Filling the General's Need for Recognition (1)

One of the Ten Swords of the Kingdom: Rien of the Gale.

Any player of Crack Kingdom knew the name. She was a reliable staple character beloved by beginners, intermediates, veterans, and hardcore veterans alike.

She possessed both character and skill, and as one of the Ten Swords her status was extraordinarily high.

That woman was a general. In modern terms, a flag officer.

Rien was someone I absolutely had to bring to my side—the first button I needed to fasten if I was going to survive this brutal Crack Kingdom world.

Standing atop the wall, I looked up at Rien gazing down at me, feigned a startled expression, and delivered the line I had prepared.

"Grass-green hair, white armor that protects only the left shoulder and chest, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a white coat draped over the shoulders, a skirt embroidered with the mark of the gale, and the slender sword at her hip... C-could you be... General Rien of the Gale, one of the Ten Swords of the Kingdom?!"

"...Young master?"

I shot up from my chair and made a fuss as if I were about to turn a somersault. Beside me, Rina furrowed her brow with a look that clearly said what the hell is this bastard doing all of a sudden, but there was a reason for my sudden theatrics.

"Oh? You know me?"

"Of course I do! I have respected General Rien since long before she was appointed as one of the Ten Swords!"

"Before becoming one of the Ten Swords...? Is that so?"

"Absolutely! If it wouldn't be too forward of me, may I tell you how I came to admire you, General?"

"Is that so? Well then... I-I suppose I could listen once?"

That was right. Rien absolutely adored praise.

She had become the model knight everyone respected precisely because she craved recognition from others; her need for validation was enormous.

The fact that a general spent her days roaming about and inserting herself into every large and small conflict was all for the sake of filling that need for recognition. That said everything.

In Crack Kingdom, once you recruited Rien as a companion, you had to praise her achievements after every battle. Forget to compliment her and she would immediately droop, her condition tanking. After combat, Rien was the first person you had to take care of.

Of course, as long as you praised her on time she handled her share of the work with ease—a true staple character. A little inconvenience was more than worth it.

Yes. Compared to the Mercenary King or the Hero, Rien was practically a saint.

After dealing with other named characters, looking at Rien made you grateful that all she wanted was praise.

In any case, the only resource she required was compliments, yet her performance was top-tier. Rien was someone I absolutely had to recruit as a companion.

Even if I couldn't recruit her, her position was still one of the Ten Swords—a general.

Today I had to win her favor no matter what, or this garbage Termin Territory would never become a place fit for people to live.

"To properly praise General Rien's great achievements would take an entire night and still not be enough. I-if it wouldn't be an imposition, might I invite the General to my manor? I cannot allow the hero of my life to stand out here amid the stench of blood."

"Great achievements that would take an entire night to praise... H-hehehe. W-well then. I shall impose upon you."

"It is an honor, General Rien! Please, allow me to escort you inside!"

I kept lavishing praise on Rien with honey dripping from my tongue. I hadn't even begun the real compliments yet, and already her lips were twitching upward in delight.

Seeing her smile made me think things were going well, so I lifted the corners of my own mouth and smiled back.

"Rina, let's go."

"...Yes, young master."

The only one not smiling in that moment was Rina. From her perspective, one of the Ten Swords had suddenly appeared—of course her expression would stiffen. That was understandable.

Well, handling the talking was my job. It didn't matter.

"Ah, right. You five. Finish the butchering properly before you come in. I'll inspect it tomorrow."

"Y-yes, sir!!!"

Even while bringing Rien inside, I kept a firm grip on discipline. The first reason I had those five chopping up the magic beast carcasses was to show Rien the scene, but that didn't mean I intended to leave them alone.

In this barren territory, those guys were precious labor.

When Offen Termin invited her, Rien agreed and followed him—yet she never forgot to remain on guard.

She was the sort who loved praise so much that failing to fill her need for recognition each day left her condition in the gutter the next, but she was no fool who would forget her duty over it.

Of course, when she heard that her great achievements would take an entire night to properly praise, her mood soared and the corners of her mouth had risen.

But! That was that, and this was this.

Rien had come to Termin Territory to investigate the cause of the Abyss of the Army's destruction, not to receive praise from some young baron of a house she had never heard of.

Still, being called the hero of someone's life and invited to their manor—refusing that would have been rude—so she accepted for now.

Hmm, hmm. From here the Abyss of the Army isn't far, and being entertained will only take a few hours at most. How much praise can some no-name baron from the sticks even manage?

Rien loved receiving praise, but she was also a connoisseur who carefully judged its quality.

She was not the sort of easy woman who would fall for empty flattery.

So if she sensed that he was forcing compliments just to curry favor, she planned to stand up at once and return to her original purpose.

Yes. That was what she had firmly resolved to do.

"In the past, when the Demon King led his army to invade the human world, the one who attacked our Benos Kingdom was none other than Belga, a thousand-man commander of the Demon King's forces. Every time he swung his flame whip, molten fire like candle wax sprayed along its path—a truly terrifying and cruel demon. While the soldiers and knights fighting him screamed as the flames clung to their bodies and refused to come off, a fierce wind blew from behind the ranks. Flames that even water-attribute magic could not extinguish lost their force like candle flames before that mysterious wind and went out, and for the first time tension appeared on Belga's face. The soldiers and knights writhing in despair, terror, and agony all turned their heads at once toward the direction of the wind—and there they beheld her. Their savior, the hero who would vanquish the demonic. Rien...! That day, the legend of Rien of the Gale, one of the Ten Swords of the Kingdom, began!"

"H-haaah..."

This man... his praise was far too good...!