亚洲综合一区二区三区四区五区

Translator: FusionX

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The evaluation of the braised chicken was much better than expected.

It was praised as a new taste that wasn’t bad.

Especially Yuren and Bayard ate it with the most gusto.

However, not everyone enjoyed it.

Clara didn’t like it.

She said it was too salty or something.

So she only picked out a few vegetables to eat.

Well, each race would have different tastes.

If you were experienced like Cluna, you wouldn’t be picky about any food.

But Clara wasn’t that old by elf standards.

Next time, it would be nice to cook separately considering their tastes.

I nodded and said,

“Then next time, we’ll serve it with a milder taste.”

“I’d be grateful if you do that!”

“Just eat what you’re given.”

“Why is Helia being so cold only to me?”

“It’s only natural! You’re just a lump of ore!”

Recently, Helia often hung out with Clara and Ruby.

As a result, they naturally became close enough to speak casually to each other.

I smiled at the sight.

It was a good phenomenon.

In the original work, Helia was popular, but on the contrary, she also had many antis.

Because she was excessively obsessed with power, causing trouble for those around her.

In the worst case, she even betrayed them.

So people who really hated Helia called her ‘Hellworm’ as a derogatory term.

I wasn’t that extreme, but honestly, my first impression wasn’t very good.

The reason Helia was so obsessed with power was to overcome her past.

Her village burned down, and the girl who survived alone became an avenger obsessed with power for the sake of revenge.

It was understandable why the original Helia turned out that way, but was there any need to keep maintaining the bad parts?

Shouldn’t it be right to fix most of it if possible?

“Helia has become much brighter.”

“Indeed.”

“Thank you, Cluna.”

“But I didn’t do anything?”

“I know you put in a lot of effort for her.”

The first one to notice Helia’s unstable mental state was none other than Cluna.

Was it because she was the only parent with a child among the Royal Knights?

Or was she just quick-witted?

Anyway, I consulted with her and poured in countless efforts to guide Helia on the right path.

And the result was starting to bear fruit little by little like this.

Thanks to that, I survived.

If it were just me, I wouldn’t have been able to raise her like that.

I expressed my gratitude to Cluna once again and turned my gaze to look at Bayard.

She had a blank expression on her face.

“Bayard, is something the matter?”

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

“I see. If there’s anything, tell me right away.”

“I-I’m sorry. F-For causing you concern…”

“You always lack confidence! At times like this, training is the answer!”

At Bayard’s worried voice, Yuren laughed heartily and patted Bayard’s back.

While living together, I realized something.

Yuren lacked tact.

And quite a lot at that.

But in a way, it was only natural.

Just as humans didn’t consider the feelings of ants, why would dragons, the strongest race on earth, need to be considerate of weaker races?

Of course not.

So their political sense would also be lacking.

But it didn’t matter much, because dragons possessed overwhelming military power.

Even now, Bayard couldn’t move, you see.

Moreover, she was in a greatly weakened state after suffering a heart injury.

As expected, no matter how I thought about it, Yuren was the right person to be the commander.

Because her military power was overwhelmingly powerful.

It was a flaw that she lacked tact, or rather, a lot of it, but that can be solved by appointing Cluna as the vice-commander.

Cluna’s military power was very mighty, almost on par with ordinary dragons.

Moreover, unlike Yuren, she had a lot of accumulated experience.

In other words, she was the only person who could properly assist Yuren by her side and prevent her from going berserk.

Little by little, the picture was being drawn properly.

“The rebuilding of the Royal Knights is not far off.”

“Commander? A carrier pigeon has brought a letter.”

“A carrier pigeon? Where did it come from?”

“Judging by the crest… It’s a carrier pigeon from the Rat Clan.”

The Rat Clan.

They were the leader of the 12 beastmen tribes and the chief of the tribal confederation.

Their physical abilities were not strong for beastmen, but instead, they were a very wise race.

Especially the bloodline of the leader who leads the Rat Clan rarely awakens the power to foresee the future, as I read in the setting collection.

But so what?

In the original work, they were already destroyed.

At least their situation was better than the Dwarf Republic.

In fact, the beastmen were not treated very well either.

Out of the 12 tribes, as many as 6 tribes betrayed and sided with the demons.

That was why the Bear Clan, to which Bayard belonged, was barely able to be promoted to one of the 12 tribes.

