“Frank! Stay firm!”

“Uuhh… Mother…”

A few hours after the gruesome battle ended, I helped with healing at the field hospital where Elise was at .
Since I had run out of mana, I was forced to recover it to some extent with a nap of several hours . Afterwards I was a.s.signed to relieve the great number of injured by making use of the magic gems I had on hand .
Since I had not practised healing magic overly much due to relying on Elise, there’s no way for me to use all the magic gems .
At any rate, as I ended up giving priority on the healing, there were some among the injured for whom I might have not been in time .
Like this, I now encountered the scene of comrades raising their voices to encourage their friend whose consciousness was hazy .
The youth, who was close in age to me, was struggling against the looming death .

“Earl-sama! Please save Frank!”

“…”

There were very many who I wanted to save, but the mana I recovered by napping had already run out and I had used quite a few of the magic gems as well .
Given that I don’t know what will happen down the road, I was strictly ordered by Alfons to preserve a set amount of magic gems .
It’s regrettable, but we have no other choice but to bet on his life force .

“Sorry, but my mana has…” (Wendelin)

“No way… Frank! Stay strong!”

When I look at the youth about to die any time now, only feelings of guilt are welling up within me .
It’s not just about me being unable to save him, but it would also become unfair if other wounded wouldn’t be saved if I helped him .
What if there was another attack by an enemy army at the moment I used up the magic gems?
Although it was pathetic, I had no other choice but to abandon him ruthlessly .
It’s a coldhearted calculation with regards to the battlefield .

“Dear…” (Elise)

“I’m sorry . ” (Wendelin)

Even Elise who stands next to me, has already run out of mana .
She exhausted her magic gems and even the mana in the ring I gave her as a present before .
Once I looked properly, her priestess garb was sullied with blood as she was apparently giving her undivided attention to medical treatment .

“Frank! You definitely have spirit!”

“Aah… My deceased mother has…” (Frank)

The seriously wounded youth called Frank appears to have already lost his mother .
Him seeing an illusion of her probably indicates that the time for him to ascend to heaven was drawing near .
His young comrades continue calling out to him, but his consciousness gradually becomes distant .
Frank’s death was now around the corner .

“Sorry . If I had been able to use stronger healing magic…” (Katharina)

“No, the magic one can use depends on the individual . It’s not your fault, Katharina . ” (Wendelin)

“Wendelin-san…” (Katharina)

This is simply inevitable since there’s suitability and unsuitability .
Katharina had run out of mana as well . The best her healing magic can achieve is to heal minor injuries .

“Dear…” (Elise)

“Wendelin-san…” (Katharina)

All three of us were filled with feelings of regret . I had no other means but to simply embrace both their shoulders and console them .

“Mother…” (Frank)

“Frank!”

At the time when I considered it hopeless beyond doubt, that person appeared at the best possible timing .
Though he doesn’t look like a protagonist, he’s a person who seems to always be present in the middle of the turmoil .

“The injured are here, huh!?” (Armstrong)

Dous.h.i.+, who showed up, had preserved his mana as a strategic option . Furthermore, although no one asked him to, he partic.i.p.ated in the pursuit battle .

“Dous.h.i.+?” (Wendelin)

“Uncle-sama?” (Elise)

“We will talk later!” (Armstrong)

It’s unknown why Dous.h.i.+ partic.i.p.ated in the pursuit battle .
He vigorously rushed in riding a dosanko horse while holding in one hand the hexagon staff that’s often used by people of the Earl Armstrong household, which they obtained from somewhere .
Due to the sudden event, Alfons was dumbfounded, and yet, Dous.h.i.+ has succeeded in returning safe and sound .
However, his robe was blood-stained making Elise draw back .
Hasn’t he acc.u.mulated stress in various ways because his fighting style, which used three-dimensional movements, was impossible due to the restrictions on movement type spells?

