Chapter 24: Hierarchy - 6
Chapter 24: Hierarchy - 6
Purple announced they would be suspending the Summoning War, effective immediately.
Murmurs rippled through the spectators.
Jiha kept his expression impassive and studied Enril.
Enril, in the VIP section, looked just as taken aback.
Clearly, this was a unilateral notification with no prior discussion.
The Summoning War was an exchange event of sorts, held by mutual agreement between Blue Seal and Purple Liberation.
The Commons who died in it were furious, but ostensibly it served a friendly purpose as well.
"Don't tell me..."
"Because they're afraid of that Common?"
"They keep losing, so now they're dodging?"
The spectators traded theories, half-skeptical.
Commons, by definition, couldn't use Mana.
But Jiha—an Irregular—had appeared and pulled off the first back-to-back wins in history.
He'd even finished off Quadoran, one of the standout fighters among the Purple Commons.
There was no one left among Purple's Commons who could go up against Jiha.
Gashiel, Purple's Unique, spoke without mincing words.
"This is an internal matter for Purple. The details will be shared at a later date. When the Summoning War resumes, we will inform you."
"I'm not sure what to make of something this abrupt, Gashiel."
Enril rose from her seat.
She shot a sidelong glance at Jiha, then turned back to Gashiel and pressed.
"Isn't this a bit too one-sided? Or is it truly what the spectators are saying—that you're afraid of that Common?"
"What nonsense are you—"
"Of course, I'm not suggesting that a Unique like you genuinely fears some Common. But if things stand as they are, Purple's reputation will take a hit."
Enril's tone was openly provocative.
Having been on the receiving end of Jiha's actions twice, she knew full well he was no pushover.
But by every social convention, the idea that a Common could threaten a Unique was absurd.
So Enril played up the angle that Jiha was simply unmatched among Commons.
"Purple no longer has a Common capable of defeating that human male. Are you planning to keep summoning until one shows up?"
"That is absolutely not the reason. I will explain the full circumstances later."
"Whatever the reason, Purple will bear full responsibility for the economic losses incurred by this suspension of the Summoning War."
At Enril's hard-edged warning, Gashiel frowned and nodded.
"We will discuss the details separately at a later time."
The silence that hung over the spectator seats changed character entirely.
Eyes kept flicking toward Jiha.
They had settled on the explanation that the Summoning War had ground to a halt because of a single Common who was simply too strong—Jiha's appearance.
It wasn't my intention, but the narrative's working out nicely.
Whether Gashiel, Purple's celestial Unique, was doing this out of concern that Jiha would keep beating her fighters, or whether there was genuinely some other reason—Jiha didn't know.
What's certain is that no Common can beat me.
There wasn't a single Common left who could face Jiha, now that he possessed Mana.
Two wins in a single day, against handpicked top fighters, and he'd crushed them both without a scratch.
It wasn't just Mana carrying him—Jiha had thought several steps ahead and prepared accordingly.
Purple's Commons would fall in line now too.
Defy him and they'd end up like Quadoran.
The Summoning War was on hold for the time being. That meant more time to act.
This was only the beginning.
The Summoning War was over.
Jiha returned to the waiting room.
Familiar faces lined the corridor.
The figures arrayed on both sides were Blue Seal's Commons.
"You all look like you have a lot to say."
Amid the silence, Uben was the first to drop to one knee.
"I swear my loyalty to you from this day forward. Commander."
"I'll follow you."
Garaon, the lion beastman who'd challenged Jiha and been thoroughly humbled, knelt with a booming shout.
"By my soul bound to stone, I swear to follow you."
Rugin the gargoyle bowed his head as he made his declaration.
The others rushed to kneel and voice their oaths as well.
"On the honor of the orcs, I pledge my loyalty, my devotion, my blood, and my soul."
Okram's declaration left Jiha with a faint sense of discomfort, but it was only natural.
They'd been friends in private, but now that Jiha was taking his place as the head of the Commons, the old ease between them would be hard to maintain.
Once all twenty-eight Commons besides himself had knelt, Jiha asked:
"You truly mean to follow me?"
"We swear it!"
"Will you fight alongside me from now on?"
"If it means we can be free!"
At their fervent cry, Jiha answered.
"Good. It starts now."
The Commons snapped their heads up.
Jiha spoke calmly.
"I won't promise that everyone here will find freedom, or that you'll all make it back to your original worlds. A completely different kind of fight is waiting for us, and not everyone will come through it unscathed. Those who return to their families' arms from here might not even fill a single handful."
"..."
"But this much I will promise. If you stay loyal in the battles ahead, I won't let you die as slaves. You won't die as entertainment for the crowds—you'll die fighting so that the comrade beside you can see home again. And if you survive to the end, I will make sure you get back."
Jiha asked again.
"Even when the fighting turns brutal, will your loyalty hold?"
"Yes!"
At the perfectly synchronized response, Jiha nodded.
