[WN] Shut-In : Chapter 139

Chapter 139

Tomorrow, I Will Too

Translator : PolterGlast

The state religion in the Grust Kingdom is a religion called the Holy Church. Well... it probably has an official proper name, but it's generally just called the Holy Church. It is a monotheistic religion similar to the Christianity I know. Monotheistic religions tend to stick closely to those in power because they provide legitimacy to their rule, like the concept of the divine right of kings. It seems a progression often seen on Earth is also happening in this kingdom; the country's Holy Church and the organization governing it are completely in bed with the state's authority.

And now, that same Holy Church is in the midst of a massive restructuring. Evidence of their misdeeds has been coming out one after another in a chain reaction from Izel II, who had been deeply colluding with the Holy Church to commit various atrocities. Naturally, among that evidence was proof that Izel II had conspired with the upper echelons of the Holy Church to secretly assassinate Miku.

Personally, I thought it would be fine to just eradicate the religion itself at that point, but surprisingly, the one who put a stop to it was Miku.

「I think the Holy Church is necessary for the people of the Kingdom too. Just having something they can believe in and rely on makes a huge difference, after all.」

Precisely because she had traveled all over the country as a Saint, Miku felt the necessity of the Holy Church. It's quite an unfamiliar concept to me as a Japanese person, but it seems the Holy Church in this country has become a level of general education, used as part of their schooling and as a standard for ethical and moral behavior. If we were to forcibly remove it, she said it would undoubtedly leave a root of calamity for the future.

"I'll do something about it," Miku said. So, I obediently decided to leave it to her.

I have absolutely no intention of leaving the Holy Church unchecked. But if it's Miku, who was nearly assassinated herself, she will ruthlessly take a scalpel to the corruption within the Holy Church.

And so, to check on how Miku was doing, I came to the headquarters of the Holy Church, the Ode Cathedral. I've never traveled abroad, so of course, this is my first time entering such a full-fledged religious facility. Feeling a little nervous, I had them let me in through the back entrance.

(Heh... So this is what it looks like.)

Looking around inside, the first floor had a massive number of seats prepared for the believers, and slightly elevated from there was a space set up for preaching. The structure allowed sunlight to pour down through the stained glass onto the priest delivering the sermon. Are they utilizing visual effects...? I surprisingly can't underestimate them.

(As expected, it seems they are closed today.)

I entered through the back, but it seems that today of all days, even the church personnel weren't in a position to be praying; the general public area meant for offering prayers was blocked off so no one could enter. Turning my eyes toward the second floor, people who looked like church members were running around holding documents, looking unbelievably busy. They too are probably running around frantically to squeeze out the pus from the inside.

「Excuse me, we have stopped accepting worshippers for today...」

A sister, who apparently thought I was a stray believer or something, called out to me. She was gripping a massive stack of papers in her hands, and her complexion looked a little pale.

「Oh, sorry, but could you guide me to the Saint...?」

「Umm... Her Holiness the Saint is currently extremely busy. Unless you have a prior appointment...」

「You idiot! Didn't they send out a notice beforehand!?」

「Ouch!? What are you doing, Camus-san!」

The exhausted sister was lightly smacked on the head by a male monk who had approached nearby. The monk quickly straightened his clothes, then smoothly gestured behind him with his hand.

「Masaru-sama, please come this way. I will guide you to the back!」

「Masaru-sama... Ehh!? This person is!?」

I wonder what kind of things are being said about me within the Holy Church... I was curious, but I decided not to ask for details. There are some things in this world better left unknown.

「For now, please do your best.」

When I cast High Heal on her, the sister's complexion returned to normal in an instant. Giving a light wave to the surprised sister, I followed the guide up to the second floor.

As we proceeded deeper, passing by rushing clergy members, a massive set of double doors came into view. Inside the room behind the glass-decorated doors was a huge vertical desk, and sitting at the so-called head of the table, Miku was wrestling with paperwork.