“Youngster! Stay strong!” (Armstrong)

Dous.h.i.+ had

learned 『Holy』 healing magic, but he has to embrace the other party for it to show any effect .
Dous.h.i.+ resolutely spread out both his arms while being wrapped in bluish-white 『Holy』 light .

“Please hurry (What will it be? Even though it’s a very great deed of him, his appearance is…)” (Wendelin)

“Umm… Please go ahead, uncle-sama . ” (Elise)

From the point of view of Elise, who grew up in the church with its prohibition of h.o.m.os.e.xual love, something like her uncle, she should respect, hugging a young boy is probably a nightmare-like view .
However, this is also for the sake of saving the young boy’s life .
Without thinking about anything unnecessary, she also requested Dous.h.i.+ to heal him .
Once Dous.h.i.+ embraces the young boy while emitting the 『Holy』 bluish-white light from his entire body, the boy’s wounds vanish gradually .
Although it doesn’t work unless he hugs the other party as usual, its effect was exceedingly splendid because of his terrific mana quant.i.ty .

“Uuh… Mother . ”

The young boy, who was about to die any time soon, had his consciousness slowly return due to the effects of Dous.h.i.+’s healing .
However, there’s just one pitiful truth .

“Frank-san, as for the mother that’s embracing you…” (Elise)

“Noo~~~! You must not say iiit~~~!”

The serious Elise talked about reality, but she can’t be allowed say it in this situation .

“That young boy was saved . Any further than that is…”

“Understood . ” (Elise)

Dous.h.i.+ has saved the almost-dead boy with his healing magic .
If seen from the standpoint of church officials like Elise, it’s likely a miracle they would want to record in a book, but going by the impression given by the scene, it’s a view one wants to seal away in one’s memories .
That’s because a muscled old man had hugged a young boy with all his might .
I have no doubt that it will be treated as prohibited item by the church, if a record of that is left behind .

“Dous.h.i.+, if only you could use normal healing magic…”

“Yes…”

Completely discarding the previous sorrow, Elise and I can’t leak anything but a dry laughter .
And, even for the young boy Frank who was saved, disaster struck .

“Mother?” (Frank)

“Hmm . I’m not your mother, it’s great that you are alive . ” (Armstrong)

“…” (Frank)

It’s probably natural for the young boy to become speechless .
Even though the figure of his deceased mother popped up in his mind at the time when his consciousness was hazy due to being close to death, he is embraced by a hard-faced, bright blue yakuza, an embodiment of muscles, once he opens his eyes .
At the same time Dous.h.i.+ showed the young boy his smile, however the boy doesn’t take it by face value since it’s Dous.h.i.+ after all .
From his point of view, he might regard Dous.h.i.+ as muscled death G.o.d .
He stayed stiff for a while .

“Haard~~~! Mother is haaard~~~!” (Frank)

It seems he was unable to endure the reality that befell his own body .
He raised an ear-shattering scream .

“Ahahaha! If you are this lively, you are already fine, I guess!” (Armstrong)

“Say, Richter! Konrad! What’s this about?” (Frank)

Frank, who recovered from his injuries, asked his nearby friends, but as there was absolutely no way for them to say anything with Dous.h.i.+ in front of them, his friends just lowered their sights .

“You were saved by Dous.h.i.+-sama . ”

Just that brief comment, one of them simply tells him the truth in a low voice .

“Frank, isn’t it all fine since you were saved?”

“That’s it, lad! As long as you are alive, you can enjoy life for a long time to come yet!” (Armstrong)

Even the deeply emotional scene gets messed up by Dous.h.i.+ . The saved boy receives compa.s.sionate looks from the other wounded .
However, they realize their situation right away .
The matter of them also getting hugged by Dous.h.i.+ right away while screaming soundlessly .

“Dous.h.i.+, is your mana all right?”

