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After that, it seems a top-secret meeting was held between the Demon Lord and my master to plan the Third Division’s assault on Tübahn. A commander for the operation was also chosen, and things suddenly got busy for me too.
Lüenheit, where I am in control, is the closest city to Tübahn. Naturally, it was chosen as the staging base for the assault force.

I ordered the dogfolk unit to begin construction just outside the forest near the western gate.

“This place is for soldiers to rest after long marches. Just make sure it keeps out the wind and rain! I don’t care about the rest!”

I admit it sounds harsh, but we’re short on both materials and manpower.

The main force this time consists of centaurs. Human from the waist up, horse from the waist down. Classic centaurs. And a real headache.
Why? Because they need stables to sleep in. Even if we let them into the city, there’s nowhere for them to stay. And there’s going to be five hundred of these beasts—men.
That’s why I hurriedly ordered the dogfolk engineers to start building quarters.

“Yo, boss. There you are.”

The one calling out to me was Jerich, the smith from the werewolf unit.
He ran up shirtless, holding a horseshoe.

“These are centaur-sized. Regular horseshoes won’t fit. Had to forge them from scratch. How’s this look?”
“Even if you ask me…”

I took it in my hand, but I had no clue.

“Well, I trust your craftsmanship. I’ll leave it to you.”
“Great! I’ll crank them out fast. Don’t schedule me for anything else, alright?”
“Yeah, I heard you.”

Then came Big Sis Fern.

“Veit, what do centaurs eat? Hay?”
“Well, their upper bodies are human, so… probably not hay…”

Then again, with demonkin, you never really know.
As a precaution, we’re preparing double portions of human food per centaur soldier. Not quite as bad as werewolves, but they sure eat a lot.

“What do we do, then? We don’t have that much meat in stock.”
“Werewolves are the only ones who keep crying for meat. Just throw in some bread and dried fruit. That’ll do.”
“Okay, I’ll get it arranged.”

Fern dashed off busily.
Different species meant different biology, different needs—everything was a major logistical operation.

While we were struggling with all that, a dogfolk guard came running up.

“Something’s approaching the south gate! Around 1,500 strong!”
“Fifteen hundred?”
“They look like cavalry!”

That’s odd. The centaur corps shouldn’t be that big.
I immediately ordered construction halted and had the dogfolk retreat into the city from the west gate.
What the hell is going on?

I rushed to the south gate and ordered it sealed. Then I howled to call my subordinates.
Responding to the emergency call, werewolves began gathering at the south gate one after another.

“Veit, wasn’t today supposed to be when reinforcements arrived?”
“Reinforcements wouldn’t come from that direction, right?”

Everyone kept talking at once. I told the werewolves to stay alert—just in case. It was the same during the Tübahn volunteer army incident.

The approaching force did look like cavalry, but as they came closer, I could make them out more clearly.
Oh, never mind—they are centaurs.
Humanoid upper bodies armored like knights, horse-like lower bodies about the size of ponies. Fierce-looking bunch.
Still, the scale didn’t match what we’d been told.

Eventually, the centaur soldiers lined up before the gate. One slightly smaller centaur stepped forward.
Wielding a short spear and small shield, the centaur twirled her spear flamboyantly and shouted:

“Hey-hey! I am Firniel the ‘Mad Gallop,’ vice-commander of the Demon Lord Army’s Third Division! Open the gates, open uuuup!”

It was a girl’s voice.

I had heard the name Firniel before, so I jumped down from the wall to greet them. The worried werewolves followed behind me.

“I’m Veit, vice-commander of the Third Division. First time meeting, I believe?”

When I introduced myself, the centaur girl nodded happily.

“Yeah! First time! I’m not a magician, but I’m still Lady Gomoviroa’s apprentice! Nice to meet you, Senior!”
“Uh… yeah.”

This girl was throwing me off my rhythm.

Everything seemed fine, so I led them toward the western forest.

“There are no proper facilities for centaurs inside the city, so we’ve set up camp here. It’s built for five hundred.”
“Ehh? Why only five hundred?”

I sighed and explained to the pouting Firniel.

“Because you didn’t report your actual number.”
“Well, I was planning to bring just five hundred, but everyone wanted to come along too… ehehe.”

Ehehe my a̲s̲s̲.

No choice. I ordered the dogfolk to pitch more tents. I couldn’t just let Demon Lord Army soldiers sleep under the stars. Hopefully, we’d have enough.

“Lady Firniel—”
“Just call me Firniel! I’m your junior, after all!”

She beamed at me. She was innocent and cute, but I wasn’t sure she was cut out to be a commander.

“Firniel. Listen, the Demon Lord Army is neither a hobby club nor a charity. Reports must be accurate. Orders must be followed. We can’t have problems from poor discipline.”

When I gave her a stern lecture, Firniel stood up straight and saluted.

“Yes sir! I’ll be more careful from now on!”

Hey, she’s surprisingly obedient.

“So you’re not mad anymore, right, Senior?”
“Can you stop calling me that?”

I invited her into the governor’s manor and brought her to the office. Her hooves were definitely going to damage the carpet, but I’d apologize to the maids later.
Time to get down to business.

“So we’ve got 1,500 centaurs, 300 waxcorpse soldiers from senior Merlene, and Master’s bringing 1,000 skeletons, right?”
“What about you, Senior?”

There it is again. Stop calling me that.

“It’s the werewolf unit’s job to defend Lüenheit…”

The city guard rebelling was highly unlikely, but I still couldn’t leave it unguarded. I couldn’t move the werewolves.

“Master said she lent you 2,000 skeletons, right?”
“I’m not deploying them. They’re for defending Lüenheit.”

Firniel just smiled brightly.

“It’s fine! If anyone comes, it’d just be a Tübahn relief force.”

I stared hard at the map.
Lüenheit is a trade city, with routes to all neighboring towns. That makes it convenient for launching invasions—also makes it easy to invade.
But the Milardia Alliance’s main forces are locked in heavy fighting up north. It’s unlikely they’d come here.

“…Still, we can’t let our guard down.”

While I hesitated, Firniel leaned in earnestly.

“Senior, the Tübahn campaign is about more than just the southern front—it’s the future of the entire Demon Lord Army. We absolutely cannot fail. So please, lend us those troops!”

Her eyes were serious. I found myself nodding.

“Y-yeah, you’re right…”
“And hey, if we capture Tübahn, the Alliance will come to retake that first, not Lüenheit! Wouldn’t that make your city safer?”

She instantly flipped back to her cheerful tone.
But I couldn’t shake the memory of her serious gaze. She really did understand the situation. No wonder she was made vice-commander.

“Firniel… Can you even command skeletons?”
“Nope!”
“Then we’ve got a problem.”

I shot her down coldly.
Firniel drooped, dejected.

I stood up and gently patted her back.

“In that case, I’ll go with the skeletons myself. Get Master’s permission for me.”

Her expression lit up immediately. She stomped her hooves and threw her arms around me.

“Thank you! I love you, Senior!”

Seriously—please stop calling me that.