Chapter 61

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Translated By Arcane Translations

Translator: FusionX

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For some reason, a reply came from the Rat Clan saying they would send an envoy directly.

Moreover, the letter expressed gratitude for the invitation.

Why? How?

If they could have gone, they would have gone immediately.

Although the situation of the Royal Knights had improved a lot, it was undeniable that support from other races was desperately needed.

However, more than that, they had to solve the problems right in front of them first.

If they engaged in unnecessary politics, they wouldn’t be able to fight properly when it really mattered.

“Cluna, did you send the letter politely as instructed?”

“Of course, Commander.”

“I see. And yet they still say they’re coming directly.”

Just to be sure, Hans checked directly with Cluna, but she answered that she had definitely refused politely.

If she said so, it must be true.

There was no reason to doubt her further.

Hans was currently in the office with Cluna.

Since the Rat Clan, the leader of the 12 tribes, was sending an envoy directly, they had to prepare some kind of welcoming ceremony on their end.

Unless they weren’t in need, which wasn’t the case.

After all, support from other races was desperately needed in the current situation.

In a way, this could be seen as an opportunity.

They hadn’t been able to go due to lack of resources, but now the other side was coming directly.

If that was the case, it would be best to make a good first impression, including the welcoming ceremony.

They would likely be indebted to the beastmen a lot in the future.

“We’ll need to prepare a proper reception. Do you know anything about the beastmen?”

“Of course I do.”

“Then Cluna, I’ll leave those reception preparations to you.”

“Understood. I’ll prepare everything properly.”

She had more experience than Hans, after all.

Besides, there hadn’t been a single instance of failure when entrusting things to Cluna so far.

It was what one might call experience-based intuition.

Moreover, the priority now was to resolve the requests that had come in from the Dwarf Republic and the Human Kingdom.

They said that large groups of monsters had begun a proper invasion targeting the two nations.

Originally, Hans had planned to send everyone out again this time, but now that wasn’t possible.

With the envoy coming, at least the commander needed to be present.

“There’s no choice.”

The total number of people that could be dispatched was 4 – Yuren, Clara, Bayard, and Ruby.

Helia was still too young, and Cluna had to prepare for the envoy’s reception.

So after much deliberation, Hans finalized the formation.

He would send Yuren alone to the Human Kingdom, and the remaining three to the Dwarf Republic.

This was the best they could do for now.

Although greatly weakened from the heart injury, a dragon was still a dragon – no number of monsters would be a match.

On the other hand, Clara and Ruby were realistically concerning.

So he added Bayard to make sure.

If nothing else, Bayard was a veteran member.

Judging this to be sufficient, Hans summoned all of the members.

No sooner had he called than the members entered the office.

Everyone except Yuren had many wounds on their bodies.

In contrast, Yuren wore a refreshed expression.

That sly one.

“Hmm! What’s the matter, Commander!”

“We’ve received a request. It’s an official support request issued by the Kingdom and Republic.”

“Another support request from the Republic?”

“Well, those two are practically the front lines. They’ve received the most support.”

Ruby and Clara each chimed in.

As Clara said, the Kingdom and Republic were practically the front lines of the continent.

So their situation was worse compared to other races.

The Human Kingdom itself was essentially a massive refugee shelter, formed when all other human nations were destroyed and the surviving humans gathered in one place.

At least now it had the form of a kingdom.

According to the setting collection, in the early days it was closer to a refugee camp.

Things had improved a lot since then.

The Kingdom was now able to directly sponsor the Royal Knights.

Thanks to that, they had barely managed at first.

If not for the Kingdom’s sponsorship, rebuilding would have been out of the question.

It would have been over from the start.

Hans made sure to provide ample supplies to the members being dispatched.

Though he thought they would all do well, he couldn’t shake off the fear that something might go wrong.

“You’ll be able to do this, right?”

“Of course. We’ve been training hard all this time, haven’t we?”

“It’ll be fine, Teacher.”

“…Right, I hope so.”

For the past half year, they had trained non-stop.

