Having finished turning the city of Sakart into a military base, we were summoned to Alhans, which fell into the hands of the liberation army, by Therese. Given that we obtained a military position that allows us to safely stay in range of the imperial capital, she apparently wants me, an excellent magician, to be at her side.
I don"t think that she was lonely as Burkhart-san and Dous.h.i.+ served as her guards during our absence, but in the end, Therese might be fixated on me.
Leaving Sakart, that had the majority of its construction work completed, to Popek and the others, I arrived at Alhans while taking Philip and Christoph along.
As might be expected from a city that"s treated as an auxiliary capital, its scale is even larger than that of Breitburg.
I have heard from Therese that she forced their surrender in the capitulation negotiations after cutting off their supplies with a siege strategy. Thanks to that there wasn"t any apparent damage to Alhans.

“I heard that you captured a nice place?” (Alfons)

“You might say I just went with the flow of events?” (Wendelin)

Alfons, who came to greet us, thanked us for securing the fortress and city of Sakart.
It was a place that wouldn"t really be all that useful, but thanks to me doing construction work to expand the city and the fortress, it seems to apply plenty of pressure on the rebel army.

“But, for it to be the city of Sakart… Since the fortress has been used as a storehouse for the local merchants for 30 years now, none of us realised its existence until we received the report.” (Alfons)

Given that its defence was doubtful as long as it wasn"t repaired, they probably wouldn"t have felt any necessity to go out of their way to take it. But before even that, there was apparently no one among the soldiers and n.o.bles who was aware of it.
According to Therese and Alfons, it"s a fortress that was abolished before they were born. So in the first place, it would be even a problem for them remembering it.

“It was a great help since we can apply pressure on the capital and the front line if we connect the road to Alhans. It looks like you serviced the roads quite a bit as well, doesn"t it?” (Alhans)

“I guess I had the spare time since there was no battle.” (Wendelin)

I haven"t had to fight almost at all in this time"s march.
It was limited to threatening Popek and his army with the 『Low-frequency Medical Device』 spell to make them surrender.
No, if I think back now, they surrendered under the jurisdiction of the liberation army while pretending to act like idiots, and then a.s.sisted in the reinforcement of the fortress and the city of Sakart. This will restore their own territories, which form an economic bloc… they may have predicted it up to this point. If they really did, they would be outrageously skilled people who can"t be measured with just the scale of being former imperial army elites.

◆◇◆◇◆

“Thou put forth great efforts, didn"t thou Wendelin?” (Therese)

“Great efforts?” (Wendelin)

Therese struggled with a mountain of doc.u.ments in the government office of Alhans.
Since the city is a metropolis under the direct control of the empire, it has turned into a huge workload to govern after the occupation.
Because there"s also the management of the prisoners that surrendered, a huge amount of doc.u.ments has piled up,

“Burkhart-san, you are sorting doc.u.ments?” (Wendelin)

“I suppose that"s because you and your group were absent, Earl-sama…” (Burkhart)

Since Elise and Ina went with us as well, Burkhart-san, who served as Therese"s guard, apparently ended up doing a part of our job. Given that he"s an intellectual who received a proper education, he can accomplish this kind of work as well.
That"s only obvious for a capable person who was cordially welcomed by Margrave Breithilde.

“Umm… what about uncle-sama?” (Elise)

“Elise-sama, do you really believe that Dous.h.i.+ can do something like handling doc.u.ments?” (Burkhart)

“Well… once in a long while, he probably does it as well…” (Elise)

Elise answers Burkhart-san"s question without confidence.
He"s certainly the type that runs away after pus.h.i.+ng it on someone else. The person, who had it forced upon them, probably can"t complain about it either.

“Isn"t he Therese-sama"s guard?” (Erwin)

“That should be the case, but…” (Haruka)

Due to Dous.h.i.+ not being at Therese"s side despite being her guard, Erw and Haruka showed expressions full of uneasiness.

“If you are looking for me, I"m here!” (Armstrong)

“It came out—!” (Erwin)

Erw was apparently startled by the sudden appearance of Dous.h.i.+.

“I was on standby in the room next to this. Erwin-lad, I"m properly carrying out my job as a guard!” (Armstrong)

“Oh, were you? But why aren"t you at Therese"s side then?” (Erwin)

“That"s obvious. It"s because I hate paperwork!” (Armstrong)

“To state that so boldly…” (Haruka)

Haruka became speechless due to the words of Dous.h.i.+ who always lives by his own instincts. She might have suffered a culture shock after seeing a human similar to Dous.h.i.+ for the first time.

“At any rate, it"s great that you have come. I suppose we will first split into groups and clean up this large amount of doc.u.ments?” (Therese)

“We have to do it as well!?” (Wendelin)

As she seems to be really at her wits" end, we are given the doc.u.ments that we can understand to check.
Of course, doing the last check and signing them was Therese"s job.

“Alfons-san isn"t here.” (Wilma)

Wilma notices that Alfons is gone without any of us realising.
When she asks the guards in front of the office, it looks like he went out to the city on business.

“As expected of my soul mate. He"s truly fast at running away…” (Wendelin)

I praised the quickness of Alfons" escape while checking doc.u.ments.
That"s because I believe this to be a skill that the current me desperately needs.

“I"m just wondering, but is it alright for us foreigners to look at these doc.u.ments?” (Wendelin)

“Do thou plan to leak the information?” (Therese)

Therese apparently heard my mutter and poses a question back to me.

