Chapter 269: The Composition of the Enemy Army, and Our Army’s Roles

Just as Freit tried to introduce the last group, the door opened vigorously.

"Did I make it!"

What appeared was a giant over two meters.

His right arm was hung from the neck with white cloth, and bandages were wrapped on his head.

"Captain!"

The man who had sat on the door side beside Gito and the others stood.

The men standing behind stirred too.

Just now Lare, Freit’s secretary, seemed to have said everyone had gathered...

"Lord Steinfurt, is the injury all right?"

"This is Lord Clam. Sorry for the late arrival. This degree does not enter among injuries. Wahhahaha!"

The giant called Lord Steinfurt raised a large laugh, and walked beside the knight-like man.

The knight-like man wore a troubled expression, and yielded the seat to Steinfurt.

"Thank you. Everyone, please forgive the rudeness of the sudden entry."

Saying that he bowed his head, then sat in the chair.

Then he looked around, and met eyes with me.

"Oh, is it not Lord Hiroyuki! Long time. To meet in such a place. Are you in good health?"

He greeted me in the usual loud voice.

Yes, the giant man was Viscount Steinfurt Giacomo Lothar.

I nodded while smiling wryly, and was glad that Giacomo looked energetic even with the injury.

...

Apparently Giacomo had been injured, so he had been planned to be absent from this meeting.

Even so he seemed to have forced himself out with the injury.

I thought if it was Giacomo going to the church would heal the injury with magic, but...

As with Ito, maybe the church could not easily use magic for preparations of the war?

Or was the result of healing with magic the current figure of Giacomo?

Anyway.

Freit introduced Giacomo, and Giacomo introduced the knight-like man standing beside him, Rinaldo Sadero.

Rinaldo was a proper knight of the Cardilia Kingdom, I was told.

"Now then, with this the introductions of everyone have ended. From now we begin the strategy meeting."

By Freit’s declaration the one who moved first was Damian, the military man of the Lübeck side introduced as strategy staff.

"First, this time’s enemy is the former Torrestia Kingdom army, scale two hundred thousand. Almost all of them are composed of demons."

"Fumu, because the home country was defeated they showed their true nature."

"Yes, unlike until the previous time, they seem to have no intention of arranging even the form."

Damian caught Bonifatius’s mutter, and supplemented the explanation plainly.

What did "form" mean.

"What does that mean?"

Rosa, the leader of the Dragon’s Fang mercenary band, asked what I had wondered.

"Until now the Torrestia Kingdom army composed the army only of ones who looked like people. Even if they were not alive."

Falco, the highest responsible of the Lübeck army, answered Rosa’s question while smiling wryly and clouding the words.

Not alive meant the likes of ghosts or zombies, maybe.

Hearing Falco’s explanation, this side who did not know the circumstances until now began stirring.

As expected the representatives sitting in front including me were quiet.

"Fumu, if that is not there, does our work decrease a little?"

Hans, the cult union head sitting on the Lübeck side, asked Falco without breaking the gentle smile.

"That I do not know. It is not limited that the accursed ones who have done such barbaric acts until now are not accompanying this time only."

Falco grimaced and answered Hans.

"And this time they seem to have brought tough ones. Damian."

Falco continued talking, and turned to Damian sitting beside him.

"Ha. According to the scouts, several dragons have been confirmed."

When Damian answered, stirring arose in the room.

"Fumu, I saw them too. At least four big ones were there."

At Giacomo’s large voice it quieted once, but soon large murmurs arose.

"Is that why we were called?"

There a beautiful voice that pierced the room, quite smaller than Giacomo, echoed.

"Yes, Lord Rosa. We are expecting you who have experienced battles with dragons many times."

Freit returned a smile to the smiling Rosa.

But neither of their eyes were smiling.

"How much payment can we receive?"

"That talk let us do later."

To Rosa’s question Freit glanced at Gito sitting beside her and answered.

Apparently Freit was trying to negotiate separately with Rosa and the Dragon’s Fang mercenary band and Gito and the Hufner mercenary band.

Even so, Rosa of the noble-like figure and voice putting out about reward first.

As expected the leader of a mercenary band.

"Can you tell me the details of those dragons?"

Here Melchiorrea, one of the "Three Sages of the Inner Sea," spoke.

"Fumu, let us have Damian explain."

"Ha. Two dragons covered in jet-black scales and with heads about a person’s height have been confirmed, I am told."

"Mu. The heads were larger than a person. After all, they swallowed a knight together with the horse!"

To Damian’s explanation Giacomo distorted his face in irritation and raised an objection.

"At that size, they are lesser dragons."

"Yes. Elder dragons have high self-respect, so they probably almost never come out in wars of human races or demon races like this."

Rosa judged them lesser dragons, and Melchiorrea explained the basis.

But...

"Muriel, what is the difference between lesser dragons and elder dragons?"

"Um, whether they use magic or not, I think..."

