“Why am I in a meeting…”
Farneze, the Vampire General, was sitting to my left.
I had been thinking about it for a while now, but the General really had gone through so much.
She had to deal with the messenger from Tralzard’s country, had her subordinate, Nehyor, betray her and run away, and then had to sneak into Kyuka’s country in order to kill him. She had been very busy.
It was understanding subordinates like me who made her job bearable, but otherwise, she might have just thrown in the towel and fled.
Right now, the General’s expression was even more mysterious than usual.
I hadn’t a clue as to what she was thinking about.
In fact, it was just us two who were sitting on chairs here.
General Tulart was on the other side.
There was a huge table between me and him. General Tulart was sitting cross-legged.
After all, he was a Cyclops.
Which made him nearly twice as tall as me.
I was considered to be quite large myself. It clearly demonstrated just how large he was.
Cyclopes were a type of Giant, and were much larger than anyone else.
And to the left side, stood General Dardaroth.
He wasn’t standing as a punishment for being late.
He couldn’t sit because the wings on his back got in the way.
General Dardaroth was a Feitian.
The Feitian line was rather complicated, and started with the evolution of Great Crows to Crow Tengu.
And they evolved into Tengu, and Feitians were an Origin type that spawned from there.
They were also very rare.
And at the very head of the table was our Lesser Demon King…no, Great Demon King Melvis.
He was an Elder Vampire, the only one of his kind.
Ancient and undying, he floated intimidatingly in the air.
One might have wondered if he was being suspended with wires, but it was apparently that the mana was so thick around him that his body just floated naturally.
What a monster!
In fact, the meeting had been going on for quite some time now.
Words came out of Melvis’s mouth, and the three Generals would nod in agreement or ask questions.
It was a rather relaxing affair.
I kept silent the whole time.
As I knew of everything that had happened up until now, I just listened to it as if it was background noise.
The meeting progressed, and they started to talk about how I had found Yamato in the Human World.
Before the meeting had started, when I showed my face in the room, the two other Generals had looked at me with undisguised annoyance.
“Ah, maybe I should kill them.” But my weapons were nowhere to be found.
With no choice, I strengthened my body and was considering which one I should charge into first when the two quickly looked away.
“It appears that you’ve been accepted.”
General Farneze said with a chuckle.
Apparently, had I been the one to look away, they would have beaten me to a pulp.
So I would have lost just because I was intimidated by two Generals? What bullies.
While I wasn’t surprised, I was reminded of just how troublesome things were in the Demon World.
But once the meeting started, I became as quiet as the air.
And so when everyone suddenly turned to me, I was a little frantic.
Though, Melvis continued to talk calmly.
But he didn’t explain everything, and would vaguely say things like, ‘you understand.’
“What does he mean?”
General Farneze whispered to me.
It was about how I had met Yamato.
“I got a little close to death.”
No, that wasn’t right. I was very close to death.
“I don’t understand it. Someone who is almost dead can go to the Human World?”
“I think there are special cases.”
Special cases. Yes, we’ll call it that.
Even as General Farneze and I whispered to each other, the meeting continued.
At this point, the other Generals also appeared to be lost, and try as they might, they could not understand. After a while, they seemed to have abandoned any thought altogether.
But Melvis continued to talk in his calm voice. And it was just as he finished explaining about things that I already knew, that the meeting entered its most important part.
“Someone must act as my representative while I go to the Human World.”
I see. So that was why. I understood now.
Him going to the Human World was already decided.
And since it was possible that he would be gone for a very long time, he wanted to make the hierarchy among the Generals clear.
The three Generals here were all seasoned warriors.
Any of them could represent him, and no one would complain.
Still, I was getting quite hungry. As I started to wonder if we would be served lunch, General Farneze jabbed me with her elbow.
“…What?”
“Didn’t you hear King Melvis say that we are to take a vote? In favor or not in favor?”
“Huh?”
“You weren’t listening?”
Of course, I wasn’t listening…but there was no way that I could admit it in that room.
“Of course, I was listening. And I am in favor.”
“…I see.”
General Farneze had a faraway look in her eyes.
Huh? Had I made a mistake?
“Then it will be decided through battle tomorrow. You’re dismissed.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
The three Generals said in unison.
Melvis floated out of the room. It must be nice, not having to walk.
But what was this about fighting? Decide what? What was this?
As I looked on dumbly, the Cyclops, General Tulart, stood up and patted me on the shoulder before leaving.
He had whispered, ‘You better be ready,’ but what did that mean?
General Dardaroth beat his great wings and flew up.
He circled the room once and then muttered so that I could hear him, ‘Don’t blame me if you die,’ and then flew off.
What did he mean by those ominous words?
And then there was General Farneze.
She avoided meeting my gaze, and stood up with a grave expression.
“Even if the numbers are right, to participate in the decisive battle…”
She shook her head and was about to leave the room, and so I quickly stopped her.
“I was lying. I wasn’t listening at all. What was decided?”
When I said this, General Farneze’s face was quite the sight to behold.