Chapter 413
(Kyle Calendar Year 515: Age 22)
Triumphant Return, and Then...
Translator : PolterGlast
Two days after passing by Viscount Kamin on the
highway, we finally managed to reach a place where we could truly feel we had
crossed the national border into the Westlights Demon Territory Dukedom!
This was because we arrived at a checkpoint established just before Kusanagi,
a place where we could look up from afar at the city walls of Kusanagi
spreading atop the cliff. Perhaps thanks to the express messenger the Commander
had sent ahead before we reached this point, from there all the way to Kusanagi,
lines of people welcoming our triumphant return continued endlessly on both
sides of the highway.
「Long live Archduke-heika!」
「Long live the Demon Territory
Dukedom!」
「Prosperity to the Dukedom!」
However, I took the loud cheers and voices of praise from
the gathered people in a different sense, and was in a complicated mood.
『Originally, I am not the one who
should be receiving these cheers. The ones who should be receiving them are
those who protected this land. We did not protect them...』
With such thoughts in mind, we responded to the crowd's
performance in moderation and advanced our horses towards Kusanagi. And
when we arrived at the city gate... In front of the gate, with Raymond, Yuka,
and Chrisia at the lead, the respective commanders of the Defense
Army had aligned their faces, kneeling and waiting.
「We respectfully rejoice at your
active role in Imperial Territory and the safe return of Archduke-heika.」
「On behalf of everyone, I
congratulate you on the safe return of Takuhir-sama and all of you.」
「Everyone lined up here, who were
entrusted with holding the fort, have fulfilled the mission entrusted to us by
Onii-sama.」
Raymond, Yuka,
and Chrisia spoke in turn, and finally everyone...
「「「「「Welcome back!」」」」」
It was at that moment that I finally noticed something
unusual for the first time. A comrade who should originally be here was
missing... Behind the three who welcomed me at the very front, Alexis,
Marquis Gorman, Marquis Solis, and the others, who were the
defense commanders, should originally follow; however, for some reason, a
familiar set of armor and an unfamiliar large shield were set on a pedestal in
front of them, waiting for me.
「Yuka... keep it brief, please. What happened to Gale?」
My low voice cracking, I couldn't help but confirm the fact
that I didn't want to confirm. While being self-aware that the blood was
draining from my face all at once...
「He passed away... In order to protect
the people of the Istoria Orthodox Theocracy, he protected them with
this shield so that not a single one would be hurt, and...」
「Kuh...」
With only his armor waiting, I had somewhat guessed it. I
had guessed it, but... This shock was incredibly huge, and after uttering short
words, the rest wouldn't come out.
「I am terribly sorry. Due to our own
lack of virtue, Commander Gale... We have no way to apologize for losing
Commander Gale and many others while entrusted with holding the fort!」
Saying so, Alexis prostrated himself as if to rub his
head against the earth, and everyone followed suit. No... stop it... I don't
want to receive such apologies.
「Everyone... please... Please, raise
your heads. The responsibility for losing Gale and many soldiers is
entirely mine to bear. It is not everyone's responsibility.」
Saying so, I unconsciously leaped off my horse, advanced
before Gale's armor and large shield, and knelt. No, I couldn't help but
do so.
「Gale... I am truly sorry for placing a burden on you because of
my own inadequacy. And... thank you for protecting everyone.」
I said so, but Gale, who would normally reply 『Not at all, this much is nothing!』, is no longer here.
「We promised, didn't we... to reunite
without lacking a single person... I didn't want to meet like this.」
When it comes to battle, someone will inevitably die. Even
with a perfect victory, sacrifices will definitely occur. In fact, even the
elites of the Demon Territory Knights who went on the expedition and
piled up perfect victories suffered several dozen deaths. As long as we fight,
we are always prepared for that. However... the loss of Gale was so
great to me that it was beyond words. My association with him dates back to when
I was still ten years old, and he is one of the most senior comrades among the
Mages. But that's not all. Even in my second life, I had driven him to his
death. He wasn't a soldier at that time either, but Gale and the others
who rushed to the defensive battle of Teigoon ultimately fought
desperately to let an injured me escape, became sacrifices, and died. In other
words, Gale has lost his life for my sake twice...