“I have used almost none of it at the pursuit . I simply killed the enemies with this staff after catching up to them from behind . ” (Armstrong)

“I see…”

Putting aside whether it’s right or wrong for a magician to go out for a pursuit to kill the enemy soldiers with a hexagon staff, it was also a fact that many of the injured were saved thanks to Dous.h.i.+ .
Though it’s correct to a.s.sume that all of them screamed in their

their minds while being embraced by him .

“Pa.s.sing away just like that or getting saved by being hugged by Dous.h.i.+; even though it’s natural to choose the latter, it’s doubtful on an emotional level, isn’t it?”

“The sole salvation is the fact of no feelings of love being involved . ” (Katharina)

“Don’t mention such cruel thing for no special reason, Katharinjou-chan . ” (Burkhart)

“Dear teacher, I’m already a married woman…” (Katharina)

“Oops, sorry . However, still, how do you feel about getting embraced by him as an adult woman?” (Burkhart)

“I will make sure to not get injured, and even if it happens, I will leave it to Elise-san or Wendelin-san . ” (Katharina)

“That’s an extremely normal reply, isn’t it?” (Burkhart)

“Teacher, just what do you want to hear from me?” (Katharina)

The next day after the battle took place, I, Burkhart-san and Katharina continued chatting while repairing and expanding the field encampment .
Although the wall was useful for defending against the enemy soldiers; since it turned into a situation where it had an insufficient height due to the corpses piling up on the other side, we were requested to add more height to it by Alfons .
We have also been asked to increase the number and depth of the moats against cavalry units, but that has been scheduled for tomorrow and the days after .
The reason for that is the large quant.i.ty of corpses of the enemy army currently scattered there . They are getting buried by the soldiers and hired local residents .
As it’s currently winter, the progress of decay is slow, but we can’t leave such huge amount of corpses alone forever .
The other magicians, who partic.i.p.ated in the battle, dug a hole and after taking a memo of those, whose ident.i.ty they could affirm, stripped off the usable items and tossed them into the hole .
Scattering oil and burnable things at the end, a magician set the hole on fire to cremate the corpses within .
There’s no way that something like dealing with corpses exceeding 10 . 000 in numbers will finish that easily if you don’t decrease their numbers by cremating them .
Also, the act of looking for spoils of war from the corpses; since this is also a part of the reward and war expenditures, it was normally carried out without whitewas.h.i.+ng it .
Though it wasn’t an overly nice view to behold .
The stench of corpses burning in front of the stone wall that was built around the field encampment is disgusting .
But even this was the reality of a battlefield .

“Even so, I’d like to refrain from joining those corpses by losing . ” (Burkhart)

“It’s because you are newly-wed, eh?” (Wendelin)

“Me as well as Earl-sama, right? By the way, what about Erw-boy?” (Burkhart)

“He’s on a date, isn’t he?”

Given that the guards were newly arranged by Alfons, there’s no need for Erw and Haruka to devote themselves to guarding that much .
Accordingly, he swiftly immersed himself in training trying to learn katana techniques .
With Haruka in the role as his teacher, she’s training together with him .

“I appreciate your efforts for continuing the pursuit battle . ”

With the pursuit carried out by the elites of Mizuho national army’s Battou Unit and Duke Philip household’s feudal army, around 20 . 000 soldiers of the 40 . 000 soldiers of the rebel army were turned into corpses .
There were wounded and prisoners as well, but those don’t amount more than 2 . 000 .
It might be because their lords would get executed if they returned after losing and because it might also result in harm towards their families if it’s just them surrendering, but there was an endless number of soldiers who were killed after fighting to the bitter end .
Because our allies had priority in healing, there were many wounded who ended up dying yesterday .
Due to the excessive amount of corpses, everyone was in a state of coping with it while being weary .

“It looks like quite a few of our allies died as well, doesn’t it?”