“Well, that"s what I mean.” (Wendelin)

“Even if thou hand the information of these doc.u.ments to the kingdom after the war, it won"t be of any use as the information will be out of date. Even I wouldn"t hand thou any doc.u.ments that must not be leaked.” (Therese)

As expected, she apparently takes at least this much into consideration.

“But then again, if thou remained in the empire as mine husband, Wendelin, the opportunities for thou to come in contact with highly confidential information would likely increase.” (Therese)

“Therese-sama, this part here is wrong.” (Elise)

“Therese-sama, the budget entries of this doc.u.ment don"t add up. Also, this receipt is suspicious. You should give a warning to the person who handed it in.” (Ina)

Because Therese tried to seduce me once again, Elise and Ina interrupt her by thrusting inaccurate doc.u.ments in front of her nose.

“Thee two are unusually excellent.” (Therese)

Given that Elise is a perfect superwoman, her paperwork is perfect as well, and it has become common knowledge during this civil war that Ina is also quite good with this kind of work.

“Let me see… after adding 7 and 5, it moves up by one digit here… Huh? That"s correct, isn"t it? Somehow I feel unsure. Once more…” (Luise)

On the other hand, Luise, who mostly lives by intuition, was in dire distress in front of the huge amount of doc.u.ments.
In the end, everyone has things they are good at and things they are bad at.

“Katharina, this place is wrong.” (Wilma)

“That"s odd!” (Katharina)

Katharina can work through the paperwork quickly to some extent, but she makes quite a few mistakes.
On the other hand, Wilma is slow but accurate. She often pointed out Katharina"s mistakes.
These two might have contrasting characters, but their compatibility might actually be very good.

“I guess this kind of work is necessary as well, but…” (Erwin)

“Erw-san, let"s do our best. I will make daif.u.ku as a snack later.” (Haruka)

“Okay, I will keep at it, Haruksan.” (Erwin)

Erw and Haruka created their own little world.
Basically, Haruka skillfully incites Erw to do his work.
He"s already being dominated, but since Erw himself doesn"t think that to be the case, it"s no problem.

“(So this is a woman who wisely controls her husband while treating him with due respect…?)” I end up admiring her.

Since we finally put the doc.u.ments in order after around one hour, we decided to have a talk with Therese while having a little snack.

“I"m not really skilled at it, but…” (Haruka)

The snacks were the daif.u.ku Haruka had promised before.
The person herself, who made them, is humble about her own creation, but they weren"t inferior in any way to those sold at stores.

“They are delicious with their moderate sweetness, Haruksan.” (Erwin)

“Really? I"m happy.” (Haruka)

“Since you are skilled at cooking and sweets, I wasn"t worried at all.” (Erwin)

Looking at the two of them, it"s almost like a newly-wed couple sitting around the dining table.
When I incidentally look at Therese, she had an expression full of envy.
I pretend not to have noticed.

“The bean daif.u.ku and the salt daif.u.ku are tasty, too.”

“I wondered whether it would be alright to put salt into sweets, but the salty-sweet taste is addictive.”

Luise was apparently also pleased with the salt daif.u.ku she ate for the first time.

“By the way, what about strawberry daif.u.ku?” (Wendelin)

“Eh?” (Erwin)

“Strawberries and daif.u.ku?” (Haruka)

Erw and Haruka became speechless due to my remark.
In their minds, the combination of strawberries and daif.u.ku is probably impossible.

“That"s an odd combination, isn"t it? Is it going to be alright?” (Ina)

Ina is worried about the taste, but as a matter of fact, I have already experienced that taste.
In other words, the combination of strawberries and daif.u.ku is the best possible combination.
The strawberries in this world are smaller and sourer than the ones in j.a.pan, but in contrast, that should bring out their refres.h.i.+ng taste.

“If you order me to do it like that, Earl Baumeister-sama…” (Haruka)

There are still ingredients for daif.u.ku remaining and I have put several strawberries into my magic bag.
In accordance with my order, Haruka started to slowly make strawberry daif.u.ku.

“I"m anxious about the taste.” (Armstrong)

For a change, Dous.h.i.+ was worried about the taste, but since it"s extremely unlikely for him to get an upset stomach even if he eats something disgusting or rotten, I think that it"s a pointless concern for him.

“I"m done.” (Haruka)

“Wendelin-san, are these really alright?” (Katharina)

Katharina puts one into her mouth while looking anxious, but since it was something sweet, she would never reject it entirely.
I wonder though, is that okay with your diet?
That"s the only worrisome matter here.
The others all begin to sample the food simultaneously, but their initial worries were blown away immediately.
They started to give the strawberry daif.u.ku high praise.

“Dear, it"s very delicious.” (Elise)

“Huh? Even though it"s a strange combination, it"s tasty, isn"t it?” (Haruka)

Elise and Haruka, who are good at cooking, gave the strawberry daif.u.ku a high evaluation.

“You did well to come up with that, Wend.” (Luise)

“Really. How strange.” (Wilma)

“Hah, I"m blessed by a food G.o.d.” (Wendelin)

Luise and Wilma ate the strawberry daif.u.ku while admiring it.
It was a simple rip-off, but as long as no one knows that, it"s no real rip-off.
Besides, if you tell the people of this world that it was the revelation from G.o.d, there"s a high probability you will be believed.
It"s just the right cover to give them the slip.

“Leaving that aside, don"t we have to talk about the future from here on out?” (Burkhart)

Upon having that pointed out by Burkhart-san, who doesn"t have much interest in sweets, it was decided that we would finally hear the future plans from Therese.

