Chapter 60 Council Of War

Lichia stared at Lyan with a stern face as she crossed her arms.

(Ah... Did I upset her?) (Lyan)

"You finally arrived, Lyan. You're quite daring, leaving me in the middle of the crowd to went straight to the House of Roses," (Lichia)

(Oh. That one? I thought she was angry because I hold her hand and pulled her in my embrace) (Lyan)

"Ah. Pardon my cluelessness, Lichia. But I thought that you only search for me to relay the information from the guildmaster to me, so since I consider our talk before was done, I decided to left quickly while the crowd is giving some way for me to walk. Did you perhaps have other things that you want to tell me?" (Lyan)

"Eh? Tell you? I don't... Tell me, Lyan. Are you always this mean to all girls, or do you just happen to have a grudge against me?" Lichia asked with a small pout.

(Oh Damn, that's cute) (Lyan)

"Of course not. I'm genuinely clueless, that's all," Lyan replied with a shrug.

"And please, there's no need to talk so politely with me. It makes me feel like we're in a formal meeting every time that it's tiring," (Lichia)

*Sigh!*

"Alright. Is this fine?" Lyan asked with a casual tone.

"Yup. Without the sigh, it would be perfect," Lichia let out a smile of satisfaction. Since she's a cool beauty that usually only wears a business smile on her face, her genuine smile could make any man fall for her immediately.

"Follow me, Lyan. It's almost time for the council of war to start," (Lichia)

Lichia took Lyan to the same meeting room they used before the yesterday subjugation. After opening the door with a *Creak!*, just like before, all of the ones invited to the meeting had already arrived inside the meeting room, making Lyan the last one to arrive.

"Looks like you arrived right on time, Evocatore. Take your seat," The guildmaster said with his usual expression as he stared right into Lyan's eyes.

Lyan replied with a nod. But unlike Rea, Lichia didn't leave the room, and escort him to his seat. What surprised Lyan the most is how she seat right next to him as if it was the most obvious thing to do.

(Hm... Unlike before, Everyone seems to not be bothered by my presence. Unlike several people that are clearly showing their hostility towards me...) (Lyan)

Lyan closed his eyes and crossed his arms as he sensed the hostility from the direction of the Crimson Talon members.

(The reason must be this girl...) (Lyan)

Lyan squinted his eyes on Lichia beside him. She's sitting close to him, just like how the other mercenaries sit nearly with their members. With her usual business smile on her face, she didn't seem to be bothered by the questioning gaze of several male mercenaries inside the room.

Noticing how Jean is hiding a murderous gaze behind his carefree smile, Lyan arrived at a conclusion of what Lichia's behavior meant.

(I see. So she's trying to rile him up and make him jealous, huh. But I would be grateful if she didn't use me for her lover war, though) (Lyan)

After finishing concluding about what is happening before him, Lyan let out a helpless smile, and decided to just play along with whatever Lichia is planning.

On the other hand, What is happening inside Lichia's head is completely different from what Lyan thought. Having left in the middle of a crowd when she went personally for him is the first experience Lichia ever experienced. A normal person usually would take the chance to extend their talk with her, but the person beside her just went ahead without caring about it.

As one of the most popular receptionists of the guild, Lichia has her pride as being a beautiful woman. Getting treated so indifferently by Lyan kind of triggered her pride a little. Because of that, Lichia decided to tease Lyan by sitting right next to him in the meeting.

Because of being an incubus in the demon world for a long time, Lyan is capable of reading people's minds and feelings easily even without using his magic, but that only works for demons and normal men. Women have the most complicated heart that is very hard to understand without using his magic. Since the demon women inside the demon world are more aggressive than the women in this world, they are easier to understand and guess than the human women.

In short, Lyan is overestimating his ability to read women, and is making assumptions based on his experiences with female demons. He's still not accustomed to how human women's heart works.

"We'll now start the discussion," The guildmaster's voice immediately draws the attention of everyone present.

