In the middle of our break in camp, I was sitting on a wooden stump.
The stump was covered with a warm thick cloth, but it’s not as comfortable as my comfy chairs in my mansion.
Even the food here is bland compared to the ones in my mansion.

Honestly, how much longer do I have to wait for this blasted expedition to end.
I cover my mouth as I yawned.

Oh, how I want to feel the thrill of battle again.
I want to let the world know of how gallant I truly am.
Once I exterminate all those barbarians and bring back the mythical beast, I will be adored throughout the land.
Before long, I’ll be renowned as king and ruler of Ardezia.

My whole body feels itchy and I unwittingly scratched it.
No, no, I must hold it in.
As a proud noble, and the future king of a soon-to-be prosperous country, I must not portray childish behavior.

But then, I noticed that my private squad is making a fuss about something.
They’re all whispering and gossiping in the distance. They look rather scornful.

While I wondered what they were all talking about, the “Hungry Hunters” first division commander, Azalea, approaches me.
Yes, Azalea is useful to have around, indeed.
Any changes that happens around me, he informs me immediately.

“Lord Tallmann, Derek of the 68th division has just returned.”

I frown upon hearing that, and Azalea speaks his words carefully.

“He was a member of one of our recon squads that we sent out to spy on the Lithuvar Tribe, but they were attacked by a monster in the process. He was M.I.A until now.”

“Hoh, is that so? Well, good for him.”

Oh bother, it was just that.
Which reminds me, there was a recon squad who reported to me that their team was attacked by a monster and one of their team members perished.
So, it was him.
Regardless, it’s nothing of importance.

“However, he keeps saying strange things. Like, how his own teammates left him as a decoy for the monster…… he says. He demands proper punishment be carried.”

“Hah? What nonsense is that about? It’s natural to leave behind a weakling or treat it as a decoy.”

“Yes of course, you are never wrong, Lord Tallmann. I do not wish to sully your mood so I will tell him that myself.”

I don’t know if this Derek person remembers, but the “Hungry Hunters” motto is “The weak must obey the strong.”
He must be a new recruit.
How insulting for a member of my elite army to end up becoming a mere “decoy”.

This is my personal motto.
“The strong should rule over the weak.”
Therefore I, as the strongest of them all, is befitting to be the true ruler of this world.

“Oh well. I can’t help but slip my sword on a weeping dog if it ends up being annoying.”

Azalea lightly chuckled at that but his expression changed when a voice came yelling.

“I wish to talk to Lord Tallmann! Does anyone know where Lord Tallmann is?!”

His voice is familiar.
He wields an unfamiliar spear on his hand, yet wears our “Hungry Hunters” uniform.
He must be the one they call Derek.

“Forgive me. I was too slow to act on your behalf and have now stained Your Excellency’s name. I will now go silence this dog.”

Azalea then wastes no time approaching Derek and leaves me.

“Derek, if you have complaints over your squad, you should go to them. There is no need for you to bother Lord Tallmann directly……”

However, Derek ignores Azalea, finds me, and starts yelling again.

“Lord Tallmann, sir, I ask that you please discontinue this quest! The Lithuvar Tribe isn’t as barbaric as the people say they are! When I was injured after being attacked by a monster, the Lithuvar Tribe saved me! They are not a savage tribe at all!”

“Haaa~ah……?”

I unintentionally exclaimed.
Azalea grabs Derek’s shoulder.

“If you continue to be disrespectful towards Lord Tallmann, I will crush your impudent head where you stand, what say you?”

“Now, now, don’t say such crude things, Azalea. I take it you must Derek, then? Bring him to me.”

Azalea pushes Derek violently.
Derek was abruptly pushed around so he attempts to brush off Azalea’s hand that grabbed his shoulder.

But, Azalea’s hand does not budge.
Derek continues to remove his arm off his shoulder and after a few seconds, Azalea slowly let go.
Derek stares at Azalea for a while before he faces me.

“Lord Tallmann, as I said just now, I ask that you please cease your advancements on the Lithuvar Tribe’s village”

“Yes, I heard you, and why would I do such a thing?”

Derek frowned, not liking my response to his request.

“I, I just said…… the Lithuvar Tribe saved me and……”

“And?”

“…… L-Like I said, the rumors of them being a dangerous tribe is just made up……”

“I see, I see”

I nod thoughtfully, showing him I was open-minded enough to listen to him.
Derek breathes a sigh of relief.

“And?”

“Eh?”

“What “eh”? There’s still more, isn’t there? So, come on, don’t be a stick-in-the-mud, say it already”

“N-No…… that was all……”

Derek appears to be at his wits’ end.
I grumpily laugh with my nose.

“Hmm…… let me think. Let’s say, the Lithuvar Tribe is a peaceful, nature-loving race that lives quietly in the forest.”

“…………”

“But, does that have anything to do with me?”

Derek turns pale and makes an angry face.

“A-Are you being serious here?”