"Lesser dragons have poor intelligence, and cannot manipulate language. Therefore communication is not possible either, but they can be manipulated with magic or curses. They do not use magic and so on, and the main is attacks by blowing breath of each attribute, or using fangs, claws, tails. Elder dragons have intelligence, and can communicate using language. But unless something considerable they have no interest in us, and negotiations and so on are probably not possible. Dragons that can use magic exist too."

To Muriel’s vague explanation Melchiorrea supplemented, no, explained in detail again.

"Incidentally, lesser dragons and elder dragons do not differ that much in size. Dragon puppies are incomparably smaller than lesser dragons, about one size smaller even than wyverns, maybe. Ancient dragons... this time they are not related."

"Hahaha, if there is an ancient dragon we would be at a loss."

Rosa added explanation, and when she confirmed at the end Falco nodded while smiling wryly.

"Then are the other dragons puppies or subspecies?"

"Yes. But the possibility they still have them hidden cannot be denied."

"Hun! Whether wyvern or puppy or lesser, come at me! I will finish them!"

Rosa confirmed again, and this time Damian answered that.

Maybe the content was vague, and against that Ivo raised a vigorous voice from behind.

Everyone looked at Ivo at once.

Especially the representatives sitting in seats sent cool gazes, but there Rosa sighed and inserted words.

"Fuu. For now, the dragons including subspecies we will take on. In the meantime, the others please take care of."

The words were polite, but an irresistible cold tone.

"Understood. Then from the formation..."

Freit answered, and finally moved to talks of concrete content.

...

"Fuu."

"Good work."

When I sighed and sat on the sofa Cathy brought tea.

"Thank you."

I thanked Cathy and sipped the tea.

As expected, the tea Cathy brewed was delicious.

I set the teacup on the table and leaned my back on the backrest.

It was long...

Starting from thirteen o’clock, it ended past twenty-one o’clock.

In the middle there was a simple dinner break, but we held the meeting almost without rest.

But all of them were important topics, so everyone was serious.

Of course I participated seriously too.

Therefore I got tired extra...

Even so, we returned here to Freit’s mansion first, but Freit was still at the assembly hall because there were adjustments with the important people of Lübeck.

Nothing but as expected could be said.

Speaking of as expected...

"Master, let us review what was decided at the meeting."

Muriel, standing without breaking posture beside me, said that.

Rosina, Sophia, Birga, Gejia, even Yanica were as usual, and no appearance of being tired was seen.

Was I weaker than ordinary?

"Now now, after resting a little more?"

Rosina smiled wryly and spoke to Muriel.

"But if we do not digest what was decided today..."

"Lord Hiroyuki is tired too."

"Eh?"

Muriel looked at Rosina suspiciously, and looked at me again.

"I-I am sorry!"

Muriel noticed my state and bowed her head.

"No no, as Muriel says, we have to review properly. Getting tired with this degree is no good. I have to learn from everyone. After all the way of training is different, maybe?"

"No such thing. We are tired too. Even Muriel, normally she should notice Lord Hiroyuki’s state first. Right."

"I-I am sorry."

When Rosina continued smiling wryly and said that to Muriel, Muriel bowed small and apologized in a small voice.

"No, but you look energetic."

"Because we are in front of Lord Hiroyuki we are only showing it that way. Right."

When Rosina turned, everyone who had participated in the meeting nodded.

"Is that so... then let us review quickly and rest. Muriel."

"Y-yes."

Muriel answered, took out paper from the bag hung at her waist, and read it over.

"First, Master is not affiliated with any unit, and if you protect the strategic and tactical orders you may act freely."

"Fumu, well said a guerrilla unit, badly said do as you like."

"In this case a guerrilla unit. Everyone evaluated Master."

"Naturally. It would be strange not to evaluate Master who is the Demon Lord killer."

Birga reacted to my words, and against that Muriel got angry.

The evaluation of people who knew me directly or indirectly was high, but other people, for example the two mercenary bands or the priests of the cults and so on, seemed to have doubts about letting me act freely.

Well, because Freit the highest responsible of this town and Falco the highest commander of the army persuaded them, in the end it became such treatment.

Putting my hand’s Dules as is under my command without putting them in the army’s Dule unit, no one objected.

The Dules held by the mercenary bands were incorporated into the tactics of those mercenary bands, so leaving them affiliated with the mercenary bands was apparently an unspoken understanding when hiring.

Of course both mercenary bands’ Dules became affiliated with each mercenary band, so we became the same treatment.

Not only the mercenary bands, the Dules of adventurers affiliated with the adventurer union would be left incorporated in the parties of the adventurers as is, I was told.

However, criminal slaves, as Freit had said before, forcibly became affiliated with the Dule unit.

That is, about Lily, I had known that in advance, so I nodded without inserting any opinion.

"Is it fine?"

When she finished explaining one round, Muriel cut the talk once.

What Muriel asked was not only me.

When I nodded, Muriel looked around, and confirmed that the Dules who had participated in the meeting nodded.

"Then next is the formation."