120

Turf War 3-36 “Edim and the Path to Solution”

Stupid Ortissio who started to butt in the fight with the demons had caused some inconveniences. I had more to say than one could fathom but held myself back due to his higher position. However, I exploded in anger upon hearing his slander, “You’re making light of Miss Tilea.”

In Miss Camilla’s presence, I went on a tirade of profane language in an attempt to fight this stupid Ortissio.

During my tirade, Lord Nielsen rebuked, while Lord Dryus ordered, “I expect to see a spectacular result within a week!”

Ugh, what an absurd order. That was absolutely impossible. I had stupid Ortissio to thank for all the suffering I was going through.

I scowled at stupid Ortissio with animosity. Stupid Ortissio scowled back as if everything was my fault.

“Edim! It’s because of your incompetence that even I have lost people’s trust.”

“What?! You’ve never been trustworthy in the first place. That should’ve been my line. You caused this catastrophe, didn’t you? Please don’t drag me into it.”

“What the hell is with that manner of speaking?! You’re too conceited for a mere half-demon!”

Enraged, stupid Ortissio wrung my neck.

I-it’s painful. This idiot!

He might be an idiot, but his power was the real deal. Even this elite body of mine that was considered to be the pride amongst vampires, was vehemently creaking.

“Argh, augh!”

“Don’t fight among friends. It’s so unsightly. In any case, produce some results, or else, die. It’s that simple.”

What a ruthless comment from Lord Dryus ….

Haha, I’m friends with stupid Ortissio, he said … I could only laugh.

After Lord Dryus’s ultimatum, the higher-ups/executives left the meeting room.

The idiot and I were the only ones left ….

Aaah —, what a day!

It was unthinkable that I was suspected by Mis Tilea and subjected to public humiliation in front of the war council. Not only I was accused of having no loyalty, but also made to endure Ishidaki torture to boot.

Ugh, I could still feel discomfort on my legs. Stupid Ortissio’s comment, “One more stone for each sin!” was so unnecessary. Perhaps, nearing a hundred kilograms of load was put on my lap. If I didn’t possess a vampire body, my legs would’ve been crushed completely. Evil God Army consisted of only crazy people indeed.

Well, even if I grumbled, the torture itself was satisfying. My body was unperturbed by the injury. However, a cold stare from the higher-ups/executives, especially Miss Camilla, was especially painful.

If I left things as they were, would I be executed?

I have lost the place where I belong.

Miss Camilla had been my foundation and my pillar to rely on, and yet ….

Huff, huff, huff, shit!

Brooding over gloomy thoughts had made my heart throbbed violently. Even though I had abandoned my human body … could this be the remnants of emotions?

Huff, huff, it’s suffocating. Huff, huff, it was suffocating.

My breathing had become rough.  When I turned my head sideways, I incidentally found stupid Ortissio turning pale as well. It seemed that he was thinking of shifting all the blame to me. But things seldom go as expected in the real world. In reality, it was more of a collective responsibility. Had stupid Ortissio finally realized how grave the situation was …?

“Edim.”

“Yes, sir?”

“This isn’t time for us to argue.”

“Yes, I understand.”

He should’ve realized that sooner!

Speaking of which, you were the one who arbitrarily picked a fight!

“Edim, this outrageous treatment has to be the plot of those damn officers all along.”

“Huh, is that true?”

“There’s no mistaking it.”

Stupid Ortissio said it with confidence.

“B-but why would Lord Dryus do something like this?”

“That’s obvious. It’s to increase his influence and to monopolize Miss Tilea’s favor.”

No, I didn’t think that was the case. Lord Dryus was different from you and wouldn’t unreasonably abuse his power. There must have been a reason behind his action today.

Analyze, Edim. It would only bring ruin upon yourself if you left it to stupid Ortissio.

Look back on your life so far.

Why in the world did it come to this?

It was ordinary until yesterday ….

Miss Tilea was praising me for suppressing the demons with force.

I had never once forgotten to greet Miss Tilea and Miss Camilla.

I even had been doing a good job in leading the kins.

So why on earth did it happen?

“Edim!”

“Y-yes?”

Stupid Ortissio’s voice interrupted my train of thoughts.

I took great pains to search for the reason. This guy had always been nothing but a nuisance all along.

“Edim, don’t be in a daze! Remember, we’re caught in a dilemma right now.”

“… Yes.”

“Our enemy is a huge coward. Consequently, there’s a need for us to join forces.”

“What?!”