“This sweet is tasty.” (Therese)

“Therese-sama.” (Burkhart)

Therese herself was too focused on the strawberry daif.u.ku. She had completely forgotten anything else until she was called out by Burkhart-san.

“We will march in the direction of the capital with the largest army as possible. Duke Nürnberg will likely be ready and waiting for us on the way.” (Therese)

Duke Nürnberg apparently wants to grasp victory by bringing the battle into the open field that suits him so much. It seems a written challenge was sent to Therese after the capture of Alhans.

“I wonder, is Duke Nürnberg bad at siege battles?”

“Rather than that, it"s because battles on the open field tend to finish faster.”

Since it will be spring soon, he probably wants to finish the civil war as fast as possible and start the reconstruction of the nation.
Both sides share the same opinion in this regard.

“If he thinks that, it would have been best if he hadn"t started a rebellion to begin with!” (Armstrong)

Dous.h.i.+ complains about Duke Nürnberg while stuffing his cheeks with strawberry daif.u.ku.

“It can"t be helped now. There are several plains near the capital where a large-scale battle is possible. He will probably wait for us on one of those.” (Therese)

For that reason Duke Nürnberg likely forced Mizuho"s national army and the Philip Dukedom"s feudal army, which are the main battle forces of the liberation army, to use their soldiers without wasting the combat forces of his proteges.

“Thanks to that he"s hated by the n.o.bles whom he used as sacrificial p.a.w.ns though.”

I guess it"s only natural for them to bear a grudge against Duke Nürnberg since they suffered losses from being treated as disposable.
However, it"s very likely that they will be crushed if they criticise him openly. Duke Nürnberg a.s.sembling his elites in the vicinity of the capital probably also serves as a restraint against them.

“Just so thou know, our side has been advancing various schemes as well. Expecting to be betrayed, Duke Nürnberg shouldn"t depend on anyone except the combat forces of his proteges.” (Therese)

“Well, I think that we can"t speak for others either though.” (Burkhart)

It"s as Burkhart-san says. Due to the lasting impact of the civil war, there are many opportunistic n.o.bles on both sides. They probably want to make sure of the winner as it concerns the life and death of their households, but the result is that more than half of the n.o.bles, who have joined the liberation army, can"t be relied upon. Our numbers have grown to be greater than those of the rebel army, but depending on the progress of the war, it wouldn"t be strange for some of them to betray us on the battlefield.

“Even if that"s true, we have to advance the reorganisation of the liberation army and push for the capital.” (Therese)

That"s the obvious choice since we have to settle the war sooner or later.

“I see. Please do your best.” (Wendelin)

“Wendelin, thou will support me, won"t thou?” (Therese)

“I will partic.i.p.ate in the battle, but Dous.h.i.+, Burkhart-san and I will have our hands full with opposing master.” (Wendelin)

Seeing that Duke Nürnberg is coming for us for real, there"s no way for Talrand not to partic.i.p.ate.
He has no reason not to summon master, who forced us into a dilemma, through 『Heroic Spirit Summon』.

“We have to defeat him, as we can"t leave it to the others.” (Wendelin)

“Thy master, huh…? He"s a dreadfully formidable enemy, as he can"t defy Duke Nürnberg.” (Therese)

“That"s why we will kill him next time. It will be troublesome if he escapes once again.” (Wendelin)

We cannot afford for master to be used by Duke Nürnberg any longer.
For that reason, it"s necessary to defeat master and have him return to heaven.

“I will leave the command of the kingdom"s forces to Philip and Christoph. We will settle things with master.” (Wendelin)

“That"s right. The next time is our best chance to defeat Alf.” (Burkhart)

“The previous time their side was overwhelmingly superior. As expected of Alfred, but you can"t say that he didn"t show any openings at all!” (Armstrong)

Given that we are setting up countermeasures, it shouldn"t turn into a hard battle like the last time, but if we don"t defeat him this time, master might use some kind of magic that will overpower us again. It"s also possible that Duke Nürnberg has prepared new magic tools. It will be pointless unless we go at him with the goal to definitely kill master.

“If master intrudes on the battlefield, it will become a disadvantage for the liberation army. The three of us will make sure to defeat him no matter what. We won"t have the leeway to help out the others.” (Wendelin)

“Got it. I guess average magicians won"t stand a chance at all. It"s fine for thou to go at it to thy heart"s content, Wendelin.” (Therese)

Therese permitted our independent action.

“Sorry.”

“What, he"s the benefactor of my precious person and yet is getting used against his will. Moreover, for that to be Duke Nürnberg"s doing… I didn"t expect Max to go this far.” (Therese)

“…”

I was grateful for Therese"s feelings, but I sensed a slight feeling of discomfort.
If someone defies the head of a nation to the extent of causing a rebellion, it"s natural for them to use anything they can. My irritation towards Duke Nürnberg is something attributed to him personally. It"s obvious for a statesman to adopt heartless strategies as necessary.
Does Therese have no readiness as a statesman?
I ended up thinking about something like that all of a sudden, but currently, it doesn"t matter. I stowed away that doubt within my heart for now.

“Once we finish the preparations, we will depart towards the imperial capital!” (Therese)

◆◇◆◇◆

And then, two days later, the liberation army that had departed with almost its entire force of 150,000 soldiers, confronted the approximately 90,000 soldiers of the rebel army led by Duke Nürnberg on the Sheena Plains, the empire"s biggest grain-producing area.