「Miku, how are things going?」

「—Masaru! You came back!」

When Miku looked up, her expression brightened radiantly, and she ran over to me. Thinking she looked like a dog welcoming its owner back home, I gave her a light hug.

Instead of the rough habit she had been wearing until now, Miku was dressed in overly decorated clothing that suited the image of a Saint. Apparently, this is her formal attire as a Saint. —With Izel II abdicating and the authority of the power-holders who colluded with him collapsing, Miku had returned to the Holy Church as the Saint.

At the time she brought our classmates back, she was branded a heretic and stripped of her title as a clergy member, but it seems the heresy charge has already been lifted, and she is able to act as the Saint without any issues.

「Are there any problems?」

「Mhm, my former subordinates came rushing over immediately, and right now, even the higher-ups of the Holy Church are bowing their heads low to me.」

With enough charisma to build a whole faction in just six months, and being the best friend of the current monarch, Alice, she coincidentally gained the same status as the power-holders who tried to eliminate her. Currently, she is using that power without hesitation, wielding her exceptional skills to completely reform the Holy Church from the inside.

「For now, it looks like everyone who was doing shady things will have to atone for their crimes and have their personal assets confiscated. As for the Cardinals, evidence of their misdeeds keeps popping up one after another, so they'll probably all be executed. About ninety percent of the Archbishops will likely be stripped of their wealth and thrown out of the royal capital completely penniless.」

「Whoa...」

「Well, honestly, I want them to be grateful that I'm just not killing them. After hearing what they did, I genuinely want to execute all of them.」

What she's doing is brutal... I thought, but after hearing what they had done, I ended up sharing Miku's exact sentiments. Not just inciting assassination, but bribery to the Kingdom, tax evasion, rape within the church, and indecent acts targeting the orphans in the orphanages they ran (terrifyingly, it seems many of them had a taste for young boys)... Almost all the people in positions of power had an unbelievable amount of additional crimes. By the way, the Cardinals' crimes apparently warrant execution even under Kingdom law, so the death penalty is fully justified.

In order to completely squeeze out the pus within the Holy Church, she's apparently using her authority as a trump card to pick fights even with Archbishops where evidence is insufficient, aggressively confiscating their personal assets. It's a terrifyingly forceful power play, but it seems it's possible right now because the Holy Church's own power base is shaky.

Maybe this is what they mean when they say the best thing to have is a friend who's a King. Not that you can easily have something like that... Wait, thinking carefully about it, I'm friends with Alice and Emilia too, right? My bad, I take back my previous statement.

「To ensure they can never exert political influence again, I want to firmly separate the church and state. Ultimately, I want to turn it into a laid-back organization that just runs orphanages, soup kitchens, and holds mass on Sundays.」

「...Isn't that going to take a ridiculous amount of time?」

「For now, I want to elevate the status of people who seem decent, and then have them cooperate with the Kingdom to handle it. It's impossible for me to do everything myself, after all.」

It seems Miku is incredibly tired. Although she seems to be managing her physical fatigue with Recovery Magic, her mental exhaustion appears to have built up considerably.

「But it looks like it'll still take a little more time. I'll probably have things wrapped up in about a week, so I want you to wait just a bit longer.」

Although people around her are desperately trying to stop her, once she cuts through the organization's corruption cleanly and swiftly, Miku intends to quit being a Saint. Well, having the title of Saint restricts your actions in various ways. Besides, Miku is technically a 'Fallen Saint' anyway. Still, her strong sense of responsibility to properly finish what needs to be done before quitting is very typical of Miku.

「I'm planning to head to the battlefield starting tomorrow.」

「I see, you're going to train Lirica-san, right?」

「At the same time, I'm thinking of observing what kind of people the demons really are.」

As we caught up on what happened today, the time passed in the blink of an eye.