Lyan noticed that the knight that had a duel with Jean and the knight that stopped Jean from recklessly using his magic saber was also present together with dozens of other knights.

"Allow me to introduce you, these knights before us are the royal knights from the Astellia kingdom that will join the elite team in subjugating the goblin king. As you've heard, they are elite knights that possess real strength. The Astellia Kingdom will also attack the goblins with their army from the south, so we'll be advancing towards the goblin lair from two different directions. Our target is the complete annihilation of the goblins," (Guildmaster)

"For our army of mercenaries, the Small General of the Valkyries will be the commander, while the Dancing Gale will be the leader of the elite team in the next battle. Is there any objection?" (Guildmaster)

(Well, considering how quick-witted they are in the previous battle, I guess it makes sense. I'm also interested in how the famous Small General will lead the army) (Lyan)

The other mercenaries nod in acceptance of the ones chosen by the guildmaster, but a single knight raised his hand.

"Yes, Mr. Knight?" The Guildmaster asked towards the knight.

"Pardon me for cutting your words, guildmaster. But I believe that sir Julius is much more suitable to be the leader of the elite group. Since we'll be taking a high risk of charging right towards the goblin king, it might be better for a much more experienced, strong, and wise person to lead, rather than having a woman to lead the elite group," The knight showed obvious underestimation towards the Valkyries. His tone is filled with arrogance, and his eyes are sneering at them.

Hearing his suggestion, Lyan noticed a small curve on the corner of the guildmaster's lips.

"May I ask you how long had you joined the royal knight, Mr. Knight?" Surena asked the knight with a smirk.

"Hm? I have joined the royal knight for about two years, though. Is there any matter with that?" The knight replied with an arrogant tone.

"""Hahahaha!!!"""

Suddenly the room got filled with laughter, all of the mercenaries let out a big laugh as they heard the haughty reply from the young knight, leaving him bewildered because of their reaction.

"Pfft! He must be thinking that he could curry favor with the knight captain by underestimating lady Surena. What a pity, he wouldn't even last even a minute in a fight with her," Lichia whispered mocking words about the knight toward Lyan, while Lyan replied to her with a chuckle.

"W-What are you all laughing for!?"

"Mr. Knight. This lady Surena here had joined several wars on the west, and the north. Even the Astella Kingdom had borrowed the strength of her mercenary group as well. More than that, the three of them got their glorious titles from their battle together with the Astellia Kingdom," (Guildmaster)

"L-Lies! They are just women-"

"Sit down, fool," The royal knight's captain, Julius, ordered the knight to sit down.

"Sir Julius..."

"Lady Surena got the name 'Dancing Gale' from killing a hundred enemies in the battle without getting a single wound. Lady Alice got the name 'Small General' because of her feat of leading the joint army to victory with casualties less than 10%. While lady Emilia got her name 'Blazing Lioness' because of how she is feared by people in how she slaughtered the enemies' heavy infantries with her red hair fluttering as if they are blazing in flame. It's the war that happened three years ago, so it's normal for you to didn't know about them," Julius explained the heroic feats of the three girls towards the knight.

(Well, Mythril-ranked mercenary is called a small army not for nothing, after all) (Lyan)

"I-Impossible..." The knight fell flat to his chair in embarrassment. He never thought that the girls he underestimating are people that even his captain respected.

"Would you please don't talk as if we're allies? We just happen to be on the same side because we're indebted to the Marquis. Don't ever think that we're allied with the Astellia Kingdom even for a second," The Small General, Alice, said with bare hostility towards the Astellia Kingdom's royal knights.

(Hm. Looks like there is quite a history between them) (Lyan)

____________________________________________________________________________

Name: Lyan Arkanium Evocatore

Occupation: Gold-ranked Mercenary

Money: 49,722,400 Elnes

Weapon: None

Equipment: Black leather cloak, One-handed Sword

Grimoire's Companions: 8 High Spirits, Shadow Hobgoblin, Papilio Slime, Galewing Butterfly, Rock Golem, Deadlight