I’m Looking for the Male Lead for the Ending - Chapter 82

Chapter 42.1

︵‿୨ ₊‧꒰ა ୨ৎ ໒꒱ ‧₊ ୧‿︵

“Cough, cough.”

A deliberately loud cough echoed through the room, causing a vein to twitch on Lev’s forehead.

His trip, which was supposed to last two weeks, had been shortened to just ten days, leaving him with even less time than before.

And yet, just moments ago, Ban had barged into his tent while he was packing, and without a hint of awareness, started lecturing him. He nagged about whether he had packed enough clothes and insisted that Lev should stand his ground as a knight, even if the Magic Tower elders tried to persuade him to return—just spouting unnecessary nonsense.

Frustrated, Lev snapped at Ban to get out if he was just going to get in the way. But instead of leaving, Ban sat there in silence, watching him expectantly, as if waiting for him to speak first.

When that didn’t work, Ban resorted to blatantly coughing loudly.

“Ahem! Cough!”

When the coughing started up again, Lev finally lost his patience. He gritted his teeth and snapped.

“Ah, if you’ve got something to say, just spit it out! Watching you do that is even more annoying.”

Hearing that, Ban grinned and chuckled.

“Haha, was it that obvious?”

Ignoring the way Lev’s face scrunched up like crumpled paper, Ban leaned in and asked.

“It’s nothing major, but… that magic-infused paper you were developing as a communication tool. I heard it’s almost ready for mass production. Is that true?”

“…And where did you hear that?”

“Cain told me.”

“Sir Cain may look like a slow brute, but he talks more than a chatterbox.”

At the blunt criticism, Ban merely shrugged his shoulders.

Since Lev wasn’t insulting him or the captain, he didn’t really care. Ban then dragged a chair closer and sat across from Lev as he spoke.

“Can you give me one of those?”

“Are you talking about the Untact¹ Paper?”

Ban eagerly nodded at his response, his eyes practically sparkling with excitement. Lev instinctively leaned back a little before asking,

“Do you even know how much that thing costs?”

“I don’t, which is why I’m asking if you’d give me one.”

At Ban’s completely shameless response, Lev let out a dry, incredulous laugh.

The Untact Paper was a sheet of paper infused with a complex magical enchantment. Even when the paper was torn, the enchantment remained intact. It took several years just to assign a unique enchantment to each sheet so that only the separated pieces could communicate with each other.

In other words, crafting it required an enormous amount of effort, time, and magical energy. Given its usefulness, the price per sheet had to be at least two hundred and fifty gold.

Finishing his thoughts, Lev shot Ban a sharp glare, narrowing his eyes.

“You truly have no shame. That thing costs more than a full year’s salary, and you’re just asking me to hand it over?”

“You know, I don’t think I’ve ever…”

“…?”

“Mentioned how sweetly you talk to people? Haha.”

Ban, realizing he was on the losing end of this conversation, barely contained his frustration before letting out a sigh.

At the sight of it, Lev lowered his gaze to the documents and asked,

“And what exactly do you plan to use it for?”

“To talk to Emily.”

“E-Emi… Emily? You’re not seriously asking me for this paper just to talk to my sister-in-law, are you?”

Lev’s tone grew sharp with frustration.

Ban, unfazed, gave him a questioning look as if he didn’t see the issue.

“Of course, that’s what I wanted it for. What else would I use it for?”

“This was designed as a military-grade communication device! Not some fancy notepad for your love letters!”

“A military communication tool?”

Seeing Ban echo the words in disbelief, Lev nodded his head vigorously. Then, looking deflated, he straightened up from where he had been leaning.

“I just assumed this was meant to be sold to nobles for their little romantic exchanges.”

“Three years ago, the entire knight order almost got wiped out because we had no way to communicate in battle. How could you even think this was meant for romance?”

Only then did Ban finally understand why Lev had been tirelessly working on this research for the past three years.

‘Well, he might have a sharp tongue, but he’s completely devoted to the knight order. That’s probably why we’ve managed to work together all this time.’

Ban gave Lev an almost proud look before casually shrugging.

“Well, the captain seems to be using it that way.”

“…What?”

At Lev’s confused response, Ban blinked before answering.

“Wait, you seriously didn’t know? The captain tore that paper in half and sent it to the Marquis’s daughter.”

“Th, the Marquis’s daughter? You’re not talking about Lady Aidelis, are you?”

“Yeah, that’s right. By now, the two of them are probably exchanging messages through that paper.”

Lev muttered in disbelief, looking completely stunned.

“W-Wait, why would he give that to the Marquis’s daughter…? Don’t tell me, the captain is actually serious about her?”

Ban exhaled deeply at his question.

“That’s something only the captain can answer.”

“Still… he’s never done anything like this before, has he?”

¹ [ ‘언택트’ (Untact) is a Korean-made English term combining ‘un-’ and ‘contact,’ meaning ‘contactless’ or ‘non-contact.’ It refers to remote or digital interactions. ‘언택트 페이퍼’ (Untact Paper) likely refers to a document that can be processed or exchanged without physical contact, possibly in digital form or as remotely accessible paper. ] ↩