Makai Hongi

Chapter 5

The person under the canopy was a boy who appeared to be about fifteen.

He was short and had chestnut-colored hair and hazel eyes.

His features were pale and androgynous, with a bob that suited them.

“So, are you Commander Nehyor?”

“I am. And who are you?”

“I defeated Guden in a Gekokujyo and became the new commander. My name is Golan.”

It had been a while since I had to talk formally in the Demon World.

But it seemed right if he was the Corps Commander.

“You? …Hmmm. Yes, I can feel the power of control coming from you. So you really did defeat Guden. Huh. You. Well, I look forward to working with you!”

His large eyes moved a lot, but they settled on me as he smiled.

“Likewise.”

Then I recalled my days as a salaryman and bowed deeply.

I wasn’t going to declare Gekokujyo towards him. I meant to stay quiet for a while.

“You seem polite, but very strange as well. At least, for an ogre.”

He didn’t seem to think much of me then.

(I see. That was a mistake. I’m an ogre and should act like one.)

It went without saying, but this wasn’t modern Japan.

Modesty was not a virtue. And if you were delusional enough to think it was, you would be burned badly.

They would take advantage of you. If you took half a step back, they would take two forward.

I should have understood it better. I had experienced so much of it during my 17 years of life here.

If I wanted things to carry on smoothly, then I had to act strong.

Or I would be targeted for the rest of my life.

This was all hammered into me, and yet I had started off on the wrong foot.

Even if he was a superior, it would have been normal to clash a little in order to really feel the difference in strength.

We could develop a more friendly relationship some other time.

Yes, I should have been more aggressive. Though, there was no point in regretting it now.

In fact, Corps Commander Nehyor barely seemed to register my hesitation.

‘Alright, the meeting will start now. So follow me.’ He said without looking back.

Of course, I followed him.

“Ta-da! If you can believe it, an ogre has deigned to participate in our council. Let’s give him a round of applause.”

Corps Commander Nehyor said merrily as we reached the back of the canopy.

Of course, no one applauded.

But there were a lot of exasperated looks.

“Well, let’s begin. Golan, take a seat.”

Nehyor sat down in an especially extravagant chair.

As for me…I was still standing.

There wasn’t a single chair that was empty.

(Were they going to bully the new guy?)

They called me here and didn’t even prepare a seat. A child in my position would cry.

Now, the Japanese person in me would have chuckled good-humoredly and remained standing. But if I did that now, they would underestimate me for the rest of my life.

Perhaps I’m repeating myself again, but no good thing would come from being underestimated in the Demon World.

Besides, I was a commander now. If I was looked down upon, it would affect my subordinates as well.

I looked at the four others who were seated.

They were all commanders just like me. In other words, they were my equals.

There were two from the goblin clans and one from the flying eagle clan and one from the wise wolf clan.

(So that was five including me. And the strongest one…perhaps the wolf?)

In the Demon World, you were able to get a feeling for how strong someone was.