Chapter 35: Spreading Reputation (1)

 

- Knock, knock, knock

 

A knocking sound resounded through the study.

 

- “Your Majesty, it’s Gendry.”

 

“Come in.”

 

Rex Draigo looked at the assistant as he opened the door and entered.

 

“What’s the matter?”

 

With a sharp eyes unique to the dragonian, Rex asked Gendry.

 

Gendry held up a pile of documents in his both hands and spoke.

 

“... The requests for aid. The frontier is facing constant attacks these days.”

 

Rex rubbed his forehead and asked with a weary voice.

 

“...Where else this time?”

 

He brushed away the strands of his gray hair.

 

Gendry walked over to Rex’s desk and slowly put the papers down.

 

Then, he listed the noble families that requested aid one by one.

 

“... This time it’s the Tass family, the Autoa family, and the Celebrien family.”

 

“Didn’t we dispatch an army for the Tass family last time?”

 

“They say monsters have appeared again.”

 

“... How many boss monsters are there this time?”

 

“Only one.”

 

- Bang!

 

Rex slammed his fist on the desk and shouted.

 

“Just one, and they still can’t subjugate it themselves!”

 

“...”

 

Silence filled the study.

 

Rex calmed down his anger and said.

 

“... These lizardmen pups really underestimate the royal family... Warn the Tass family. They shouldn’t make such requests for reinforcements over such trivial matters.”

 

“Yes, understood.”

 

Rex lifted the letter from the Tass family and breathed fire from his mouth, completely burning it to ashes.

 

His frustrating emotions seemed to calm down slightly.

 

“...Next?”

 

“Autoa is quite urgent. They have been reaching out to mercenary groups everywhere, but it seems there are no takers. It seems that they can’t afford to pay enough compensation.”

 

“Autoa, huh? I vaguely remember that name...”

 

“They are a gnome family living by the southern Srad River.”

 

“Ah, I see. So, what’s the scale of the monsters?”

 

“They said there are two boss monsters roaming near their territory. But it’s hard to confirm for sure.”

 

Rex nodded slowly.

 

Helping with just two boss monsters might have been possible. Although it wasn’t a prestigious noble family, Rex was still concerned.

 

He asked about the last family.

 

“What about Celebrien?”

 

Celebrien was quite a surprising name. Among the families that requested aid today, it boasted the longest history.

 

“It’s the most serious. Their entire territory is surrounded by monsters. Even nearby trade routes have become the monsters’ habitats... They are in a situation where they are waiting for death.”

 

Rex sighed deeply. In the first place, he did not have a good perception of the elves. Especially the Celebrien family.

 

As a long-lived species, they were as stubborn and ignored the other races with short life spans. At the same time, they clung to their ancient customs like precious treasures.

 

Therefore, Rex always disregarded such elves, believing that there was no group that made as foolish decisions as those who considered themselves wise.

 

“...Foolish elves. That’s why I’ve advised them countless times to leave that place.”

 

“...They can’t abandon the World Tree.”

 

The king lay back in his chair, snorting.

 

“The World Tree, what a joke. It’s just a grandiose tree with symbolic meaning. It’s ridiculous how those who cling to their own lives care so much about the World Tree. If they had just abandoned that place, they wouldn’t even dare to request our aid now.”

 

Assistant Gendry did not agree with the king’s sarcastic remarks. But he knew it was far better to let the king’s anger subside on its own.

 

“...So, what are you going to do?”

 

As Gendry asked, the king scratched his head and replied.

 

“...Abandon Celebrien. Help Autoa.”

 

“If you abandon Celebrien, they might perish.”

 

“Even if we help them, they won’t leave that battlefield just because the World Tree. They’ll suffer the same problems and hardships. I don’t want to waste our resources. Let’s help Autoa instead.”

 

“Understood.”

 

Thinking about which family had more influence, it would be Celebrien, but Rex didn’t want to sacrifice his own dragonian soldiers for the elves.

 

“In the first place, those elves won’t feel grateful even if we help them. They are so wise, let them solve it themselves.”

 

“...”

 

“Prepare some good excuses for Celebrien. Make sure to include that we don’t have the conditions to assist them because we are already helping another family.”

 

“Of course.”

 

After the decision was made, Rex let out another heavy sigh.

 

He had been reconsidering whether all these choices were right, especially as the war with the Demon King and the monster dragged on, the burden on the Draigo family was increasing exponentially.

 

Maybe drawing a line from the beginning and saving only allied families might have been the right choice.

 

However, they had come too far to turn back now.

 

They had to continue providing aid until the war was over.

 

After all, it was a fight against the demons.

 

Reluctantly, aiding them was perhaps essential for the Draigo family to have more power when the war ended.

 

...Even in order to protect one’s own kingdom, this kind of support was perhaps essential.

 

If the demons were to win, Rex, the king, would be the first to run away.

 

“I... I want to take a break. I’m going out.”

 

Gendry turned his body in response to Rex’s words.

 

Suddenly, a family crossed Rex’s mind as he walked.

 

“Oh, Gendry?”

 

“Yes, Your Majesty?”