“Why are you dumbfounded?! In short, I will act as the pivot to form a faction.”

“A faction …?”

“Oh, that’s right. I’ll let you vampire corps join in as well. So be thankful.”

I-I had no intention of joining.

Stupid Ortissio’s faction would be like a boat made of mud!

What was he saying out of the blue? Who on earth would want to be commanded under him?!

That was a jaw-dropping moment.

I was dumbfounded and was trying to think of a way to refuse. As if it was only natural for me to accept his offer, stupid Ortissio resumed the discussion and asked, “What shall we plan for the next meeting?”

Hey, I hadn’t even accepted your offer yet!

To top it off, with his eyes blazing in anger, stupid Ortissio screamed, “Number is power. Hoorah–! 　Damn officers, I’ll teach all of you a lesson!”

T-this guy was definitely out of his mind. Not good. Associating with this idiot would only bring ruin upon myself. For the time being, I had to distance myself from this idiot.

“Oh, by the way, Lord Ortissio ….”

“What is it? Have you thought of a countermeasure to deal with those damn officers? You’re one of our faction’s members, after all. I’ll be depending on you.”

“Regarding the faction, I greatly appreciate your offer. However, I’m not sure if we half-demons would be useful ….”

“Not a problem at all. Lack of strength can be compensated by numbers. Edim, double the number of kins currently under your command!”

“Doubling it would be impossible!”

“Nothing is impossible. If each kin adds just one more person, the total numbers would double.”

“As you said, it’s theoretically possible, but Miss Tilea has strictly prohibited to increase the number of kins.”

Under Miss Tilea’s proposition, a vampire decree had been promulgated. It would violate the second article, “Number of kins shall not be increased.”

“I see. It can’t be helped since it’s Miss Tilea’s order. Hand me the list of names of the current kins then!”

“W-why?”

“Well, it’s obvious. Your kins will be my subordinates as well.”

Wha —!? Even impudence had a limit.

Why would I have to entrust the network of kins I had painstakingly created to you?

Gimme a break! Don’t you dare mention about borrowing my power! The only thing you would get from me is animosity!

“What’s wrong? Quit stalling and quickly make that list, then bring it to me. Don’t slack off!”

“E-even if you say that, I don’t know all of them by heart. I’ll call the person in charge. Would you please discuss it with him?”

“You haven’t grasped that you’re also my subordinate, have you? Good grief! I’m worried about your future.”

That would be my line. I could argue with him, but that wasn’t the time to engage.

Once I left the meeting room, I received a message from one of the kins, Dalf.

Invoke telepathy!

“Dalf, please respond!”

“Miss Edim.”

“Sorry to bother you while you’re busy. Please come to meeting room B immediately and be the stupid … Lord Ortissio’s opponent.”

“As you wish. I’ll be there right away.”

“Hmm. Lord Ortissio will talk about cooperation or creating a faction. But, it would be good if you can subtly evade it.”

“I see, you have no intension of accepting his offer.”

“Of course not. I won’t voluntarily take a sad path to ruin. Never mind that, just talk with him properly.”

“Understood.”

All right, I would leave the rest to Dalf. To put it bluntly, Dalf had been doing a heap of things, from supervising the kins to intelligence gathering, and many more. I didn’t want to have him deal with stupid Ortissio’s idea, but I had no choice.

This time, I would investigate the matter at hand in my own way.

Could Miss Tilea be the reason, after all? For reasons I didn’t know, I had lost Miss Tilea’s trust considerably. This could also be the reason for the ridiculous things happening in rapid succession since this morning.

Ultimately, no matter how you sugar-coated it, the Evil God Army’s movements revolved around Miss Tilea. The hostility displayed by stupid Ortissio, as well as Lord Dryus, proved that they were banding together, showing solidarity in front of Miss Tilea.

If they were to be hated by Miss Tilea ….

To a certain extent, even if stupid Ortissio had failed repeatedly, he had always been able to manage somehow or another because he was Miss Tilea’s favorite pet. If that were not the case, he would’ve been denounced by everyone, and been executed since long ago.

Miss Tilea had abandoned us. To a member of the Evil God Army, that’ would be equal to a death sentence.

Scary. No way.

Whatever it might take, I would gain her trust back. I would bow and profusely apologize until she had forgiven me. If it were for Miss Tilea, I wouldn’t mind killing the citizens of the royal capital. If Miss Tilea wished to punish me, I would gladly endure it.

So please, forgive me.

With a resolution in mind, I went to visit Miss Tilea.