Chapter 26

“Ah, it’s been a while. I hear that you want to talk to me. What is it?”

I had gone straight to Corps Commander Nehyor.

Thankfully, he wasn’t too far from the village I lived in.

This was a small country, and we were in the same army. So perhaps it was only normal.

“I stopped by because there’s something I want to discuss.”

I studied his expression.

I couldn’t read anything, but it seemed like his other subordinates were nervous.

“Discuss? Golan wants to discuss something. Hmm.”

“Is that so odd?”

“It is. I half assumed you were here to declare Gekokujyo.”

He said this in a casual voice, but his eyes were serious.

Is that what they all thought of me?

“Surely, you are joking… I doubt I would have a chance of winning as I am now.”

The moment that I changed, my defeat would be certain.

I didn’t know what would happen if I kept increasing the size of the vessel, but there was more to winning a battle thaт just mana.

And I didn’t know anything about the special abilities of the vampires.

How much of it was magic? That would greatly alter my chances of winning.

After all, we ogres were weak to magic.

“As you are now…indeed. Well then, what do you want to discuss?”

“Yesterday, I was approached by some wanderers who wish to serve under me. That’s what I want to talk about.”

“Serve you. That could be complicated. …But more importantly Golan, you should relax more when you talk. You’re not like this when around the other commanders.”

“Well, uh, that has to do with my personality. Please don’t allow it to bother you.”

I was a salaryman once. Or was I already like this when I was a student? At my old school, you would suffer grave consequences if you weren’t careful about the way that you talked to your teachers.

“Well, fine then. So, could you tell me more about them?”

“Yes. The people that approached me, they are Reapers…”

And then I told him that they were being chased by Lesser Demon King Fara and that no other country would take them in. And that they wanted me to accept their whole tribe.

“But why did they go to you? You haven’t been Commander for very long, Golan.”

“Well, I didn’t ask them about that.”

Why indeed? I hadn’t thought about it too deeply.

But judging by the timing, I think they had wanted to talk to the previous Commander, not me.

“Hey, Golan. Do you understand what is happening in the Demon World?”

“Well, I have heard stories. A Celestial Hole has opened up, and the balance of power is shifting all over the world. Something like that.”