「Takuhir-sama...」
Yuka had eyes
that looked as if she wanted to say something, but she still seemed to be
deliberately holding her words back. Yeah, Yuka... thank you. I
understand. Right now, I have things I must do too. And I cannot mourn only for
Gale. When I lost Cran in the past, I was severely distraught,
and there was a time I was saved by Anne's
words. And now, the words Anne
said to me that time clearly ran through my mind once again. I made up my mind
and stood up.
「I'm sorry, everyone. We will mourn
and lament for Gale anew later; right now, above all, I want to express
my appreciation to everyone who protected our home while we were away.
Therefore, first of all, I want everyone to raise their heads and stand up.
Come on, quickly...」
Prompted by me, everyone stood up again. And I looked around
at everyone's faces anew.
「Thanks to everyone dedicating their
lives to protect us to the bitter end, we were able to win. This applies to
both the northern front and the southern front! Thanks to noble sacrifices, we
were finally able to grasp the future. Therefore, I want to express my thanks
once more.」
After saying so, I went around to Raymond, Yuka,
Chrisia, Alexis, Rosa, Marquis Gorman, Marquis Solis,
Count Falmus, Viscount Bold, Mars, Aral, Danke,
Isaac, Masrur, and Glenn,
tapping the shoulders of each and every one of the leaders who were present to
welcome us, offering words of appreciation and thanks.
「We will hear the reports again after this, but for now, I want everyone to puff out their
chests and join the triumphant procession together. Because if he saw our
depressed figures, Gale would surely be troubled. From here on, let's
return in triumph together with our hero (Gale).」
「「「「「Yes!」」」」」
And we crossed the gates of Kusanagi together,
striving to fulfill the roles we must perform now in response to the great
cheers of the people. However, harboring an unfillable, massive sense of loss
in our hearts...
※
Upon returning to Kusanagi, without even undoing my
military uniform, I decided to immediately receive reports first. Present there
were the expeditionary force, the home defense unit, and Legion Commander
Schultz, who led the residual unit of the Royal Capital Knights who
came as reinforcements.
「Right away, I would like to ask Alexis
for the report on the northern front, and the Commander for the report
on the southern front.」
「Yes, as for the final participating
military forces on the northern front, we had 45,700 men including allied
forces, and the enemy army had 65,000 men. First, ahead of the detailed report,
I will report on the distinguished contributors who are currently not present
in this place.」
(Hm... does he mean the Imperial Army? I certainly
don't see the figure of Viscount Durul...)
「In this battle, the ones who came
leading ten thousand cavalry, the main force of the Royal Capital Knights,
were Darek-sama, the Margrave of Hastburg. It is no exaggeration
to say that we were greatly saved by their participation in the war.」
(Hahaha, was I saved by Niisan again? I won't be able to
hold my head up for a while...)
「However, what ultimately decided the
victory was the Magic Corps led by Krugel-heika from the Principality of Fearalt. Due to the
participation of Heika and one
thousand Principality Army soldiers, the Lute and Vile Kingdom
Armies ended up surrendering while still retaining a fighting strength of
nearly twenty thousand.」
「Wha... is that so.」
(Seriously! Krugel-heika himself?)
「To speak honestly, we were about to
be defeated in the final phase. That is how formidable an enemy the Lute-Vile
Kingdom Allied Army was. It is no exaggeration to say that we were saved by
Krugel-heika.」
Seeing how everyone nodded deeply at Alexis's words
and uniformly hung their heads, I understood all too painfully just how much of
a tightrope walk that victory was.