To be precise, it was what they had chosen.

To review their past defeat and avenge their comrades.

Clara and Ruby in particular showed the most burning enthusiasm.

They had realized their own powerlessness when they couldn’t do anything during the Royal Knights’ annihilation, and were training to overcome that.

Hans barely managed to calm his heart at Cluna’s gentle words.

Right, they weren’t just any knights.

Though low-ranking, they were knights formally belonging to the Royal Knights.

Moreover, they had received proper training from Yuren and Cluna.

In fact, even Cluna was sending them off with trust.

If she really thought it was dangerous, Cluna would have objected directly.

Though many things had suddenly come at once, crisis was opportunity.

They could turn this crisis into an opportunity.

If they resolved all these requests well and properly negotiated with the envoy, they could obtain far more resources than imagined.

That would speed up the rebuilding even more.

Two weeks passed.

Every three days, messages came via carrier pigeon from the dispatched members.

Fortunately, they said they were resolving the requests smoothly.

Yuren even said she would return soon.

“Thank goodness, really thank goodness.”

“I think you can trust the members a little more, Commander.”

“You’re right, I worried too much. Come to think of it, is it today?”

“Yes, I’m planning to go greet them myself.”

“I see, then I’ll leave it to you.”

Hans nodded with a pleased smile.

Everything Cluna said was correct.

As expected of the Royal Knights members.

He had been foolish not to trust them.

They had resolved the two most difficult tasks.

All that remained was receiving the envoy…

Honestly, he wasn’t worried about this.

Cluna had prepared everything from start to finish.

Though he was only an interim commander.

Still, as the commander, he needed to trust his members.

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Gray hair fluttered in the wind, announcing its presence far and wide.

Behind the girl, warriors wearing leather armor and sporting beast ears on their heads followed.

Killing intent swirled in their eyes.

It was to protect their master.

After all, she was the leader of the Rat Clan, foremost among the 12 tribes.

In other words, she was no different from a queen.

So they had to protect her with everything they had.

That was what they all thought.

Just then, the round ears of the girl walking quietly twitched.

She stopped in her tracks.

“My, I didn’t expect you to come out to greet us so soon.”

“You still have that affected face, Yuyoung.”

“It’s nice to see you again. Has it been about 200 years?”

“You have no shame. To bring up that day first.”

There had been a clash between elves and beastmen in the past.

Though a long time had passed and it remained only in records, at the time the elves and beastmen had been ready to wage war for their very existence.

And yet she, the very person involved, brought it up first.

Naturally, Cluna, who remembered everything, couldn’t help but be dumbfounded.

Yuyoung gave a small smile.

“I never thought a guardian of the forest would directly set foot in the Royal Knights.”

“Isn’t that how all things in life are?”

“Of course. In this harsh life, if there’s only one blood relative left, you should cherish and love them all the more.”

Cluna clicked her tongue without realizing it.

As expected, she was a very irritating woman.

With the power to see the future, she was a woman who tried to use that power to get what she wanted from them.

Of course, the number of snakes hidden in her words was immeasurable.

However, despite the daggers in their words, Yuyoung and Cluna continued to look at each other without losing their smiles.

“Can I assume this situation is by the Commander’s orders?”

“Of course. The Commander knows everything.”

“It’s different from what I heard. You seem to have some leeway?”

“There’s no way we could join hands with those who are black inside.”

“Sometimes you have to grasp even dirty hands, you know?”

“If so, at least not now.”

Without giving an inch, they exchanged words one by one while smiling and looking into each other’s eyes.

Silence fell for a moment, but soon Cluna got to the point.

“We have no business with you. Please leave quickly.”

“But we’ve come all this way. Shouldn’t we at least have a cup of tea before going?”

“I suppose negotiations have broken down.”

“It’s a shame we can’t have smooth negotiations like before.”

Yuyoung raised her hand.

At the same time, the warriors waiting behind her rushed forward.

Seeing this, Cluna also immediately drew her sword and charged towards the warriors.

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