That's it. And that concludes our meeting. You may hurry home, or take a look at the power of the Ghanaians for reference. Do as you wish.

　There were a few other questions, but most of them were more like confirmations of intent than questions. The people present were representatives of the various countries, and they must know each other's information well.
　Each of the representatives stood up and gave instructions to their guards on what to do. Prince Washekht quickly left the scene.
　Marito seemed to be discussing something with His Holiness Eupharo, and just as I was expecting him to join us, King Zenotta approached us.

I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that I'm not the only one.
I don't mind taking a low profile if I'm on my own. I'm not going to let my friends take advantage of me.

　King Zenotta is similar in this regard. When he speaks out of turn, he makes himself look bad while trying to get his demands met. The end result will be in the country's favor.
　The ability to shamelessly ask for things tends to diminish in people who have attained high positions. They may not be aware of it, but when you talk to them, they can be really difficult to refuse.

I'm not saying that the Demon Lords should be pitted against each other, but considering their ability to break through those walls, I'm sure they're capable.
"I'm not saying that the Demon Lords are incompetent. It's just that the power they handle is different from that of humans. I can't explain every single detail about it. In fact, we'll have to be more active.
I'm glad to hear that. I'm looking forward to your activities beyond my imagination.

　You are a person who likes to sneak around, asking questions that were difficult to ask in the Q&A session. Really.

Excuse me.

　I turned my gaze toward the voice that sounded with the clanking of armor, and saw Odysse, the general of Thorin, standing there.
　To be honest, I don't even know him, but I wonder if he has something to say. I'd rather you didn't poke fun at me.

What is it?
"I need to talk to you. But first...

　Odysseus turned his body toward King Zenotta and bowed his head deeply. The subordinates behind him also bowed their heads.
　I'm not sure what to do," he said.

What are you doing?
"I took King Taze's reprimand seriously. I took King Taize's reprimand seriously. This is my way of settling it. I would like to apologize for my disrespectful attitude towards King Quama, who has spoken for his country and others.

　King Zenotta fiddled with his beard and understood what he meant.

I don't mind. I'm sure it wasn't the opinion of the messenger.
No, I may not be able to change the policy of the kingdom here, but I can take it back to the kingdom and advise the king. Trinh doesn't want to ruin his friendship with Quama. It was undoubtedly my personal error in judgment that I made a bad impression as Trinh.

　At least from Taze's point of view, it would appear that Trinh's representative had been disrespectful to the King of Quama. In some cases, by all the other nations.
　Odysseus seemed to sense this, and chose to apologize now, right here in front of Marith and the others. That's quite a bold move by the general.

"That's not going to make a bad impression. I can't be a king if I have to be so impatient that other nations are disgusted by every little detail. But I will certainly accept that apology as a sign of Torin's integrity. So raise your head now.
"Thank you for your concern.

　Odysse kept his head down for a while longer, which probably meant something else.

"So, you want to talk to someone here. I'll go over there. I'll see you later!

　King Zenotta walked quickly towards Marith. He probably went to talk about horses or something. I'm a little curious about that.

"So, what's the story?
"Hmm. The white subhuman behind you, may I ask his name?

　Odysseus' gaze is fixed on Wolfe. A rather unexpected turn of events.

"It's Wolfe!
May I ask the name of your clan?
...... The Kuro Wolves.
The Kuro Wolves. ...... I see. So it's true what they say about a subhuman village being found in Taze. ......

　Odysseus is snarling about something. I was a little concerned that he didn't seem too concerned about the fact that Wolfe was white.

"General Odysse, you don't feel uncomfortable with Wolfe's appearance, do you?
"Hmm, yeah. General Odysse, you don't feel uncomfortable with the appearance of the Wolfe? I just thought it wouldn't be strange, considering we're here.

　Apparently, there are other subhumans born with special characteristics like Wolfe. It seems that there are other subhumans of special birth like Wolfe, but from what I've heard, they are seen as superior beings. With the bastard in mind, I'll have to do some more digging in the future.



Okay. What do you want with Wolfe?
"Well, for one thing, I was hoping to recruit ...... to my country. I could see it clearly from a distance. Your talent is astounding. Trine doesn't discriminate against subhumans, why don't you make use of it?
"No thanks.

　No, thank you. - You can't be serious, Wolfe. Odysseus has a look on his face that says, "I guess so.

I'm sure. His face showed no sign of disgust at his current position. A subhuman who has found his place doesn't like to leave it. But Trinh will always welcome you. I hope you'll keep it in mind, even if you don't consider it.
"I'll do my best.

