Knight Order.

"Hey, look at that. He's doing something weird again."

Derek pointed at Drew, who was squatting facing the wall and muttering something under his breath.

"Well, well, he's not bothering anyone, so let him be." Yold intervened, and Derek fell silent with a sheepish look on his face.

Drew was the sort of oddball people considered a genuine eccentric, and his fellow civil officials often teased him, but Derek had not meant to make fun of him.

Normally, this was where Derek would bring up Roa, who was likewise reputed to be an eccentric, and Roa would protest—the usual ritual.

He had only wanted to banter with Roa, not disparage Drew.

It had only been a few days since Roa left, but Derek had slipped back into their old banter without thinking, and now felt a little awkward.

That was the extent of Derek's relationship with Drew. They occasionally exchanged words over paperwork, but for the most part they were strangers, with no dealings or interest in one another.

So he never dreamed that, several years later, things would turn out as they did...