Uh.
Berkan had to acknowledge that he had succumbed to Yuma.
And he also had to admit his own complacency.
“…Semut.”
He had to give due punishment to the fool who dared to turn this tribal meeting into his own playground.
Everyone in the meeting hall watched as Berkan, the First Prince of the Lycanthrope Kingdom, and the Lycanthropes he brought began to kneel before a single human.
The Emperor of the Astes Empire, Brigitte, felt a shiver at the sight of none other than Yuma.
It was certainly an unexpected turn of events that no one could have foreseen.
Who could have predicted that ten or so Lycanthropes would suddenly fall into a state of chaos, dripping with mana?
Perhaps even Yuma, who was quick enough to notice and take down one of them, hadn’t anticipated it at all.
It was only that his judgment was incredibly swift.
And he acted more boldly than anyone else.
In that moment, he dashed ahead, clearing out the enemies and seizing control of the situation.
‘Yuma… what on earth are you planning?’
Regardless of whether it was intentional or not, it was impressive.
‘Hah.’
The Emperor.
At this moment, who among them truly deserved the title of Emperor?
If others were to choose between Brigitte and Yuma, who would they pick?
The gap in their abilities was glaringly obvious.
Naturally, anyone would choose Yuma.
‘…Proof.’
He would perfectly stop the impending invasion of the demon realm.
After a moment of awe, Brigitte steeled her resolve.
She couldn’t afford to lose the atmosphere that Yuma had carefully cultivated.
But before that, she wanted to check on Yuma’s condition.
“Yuma, are you alright?”
Brigitte sat down next to Yuma.
“No problem.”
Swoosh…
The sound of branches shaking in the wind echoed through the circular sacred ground.
Suddenly, a fierce wind began to mix with the already cold air.
Brigitte had already wrapped herself in a scarf handed to her by one of her knights, but Yuma was only wearing a coat.
“Yuma, aren’t you cold?”
Brigitte’s striking eyes met Yuma’s.
“Yeah, it’s getting a bit chilly.”
Yuma nodded slowly. Then he opened his spatial pocket. What he pulled out was a scarf.
A deep purple scarf.
It was the one Bel had bought for him on the day they walked around the imperial capital together.
As he wrapped it around his neck, the cold that had been clinging to him eased a bit.
Brigitte’s eyes widened.
“That scarf is…?”
“Bel bought it for me.”
Brigitte looked at the scarf with a curious gaze.
“Oh, Bel… it suits you really well.”
Brigitte accepted something from her attendant. It was a blanket. She placed it on Yuma’s lap.
Although the scarf seemed sufficient, she felt a strange urge to drape something of her own over Yuma as well.
However, a strange impulse came over me to leave something for Yuma as well.
“Um! I guess I won’t catch a cold now!”
Princess Brigitte nodded her head vigorously.
Yuma, unaware of Brigitte’s emotional circuitry, gave a slight nod.
“…Yeah, I suppose that won’t happen.”
For Yuma, it wasn’t the cold that was the problem, but rather the drowsiness that was starting to creep in.
Swoosh─!
Bell swung her sword, shaking off the blood of the Lycanthrope.
‘…I was momentarily flustered.’
In that fleeting moment, Bell froze as the Lycanthropes suddenly plunged into a state of Chaos.
Yuma didn’t freeze for even a moment and stepped forward.
‘I can’t afford to make such mistakes anymore.’
A moment’s judgment.
A single mistake could tip the scales of battle.
With the impending invasion from the Demon Realm, Bell was determined to hone herself like a blade.
All she had to do was move forward.
Her ideal was already standing clearly over there.
Bell looked at that person.
He was wearing the deep purple scarf she had given him.
A grin spread across Bell’s lips, filled with pride.
*
Yuma looked at the Elf, Ishera.
Ishera shivered under Yuma’s penetrating gaze.
“Repay your debt.”
Ishera’s green eyes widened in surprise.
“Uh, how am I supposed to repay it…?”
Seeing Yuma’s display of strength and the demeanor he showed while dealing with the Lycanthrope representative, Berkan, Ishera’s tone had turned quite polite under Yuma’s pressure.
“A mount.”
Yuma already had a prize in mind to accept as the price for the Elves’ lives.
“It would be nice if it could fly.”
The demons invading from the Demon Realm would definitely tear through the skies.
The first ones to confront them would obviously be those high up in the air.
Ishera couldn’t hide her bewilderment.
“You, suddenly asking for a mount…”
As Ishera furrowed her brow, unsure of what to do, the High Elf, Luine, sighed deeply.
Then, with her green hair flowing, she approached Yuma.
“A Gryphon.”
She said while looking at Yuma.
“I’ll give you a Gryphon as a reward for protecting Ishera and the other Elves. It’s a privilege that only High Elves can command. Whether you can tame the Gryphon or not is up to you, Duke.”
The Gryphon.
A creature boasting the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion.
“You need to return to your homeland to get the Gryphon, so once you return to the Empire, we’ll send a High Elf to give you a Gryphon shortly after.”
