'There's this much difference between the two...'
Rina-san is very strong.

　Against Blue, Hope and Silver, Lina easily won her third straight match.

'I've never seen a Kobold this strong before,'

　Lina calls out to a depressed Silver. None of the words from the winner (Lina) were echoed by the loser (Silver). Silver's ears were drooping more.

　In terms of status, there is not that much difference between them, but.......is it because of Lina's skill?

Pathetic. Still, you're the Master's family!

　The last subordinate who scolded the three defeated subordinates - Chloe confronts Lina.

''I'm also a member of Theon's household?
'Ha!　Newcomer!　Lick your mouth!　You know what to do!

　Chloe glares at Lina with a fierce expression that I never see on her face. In contrast, Lina also glares at Chloe quietly.

'We will not allow you to kill each other!　Let the mock battle begin!

　Taking my words as a cue, Chloe plants the first bow and arrow. Lina knocks down the approaching arrows with calm swordplay.

''Burn out! --Fire Arrow!

　Chloe fires multiple flaming arrows at Lina, but Lina rolls forward and ducks the oncoming fire arrows. I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this as well.

''--?!''

　Lina steps quickly, but her left arm is lightly slashed by the dagger. Nevertheless, Chloe delivers a series of breathless blows to Lina, the strength of the dagger, but--

''This is a tough one.
Yeah.

　Chloe's dagger, unleashed with quick movements, was slicing through Lina's soft skin - but the fatal blow was avoided. Moreover, Lina begins to adapt to Chloe's speed. Lina begins to slam her sword into Chloe's short dagger blades.

　Gradually, blood began to seep into Chloe's dark skin.

Slash!

　Chloe is blown backwards by a sharp swing that Lina fired with spirit.

''Kuh?　Ka, the lowly humanity style....

　Chloe bites her lower lip and glares at Lina with a look that is about to kill her.

'Do you still want to continue?'

　In contrast, Lina replies with a calm demeanor.

''Of course--''
Yes, sir. Done!

　I jumped out in front of Chloe, who was about to jump out and announced the end of the mock battle.

　 I thought it would be a good match in terms of status. Was it a difference in environment?　Lina would sometimes battle with higher-ranked demons as well, in order to free her control area. In contrast, the Military was hunting lower-ranked demons that relied on the high-ranking items I gave them. Losing my military would lead to a major CP loss, so I would order them to retreat if they were in any danger.

　Did I spoil them a little too much?　That said, I'd prefer not to take any chances with my survival.

'Chloe, Blue, Hope and Silver. You can back off.

　I order my men to leave the cave.

Yes, sir.
I understand.
Ha!
...?　Well, Master I'm giving you a second chance.
You can go back. Didn't you hear me?
''Ha......... I beg your pardon.

　Blue, Hope, and Silver backed down honestly and gave another order to Chloe, who was biting down, and then quietly left the cave.

　After making sure that the servants had left the cave completely, he called out to Lina.

'How did it go?'

''It's hard to make a blanket judgement since they'll actually be equipped with high-ranking items that Theon has refined, but in terms of skill, they're inferior to the selected members.

Do you think you can conquer the realm with these guys, all loaded up and ready to go?

Those four guys from earlier... That's a bit harsh. At the risk of sounding bitter, was that the second Hope?　He should be left behind. It's just a useless sacrifice. A goblin named Blue is a little tougher, too.

　I knew Hope, but is Blue tough too........

　--Blue, come here for a moment.

　He called Blue, who had just ordered him to leave, again, followed by Living Mail.

''Head, you wanted to see me?''

　Blue freaks out and appears in the cave.

'I'm sorry to keep repeating myself, but next time you're going to fight this guy.
What?　Again?!

　Blue makes a blatantly disgusted expression. Chloe and Dhampir's loyalty is a little too heavy, but on the other hand, this guy is too light. You won't betray me, right...?　I'll take care of the food, just in case.

Win or lose, we'll give you whatever food you want.
'Seriously?　Is meat OK?
No problem. I'll give you a block of money.
"Whoo-hoo!　Roger that!　I'm going to do it!

　It takes 1 CP to smelt a block of pork (roughly 1kg). It's a food that consumes the same CP as rice (10kg), so it's not cost effective, but it can't be helped.

　This time, I started the mock battle with my strongest equipment from the beginning.

　Blue will be equipped with a silver axe, a silver breastplate, and a blue-dyed leather hat, from which the name is derived. It was an item he had equipped during the expedition, so it should be familiar to his body. In contrast, the Living Mail was equipped with the Silver Armor, Silver Shield, Silver Spear, and Silver Helm.

　There is a slight difference in the items given to them, but I expect them to cover that with experience.

''We will not allow each other to kill the other. Let the game begin!

　The first move was blue. He raised his axe and approached the living mail. The swinging Silver Axe and the poised Silver Shield collided with each other, creating a violent collision sound.

''I'm going to do it!
　--Rattling.

　The Living Mail responds to the barking blue with a body shake.

　Blue swings his axe vertically and horizontally. The Living Mail catches it with its shield while occasionally unleashing a stab of silver spear.

　Ten minutes have passed since the mock battle began.

　Blue collapses to the ground in a ragged state, and Living Maille stands in a human position with his shield and spear at the ready.

　The result was a victory for Living Mail.

　The subordinates I created today are stronger than the goblins I spent over a month training........

　I healed Blue with a recovery potion, gave him the promised meat, and ordered him to leave the cave.

''Fundamentally, we need to re-select the invasion members.
Yeah.

　Canon replies to my muttering.

'Lina. How many invasion members do you want?
'Well in terms of strength there are seven of us, including me. Including the back-up, that's twelve.
Are you sure it's that little?
It's all about balance. Too much of it and we'll inhibit each other's actions.
Balance....
However, I want you to be at least as good as that dark elf I mentioned earlier.

　If so, Lina as the attacker is a definite. After that, is Werewolf and Ogre the right choice for a close range attacker?　The tank should be a living mailer. Chloe, Lilim and Dhampir as attackers and support from the rear. The rest of the time you can pick a back-up?

You'd better be able to communicate with the members of the clique, right?
'Yes. If you can't, I can ask the canon to translate for you, but...
That's not going to happen.
What?

　Lina reveals her surprise at my words.

'Canon isn't a subordinate, you know. They can't go outside the realm of control.'
I'm sorry. I will always be at your side as Mr. Theon's chief of staff--
It's a useful search tool.

　I kicked off the words of Kanon, who showed a dexterous expression of sad smugness.

''--na!''

　I go through Kanon, who has a shocked expression on his face, and return to my thoughts again.

　The only way to make them communicate with each other is to make them subordinate, right? If that's the case, then I'll have to make five of them into my subordinate: the Dhampir, the Living Mail, the Lilim, the Werewolf and the Ogre.......

　Silver instead of Living Mail......... No, we can't compromise here. The ranks of creation will not grow for the time being. It's possible to confirm the regulars here.

　If that's the case, it would take at least 50 hours just to make him a military family member? If I'm going to prepare the equipment as well I'll need three days to prepare.

　I'd like to rebuild the area of control with the other equipment I've been able to create....

　The amount of work to be done, as usual, had me scratching my head.