“That idiot! Is he telling us to battle in the biggest grain-producing region of the empire!?” (Therese)

Therese was enraged at Duke Nürnberg who challenged her to a large-scale battle at this time when the harvest of the winter wheat still hasn"t finished. That"s because it was inevitable for the farmers to raise their voices full of resentment due to the decline in the amount harvested.

“Duke Nürnberg… just what is that man thinking?” (Therese)

Therese looks towards the troop headquarters of the rebel army.

＊　　　＊　　　＊

“So you a.s.sembled here, did you Therese?” (Nürnberg)

Aren"t they well in order for a completely disorderly mob?
In that case, I guess we will go with the second plan?
Just when I was thinking this, that man spoke up to me with a voice that was bright to an unpleasant degree.

“Are we going to lose?” (Alfred)

That Earl Baumeister and his group are in that liberation army or whatever it was called.
I made Talrand summon Alfred Reinford, who cornered them in the previous battle, but his way of talking is as sarcastic as ever. Even while he follows our orders, I hate it that he intends to disobey me whenever he has a chance to do so.

“I have prepared a move so that we won"t lose. The same back at you; are you going to be able to win against Earl Baumeister"s group next time?” (Nürnberg)

“What will be will be.” (Alfred)

This b.a.s.t.a.r.d, doesn"t he know whether he can or cannot win in this situation?

“What do you mean?” (Nürnberg)

“As I"m unable to go against Talrand"s orders, I will fight with all my power, but I told you before, I don"t improve since I"m a dead man. Since I"m dead, I don"t have any memory except that I was superior in the previous battle.” (Alfred)

“I suppose the memories of the dead are vague. I heard so from Talrand.” (Nürnberg)

However, I also heard that there are people who remember things clearly. It"s also possible that this guy is lying.

“For that reason, I can"t learn any combat teachings. I can only fight while relying on the experience from the time when I was alive. Wend and the others should have become stronger, using their previous defeat as a lesson. That"s why I can"t declare that I will be able to win without fail.” (Alfred)

“It"s an order. Win.” (Nürnberg)

“If I can win due to affirming that, I will do so as many times as you like.” (Alfred)

You are a dead person, so it"s no problem even if you die. But, Talrand is an important, trusted retainer for me. I will never permit you to lose.

“Retreat depending on the progress of the battle.” (Nürnberg)

There"s no need at all to force a final showdown here. As long as I have Talrand, he will serve as a restraint against Earl Baumeister who is in the process of increasing his influence within the liberation army. Trying to do the impossible and losing Talrand will be a huge loss.

“Withdraw before it"s too late. You are saying something absurd to someone who is about to enter a struggle to the death. There are situations where you can and cannot pull back.” (Alfred)

“Shut up! I"m a soldier. I"m different from you magicians and adventurers.” (Nürnberg)

Did you think that I understand the personal feelings of you guys?

“I will do my best. Well then, with this… ah, is that man doing fine? He has been adjusting the 『Puppets』, the excavated items, so—” (Alfred)

“Shut up! Go!” (Nürnberg)

I unintentionally raised my voice.
At any rate, just when did he learn about the existence of my trump card?
Having been summoned, this guy was absorbed into Talrand, so-to-speak.
Is that why he also knows the things Talrand does?
I"m not well-informed about magic, so I don"t quite get those kinds of circ.u.mstances.

“Don"t prattle about unnecessary things. You just have to concentrate on defeating Earl Baumeister and his friends.” (Nürnberg)

“I will try and do what I can. Well then, I guess I will return to Talrand for now…” (Alfred)

“Why do you return each and every time?” (Nürnberg)

“A battlefield filled with close-combat is scary. There are times when you suffer an unexpected, embarra.s.sing defeat. It"s easier to move while being Talrand who has a weak presence.” (Alfred)

Once Alfred says so, he returned to Talrand"s appearance. No, it was Talrand who made that call and said so.

“I shall excuse myself with this then.” (Talrand)

Saying so, that guy… no, Talrand left to the front line to search for Earl Baumeister"s group.
This isn"t the final, decisive battle, but a battle in the midst of a campaign.
I will leave the rest to Talrand. I have to focus on the command of the troops in order to achieve my goal.

＊　　　＊　　　＊

————————– End of Part 1 —————————-

“Philip-dono, Christoph-dono, I will entrust the command of the kingdom"s forces to you.” (Wendelin)

Seeing that it"s very likely for master to appear at the front once again, I won"t have the spare time for something like commanding the troops.
I entrusted the two of them with the command of the kingdom"s forces.

“Are you going to depart to the front?”

“Yes… Burkhart-san?” (Wendelin)

“Yeah, I have that throbbing sensation. This weird response where Alf"s mana and a strange mana are intertwined. He has come out to search for us after all, I guess.” (Burkhart)

Burkhart-san senses master"s mana. With this, it has become impossible to avoid a battle.

“Wend, are you going to be fine with just the three of you? If you like, I can…” (Erwin)

“I appreciate it, but we can"t devote any more valuable combat forces to master alone. Erw, please follow the instructions of those two.” (Wendelin)

“Understood.” (Erwin)

Declining Erw"s help, us three went out to the front line.

◆◇◆◇◆

Both the liberation and the rebel army have taken up position in a huge wheat field that still hasn"t been fully harvested.
The wheat will be cruelly trampled down, so it will probably be necessary to reimburse the farmers later.
The bad-tempered expression of Therese, who will shoulder those expenses, pops up in my mind.

“It looks like Duke Nürnberg will fight this time.”

