As a result, we successfully protected the city of Latnia from the undead army.
There are remaining soldiers, but the undead soldiers, having lost their commander, are no longer threatening.
When the Last Ape’s descent was lifted, refined mana was consumed immensely in an instant.
It seems that the cost is paid not when summoning, but when releasing the summon.
As mana abruptly drained away, I felt a slight dizziness.
In a hurry, I forcefully shoved mana back into my body, managing to avoid fainting.
Where the Last Ape had disappeared, the traces of the necromancer were vividly left on the ground.
And on the other side, Aila could be seen soundly asleep.
I stood up, collected myself, and picked up Aila.
In the distant sky, the red sun was slowly peeking out.
With the dense darkness gradually retreating, the long night came to an end.
On my way back to the hotel, I encountered Tenji and the trainees.
“A giant just appeared and then disappeared.”
“I see.”
The trainees’ actions, heading this way even after witnessing that, were quite brave.
It wouldn’t have been easy to approach an unknown presence that couldn’t be identified as an enemy or ally.
“Then we will sweep away the remaining undead in the city.”
The undead soldiers wandering around the city would provide the trainees with considerable practical experience.
As I entered the hotel lobby, Number Five greeted me as if he had been waiting.
“Let’s go to the meeting room.”
“Right now?”
“Yes.”
I headed to the meeting room while holding Aila.
Number Five opened the meeting room door without knocking and stepped inside.
“Ririan, you’ve come for Aila, huh?”
“Yes.”
“Place her over there and sit down.”
I laid Aila down on a sofa arranged on one side of the meeting room and took my seat.
The map spread out on the table had Latnia marked with a red circle.
I glanced slightly downward to check the situation in the south as well.
The information that could be discerned from the map was extremely limited.
However, instinctively, I didn’t feel like we were winning.
“Although we managed to protect the city, the damage is pretty serious.”
The devastating activities of the enlarged undead caused material damage far worse than expected.
“This area will be safe for the time being. The problem is…”
The Demon King tapped the north direction of the map with his finger.
“What’s wrong here?”
“Latnia is not properly stopping the undead army.”
A large mountain serves as a boundary between Ronan and Latnia.
As long as there are no major issues, it seems unlikely that they will pour in from that side.
“This area has no military force and no large city, making it unsuitable for waging war.”
If the undead were to push down from above, this would be the first area to abandon.
“Are we going there, then?”
“Why would we go there? If we do, it would be southward anyway.”
Number Five placed a figure of a horse with a flag on the southern end of the map.
“Since the necromancer has disappeared from here, another has appeared from the south.”
It meant that a new army had emerged while the existing army remained.
“The Empire has decided to reinforce its troops.”
“Are we going too?”
“Well…”
For some reason, the Demon King was having a hard time speaking readily.
“The Second Knight Order is going, but there’s a problem.”
Currently, Aila is unable to engage in external activities.
The position of captain of the Second Knight Order is essentially vacant.
“If the captain is vacant or absent due to unavoidable circumstances, in a situation like this, they are temporarily assigned under another knight order.”
“I see.”
I felt that he was beating around the bush unusually.
“Hey, Ririan?”
“Yes. What is it?”
“Starting now, you will be the captain of the Second Knight Order.”
This must have been what the Demon King wanted to say from earlier.
“It’s only temporary.”
“Isn’t it more appropriate for Riki to be temporary?”
Riki’s rank is second-in-command.
If the captain is absent, he is the suitable person to temporarily take on the captain’s authority.
Appointing me as the temporary captain while leaving Riki out seems very strange.
Moreover, I am not even a part of the knight order.
“I’ve gotten the agreements.”
“Did you ask them directly?”
“I did, I asked them myself.”
Number Five stated that it was the result of him transforming into several people to ask.
“They wouldn’t easily agree, I think…”
I couldn’t understand why Riki agreed more than others.
Riki has plenty of qualifications as a captain.
Currently, he is managing the affairs of the knight order in place of Aila.
“It’s decided now, so get ready to leave.”
“If the knight order is absent, who will protect the city?”
“They’ll reinforce the troops. Plus, the soldiers won’t be leaving right now.”
Those who will accompany me include Riki, Jie, and Iwaf.
The soldiers under the knight order plan to follow later.
One of the chairs in the meeting room moved, and Aila climbed onto it.
“I just heard, what are you making him do?”
“Knight Order Captain.”
“Do you really have to do that while I’m here?”
“Are you going to attend the meeting in that state?”
At the Demon King’s question, Aila couldn’t respond readily.
This is the optimal environment to learn magic.
She has gotten used to mana, and there is someone to take her place for her usual tasks.
Aila herself wouldn’t want to easily miss such an opportunity.
“Once you’re there, you absolutely must not speak about me, okay?”
“What kind of story?”
“Don’t say that you know me or that there’s a friendly relationship.”
“Why not?”
If Aila has no relationship with me, she has no grounds to take the position of temporary captain.
“Just say Niv ordered you.”
“Is that necessary?”
