On The Other Side: I Quit Being Human

The whispers and the stares disappear after we pass through the Teleportation Gate. We appear in the backyard of my office, the previous castle of the conquered Antares Kingdom, where the Teleportation Gate is built.

Holding Valeria's hand, I guide her into the office building. The guards notice us immediately and bow to us politely. It seems the exaggerated story has reached the ears of the Antares people. I can hear the guards making faint remarks about how I kick God's butt back into his realm. I wonder who made that story.

Nodding to acknowledge their greetings, I enter the building with Valeria. The maids who are busily running around in the building instantly halt their steps. They turn to Valeria and me and bow to us. None of them talks anything about what I did in the recent war, which is refreshing. I prefer them over the guards.

"This is our great madame."

"Yes, she is the Goddess in the lead. She is the head of Lord Layland's harem!"

"Ah, indeed. You can only expect such a perfect woman to be in that position."

I retract my words. They are not any better than the guards. Geez, these people are very fond of gossiping, aren't they? It gets annoying sometimes, but it is not a bad thing. So far, they have only gossiped about mundane things. It is one of the proofs that they are having a comfortable life. Oppressed people will talk about their plan to take their tyrant down behind his back.

Valeria and I quickly head to my office. I could have just teleported us there, but I want to see the situation inside the building. I rarely spend my time in this building. When I do, I am always cooped up in my office, so I rarely take a look around the building. Although I have no reason to, showing my appreciation to the workers by supervising them is the least I can do.

When we reached my office, I immediately open the door and enter the room. The people inside stand up and turn their bodies to me. They look surprised if their widened eyes are any indication. They must have thought I would take my time with Valeria. The good news for them, I am a professional leader.

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"Welcome back, Commander," Maxine and Decima greet meanwhile the others give me a light bow.

"Good to be back, everyone. Thank you for your on-time presence."

I sit on my chair as Valeria stands on my side. I gesture for everyone to also sit down, but they seem to be dumbfounded by something, so they react late. I would like to inquire about it, but that is too trivial to be concerned about. There are many things I have to do, so I immediately cut to the chase.

"I only have one reason for summoning all of you here: I want to know the progress of your work. I think we can learn a lot of things from the battle that has just recently concluded. First of all, we can learn that humans have a strong influence on Luxibrae. Last but not least, we can learn that God will be more involved in the mortal's affairs from now on."

Everyone's mood instantly becomes solemn. Some of them even nibble their lip uncomfortably. God is a sore talk to those who stand on the Demon's side. We have many powerful people on our side, but God makes them useless. The only person we have on our side who can fight toe to toe with God is Ilschevar and his action is severely limited.

Their concern is valid, but that doesn't mean we can't do anything. We can do many things to increase our odds and I summoned them to tell them about it.

"Gabriel, Abigail; how is the 'cancer removal' going?" I ask as I turn to the two gals.

"It is proceeding very well," Abigail answers. "We have exterminated twenty thousand of the corrupted and demolished sixteen of their bases. We won't claim they have entirely gone, but their number is no longer worrying."

"Unfortunately, though, we are sure they won't stop coming and corrupting our people. We need to find the Shaman soon, so we can prevent them from growing any further," Gabriela adds. "Quite a lot of our people--mostly the elder ones--don't support your government, Commander. If we don't stop these people from coming, many will question your government."

A few months ago, the Temple sent some bastards who were well-versed in Geas to Antares. These bastards propagated the Temple's propaganda and ignited the rebellious spirits inside the people. Although most people rejected their propaganda, the offer they had was extremely enticing. They could erase the Geas I cast on them.

They spread distrust toward me among the people, threatening the harmony of the city. Groups quickly formed and the rebellion plan was made. It never came to fruition, unfortunately for them, because Hadrian's Agents caught the whiff of it. I quickly ordered people to look for the culprit of the discord and eliminate them.

The bastards disappeared from this earth soon, but their influence remains. These clever bastards had also expected their death, so they had shared their knowledge about how to remove my Geas with the people in advance. We call the people who got the knowledge, Shamans. They are the reason why cancer keeps growing in Antares to this day.

"Hadrian and the Black Merchant will take care of that matter. You two can focus on your job, which is eliminating the blind followers." When I see the look of hesitation in Gabriela's eyes, I immediately say, "Everyone has the right to live. However, their right to live shouldn't harm our loved ones' safety. Don't let your blade quiver. Do what you think is the best for those you care about."

The people who don't admit my government have a valid reason to reject me. I have killed their families and loved ones. More than 60% of the people in Antares have, at least, one of their family members or close friends in the army. We took those people from them, so it is not out of the ordinary for them to be hateful.

Most of them have calmed down and accepted the fate that befell the people they lost. Their lives have gotten better, so they have no more reason to complain. Though, most of them still can't bring themselves to forgive me. Their desire for revenge is deeply hidden in their hearts and it only requires a slight nudge to reignite them.

Those bastards from the Temple know exactly how to do it. The people are no more than the victims of the Temple's manipulation. Gabriela has realized this and she is hesitating. Is it right to kill them? Yes, it is. Nothing should go against our interests.

"Those same people don't mind cutting your baby's neck in front of you if they are given the chance. Don't pity them," I remind Gabriela, bringing more solemnity into the air.

Gabriela spends some time thinking to herself before smirking. "They can't kill my baby, you know? You haven't given any."

Everyone turns to Gabriela with a slightly bewildered look. Possibly, they are equally surprised by how casual she is with me and how quickly she recovers from her solemn mood. I know better not to engage in her shenanigans, so I ignore her remark. I turn away from her and focus my gaze on the person standing beside Velucan.

"With that out of the way, I am going to ask Shanifa about the situation in Cresundia. How long do you think the Temple will keep it in the Rectusomine Alliance? The Temple's actions have been indicating that it is suspicious of you. Do you think it will take over Cresundia soon?"

"I can't say for sure...but it is better to begin the exodus as soon as possible," Shanifa drawls out. "Cresundia is now the weakest Kingdom among the remaining four human Kingdoms. The Temple must be itching to lay their hands on it."

"Very well." I nod lightly. "We will take over Cresundia in three months."

"Yes?"

"What?"

"Hoh...? Interesting."

Everyone is surprised, but no one is against the idea. Each of them already knows the competence of their subordinates--we can do it. What they fail to see, though, is the reason why we need to do that. I have always been preaching about our tight budget, so my decision to take over a Kingdom must seem out of the ordinary.

"Why?" Lemius asks simply as he tilts his head.

"We need a massive barrack and a battle fortress."

"Are you..." Shanifa trails off.

"I will suck Cresundia dry and use its resources to turn it into an impregnable fortress which is also the place for our soldiers to hone their skills. I am going to turn it into the home of our Warriors."

It sounds like a big talk, which I won't deny. Antares is stabilizing and improving each day, but it has yet to set its feet properly. For me to plan on conquering another territory just because I can't do anything but wait for Antares to grow seems like a hasty decision. However, we can no longer wait. The clock is ticking. A great change will occur in six months. We have to be ahead of everyone.

If you think that I decided it on the spur of the moment, you will be wrong. I have thought this through beforehand. There is another reason why Cresundia has to be taken over: the Alchemists whom the Kingdom has been oppressing for generations. I 'heard' they make potions that produce Heroes.