Burkhart-san drops a sarcastic line about Duke Nürnberg not having escaped this time.
Both armies split their forces into three parts. They were about to crash into each other with almost the same deployment

“The right wing is under young Duke Baden and his group, and the left wing is led by Earl Lärmer. There are concerns about their cooperation, but we won"t have any spare time to worry about that!” (Armstrong)

Young Duke Baden shouldn"t mess up a second time. Earl Lärmer is apparently a former imperial army general. It appears that he resigned from the army and returned home in order to inherit the peerage.
I think he"s an excellent soldier and that"s why Therese entrusted him with one wing. The central block is directly commanded by Therese. Mizuho"s army is located there as well. Although Philip and the others are there as well, the number of the kingdom"s forces is low. The unexperienced Erw is with them as well, so they shouldn"t do anything too reckless.

“Charge!”

“Fight back!”

The battle of both armies begins, but as they first start with a wait-and-see approach, there are few movements.
Among this, that man once again calmly walks our way from the enemy army.
Identical to before, there wasn"t anyone among the liberation army"s soldiers who makes a move against Talrand.
He"s an excellent magician who possesses a bizarre eeriness. If they attacked him poorly, a common soldier would simply die after getting counterattacked. They can"t make any unreasonable moves.

“Earl Baumeister, Burkhart, Armstrong-dous.h.i.+, there won"t be a next time.” (Talrand)

“I think that applies to you more than to us.” (Wendelin)

“I guess only your impudent talk is that of an adult. Well then, I will summon that man once again.” (Talrand)

Talrand is wrapped up by a bluish-white light and master showed up once more.
While both armies are fighting, master and we are again facing off against each other right in the middle of the battlefield.

“Teach, you have become quite muscular.” (Alfred)

Master noticed Burkhart-san, whose face became toned after going through the intense training.

“It"s the futile struggling of an old man. It ain"t nothing a genius like you has to mind, Alf.” (Burkhart)

“Unfortunately I have to be cautious. Since it"s you, Teach, I can"t be careless. Klimt and Wend as well, huh…? Let"s bring it to an end with a quick attack this time. Those magic tools have been replenished as well. Since they are rare, I don"t have any more than two once again, but…” (Alfred)

Master tossed two 『Puppets』 on the ground. Just like before, the puppets take the shape of master and square off against Burkhart-san and Dous.h.i.+ respectively.

“Earl-sama, Dous.h.i.+ and I will keep these puppets company. I don"t know about Dous.h.i.+, but for me, it will probably take all my effort to counter with Alf"s puppet as the opponent. Just like before, there"s no other option but to go one-on-one.” (Burkhart)

“That"s more than enough.” (Wendelin)

“This time I won"t suffer an embarra.s.sing defeat!” (Armstrong)

Even Dous.h.i.+, after suffering an unexpected and embarra.s.sing defeat last time, repeatedly committed to training. In the next moment, he starts the battle against master"s puppet.
Right in the middle of the battlefield where both sides" armies clash against each other, an area, where no one except us existed, was created.
As for the reason, if they approach imprudently…

“”””””Uwaaah!””””””

“I"m sorry, okay? It"s a stray bullet.”

Burkhart-san shoots his spell towards the puppet, but the puppet avoids it easily… once it does, the spell exploded among the soldiers of the enemy army located in the back.

“… Teach? Is that on purpose?” (Alfred)

“Alf, I"m sad. For you to doubt your master. I"m a magician that"s inferior to you, Alf. My spells won"t even hit the puppet.” (Burkhart)

No matter how much he trained himself, the possibility of Burkhart-san to be able to win against master, even if it"s his puppet, is low.
Accordingly, the plan is for him to stall for time and wait for the puppet"s time to run out.
Last time we confirmed that the puppets have a time limit.
And, moreover, master has another weakness.
Strictly speaking, master isn"t master.
Since he has to prioritise Talrand"s orders above all else, he won"t be able to allow damage to be caused to Duke Nürnberg"s feudal army in the rear.

“Puppet! Block it!”

Once it becomes intolerable for that many shots of attack magic to explode at his allied forces, the puppet started to block Burkhart-san"s spells with a 『Magic Barrier』.

“It"s a random firing of 『Fire Snake』!” (Armstrong)

“Klimt, you as well, huh?” (Alfred)

“I only hit the enemy army in the rear with spells by chance.” (Armstrong)

Dous.h.i.+ fires 『Fire Snake』 randomly as well. It exploded at various places of Duke Nürnberg"s feudal army.

“They are in disorder! Fire the arrows!”

Philip, who leads the kingdom"s forces, didn"t miss that opportunity.
They fire arrows at the confused enemy army, expanding the damage.

“Puppet, continue to block it.” (Alfred)

He fell for it.
Since Talrand"s orders are given priority, master can"t demonstrate his true ability properly.
If master was able to act freely, he should have thoroughly and efficiently cornered us while ignoring something like Duke Nürnberg"s feudal army.
In other words, thanks to Talrand, master has become weaker.
Once it turns into a situation where the two puppets block all the magic attacks released by Burkhart-san and Dous.h.i.+ with their 『Magic Barrier』, the mana consumption increases unnecessarily, and it reaches the point of being wasteful.

『Alf"s weakness is that it"s not just himself.』 (Burkhart)

『He has to prioritise Talrand"s orders, doesn"t he?』 (Wendelin)

『Talrand is Duke Nürnberg"s dog! A dog is loyal to its master!』 (Armstrong)

As a result of us three discussing it, the battle took the current shape.

