Chapter 34
It had been about two days since Glenn departed from Delphius territory.
Tomorrow, he would finally arrive at Reigle, the main city of Marquis Reigle.
Swoooosh—
Near the campsite, in a clearing, Glenn, who had been performing sword exercises for dozens of minutes, slowly caught his breath and stopped moving.
“Phew.”
Now, such personal training didn’t have much effect on growth, but it was still good to awaken the senses, so Glenn never skipped it, not even a single day.
Whoooosh—
The winter wind cooled his sweat. Glenn closed his eyes and enjoyed it.
There was nothing better to clear a dizzy mind.
“Finished?”
A sultry voice rang in his ears. It was Romina.
“…Ah, geez. You scared me.”
“For someone who’s scared, that reaction is kind of weak? Why are you speaking like you’re reading a book?”
“I was surprised on the inside.”
Normally, even with eyes closed, Glenn should have sensed her presence. But Romina, deliberately hiding her presence and magical energy, was impossible to detect even for herself.
“…So why did you come?”
“Just. Came to call you for dinner.”
“Huh? Dinner? How long has it been since lunch…? Oh, I see.”
When he started training, the sun had been high overhead, but now it had set long ago. The clear sky had taken on a bluish shade.
Even though the effect was small, Glenn had gotten into the habit of training for several hours once he started.
“My focus is crazy.”
“Why are you acting so surprised? You do this every day. Let’s go.”
Romina casually grabbed Glenn’s hand and pulled him along. Glenn shrugged and walked beside her.
“Today, Ridenhall prepared it, so it will be pretty good. The soup with meat we had that time? That one.”
“If Ridenhall made it, anything is fine.”
“…If I make it?”
“Nothing you make is good.”
“Could you lie a little? I know my skills, but it’s a bit harsh to hear.”
Honestly, Romina’s cooking skills couldn’t be praised even as a compliment.
Since she had a false identity, there was no need to cook well, but Romina’s cooking went beyond being bad.
She put raw chicken and salt in a pot and called that cooking…
“If… you tried for ten years, maybe you could reach the tip of Lucy’s skills.”
“Is lying really that hard?”
“I am lying?”
Glenn answered slyly, and Romina furrowed her brows.
“Then what is your true opinion?”
“Unless you are reborn, your cooking skills are… ugh!”
An elbow struck his solar plexus, and Glenn bent over automatically.
Being with Romina, their jokes and teasing had increased, which also meant they had become more comfortable with each other.
Honestly, it wasn’t bad.
It was much better than wandering around with dead eyes as if carrying all the burdens of the world.
Thinking like that, they returned to the campsite, and Romina changed the topic.
“Do you think you can handle it?”
“What? Reigle? Suddenly?”
“Just. I saw you fighting the day before yesterday and wondered how long Reigle could hold against a 9-Star opponent.”
Glenn tilted his head. Romina’s question was rather random.
“Why? Are you worried?”
“Well. I’m wondering what would happen if he abandoned the territory and ran away.”
“Hmm… if the opponent is a 9-Star magic swordsman, that could happen…”
“And Marquis Reigle? I heard he’s a sly man. Won’t he just abandon everything and run?”
Palador Reigle, Glenn’s biological father Henry Wadsworth’s close friend, looked cheerful and bold but was a dark-minded man.
Normally, he acted like a good-natured, knightly man, but if his life was in danger, he would do anything to survive.
In fact, when Glenn played as a demon character and pushed the frontline, he had seen Marquis Reigle abandon his mansion and flee several times.
“Well… if that happens, my plans will fail, and it will be a troublesome fight…”
Glenn raised the corner of his mouth slightly.
“Probably, it won’t happen.”
“Really? From what you say, he’s the kind to run away.”
“True. But he’s clever like a fox. He won’t do such a foolish thing now.”
Romina tilted her head. Glenn smiled cunningly.
“That man tries to minimize loss until the tip of a sword reaches his neck.”
Reigle Marquis House
After the decline of the prestigious Wadsworth family, the Reigle family, alongside Albeluce, became one of the greatest noble houses in the Papal State.
Located at the western edge, its vast plains and rich resources made it extremely large.
Reigle commanded numerous minor nobles, and the military power obtained from them was immense. Simply by numbers, it accounted for about 30% of the Papal State’s total troops.
But that was it.
Compared to its overwhelming numbers, Reigle had few high-level priests and holy knights.
Of course, most of the minor nobles under them were 6 to 7 Stars, so saying there were too few high-level holy knights wasn’t entirely correct.
But military power is relative.
The First Army Corps of the Demon King’s forces, which Reigle had to face, was smaller in number but surpassed Reigle in actual combat power.
This was because the asymmetric power—comparing tactical-grade fighters above 8 Stars—was overwhelmingly stronger for the First Army Corps.
Currently, Reigle had only two tactical-grade fighters: Palador Reigle, the lord, and Leon Walter, the leader of his elite White Whale Knight Order. Both were 8 Stars, considered the strongest holy knights.
However, the First Army Corps, appearing for the first time at the frontline, had only three commanders equivalent to 8-Star generals.
Above them was the infamous 9-Star magic swordsman Rowen, the second in command of the Demon King’s army, making it impossible for Reigle to compete.
