Chapter 207: The Passion of the Maidens, Part 11
After finishing our work, the Second Manyu Brigade proudly returns through the main gate of the capital.
Behind us, the corpse of the Goblin King.
People passing by on the street stop to look at him, he was more than three meters long and was riding on a carriage. It didnāt take long for the atmosphere to fill with applause from many directions.
The second Manyu Brigade is now one of the ten largest parties in the country.
Everywhere one went, we were hailed as āthe new rising starsā, āthe red army of adventureā, āthe most effective party in historyā and so onā¦.
Many young adventurers aspired to join our party.
But as I led my army, I heard voices in the crowd that made me bite my lips.
āToday the vice-commander is wonderful.
āI heard she took that position after sleeping with leader Toru.
āI heard that Captain Toru is on a trip.
āHeās a jerk, going off and leaving his party adrift. He shouldnāt come back here.
Toru is the strongest and most amazing man in the world!
Possibly heās been delayed for a good reason, but Iām sure heāll be back, and when he finds this party, heāll come pick me up and weāll get out of here!
Besides, I have Nambala and Takigi looking for him, so Iām calm, Iām sure heāll show up soon.
āEverything is in order?
āYes, everything is fine.
Lynn is very worried about me.
She has helped me a lot since we got here.
She is a true friend, because unlike me, she has a very strong mentality. So she is someone I can trust.
As we walked through the cobblestone streets, a group of people blocked our path.
They were the Thousand Golden Lions, and they were also part of the ranking of the ten largest partyās in the country.
āWhat a great coincidence, Brigada Manyu.
āWhat do you want? Garfao.
I have been on bad terms with Garfao ever since I met him, he is the commander of the said party.
The lion race has by far the greatest capacity among other tribes, an incredible capacity for brute force to train their people. That, and their high pride makes them always look down on other races, and even their own kind.
It is not uncommon to see them behave like the kings of the city.
It is said that the Thousand Golden Lions party was the strongest in the country. However, this man has managed to bring that reputation to the ground. The previous generation, which was led by his father, made the party receive the respect of all who saw them pass by.
He is just a poor fool with unusually high self-esteem as he clings to the glories of the past.
But, for all his faults and shortcomings, he is still above us in the rankings, leading in first place.
Even if they beat us on individual strength, they continue to lose in overall ability.
āI have received a request directly from His Majesty.
āAre you not surprised? Oh, I see, youāre trembling with fear inside.
ā¦What on earth is this fellow talking about?
His Majestyās direct requests are also a daily occurrence in our party.
Could it be that the Thousand Golden Lions donāt get any work from the royal palace?
I often hear complaints about His Majestyās antics from the leaders of other large parties.
Anyway, it is troublesome, I will take control of this situation properly and make them go home.
Iām so tired, I want to take off my vice-commander mask and just relax in my bed. Iām really looking forward to having a date with Toru in my dreams.
āDo you remember our conversation earlier?
āYes, I talked about merging the Manyu Brigade with the Thousand Golden Lions.
āAh, that. I thought I rejected your proposal about twenty times already.
āIf we join forces. Weāll have the biggest and strongest party in the whole country. You also have a great reputation in this country, Manyu Brigade. I have no doubt that your popularity will increase even more than it already is now.
āIām not interested. Get out of my way.
All I want is to be reunited with Toru and live with him happily ever after.
Of course I also care about my party members and the future of this country, so I plan to leave someone in charge, although I havenāt decided yet.
āCome on, be honest Or do you also want us to merge in another way?
With a smiling face, Garfao put his hand on my shoulder.
This body can only be possessed by Toru.
āDo you think I will allow someone like you to touch me?
I pushed his hand away from my shoulder, grabbed him by the face and smashed it against the stone pavement.
āDonāt touch me again.
A female member of my army approached me and gave me a handkerchief to wipe my hands.
As soon as the officers of the Thousand Golden Lions saw their leader on the ground, they drew their weapons and got into a combat stance.
On the other hand, my party members acted as a wall to protect me.
āYouā¦ What the hell are you doing? Why are you attacking him out of nowhere?
āYou are the one who should limit his movements. Touching the vice commander without permission is the same as starting a fight. If you donāt want to get hurt, get the hell out of here.
āDonāt get pushy just because youāre starting to be recognized. Donāt forget that we are a party with 250 members.
You certainly are a big party. But most of them are little level 500 puppies. To be honest, it wouldnāt be right for me to express myself that way about them, no one likes to be disrespected, although they tend to be scum who look down their noses at other people.
If any of them intend to attack me, my party members will do their best to protect me.
āAre you sure you want to go to war against us?
I took a step forward with killing intent.
And my party members replicate my same step with the same intentions.
Right now we just finished a request, and we were ready to fight at any time. I donāt care if we do it here and now, Iām only interested in crushing them once and for all.
āGarfao-sama, weād better get out of here.
āAre you saying that we, the Thousand Golden Lions should run away?!
āWe also have a request from His Majesty that we must fulfill, and if we lose here for the first time in a war, will our reputation fall?
āTchā¦ His Majesty saved your lives, Manyu Brigade.
Garfao says a clichƩ phrase and ran off.
Honestly, I was somewhat relieved about it.
Thereās nothing good in a war between big parties, no matter if I win or lose.
Of course I donāt intend to lose, but I want to avoid it if possible.
āThe vice-commander was great.
āAfter all, she is our Ney-sama.
āDid you see the look on Garfaoās face?
āWhen Toru-sama returns, we will be the most powerful party of all.
All the party members were happy and celebrated what just happened.
On the other hand, I felt a pit in my stomach.
āFighting with the Thousand Golden Lions?!
I raised my voice in front of His Majesty.
I had an audience with him to inform him of the Goblin Kingās defeat, but I almost lost my mind when His Majesty told me of a new request.
āAn unidentified monster is ravaging several regions and numerous requests have been received. It has caused great damage not only to our country, but also to other countries, and although some renowned adventurers have already set out to defeat it, they have all been defeated.
āAnd you gave it to us?
I have also heard rumors about such a monster.
The entity devastated the capital of the country ruled by its former demon king, Ios, in a single night. Its true identity is unknown. There are rumors that it may be a demon created by man with the forbidden arts.
However, His Majesty does not seem to be planning to send a regular army yet.
It seems he wants to see how things go with us first.
āI have obtained this information from a reliable source. And from what we know, the mysterious monster seems to call itself āSainā.
āItās hard to believe, but he seems to be intelligent enough to speak the human tongue.
Sainā¦ No way ā¦. Is it possible that heās here too?
That guy was executed, he canāt still be alive.
Iām a little uncertain if he is actually who he says he isā¦ But if he turns out to be Sain, this is my perfect opportunity for revenge. I couldnāt beat that bastard for what he did to me, and I just went back to my city in shame.
Iāve always regretted that. If I had had the guts to follow Toru back then, I could have spent my days with a little more pride and peace of mind in my heart.
But I am very different now since that day. I have the strength and confidence to do anything, and I even have friends I can trust.
I donāt like the idea of fighting alongside the Thousand Golden Lions. But this is a request I could not refuse.
I need to know if this monster is the Sain I know.
āWe already know where the enemy is.
āExcuse my boldness, but could you tell me where this place is?
āIt is one of the gigantic cities built by the ancient species. Now it is dilapidated and turned into a home for ferocious monsters.
If it is a monster lair, it is very likely that they are always on the prowl.
I still have my doubts about cooperating with Garfao, but he is the leader of a party with more than 200 members, and he could never express his feelings about a job.
āWeāll take care of it.
āDonāt let adventurers from other countries get there before you.
I bowed deeply to His Majesty.