In The Name Of Ingrad! (4)

After finishing my conversation with Hare, who had turned every color, and roughly organizing the contents of the meeting, I went to the banquet hall together with all the retainers for the next item on the schedule.

The countless people inside the banquet hall, dressed in formal uniforms and looking extremely tense, watched us enter. It seemed Vincent had explained something to them in advance.

“We greet His Majesty, the King of Ingrad!!”

A roaring shout echoed through the hall, and everyone knelt on one knee and showed their respect. Since most of them were commoners, it seemed to be the ceremony they were taking, and while confirming that a few among them were greeting me with noble etiquette, I said to everyone,

“Raise your heads. Today’s banquet has all of you as its main characters. Therefore, I will refuse the excessive ceremony.”

It was a line I had prepared because I had expected this would happen, and at my words telling everyone to stand, they stood upright, but the problem was that they were frozen stiff with clear tension.

Seeing that it was no different even for the nobles, I had no choice but to say that the banquet should begin, and soon music began to play in an attempt to raise the atmosphere of the banquet hall. However, as I said before, the problem was that all of them were commoners.

When would they ever have experienced a banquet? The nobles were looking around with less tension, but the others could not do that.

“I feel like I have become an uninvited guest.”

I said it in a small voice while looking at Wijel and the others, and he wore a light smile and spoke.

“I have heard that the boundaries in human class society are thicker than one can imagine. From their position, they have attended a banquet bestowed by a sky they could not even look up at, so it is only natural for them to be nervous.”

I felt awkward for no reason. That was because I, too, had been no different from an ordinary person until recently. I had been unlucky enough to be summoned, ended up in an unexpected situation, and things had somehow gone well, but in reality, I thought there was no way the current me would have existed without the help of those around me.

As I looked around and checked each person’s face one by one, Gamung brought someone in front of me.

I was looking at the three people, who were extremely tense, with some curiosity, and Gamung opened his mouth first.

“There were people I wished to introduce to you.”

“Those two?”

“That is correct. This one is called Grimo Silver, who will be assigned to the special army this time. Among these three, he falls the farthest behind in ability, but from the potential I saw, he seemed the most likely to achieve greatness.”

I wondered whether he was praising him too openly. Moreover, the two people who came with him also looked at the man introduced as Grimo Silver at Gamung’s words, and Gamung continued speaking.

“This one is called Bageu di Aengkel, and he is a man from the Aengkel family, which is fairly well known on the continent for martial power. They say he came out to the continent while also undergoing knight training, but somehow ended up wandering around as a mercenary and drifted here. And finally, Sein von Hannibal. This woman’s circumstances are not greatly different from Aengkel’s either.”

Sein von Hannibal had a disappointed expression at the overly brief explanation, but I could tell that among the three, the one Gamung liked most was Grimo Silver.

That was because he was practically keeping him by his side.

Gamung had wanted to create an intelligence unit through this recruitment, and I knew that he had gone through quite a lot of trouble to separately select outstanding people for that purpose.

Moreover, I recalled that Wijel and the others had been pleased, saying that they had been able to bring in many talented people thanks to Gamung personally going to the site and checking the examinees, and then I asked,

“I am grateful that all three of you have decided to place yourselves in our Ingrad. I only hope that you will do well without harming your bodies.”

“Th-There would be no objectiok…”

Watching Grimo Silver bite his tongue made me chuckle, but Bageu di Aengkel and Sein von Hannibal, though nervous, seemed to have fairly proper etiquette and answered calmly.

“It is an honor to serve Your Majesty.”

“I shall become Ingrad’s faithful sword.”

I smiled at the two, who were certainly comparable to Grimo Silver in various meanings, and said to the three of them,

“I prefer doing well over simply working hard. So you can become what I hope for, can you not?”

“….Understood!”

“That is so.”

“I shall receive and uphold your command!”

They were certainly three people with different dispositions. After that, Gamung told me about the three people’s characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses while praising them, and perhaps thanks to that, envious gazes gathered from around us.

It seemed they were envious because they could personally appeal themselves to the king, and at that moment, Matilda also brought one person and approached my side.

He was a fairly handsome man, but how should I put it? He looked a little like a statue with an expressionless face. However, seeing that his cold expression trembled slightly as if cracks were forming, I could tell that he, too, was nervous, and first I asked Matilda,

“Who is he?”

“He is the person who took first place by an overwhelming score difference among those hired for administrative positions this time.”

“Ah, was he the one you praised as being extremely outstanding?”

When I asked about what I remembered, Matilda bowed her head and said to me,

“Thank you for listening carefully and remembering even words spoken in passing. Your Majesty.”

I wondered why they were acting like this, but thinking that there must be some intention behind it, I roughly nodded, and Matilda introduced the person she had brought.

“He is called Lloyd Phil, and he is a person who seized an overwhelmingly high score with a difference of more than fifty points from second place. And he is the person who answered every exam question correctly.”

Only then did the attention gather on Lloyd Phil at Matilda’s introduction. Seeing Lloyd Phil turn red from his ears, I chuckled and asked him, who must have been nervous,

“It seems the exam was not very difficult?”

“N-No, Your Majesty. Th-The exam questions were extremely difficult. They were so difficult and difficult again that I had to think carefully, look over the questions again and again, and repeat my deliberation.”

Lloyd Phil had done something impressive and was being modest, but in truth, I did not think I disliked that.

“I do not doubt that you will one day take on important work and become a great strength to Ingrad. So… can you meet my expectations?”

At that moment, Lloyd Phil knelt on one knee, showed his respect, looked up at me, and said,

“How could someone like me accomplish something great? Even so, if you make use of someone like me, I shall devote all my sincerity. Your Majesty.”

