My Girlfriend is an S-Class Adventurer

Chapter 287 The Message

The greatest leaders of the Broteforge Empire had gathered at the request of Alexis Dmitry, a Class-S Adventurer whom everyone had learned to admire and respect since the sudden outbreak of war.

At a large table in the Imperial Palace sat the most important figures in Broteforge.

Seven of the Nine commanders of the Noble Families were present, missing only the two leaders of the Smakusa Family, who had been missing since the two days leading up to the Continental War, as well as all their relatives.

Leaders of powerful Clans who now commanded the main defense forces of the Imperial Capital were also seated at the table. Most of them carried their eccentricity, but it was exactly the fact that they were outsiders that made them stand out from the majority and also what made them as powerful and influential as some of the commanders of the Noble Families.

Besides them, at the right end of the table sat the person with the greatest decisive power in the entire Broteforge Empire, namely Emperor Callant. He was a young man, but also very responsible. The Emperor's thirst for victory was probably the greatest in the entire kingdom, surpassing that of Alexis, Luke, Ayumi, and anyone else besides himself; after all, Callant had wives and children he would protect with his life if he had to, and he also carried the legacy of his entire family, as well as all the expectations of his father, the former Emperor.

At this table, one person stood out from the rest, more than the Nobles, Clan Leaders and the Emperor. This person had short white hair of old age, bulky muscles, and a height well above average. This was Ogen, an old half-dragon.

Ogen was an experienced man, very experienced, so he could read that the situation in that hall was even more tense than when he fought Luke Lange a few weeks ago.

Of course, no one there doubted the old man's ability to really transform himself into a fifteen-meter tall dragon with black scales, for the event had been reported by thousands of soldiers and broadcast for hours in meetings prior to the one required by Ogen; however, it wasn't every day that people heard about a man who was able to transform himself into a monster, and it became even more unbelievable to the Leaders of Broteforge when they heard that this same being helped rather than annihilated the Broteforgian Army.

There was the possibility that it was all true and that the man really did have pure intentions, but this help could also be a way of trying to distract or deceive them, those two always being the first alternative for strange people and strange events.

"What are you?" Ayumi was the first among the leaders to address words to Ogen.

The beauty of the Strogueher Matriarch was mind-blowing most days, but receiving her suspicious gaze conveyed an unbearable feeling to most people, like a warning not to tease or underestimate her.

Ogen didn't seem to mind this look. With arms crossed and eyes clenched in boredom, he yawned and replied, "A half-dragon."

Ayumi continued with an unflinching expression. "Of that we already know, and that is perhaps undeniable because of your horns like Alexis Dmitry's. So I am basically asking your name, the place you come from and what your command position is, so we will know how to address you."

The dragon noted that there was no use getting lazy now, nor being proud. This meeting could decide the fate of the entire continent and even the entire world, including his people and his Lord, so Ogen began to understand that he couldn't be ignorant and end up messing everything up.

'I have to make my Lord proud.' He thought as he uncrossed his arms and adopted a posture more appropriate to the situation. Ogen placed his right hand on his chest subtly and stated, 'My name is Ogen Griffin, of the Griffin Clan, the last half-dragon Clan in existence. I am one of the Three Great Dragons who protect the half-dragon people, but today I am not a protector, but an emissary."

Thanks to this more human presentation, the people at the table could be a little more reassured. Ayumi already had this in mind, as Alexis warned her that the hours she spent with him were terribly long due to his bad personality, and that was exactly why the Strogueher Matriarch requested an introduction for her.

The Emperor placed his hand on his chin as he stared at Ogen. "Right, Mr. Griffin. I confess I've never heard about someone with the ability to transform into a monster like you can, but I'm not surprised, this world is fantastic and giant, people with unique abilities appear all the time. By the way, I would like to introduce myself, I am the Emperor of Broteforge, you can call me by my last name, Callant, and I am extremely curious about what your goal is with us, not just about you." Affirmed the man with black hair and crimson eye.

Usually, Emperor Callant was quite smug, however, since the war started this trait of his personality was severely hurt.

