Chapter 22
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: The General's Report
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The morning dawned.
I stepped out of the barracks onto a damp pile of mud.
The soldiers, disciplined and alert, stood guard and packed up the campsite. We set off for the capital immediately.
The journey continued for another three days, but thankfully, there were no more attacks. I suspect we must have burned every Tauros in the area to a crisp with lightning.
“Take care, everyone.”
“I expect you to be better soldiers the next time we meet.”
Alter added a cold remark to my farewell. It seemed he still hadn't forgiven the platoon members for their absurd mistakes.
At the capital's entrance, I transferred to a carriage reserved for distinguished guests and then entered the ridiculously large castle.
After nearly two weeks of sleeping on the ground, I hadn't had a single proper night's rest. I wanted nothing more than to wash the dirt and mud from my body as soon as I reached the castle and collapse onto a bed to relieve my fatigue.
“They are waiting for your report.”
A servant waiting for me at the castle's main gate said this before I even had a chance to dust off the dirt and mud.
...It seemed becoming one with my bed would have to wait.
The representatives of each race were apparently waiting for my report.
“Can't it wait until later?”
“...All four of them are waiting solely for your report, Sir Bin.”
As someone with a rank equivalent to a three or four-star general, I had the duty to report directly to the leaders of each race, face to face.
And you don't call something a duty if it can be postponed.
“The Emperor is especially looking forward to it. The food shortage caused by the dragon in the grain belt has been an unresolved issue.”
Accompanied by Alter and Rireu, I followed the servant's lead toward the conference hall.
For some reason, small chairs had been placed at regular intervals along the long corridor, apparently installed during the two weeks I was away on the expedition.
Thanks to them, I could rest on a chair whenever I felt exhausted while walking down the kingdom's corridor, which felt as arduous as the long expedition itself.
I hated myself for being moved by such thoughtful consideration.
After sitting down and getting up from the chairs several times, we arrived at the conference room.
As instructed by the servant, Alter and Rireu waited outside the door, and I entered alone.
“Ah, you've arrived.”
The leaders of each race, seated around a round table, looked at me with varying expressions.
The Emperor greeted me with a joyful smile. The Overlord furrowed his brow with concern as he took in my thin, frail body and soiled clothes. The Dwarven King, with half-drunken eyes, leaned his upper body on the table and looked up at me. The Elven Queen looked down on me with her characteristically haughty gaze.
“Report. What happened to the dragon?”
“I killed it.”
I answered the Elven Queen's question curtly. The fatigue from the expedition made my words come out sharper than I'd intended, and she twitched an eyebrow, clearly annoyed.
“Anything else? Did anything out of the ordinary happen?”
“We encountered a high-ranking Mazoku on the Enkerr Plateau.”
“...What?”
My disjointed report left everyone in the room looking bewildered.
The story took such a sharp turn from 'I killed the dragon' to 'We encountered a high-ranking Mazoku' that they all looked as if they were doubting their own ears.
What could I do? I'd never had to report my experiences to anyone in my entire life.
Could I possibly summarize the operation's details concisely, following the five Ws and one H like other generals? Of course not.
Unfortunately, as a middle-school dropout and aspiring composer, the only thing I knew how to do was fiddle with MIDI keyboards and instruments.
Grit your teeth and bear it! You're the ones who chose this nepotism hire!
“Hah... Well, perhaps you're telling a funny story to celebrate dealing with the dragon...”
The story was so out of the blue that the leaders of each race glanced around, wondering if I was joking.
“...I suppose there's no helping it. Listen closely. Here's what happened...”
I began to recount everything I'd experienced from beginning to end, without any structure. If I didn't know how to summarize the events, wasn't it fine to just spit out everything that came to mind?
Let the ones listening sort it out in their own heads.
...I'll say it again: you're the ones who chose this nepotism hire!
“Now that you've explained it like that, I finally understand the situation. To think you suddenly encountered a high-ranking Mazoku,”
After a long explanation of about twenty minutes, our story reached the point where we faced the high-ranking Mazoku.
“To run into a high-ranking Mazoku with only a single platoon. Most of them must have perished. It's a relief that you, at least, returned alive. What happened to Alter? Did he die?”
The Overlord spoke, bowing his head slightly as if mourning the fallen soldiers.
“No, there were no fatalities.”
“...What?”
The Overlord lifted his bowed head and asked again with a puzzled expression. Once again, he seemed unable to comprehend my words.
Seeing the leaders' eyes widen in response to my words, it occurred to me that I might be a natural-born storyteller.
Don't they say an unexpected twist is a weapon that captivates an audience? I think I heard that once in a video titled something like 'The Art of Mesmerizing Conversation.'
Though I wasn't sure why an 'unexpected twist' was necessary for a military report...
“We were careless during camp and almost had a major incident, but fortunately, we were able to conclude the expedition with zero injuries and zero fatalities.”
“You said you encountered a high-ranking Mazoku, did you not? How can there be no fatalities, let alone injuries?”
The Dwarven King, who had been leaning on the table with half-drunken eyes, also asked, his eyes flashing with curiosity.
“For some reason, there were no Mutants around him. Perhaps because of that, he seemed reluctant to fight me.”
“...I see. If he was alone, that's understandable. The expedition included you and Alter Haindel. Even a high-ranking Mazoku would have found that daunting.”
“You were lucky. No, wait, should I say encountering a high-ranking Mazoku in the first place was unlucky...”
Overlord, what kind of ridiculous question is that?
Of course it was unlucky.
It was fucking unlucky.
“No Mutants, you say? Then couldn't you and Haindel have killed that high-ranking Mazoku if you joined forces? Why did you let him go?”
