CH 271

The day after I returned to my house.

“Everyone seemed disinterested when it was me…”

There had been no excitement at all.

Could it be that they didn’t think much of me?

Even when I was in my house, I could hear all the clamor and voices coming from outside.

“Well, their families are back from the battlefield. I suppose they would be excited about that.”

Many soldiers had been drafted from this village.

And so their families were overjoyed to see them return.

—Gayagayagaya…

Still, they really were loud.

I could hear many voices.

“Hey, settle down.”

When I stepped outside, I saw the usual crew, Rig, Painy, Saifo, Beka…and for some reason, the Vampires as well.

So they were the reason that it was so noisy.

“Sir Golan. We have returned.”

“Ah, Rig. Welcome back… That’s good, but why are the Vampires here? General Farneze’s town is in the other direction.”

“Yes, but they insisted on coming to this village…”

Apparently, the young Vampires had come to my village in order to train and improve themselves.

Why?

“Weren’t you all shut-ins…”

While their parents were first-rate soldiers, the next generation had turned out to be quite worthless.

That’s why they were forced to become a part of my corps, in order to ‘train’ their spirits. And like that, we were sent to Demon King Tralzard’s lands.

They gained a lot of experience there, and I thought they would be confident now… And yet they still wanted to train?

Besides, whoever heard of Vampires going to an Ogre village to train? Was this some kind of joke?

“They’ve trained with Ser Saifo and Madam Beka and have experienced being thrashed to an inch of their lives. All of them.”

“…Oh!”

I’m surprised they survived that. Those two did not know how to hold back.

I suppose they healed quickly because they were Vampires? But I’m surprised that they weren’t discouraged.

“Since they wish to train, I thought the training regimen you created would be perfect, Sir Golan. I think that should be the first thing they undergo.”

Residents of the Demon World relied on their physical ability a little too much. And they often didn’t try to improve.

And so I had never expected a whole group of them would want to.

“It is quite effective. And it will be good for the next battle… But, Vampires, eh?”

If they weren’t careful, they might turn into meatheads as well.

My training regimen was brutal.

You had to be able to move as a group, and so I had called Reapers and Ogres from the other village.

I suppose Vampires could be added to the mix… But it would probably be best to discuss the matter with General Farneze first.

“Very well. Leaving that aside, you know the reward I was given at the castle?”

“Yes. I’ve brought it with us.”

“I want you to distribute it among the soldiers who fought in the battle. You should make a list so that you know what you gave to who.”

That was my Adjutant.

He always answered briskly and never argued.

Though, there wasn’t anything to really spend money on in an isolated village like this. But I suppose there would be merchants again.

They could use it then.

Rig left immediately.

He always acted as soon as he was given an order.

“Hey, hey, Golan. I’m feeling very different today.”

“Exactly! Yes, completely, totally different!”

“Ah, the idiots are here.”

Well, they were here the whole time.

They had probably been waiting for the right moment to enter the conversation.

“You really worked us over last time. And so we must pay you back.”

“Ahh… Yeah. Let’s just get it over with then.”

We were in the village, so I could ‘work’ them a little harder than usual.

After all, it would be very annoying if they came at me every day. I would need to make them lie low for a while.

“Hey, Golan. If we’re going to fight now, why not…”

“Just shut up and follow me. We’re going to the village square.”

It was in the center of the village. Where we held festivals.

I took Saifo and Beka to it.

“You can both come at once. But don’t regret your actions.”

“…You don’t have to tell me that.”

“Then I’ll join in!”

It wasn’t just the villagers that gathered around.

The Vampires were also watching us with curious expressions.

And so I gently, carefully and thoroughly, dealt with the idiot siblings.

Hurt them all over…patted them, and then finally let them go.

They would likely stay in bed for a few days.

It was good that I now knew the limits of their physical strength. Yes, I had no regrets.

“Hey, someone clean this mess up.”

“Yes, sir!!”

“Yes, sir!!”

“Yes, sir!!”

The Vampires displayed impressive salutes.

They were almost completely different people from when I had first met them.

○ Lesser Demon King Nehyor’s Country – Nehyor

“…So that’s why I just don’t understand. What do you think it is?”

Nehyor asked. Legras shook his head.

Nehyor had returned after a long absence, and his body was in a terrible state.

From his back to his feet, there were multiple lacerations. And they were not healing.

No matter what kind of wound it was, Nehyor was supposed to heal almost immediately with mana. And so this should have been impossible.

Legras wondered at first if it was due to Nehyor’s lifespan, but then he learned it was from an attack charged with an incredible amount of mana. And now the mana used for healing was being blocked.

“I did not know that you had such a weakness.”

“Well, neither did I. Either we are just a bad match for each other, or it is skilled…or has too great a power. But really, what do you think it was?”

“I don’t…I don’t know. If you were attacked in Great Demon King Dalm’s country, then it was either Dalm himself or one of his men.”

“You would think so, wouldn’t you? However, there was no followup attack…”

As Nehyor was obviously not Dalm’s subordinate, he would attract attention.

But if he was seen as an enemy and attacked, surely they would have tried to find the corpse and confirm he was dead?

Nehyor had to crawl on the ground, slowly dragging himself to where there was cover so that he could heal.

It took many days of travel while avoiding enemies, and he finally reached his home country.

Just a little longer and all of his wounds would be closed. Now that he could relax a little, he started to think about his attacker.

It was clear that he had been targeted.

In other words, someone had found him without Nehyor noticing, and decided that he was an enemy.

But there was only one attack.

No follow up attack. No confirming that he was dead.

As he was moving through another country, he knew that there was a risk of being attacked.

And so that in itself wasn’t a surprise.

However, he didn’t know ‘who’ and ‘how.’

As no one had shown themselves after it, the mystery only deepened.

“…Well, nevermind then. There is something that I want to do once all of my wounds heal.”

Nehyor said innocently. ‘Again?’ Legras asked with a look of distaste.