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Chapter 38 – part 3

Cordelia stood up and began to walk towards the exit.

「Hey, Cordelia? Wait a moment.」

「Wait? Why? The meeting’s already over, isn’t it?」

「Just sit down for now. And Lilith, can you bring Saegusa?」

「…I thought you would ask that, so I already had her on standby. Koharu… come in.」

「Why did you call me?」

A small animal dressed in a shrine maiden outfit nervously entered the room.
I gestured for Saegusa to sit next to Lilith.

「Well, now that the deadweights is gone.」

「Lute? What’s going on?」

In response to Cordelia’s question, I shrugged my shoulders.

「Shall we begin the real strategy meeting now?」

「The real strategy meeting? What do you mean?」

Ignoring Cordelia’s puzzled voice, I pointed to the map.

「Cordelia to the north. Lilith to the south. I have no complaints about that. It’s reasonable.」

Cordelia nodded with an expression that was hard to describe.

「Yeah.」

「So, I’ll go to the west.」

Finally understanding my intention, Cordelia clapped her hands.

「I see. So that’s the plan. If that’s the case, it’s reasonable. After all, you need to quickly deal with the ogre and then assist the others at the other gates.」

「Now, the issue is the east. The bonbon bunch and their instructor escorts… that’s where the largest force are located, excluding us…」

Cordelia’s expression turned exasperated.

「Calling the instructors with the term ‘large forces.’ They’re second-rate veteran adventurers with magic and such… Thought, they might be former court magicians…」

「Huh? What’s the matter, Cordelia?」

Cordelia seemed to change her mind as she shook her head from side to side.

「No, it’s fine. You have the qualification to say that. I know that about you.」

She continued her words.

「In your case, it’s backed by your confidence and conviction born from hard work. No, well, I’m sorry. Your statements were just so detached from reality that, well let’s put that aside, what were we talking about?」

Lilith interjected into our conversation with an annoyed expression.

「…The discussion was about who would guard the four directions.」

By the way, Saegusa was still standing there nervously.
Sitting next to the renowned hero Cordelia seemed like an abnormal situation for her.

She’s just going 「Uwaa… Uwaa…」 as her face got paler.

「Cordelia in the north. Lilith in the south. I’m in the west. And currently, the weakest in terms of strength are the instructors guarding the east and the scholarship students.」

The group fell into silence, and a sense of quietness enveloped the scene.
After a moment of contemplation, I spoke up.

「Hey, Cordelia?」

「What?」

「If two Ogre Kings and one Ogre Emperor appeared in the east. What would happen?」

Cordelia placed her hand on her chin and closed her eyes.
Seeming to finish the simulation in her mind, she wiped a single bead of sweat from her forehead and said:

「10 minutes. No, they probably wouldn’t even fight. The defensive forces would scatter and the gate would fall in 2 minutes.」

Understandable.
As expected of Cordelia. She returned an answer that is almost identical to what I had in mind.

「So, if that happens, what follows?」

「Plunder and violation.」

That’s also understandable.
Although on a fundamental level demons belong to the demonic beast category, they are also related to humanoid races like werewolves.

There’s even a joke that fishermen on long voyages use the genitalia of caught rays.

Sexual desire is deep and sinful.

It’s obvious what would happen to women when it comes to looting food and valuables.

「Well, let’s get to the point. In my estimation, there are definitely several Ogre Emperors, and they’ll come from somewhere, either north, south, east, or west.」

「What!? It’s not just one?」

Cordelia’s mouth hung open, and she hurriedly covered it with her hand.

「…Why are you so surprised, Cordelia Allston? The report should have certainly mentioned that.」

「Well, the report did mention that, but… I thought there was a high chance of misjudgment. Besides, the idea of multiple Ogre Emperors wasn’t in the report. If it’s an Ogre Emperor, it’s already classified as a Calamity even when it’s alone! If there are multiple, it’s beyond the level that a small border country could handle.」

Annoyed, Lilith asked again.

「…So, what are you trying to say?」

「Huh?」

「…Lute is here. Even if multiple Ogre Emperors appear, what’s the issue?」

Trying to understand the meaning of Lilith’s words, Cordelia fell silent for a moment.

After some contemplation, she opened her mouth.

「Well, I get it. While neither I nor Lilith can handle it, there’s nothing this guy can’t do. But if there are Ogre Emperors… Yes, in this case, what I’m concerned about is—」

I nodded in agreement with her words.

「The final path of the Ogre tribe’s evolution – the possibility of an Ogre God(Demon God), right?」

Cordelia nodded with a serious expression, and Lilith placed her hand on her chin with an expressionless face.

Meanwhile, Saegusa continued to stand there nervously.

「So, why haven’t we gone out to fight until now, Cordelia?」

「Because we were waiting for reinforcements?」

「That’s right. Well, as you know, the likelihood of reinforcements arriving in the near future is very low.」

Cordelia asked me with a hint of desperation in her expression.

「So?」

「The Ogre Emperors are undoubtedly present. But in this situation, they won’t attack us. Do you understand why?」

「Because we successfully defended the western fortress?」

「Exactly. To them, that’s as eerie as it gets. A force with Ogre Kings was wiped out in the blink of an eye.」

「Lute?」

「What?」

「Your answer isn’t clear. So, what does it ultimately mean?」

In response to Cordelia’s question, I stated with conviction.

「They are also waiting for reinforcements.」

Cordelia’s complexion turned pale all of a sudden.

「Does that mean…?」

I nodded.

「Either more Ogre Emperors will appear, or an Ogre God will emerge, or perhaps both.」

At this point, Cordelia shouted with teary eyes.

「That is… that is outrageous! This isn’t just a normal Calamity!」

Then Lilith furrowed her brows and spoke.

「…There’s a possibility that it’s not actually like that, which is why both Lute and I are struggling with how to respond to this matter. If it were truly a Great Calamity… then there are individuals, including the Dragon King, whom we should contact through our own channels.」

「So, what on earth is happening? A horde of ogres… and the absurd ratio of Ogre Generals. The occurrence of multiple Ogre Kings, and furthermore, Ogre Emperors… and an Ogre God. This kind of situation… what else but a Great Calamity…」

「Indeed, the ratio of Ogre Generals is strange, and it’s unbelievable that Ogre Kings would occur in such large numbers from a group of this size. Moreover, the emergence of an Ogre Emperor, recognized as a mythical beast type, is also an abnormal situation. And furthermore, the idea of an Ogre God should be impossible.」

「In that case, it might be better to consider this as a Great Calamity after all…」

「That’s the point, you see,」

Lilith and I shrugged our shoulders.

「If it’s a Great Calamity, then the existence of Ogres in the first place is strange.」

「What do you mean?」

「Hey, Cordelia? What exactly is the definition of a Great Calamity?」

「…An extraordinarily powerful entity appeared unprecedented at the heart of a race… For instance, in the case of a Goblin Emperor, it’s an entirely new species, an evolution that wouldn’t normally occur… Like becoming an Ultimate Goblin, right? Well, the existence of gods as a form of evolution has been confirmed in history, though it would probably be of a lower defeat rank compared to an Ultimate Goblin… So, it was a Great Calamity, right? It forces the entire race to evolve by one rank?」

With that said, Cordelia furrowed her eyebrows.

「Admittedly, it doesn’t quite add up to a Great Calamity. First of all, the existence of Ogres itself is odd. All Ogres should have evolved forcibly into Ogre Generals.」

Lilith nodded in agreement.

「…It’s likely that this was caused artificially.」

Upon hearing those words, Cordelia was stunned and said.

「So, are you saying that humans created monsters of the Ogre class!?]