「Ah, I prepared this just in case, so eat it if your brain gets tired.」

「Wow...!」

Miku's sparkling eyes were fixed on the items I took out of my Item Box... various chocolate snacks, including boxed ice cream and chocolate bars. I placed them inside a giant block of ice created with Ice Magic, so there shouldn't be any worry about them melting for a while. In the end, when you're tired, sweet things are the best. By the way, I'm in the Kinoko (Mushroom) faction, but since I didn't know which faction Miku belonged to, I prepared both Kinoko and Takenoko (Bamboo Shoots). My ability to avert a war beforehand might mean I have the makings of a tactician.

「I have some salty stuff too, you want them?」

「I do!」

Supplying her with a second wave of potato chips and various snacks, I couldn't help but laugh seeing Miku happily hugging the massive pile of junk food. Things will probably still be tough, but I really want her to do her best.

Of course, I'll do my best too! I'll have to get even more fired up than usual tomorrow.

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[WN] Emperor's Seventh Son : 19 - 9

19-9

The White Stake

Translator : PolterGlast

I was utterly exhausted thanks to Sigrun. If possible, I felt like finding an inn and sleeping, but well, that wasn't going to happen. Since the Abyss Ants had appeared, the next step was to cut off the source. Therefore, requesting the beastman army's help, we searched the forest on the western side where the enemy's appearance was prominent, and sure enough, a white stake stood towering there.

「It was found easily, alright, leave this to sessha!」

「Don't spout nonsense, Big sis! Please, just stop with that sword!」

All the beastmen agreed with Yashu's words and prostrated themselves before the Lord of Thunder in the form of a Horned person.

「I'll do it. My power has good affinity with this thing.」

「Like I'd let you, here I go! Gyuuoooon, oryaaaaa!!」

I hadn't expected anything from Sigrun's personality from the start. Thinking she would do it, I covered my ears first, and the beastmen also fell to the ground and clutched their ears. The vibrating sword chipped away at the white stake little by little, and by the time the excessively long thunderclap passed, the stake was finally destroyed.

「Sorry, it was hard! But even sessha managed to break it, Shinza♪」

「Wh-What a terrifying person...」

「Didn't I tell you it was noisy and to stop, Big sis Sigrun!」

She doesn't have the kind of personality to listen to what she's told. At any rate, with this, the source was cut off. It would be bad if their queen had slipped in, but searching for her just in case probably wasn't our job.

「Being with you makes me tired...」

『Kukuku... it's like giving a chainsaw to a madman. The worst possible combination.』

Must be nice for Zirant to be so carefree since she's just watching... Sigrun was a peerless warrior, but she was also a troublemaker whom no one could handle... Just who was it... The idiot who thought of giving Sigrun a sword that's basically a mass of noise...

◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆

And so, we entered the royal capital in a form that induced awe and fear. Preparations for an audience with the King were quickly made, and the chance to thank King Kaha for sending his elites arrived.

「I didn't expect you to be a man of this caliber. I am the King who unites this Da Kaha Kingdom, Yashu.」

「A-Auu... Don't look at me, kyan, Ashley-sama... In this country, there are many 'Yashu's, kyan...」

「Ah, that's how it is, so you can just call me Kaha. But you really saved us. I'm even stroking my chest in relief, thinking that choosing Ashley-dono was the right answer.」

「...I see, a lot of things make sense now. With your personality, it wouldn't be strange for you to send a reinforcement or two to someone you took a liking to. Those guys in the reinforcements are good-natured folks. So much so that we'd like to learn from them.」

The King was a large wolf species with a fearless atmosphere. Just by taking one look at him, I thought he was a trustworthy guy. He's frank and probably prioritizes intuition over logic. Otherwise, he wouldn't have sent elites to us.

「And that over there is the terrifying Lord of Thunder?」

「Are you talking about sessha? Umu, after rampaging just a little, the soldiers started looking at sessha with frightened eyes! Your soldiers lack devotion!」

「You... Don't use that sword anymore where your allies are...」

「Why? Do you dislike it that much!?」

Even I, who am aware of my own rudeness, don't have the resolve to activate a mass of noise in an audience chamber... But Sigrun did. Releasing a ridiculous explosive sound, she overturned King Kaha on his throne with the noise...