 

“...What happened to that family?”

 

“Which family are you referring to?”

 

“The one we couldn’t help before... Blackwood.”

 

Blackwood had once requested assistance, but Rex had rejected their proposal.

 

He anticipated that facing three or more boss monsters would be burdensome, even from his perspective.

 

It was possible to subjugate them, but distributing that power among other families would yield greater benefits.

 

However, he still had some concerns. Blackwood was a family that had existed since the founding of the kingdom.

 

“They are safe.”

 

Gendry replied.

 

“...Really?”

 

Rex doubted his ears. There was no way they could be safe. In the first place, the fact that the werewolves requested aid from the dragonian indicated the seriousness of the situation.

 

“How can they be safe?”

 

“A mercenary group finally accepted their request. They resolved the issue.”

 

“Huh... Compensation? What could Blackwood offer to the mercenaries...”

 

“Blackwood’s youngest daughter was sold to the human mercenaries.”

 

Rex stroked his chin.

 

“...That’s how it turned out.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Interesting. If it’s Blackwood’s youngest daughter... then she must be the one who took the life of her mother along with her birth.”

 

“Yes, Ner Blackwood.”

 

“For Blackwood, it turned out to be a profitable deal. They sold off their despised youngest daughter in exchange for their own survival. By the way... it’s a pitiful story. Sold off in an inter-species marriage... It won’t be an easy reality for the young lady to accept.”

 

While pondering the fact for a moment, Rex burst into a smirk.

 

“...But the person running that mercenary group seems quite perceptive.”

 

“That’s right.”

 

Rex, as the king, had been devising plans to deal with the exponentially growing number of mercenary groups after the war. However, the mercenary group that took Blackwood’s daughter would probably avoid that wrath.

 

Rex indeed found humans to be an intriguing species. They were brutal, uncivilized, promiscuous, and ignorant, yet occasionally, uniquely talented individuals emerged.

 

It was like finding pearls in the mud.

 

Though he couldn’t be certain that the captain of that mercenary group was such an individual, it was evident that he was not an ordinary person.

 

“Yes, you can go now.”

 

After hearing enough, Rex questioned Gendry again.

 

However, as something occurred to him from their previous conversation, Gendry didn’t leave and spoke.

 

“...Your Majesty?”

 

“...?”

 

“...I heard a peculiar rumor related to that mercenary group we discussed earlier.”

 

“Tell me.”

 

“Yes, it’s about Ner Blackwood’s husband, I mean, the vice-captain of that mercenary group.”

 

Rex furrowed his brow. He scratched the horns on his head slightly and asked, “Wait, her husband is the vice-captain, not the captain?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Why... anyway, go on with the story.”

 

“Yes. It’s about the vice-captain... There’s a story circulating that his subjugation record is nearing 200.”

 

“..........”

 

Rex froze for a moment, scrutinizing Gendry’s expression.

 

He wondered if Gendry was playing a joke on him.

 

However, Gendry didn’t smile and maintained a serious expression.

 

“...”

 

“...”

 

Silence filled the study.

 

Finally, Rex spoke.

 

“…Isn’t that what the human said? I don’t believe it.”

 

“...”

 

“Anyone can make claims about their subjugation records. Saying it’s close to 200, haa. Isn’t that the second-highest subjugation record after the hero himself?”

 

If this were true, it would be an astonishing statement for numerous families’ countless knights, nobles, soldiers, and heroes.

 

“By the way, Lord Gale is also here”

 

“Ah, Gale is here. In any case, it doesn’t make sense for such a person to suddenly appear like this.”

 

“Perhaps.”

 

“Go and see, I said.”

 

“Understood.”

 

Gendry turned his body.

 

Rex closed his eyes and sighed in frustration.

 

He couldn’t control his changing emotions, even himself.

 

“Ha...”

 

“...Your Majesty?”

 

“...So, what’s the name?”

 

Even if it was just a rumor, it was difficult to ignore such talk about an extraordinary subjugation record.

 

“Yes?”

 

“That vice-captain of the human mercenary group. What’s his name? No, start with the name of the mercenary group.”

 

Gendry replied with a straight face, even amidst Rex’s whims.

 

“It’s the Red Flames. The captain is Adam, and the vice-captain's name is Berg.”

 

“...I see. Now go and see.”

 

Gendry bowed his head and turned one last time.

 

As he closed the door and left, Rex was lost in deep thought.

 

A subjugation record nearing 200...

 

Rex didn’t believe it, but some visible evidence made him doubt himself.

 

The Blackwood family was rescued from their extinction. It was a mercenary group with quite an intelligent and competent captain.

 

Could there really be a vice-captain who used such petty lies to boost his own worth in a place like that?

 

Perhaps it wouldn’t be right to believe everything as the truth.

 

Maybe even the claim of a subjugation record nearing 200 could be a fabricated lie for some hidden motive.

 

For instance, spreading rumors to reach the royal family.

 

Rex sighed and murmured, putting all the newly acquired information into his mind.

 

“...It’s difficult, indeed.”

 

– – – End of Chapter – – –