The night continued, and now that the guest of honor had arrived, things became very lively.
Of course, since this was the Demon World, several fights broke out in different corners of the great hall.
People were drunk and emboldened. And sometimes people from different tribes who rarely saw each other would clash.
Well, it didn’t take much for a fight to start. A simple ‘Is that challenge?’ and ‘you bet’ was all that was needed before the fists went flying. And then a Corps Commander would come out and tell them to go outside.
While I hadn’t checked, I was quite sure that there were several groups fighting in the courtyard right now.
“Ah, this has been an enjoyable night.”
Miralda said, clearly in a good mood.
And judging by her reaction, the banquet could be said to be a success.
People’s rating of General Farneze would rise.
“Now, I think it’s time for us to leave. See you tomorrow.” (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
She waved her hand with a smile, and then left.
Since the guest of honor was gone, this would usually have meant that the banquet was over.
However, there were so many who had not eaten or drunk enough.
And so the banquet would continue until all of the tables were cleared.
The people knew this, and no one seemed to be leaving.
“What will you do, Golan?”
“I’ve been doing nothing but talking. I think it’s time I go and stuff myself.”
I had been talking with Miralda and the other Generals for the whole time, and had barely eaten anything.
Perhaps I should have eaten before the banquet started, but it had been such a good opportunity to talk with people of different races, and I had been busy moving around the hall.
“Though, many of them avoided talking to Ogres.”
They didn’t think I was worth their time.
And so I grabbed a large plate and filled it with some of the remaining food, and began to eat a late dinner. It was then that I was approached by a few people.
Apparently, they wanted to talk.
Why now, when things were ending…? But then I recognized who they were.
They were among the people I had approached that had given me the cold shoulder.
They introduced themselves but had little to say otherwise.
It turned out that they had seen me talking with General Farneze as if we were close. And then I had been called by the other Generals and was seen to even be acquainted with the guest of honor, a person who worked for a Demon King, no less.
They were only frantically rushing to me now because they thought I was important.
And while I had been enthusiastic about getting to know people, it was all too obvious that they just wanted me to introduce them to the General, which was a big turn off.
This banquet had been a rather sudden event, and many of the lower servants had been brought in to help. They mistook me to be one of them.
The sight of me talking casually with the General would have been very strange, and they were curious about how I had done it.
But it was all very tiring, and so I dodged them and left the hall.
And so in the end, I felt rather conflicted about the whole banquet in the end.
The next day, I joined Miralda and the others at the meeting.
General Farneze had already finished discussing the matter with the other Generals, and she looked quite pleased as the meeting began.
“As for the trading of troops, we have no objection to it. Indeed, we welcome it fully.”
“I see. That’s good to hear.”
Things were settled rather quickly.
Both sides knew what this would mean.
While we would be lent some incredibly powerful soldiers, we now had a responsibility to stop Leninoth and Fara.
This was the power of the Demon King’s army.
As long as we did not misuse it, we had a good chance of winning.
“We will now have to go over the details to ensure that we agree on everything. First, when were you expecting for this trade to occur?”
That was important to decide.
As we would have to prepare accordingly.
“The day of the trade, eh? How about thirty days from now?”
“Thirty days… That is fine. I think we should be able to prepare in time.”
Yes, it would be easy enough.
After all, there had been several defensive battles recently, and so the soldiers were used to gathering and moving.
“What we need to discuss now is the number of troops and what they will bring. While we do have food, if the equipment is not right, then the trade will be useless.”
“I see. In fact, some races also eat completely different food as well. Those are also details that need to be considered.”
“And also how they are used. Keep them independent or incorporate them? We will have to know their preference in order to avoid chaos later on.”
Apparently, this trade was a lot more complicated than it seemed.
While the Kobolds would deal with the practical business, they wouldn’t be able to move until certain things had been decided first.
“We will ask them. As for equipment, we should be able to prepare most of it ourselves.”
“Mmm. My own men won’t require anything, as we are currently still in action.”
So they had everything that they needed.
In that case, it was just us that needed thirty days to prepare.
A few other things were decided after that, and the meeting with Miralda ended.
In the future, she would send a representative to Farneze’s town in order to stay in contact.
Miralda’s army was already close by, so it would not take too much time.
“Ahhh, finally that’s over.”
I said honestly.
I had been called away from the village so suddenly. But now I would be able to return.
I could take some time off and train my men.
In any case, I had sat through enough meetings and talks of war.
I slowly looked up at the sky.
Pure white clouds were gently drifting by.
“What a beautiful day.”
I really thought that.
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