「When the battle ended, Krugel-heika and the Margrave withdrew their
armies, and I believe they are currently staying in Kylar. Furthermore, Heika said that he would return once
again when Takuhir-sama returned in triumph.」
「I am grateful; then let us offer our
thanks anew.」
(We who went to help the Third Prince were also saved
by Heika and Niisan; that's
what it means, right? I mean, for him to return means...)
When I heard that, I unconsciously looked at Raphael and
our eyes met. When I nodded at him, his face was twitching grandly...
「As other reinforcements, the
reinforcement of five thousand men led by Viscount Kamin also saved the
Viscount Durul Army from a predicament, and bore a wing of our defensive
formation.」
(Hm... Viscount Kamin led a
whole five thousand men? He didn't say anything like that when we passed each
other, you know! This is... I have to buy as much merchandise as I can from the
Bottakurina Trading Company with top priority...)
「And as for the losses of our army...
the Demon Territory Dukedom Army's war dead is approximately 500 men,
the Royal Capital Knights' war dead is 100 men, and those wounded and
forced to leave the battle lines from both sides amount to approximately 4,000
men.」
◇ Demon
Territory Dukedom Army
・ Participating Military Force: 16,700 men
・ Wounded (Left battle lines): 3,000 men
・ Killed in Action: 500 men
◇ Kyle
Kingdom Army (Royal Capital Knights)
・ Participating Military Force: 15,000 men
・ Wounded (Left battle lines): 1,000 men
・ Killed in Action: 100 men
Damn it, a whole six hundred men! We did suffer major
damages after all... With that difference in fighting strength, it might be
called a great fight on paper, but human lives are not something to be counted
with numbers.
「However, the damages of the Imperial
Army are even greater... combining the two armies, 1,700 war dead and 3,300
wounded were forced to leave the battle lines. Especially the mixed army led by
Viscount Kamin, their attrition rate was remarkably...」
「I see... I have caused hardships for
everyone. Incidentally, although he is not here, is Viscount Durul in
good health?」
「He sustained war wounds in the
battle over Lorelei and is currently recuperating in the hospital in Kusanagi,
but he escaped death and is heading towards recovery. Furthermore, due to the
Viscount's desperate fight, the lives of two hundred orphans trying to evacuate
Lorelei were saved.」
「T-That is... I am also one of the
people whose life was saved by Viscount Durul.」
(Eh? Does that mean Rosa was out on the front lines
too? What does that mean?)
「Separate from the main battle, the
detached force led by the King of Vile assaulted Lorelei, and in
order to protect Rosa-sama, who was directing the evacuation, and the
evacuees, Viscount Durul fought desperately...」
「I see... I will go visit Viscount Durul
later and offer my thanks personally as well. I hear Viscount Kamin is
coming to Kusanagi leading his trading company, so please give utmost
consideration to how we handle him.」
◇ Imperial
Army (Viscount Durul Army)
・ Participating Military Force: 8,000 men
・ Wounded (Left battle lines): 1,800 men
・ Killed in Action: 700 men
◇ Imperial
Army Reinforcements (Viscount Kamin,
others)
・ Participating Military Force: 5,000 men
・ Wounded (Left battle lines): 1,500 men
・ Killed in Action: 1,000 men
「Regarding the enemy's fighting
strength, I can only speak in approximations, but the military forces of the three
countries suffered 8,500 war dead, 24,000 prisoners, and roughly 2,500 missing
due to desertion or other reasons.」
「Ah... no, wait a minute! No matter
how you think about it, isn't the number of prisoners strange?」
I also heard that the military forces of the three countries
totaled 35,000 men. If so, it makes it all the more doubtful that over seventy
percent became prisoners.
