Chapter 233

○ Lesser Demon King Melvis’s Country

“What is his name?”

Asked Lesser Demon King Melvis. A cold sweat ran down Farneze’s skin as she answered.

“He is called Golan. I put him in charge of the corps that was sent to Demon King Tralzard.”

That might have sounded impressive, but they were really a disposable group of soldiers.

The only reason they had been sent was that General Miralada did not want it to look like they were the only ones sending men.

It was no surprise. While they were Miralda’s men, they were the Demon King’s fighting force.

And so she couldn’t lend them out so easily.

The trading was just something they did as a disguise.

And this was related to the fact that Demon King Tralzard did not want any of their neighbors to become Demon Kings.

They wanted to invade other countries in order to stop it.

But that could just be the cause of even more fighting. And it also looked bad.

This had been the best way to deal with the problem without kicking the hornet’s nest.

Farneze too did not want this country to be swallowed up due to some king’s ambition.

And so she had accepted Miralda’s offer. But this was a small country.

She could not send out her best men.

That being said, she couldn’t just send her worst either.

There needed to be a balance. And so Golan and the independant corps were sent.

Well, that had been Miralda and Farneze’s plan, anyway.

And Farneze did not know what Melvis would think about all of this.

And if he asked, she could not lie or twist the truth.

She had to answer honestly.

“Golan… I don’t know him. Where is he from?”

“He is my subordinate and used to be a young Ogre. I suppose he must have fought well across the border. After all, he underwent a special evolution.”

While Melvis was sleeping, Farneze and the other Generals had to make the important decisions.

However, with this matter, she could not even begin to guess what Melvis would think, and what conclusion he would come to.

If it turned out that she had hit a nerve, he might fly into a rage.

Farneze looked at Melvis carefully.

As for Melvis, he had been taken off guard.

Judging by what his Adjutants had said, he had assumed that it was someone who was nearly as strong as Farneze. Someone from the stronger races who had evolved.

But this person was merely a Commander. A former Ogre. They were known to be unreliable.

He wasn’t a General or even a Corps Commander. Just a Commander.

How could someone like that defeat Jikae and Manny?

Melvis was very interested now.

“Confirm this for me.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“You are absolutely certain that this Golan is a former Ogre?”

Melvis had lived much longer than Farneze.

And he knew a lot about Ogres.

He thought back. Had they ever been useful for anything outside of shields on the battlefield?

No. From ancient times, Ogres were only good for being walls of meat.

“There is no mistake. He was an Ogre.”

“…I see.”

Melvis pondered on this for a while.

Had something happened to the Demon World while he was asleep?

He didn’t care if his lands grew smaller or his population shrank.

If he wanted more, it was as simple as taking it.

And so it didn’t matter whatever the current situation was with his lands and people.

However, this matter of the evolving Ogre.

How could someone like that beat his own Adjutants?

Surely something must have happened while he was asleep.

“And what is he doing now?”

“…He said that he would return to his village. He would have gone by now.”

“I see.”

“…”

Farneze was anxious.

Not only did she not know when or if he would be angry, but it was now evident that Melvis was interested in Golan.

(If Golan and Melvis entered a confrontation…)

I doubt it would happen…fighting…no, it can’t…but if instigated…

Farneze wished that she could keep them apart. But life was cruel.

“I think that I shall meet him.”

Melvis muttered.

“!?”

Farneze was shocked.

It wasn’t just Melvis, but she could also never tell what Golan was thinking.

He fought in such a strange way.

Sometimes he seemed passionate, while other times he was terribly clever.

Her impression was that he was a subordinate with no limits.

“However, I want you to deal with the northern coward first.”

And by that, he meant Kyuka, who had infiltrated the castle.

It was not good that someone should think that they could escape. Farneze was in agreement.

“As you wish. I will prepare my army at once.”

“Take Golan with you. And when you return, tell him to come and see me.”

It was over… That’s what Farneze thought. But she didn’t say it out loud.

“Yes, my lord. We will crush the enemy. And I will bring Golan before you on our return.”

“I look forward to the results.”

Farneze bowed her head low.

But in her mind, she was troubled and thinking, ‘what should I do?’

○ Ogre Village – Golan

“Ahhh. It’s so relaxing here.”

I had returned to the village, and was now enjoying spreading my wings.

While I was in charge of managing several villages, none of my duties were urgent.

Besides, most of that work had been done by my Adjutant.

And he wasn’t here right now.

So day after day, I went fishing, stared into space, and did whatever I wanted.

“I hope that things continue like this forever.”

But Rig would return eventually.

“Though, I could just leave all of the work to him.”

I was thinking like a hopeless, self-destructive adult. But it was true that he would do everything better than I could.

If he was going to interfere anyway, then he might as well do it all from the beginning.

It was with such thoughts in my head that I spent the day fishing again.

“Yes, I could really get used to this.”

It was just another peaceful day in the Demon World.

“And there’s no one trying to pick a fight with me.”

Perhaps it was because I had evolved.

Ahh, peace at last. I truly believed it.