The Elven Queen, who had been listening quietly to the report, posed the question with a puzzled look.
In their minds, I was the 'genius mage who survived against an Overlord without having learned a single spell,' so it wasn't strange for them to have such a question.
“The stage was not ideal. Both Alter Haindel and I are lightning mages. If we had fought there, the fire would have spread in an instant, and most of the wheat would have been lost.”
“That makes sense.”
The Emperor, who had been listening quietly, nodded in agreement.
“Indeed, the goal of your expedition was to slay the dragon on the Enkerr Plateau, the continent's largest grain belt, and reclaim our food supply. Not engaging in battle there was the appropriate decision.”
The Overlord also nodded, defending my judgment as correct.
“...Couldn't you have just moved to a different location to fight? He may not be an Overlord, but killing a high-ranking Mazoku would have been a great service to all of humanity.”
The Elven Queen wore a displeased expression, clearly disappointed that a high-ranking Mazoku had been let go right before their eyes.
One person says it's a relief I even came back alive, and another pesters me about why I didn't kill the high-ranking Mazoku.
What the hell do these people want from me?
“Of course, I didn't let him go empty-handed.”
I took the bracelet made from the 'Devil's Contract' out of my robe's inner pocket. It had naturally fallen off my wrist exactly 72 hours after the deal was made.
“That is...”
They all leaned forward with puzzled expressions.
“In exchange for letting him live, I demanded the withdrawal of all Mazoku and Mutants from the Akilliptus Forest Zone.”
“Hoh...”
Only then did a small smile form on the Elven Queen's lips as she looked at me.
“A genius is truly different, I see.”
...It certainly sounded like a compliment, but for some reason, her tone and attitude left me feeling not entirely pleased.
“The Akilliptus Forest Zone... that's a strategic military point connecting the capital with 'Vellaland,' where the Sword Saint and his party are currently fighting a fierce battle. It's an area with plenty of cover and such rough terrain that we couldn't proceed with a reclamation operation...”
“An excellent choice! Ha, our Lord Sword Saint really has a knack for judging people!”
“You're too loud, Dwarf. And right now, I believe we should be praising this little brat, not the Sword Saint.”
“Hoho, did I say our promising young lord did nothing well? We should praise the Sword Saint, and we should praise our genius prospect! It would be great to praise them both! I don't know why you're so full of complaints!”
I shook my head, completely unable to understand why the Elven Queen and the Dwarven King were sitting next to each other, and looked at the Emperor.
Shouldn't those two be kept as far apart as possible?
“Heh heh...”
The Emperor... just gave a bitter smile, as if he had no excuse.
“In any case, the Akilliptus Forest Zone is now unmanned. As soon as preparations are made, I intend to lead soldiers there to establish an outpost.”
A lightning spirit lies dormant in the Akilliptus Forest Zone.
If you awaken the dormant spirit and commune with it, you can receive a special reward unobtainable through ordinary means—a reward that was absolutely essential for my bizarre mage build.
If I wanted the leaders before me to continue misunderstanding me as an 'all-time genius,' I had to diligently upgrade my specs.
“Are you planning to command it yourself?”
The Overlord asked me, his tone slightly worried.
No matter how outstanding my achievements or how exceptional my magical talent, he seemed uneasy about entrusting me with that entire operation.
In a way, it was only natural.
Although I had been acknowledged by the Sword Saint, become a member of his party, and instantly gained a general-class rank... naturally, I didn't possess the command abilities to match.
My abilities as a commander are lacking.
And I felt that keenly during this expedition. When Alter raised his voice, warning and lashing out at the soldiers who made mistakes, I said nothing at all.
“Of course not. I have zero military experience, so it would be best if you assigned a competent commander to me.”
The most important thing for a nepotism hire is to know their place.
It would be a wiser decision to take a reliable second-in-command than to act stubborn for no reason.
“I'll draw up a plan as quickly as possible and set a departure date. And I'll be sure to assign you a reliable subordinate.”
“Thank you.”
With that, our conversation ended. I bowed to the leaders of each race and left the conference room.
Just before I left, the remaining leaders in the room seemed busy summoning their aides and spreading out maps for a military conference.
“Haaah.”
As soon as the large door closed, I couldn't help but let out a deep sigh of relief.
I hadn't shown it, but I'd been on edge the entire time I was giving the report, worried I'd make a mistake. The fatigue had piled up layer by layer.
“Are you that tired?”
Rireu, who was waiting for me in front of the conference hall with Alter, asked with a concerned expression.
I didn't even have the energy to answer. I just nodded my head and kept sighing.
“Shall I carry you on my back?”
The middle-aged servant, perhaps sensing how unwell I was, cautiously asked.
Even so, for a young man not even twenty years old to be carried on the back of a man over fifty was a bit...
“That would be great.”
It was great.
Mmm.
Very great.
“...Seriously?”
Rireu asked in a small, bewildered voice, but I paid her no mind and entrusted my body to the middle-aged servant's back.
“Well, I'm probably lighter than you, Lady Rireu... so it should be fine, right?”
I was serious.
Rireu might not know it, but every time I showered, the body I saw in the mirror was basically a skeleton with skin stretched over it.
My point is, I was so frail that comparing me to an elf with a reasonably decent figure was an insult in itself!
“I, uh...”
Rireu blinked in disbelief, mumbled something, then pressed her lips together, pulled down the brim of her mud-stained hat, and lowered her head.
“Have a good night.”
Regardless, I said goodbye to Alter and Rireu while on the middle-aged servant's back.
To think I could get to my room without walking myself.
‘I've made it.’
Nearly two weeks after becoming a member of the Sword Saint's party, I had finally tasted the true flavor of power.