　Is that the right way to use it? I'm not saying it's anyone's fault, but Wolfe's use of the word is very Japanese.

I'm not saying it's anyone's fault, but... "Well, there's another thing. This is something I should tell you as well as Wolfe. Why do we, Trinh and Selende, show no sign of cooperating with other nations in this war? Perhaps they have mistakenly assumed that our territorial position is safe and that we are only interested in our country's profits and losses.
Let's hear it for .......

　I honestly thought so. I honestly thought so. If there are others, it would be important to hear them for the future.

Do you know why Trinh and Selende, the countries with the highest concentration of subhumans, are located at the edge of the continent?
I heard they fled during the past invasion of the Demon Lord.
Yes, they did. Subhumans are more sensitive to danger than humans. If it weren't for the appearance of this extraordinary being called Yugra, I would have known for sure that both humans and subhumans would be destroyed, so I ran away. As a result, he was labeled a coward for running away from a winning battle. ......

　Even the remaining Jestaff ancestors, the subhuman royalty, have been viewed with a cold eye for much of history.
　The Heliodora family continued to resist, but the people who escaped must have taken it in stride.

You think we can't win this battle?
No, that's not it. No, that's where the righteous are mistaken.
Misunderstanding?
Trinh was prepared to deploy troops when the Blue Demon King began his invasion of Kuama. He was ready to deploy when the Blue Demon King began his invasion of Quama, but the battle ended before it could begin, so he abandoned his preparations without saying a word.

　Surprising information. But if that's true, there are a few factors that come to mind: ......

I'm sure you're aware of that.
"-Thank God you're smart. That's right. Our ancestors feared two Demon Lords, the Kuro Demon King and the Scarlet Demon King.

　It's said that the Kuro Wolves fled in fear of the Kuro Witch King. The Kuro Wolves were said to have fled in fear of the Kuro Demon King.
　However, the second most astonishing Demon Lord in terms of rank is the Blue Demon Lord. Well, I'll leave him out of this, since he seems to have done very little invasion.
　If that's the case, then Purple should be the next in line. The Purple, who has transformed the most vast land into a demon world, is highly regarded by many nations, including Mejis.
　I don't know the details of the past invasions. But even so, the battle of the Scarlet Witch King should not be outstanding in historical terms.
　Then that's not what we should focus on. But if there is a reason that is so obvious that you can judge it just by looking at it, then .......

I'm sure you'll be able to understand why I feared the Scarlet Witch King aside from the Kuro Witch King. ...... Does it have something to do with the appearance of the demons in the Garne demon world?
"...... I see. That's right, the people of Yugra's planet. That's right. Our ancestors were afraid of what the demons of the Ghanaian world looked like.

　The demons of the Ghanaian world are goblins, orcs, kobolds, and other forms of subhuman beings. If you are from Earth, you might think that Kobolds are subhuman. In fact, there are subhumans with beastly faces.
　In fact, sub-humans with beasts on their faces have existed as allies in fantasy stories.
　I'm sure there are even chemists who think that subhumans with only beast elements in their ears and tails, such as Wolfe and Gold, are fake.

"A subhuman is a human imitating a beast, and Garne's monster is a beast imitating a human, right?
"That's the problem. Our ancestors had a bad relationship with humans. They prided themselves on the fact that they had beast blood in their bodies and used it as a major reason to discriminate and belittle people.
And when the bipedal demons appeared in the form of more beasts, their self-presentation began to go awry.
Yes. But if that's all, it's still a psychological problem. The real problem happened when we were stopping the invasion of the Demon Lord. It started when a warrior who was wounded in a battle with a demon and left the front line spent time at home and held his newborn child in his arms. The child had inherited his family's blood and had ears and a tail like his parents. But the father gasped as he held the child in his arms. My child is more like a beast than the other babies. The problem arose from other subhuman clans as well. Their own children were becoming more like the demons they had defeated. This affliction quickly spread to the entire subhuman race.

　You can chalk it up to your imagination. He spent his days fighting Garne's demons, which were far more like the beasts that had filled his ego, and fighting like a beast against opponents who could not communicate with him. In such a mentally unstable time, it's not surprising that some people would perceive the appearance of a newborn baby as such.
　But this is a different world, and anything can happen. It could even be an event caused by the Scarlet Witch King's power.



The subalterns all lost the will to fight, fearing that if they did not, their clan would become no different from the demons.
Did the change ever stop?
Yes, it is said that after a few generations the change completely disappeared and things returned to normal.