「In the final decisive battle, two
generals, the First Prince who led the Lute Kingdom Army and the
General of the Vile Kingdom Army, accepted the recommendation to
surrender. Therefore, separate from those taken prisoner in the battles up to
that point, it is the result of over fifteen thousand healthy soldiers
surrendering as prisoners.」
◆ Vile
Kingdom Army
・ Participating Military Force: 15,000 men
・ Left battle lines: 1,000 men
・ Killed in Action: 2,500 men
・ Prisoners (including wounded): 11,500 men
◆ Lute
Kingdom Army
・ Participating Military Force: 10,000 men
・ Left battle lines: 500 men
・ Killed in Action: 1,500 men
・ Prisoners (including wounded): 8,000 men
◆ Cain
Kingdom Army
・ Participating Military Force: 10,000 men
・ Left battle lines: 1,000 men
・ Killed in Action: 4,500 men
・ Prisoners (including wounded): 4,500 men
「Oho, while possessing a healthy
military force of over fifteen thousand... is it? That is not something easily
done. Are they extraordinary fools, or else...」
The Commander is right. With that many soldiers, they
could have carried out a forceful breakthrough amidst the enemy and retreated.
I want to know the reason why they deliberately didn't do that.
「I believe they are outstanding
individuals. To begin with, they were being unilaterally annihilated without
any means to resist by the attacks of the Magic Corps, and furthermore,
they were completely surrounded and their retreat paths severed.」
That is true; in past battles, it was an overwhelming
annihilation attack with even three hundred men. If it was a thousand men, it
must have been something beyond imagination.
「The two generals said, 『Since the trend of the battle has
been decided, if the officers and soldiers will not die in vain in exchange for
my own head...』, and
accepted the recommendation to surrender.」
「I see, that is not something easily
done. From hearing the story, they seem to be figures whose deaths would be a shame...」
At these words of the Commander, two memories revived
within me. The first was the words of the Count who said the same thing
to the Third Prince during the prisoner audience ceremony the other day.
And the other was the action I myself took in my second life. Remembering
those, I took an interest in them.
「I would like to meet them and talk
to them once. What are they doing right now?」
「After this meeting, we are
proceeding with preparations for the prisoner audience, and in addition to
those two, we have the King of Vile waiting. I believe you can speak
with them at that time... Furthermore, the Second Prince who led the Cain
Kingdom Army died in action during the fierce battle prior to that.」
「Understood. Please continue the
report.」
(I mean, they captured a King too? Moreover, each army came
personally led by royalty...)
「The Istoria Orthodox Theocracy
Army invaded with twenty thousand regular army and ten thousand unarmed
territory residents; Commander Gale passed away in the process of saving
those territory residents.」
「...I am sorry to interrupt. Is there
anyone who attended Gale's deathbed?」
「Yes, there is the garrison captain
of the First Roadside Station who served alongside him. Since we have him
waiting as well, I believe you can hear the story later.」
I see, that helps. I must also meet with his wife directly
and apologize. For that purpose as well...
「I will continue the report.
Regarding the Istoria Orthodox Theocracy Army, the estimated war dead is
approximately eight hundred men, and we are protecting nearly ten thousand
territory residents; however, the rest deceived us and fled when the situation
became disadvantageous, so they got away.」
Saying so, Alexis and the others floated expressions
of anguish, but I fully understand their feelings of helplessness. Because in
the end, those guys made their surroundings dance to their tune as much as
possible, and then sought their own safety...
「Furthermore, the existence of 『Apostles of Darkness』 was confirmed among those inciting
the people, and they attempted to assassinate Princess-denka, but this was narrowly avoided
just in time.」
「What did you say!」
Those of us who went on the expedition, starting with me and
the Commander, shuddered at the words 『Apostles of Darkness』. Because they are an existence akin to a natural enemy to
us, and those we can never forgive. Those guys targeted Yuka? Damn it!
Just how far will they follow us! I will absolutely not forgive them! I felt my
body temperature rise all at once. However... I should not explode in anger
here. If I do, they who let them get away will lose their standing. After
letting out a large breath, I strove to act as calm as possible.