“And Wend, that means it has turned into a one-on-one battle against me. But, do you think you are able to win?” (Alfred)

“I will win. I have no other choice. If I don"t win, I will lose and die. That"s all there is to it.” (Wendelin)

With master as the opponent, it"s unnecessary to hesitate.
And there"s one more thing.
I must avoid fighting at master"s pace by any means possible.
In what do I excel master?
Yes, it"s the amount of mana, so I have to fight while capitalising on that.
The more I try to fight technically, the more I will be led around by the nose.
If master tries to pour calm attacks on me, I have no other option but to answer with a dense barrage of spells so that I won"t get overwhelmed. Even if I go for a frontal attack, it will only extend the time until I"m defeated.

“Here I come!”

First I release a large amount of 『Fireb.a.l.l.s』 towards Duke Nürnberg"s feudal army situated behind master.
If it was just master, he could probably save on mana while evading all of these, but Talrand won"t allow for any losses to appear among Duke Nürnberg"s troops. In addition to a 『Magic Barrier』, he offset the 『Fireb.a.l.l.s』 by releasing a huge amount of 『Ice Spheres』.
There are a few 『Fireb.a.l.l.s』that had their penetrative force increased, but master dealt with those by thickening his 『Magic Barrier』.
There"s also the trick of saving on mana by thickening only a part of the 『Magic Barrier』, but he has to also cope with the large amount of 『Fireb.a.l.l.s』released in the direction of his allies. So even for master it was impossible to execute the precise action of boosting only some parts of his 『Magic Barrier』.

“That"s the way.”

Anyway, I can"t allow master to seize the initiative.
I keep attacking and master keeps defending, gradually stealing his mana.
It would be best if I don"t give master the chance to replenish his mana by using the magic crystal of the huge magic airs.h.i.+p.
The puppets that would likely interfere are kept in check by Burkhart-san and Dous.h.i.+.
It"s the second time, so both of them fought against the puppets skillfully.

“That"s a somewhat reckless move, isn"t it Wend?” (Alfred)

Although I was addressed by master, I ignored it and continued firing large amounts of 『Fireb.a.l.l.s』.
It might be reckless or high-handed, but this shows the best result against master right now.
In order to protect his allies behind him, his mana, which would be consumed much less if he had only to evade the spells, is gradually decreasing.
If I can deplete master"s mana completely in this way since I have a lot more mana… no, I probably shouldn"t be that overly optimistic.

“Ugh!”

When I twist my body promptly because I sensed bloodthirst, a sharp pain penetrated my flank.
Master, who had moved directly in front of me all of a sudden, pierces through my 『Magic Barrier』 with a magic sword.
I prevented the thrust from hitting my vitals, but my flank ended up being gouged out.

“Movement magic? Why? ” (Wendelin)

This intense pain at my flank is a pain I have already experienced once. While stalling for time by asking master, I covered the wound with one hand while casting healing magic.

“I guess it worked by chance?” (Alfred)

“There"s no way for that to be true.” (Wendelin)

Currently movement magic should be unusable thanks to that device. And yet master moved in front of me instantaneously. Normally that"s impossible.

“It"s a spare 『Canceller』, but I suppose it will break after one or two more uses.” (Alfred)

Going by its name of canceller, it"s likely a magic tool that cancels the magic jamming of the movement and communication spells. Master clasped the chain of a necklace with a pitch-black jewel in his hand.
That"s probably an excavated magic tool of the Ancient Magic Civilization Era as well.

“…”

“Have you spend more mana than expected, master?” (Wendelin)

Even while speaking with him, I continue to release waves of 『Fireb.a.l.l.s』.
My 『Magic Barrier』 is in perfect shape, and the wound at my side is in the process of healing.
It was the effect of me having practised deploying several spells during combat while having mock battles with Burkhart-san and Dous.h.i.+. I have definitely greatly improved in comparison to the time when I fought against the bone dragon.

“I guess you were taught by Klimt and Teach-san, Wend?” (Alfred)

“Yes.” (Wendelin)

“I"m slightly jealous. After all, it was me who found you and gave you a basic training. It feels as though my cute pupil was stolen from me.” (Alfred)

The 『Ice Spheres』 shot by master grew tremendously bigger and were about to break my 『Magic Barrier』.
Even though I had completely blocked them until now, several of them penetrate my 『Magic Barrier』 and injure my body.
However, it doesn"t turn into a serious injury like before. It"s because I also trained to avoid at the last moment.
Apart from that, I also noticed a certain something.

“(Master has stopped conserving his mana? Has he lost control of himself due to the anger of having his pupil stolen?)”

No, that"s not it. It"s unlikely for master to lose his cool over something like that.
Then, why?

“I got it!” (Wendelin)

I made one『Wind Cutter』 that had its penetration power increased pierce through the 『Magic Barrier』 deployed by master.
It"s impossible for master to not dodge that, but a certain behaviour prevented it.

“… So you found out, huh?” (Alfred)

Just like last time, master took out a huge magic crystal from his magic bag and tried to replenish his mana.
There wasn"t the slightest change on his expression, but for just an instant, he turned his eyes towards Burkhart-san and Dous.h.i.+.
The reason being that the puppets, which handled the two skillfully in the previous battle, were getting completely overwhelmed this time.

“In the end, a puppet is a puppet. I suppose it"s nice that they were useful at least once… no, if it"s an average magician, they shouldn"t be able to see through their fighting strength in one fight…?” (Alfred)

Master"s 『Ice Spheres』 that flew about between us until now completely stopped.
I continue to fire 『Fireb.a.l.l.s』. As expected, even my mana was approaching its limit, but I have more leeway than master. The amount of my mana had increased as well, though only slightly, in comparison to last time.
There"s no way for me to lose against master in the amount of mana. The rest is…

“Kuuh!”