Upon the mention of the legendary flying creature, Yuma nodded slowly.
“Got it.”
Yuma decided to trade the griffon, a prized possession of the high elves, for the life of an elf.
He carefully surveyed the various races around him.
The only race clearly up for grabs was the dwarves.
Known in the game “Loop Blood” as the “race of struggle and forging,” that was exactly who the dwarves were.
The dwarves of this world probably wouldn’t be too different in that regard.
Plod.
Yuma approached the dwarves.
The quintessential representatives of dwarves recoiled at his approach.
There was no clear sign of fear.
There weren’t any weaklings among the dwarves who would feel fear just from Yuma’s presence.
However, Yuma’s recent actions, his past achievements, and what he had just done instilled a deep sense of intimidation in them.
“Are you the renowned dwarf blacksmiths?”
Yuma bent down to look at the dwarves.
He saw the ones on the left, radiating the vibe of a strong warrior, and a few other dwarves who seemed slightly different.
“…Indeed.”
They were holding forging hammers, not battle hammers, and wore workshop aprons.
Yuma pondered what he might need.
But nothing came to mind.
Balmung was an ego sword nearing the level of a sacred sword; its durability wouldn’t degrade.
Among the famous swords he had, there was also [Requiem], which he had never used since receiving it from Luke, the chief of the White Night clan.
‘Ah.’
Yuma suddenly recalled two items he needed to replace.
‘Gauntlets and a buckler.’
The gauntlets and the small shield he had bought in the lands of Pineon before reaching the territory of the White Night clan.
Those two were of rather poor quality.
Crack!
Yuma’s spatial pocket opened. He retrieved the gauntlets and the buckler from within.
Without hesitation, he extended the two items towards the dwarves.
Snap—
A silver gauntlet, [Storm].
And a small shield, [Cold Buckler]. The two dwarves receiving the items widened their eyes.
“What… is this? Duke Yuma. Why are you giving this to us?”
Yuma continued speaking, maintaining eye level with the dwarves.
“Evaluate these items objectively.”
The two dwarves tilted their heads in confusion at Yuma’s sudden proposal and examined the two items.
Completely unable to grasp Yuma’s intention, the dwarves even pulled out a magnifying artifact to scrutinize Storm and Cold Buckler.
However, no matter how they looked at it, they didn’t seem very useful.
One dwarf hesitantly spoke up.
“Umm… Your Grace, if I may be so bold…”
The God of War, Yuma.
The fact that he had given them something made them extremely worried about insulting it.
Yuma opened his mouth.
“They’re absolute garbage.”
“Huh?”
The dwarf’s eyes went wide.
Duke Yuma felt the need to simplify his words so the people here could understand.
“The state of this item isn’t great. You master blacksmiths must see it even worse.”
The two dwarfs nodded repeatedly.
“Indeed. Considering it’s a human craft, we might call it somewhat usable, but through our dwarven eyes… it’s completely unacceptable.”
Yuma smiled faintly at the dwarfs who spoke as he intended.
“Right. I believe you could quickly resurrect this into something worthwhile.”
“??”
The dwarfs’ eyes grew wide in surprise.
‘What in the world is this human talking about?’
To create something in their style from an item made in this human way, they would have to completely melt it down. It was impossible.
“Is it impossible?”
Yuma asked casually.
“If it’s impossible, I’d like to see a similar item you’ve created. I want to broaden my horizons.”
‘…Hahaha.’
The two dwarfs finally caught on to Yuma’s dark intentions.
Nodding at each other, the two dwarfs opened their spatial pockets and each pulled out an item.
“…This is a gift. Please take it. I hope you can view it as an expression of gratitude for maintaining the peace of this meeting.”
Clang—
Yuma accepted the two items.
A small white shield, [Luminous].
A dark red gauntlet, [Bloodline].
“Thank you. I shall not forget this kindness.”
Two B-grade items instantly transformed into SS-grade items!
Mikael, the personal guard knight of Empress Brigitte, who happened to witness this sequence of events, felt a bead of sweat trickle down his blonde hair.
He couldn’t help but grin in disbelief.
‘…Now that’s some alchemy.’
Yuma’s antics didn’t stop there.
He turned to Mikael and said, “Ask the knights if any have swords that aren’t in good condition.”
Then he looked back at the dwarfs.
“Surely, you can manage some simple repairs right now. We’re all part of the same union.”
The two dwarfs, having just had their items snatched by Yuma, were left with their mouths agape along with the other dwarfs.
‘A demon…!’
‘This is a demon!’
It wasn’t just the malevolent spirits confined to the demon realm.
A demon aiming for extreme profit stood right in front of them.
But they couldn’t voice that thought aloud.
For this demon was no ordinary threat.
“…Well, then. Of course. We can handle some simple repairs right now. After all, we’re in the same union. Hahahaha!”
In front of Yuma, the dwarfs, who typically weren’t kind unless it was about elves, were remarkably friendly.
