The day after having fun at the beach, Caim and the girls went to the meeting room in Lance’s residence. Inside were several men and women sitting at a large round table, and they all turned to look at the new arrivals.
“Well then, now that everyone is present, it’s time to begin our war council. Let’s make this a productive meeting!” Lance declared with a smile, clapping his hands.
Caim and Millicia found vacant seats, while Tea, Lenka, and Rozbeth stood behind them. As for Lykos, it was pointless for her to be present at the meeting, so they had left her in their room.
“First, let me introduce the new arrivals. This young woman here is my little sister, Millicia Garnet. She has come to help us.”
“Pleased to meet you all.” Millicia bowed slightly in greeting, and the people at the table bowed back silently. None of them seemed surprised, so they must have been informed of her presence in advance.
“And next to her is her fiancé, Caim.”
Everyone gasped in astonishment, but one person in particular—the young man sitting opposite of Lance—suddenly stood up, knocking over his chair.
“Her Highness Millicia cannot possibly have a fiancé!”
“Stand down, Audy!” the slightly older man next to him ordered. “You’re in the presence of Their Highnesses! Don’t act so unsightly!” He then turned toward Lance. “Please excuse my subordinate, Your Highness.”
Pressed by his superior, Audy bowed reluctantly.
Lance waved his hand. “It’s all right. Of course you’d be surprised. Even I only learned about him yesterday.”
“If you would allow me, I would like to ask a question. Who is Sir Caim? Is he a noble?” asked the man who had scolded Audy.
“No, he’s a commoner and an adventurer. In other words, their love crosses social boundaries,” Lance explained.
“I see...” The man nodded, and Audy clicked his tongue next to him. That caused the man to elbow him, which made Audy look away, sulking.
“Well then, now I’ll introduce everyone else. The man who just spoke is Louivi Ildana, the captain of the Knights of the Blue Wolf.”
“I am Louivi Ildana. It is an honor to make your acquaintance, Princess Millicia,” Ildana said, bowing to Millicia.
“I know you. You are the brother of Sharon, the guildmaster of Jarro’s Adventurers’ Guild, yes?”
“Oh? You know my sister?”
“Yes. She helped us greatly when we were staying in Jarro.”
Jarro was the post town where Caim and the girls had spent a few days just before entering the Forest of the Lycaons. There, they had met the guildmaster, Sharon Ildana—and in Caim’s case, he even had the opportunity to know her more intimately.
The Knights of the Blue Wolf, which Ildana was the captain of, was a knight order following Lance whose members were all commoners.
“And next to him is the vice captain, Audy Iscow,” Lance continued.
“I have always wanted to meet you, Princess Millicia!” Audy bowed deeply, overcome with emotion, before scowling at Caim resentfully.
Wait... Is he in love with Millicia? Caim cocked his head, ignoring the death glare. Millicia was an extremely beautiful girl, so Caim wouldn’t have been surprised if she had hundreds of admirers.
“Hmph...” Caim snorted at Audy, which made the young man grit his teeth in vexation. No matter how much he loved Millicia, she was already Caim’s and would never be his.
So this is what they call a sense of superiority, huh? Interesting. So even I am capable of feeling like this. Caim became aware of the dark joy welling inside him that came from being envied by another man. He also realized once again that he had obtained a woman that other men could only dream of having.
“Next are the Knights of the Black Dragon’s vice captain, Ikkaku, the guildmaster of the Merchants’ Guild, Abus, the guildmaster of the Adventurers’ Guild, Graylie, and finally, next to me is my secretary, Elza,” Lance introduced everyone sitting at the round table in turn.
The one who caught Caim’s eyes the most was the Knights of the Black Dragon’s vice captain, the large woman named Ikkaku. She had long, ashen hair, and the sharp horn on her forehead marked her as a beastfolk.
If I remember correctly, the members of the Knights of the Black Dragon are mainly made up of foreign mercenaries. Still, why is the vice captain present and not the captain? Caim wondered.
“Ah, yes, there is something you must know,” Lance said, as though reading Caim’s mind. “You might be wondering why Vice Captain Ikkaku is present but not her superior, right? Well, something troublesome has happened.” Lance smiled, not looking troubled in the least. “Debardan, the Knights of the Black Dragon’s captain, has switched sides and now serves Arthur. Ah, and he also took half of the soldiers with him.”
Everyone except Lance and Ikkaku gasped. They were even more shocked than when Caim had been presented as Millicia’s fiancé.
“Previously, Arthur controlled the Knights of the Silver Hawk and the Red Tiger, while the Knights of the Blue Wolf and the Black Dragon were on my side. That balance of military force has now been upset, though. Dear me, what a pickle,” Lance said casually, which earned him a critical look from everyone, stunned to learn about the betrayal of the Knights of the Black Dragon’s captain.
“Explain yourself, Lance,” Millicia asked on behalf of everyone present, glaring at her brother. She was not only irritated by the news, but also by how flippantly Lance was acting.
“I mean, it’s exactly as I said. Debardan, the captain of the Knights of the Black Dragon, has changed sides along with half of the soldiers. Vice Captain Ikkaku and the other half have remained, but it doesn’t change the fact that our forces have greatly decreased.”
“But the members of the Knights of the Black Dragon are mostly beastfolk and immigrants—that’s quite the disparity with Arthur’s supporters, who are mainly nobles. Why would they betray us?”
“Well, to put it simply, the answer is money. A lot of money,” Lance answered his sister, shrugging his shoulders. “It’s not as though I was stingy. I even paid them in advance. And yet, they switched to Arthur’s side to get double the reward. A pretty shameless bunch, don’t you think?”
“I am deeply ashamed,” Ikkaku apologized, her ashen hair drooping as she bowed.
“I’m not blaming you, Vice Captain Ikkaku. In fact, I’m grateful that you stayed, unlike your captain.”
“Trust is paramount for mercenaries. If it becomes known that you have betrayed your employer for money, nobody will want to hire you anymore. I would never follow a man who gave in to his greed,” Ikkaku said in a clear, firm tone. Mercenaries worked for money, but they did have their pride, and there were some lines that should not be crossed. “Still, this does not change the fact that the captain and half of the Knights of the Black Dragon have abandoned us. I apologize for the difficulty.”
“Well, you’ll be the captain from now on. I hope you’ll continue to lend me your strength.”
“We have already received our payment, so naturally, I have no reason to refuse. We shall do our best to meet your expectations.”