Chapter 2: Guests at Poseidon Fortress

Poseidon Fortress is the largest fortress in the Kingdom of Os, located at the northernmost point of the kingdom. Although it has gradually gained some popularity due to the rise of ghoul industry and the trade of ghoul corpses, the cold and harsh environment makes it the last place most soldiers want to be stationed—except for one person, the current commander of the fortress, General Graywhite-Dante.

“What a great job! Back in Gulna Capital, it’s nothing but trouble with challengers, balls, and noble proposals. Just thinking about it gives me a headache. Here, I only need to go out occasionally to wipe out some ghouls and can laze around in the office napping. But it’s really cold!” Dante mused, counting down the last few minutes before five o’clock ticked by.

“If you really think that way, you can relinquish your title as the kingdom’s number one, and then you can return to the capital for a comfy life,” a voice chimed in.

“That’s not happening! Just sitting on the throne of the kingdom’s number one for sixteen years qualifies me for nobility! My goal is to live off taxes in my own territory for life. I must hold out for these last six years.” Dante continued to daydream, “By the way, Lawrence, why did you travel all the way from the capital? Are you here to challenge my supremacy?”

“A former number one challenging the current number one? Isn’t that a bit embarrassing? I’m here on business. And what’s with that rude tone?”

“Forgive my disrespect, General.” Dante instantly stood up and saluted, “May I ask your purpose in coming all this way?”

“Bodyguard! Bodyguard! And I’m also here to check on how you’re doing, since you are my most outstanding disciple. By the way, I’ve been promoted—now I’m Chancellor Lawrence, so please address me correctly from now on.”

The middle-aged man named Lawrence pulled out a five or six-year-old girl from behind him. She had beautiful golden hair and doll-like features.

“The astrologers say that chaos will soon visit the Northern Fortress, hence I’ve brought her to bolster our strength.” Lawrence pointed at the little girl dressed in lavish clothing, “She’s a troublesome heir of the protective bloodline of the Gulna family, and as usual, she’s a unicorn’s familiar, incapable of self-defense. Now a bunch of assassins are after her, so I had to bring her to this remote place to take refuge.”

“That’s not true! I’m here to help!” the little girl piped up in a high-pitched voice, interrupting the uncle.

“The official word is that the unicorn’s blessed holder is here to provide strengthening magic to the Poseidon Fortress’s forces in response to the foretold chaos. Yulia, this is your protector from now on, the current strongest in the kingdom, the Demon Sword’s Sword Demon, Major Graywhite-Dante.”

The little girl gracefully curtsied, “Hello, Mr. Dante. I’m Yulia-Florence-Ais-Gulna. Let’s play together.” As she spoke, a wondrous light enveloped her, and she, along with various small items in the room, floated into the air.

“Wow, her mana has already recovered so quickly. Well, not my problem anymore.” Lawrence said, patting the girl’s head, “As you can see, she’s quite the mischievous one, often manifesting inexplicable magic for fun. I leave her in your care. Oh, and a maid will also accompany her.”

“Fly, fly…” Yulia and a bunch of objects floated around the room.

“Wait a minute, are you saying I have to play babysitter now? Seriously, spare me.” Dante finally grasped the situation, “Hey, Yulia-chan, when you’re done playing, remember to gently put those things back, alright? Those wines are pretty pricey.”

“My magic is depleted.” Yulia declared, gracefully landing back on the ground, then everything from the desk to the cups fell like limp dolls making a loud clatter.

“No, no, no!” Dante shouted in despair.

“So that’s how it is. The details and documents will be provided to you by the maid. You two should get along well, I’ll head back to the capital now,” Lawrence said, ignoring the distraught Dante who was on the verge of tears over the broken items, cheerfully opening the door to leave.

“Goodbye, Chancellor Lawrence. Thanks for your care these days.”

“Hey, little girl, your parents are nobles, right? I should be able to get reimbursed for these things, right? They should compensate me, right?”