「I... I see, this is certainly a Lord of Thunder... For me of all people to almost wet myself...」

「What are you saying too, King Kaha...」

「Well, it was a white stake, right? I'm grateful you seemingly removed the cause too. So, about the underground tunnel...」

「Yeah, I opened it up. If you use that, you can ride into the Imperial Capital without being noticed by the enemy. I'll rely on your reinforcements when the time comes.」

「Then it's also a good idea to use that and have our main force stationed in Fimbul... Understood, call us when the firefight starts.」

The conversation is too fast here, too. It would have been fine if he grumbled a little more, yet he said he would bet his country's future on us.

「King Kaha, why did you feel like lending a hand to Georg and me?」

「That's obvious, I took a liking to you. There's no idiot other than you who would snatch back our comrades from scoundrels just to save our comrades, Prince Ashley. We were moved by your actions.」

It seemed their very way of thinking was different from us, who only think in terms of logic and calculation. That figure of theirs, choosing emotion as if it were obvious, is perilous, but as a man, I find it favorable.

「You got me there...」

I was planning to run away if the signs of defeat grew thick. Yet, with this, I can't run away. No matter what happens, I must win for the sake of those who are lending me their strength. I felt myself being swallowed up by a massive war.

「I'm having a meal prepared right now, so wait a bit. I'm looking forward to the firefight in the Empire.」

「Sessha also agrees with the big doggy! We'll do it flashily, Shovel Man!」

「If we do it flashily, it'll just cause that much more damage... Why is it premised on a civil war starting...」

In the beastman country, we received a grand welcome from the cheerful folks. They smell like beasts when gathered, but they are all good guys. For that very reason, I really didn't want any casualties among these deeply affectionate people. If all races on the surface had been born as beastmen, the world probably would have taken a more salvageable shape.

◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆

・Georg

「A white stake again... As if this situation with political strife and zero order wasn't enough, to be dragged down by monsters of the Abyss...」

Not long after Ashley departed, the situation continued to break new records for the worst one after another. The outbreak of civil war could no longer be stopped. Julius and Yord, who had nearly been assassinated, obtained a just cause to suppress the Imperial Capital through armed force. The old enmities that occurred in Father's era had yet to be severed. In such a situation, white stakes appeared in various places. There was no way the regional nobles, who were advancing preparations for war, would allocate a decent military force towards this.

「What will you do? If we disperse our troops any further, it will become difficult to suppress the civil war.」

「Yeah. Even so, if we abandon them, we'd be no different from the rest... We have no choice but to go and destroy the stakes ourselves.」

「Then we shall do so. With things like this, the war funds Ashley-sama procured for us really shine.」

「Yeah... Uncle Morac and the others are telling us to ignore the frontiers and stand by. Those guys just want to use us as shields.」

Because they failed to kill Julius and Yord, it ended up causing a civil war. Why must we wipe their asses for them... It might not be something a general of the Empire should say, but I can't think there is any meaning in such a war...

「The First Imperial Army will be independent from today. Send troops to various places; we are heading towards the Ratatosk area. It seems my younger brother was taken care of by the folks over there, after all...」

「Ashley-sama will definitely return bringing allies with him. For that slightly feeble Ashley-sama to turn out like that, it must surely be the ultimate blessing for an older brother.」

「Yeah, he's a little brother I'm proud of, both now and in the past... Though it wouldn't have caused trouble if I had struck down Julius and Yord back there...」

「I think a civil war would have happened either way. No matter who becomes Emperor, if no one acknowledges that Emperor... peace will not come.」

Father asked me just once if I would succeed him... But I refused. There was no way my older brothers would accept it. That's why I said I would protect the Empire as a soldier.

