After the disastrous brawl, I decided everyone should take a break for the rest of the day, which they all agreed. Once everything was settled and calmed down everyone started to praise the fight, despite how dangerous it had gotten. They were all in awe of it.

  “That was an incredible brawl! I didn’t think there was anyone who could match Mordred in strength besides the boss!” one of the orcs stated.

  “Mmhmm, I was really rooting for our new instructor to win. He is a well-known adventurer after all!”

  “To think we have such strong allies on our side and they both are willingly serving the chief!”

  Everyone; kobolds, goblins, and even the orcs were happily interacting with each other. It seemed the whole thing wasn’t a waste after all. It managed to bring some stronger sense of unity between my minions. And as a bonus they all seemed to have a stronger sense of respect for me. I was glad for that; it makes leading my minions a lot easier.

  The next day, it was time for me and Damian to return to town. He needs to report on his findings about the minotaur sightings or at least what we planned on telling him. I made sure to give everyone around their instructions, even deciding to trust that Mordred understood what he should do.

  We plan on convincing them that there were no sightings of him, so he’d need to stay in the caves for now and stay hidden until I need him. I even made sure to let V know to keep track of the base for anything weird and to inform Mordred as soon as they suspect anything strange. I was worried he would object to it, but it seems he accepted it without problem. I didn’t want him to be bored though so I gave him some additional instructions to follow.

  “Mordred, in the meantime I’d like you to train that new skill you learned. It might prove useful to me in the future. ~” I ordered the Minotaur, all the while smirking.

  To show how serious I was I gave him some new weapons that I had crafted to help him practice with, two [Tomahawk] in the right size to fit in one hand each. They’re made to be light to make them easier for him to throw, I imagine their power would be weaker compared to his main axe though. I even made sure to provide him with a strap in his size so he could carry it with him.

  That seemed to lighten up his mood as he gladly took his new weapons and happily responded. “Of course boss, I’ll make sure it’s the most powerful skill ever for you!! ~”

  As if to show how much he meant it, he flexed one of his arms while placing the other one on top as a show of strength. I was glad he seemed to be in a lot better mood now compared to yesterday. After all, a happy henchman makes for a more competent and loyal one Veehahahahaha. ~

  With everything prepared we both headed off, promising to come back in a few days. We both decided to go together halfway to town and then split in different directions and time. Though this was mostly an excuse for Damian, who was in the mood for a more affectionate time as his arms started to wrap themselves around me.

  I sighed to myself, noticing how quickly I’m starting to get used to this treatment. Though it didn’t mean I was any less annoyed by it….

  As we trek our way to our location, the bear happily holding me in his arms, I thought of starting to make some small talk, if only to keep my mind off of my affectionate treatment.

  “So, now that you got to know my base after a few days, what do you think of it?” He was my first non-monster follower, so I figured his input would be important.

  As he casually swung me around in his arms, he thought about how to answer me. “…. Well, I think it’s certainly something unique situation. There hasn’t been any record of a monster community with a variety of different species.”

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  The bear then began to snuggle against my cheek, his soft fur tickling against my scales, as he continued “It’s especially impressive a monster as cute as you are the one leading them Vladdy~ Despite being a monster species known as one of the weakest races, you managed to gain all their respect and the look on their eyes tells me they all look up to your leadership. ~”

  In defiance I tried to push his cheek off of mine, though he was still too strong. “Ugh ok ok I get it! Don’t call me that! But what about the town, what’s your thoughts on them following my leadership?”

  He suddenly stopped as the expression on his face changed into a serious one. “… You will definitely have a lot of difficulty on that. This town has stayed a neutral location for a reason after all. They don’t seem too keen on the idea on following any leadership but their own, especially by a kobold.”

  As I thought it would definitely be a challenge for me, but that’s fine. I didn’t commit to my goal of world domination because I thought it would be easy after all. “Veehahahahaha~”

  Hearing my laugh, Damian couldn’t help but to spin me around in joy. “Your laugh is sooo adorable! ~ Don’t worry I’m sure you’ll think of something, and I’ll back you up in whatever you plan of doing Vladdy! ~”

  “Ok Ok I get now stop before you make me puke!!” I was losing my grip of my surroundings as the world was spinning around me.

  Once we reached a certain distance, we decided to split, though Damian seemed reluctant about not being able to hold me in his arms any longer. I had to remind him of what we needed to do. He was to report on his ‘findings’ while I had to gather more information in town so I can think of some way to recruit them as mine.

  I donned on my wooden mask, making sure to hide my identity though for some reason Damian was chuckling to himself before leaving. Afterwards I made it back into town, luckily it was the same guards as last time and so they easily let me in.

  “You were gone for a few days now, was everything alright?” One of them asked, curious about my absence.

  Not wanting them to know my whereabouts I had to give them a convincing lie, “Everything’s fine, I just wanted to resupply myself. That last quest used more of my resources than I had anticipated and being a new adventurer, I wanted to save on coin.”

  They seemed to accept my story and let me in, though not before reminding me to be careful since it’s dangerous out of town. I don’t know why they need to tell me that, it wasn’t like I was a child or something.

  Once in town I decided the first order of business was to check up on the guild. I thought doing an easy non hunting quest would do since it doesn’t hurt to have some extra money on hand. As I entered, I was greeted by the same receptionist as before, who seemed relieved to see me.

  “I’m glad to see you’re back safe Mr. Dimir. I was worried when I didn’t see for a few days.”

  I gave the same explanation I gave the guard as I went to business, looking through the latest quests and decided to go for a simple plant gathering quest. Once I accepted it, I decided to explore the town and see if I could come across any rumors that may help me. It was a long shot, but I’m still limited in my knowledge of this town, and I can’t rely on Damian too much without arousing suspicion.

  My luck though seemed to be in favor, as I was passing by what looked to be the town square I noticed a few ladies talking among themselves, they had a look of distress across their faces so their discussion must have been serious. I immediately hid in the nearby shadows, my [Garments of the Night] was proving to be useful at the moment as I concentrated on their chat.

  “I’ve been hearing that the neighboring kingdom at the east Mivtic, has a small battalion that is going in our direction. You don’t think they plan to take over this town, do you?”

  “I don’t know, we’re so far off from all the other kingdoms that I don’t see the point.” One of the other women nervously responded.

  One of them nervously looked around as she whispered, “and even though he’s terrifying, we also have that B-Ranked adventurer, you know that bear Beastman.”

  “Right? He could easily decimate at least half of them so why take the risk?” She started to wonder.

  It was then one of them started to lean in closer with a bit of worry in her expression. “Do you remember that cavern not that far from here?”

  The first lady gave an expression of fear upon hearing that, “You mean the one with all those dangerous monsters?!”

  She nodded as she continued “Yeah that one, an adventurer told me he met someone crazy enough to explore there. Supposedly they found a lot of those regenerative ore deposits.”

  “Really? With that they could have an unlimited resource of ores. No wonder they’re coming here. Are we going to be alright....”

  Once I gathered the information, I needed I left, making sure not to be seen by them as I return back to the streets as if nothing had happened.

  I began to gather my thoughts, a wicked smile forming across my face, hidden by the mask. So, there’s a possible invasion from a small kingdom? I had to wonder how desperate the townsfolk would be to be saved by them.

  Veehahahahaha~