“Yes . ”

The casualties of our allies were 2 . 567 in total .
If you consider the kill ratio, we have an overwhelming advantage, but this time’s rebel army wasn’t compromised of elites either .
Disposable military forces have caused more than 10% losses to our side .
Duke Nürnberg likely won’t consider his side to be at a disadvantage at all .

“Meaning Alfons-san is greatly troubled?”

“That’s how

troubled?”

“That’s how it is . ”

We cannot help it in a real war since we will get killed if we cut corners, but the more soldiers die, the more will the empire’s national power decline .
Even for Therese that’s probably an unresolved problem that gives her a headache .

“Because we will have to fight, an expansion of the stone wall is preferrable . ” (Katharina)

“That’s right, isn’t it…”

Because we finished the requested repairs and expansion, we withdraw to the rear next and cultivate the wasteland .
That doesn’t mean that we are colonisers, but it was for the sake of growing a certain kind of crop .

“Wend!”

“We waited for you . ”

Ina and Luise, who helped by tilling the wasteland site with magic and planting seeds, show up .

“What kind of seeds are you planting?”

“It’s idiot daikon after all . ”

“This is the actual produce . ” (Ina)

Ina shows a large turnip with a size to the extent of Sakurajima daikon .  (T/N: The largest variety of daikon on the world)
Even though it’s name is idiot daikon, it actually seems to belong to the family of turnips .

“It looks like this will become fodder for the horses . ”

Due to its toughness, it’s unappetizing if humans eat it, but it easily grows on any kind of wasteland .
A certain extent of water was necessary, but we dealt with this by digging a large quant.i.ty of water wells .
It’s apparently called idiot daikon because 『Any kind of idiot can grow them』 .

“I hear its place of origin is Earl Mizuho Country . It was produced by selective breeding of turnips . ”

“Aahh, okay . ”

I quietly listened to Luise’s explanation .
Once I hear daikon, I get the urge to eat an oden vendor’s pickled daikon radish .
Recalling even the combination of whitebait and grilled Pacific saury with grated daikon, I was absorbed in my deliberations how I should try to obtain it from Earl Mizuho Country .

“They will be ready for harvest in two months after sowing the seeds . They are also resilient against cold . They are fine with wastelands, too . Their only flaw is them tasting nastily, I guess?”

There doesn’t seem to be any problem with the horses eating it .
After harvesting the idiot daikon in the wastelands, next buckwheat, foxtail millet, barnyard millet and such will be grown by planting seeds in soil with horse dung mixed in .
By doing this gradually, the soil will improve so that wheat can be grown .

“Isn’t it possible to cultivate it in the Baumeister Earldom as well?” (Wendelin)

“That seems hopeless . They appear to be weak against heat . ” (Ina)

Ina, who was planting seeds, replies to my question .

“That’s regrettable, I think” (Wendelin)

“Rather than using such roundabout method, I think your way of cultivating new land is much faster, Wend . ” (Ina)

“No, not at all . Even I don’t cultivate new land that fast . ” (Wendelin)

Since the majority of the soldiers work as farmers to begin with, I think we should leave the colonization to them .
There are also things such as digging wells and constructing roads for me .

“It’s not that different from the time when I was in the Baumeister Earldom . ” (Katharina)

“This can’t be helped, though you have to add killing people to it . It looks like this will drag on for a while . ”

“Yes, it’s completely a war of attrition . ”

We are fighting against opponents who don’t consider suddenly losing 40 . 000 troops as damage .
I guess that’s probably because we can’t take the gamble of invading the imperial capital to turn the tables in one swoop .

“That’s why we are growing feed for the horses, right?”

It’s likely for the sake of lowering the burden on the supply .
Since something like wheat isn’t possible all of a sudden, we are subst.i.tuting it with idiot daikon .
Even the field encampment is continuing to enlarge its function as a kind of defence fortification .
Piling up wood and stones that were processed by magicians, they were in the middle of expanding the watchtowers and barracks .

