Chapter 145. Cassius and Reni.
As he listened to me, Cassius looked deeply moved and muttered to himself.
"At last... to see the Commander become a king..."
"..."
Seeing him that happy actually piqued my curiosity.
"By the way, old man, founding a nation isn't something that just happens overnight. Why were you always pushing for it?"
Cassius paused to gather his thoughts before answering seriously.
"I believed that if you became king, it would be an ideal nation where all subjects could be happy."
"Huh?"
"Unlike the established rulers accustomed to monarchy, you, Commander, would still care about your people's approval even as a king."
Even the most powerful politicians still keep an eye on public opinion — or so I'd always assumed. I was born and raised in a country like that, after all.
"That is merely the surface-level reason. I have been thinking about this and that for a very long time."
"Kind of a letdown..."
"In any case, the planning has been underway for a while. It is quite late tonight, so I shall take my leave for now."
Cassius bowed his head in farewell and went off somewhere. He probably had a mountain of things to deal with after arriving here.
'Speaking of which, I told them we'd have a drink tomorrow to mark the reunion. Do we even have enough booze for this many people?'
If we dug around, there were probably quite a few bottles of soju stockpiled. And soju doesn't exactly have an expiration date.
The next day, I headed over to where the company members were gathered and found them already bustling about.
"Old man, what are you up to?"
"Yes, since we've secured our living quarters, we intend to construct a temporary building for the Dragon Company."
"Temporary...?"
"A proper headquarters will be built in the nation you establish, Commander. For now, we are planning to erect a building for the company members to live and work in."
So that explained the flood of requests to bring back construction materials from Incheon Port.
"Anyway, where'd that kid go?"
"Ah, the Vice-Commander has gone to limber up. She said she wanted a proper bout with you."
"Good grief, she hasn't changed a bit."
"Ho ho, is that not her most endearing quality?"
Cassius, fair and even-handed with every member of the company, had one exception he openly doted on: the Vice-Commander. I think he saw her as something of a granddaughter, though he remained razor-sharp when it came to official matters.
Though they'd only been here a day, I wanted to make sure nothing was amiss, so I wandered among them. As I exchanged greetings and chatted, the most frequent comment I heard was how much gentler I'd become.
"I don't feel like I've changed that much..."
"No. Back then, Commander, you were incredibly sharp-edged. Some of the company members honestly thought you were not human."
"Was I?"
"Yes."
"Old man, now that you're here, how does it seem?"
"It is peaceful."
Calling anything "peaceful" in the middle of an apocalypse—where most of humanity had been slaughtered by zombies—was ironic. But on Titan, vast populations were born, and just as many died. The smallest quarrels there ended in death. Titan was a place where you lived constantly at death's doorstep.
Speaking of which, as I glanced around, I noticed Chaeyeon and Jia were nowhere to be seen.
"Where'd those two go...?"
Cassius, ever quick on the uptake, overheard me muttering and answered.
"Your wives went with the Vice-Commander."
"Why?"
"The exact reason escapes me, but I suspect they went to assist with her training..."
That didn't quite add up. However generous you wanted to be, those two fell far short of the Vice-Commander in ability. Hardly qualified to "help" with her training.
'Eh, they'll come back when they're done...'
"So, what are the company members planning to do from here on?"
"We are thinking of reviving the Dragon Company name and operating it as a sort of PMC."
"Oh, not a bad idea?"
"Their families also said they want to be of help, and asked about taking on odd jobs around the village and such."
Thanks to Jia's father, our livestock and crops were growing at an absurd rate. So fast, in fact, that our current workforce could barely keep up.
"So you brought the entire Dragon Company fortune with you?"
"Correct. We liquidated the buildings and other works of art into gold, and brought the artifacts and rare metals as they were."
If the company's coffers were as full as I remembered them being last, it would be a massive boon to the research projects Galrand and Edwin were running. There'd definitely be materials they could put to good use.
"For the record, even if we operate as a PMC, the Representative is, of course, you, Commander."
"Me?"
"Yes. And as it happens, you are already called 'Representative' here. That suits the role, does it not?"
"But it'll just be my name on the charter again this time, right?"
"Well, yes, but..."
Even back on Titan, the administrative work was handled by Cassius and the other company members. My only contribution had been lending my name to protect the Dragon Company.
"Though in this situation, work will be overflowing. But finding anyone with the resources to hire us..."
Mid-conversation, I spotted the Vice-Commander returning from her training in the distance, with the two women in tow.
"Commander!!!"
As always, the Vice-Commander leaped into my arms the moment she saw me. I gently set her down and ruffled her hair. She was a beastkin, so her tail gave away her emotions with total transparency.
The girl holding the Vice-Commander position was named Reni. Like Cassius, I saw her as something of a little sister. Looks aside, she was — excluding Cassius and me — the strongest fighter in the entire Dragon Company.
