Volume 4 Release Commemoration Special Chapter:
Another Battlefield ① Tearful Funeral
Translator : PolterGlast
The new fortress city of Kusanagi, meticulously
constructed by the Westlights Demon Territory Dukedom within the
boundaries of the newly ceded Empire territory, was continuously and aggressively expanding to
soon transform into the single greatest city across the entire domain. From the
absolute beginning of its architectural development, this city had been
structurally engineered to function as the primary defensive lynchpin
protecting the new territories. Yet, because the high command concurrently expected
the city to anchor their logistics and serve as the absolute administrative capital
to govern the vast frontier, the town-planning vectors had been given a
remarkable, generous margin of space, securing a colossal tract of land to
fulfill that destiny.
That was the plan, at least……
But currently, the swarming sea of common refugees who had violently fled the
relentless devastation of war across various sectors of the Empire to seek asylum inside Kusanagi
had long since shattered past the threshold of one hundred thousand souls. Worse,
that staggering number was continuously multiplying with every passing day.
While the administrative bureaus were utilizing Kusanagi strictly as a
processing conduit, frantically redistributing the influx across the frontier
pioneer settlements dotting the Izumo district and stretching as far as
the distant sanctuary of Termira, the raw reality remained absolute: the streets of the city
were completely, utterly overflowing with people.
And it was right within the absolute center of this
metropolitan frenzy—inside the central administrative headquarters, an
institutional grid that currently mirrored an active warzone as personnel
labored through a non-stop, exhausting crisis—that a fast-riding herald
violently breached the doors.
「 Reporting! A critical request has
just arrived from General Commander Alexis! He is currently shepherding
a brand-new, massive convoy of nearly ten thousand common refugees toward our
gates, and has issued an absolute directive commanding our bureaus to execute
an immediate reception to process their entry! 」
「「 T—Ten thousand people……?! 」」
「 Fufufu…… I see…… 」
Confronted by the sheer weight of the report, two of the
high officials anchoring the central desk froze into absolute stone out of
surprise, while the third merely let out a warm, thoroughly pleasant chuckle.
Even if it were a highly disciplined, unified military force
for the current Kusanagi, forcing a fanned-out mass of ten thousand
uneducated commoners to violently slam into the gates all at once would
mathematically plunge the entire city infrastructure into absolute, chaotic
disarray.
Occupying the innermost chamber of this administrative
maze—the Office of the Secretary of Internal Affairs, the absolute highest
executive bureau governing the home front—these three individuals had assumed
the collective mantle of Supreme Commanders to steer the home defense. Across
their individual desks, towering mountains of various tactical reports and
un-finalized documents were aggressively accumulated, waiting for a signature.
「 We must initiate our
counter-measures immediately. Tell me: what is the projected timeline of their
arrival? 」
「 Report! Currently, the procession
is being steered under the temporary command of Captain Lars, and
according to our scouts, their vanguard will likely breach our outer perimeter
by tomorrow morning at the absolute latest…… 」
「 Then it appears the window required
to finalize our reception is exceptionally tight. We must move with absolute
speed. 」
Shedding every trace of his relaxed smile, Raymond,
the Secretary of Internal Affairs, turned his gaze to look directly into the
anxious countenances of the two beautiful maidens standing before his desk—Lady
Yuka and Lady Chrisia.
「 Allow me to speak with absolute,
unvarnished candor, ladies: a tightly packed, unified unit
of ten thousand common refugees traveling from that specific sector can only
mean one thing—they are the people of the Istoria Orthodox Theocracy.
The very fact that they are being guided under the direct leadership of Captain Lars, who operates as a premier
officer under Lord Gail's banner, drives the point home. I believe both
of your brilliant minds possess the clarity to comprehend the true strategic
weight of this…… 」
The exact second his words resonated through the room, the
two maidens felt a sudden realization wallop their hearts, a wave of deep
crimson consuming their features as they privately felt a burning shame for
having allowed temporary panic to blind their intellects. This massive influx
of ten thousand souls wasn't a logistical catastrophe; it was the absolute,
undeniable product of a monumental battlefield victory. It meant their frontline
forces had successfully outmaneuvered the enemy, wrenching an entire population
of exploited human shields straight out of the jaws of destruction.