I release another 『Wind Cutter』 and deliver a blow to master.
The 『Wind Cutter』, which once again pierced through master"s 『Magic Barrier』, lightly injured the back of his right hand. It"s no considerable injury, but it"s enough if I can prevent master from taking out that huge magic crystal from his magic bag.
I finally cornered him up to this point, even while getting wounded all over.
Now all that"s left is the final showdown with master.
If I allow him to run away now, Talrand will replenish his magic tools and probably also strengthen his countermeasures against us.
I will get closer and release a finis.h.i.+ng blow before he escapes by using the 『Canceller』.
I"m bad at emission magic. Making use of my entire remaining mana, I will deliver a blow with a magic sword while harbouring the intention to clash with master.
There"s no other option left. Although I might get stabbed as well, I cannot afford to let him get away.
When I was planning to take the magic sword out of the magic bag at the last moment and then materialise the sword blade… while also using my mana to the utmost limit to get closer…, master smiled at me.

“Master?” (Wendelin)

“A final duel after using the remaining mana?” (Alfred)

“(He figured it out…)” (Wendelin)

“It"s a nice idea. I believe it to be fine with this, too. Wend, the final match! 『Don"t be an idiot! Retreat!』”

Just now two conflicting opinions came out of master"s mouth.
Is master possibly opposing Talrand"s order to withdraw?

“『Follow the order…!』 It"s just as I thought.”

“What do you mean?” (Wendelin)

“There"s no way for magic that can call and manipulate the dead to exist without any kind of risk. The stronger the person summoned, the looser the control over them becomes. Talrand himself also wasted a lot of mana in the battle so far. I discovered that his control will weaken with the decrease of mana. I was troubled as I had no knowledge about 『Heroic Spirit Summoning』. But, it looks like I can"t defy an order by the stronger side. Therefore, let"s put an end to it here.” (Alfred)

『Alfreeed~~~!』

“I don"t think that we have such a good relations.h.i.+p that you would call my name familiarly. Please have peace of mind. I will fight against Wend with all my strength. That"s because this isn"t a fight where the master measures the abilities of his pupil. It"s because I, Alfred Reinford, want to experience Wendelin von Benno Baumeister"s strength. You just have to lean back and watch. Though you will die if I lose, Talrand.” (Alfred)

『Alfreeed~~~!』

Talrand cursed at master using master"s voice.

“Well then, shall we get started since time is valuable? Even though I overwhelmed you last time, the tables have already been turned, huh?” (Alfred)

『Alfred, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d!』 (Talrand)

“The previous fight gave me a strong impression. Even though I"m dead, I have my memories fully remaining. Though I didn"t have any obligation to tell you that.” (Alfred)

Master deliberately fought with the same tactics as last time. By doing that, our chance to win would go up.

『Immediately use the 『Canceller』 and get away!』 (Talrand)

“No way. Earl Baumeister and his friends are formidable enemies who are in the process of increasing their influence within the liberation army. I fight for the sake of cutting the rebel army"s threat by eliminating them.”

『s.h.i.+t~~~! Puppets~~~!』 (Talrand)

“It"s futile. There"s no way for something at the level of a copy of me to win against Teach-san and Klimt.” (Alfred)

Talrand apparently tried to call the puppets over as s.h.i.+eld for the time of escape, but the all-important puppets were already releasing smoke. The countermeasures of the two bore fruit. The puppets" operational period became shorter than last time.

“What a piece of junk. I will stop it at once!” (Armstrong)

“It goes unexpectedly well for me once I held out.” (Burkhart)

The fuming puppets will apparently cease to work any time soon. That would make it difficult for Talrand to escape.

『Alfreeed~~~!』 (Talrand)

“Your hearing is bad, and your vocabulary is lacking as well. What a let-down. Well then, let"s get started?” (Alfred)

I retrieve my magic sword from my magic bag and materialize a sword blade with a fire attribute.
I use a Mizuho katana as reference for the sword blade shape.
Master draws the magic sword affixed at his waist and produces an ice blade.
We continue squaring off against each other while readying our swords.

“It will be really the end with this. Whoever might lose or win, no hard feelings.” (Alfred)

“Yes.” (Wendelin)

Even though master"s mana is low, I seem to be pressured by his intensity*. (T/N: If you watch One Piece, you should know what Haku is. ? )
But, I must not retreat at this point. Pointless feints and camouflaging spells are meaningless.
Wendelin, step forward! If you withdraw here, it"s your loss.
Even if my body is penetrated by master"s strike, I will push the sword blade forward.
It"s unrelated to something like techniques. After having come this far, there"s no other option left anymore but to pierce master"s vitals with willpower.

“Here I come!”

“I shall accept your challenge!”

I put all my remaining mana into speed and charged at master while holding out the magic sword in front.

It"s as if I"m once again allowed to measure my skills against master.

“Still, such speed is!”

“With this, I"m really out of mana.”

“I see… me too.”

Both our bodies clash and a sharp pain once again travelled through my left shoulder.
It looks like I luckily avoided a thrust to the heart.
And, I feel feedback in both my hands. Once I check where I had stabbed master"s body…

“Wend, it was splendid.” (Alfred)

My last thrust has pierced master"s heart and he collapses in my direction just like that.

“Master!”

Having a vital spot pierced through, master apparently can"t move his body anymore. I hurriedly lay down his body on the ground.