「That's right. It was a checkmate from the very beginning... Well then, I will go on an expedition to Ratatosk. I leave the rest to you.」

「Yes, sir! Have a safe trip, General Georg! Leave the Imperial Capital and Ashley-sama to us!」

It can't be helped. To destroy the monsters of the Abyss and the white stakes, I departed for the front towards the Ratatosk area, where the damage was most prominent. During that gap, the northern and southern lords will likely clash in the outskirts of the Imperial Capital. I gave strict orders to the First Army left in the Imperial Capital to never join the conflict. It's a war they started. Let them fight amongst themselves as they please. Ashley would surely say something like that.

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[WN] Jitsuwa 3-Domedatta : Chapter 395

Chapter 395

(Kyle Calendar Year 515: Age 22)

Southern Front ⑪ –What is the New Hope?

Translator : PolterGlast

Having won the Second Siege of Big Bridge, Takuhir and the others holed up in the fort for a while even after entering the castle. There were, of course, several reasons for that. What they needed to prioritize the most was post-war processing. Around the fort, the corpses of the enemy army amounting to 12,000 were left abandoned, and leaving them as is would bring about a severe disaster at a later date. Because in the fort, which mainly obtained its water supply from abundant groundwater, there was a concern about the influence corpse poison seeping underground would have on the drinking water and becoming a source of an epidemic breakout. Moreover, a great number of injured were also left behind on the battlefield.

Faced with this, Sieghart gathered that enormous number of corpses in one place, cremated them, and politely mourned them. On the other hand, upon recovering the injured amounting to 3,000, Takuhir had the accompanying Holy Mages treat them. Regarding this matter, because the circumstances of the enemy army's invasion this time were what they were, there were some on the Empire side who raised slight voices of objection, but Sieghart countered them.

「How are their actions any different from the Empire Army that invaded from the border as invaders time and time again? Is it not an overly selfish claim towards those who have continued to take a response overflowing with affection even towards us?」

With these words, the objectors disappeared. After that, it was just Takuhir and the others continuing their normal operations.

Starting with Marianne and Lanatoria, the number of Holy Mages who participated in the war as directly-controlled units was incomparable to before. Since founding the Demon Territory Dukedom, a major change was the natural increase of Mages. Because Mages from all over the Kyle Kingdom had begun to gather under Takuhir.

The first reason was that a success story of meritocratic social advancement and rising in the world had spread. Under him, those who originally were nothing more than commoner Mages successively attained noble titles. Not only that, they were exercising their abilities as commanders and administrative department heads in various fields. With the start of the Royal Command Mage system, their treatment had changed drastically from being treated as a sideshow previously, but now they had begun to dream of prosperity and the future.

The second reason was that due to the academy's system, a portion of the classes for the magic combat training course was held in Teigoon. As a result of visiting the Demon Territory Dukedom, coming into contact with a culture not found in the Kyle Kingdom and the enterprising spirit of the people, the number of Mages wishing to immigrate or be dispatched also increased.

The third reason was the Magic Knights Order formed in preparation for the past great war. The ones deeply involved in its formation were Yuka and Chrisia, the wife of the Archduke and the one bearing the next generation of the greatest Marquis house supporting the Dukedom. The Magic Knights Order itself had already disbanded due to the end of the war, but the people at its core, the sons and daughters of nobles, gathered admiring them.

The respective noble houses on the sending side also had an intention. Because in the newly rising Demon Territory Dukedom, there was a possibility that even those unable to succeed their houses would be newly granted status according to their work and merit.

Due to such circumstances as well, starting with Marianne and Lanatoria, the number of Holy Mages Takuhir had accompany the expeditionary force was incomparable to before. If handled by 10 Holy Mages, even 3,000 injured could be dealt with swiftly. Recovery treatments were performed one after another, and Big Bridge Fort overflowed with the enemy country's soldiers raising cheers and tears of gratitude.

「Hahaha, this is already... nothing but laughable. That is exactly why Lord Takuhir's army is terrifying. Because those who were enemies until just a moment ago become allies one after another... I understood anew watching nearby.」

It is said Sieghart said so while turning slightly pale, gazing at their active roles.