「 Our General Commander and Lord Gail
have successfully safeguarded the sacred honor of Takuhir-sama to the end. If our office fails to explode into pure celebration at a
triumph of this magnitude, what right do we have to steer this place? 」
Indeed, Raymond had meticulously ensured that every
single shift of the frontline chess board was immediately broadcast back to
their desks. They understood with absolute precision that in the catastrophic
event that their vanguard divisions fractured, their office was under strict,
binding orders to pull back their lines, transforming the walls of Kusanagi
into the absolute final front line of the entire warzone.
「 You are entirely correct, Sir Raymond. I have
exposed a thoroughly unsightly, weak-willed display before your eyes. 」
「 Indeed, sister! If I continue to
fumble through such panic, I shall be completely laughed out of the room by Alexis-sama
when he returns. 」
Washing the hesitation from their features, the two sisters
bowed their heads toward the Secretary, their hearts steeled anew.
「 Well…… you can hardly torture your
minds over a brief moment of anxiety. To speak with absolute candor, the sheer
volume of labor walloping our desks over the past month vastly eclipses any
historical crisis I have navigated across my entire career. Just a short while
ago, we were forced to execute a sweeping processing to absorb the massive
influx of citizens fleeing Lorelei, while concurrently managing the
medical reception of nearly two thousand wounded soldiers from both forces all at once…… 」
The parameters of the battlefields were shifting with terrifying velocity; as the active
borders of the warzone violently expanded, the volume of humanity breaking
through their gates altered on a revolving matrix. There were countless
instances where a complex strategic blueprint hammered out at the absolute dawn
of the morning was rendered a completely useless piece of paper by the exact
fraction of a second the clock touched noon.
Had Raymond been forced to navigate this nightmare
without the flawless, highly sophisticated administrative support of these two
brilliant maidens, his own physical vessel would have undoubtedly collapsed
long ago. Yet, looking across the board, every single soul in the room
understood a sacred truth: compared to the bone-shattering hardships and
terrifying risks borne by the warriors currently risking their lives on the
deadly front lines, the exhaustion of their desks did not amount to a single
drop of water in the ocean. It was driven strictly by that profound, shared
devotion that the three of them had spent consecutive weeks aggressively
shaving away their final drops of stamina, working through the night without a
single moment of respite as fatigue saturated their bones.
Raymond’s words
had casually turned their focus back to the absolute beginning of the war—vividly reminding them precisely why they had
chosen to permanently remain behind to anchor the walls of Kusanagi.
※
At the absolute dawn of the campaign, both maidens had
passionately desired to march onto the field, steeled by the singular purpose
of fighting shoulder-to-shoulder beside their respective husbands. Yet, each
had been met with a remarkably gentle, unyielding refusal from their loved ones,
both men choosing to entrust them with a monumental, sacred mission upon the
home front instead.
『Yuka, I'm really happy for your feelings, and I know about your
defending the city by leading the people of the Gorman domain during the
internal conflict, and your active participation in Kleirat. So this time, I want to ask you for something only you can do.』
Takuhir had
looked into her eyes, passionately requesting her personal administrative brawn
to spearhead the absolute most critical, hazardous vertex of their strategic
retreat doctrine: the processing, organization, and humanitarian containment of
the monumental mountains of common refugees slated to inundate their borders.
Saying so, Takuhir asked for her assistance regarding
the vital point of the strategic retreat operation, dealing with the massive
number of refugees generated when executing it. Claire, who had been
supervising the reception office, is supporting Miseri in Termira in the rear together with Anne, preparing for childbirth. During that time, only Yuka
could take the vanguard command regarding the acceptance of refugees at the
reception office.
『 And besides, in the unlikely event
that our frontline walls fracture and this campaign dissolves into a prolonged
siege, our home defense will aggressively require your brilliance to personally
command our modernized crossbow divisions to shatter their breaches from the
battlements…… remember, Kusanagi stand as our absolute final fortress.
You are our last line of defense.
』
Confronted by the unyielding weight of her husband's trust, Yuka
had forcefully suppressed her personal longing to ride by his side, choosing to
permanently remain behind to anchor the final bastion.