「I'm sorry, please continue.」
「Regarding this matter, we have not
been able to grasp their tracks, and we believe it is likely they have moved
their base of operations to the Istoria Orthodox Theocracy.」
◆ Istoria
Orthodox Theocracy Army
・ Participating Military Force: 20,000 men
・ Killed in Action: 800 men
・ Prisoners (including wounded): None
「I see, so they make only other
countries dance and remain unharmed themselves... Unforgivable. And this time's
war, it's highly possible that they are involved and pulling the strings. I
wish to advance discussions on this matter later with some people, including Raphael.
For now, let us hurry and continue the reporting and sharing.」
After conveying so, I turned to the Commander this
time and prompted his report.
「At the time our expeditionary force
arrived, Grat-denka's
whereabouts were unknown, and approximately thirty thousand allied forces were
struggling against an enemy army of one hundred and twenty thousand.」
「O-One hundred and twenty thousand,
you say!」
「De...
aru, ka...」
While everyone was at a loss for words, my father and
father-in-law leaked words of surprise. This is because the number of this
enemy army was equal to the total number of all enemy armies on the four fronts
the Kyle Kingdom faced in the previous war.
「In the first battle, our army swept
away the thirty-five thousand enemy troops besieging our allies, transitioned
to another battle to defeat ten thousand enemies and rescue Grat-denka, and re-entered the fort protected
by our allies by scattering the besieging forty thousand enemy troops. After
that, we destroyed the thirty thousand-strong First Prince's Army, and
defeated the forty thousand-strong Principality of Sura Army, deciding
the victory.」
「「「「「!!!」」」」」
No... Commander, hearing only that makes it sound
like we did something incredible... Well, as a result, it is a fact, though.
Everyone in the home defense unit is surprised, of course, but are they rather
put off because the numbers are too big?
「Hahaha, Takuhir-sama's battle
results are so incredible that it somehow makes our victory look hazy... It
made me scared all over again.」
「De,
aruna...」
「No... it's so tremendous I can
hardly believe it, but to take on one hundred and twenty thousand with only ten
thousand cavalry? Just how on earth...」
Even Alexis is smiling wryly with a twitching face,
and the two fathers were completely put off.
「Grat-denka also seemed
to deeply feel unparalleled meritorious deeds and gratitude for Takuhir-sama's
battle results; I believe our relationship with the Empire is secure
going forward. There are still some unconfirmed parts, but arrangements for the
distribution of spoils of war, post-war cession of territory, reward money, and
the like are proceeding, and I believe it will be something unprecedented.」
「「「「「Ooooh!」」」」」
「Incidentally, to supplement the Commander,
we have one thousand cavalry who surrendered to us accompanying us as
immigrants, but the remaining four thousand cavalry are also scheduled to come
here at a later date, you know.」
「F-Five thousand cavalry, you say?」
At this, many people, starting with Raymond, were
surprised. They are basically entrusted to us as prisoners, but it is on the
premise that they migrate to the Demon Territory Dukedom and become
cavalry. That's why I also deliberately used the expression 『immigrants』 rather than prisoners. On the flip side, the costs (such as
food and gold coins for stipends) will pile up considerably.
「That's right, and along with that, a
corresponding amount of food will also be sent. The details are still
undecided, though. This time was a defensive battle, and the means to reward
everyone's achievements are limited. Therefore, using what we obtained from the
Empire as the original capital, I intend to distribute it and reward
everyone according to their achievements.」
「On behalf of everyone in the home
defense unit, I express our gratitude for your consideration toward us as well.
Furthermore, there are contents regarding the reconstruction status and the
handling of prisoners that I would like to report and receive your approval on,
but before that, there is information that must be reported with priority. May
I speak about that?」
「I do not mind. Judging by your
appearance, it isn't a very good story, is it?」
「Then, the one who informed us of
this valuable information for the report, right here.」
From the man invited into the conference room at Alexis's instruction, we were told an astonishing fact. That the battle was not over yet...
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