Volume 2 - CH 12

Having the werewolf king say that all of a sudden surprised me. When I turned to look at him, he was looking back at me with respect in his eyes.

“Crest. I agree with your way of thinking. Since you did not take my life; since you told me to live, I will live as your sword.” Right after the werewolf king finished speaking, the werewolves who had followed him up till now all simultaneously fell to their knees behind him.

“Lord Crest. Your words have impressed on us deeply! Along with our king, we pledge our allegiance to you!!”

“Our new king!”

“The birth of a king!!” The werewolves all started getting swept up in the mood all on their own. J, just hold on a sec!

“Whether it’s your king or a chief, I’m-” As I was trying to speak, the goblin queen quickly bowed down on her knees as well.

“Along with the werewolf tribe, we the goblin tribe also pledge our allegiance to our lord.”

H, hey! Stop making this more complicated! Suddenly, Darkle got a smile on his face and came around behind the goblin queen before getting down on his knees. The other goblins did the same.

“Our new king!”

“King! King! King!”

The goblins and werewolves all started chanting in unison. My face cramped up as I realized what was happening, and I let out a small sigh.

“I!” As I raised my voice, everyone fell silent to listen to me. “I… plan to live here in the lower world from now on. I have no intention of being your king or your chief. But, for the sake of making sure that the alliance between the werewolves and goblins remains peaceful, I can take up a position similar to that.”

…I made a compromise. Who will they listen to in an emergency? Once that’s figured out I can resign from my post.

I don’t really want to stand above others as a king or a chief. I’m fine with just living a laid back lifestyle.

“““Yeaaaah! King Crest!””” …Are these guys even able to hear what I say? As they were all getting super fired up all on their own, I made a bitter smile and raised my hand.

〇

We went back into the werewolf kings house and sat down in some chairs. We were discussing what we should do from now on.

“Where should we have our bases? Is it fine to have them separated like now?” I thought a bit about the werewolf king’s suggestion.

“Well, there’s merit in having them separate. For example, in case one base gets attacked they can take refuge in the other.”

“…I see, you’ve got a point. I was caught up in thinking that we should all gather together.” The werewolf king and goblin queen looked at me in awe. I don’t know what the future will bring, but further north there would be a lot more monsters to fight.

For that though, I don’t really feel that much of an advantage to splitting our bases into two.

“But that assumes both have enough fighting power. …Right now It would be better to gather in one place. We already have some buildings in the goblin village. Want to come to our village?” I said, to which the werewolf king quickly lowered his head.

“Of course, Crest.”

“Thanks. I won’t let you guys live uncomfortably.”

“Saying that helps us greatly. That will put everyone else at ease.”

Next, there was something I was curious about while talking to the werewolves, so I asked about it. “Is it alright if I ask you a difficult question, werewolf king?”

“…What?” He tilted his head. There was that thing that the werewolves mentioned during our duel before.

“They mentioned that you were exiled right? What’s up with that?”

“…Yeah, that’s right. It’s a bit of a long story if that’s fine with you.”

“Go head.”

The werewolf king took a short breath before looking off into the distance and telling his story. “I’ve got a twin brother you see. We lived in the werewolf village. …The question came up whether it was him or I who should inherit the village. Our father was supposed to decide that.”

“…Was?”

“Yeah. Before father could name his successor he died, or rather he was killed.” The werewolf king’s eyes became sharp. He excluded the ferocious killing intent of an animal as he clenched his fists.

“Did your brother kill him?”

“Yeah… he did. My father wrote that he wanted me to follow in his footsteps on a stone slab. But when my brother saw it… he killed father. It was so he could succeed the village.”

“…Could you not duel him?”

“…That wasn’t a situation I could. I was set to be executed under the accusation of patricide. But I was saved by my comrades here, and we somehow made it this far.”

…I see. The werewolf king bit his lip in vexation, but he shook his head.

“Sorry about that. We should have spoken about this earlier. With us on your side, they might target you guys along with us werewolves. But…”

“We’re allies, right? Don’t sweat it.” As I told him this, the werewolf king bit his lips tightly. He seems pretty good at winning monsters on his side after all. I should be able to put my current position on the goblin queen and werewolf king while dealing with that problem.

The werewolves listening to us were crying. I could easily tell how much faith they put on the werewolf king.

I stood up and looked around. “Everyone, for now we’ll all go to our village. We’ll head out to the village once you’ve gathered your minimum necessities. Alright?”

“Yeaah!” The werewolves all raised their voices. After watching them all leave, I let out a sigh.

“As expected of you, Crest. To be able to subdue the particularly stubborn werewolves. …You certainly have the makings of a king.”

“…No no no, It’s because you’re here, werewolf king.” I’d rather you didn’t misunderstand that. I took a small breath before sitting down in my chair.