Of course, post-war processing wasn't only that. Even though the Turncoat Kingdom army retreated east, they possessed a military force of over 10,000. Because there was a possibility they would reorganize and turn back, he arranged to dispatch a small unit to the east to scout and inform of an enemy attack using a signal fire in an emergency.

And then, war councils to determine future trajectories were also held several times. Regarding that, during the umpteenth war council, Takuhir and Sieghart intentionally made a certain attempt. They purposely didn't state their own opinions and let each other's staff officers have a free discussion. Because they thought that since they would fight together from now on, a certain degree of mutual understanding and consensus among the staff officers was necessary.

「The enemies besieging this fort are gone. Now is the exact time we should strike out.」

「They have dispersed and scattered to various places to advance the effective control of the new territory. It would be fine if we united and crushed them one by one.」

「They will definitely return. Rather than wasting on just a small communication unit, shouldn't we dispatch an army outside the fort to lie in ambush, and attack the bastards who besiege the fort from the rear?」

There was a reason why there were many aggressive arguments from the Empire Army. Their lord's whereabouts were still unknown, restoring the communication line with the southern frontier region was the top priority, and if possible, they wanted to reduce the numbers of the Sura Principality army scattered to the south even by a little.

「That being said, if we simply strike out, we are a small force. Unless a concrete plan is shown, I can only think we'll end up as bait for the enemy army before our very eyes, though?」

「Defeating them individually sounds nice, but you should keep in mind that the possibility of being dragged out into the midst of the enemy and besieged and annihilated is equally present.」

「Lie in ambush outside the fort? It sounds nice, but what happens if this fort is being monitored? We are widening our eyes for monitoring, but isn't the enemy army the same? An army that went outside intending to hide will reliably be annihilated if exposed; is that fine with you?」

Against Sieghart's spirited staff officers, starting with Christoph, Gord, and Heitz countered. The Commander, same with me, remained intentionally silent.

「Then I would like to ask everyone from the Demon Territory Dukedom. Are you saying we should sit idly, pass the time, and wait to be besieged again?」

「I believe I understand that you lords are concerned for His Highness's safety and speaking of aggressive arguments. That is exactly why we should preserve our strength, and strike out when His Highness's location is confirmed. Since the encirclement network has been broken with much effort, we should dispatch scouts not only to the east but in all four directions, and increase the accuracy of our information.」

Yeah, Christoph's words certainly have a point. In response to that, one of the Empire Army's staff officers answered.

「But time is not an ally for us. Furthermore, it pains our hearts to continue keeping the ultimate elites of the Demon Territory Dukedom tied down to the southern front at this crucial phase. Of course, we are grateful, and we may be laughed at for what we are saying while still in a position where we must borrow your strength...」

I see, there was also this kind of underlying motive to their aggressive arguments. Christoph and the others also had slightly surprised faces. Sieghart also smiled bitterly and looked at me. 'It's about time, is it?' When I nodded, Sieghart began to speak.

「I understand everyone's feelings. But right now when information across the entire southern region of the new territory is cut off, it's difficult to make contact with His Highness too, right? And right now, I think it's still dangerous to slip through the enemy army's patrol network and send a reconnaissance unit south. Therefore, we'll have them besiege this fort one more time, and scouts will secure a communication line with His Highness by striking the gap when the southern wall opens. I want to make this point the top priority.」

「That's right, one thing from me as well. As a major premise, even if we are besieged by an army of 80,000, one corner would be about 20,000. In a siege battle, a mere 20,000 troops are of no consequence to us. They would probably be torn to shreds in an instant and annihilated. And on top of that, without us losing a single allied soldier!」

I said so and laughed at them. However, unlike the Commander, Christoph, and the others who nodded with satisfaction, the reaction of our allied staff officers was delicate.