"As I said, today I am just an emissary. Have you guys ever heard of Luke Lange?" Ogen asked.

In the same hour, the expression of most of the people at the table changed. Luke Lange was a recognizable name to any inhabitant of the Broteforge Empire, but especially important to the people in that hall, because they knew the truth about where he was, a truth that the normal inhabitants and soldiers did not know.

Ayumi Yamazaki and Alexis Dmitry stood next to each other at the table and immediately looked at each other. They already knew that Ogen had a message to reveal, however, he refused to say who it was from until everyone was gathered.

"He speaks of the half-wolf, doesn't he?" Hollorius, leader of the Escadron d'incendie Clan, asked. After the tournament, Hollorius tried to approach Luke to convince him to join his Clan, but had his attempt thwarted.

Jimbe Collalto was wearing a confused expression. "Him? It's been many weeks since I've heard about him."

"His mission status is not being disclosed." Amanda Hangen explained to Jimbe, to her left at the table.

Batista, a Secular, was standing with his arms crossed and also frowned upon hearing about Luke. "Isn't this that crazy man who is on that suicide mission?"

"Yes, yes, I've had a chance to talk with him.... Certainly an interesting individual~." Mikaela Åkerman said.

The Emperor remained silent.

Ayumi restrained the urge to ask how Luke was doing, after all it had been weeks since Amelia Hangen had gotten in touch with him and Meredith. At the time, they had not crossed their ranges yet.

However, while Ayumi's main personality traits were to be calm and rational, Alexis was pretty much going in the opposite direction, so she quickly asked:

"How is Luke? Is he alive?" From the lack of contact, the S-Class feared that the worst could have happened and constantly needed to try to forget about it by delving deeper and deeper into the heated battles of the Front Line, but upon hearing Luke's name mentioned she couldn't help herself.

"Um..." Ogen crossed her arms and thought for a moment before answering. "The half-wolf is fine if that's what you want to know, however, even he can't tell you how long he will be like this. The day after I took you to my people's land, it started attacking again.... You must know what it is."

Ayumi immediately looked down at the table, breaking into a cold sweat. Ogen could only be talking about the curse that afflicted Luke and one of the reasons Ayumi was so worried about this trip Luke and Meredith decided to take.

Manilyn presented a theory of how to cure her, which would be by killing the creator of the scroll that cursed him. However, the only clue they had about this person was the name: Bukavac.

Before the half-wolf's girlfriends could say anything more, the Emperor finally interfered. He politely stood up so that he could speak and exulted:

"Luke is a man, I'm sure he's fine. The proof is that, even in the difficult situation he has put himself in, he thinks about this nation and its people, not to mention that he is apparently responsible for Ogen coming to Broteforge, which allowed us to defeat the Fourth Wave. Certainly, the message you bring is very important, isn't it, Mr. Griffin?"

Ogen sighed and nodded. "Luke said that under current conditions, the Broteforge Empire cannot defeat the demons, and that you must pull back your forces..."

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!?" Jiyo, the Sensory Magician who commands the

Special Forces of Broteforge and who had been silent until that moment, suddenly stood up from his chair upon hearing Ogen's words. "RETREAT IS NOT AN OPTION! NO MATTER WHO SAYS SO!"

"Calm down, Jiyo. The man is not finished yet." Kristofer ordered. The leader of the Hunter Owls Clan was being in a chair near the corner of the table, wearing his original blue Yukata.

"Khum!" Ogen cleared his throat. "It may just be the ravings of someone debilitated, but while Luke was sleeping, he was also talking. The first day, the words that came out of his mouth were indecipherable, like innocent whispers. However, as that week progressed, he began to talk about a blonde woman, about a half-moon, until when he finally woke up, he said he knew how to not only stop the advance of the Melki Empire, but also defeat the demons forever."

At that moment, no one at the table knew how to react. Normally, they would not believe such empty words coming from a stranger, however, if it was true that Luke knew how to win, they felt they could not doubt. The half-wolf had proven to most at that table that he was someone special, but could the future of one of the greatest Empires in history be entrusted to a mere former thief?