CH 10 changed attitude

“…!”

It would have been better if she had just been surprised, but instead, Irene jolted out of her chair, swaying unsteadily. In her attempt to get up, she involuntarily flailed her arms, almost tumbling awkwardly until a strong arm reached out and caught her by the waist.

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

He realized that Irene was surprised by his words, so he quickly grabbed her.

“…!”

Startled by Michael’s sudden move, Irene instinctively recoiled, pushing away his arm and taking a step back.

‘Why?’

Certainly, the old Michael had never made any attempts to touch her. He had avoided any contact with Irene, not even daring to be in the same space, except when he was forced to undergo a purification.

Now, not only had he approached her willingly but also reached out first.

“Irene?”

Calling her name, Michael approached her again. He addressed her with a surprising ease.

She had to gasp once more at the realization. In the past, up until the very last moment, he had always referred to her as ‘Miss Irene’ or ‘Lady Purifier.’

The only time he’d called her by her first name was the week they’d shared a bed. But that had been when he was in an abnormal state of mind, and she couldn’t comprehend why he was using her name now, as if they had always shared an intimate connection.

Feeling an unbearable tension, Irene took another step back from him.

‘What’s going on?’

She needed to understand why he was behaving differently compared to their past lives. As Irene, with a puzzled expression, distanced herself from him, Michael looked at her quizzically.

“Is there a problem?”

“A problem… you say?”

There were so many issues that she didn’t know where to start.

“Just a while ago, you called me by my name…”

Upon hearing this, Michael seemed a little embarrassed before opening his mouth to speak.

“… I asked around, and it seems that it’s customary to address each other by name after forming a pair. If it made you uncomfortable, I apologize.”

Then he bowed politely.

He had a point. After all, a pairing was akin to marriage, and it was common for couples to address each other intimately by name after forming a pair.

‘He asked others.’

If that was the case, then him calling her by her first name made sense, but it left a twinge of bitterness in her.

‘So that means he never asked others about pairs before in our last life.’

Perhaps Michael noticed Irene’s stiff expression because he continued to explain, still unsure.

“I apologize for touching you without permission. I was afraid you might get hurt if you fell…”

“No, I’m the one who’s sorry for being so startled.”

Irene quickly gathered her troubled feelings and responded more politely than Michael.

She realized that it would do her no good to dwell on past wounds caused by Michael’s changed attitude.

‘We’ll never see each other again, so let’s focus on the future.’

Uttering these words silently in her mind like a mantra several times a day, Irene smiled as if nothing had happened. Michael seemed like he wanted to say something more but gave up, redirecting his gaze to the fruit dish on the table.

“You looked like you wanted to eat it, but you just stared at it, so I was just wondering what was wrong.”

“Oh, by the way, there’s something I wanted to ask about these, Sir Michael.”

“Just call me Michael.”

“No. How could I address the Commander of the Temple Knights so casually? I find this more comfortable, so I hope you understand.”

Irene politely rejected his request. Only once in her previous life had she called him Michael in public. During the week they spent together purifying his body, intimately addressing him had become a habit. But that was the problem.

“Michael, wait! Can we talk for a moment!”

As soon as Irene regained her senses, she ran, shouting frantically and trying to catch Michael as he made his way to the temple.

But he stepped back from her as she reached out to him.

She vividly remembered the laughter of those who watched, mocking her for trying to catch him. She had only called him by that name by mistake once, but the cold attitude and disdain that he gave her still lingered in her memory.

But now, even recalling her past life, she didn’t feel depressed.

They served as a reminder not to make such a mistake again. She only aimed to compose herself, having firmly said what needed to be said.

“…If you insist.”

To her relief, Michael complied with her request.

“Well, first of all, there seems to be some misunderstanding, and I think you need to check.”

“Misunderstanding?”

Instead of answering, Irene pointed at the items piled up in front of her.

"They claimed that these items that just arrived were paid for by you, Sir Michael. I know you donate all the dungeon rewards to the temple, so I have no idea how this happened…I tried sending them back, but the maids said it wasn’t something they could do. So, Sir Michael…”

“Isn’t it to your liking?” he asked, seeming unable to comprehend. “I found out that everything needed here has to be ordered separately. In that case, you might need things like this.”

“…I do need them, but it doesn’t have to be this fancy. And it doesn’t have to be a lot, and, most of all, these are very expensive.”

At that moment, as firm as Irene was earlier, Michael spoke with an equally determined voice.

“Just take them.”

“But… don’t they have to be offered to the temple?”

The Temple Knights couldn’t take things for personal gain. That’s why, even in the past, he didn’t give Irene anything.

“If that’s your concern, then don’t worry. This… It seems like it was sent in my name by a special envoy from the kingdom that provided the room.”

If so, that’s even more troubling.

“Despite refusing to accept offerings several times, it seems they sent them like this. If you don’t mind, Irene, I hope you’ll accept it as is. Otherwise, they might send it directly to me, which will only complicate things further.”

Michael addressed her by her first name again, but this time she missed the opportunity to point it out.

He was a man who acted according to convention. Now that he recognized that it was customary to call her by her first name, he won’t do it any differently. Irene figured that since she only had to endure it for a few days, she might as well not worry so much about it anymore.

She turned her attention back to the mountain of items.

‘Just take them for myself.’

She had never gotten what she wanted when she needed it. But now, when she no longer wants anything, she receives in abundance.

“Then… I’ll gratefully accept them.”

Irene thanked him in a voice that didn’t sound particularly grateful.

Michael silently watched her without saying anything.

...* * *...

Two days later, Irene was busy making morning preparations.

‘Today is the day.’

If her memory served her right, this morning, scouts would report a new dungeon that had appeared overnight, providing Irene with the number of the dungeon she had been targeting.

‘Others will probably aim for the intermediate dungeon that appears today.’

It was the first time during this expedition period that an intermediate dungeon appeared inside the fortress. Naturally, every pair was likely targeting that dungeon.

‘They’ll want to make a name for themselves early on with good rewards.’

Except for knights who were experiencing this for the first time, those who had been participating in dungeon raids for years weren’t just going to sit back and watch, knowing that the intermediate dungeon had a higher chance to yield an artifact. They want to get in before anyone else and reap the rewards.

With so many people wanting to get in, it would probably take quite a while to select the first ten pairs to enter according to the continent’s laws.

‘I should ask Michael to let us go into Dungeon 181 during that time.’

Even yesterday, after finishing the discussion with Michael about the rewards from the dungeon, Irene had this plan in mind. The terms of their contract, documented and notarized by officials from the Alliance of Kingdoms, were as followed:

Once a month, the Purifier can choose the dungeon they desire.

The rewards obtained from that dungeon belong solely to the Purifier.

All other rewards obtained from different dungeons go to the Knight.

Aside from these conditions, there were a few other minor regulations, but Irene didn’t pay much attention to them. After all, to Irene, today was the last day, and none of them would for long.

Fully prepared to leave this place, Irene eagerly awaited the report containing information on the dungeon that arrived every morning.

The time came, and the fortress maids came to her with the report from the archives.The document listed the dungeons newly tallied throughout the previous day, their grades, and roughly estimated the type of boss monster.

‘There it is.’

Irene took a moment to look at the dungeon listed at the bottom.

『Dungeon 181 / Lowest Grade / Confirmed Water-Attribute Demon』

The dungeon had appeared in the same location as before. Without hesitation, Irene wrote her and Michael’s names next to it.

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