The evaluation of the chicken stew was surprisingly good.
It was rated as not bad since it was a new taste. Especially Yuren and Bayard enjoyed it the most. However, not everyone found it tasty. Clara didn’t like it.
She said it was too salty or something. So she just picked out a few vegetables. Well, every race has different tastes. If she had experience like Cluna, she wouldn’t be picky about food.
Clara isn’t that old by elf standards. Maybe next time we can prepare the food according to everyone’s taste. I nodded and said.
“Then let’s make it milder next time.”
“I’m grateful if you do that!”
“Just eat what you get.”
“Why are you so cold to me, Helia?”
“Of course! It’s just obvious!”
Recently, Helia had gotten closer to Clara and Ruby. They had naturally become comfortable enough to drop formalities. I smiled at that. It was a good sign.
In the original story, Helia was quite popular, but conversely, there were many haters. She was overly obsessed with power, causing trouble for those around her, and in the worst case, she even betrayed people.
So, those who really disliked her called her “Helwan-yong” as a derogatory term. I wasn’t that extreme, but honestly, my first impression wasn’t great.
The reason Helia was so obsessed with power was to overcome her past. The girl who survived a burning village became a revenge spirit, obsessed with gaining strength for revenge.
I can understand why the original Helia was portrayed that way. But did she really need to keep emphasizing her bad traits? If possible, wouldn’t it be better to fix most of those issues?
“Helia seems much brighter now.”
“Yeah, it does.”
“Thanks, Cluna.”
“I didn’t do anything, though?”
“I know you’ve put in a lot of effort.”
Cluna was the first to notice Helia’s unstable psychological state. Maybe it was because she was the only parent among the Royal Knights. Or maybe she was just perceptive.
Regardless, I worked hard with her to guide Helia onto the right path. And the results were starting to show, little by little. Thanks to that, I lived.
If it had been 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 Bayard. He looked lost in thought.
“Bayard, is something wrong?”
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
“Is that so? If something’s bothering you, just say it.”
“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to trouble you…”
“You’re always lacking in confidence! In times like this, it’s training!”
Yuren burst into hearty laughter and patted Bayard’s back, even as concern seeped into his voice. I realized something while spending time with them: Yuren was not very perceptive.
And quite a lot so.
But maybe that was to be expected. Just as people don’t pay attention to ants, why would a dragon, the strongest of all races, bother with the feelings of weaker races?
Of course, they wouldn’t.
So their political sense was probably quite dull too. But that didn’t matter much. Because dragons possess overwhelming strength. Even now, Bayard couldn’t move at all.
Even though she was in a severely weakened state after being stabbed in the heart. Truly, the commander should be Yuren. After all, her power was overwhelmingly strong.
She might lack a bit of perception, or rather, a lot, but that could be fixed by appointing Cluna as the vice commander. Cluna’s strength matched that of a regular dragon.
Plus, she has much more accumulated experience than Yuren. In other words, she could properly assist Yuren, preventing her from rampaging. Things were finally starting to come together.
“The rebuilding of the Royal Knights isn’t far off.”
“Commander? A carrier pigeon has brought a letter.”
“A carrier pigeon? Where did it come from?”
“From the markings, it seems to be from the Rat Clan.”
The Rat Clan. They were the leaders of the Twelve Tribes, which consisted of twelve beastman tribes. Physically, they weren’t strong among beastmen, but they were very wise.
I had read in the setting book that the heir of the Rat Clan’s leader rarely awakens the power of precognition. But what good is that? In the original work, they were already wiped out.
They were better off than the Dwarf Republic, but beastmen weren’t exactly treated well either. Six of the twelve tribes had betrayed and sided with the demons.
That’s why Bayard’s Bear Clan could barely be promoted to one of the twelve tribes. But now the Rat Clan, being their leading tribe, was suddenly sending me a letter. Why?
I unfolded the letter I received from Cluna. I was a bit surprised to see that it contained more content than I expected. To summarize, it suggested meeting for an exchange.