“Almost forgot, both of Miss Yulia’s parents were murdered, so please avoid mentioning terms like ‘parents’ around her.” Lawrence turned back at the door and awkwardly smiled at Dante.

“Oh, oh, I’m so sorry.” Dante scratched his head helplessly, looking at Yulia.

“Well, I promised Mama I’d become stronger, so it’s fine,” Yulia said, smiling with a hint of a cry in her voice, “So Uncle Dante, you have to take responsibility for me, okay?”

Having said that, Yulia sat down on the floor, playing with the objects that had just fallen.

–Illustration 2–

“In any case, things are quite complex. The maid will explain the parts you need to know. Ah, speaking of Prince Edward, here he comes (Note 1), has Miss Eleanor arranged the chores?” Lawrence noticed the maid coming down the hallway, greeting her briefly. “Miss Eleanor, I’m counting on you. I have to rush back to the capital.”

“Rest assured, I will take good care of the young lady.” With a steady voice, a young and capable woman entered the room, and Lawrence hurriedly left.

“Hello, Major Dante. I’m Eleanor-Hume, the temporary protector of Miss Yulia. Here are the documents you need regarding her.”

“Ah, I’m Dante. I’ll be in your care from now on.”

Lawrence awkwardly glanced at the golden-haired young lady still sulking on the floor and took the documents.

Just then, another officer in his thirties entered the room with papers, ignoring the slightly messy condition of the room, and sighed in relief as he approached Dante’s desk, saying:

“It’s a good thing you haven’t left yet, sir. This is your commendation for single-handedly eliminating ghouls over a month ago. Here are the latest updates on ghoul movements, and this is the treatment plan for the abandoned winery and forbidden book room left by the former commander. All of this needs your confirmation by tomorrow.”

The serious-looking officer placed a stack of documents on Dante’s desk.

“Wow, my workload just increased abruptly,” Dante chuckled bitterly, introducing the maid, Eleanor, to the military officer.

The officer seemed to only notice the women in Dante’s command room now, his face turning beet red as he greeted the maid.

“I’m Feng-Yinder, the Vice Commander of this fortress, Dante’s assistant. I apologize for not noticing the two ladies earlier.”

Miss Eleanor smiled slightly and began chatting with Vice Commander Feng.

“Please arrange accommodations for the two ladies. They are the highest-ranking guests, and depending on the situation, they may need to stay here for a while, so treat them well,” Dante said, flipping through Yulia’s documents, smoothly passing the responsibilities onto Vice Commander Feng.

“Understood. Please, ladies, follow me.”

“No! I want to stay with Dante!” Yulia suddenly spoke up, refusing.

“Seems like it’s not easy to shake her off,” Dante mumbled. He then bluntly told Vice Commander Feng, “You go arrange the girls’ accommodations with Miss Eleanor. I’ll keep an eye on this little brat.”

“Yes, sir.” Feng nodded and left with the maid.

Dante then began muttering to himself about Yulia’s report and sighed.

“Universally magical aptitude, unparalleled talent in black magic, a unicorn’s blessing, a distant relative of the royal family—what a troublesome character you are! So, after your parents were assassinated, you hid in Lawrence’s territory for half a year, right? By the way, how’s Lawrence’s daughter, Lady Elizabeth, doing lately?”

“Aunt and her son are both doing well.”

“Oh, good to hear. Let’s make sure we get along well from now on.”

“Hmph.”

“I say, that Vice Commander Feng seems to have an interest in your maid. Aren’t you going to check it out?”

“I noticed that at first glance, idiot.”

“Ha ha, it seems one shouldn’t underestimate kids nowadays?”

To avoid the awkward silence that echoed in the room like shattered glass, Dante had to find something to talk about with Yulia.

——————-Boundary Line——————-

Note 1: “When mentioning Prince Edward, he appears,” similar to the saying “When mentioning Cao Cao, Cao Cao arrives.”