But the 12 tribes, moreover, the Rat Clan, who were like their leader, suddenly sent me a letter.

Why?

I unfolded the letter I received from Cluna.

I was a bit surprised that there was more written than I expected.

To summarize the content, it was about meeting each other for an exchange.

“They want to meet for an exchange, huh? Indeed, it seems our reputation is slowly being restored thanks to subjugating the doppelganger.”

The Royal Knights, which I thought had completely fallen, were slowly reviving.

It seemed to be known to this extent among the various races and countries.

Of course, they were still just looking at each other and avoiding us.

Later, when we fully restored our reputation and succeed in rebuilding the Royal Knights, other races would soon provide us with a lot of support.

Honestly, I didn’t even hope for that much.

I just hoped that the name of the Royal Knights could exist, and that we could safely resolve this current messed-up situation.

Anyway, for that reason, it seemed we couldn’t hold an exchange meeting.

“It’s a pity. I’m too busy with work to go.”

“That’s right~ I think so too, Commander.”

“Politely decline. I’m counting on you, Cluna.”

“Yes, please leave it to me.”

With this, it was done.

I didn’t have knowledge in this area.

On the contrary, Cluna, who has a lot of experience, should be able to refuse without offending the other party.

With that thought, I turned my eyes.

I saw Bayard being overwhelmingly defeated by Yuren in the training ground of the courtyard.

Oh dear.

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As a guardian of the forest, Cluna had done countless tasks.

As a guardian protecting the forest, she didn’t leave the forest that often, but there were definitely times when she left the forest.

Notably, it was for exchange and trade with other races, but there were also times when she left because of war.

Especially in the distant past, there were quite a few times when they almost started a war with each other.

If the Dwarf Republic was a wild boar that charged recklessly, the 12 tribes, especially the Rat Clan, were like a secretive snake.

They slowly spread poison to weaken their prey and swallowed it whole.

If Cluna hadn’t noticed it first and intervened, they would have lost more than half of the elves’ territory without even realizing it.

That was how meticulous the Rat Clan’s schemes were.

“It’s a pity. I’m too busy with work to go.”

And it seemed the commander was aware of that too.

Cluna understood in an instant.

Make an appropriate excuse and refuse.

As expected, the commander was wise.

It was better not to get involved unless it was necessary.

Especially now when our foundation was unstable.

We were not in a situation where we’d starve to death right away without support.

In that sense, the commander’s choice was right.

To be bound by as few strings as possible.

“Politely decline. I’m counting on you, Cluna.”

Otherwise, we could end up as a bird trapped in a cage.

At this point, she had a rough idea of the commander’s past.

But for now, she would keep quiet about it.

It was not a matter to be discussed lightly.

Cluna perfectly carried out the commander’s order.

She wrote a letter politely refusing their proposal, just as the commander said, and sent it by carrier pigeon.

That letter reached her hands.

However, unfortunately, we don’t have the time to spare.

If you really want to have an exchange, please visit the fortress directly.

“This is…”

“I never dreamed they would refuse so blatantly.”

Looking at the letter placed on the wooden desk, the gray-haired girl smiled.

Her gray hair was tied in a tassel shape using a hairpin.

She was wearing a thin dress made of dark blue cloth.

Outwardly, she was a beauty.

Anyone would surely think so until they met her hollow eyes.

“What? Why is this a refusal? Didn’t we invite them?”

“She is the leader of the 12 tribes. How could the chief of the confederation go there directly?”

“Then why did those guys send the letter like that?”

“They know we can’t go, so they sent it like that, even if it’s just for formality. To put it simply…”

“They’re blatantly mocking us.”

The girl, who was the leader of the 12 tribes and the chief, going directly to the dangerous outside?

Of course, it was something that couldn’t happen under normal circumstances, but not now.

The girl spoke with a smile,

“I was trying to see a friend’s face after a long time, but if I received an invitation like this, it would be proper to go in person.”

“It’s dangerous! You can’t go!”

“We’re not ones to think. We just follow.”

The round animal ears on top of the girl’s head twitched.

Originally, she had no interest at all, but after receiving this letter, she became interested.

The elegant handwriting, the message that absolutely wouldn’t back down.

As expected of the commander of the Royal Knights, even if rotten.

It was not for nothing that he sat in that position.

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