“Yes. If you mention my name for no reason, the looks you receive won’t be very pleasant.”
The curiosity regarding the captains of the knight orders was also part of my consent to this situation.
I wondered why Aila placed such importance on their evaluations.
The reason why Aila, despite being a captain herself, takes up their requests as well.
Since I didn’t have any items to prepare, I went straight down to the hotel lobby.
In the lobby, perhaps having heard the news in advance, Riki was waiting for me.
“I heard the story. Why did you recommend me?”
“We’ll explain that slowly on the way.”
With a meaningful expression, Riki headed toward the hotel’s underground parking lot.
I had been to the underground training area of the hotel, but this was my first time in the parking lot.
“We’re heading to the southern city of Philon.”
This was the city where Tenji and I were supposed to go for an information department request.
The war had put that information request on the back burner.
“What kind of city is Philon?”
“Well, it’s an ordinary harbor city.”
Although the south is in chaos due to the appearance of the undead, this is the reason why the supply of goods can continue.
Along with Philon, several harbor cities have remained completely unobstructed.
The undead army is strong on land but appears to have no naval power whatsoever.
“Why was I recommended as captain?”
“Yes. You could just do it yourself.”
“No, I don’t have any connections.”
Connections and the position of captain seemed to have little to do with each other.
Both Aila and Riki often seem to care about the evaluations from those around them within the knight order.
“Why is having connections important?”
“There are factions within the knight order.”
“Factions exist everywhere.”
Wherever people gather, those with similar minds congregate.
If that expands, it becomes a faction and splits into camps.
“Our knight order has yet to be chosen.”
“Isn’t it us doing the choosing?”
“That’s only when we are acknowledged.”
Aila’s reason for wanting to receive acknowledgment from the captains of the knight order is becoming clear.
It seemed she wanted to go from the side to be chosen to the side doing the choosing.
“Ririan, I feel like you could bring the power of choice.”
“Wait… Is that why you called me?”
Riki didn’t respond separately, which implicitly meant he agreed with my statement.
“So, which faction should I join?”
“You don’t join. You make them all stick to our side.”
“What’s the reason for going that far…”
“It’s a necessary process to become a knight captain.”
The selection of the captain involves the opinions of the leaders of each knight order.
Aila’s ultimate goal seemed to be to receive the acknowledgment of the captains of the knight orders and to become the knight captain.
Having stopped to speak, I continued on and descended into the parking lot.
Inside the car, Jie and Iwaf were already seated.
“Why are you driving…”
“I’m good at it.”
With Jie in the passenger seat, I didn’t think there would be any big issues.
As I got into the car, Iwaf slowly started to exit the underground parking lot.
Suddenly, I took on the position of captain of the knight order and set off for the southern city of Pron.
*
Choosing to flee instead of confronting Ririan head-on, Giraja abandoned all the soldiers and wandered around the outskirts of Latnia for a while.
It was because he still had not regained his head.
Having sensed that the necromancer, his officer, had perished, Giraja cleanly erased thoughts of finding his head.
He decided to think of it as if the head had never existed from the start.
In the Legion of Doom, Giraja had just recently entered as a low-ranking member.
Giraja lacked the loyalty that someone like Pron, who had been under the necromancer for a long time, possessed.
“All I have to do is join under a new officer.”
Giraja’s capacity was as a summoner, which plays a fairly important role in the Legion of Doom.
The necromancer could summon as well, but the soldiers created were of a different level.
Giraja still could not reach that degree.
He could summon low-level skeleton soldiers, and anywhere would accept him, but he couldn’t reach higher positions.
“I must find the knight next. The others… they don’t need to be considered.”
There were a total of four officers in the Legion of Doom.
With the necromancer perishing, three remained.
Two of them, in Giraja’s view, were those he couldn’t even consider submitting to.
One was an unpleasant character, and the other had no subordinates.
Giraja, leaving Latnia behind, began to rush southward.
Crossing mountains and rivers, Giraja faced the rising sun.
If he moved for just another day, he would reach the south where the legion had established itself.
It had taken three days to come with his soldiers, but moving alone would take just two days.
‘What is that?’
Walking towards Giraja, a demon appeared with the sun at his back.
Currently, there was no necessary reason to engage in combat, so Giraja decided to pass by without paying much interest.
As the distance between him and the demon grew closer, Giraja could clearly see what was approaching.
The figure of someone holding a sword.
Confirming that the opposite party had intention to attack, Giraja raised his staff.
Crack!
As one side of the staff broke off, a sharp sword was drawn from within.
As the distance continued to shorten, Giraja felt even his heart, which he didn’t possess, racing.
Unconfident in swordsmanship, he lifted the sword with trembling hands.
Swish.
The demon lightly brushed past Giraja’s side.
Relieved that no incident occurred, Giraja wiped his chest.
Even without a head, the undead could see their surroundings; however, Giraja felt the area around him becoming pitch dark, and he sensed all the strength leaving his body.
“Ah…”
A single cry was the last word from Giraja.
