Makai Hongi

Chapter 198

I’m Golan. An ordinary Ogre you might see anywhere.

Ah, that’s not right. Not anymore. I recently evolved.

After I evolved, the name Susanoo-no-Mikoto appeared in my head.

As I was an Origin, I was all alone.

But if I had descendants and we grew in number, then we would be established as our own race in the Demon World.

Well, that wouldn’t happen for a very long time. So, why was I introducing myself…

“Sir Golan, are you talking to yourself? Or do you need my help?”

“No…uh, you know. Um…”

I was just escaping reality.

“What is it, Sir Golan?”

Stomel’s eyes turned to me.

As Stomel looked like a giant bee, his expressions weren’t always easy to read.

Was he angry? Yes, he was angry.

“If you don’t need me, I will go to the guard house.”

He didn’t sound angry. So maybe he wasn’t.

“Ah…yes. Thank you.”

“Good. I will be on my way.”

Stomel said as he left the room.

He really was a capable Adjutant. Or was it just that I was useless?

“Still…it was beyond my control.”

The weapon in my right hand and the great shield in my left.

I was covered in armor and had a sword strapped to my back. We had been stopped at the gate when I tried to go through like this.

They said it was because I was an outsider who was fully armed.

Clearly that wasn’t right? You shouldn’t judge someone by their appearance.

And so Stomel frantically explained the situation to them.

In the mean time, I stood there dumbly.

Surely it was the best way to look harmless. I would have looked like some kind of wooden doll you would buy as a souvenir.

And that’s when one of the gatekeepers noticed the shield I was carrying.

‘Hey, isn’t that Sir Dobroy’s shield?’ he said.

And then another joined, ‘And that Dragon armor. Isn’t it the treasure of that Dragon clan that General Krunya said was too much trouble, and refused to let them join the army?’

The gatekeepers traded looks. The atmosphere suddenly became, ‘Uh, shouldn’t we look into this?’

Stomel made a desperate attempt to persuade them that this weapon and armor were gifts, part of building a friendly relationship. Unfortunately, both the shield and armor were not exactly clean.

About one third of the shield was caked in dried blood.

“Aye, this is Dobroy’s blood.”

I said, ever the honest man. And that caused a stir among the gatekeepers.

By then, guards had gathered from all over the town, and we were surrounded.

“H-how did you acquire that armor? It’s the treasure of the Delphynes!”

“They gave it to me.”

“Liar! As if the savage Delphynes would give you their prized possession! Did you attack their settlement and take it from them?”

What a rude accusation to make. I was overcome with anger for a brief instant but decided to be mature about it, and say, ‘They really did give it to me. Look. This one is Garzel’s scale.’

“Garzel!? The Garzel who recently became their chief, causing the tribe to become even more vicious than ever?”

“I see. I knew he was delusional, and that explains it. Well, he tried to eat me, so I just shattered his jaw and fangs.”

Though, when it came to being ‘eaten’ by dragons, it was not literal.

It just meant they would bite into you with their fangs until you died.

“He-he defeated the current chief and used his scales for the armor!”

“What villainy!!”

It was no use, they had all drawn their swords now.

And I always accepted a challenge.

After that, we safely made it into the town.

However, I felt as if Stomel’s trust in me had dropped considerably.

And now, Stomel had gone off to the guard house in order to explain the situation to them for me.

He needed to tell them about my new equipment.

“…I hope he’ll be back soon.”

I couldn’t carry the armor. There was no point unless I wore it.

They were the ones who were wrong for stopping us. It would all be alright if he emphasized that point.

“Now that I think about it, didn’t they say that they were extra cautious now? Maybe it was just bad luck.”

I didn’t know why they were on their guard, but surely they could do their jobs without taking it out on us.

“So, what should I do now?”

Stomel was gone, and the two that had carried the baggage had also left.

They had gone to the castle.

It would take a few days before I was able to meet the Demon King. We didn’t know when we would be summoned.

And so the two subordinates had to wait at the castle.

Everyone who had business with the king had to send a servant there to wait until they were called.

It seemed like a horribly inefficient system to me.

And since it wouldn’t do if they were called while they were out eating or using the bathroom, you had to send two people to take turns.

Well, I could only imagine how suffocating it might feel to have to stay in a single room the whole time. So perhaps it was much better to have two people take shifts.

Regardless, I was now completely alone.

As for this whole waiting business.

Once you were a Demon King, you didn’t care about such small details, and it was the subordinate of his subordinate that managed it.

Well, then… Perhaps a little bribe… I thought, but remembered that I had no money.

I joked about how it shouldn’t be too hard to get in, seeing as I was fully armed now, and Stomel practically shouted that I would start a war.

How could he not tell that I was joking?

“It can’t be helped. And since I have spare time, maybe I’ll do some maintenance.”

There was blood on the shield, so I should wash it off. And there just happened to be a well in the back of the building.

“Perhaps I’ll do something for the two baggage carriers along the way.”

The shoulder bags they used to carry food were lying in a corner of the room.

The whole time we had traveled, they were carrying food that I would be eating.

And so it was filled with crumbs and dirt.

“It’s more of a rucksack than a bag. The kinds mountain climbers use.”

It was made of animal hide and was durable, yet heavy.

And it could also carry a lot of food, which made it very useful to us. But it was dirtier than I expected.

And so I took them along with my equipment and washed them at the well outside.

“Then I just need to hang them up in front…”

We were on the second floor, so I didn’t have to worry about them being stolen.

Who would steal an old rucksack, anyway?

I hung them upside down so that they would dry well.

“But like this, they will draw attention. Well, it should be fine. Now, to go and do something about this hunger.”

And so I went back down to the first floor in order to get a bite to eat.