『 Chrisia, the
single, absolute reason our vanguard divisions can throw themselves into the
front lines with absolute peace of mind is because our rearguard logistics are
maintained in a state of flawless, ironclad stability, completely devoid of
anxiety. The raw administrative genius of the Secretary of Internal Affairs is a thing of legend. But…… the number of
baseline bureaucrats capable of executing his advanced, modernized frameworks
is catastrophically limited right now. You personally commanded the entire
internal civil administration of the Solis Countdom across long, grueling years. I implore you, for the sake of
the warriors fighting to the death on the front lines…… step forward and support
the Secretary of Internal
Affairs. 』
Exactly as her husband calculated, the raw gravity of this
civil war was slated to violently drag countless thousands of Empire citizens
into its vortex. A logistics grid could not endure if an administration focused
strictly on the soldiers; a bureau must meticulously configure and balance the
food supplies, grain chains, and basic survival implements of the surrounding
dependencies before a single sword could be drawn with safety.
In truth, Miseri and her specialized networks were
currently moving like a whirlwind across the old domains of the Kyle Kingdom
side of the Demon Territory Dukedom and the entire Kyle Kingdom,
aggressively siphoning off every single scrap of food, grain, and materials
from every prosperous province across the realm. Packed to absolute bursting
with these vital supplies, a colossal, endless armada of transport convoys was
relentlessly traversing the high-quality primary highways, moving from Burg
through Termira to flood straight into the gates of Kusanagi on a
non-stop matrix. Managing the sheer scale of that storage grid alone would have
caused a standard medieval bureaucrat's mind to instantaneously fracture.
『 And above all else…… the exact
fraction of a second a battle concludes, the frontline commanders are slated to
dispatch a massive wave of heavily wounded soldiers straight back to Kusanagi.
As a master Holy Mage contract-dispensed to wield the supreme miracles
of healing, I need your divine hands. While the rest of us are structurally
forced to step onto the path of slaughter to claim lives, help us balance the
ledger of our sins by wrenching every single living soul out of the jaws of
death. Lend me your hands, Chrisia. 』
Confronted by that beautiful, heart-wrenching appeal from
her husband, Chrisia had no choice but to grant her total consent, remaining behind to anchor
the medical grids.
※
「 Um…… there is one more
announcement…… 」
The herald, who had politely held his tongue to respect their
exchange, stepped forward. His countenance
was lined with an immense, suffocating gravity as his lips forced themselves to
deliver the definitive obituary—detailing the sudden, tragic demise of the
single most cherished, foundational comrade Takuhir prided across his
entire existence.
「 Such a thing! 」 「 Why…… 」 「 Guh……! 」
The exact split-second the news resonated through the
chamber, Raymond, a man widely renowned for his absolute, unshakeable
composure and chillingly calm intellect, violently stood up, his hands trembling with unbridled emotion as his fingers
clamped down, crumpling the documents
on his desk. Yuka and Chrisia instantaneously buried their faces
within their hands, their bodies shaking uncontrollably as a wave of profound,
paralyzing shock completely locked their lips in silent horror.
Gail was far
more than a high commander; he was one of the absolute most irreplaceable
pillars who had sustained Takuhir's
path since the days of his obscurities. He was the unyielding titan whom the
Sovereign had personally entrusted to govern his absolute sanctuary—the core
domains of the former Frontier Knights and the Demon Territory Count. To have
that foundational bedrock violently ripped out from beneath their realm
delivered a catastrophic, bone-crushing sense of loss to the souls of all three administrators.
「 What about the notification to his
wife? 」
Raymond forced
the question through a tight throat, his features masked by a deep, mourning
solemnity.
「 Report, Sire! A separate courier is
already running and galloping at full-speed toward Aegis. We plan to
welcome them to Termira. 」
「 Is that so…… Then let us arrange so
we can see Lord Gail off with the utmost courtesy when his remains pass
through Kusanagi. Concurrently, I will also send a messenger to Miseri-san.
」
Beholding the sight of Raymond desperately exerting
every ounce of his mental willpower to force his posture into a baseline of
ironclad administrative composure, Yuka lifted her tear-lined face from
her hands.
「 Raymond-sama, on behalf of Takuhir-sama, I shall personally write
the official letter to be delivered to his lady wife. Because he always did so
for the families of fallen soldiers…… I shall preserve his custom. 」
「 That is right…… please do. Because
of the circumstances, the personnel at the reception office who will handle the
acceptance of the people after this, and the people being led here, will also
need escorts. In two meanings…… 」
Yes, even though they are people who surrendered and
returned as peaceful dependents, looking at the raw calculations of the front, their procession had indirectly, physically
caused the destruction of their beloved general. The moment their footprints
graced the streets, they stood as a massive, volatile lightning rod for the
unbridled rage and toxic vengeance of the local populace. And worse…… there
remained a distinct certainty that a cluster of dangerous individuals and
deep-cover enemy infiltrators lay hidden deep within their ranks.