　If it affects several generations, we can't just chalk it up to our imagination. We may need to seriously consider this.
　Elves and dwarves in Serendipity would not want to fight if their children started to resemble goblins and orcs.

It's not so much a curse as it is an inspiration. I'm not sure if it's a curse, but I think it's more of an inspiration." "The sub-humans who had the beast element as their strength fought the demons who were in full beast form, and for better or worse, their beast instincts were strengthened and came out in the form of genetics. ......
"Such a theory has also been discussed in the past. But I was never convinced.
We can't experiment with that.

　If you're talking about an otherworldly story where subhumans become slaves, this is the kind of experiment that a mad scientist or a mad magician would do.

But our ancestors abhorred it as 'beast corruption'. If you get involved with the Scarlet Witch King, the blood of the beast in you will grow thicker and you will eventually turn into a beast. ...... This fear has been so thoroughly instilled in us that it continues to this day.
Is that why you say the King of Torin is human?
Yes. When Ygras divided the country, our ancestors didn't want a country. They were fine with having a human king in Trinh, as long as they had a land away from the demon world. He feared the subhuman change and wanted a human king who would be able to recognize it.

　Although Trinh has established itself as a predominantly subhuman nation thanks to the ratio of its population, it has placed a human as its symbol and is trying to be human. The gradual transformation of children into beasts on Earth would be a big problem. Every country has its own problems.

Are you sure this is a warning to the Wolfe?
Yes. If you're a subhuman, you should avoid fighting the demons of the Ghanaian world as much as possible. But you can't avoid it because of your position. That's why I want others to keep a close eye on the changes.
"All right. Thanks for the advice. I'll leave Wolfe to his own devices, but I'll be checking on him more than usual.
"- I'm glad to see you're serving a good Lord. That's a relief.

　To speak of this is to convey the weakness of the subhuman mind. As a subhuman-centered Trin, this is not something you want to talk about. Even so, he dared to tell it to Odysse, because Odysse had also discovered Wolfe's talent and had to be aware of it.

In the meantime, I believe Quama has been in touch with you about Raitis.
"Oh, about that. I'm surprised, to be honest. Trinh is indeed the birthplace of Rhaetys, but I had no idea that they were using Rhaetys as a cover to overthrow other countries. Trinh immediately suppressed the holy land of Reithis and began to investigate. But it seems that the ringleaders have already gone into hiding. I couldn't find anything suspicious.

　Judging by Lakra's reaction, he wasn't lying. I expected the whole of Rhaetys not to be black, but is it really only functioning as a front?

How is it being handled now?
"I couldn't find any suspicious information, but I can confirm that the bandit who died in Quama was from Trinh and was a follower of Reithis. Trinh has accepted the audit sent by Quama and has asked them to monitor the sacred sites and facilities of Reitis. This will remain the case at least until the end of this war.
I'm surprised they accepted an audit from another country.
"It's not like the relationship between Mejlis and Yugra, and Trinh is in a position to prove his innocence that it's not a national affair.

　I'm not sure if this is a good idea, but it's a good idea. I hope they stay quiet. I've thought about this before. It's something I've always thought about.

You have some idea about the bastard, don't you?
"Sort of. At His Majesty's discretion, we're searching for those in the country's territory who might be eligible. It's just that we're not sure if we can find any new ones.

　I'm not sure if you can find any new ones," he said.

What about those who are subhuman and look different from the rest of the family?
They're already in their rightful place in Torin. We're checking to see if they're connected to the bandits, but so far there's no sign of anything untoward.

　It sounds like they're executives in Trinh. If he's proven innocent, I'd like to take him to see Wolfe.

Until he makes a move, he's most likely in Trinh. Keep your eyes open.
Yeah. Yes, sir. I'll be on my way.

　The Odysseys are leaving. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do it, but I'm sure I'll be able to do it.
　When he was satisfied, Wolfe tugged on his sleeve.

"What is it, Wolfe?
"Shishou, don't worry about Wolfe.
I'm glad you're not worried about her. Odysseus' advice is not something I can ignore.
But...
Don't worry too much. You'll have more opportunities to be around me than ever before, and that's not a bad thing, right?
"...... Oh.

　I've never thought of that before. Who taught you that gesture?


　I don't think there's anything wrong with Wolfe personally, but I am concerned about the Scarlet Witch's influence on subhumans. For the time being, we should be conscious of increasing the opportunities to keep him close to us.