“They want to meet for an exchange? It seems our reputation is gradually recovering thanks to the defeat of the doppelganger.”
The once completely fallen Royal Knights were starting to revive slowly. It seemed that this was known among the various races and nations. Of course, everyone was still avoiding direct contact, keeping their distance.
But eventually, if we fully restored our reputation and succeeded in rebuilding the Royal Knights, other races would likely provide us with extensive support. Honestly, I didn’t even hope for that much.
I just wished for the name “Royal Knights” to exist. I only hoped we could resolve this chaotic situation safely. For various reasons, it seemed like the exchange meeting would not happen.
“That’s unfortunate. I’m too busy to go.”
“I see~ I think the same, commander.”
“Politely decline. I ask you, Cluna.”
“Yes, please leave it to me.”
That settled it. I didn’t have knowledge in this area. On the other hand, since Cluna had plenty of experience, she could decline politely without offending them. With that thought, I shifted my gaze.
In the courtyard training ground, I saw Bayard getting overwhelmingly beaten by Yuren.
Oh dear.
*
As the Guardian of the Forest, Cluna had done many things. Since she was the guardian of the forest, she hadn’t strayed away from it much, but there were indeed times when she had to leave the forest.
Especially in exchanges with other races or during trade, there were times she had to step out due to war. In the distant past, there were quite a few instances where real wars almost broke out.
If the Dwarf Republic was just a charging boar, the Twelve Tribes, especially the Rat Clan, were like cunning snakes. They weakened their prey by slowly releasing poison and used strategies to swallow them whole.
If Cluna hadn’t noticed that in advance, the elves would have likely lost more than half their territory without realizing it. That was the extent of the cunning schemes possessed by the Rat Clan.
“That’s unfortunate. I’m too busy to go.”
And it seemed the commander knew this as well. Cluna understood instantly. Formulate an excuse and decline. The commander was indeed wise. It was better to stay away from unnecessary entanglements.
Especially now, when the foundation is shaky, even more so. There was no situation where we were about to starve to death from a lack of support. In that regard, the commander’s choice was correct. To keep our wings unfettered as much as possible.
“Politely decline. I ask you, Cluna.”
If they weren’t careful, they could become birds trapped in a cage. At this point, I could kind of predict the commander’s past, but for now, I’d keep quiet. It wasn’t a light matter to discuss.
Cluna executed the commander’s orders perfectly. She wrote a letter politely declining their proposal and sent it via carrier pigeon. The letter was now in her hands.
[However, regrettably, I am unable to spare the time, so if you wish for an exchange, please visit the fortress directly.]
“What is this…?”
“I never expected them to be so straightforward in their rejection.”
The gray-haired girl gazed at the letter placed on the wooden desk, a smile creeping onto her lips. Her gray hair was tied in a delicate braid held in place with a hairpin.
She wore a thin dress made from deep blue fabric. To the casual observer, she appeared to be a beauty. Until one met her hollow eyes, everyone would undoubtedly think so.
“What’s this? Why is this a rejection? Didn’t we invite them?”
“She is the leader of the Twelve Tribes. How could the alliance leader go there directly?”
“Then why did they send the letter like that?”
“Knowing they can’t come, they sent it more as a formality. In simpler terms…”
“They’re blatantly trying to play us.”
How could the leader of the Twelve Tribes risk her safety by going to the dangerous outside world? Under normal circumstances, that would be out of the question. But not today. The girl smiled as she spoke.
“I just wanted to see my friend’s face again. If I received such an invitation, it would be rude not to go.”
“It’s dangerous! You shouldn’t go!”
“We don’t think. We simply follow.”
The round ears of a beast flicked atop her head. Originally uninterested, she now felt a sense of intrigue due to the letter. The elegant handwriting conveyed a message of unwavering resolve.
Indeed, the commander of the Royal Knights is no ordinary figure.
She isn’t just sitting there without a reason.
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