「 Yes, I shall personally stand at
the vanguard and command everyone at the reception office. I have been
thoroughly, brutally drilled in the arts of personal self-defense into my bones
by the Commander over the years. And besides…… if it's bows and arrows, my wind
magic possesses more than enough proficiency
to violently deflect them…… 」
『 It's too dangerous! 』 The protest instantly rose within Raymond's
mind, but looking into Yuka’s eyes, he had no choice but to give up.
Because she, as if having decided something, stared at him with eyes harboring
unwavering intent—the look of a warrior maiden whose resolve was absolute.
「 Please absolutely do not push
yourself too hard, I ask only that. Also, I will attach escorts from the
soldiers stationed in Kusanagi as well. 」
Delivering his final administrative adjustments, the three
leaders shifted to their respective responses to do what must be done.
※
The next day, the horse-drawn wagon carrying Gail's
remains passed through the city of Kusanagi. Although the cause of death
was not conveyed, Gail's great achievement of protecting the people of
the enemy nation without killing a single one—a legendary feat where a general
had boldly chosen to sacrifice his very life to ensure not a single soul was
deleted from the earth—was widely conveyed, and many of the people in the city
of Kusanagi participated in seeing him off to mourn his death.
Following the horse-drawn wagon carrying his coffin, a
secondary wagon carrying his favored weapons and armor proceeded slowly down
the main street, which was swept clean without a single speck of dust.
「 Raise the black flag! Express
condolences and present swords to our hero, Baron Solidia von Gail! 」
When the members of the security force and vigilante corps
lined up in the front row drew their swords all at once at Raymond's instructions,
they raised their swords high before their eyes to salute the passing of a
titan and saw the funeral procession off.
It was at that exact, quiet juncture. A single young girl
stepped forward and offered a flower to the wagon carrying his weapons and
armor. This was guided by a soldier acting on Raymond's intentions, to
the young girl who had prepared a flower and was seeing the funeral procession
off. Beholding the sight, the people who had voluntarily prepared flowers began
to offer flowers to the wagon all at once, cascading a monumental mountain of
fresh flowers to completely submerge his weapons.
「 Boss…… BOSS ーーー !!! 」
The rough quarry-laborers who knew him, the common
shoveler-hands who knew his character well, shouted the appellation Gail
liked most while alive, their faces drenched in an endless torrent of tears as
they saw him off.
「 Apostle of God, Divine
Messenger Gail-sama…… thank you so much for our compatriots. Together with Ishtar-sama……
we swear to praise that glory forever. 」
The conspicuous ones were those hailing from the Istoria
Imperial Kingdom, who prostrated themselves on the earth rubbing their
foreheads against the ground, each stating words of gratitude to Gail in
small voices and seeing him off.
「 Gail-san…… you are a bad person…… Takuhir-sama said, no one
must be missing…… I'm sorry…… Thank you, truly, truly…… so much. 」
Saying so, Yuka tearfully offered flowers to Gail's
coffin together with Chrisia. As a fellow Wind Mage, Yuka
had also asked Gail for teachings in the past. When she first underwent
demonic training in Teigoon, when Gail participated in the
magical combat training course at the academy in the Royal Capital, and even
when the Magic Knights were formed, Gail unsparingly gave her
advice. Together with those precious memories, she saw Gail off.
『 Our battle also really starts from
here! To ensure that when we meet again, I won't be laughed at by Gail-san,
I will definitely show that I can accomplish it! 』
Anchored by that fierce, burning resolve, Yuka saw him off. And…… their battle also, after this, would become even more fierce and raise its curtain.
-----
Thank you for my Patrons !!
[Platinum]
-
[Gold]
B random
Nepheos
[Silver]
Corey Hicks
Creris
Frédéric Bertrand-Hudon
Jake Seagraves
Matthew Fraser
Tbaum56
Xavier O'Donoghue
Anton Lim
Austin Lorenzo
Baelee
Christopher Feliciano
Ctdela
Curious Panda
nick nasca
SD Fox
Read Advanced Chapters only on my Patreon
-----