“How about you, are you being serious here? Do you even know how much money I wasted for this expedition to happen just so I could climb my way up to being king? How hard it took me to get the permission to move an army of this size into someone else’s domain…… does your tiny feeble brain even understand it? Suspending the subjugation of the Lithuvar Tribe will not only waste the money for the army I assembled and the fame that I’m about to gain, but everyone will also laugh at me because I, the great Tallmann, decided to run away from mere barbarians.”

Oh dear me, this is why dumb fools who can’t think for themselves are nothing but trouble.
I absolutely hate brainless imbeciles who are always slow in the uptake.
And among them, what I hate the most are those who come all this way to me just to get their brains checked.

“In the first place, our main objective here is to find the mythical beast, Carbuncle, who is said to have been last spotted in this forest, and since we are disturbing their socalled “peaceful” lifestyle with our intrusion, conflict against the Lithuvar Tribe cannot be avoided. Regardless of what their true nature is, it has nothing to do with me.”

I unsheathe my sword and sway it in the air, then I stick on the ground in front of Derek’s feet.

“…………”

“This is getting nowhere. I don’t see the point of why useless pinheads like you were even born in this world. Azalea, get him out of my sight.”

“Huh?!”

When Azalea grabs Derek’s shoulder again, Derek steps aside and distances himself.

“I heard you were a tyrant and had a twisted personality, but no, you’re the lowest of the low! You keep calling them savage and barbaric, but…… it’s you who’s even worse! I’ve had enough of this! From now on, I’m leaving your horrible army!”

Derek removes his uniform, throws it to the ground, tramples it, and glares at me hatefully.
Then, he turns around and walks away.

The glorious and noblest me is a tyrant and twisted, he says?
I almost lost myself in anger, but then I remind myself that it’s just the bark of a lowly commoner dog.
I calm myself down.

Derek walks to the direction of the forest.
Don’t tell me he plans to warn the Lithuvar Tribe of our approaching army?
How foolish can he get.

“Derek, do you have any idea what you’re putting yourself into?”

“So what?! It’s you who should think about what you’re putting yourself into!”

“You don’t seem to get it. I may have to remind you that with a single order from me, I can kill all your family without anyone to spare?”

“Wha-……”

Derek could not utter a word.

“No need to fret for I am not without mercy. To you, who was about to betray me and leave for the sake of mere barbarians, I shall let you choose. If you come back and rejoin us, I promise I will not lay a hand to your family. And, if you want to go back home and run away with your family, I will not chase after you. But, if you somehow don’t make it in time……”

Derek stood there in a daze for several seconds before looking back at the direction of the forest.
After that, he looks at his spear, closes his eyes, and regretfully lets go of it.
Then, he rushes back to the direction of his house.

I stare at Derek’s back for a while until he became small in the distance and disappeared in sight.
I don’t intend to chase after Derek.
If he makes it in time to save his family from being slaughtered and they successfully manage to run away, then I will fulfill my side of the bargain and not lay a finger to them. But, that’s only…… if he does make it in time.

“Azalea”

“Yes”

Azalea softly answers and aims his arm at Derek’s direction.

“Flame Magic,〖Flare〗”

A red light glows from Azalea’s hand.
The red light was dazzling brightly and it turns into a red line, blazing across the forest.
That red line was shot from Azalea’s hand and it continues to pierce through trees and rocks, eventually hitting Derek’s back.

Derek drops dead without even so much as a scream.
The charred smoke sizzles from his body and gets blown by the wind.
His back now has a large hole in it.

“Oh Azalea, you can be quite terrifying sometimes.”

I said while grinning, and Azalea kneels down in front of me.

“My deepest apologies, Lord Tallmann. I could not stand to witness any more blasphemy befall you, so my hand just slipped. I, Azalea, will accept any form of punishment.”

It’s true that it looked like Azalea just shot magic on his own after I called out his name, as if implying that was my intention from the start.

“I never told you to kill him. However, having someone clean up a mess made by a mad subordinate…… I guess even loyal subordinates are troublesome as well, hah!”

“I assumed that Lord Tallmann intended to execute Derek’s family if he would not make it in time, what now?”

“Hm? What else, I will abide by my promise, of course. I’m not like those other trash nobles who break their promises, you see.”

While I was joking around, there was someone who joined me in laughing.

A group of eight men approaches us.
At the front is the “Hungry Hunters” 21st division commander, Grodell.
He has red hair and a huge scar on his forehead that reaches below his eyes.

“He~ey, Lord Tallmann, the preparations for that magic circle you requested just finished! The effects should be appearing soon”

“Ouh, Grodell! Well done!”

That means everything is now in order.
We can attack anytime.

“However, they spotted us and I managed to injure three of them before they escaped, but by the time we looked to where we thought their bodies would lie, they were already taken away. It seems they’ve gotten more cautious than ever now.”

“Oh well, there’s no choice. I really don’t want to start a fullscale attack without thoroughly preparing first. I wanted to see its full effect, but…… tomorrow at dawn, before the sun rises, we shall begin the massacre. Even my beloved sword is craving for the blood of those barbarians.”

“You said it! As expected of Lord Tallmann! Let’s finish them up lickity-split”

Heheh, I can finally cut up some humans after so long.
There will be some who’ll evacuate and some who’ll remain, but oh well, I’ll hunt them all down eventually.