Why am I losing my limbs fighting in a gal game?
I had a moment of clarity about that topic, but I quickly shoved it aside, thinking about the upcoming meeting. It was a subject I’d rather not think about.
Most of the vampires were female, and they looked like girls, dressed in outfits that seemed like a mix of gothic and bondage. That’s what made me feel that moment of clarity.
It was definitely a gal game universe, one where it shouldn’t matter if you just mindlessly went at it. But here I was, having already lost an arm and an eye. And there was no way to stop losing more.
“Is that the stench of filth I smell? Seems like the bat spawn is giving off a filthy odor?”
“…Huh?”
Those words came from none other than the Dragon Lord. My heart nearly stopped. The moment the haze cleared, I wasn’t exactly happy about it.
“It’s been a while since we met, yet your mouth is still dirty?”
“I can’t help it with you girls around. Isn’t that right?”
“If you keep talking like that, it won’t end well for you?”
“Wait, hold on…!!”
Why are we fighting the moment we see each other? The public enemy is right in front of us! I tried to intervene before the atmosphere got worse. If only my foot hadn’t stumbled…
Instinctively, I drew my sword from its sheath and steadied myself with it like a staff. Thanks to the training, using the sword had become second nature, and it came out without me thinking.
The problem was that this happened to be in between the vampire leader and the Dragon Lord. To put it simply, I was caught in the middle with my sword drawn.
This is bad.
Really bad.
The fact that I was trying not to fall turned into this. I swallowed hard as I observed them. At least it was a relief that I hadn’t drawn the sword yet.
“Both of you, quiet down. This place is for the alliance.”
Since I needed to stop the fight, I spoke to them in the most emotionless voice I could muster. Honestly, my legs were shaking, feeling like they would give way any moment. But I held it together.
“Considering the Commander’s face, let’s let this one slide.”
“That’s something I should say. Filthy bat bastard.”
“…”
Fortunately, it seemed they took my words well. The vampire and the dragon each took a step back, allowing me to breathe a sigh of relief.
But this I didn’t expect. I honestly didn’t think the dragons and vampires would be at such odds. As I recalled, dragons were called the Race of Benevolence and loved everyone.
Wait a minute. Now that I think about it, the setting book I saw back then stated that they loved all existing races. I had thought they just loved all races back then.
But what if that referred to the races that existed at the original timeline? Then it makes sense to some degree. Because the vampires were already slaves of the demons by that time.
“Commander, the orcs have just arrived as well.”
“Alright, let’s go inside for now.”
“Understood, Commander.”
“Huh…”
With the unexpected situation, my mind was about to overload. There were pressing issues with the other races now. I had thought the dragon would have no problems at all.
I never expected the betrayal to hit so hard. But right now, I had to focus even more. It had been only a year since the Royal Knights had broken apart, and we were finally having the racial alliance meeting again.
It’s said that the beginning is the middle. If I don’t set the first button right, the following parts will surely be a mess. Of course, this was still better than the original story, where it took 17 years to regain the alliance.
So now wasn’t the time to worry about mediation between races. I couldn’t let the racial alliance meeting that had barely opened end up as just mediating nonsense. I headed towards the Table of Equality.
Seeing the leaders of each race taking their seats at the round table was truly a sight to behold. Of course, the elves were openly giving us hostile glares…
“How dare you speak to the teacher…!!”
“Calm down, Helia.”
I barely managed to calm the furious Helia, who had suddenly taken a position next to me as my guard. Thankfully, it wasn’t just her.
The entire Royal Knights team was also giving the elves cold glares. Even Clara and Cluna, who were elves, weren’t acting any differently! I sighed and said,
“Put aside your personal feelings. What’s most important now is the future of the alliance. Think of that first.”
“…Understood, Commander.”
“My apologies.”
I felt the same tentativeness towards the elves, but we had urgent matters right in front of us. I couldn’t just throw a fit based on emotions. At the very least, that could wait until the end of the meeting.
I’d have to negotiate directly with the elves later. For now, I had to endure it. And the elves weren’t completely unreasonable. Sure, they didn’t like us.
At least they hadn’t refused to participate in the meeting or caused a ruckus here. That means there was some room for dialogue.
I took my seat, and coincidentally, the prestigious chair at the round table was the only empty one. As I sat down, all eyes turned to me. It was incredibly burdensome.
“…”
“…”
“…”
“…”
“…?”
I slowly turned my head to look around. None of those sitting spoke. They just stared at me blankly. What is the deal with this? Why are they acting like this?
“Commander, if it isn’t too much trouble, could you tell us when the meeting will start?”
After a long silence, the first to speak was the Human King. Only then did I realize they were waiting for me to say something.
I quickly turned my mind to gear up. I had always emphasized that staying silent could get you halfway. Especially on such a big stage.
As the Commander of the Royal Knights, I felt the weight of responsibility, but this stage where the seven races decide how to unify and move forward wasn’t something I could handle alone.
“In this situation, silence is not golden. If you’re the Commander of the Royal Knights, you should show a corresponding demeanor.”
A middle-aged elf with green hair, Elder Maquenis, said with a sarcastic tone. Thanks to that, I saw a breakthrough. I still answered while keeping my arms crossed.
“The Royal Knights won’t do anything.”
“What does that mean?”
“Do you not know the reason for the annihilation of the Royal Knights?”
“…”
My off-the-cuff response surprisingly resonated. Of course, it had to, since the annihilation of the Royal Knights was everyone here’s responsibility.
“The ongoing pressure forced the Royal Knights to prepare for an expedition. And as a result, they utterly failed. We still haven’t recovered from that strength.”
At least this was a fact. The Royal Knights had been somewhat rebuilt, but if you asked if they had the same influence as in their prime, the answer would be no.
In their prime, the Royal Knights wielded incredible influence. To exaggerate, there wasn’t a single tribe that wasn’t affected by the Royal Knights’ influence…
However, the reason why the Royal Knights crumbled was simple. It all started from within. Each race aimed solely for their tribe’s benefits and split apart.
That resulted in the crumbling of the Royal Knights and the subsequent division of the alliance. For now, we had barely treated the wounds with emergency first aid.
But regaining the influence the Royal Knights held in the past would probably be tough. That’s the point I was making. But since he’s the Elder, he probably understands that.
“So we declare: we will maintain political neutrality.”
Of course, political neutrality isn’t always the right choice. Using politics to gain benefits is also a good option. Provided I could play politics well, of course.
Look at the opponents in front of me. The Ruler of the Twelve Tribes, the Human King, the Chancellor of the Dwarf Republic, Elder of the Elves, and so forth. Could I really win a political battle against them?
The answer was obviously no. Politics? Right now, I was struggling with the problems right in front of me. I had to avoid picking up pointless problems that would come back to bite me.
“Maintaining political neutrality, huh? An interesting stance.”
“You all must know the shameful display you showed the moment the Royal Knights collapsed.”
“…”
“So, the continuation of the Royal Knights is our top priority. At least we’ve achieved some results.”
Just look at the situation right after the collapse of the Royal Knights. The Dwarf Republic and the Beastmen started a territorial dispute, and the vampires and dragons still fought whenever they met.
So while I said we’d maintain neutrality… in practice, it meant we were leaving it up to you since we didn’t know anything.
After all, as the leader of a group project, it was something to avoid.
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