Chapter 268

“I’m back!”

I shouted as soon as I entered the village.
That being said, no one came out to greet me. They weren’t that kind of people.

And so it was a little embarrassing to be essentially talking to myself. But then again, it didn’t matter if no one was listening.
And so I walked down the empty street.

“Huh? Golan. What happened?”
As I walked, I came upon an old woman from the village. My first encounter.

Well, it was my village.
“I came back because the war is over. How have you been? And how is the village?”

“Nothing’s changed at all.”
“I see. That’s good to know.”

Yes, no one cared about an Ogre village like ours, which was on the outskirts.
Aside from the occasional merchant, it was almost as if time had stopped here.

I continued on my way and met two and then three other people.
Their reactions were all the same. And so I answered them in the same way as well.

I slowly walked to my house and entered.
“I’m back.”

I said, but there was no answer.
It would take a little longer for my comrades to return to the village.

After my audience with Lesser King Melvis had ended, General Farneze announced that the army was being disbanded.
But when I tried to gather my subordinates so we could return to our village, they were nowhere to be found.

They had received rewards for their achievements in battle.
I had awakened after it happened, and so they had gone out to go and spend what they had earned.

That’s why none of them were nearby. It could not be helped. I did at least meet Rig.
And he was able to return to me the Deepsea Dragon Sword and the hexagonal club.

After talking with Rig for some time, I learned that most of the Ogres had gone out to the shopping district.
They had gotten quite drunk and caused a scene, and eventually even getting arrested.

“Yes, business as usual.”
Given how they were on a normal day, it was only natural for them to start brawling once they drank.

But while that was fine on the battlefield, doing it in town would result in arrests.
When I asked Rig, he said plainly, ‘Did I go and fetch them? No, I have not.’

As they were getting into trouble nearly every day now, he felt that it would be best to have them cool their heads in the cells.
That was Rig for you.

And so I decided to leave them to their devices and start my return journey without them. Rig, the non-combatants and the Reapers wanted to come with me, but as I was worried about what the other unreliable Ogres would do, I asked them to stay and travel together.

I wanted to return quickly to make sure that there was no trouble in the village. There was no need for the others to come with me.
Besides, they wouldn’t really need to monitor the Ogres if they were in prison. And so they could enjoy their time as they liked.

I hinted at this, but they answered, ‘we don’t know what they will do, and we’ll be too anxious to rest at all.’

Painy, the Reaper, even added something rather frightful. ‘If they all started fighting without restraint, there would hardly be anyone here who could stop them.’
Surely not? Hell, the Reapers would be able to do it, right?

Besides, the Ogres weren’t that stupid…no, I was indeed worried. But I better not think about it.

As for my own reward. There were a number of things.
It seemed like they were rewards for past achievements included, and now I was getting them all at once.

First, I had gone up in the army. I was not General Farneze’s Adjutant.
As I had been no more than a commander for an independant corps, it was quite the jump up.

Being a General’s Adjutant meant I could give orders to Corps Commanders. I had a higher rank than them.
And if the General was absent, I might be given complete authority.

Adjutants could have their own subordinates if they wanted.
And there were Adjutants like Felicia, whose work was entirely clerical.

Of course, Farneze’s expectations for me did not lie in that direction.
And so she would take me into consideration when restructuring her army.

I would likely be given charge of a decent number of soldiers.
Also, I could increase the number of subordinates as I pleased. There was some freedom there.

On the other hand, I had a responsibility to not die on the battlefield.
If I’m the highest ranking officer on the battlefield, the army would collapse the moment I died.

And so Adjutants who worked within the army were usually chosen based on how unlikely they were to die.
So, was I really a good choice? I’ve been on the brink quite a lot.

As for the other rewards…I did receive a town.
Well, it wasn’t official just yet.

My guess was that it would be the town that Nehyor used to govern.
It was currently being governed by the General, and so it would likely just be passed down.

And when that did happen, all of the residents would be under my rule.
This meant the Orb of Control, of course. So I would be strengthened based on the number of people who lived there.

I could choose to stay and rule it myself, or leave a representative there.
And since it seemed like too much trouble, I intended to leave it to someone else.

Aside from this village, my other villages were also managed by representatives.
As the Orb of Control connected us, there was no fear of estrangement or rebellion, which made things easy.

They could still challenge me to Gekokujyo, but there was no one in the Ogre villages who would do it…aside from the idiot siblings.
But they were exceptions. The others looked like they were ready to obey my every order.

I had no interest in governing, but also felt that I would accept the reward anyway.
As for the rest of the rewards…there was a variety of impressive armor, weapons, gold and silver.

They were given to me as a catalog, which I just handed to Rig.
I would distribute them among my men later.

Apparently, there were superior officers who did this gladly, and some who did not share their rewards at all.
Of course, this was something that affected morale.

My own men seemed like they would be satisfied as long as they were allowed to fight, but it wouldn’t hurt to give them something extra.

So, my reward was rank, land and wealth.
And while they weren’t quite as valuable, there were also great gifts of rare wine and lots of food supplies.

“Now that I think about it, I’ll have to make a stable.”

As I had also received horses, I decided to keep them in the village.
It would be useful to have something to ride during emergencies.

“I should have a few kept in every village.”

Not only would they be useful for emergency communication, but they could be used for the transporting of supplies as well.
Ogres were just as strong as horses, but they were not ideal methods of transportation.

Well, I would not be able to prepare everything immediately, and would have to take things slow.
Besides, this was the village where time had stopped.

“Alright, I think I’ll go fishing.”

Even though I had returned home, I had nothing to do.
Well, I actually did have a lot to do, but didn’t feel like doing it.

Surely I should be allowed to stretch my wings a little on my first day back home.
And it wasn’t as if there was anyone here who would complain to me…I think. They weren’t exactly the most respectful either.

It was with such thoughts that I grabbed my fishing rod and left the house.

Next Chapter

Makai Hongi