"How was it?"
"It was fun! The big sisters helped me!"
I was tempted to correct her use of "big sister," but decided to just let it go.
'If anything, the ones who ought to be called "big sister" are...'
That thought crossed my mind as I glanced at the two of them. They looked right back at me with eyes that said they knew exactly what I was thinking.
'Is this that so-called women's intuition...?'
"But why suddenly call them big sisters?"
"It's just more comfortable that way!"
That was such a Reni answer. I turned to Chaeyeon and Jia.
"But what exactly did you do to help...? She may not look it, but she's pretty..."
"We didn't do anything special. I just fired spells and Jia shot arrows. She dodged or deflected every single one."
"Heh heh... Commander!"
While talking with them, Reni caught sight of my back and suddenly launched herself at me. She'd been using sparring as an excuse to jump me at any moment even back on Titan, so I wasn't particularly startled.
— Whish! Whish!
Reni's twin daggers slashed through the air, driving toward me. She aimed without hesitation at my vitals: the space between my eyes, the solar plexus, even the groin.
"Hup—!"
Her mana flared, and her tempo ramped up to speeds an ordinary person couldn't even track with their eyes. It looked like she was just swinging her weapons thoughtlessly, but her eyes were always tracking ahead, anticipating the next move.
— Thud!
I slipped aside and hooked her leg, throwing off her flow. Reni toppled to the ground.
"Oof!"
"Heh, still — you've improved a lot since the last time I saw you."
She glared up at me with indignation, then turned her gaze to Chaeyeon and Jia. Whether it was Reni's pitiful look working its magic, both of them had a word for me.
"Oppa, you can't just trip her like that!"
"Just let her get one hit in!"
"..."
I didn't know how long they'd even known her, but they'd already gone full 'Reni-mom' mode. I glanced over at Cassius, who'd been watching quietly.
"Old man, want to get some exercise in too? It's been a while."
"Hoh... a bout with the Commander? How long has it been?"
I hadn't had a real fight since coming to Earth, so I felt a rare flutter of excitement. Even Reni, who'd been chirping cutely a moment ago, now stared wide-eyed, determined not to miss a single second of our spar.
"Old man, come at me."
"Then, allow me to learn a lesson."
I drew my blade, and Cassius raised his fists, settling into his stance. In the span of a blink, Cassius lunged, driving his fist precisely at the philtrum.
— BOOOOM!!!
The trees and grass behind me swayed as if about to be uprooted, though Cassius seemed to be holding back to some degree, probably because we were inside the village.
After trading a few exchanges, he seemed to sense that this wouldn't cut it and retreated a few steps.
"Give it your all!"
"After you left, I entered another Realm of Mastery. You may look forward to it."
"Heh heh, now I'm curious."
I might not have fully grasped it, but Reni clearly did, because her eyes went wide and she ushered the others back.
"Big sisters! You need to pull back a little!"
— Whoom...!
The air converged on a single point with a heavy sound. Then the ground cracked outward from where Cassius stood.
Cassius didn't thrust his fist forward — he swung it.
"?"
Nothing seemed to change at first.
— KRA-KOOOOM!!!
Then, mana condensed to high density at a single point and exploded, sweeping through the surroundings.
"Old man! You'll wreck the village!"
Thankfully, I managed to block Cassius's attack and take swift action, leaving the village unscathed except for the spot where we stood. It helped that we were on the outskirts with no buildings nearby. But "no buildings" didn't mean no damage — a crater gaped in the earth as if from a missile strike, and the surrounding trees were blown clean away.
"As expected of the Commander. I thought it would be nothing to you."
'We're so fucked...'
After my spar with Cassius, most of the village felt the tremendous mana storm and came rushing over in alarm. The fact that Cassius and I had been sparring ignited the fire, and Cassius's remark poured oil onto the flames.
- The Commander told me to get serious, so I got a bit carried away.
I apologized to everyone and asked them to handle the restoration. And now — we were back at home, chatting over tea. Alongside us were my mother-in-law and father-in-law, the President, the U.S. President, and the King of England.
"I can understand us being here, but are you two really okay leaving your posts vacant for this long?"
"Ho ho, is this not the safest place in the entire world?"
"He's right. To be honest, that's exactly why I dismissed my security detail before coming."
'Am I imagining it, or do they look genuinely happier now than back when they were swamped running nations...?'
"Reni, get off me now."
"No!"
Reni was currently planted on my lap, sipping milk tea from a can.
'Seriously, how can anybody drink that stuff...?'
The other adults seemed to find her adorable and told me it was fine. Just as I was relaxing into the moment, Cassius dropped a bombshell.
"By the way, when you meet the Queen, will you be living here together with your other wives as well?"
First earlier, and now again — at this point, I had to wonder if he was doing this on purpose.