「Hii, De-D...」

You don't have to be so put off. No, just now... you were about to say 'Demon King', weren't you? Well... it's fine though. In reality, if it's the ultimate attack of a four-consecutive Diffusion Magic Cannon firing, along with terrifying war results, a gruesome scene enough that it can't be helped even if I'm called the Demon King would spread out. It's a weapon that requires a certain amount of resolve to use, but I have no intention of easily giving permission to use it. Because if the place to use it is mistaken, it will no longer be a battle but simply a massacre. And this time, there is also a concealed weapon that can be expected to yield exceeding war results in a further different meaning.

It was at that time. Footsteps rushing to the conference room resounded. The messenger who hurriedly entered the council chamber bowed once to Takuhir and the others before speaking.

「Reporting! Far off in the eastern sky, a signal fire indicating His Highness Grat's main force has been raised! It is believed to have gone through relays in several locations, and details are unknown due to the distance, but His Highness... His Highness seems to be alive and well!」

「What did you say!」

「In that case!」

「Your Excellency!」

All the Imperial Army staff officers stood up from their seats with faces of delight. Everyone must definitely want to climb onto the outer wall right now and look at the eastern sky. It was as if they were seeking Sieghart's permission for that.

「From which direction in the east is the signal fire continuing? Where is the starting point?」

Sieghart, who asked that, just sat with his arms crossed and his eyes closed.

「Sir, it is going through multiple locations so I cannot say accurately, but it is believed to be likely around Gaitei.」

「There, huh... if so, it's quite bad.」

「Your Excellency?」

「...The time and the place, both of them are the absolute worst. Right about now, pursuing the retreating Turncoat Kingdom army, the Sura Principality army from various parts of the south must be gathering in the east.」

Sieghart, suppressing the joy that welled up in his heart upon receiving the first report, was analyzing the situation cool-headedly. Likely, the Sura Principality army, upon hearing the circumstances from the soldiers who narrowly escaped, would not forgive the cowardly traitors. While besieging us again with a certain amount of numbers, they should direct a decent number to pursue the traitors. And the Gaitei signal fire tower has a good view of the surroundings and is right beside the main highway leading from the south. If the Sura Principality army had entered the pursuit of the Turncoat Kingdom army, they would undoubtedly notice that signal fire. Probably, Gaitei is located in the most convenient place on the path of the highway they would take from the south aiming east. As a result, the signal fire His Highness raised from the east side ends up becoming the trigger luring not only allies but the enemy Sura Principality army. For His Highness who doesn't know any of the circumstances, it was rather a natural action, but that timing and direction are the worst.

Here, Sieghart opened his eyes wide and stood up, stepped forward in front of Takuhir, and knelt.

「I am truly terribly sorry to make a selfish request due to our circumstances to His Majesty the Archduke, but I knelt myself and say this. The report announcing hope that was finally delivered to us, it is however now nothing more than a precarious castle built on sand. Soon, my lord will end up confronting the Sura Principality army that has advanced east. You do not even have to win the battle. Please, first of all, lend us your strength to rescue my lord.」

Saying so, Sieghart deeply bowed his head. There, for the first time, the staff officers also sensed Sieghart's concern, turned pale for a moment, and then hurriedly knelt in unison and bowed their heads deeply.

「No need for reservations. We came to fight to save a friend. That, by extension, becomes a battle to win our own future. Entire cavalry, immediately prepare to sortie!」

「「「「Yeah!」」」」

Takuhir's staff officers like Weiss, Christoph, and Gord responded with loud voices all at once.

「We only have about 2,000 cavalry as combat strength capable of keeping up with His Majesty the Archduke's cavalry, but I will have them accompany you as guides. They are familiar with the geography of the eastern region and will guide Your Majesty's army to the signal fire tower. If by any chance you encounter the enemy army, please use those two thousand cavalry without reservation as Your Majesty's shield.」

「Leave it to me, I will go welcome His Highness Grat from here on. I leave the dinner preparations to you!」

Saying so, Takuhir led the Demon Territory Knights Order and departed the fort together with the 2,000 cavalry selected from the Empire Army. To acquire the key indispensable for the new battle, and for the victory ahead...

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