"Good. All of you, rise. And from now on, kneel to no one but me."
At his words, the twenty-eight stood as one.
Jiha looked at their faces, burning with fighting spirit, and nodded once more.
"Okram and Garaon, come to my room in two hours. Uben, you'll speak with me now. The rest of you, stand by. As you've likely heard, the Summoning War is on hiatus for now. Rest quietly, and keep honing your bodies."
Jiha started walking as he spoke.
Behind him, a fervent roar of fighting spirit erupted, but Jiha's face remained composed.
Footsteps fell in behind him. Jiha asked quietly:
"Did you stir them up?"
"No. They all came together on their own."
"A few probably got swept up in the atmosphere. Some are swallowing their objections for now. Especially Kobold Deubang and Goblin Bunorak."
He had cut down Quadoran, avenging their comrade.
Then came Gashiel's declaration of suspension—and the interpretation that she'd done it with Jiha in mind.
It was true that under the circumstances, the overwhelming majority of Commons had been deeply impressed, acknowledging Jiha as a man worth following.
But not a single one of them had any grievances? That was absurd.
"From now on, we'll need operational funds. Collect money from everyone. I'm putting you in charge, Uben."
The Commons who survived and won had accumulated some money of their own.
But what good was money to a slave? Commons with money had nothing to spend it on except drink and women.
No matter how much they saved, a Common could never rise to Normal Grade.
Buy equipment from the Tool Shop? Even that gear, by higher-grade standards, was just worn-down weaponry sold at outrageous markups.
The Tool Shop's main purpose was to give Commons a way to burn through their money.
Jiha wanted money as funding to overturn the world.
A rebellion needed capital, after all.
"No one will have cause to complain. I'll make sure they hand over half of everything they've got."
"You confident?"
It wasn't as if the Commons had anything useful to spend money on.
Still, tell them to hand over a fortune overnight, and few would do it gladly.
Uben lowered his head.
"Leave it to me, and I'll handle it."
"I become their leader overnight, and suddenly I'm demanding money too—resentment's bound to pile up. People will start agitating to drag me down."
Jiha gave the order.
"Keep an eye on who's grumbling. Report to me if there's movement."
"You want me to handle this alone?"
"From now on, Garaon will be my left hand and Okram my right. Garaon's the straightforward type—he doesn't see what I did to him as an insult, he worships the law of strength, so that works. Okram's relatively green, but he'll do fine once he picks people to put under him."
"So I'm not the straightforward type."
Uben gave a wry smile, but Jiha only said what needed saying.
"We'll absorb Purple's Commons too. Have them pick a representative and come to me directly. If they refuse and dig their heels in, you persuade them."
"This is quite the demanding order."
"I'm giving it to you because you can do it."
Jiha's tone was matter-of-fact.
"You're the type who uses his head. From now on, you'll be my advisor. Move discreetly behind the scenes."
"If things go wrong, I'm guaranteed to die."
Jiha turned to look at him.
"The other Commons could at least argue they had to follow the commander's orders. I'll be classified as a proactive right-hand man."
"So you're saying you won't do it?"
"I'll do it. But could you promise me just one thing?"
"Say it."
Uben checked once more that there were no listening ears nearby.
"If things go wrong—no matter the circumstances, if I die—would you look after my little sister?"
"A younger sister?"
What was this about?
Commons were all people summoned from other worlds. They were cut off from their blood relatives, weren't they?
Uben spoke carefully.
"I'll explain the details another time, in private. If you'll grant me just this promise, I'll follow any order you give."
"..."
Jiha let out a short, dry laugh.
The man had a habit of slipping in one extra condition at a time.
But running an organization was easier with at least one clever schemer in the ranks.
"Adding conditions stops here. You have my word."
"Thank you, Commander. I'll carry out all the orders you've given without issue. The meeting with the Purple side is set for tomorrow night."
Jiha was faintly surprised but didn't show it.
Uben had already arranged a meeting with Purple's Commons in advance.
If Jiha won, the meeting would happen. If he lost, they'd bury it like it never existed.
"Change it to three days from now. I don't care how many show up—just keep it small enough not to get caught."
"Understood. I'll handle it accordingly. If any further orders come up, please call on me."
Uben bowed his head and withdrew. Jiha narrowed his eyes.
"He'll do well enough."
Sooner would've been better, but Jiha had changed the timing for a reason.
First, he couldn't let Uben run too smoothly unchecked. The man was a thinker, and Jiha needed to make it clear who held the leash.
Second, he needed to establish priority with Purple's Commons before making contact. Killing Quadoran wouldn't make them follow blindly. They'd want to size Jiha up first.
A schedule change was a small thing, but in an official meeting, it also signaled who held the initiative.
"Right. Time to eat..."
And the last reason.
His meeting with the succubus Yura was the day after tomorrow. It'd be easier to make contact with Purple after that.
Jiha intended to drink Yura's blood, by any means necessary.
To grow stronger.