I thought that someone like Lloyd Phil might rise to the rank of top-level administrator. And as interest in Lloyd Phil rose sharply and even the rest of the retainers began showing interest in him, he suddenly had to become the center of attention. Thanks to that, I became considerably more at ease, slipped away, and said to Matilda,

“It may actually be a hindrance to them if I stay until the end.”

“Are you leaving?”

“I should. Originally, the boss’s duty is to leave after giving only the card.”

“Yes…?”

Matilda had an expression as if she did not understand, and I lightly patted her shoulder and said,

“I am extremely grateful and thankful that Matilda has worked so hard. Matilda, please become one of today’s main characters as well.”

Then, when I subtly pointed behind her with a sideways glance, Matilda turned around and let out a sigh.

That was because there seemed to be many people, regardless of gender, who wanted even to have a conversation with Matilda. In truth, their highest administrators could be said to be Matilda and Linda.

In Linda’s case, she was currently away on an external tour, so a meeting would be arranged later, but for now, it was correct to say that Matilda was the highest-ranking person they could meet.

So they seemed to want to somehow make an impression on her, and I lightly pushed her back and said,

“Please brighten this place in my stead. Understood?”

Matilda slowly nodded, and as I quietly left the banquet hall with Demina, I looked at the banquet hall, which was becoming a little brighter in atmosphere, and said to Demina,

“As expected, it was not a place for a king to join in. Right?”

“Kukuk, why are you making such a face like a puppy caught in the rain?”

It was because I thought the banquet looked like it would be quite fun. Perhaps if I had been merely a lord rather than a king, I might have been able to mingle together with them at that banquet.

“Let’s go. I should drink some rum for the first time in a while.”

“Kukuk.”

The Demonic Tribe’s attacks on the Relief Group had already continued for the sixth time. The number of enemies was roughly twenty thousand, an absurd number compared to before, and thanks to that, the Relief Group could not avoid struggling considerably.

Moreover, because several repeated attacks had consumed quite a lot of the bullets for the firearms that could be called their supplies, the Ingrad Army was being extremely careful with their shooting. However, Bella did not withdraw the army because if they showed weakness to the Demonic Tribe like this, there was a concern that an even fiercer offensive would follow.

“Do not spare the hand grenades! Fire the grenades! Aim for the center of the enemy!”

Following Bella’s order, Ingrad’s army poured out a fierce attack, and the Demonic Tribe members were torn apart with thunderous explosions.

Even so, the Demonic Tribe charged in viciously, and the mercenaries barely defended against them and maintained the situation. It was then.

“Fire the incendiary shells!!”

Bella’s shout followed, and with a “boom!” a shell that rapidly cut through the air fell into the center of the Demonic Tribe’s forces and caused a tremendous explosion.

The Demonic Tribe also flinched and stopped for a moment at the destructive sight that could not be compared to anything until now, and at that moment, an additional order fell. A freezing shell once again cut through the air in succession and rapidly chilled the battlefield.

There were not even ten magic cannons that the Relief Group had brought, but the firepower they created was something that far exceeded the Demonic Tribe’s expectations, and as the Viscount-class and Count-class demons commanding the Demonic Tribe were torn apart by the bombardment, the flow of the battlefield changed.

“Do not step forward! I said do not pursue the enemy!”

Because the bodies of the Demonic Tribe were worth money, the mercenaries tried to kill even one more of the retreating demons, and Bella hurriedly blocked them and shouted.

Frankly, she judged that in a situation without firearms, if the mercenaries chased after the Demonic Tribe, they would only be massacred by the Demonic Tribe when they turned around.

The mercenaries usually followed Bella’s orders well, but it seemed they could not avoid developing complaints.

As the battlefield was quickly being finished and organized, several captains of large mercenary companies gathered and came to Bella.

“General Commander Bella, mercenaries must also make money. There is additional pay, but compared to the price of our lives, is it not absurdly small?”

There was no way Ingrad would give little additional pay. They had merely come to express complaints while looking only at the profit right before their eyes. That was detestable, but for now, Bella spoke calmly.

“If you rush in and many casualties occur, who intends to take responsibility for that?”

“….There is no difficulty in attacking retreating enemy soldiers!”

“Do you not think you are treating us too much like inexperienced puppies?”

“I have lived as a mercenary for over twenty years. Please do not ignore my experience.”

Each mercenary captain spoke up.

“Then are you saying my order was unjust?”

“Even if it was not unjust, we are saying it was excessive. The body parts of the Demonic Tribe are included as special by-products and are often traded at fairly high prices. Yet the Ingrad Relief Group either gives up all of that or uses it as regional development funds, does it not?”

“This is something that was dealt with in advance by contract. I understand that the money generated concerning this will be paid by Ingrad as additional compensation. Am I wrong?”

“….Even if it is money given by a country… will it be paid transparently?”

Bella looked at the mercenary captain who made a rather problematic remark and asked the others as well.

“Do all of you also think the same?”

Seeing them slowly nod, Bella sighed, but after calmly thinking it over, she spoke what she had learned.

“If you are dissatisfied, you can pack your belongings right now and leave. As for the additional compensation, you can go directly to Ingrad and receive it. Following the saying that a dissatisfied mercenary is more dangerous than an enemy, I intend to exclude all of you. You may raise an objection if you wish. However, I have no intention of accepting all of them, and I hope you understand that I have no choice but to respond this way.”

Bella thought that if a situation like this repeated, relief would no longer be the issue, and she left behind the half-shocked mercenary captains and went to find Linda.

After that, the Ingrad Relief Group made a major decision.

“The mercenaries are all dismissed. We will urgently request additional forces from the homeland, and if possible, I would like you to convey a message saying that I hope they will be whale beastkin units.”

Bella’s judgment and Linda’s decision became the opportunity that greatly changed the Relief Group’s strength and direction.