Peruguis stood by the window, watching as the carriage carrying his lord, Andreas Valekor, and his right hand man, Arden, departed Vakuroum Fortress. They were headed to an emergency meeting with the Northern Border Overlords.
Both of them were gone.
In a normal overlord's estate, such an absence would not be unusual. The partner of the overlord or their children would oversee the territory in their stead. But Valekor had neither. It had been this way for two generations.
When the lord was absent, the great demons governed the estate. In situations like this, that responsibility would normally fall to Arden, the head great demon and the oldest individual in Valekor. But Arden was gone as well.
That left only Peruguis and Barderrossa.
As a high ranking great demon, it had been Peruguis's duty since birth.
Yet these days were different.
His lord intended to appoint a Beastman as captain of a knight order.
Unruly. Uncivilized Beastmen.
"But if it is my lord's order, I must comply."
As the carriage finally left his field of vision, Peruguis turned away from the window and began walking toward the knights' quarters. A territory inspection was in order.
The quarters were noisy when he entered. Knights lay sprawled on beds, talking among themselves, armor set aside carelessly.
"Get in armor."
His voice was quiet and low.
It was more than enough.
The room tensed instantly.
Peruguis was a master knight. He was the wall between a talented warrior and a true prodigy within Valekor. The strongest knight in the territory. The reaction of demons hurriedly equipping their armor was entirely ordinary.
While he waited, a demon approached.
"Captain Peruguis."
"At ease, Nare."
Even so, she straightened slightly.
"Even if you say that, Captain, the aura you are emanating right now does not make that easy."
Nare was an elite knight and an epic mage. Barderrossa had once intended to recruit her into the Mage Corps, but Peruguis had acted first, appointing her as his vice captain.
"We are conducting a routine inspection of the territory," Peruguis said.
"Even though you say that, Captain, you look like we are heading into a war."
"I am not," Peruguis replied, exhaling quietly. "You are all simply too…"
He stopped.
As the conversation continued, Peruguis noticed that the knights were already fully armored and standing in formation.
"Let us move."
As they passed through the streets, Peruguis noticed something unusual.
"What… is that?"
Nare followed his gaze.
"Oh, them? Those are the Beastmen, Captain. Your fans."
"…My fans?"
"Yes. Although you may not know it, Captain, you are quite popular among the Beastmen. They value strength."
"Then what are they doing now?"
"They are following us. They have been doing that for a while, although they usually watch from far away. Did you not notice them, Captain?"
"I do not concern myself with every eye upon me," Peruguis replied. "If they bear no hostility, it is not worth wasting my time."
Nare glanced at him, then changed the subject.
"Well, they do seem to be watching us from a closer distance now. I wonder if something is the matter."
"How would I know."
The knights waited as the exchange ended. Then, emboldened by the movement of the formation, one of the Beastmen stepped forward.
He appeared to be a young man.
Several knights moved their hands toward their weapons.
The Beastman continued forward and stopped directly in front of Peruguis.
Peruguis raised an eyebrow.
"What do you want?"
"Lord Peruguis," the Beastman said. "We heard from Lord Nok'thar that the overlord is planning to create another knight order under him."
"So the news travels fast."
"Although I do not mean to be arrogant by demon standards, I am considered an expert class warrior."
"What are you trying to say?"
"Since Beastmen are now allowed to officially enter knighthood, I wish to work under you."
Peruguis looked down at the Beastman before him.
Uncivilized animals. Do they not know the proper process? They dare approach me directly.
"There are rules to these things," he said. "One must be selected by an official knight to enter as a trainee and then…"
He paused.
Why am I wasting my time explaining procedure to an uncivilized Beastman?
"Go back," he said coldly. "I have duties."
He walked past him without another word.
The Beastman remained behind.
"Truly," Peruguis muttered, "they are beasts."
"Did you say something, Captain?" Nare asked.
"No."
And so, the inspection of the territory continued.
As Peruguis continued the inspection, the Beastmen still followed the knights. He did not care. Once the inspection concluded, he returned to the knights' quarters and entered his own room.
Though he was a great demon and therefore a noble by human standards, Peruguis chose to rest within the knights' quarters beneath his lord's castle. He possessed a mansion of his own, as befitted his status, yet he preferred this place. Perhaps once he married, he would reside in his family's estate. Until then, this was his resting place.
The sun had not yet set, and there was still much to do.
His lord had ordered him to train five new elite knights. Although he had readily accepted the task, it was easier said than done.
"It seems I must increase the difficulty of their training," Peruguis muttered.
There were also matters to discuss with Barderrossa, now that the lord was absent. And beyond that, there was his own training to consider.
Peruguis rested for a few more minutes, then rose and called for a maid who stood by on standby.
"Call Barderrossa to the meeting hall."
"I will do so, Lord Peruguis," the maid replied, bowing before quickly leaving.
Peruguis exited his room and headed toward the meeting hall.
This was the place where he and Barderrossa, following the orders of their young lord, had crushed every great demon who dared oppose Valekor's succession. Though his lord often appeared cruel, Peruguis did not believe that to be the case. His lord simply was not kind. He valued efficiency, much like his grandfather before him.
Peruguis entered the hall, took a seat, and waited.
Ten minutes passed.
Growing bored, he leaned back and closed his eyes.
"Dank."
Peruguis jolted awake.
"Do not break the door," he said sharply.
"I would not," Barderrossa replied. "It is sturdier than you knights think. After all, I magically enhanced every door and window in this mansion."
"Do you wish to test your enhancement skills, Bard?"
"Call me Bard again and I will give you a reason to retire, Per."
Peruguis and Barderrossa were what most people would call childhood friends. Both hailed from great demon families under Valekor, and they had spent much of their youth and early adulthood together. Though their duties now buried them, they still found time for moments like this.
"You are taking risks speaking like that," Peruguis said.
Normally, Arden would have intervened by now, scolding them with a reminder that youngsters should not behave so recklessly. But Arden was not here. If they were not careful, this could develop into a duel.
"Uhm… Lord Barderrossa."
Peruguis's eyes widened. His body stiffened instantly, abandoning its relaxed posture.
"Who is that?" he asked.
"It seems you finally noticed her, Per," Barderrossa said calmly. "That is my summon."
"Summon?"
Peruguis looked more closely. He felt the magic emanating from the being before him, as well as the unusual glow of her blue hair.
"Is that a water elemental?"
"Yes. She is a guardian water spirit. She was formed within a lake deep in the demonic forest. When I noticed her, I made a contract."
"She seems newly born," Peruguis said. "The mana she is unconsciously releasing confirms it."
"She still lacks control," Barderrossa replied. "But in a few hundred years, she may develop into an ancient spirit."
"I am jealous," Peruguis admitted. "If I gained a spirit of my own, I might reach grandmaster as a magic swordsman."
"You do not even possess as much mana as an epic level mage."
Since learning that she was a spirit, Peruguis relaxed again.
"Do they truly consume that much mana?"
"Yes. More than you think."
After taking a seat, Barderrossa turned to the spirit.
"You may return now, Yuno. I have shown off enough to Per."
Yuno dissolved into mana without a sound.
Barderrossa then faced Peruguis.
"Now that I have firmly established my superiority, we can begin today's report."
There was much Peruguis wanted to say. Instead, he swallowed it all.
"Yes," he said. "Let us begin."
There was much to discuss.