“After all there’s also a limit to a war of attrition . As expected, it’s planned to somehow wrap things up within several months . ”

At that point Alfons shows up accompanied by Burkhart-san .
Burkhart-san has been a.s.signed as constant guard to him as the supreme commander .

“Itcommander .

“It seems that Therese will deploy the main army here . ”

“Did she gather allies to some degree?”

“Looks like it . Hey, Alfons-sama . ”

“With all northern lords and a majority of the northern lords in the east and west, the rest has either declared their neutrality or joined as individuals, right?”

Since the rebellion has split the empire into two factions, all decide whom to follow by judging which side will emerge as winner .
Except for the official stance, it’s difficult for the n.o.bles as well since it’s no good if they don’t truly join one side after deciding the winning side .
Just like in Sekigahara, they will lose their ranks in worst case if they make a mistake in their judgment .  (T/N: Sekigahara is a movie about the end of the Warring States period in j.a.pan)
For the n.o.bles, it should be quite the painful decision to make as it can result in the disappearance of their household that lasted for several thousand years .

“So, when will they come?”

If she leads the army as supreme commander, that alone will rise the morale of our allies, too .
The degree of danger will go up as well, but it’s not like she will be told to swing her sword at the front line .
At this point it’s probably necessary for her to appear in the spotlight after resolving herself .

“It seems tomorrow early morning . I hear it’s quite the large army . ”

“Roger . ”

On that day I wield magic to expand the field encampment . Early morning of the next day, the military forces led by Therese showed up without problems .

“Although it was a defensive battle, making the enemy, who excelled in numbers, flee was definitely a great achievement, Alfons . Here’s thy reward . ” (Therese)

“Ha!” (Alfons)

Therese, who was dressed in a more luxurious mithril-made chain mail than the one worn by Karla before, directly called out to Alfons who went ahead as her representative, and handed him a bag filled with gold coins .

“There are rewards for others as well, but these will be given afterwards . ” (Therese)

“Ha!”

Therese immediately sets up her headquarters in the fortress which was built by stacking up building stones .
Moreover, gathering the lords and retainers there, she starts a simple war council .

“Did we defeat close to 20 . 000 soldiers? That’s a great war progress . ” (Therese)

I guess it’s natural to raise the morale by first praising them since a battle, where half of the rebel army was killed, is a rare, great war progress .
However, it wasn’t a situation where it was possible to be delighted without restraint .

“With us being the defending side, the difference in the quality of magicians became apparent . ”

Due to Alfons’ remark, the looks of all the important people, including Therese, turn towards us .

“Quite a few of the enemy’s magicians were defeated as well . However, the majority has been those who were employed by the prince-elector households . ”

Although she had apparently read the report in advance, Therese’s expression was sorrowful .

“The difference in national power between the kingdom and the empire is continuing to increase . Don’t thou agree, Earl Baumeister?” (Therese)

“Who knows? I’m just a mercenary . ” (Wendelin)

“No, I’m not blaming thee . I just felt jealous that thou live in Helmut Kingdom . ” (Therese)

As expected, Therese didn’t address me as Wendelin as she usually does .

“Yet I only clawed my way up as eighth son of a poor n.o.ble . ” (Wendelin)

“Thou struggling is a downpour that became a blessed rain for the kingdom . Furthermore, the empire is exhausting its national power in a civil war . There’s no other choice but to make it stop as soon as possible, and to enlarge our national power by including foreign trade as well . It’s truly something that will take much effort . ” (Therese)

“In any case, currently I’m just a mercenary . ” (Wendelin)

If I raise achievements by partic.i.p.ating as Earl Baumeister, it will become troublesome because the problem of rewarding me will appear .
『Is it possible for a single person to hold peerage and territory in both countries?』 Due to that issue that had never happened between both countries since the dawn of history, it will very likely plunge the governments in chaos .
I will be quits by simply receiving money as mercenary, but I guess that’s the most fortunate outcome for both sides .