“I"m sorry, Wend.” (Alfred)

“Master!” (Wendelin)

“Actually I don"t feel any pain. The one dying is Talrand. After all, I"m already dead. It"s true that I can"t move, but…” (Alfred)

Surely, master didn"t seem as if he was tormented by pain, but as if noise was interfering at times, his appearance changes into that of Talrand. Those intervals became slowly shorter.

◆◇◆◇◆

“You are a nuisance! You piece of tras.h.!.+” (Armstrong)

“So the puppets can"t move independently? … It"s the end!” (Burkhart)

◆◇◆◇◆

————————– End of Part 2 —————————-

After destroying the puppets that stopped moving because Talrand had died, Dous.h.i.+ and Burkhart-san ran up towards us.

“Talrand-sama was defeated!”

“Bah! Attack Earl Baumeister"s group!”

“””””””Roger!”””””””

After Talrand"s death, Duke Nürnberg"s feudal army was about to advance on the place no one approached out of fear of getting hit by spells until then.
If they can defeat us who are exhausted after killing Talrand, the war situation will turn advantageous for them.

“I won"t let you!”

“”””””Uwaaah—!””””””

But, that plan fell through because of Katharina"s 『Tornado』 spell.

“Philip-san!”

“Aye! Royal Army! Advance and close the hole! If our sponsor dies in battle, we will once again lead scanty lives!” (Philip)

The s.p.a.ce that had unnaturally opened up due to our showdown with master is filled up by the kingdom"s forces led by Erw and Philip.

“Step out in front! Protect Earl Baumeister"s group!”

“Pressure them!”

Because High Earl Mizuho and Therese also sent out reinforcements, the front line moved up and our surroundings became quiet once more.

“Dear, hurry, you have to be treated!” (Elise)

“Wend, you alright?” (Ina)

“It"s no good if you are too reckless. Wend, you aren"t as strong at close combat as I am.” (Luise)

“Wend-sama, such things are my job.” (Wilma)

Elise and the others gathered and all the main members surrounded master.

“Wend, you have to get your wound healed quickly.”

“What about master?” (Wendelin)

“Dear, it"s not possible to heal the dead…” (Elise)

Elise told me with an apologetic expression.

“Wend, don"t pull such a face towards a beautiful woman. I guess I was never able to teach you about these things… Well, you were a child after all. Very soon the effect of the 『Heroic Spirit Summoning』 will disappear and I will once again ascend to heaven. As a dead person, I will immediately vanish once I receive healing magic.” (Alfred)

As Talrand has died, it was just a matter of time before master disappeared.

“It"s nothing but pretty ladies.” (Alfred)

Master says while looking at Elise and the others.

“They are my wives.” (Wendelin)

“That"s amazing. You bested me in this regard.” (Alfred)

“Master…” (Wendelin)

Joking around at such time was master"s way of consoling me.
I couldn"t say anything further. That"s because it looks like my tears will overflow if I open my mouth.

“Wend, I"m someone who already went to heaven more than ten years ago. I"m full of regret for having you and the others pushed close to death, but I was very happy that I was allowed to see how splendid you have become.” (Alfred)

“…” (Wendelin)

It"s impossible. It appears that I will cry if I don"t put my utmost effort into enduring.

“Teach-san, Klimt, thank you very much for training Wend.” (Alfred)

“Don"t mind it. That doesn"t suit you at all. I lacked a good work-out recently anyway.” (Burkhart)

“It allowed me to reevaluate my shortcomings! It"s not something you have to worry about, Alfred!” (Armstrong)

Burkhart-san and Dous.h.i.+ seemed to be just as usual, but to me, they looked as if they would burst into tears any time soon.

“There"s no time left anymore, huh…?” (Alfred)

“Are you going to vanish already?” (Armstrong)

“Klimt, even though you are a n.o.ble, your lack of delicacy is the real deal. Well, I became your friend because of how you are…” (Alfred)

For master, who doesn"t like royalty and n.o.bility overly much, Dous.h.i.+ seems to be the sole exception.

“At least at the end we have to drink some high-quality wine!” (Armstrong)

Saying that, Dous.h.i.+ unplugs the cork of the wine he took out of his magic bag not by extracting it, but by sending the upper part flying with a hand strike.

“That"s typical of you. How about Teach-san as well?” (Alfred)

“It"s a precious invitation. I will gladly partake in it. I guess I held back on the booze recently.” (Burkhart)

“That"s unusual.” (Alfred)

“Shut up.” (Burkhart)

Dous.h.i.+ dribbles a little bit of wine into master"s mouth and then drank a mouthful directly from the bottle.
Next Burkhart-san takes a gulp as well, and then I drank it as well since he pa.s.sed it on to me.

“How about it? Do you recognise the flavour?” (Armstrong)

“For some reason I do. If you are talking about a good year isn"t that one right on the spot? Or rather, isn"t this wine from my collection?” (Alfred)

I don"t know how it works, but even though Talrand has died, master precisely a.s.sessed the taste of the wine.

“You are right! I received it from Earl Baumeister!” (Armstrong)

It"s true that I sent it to him as thanks for receiving his favours all the time, but it was also the truth that I was coaxed into it.

“Wend make sure that my collection isn"t s.n.a.t.c.hed away by the greedy Klimt. Also, the same applies to Teach-san as well.” (Alfred)

“You are a terrible friend!” (Armstrong)

“Really, you are an awful pupil.” (Burkhart)

The three of them laugh. Being enticed by that, I laugh faintly as well.
I was able to reunite with him after a long time due to some kind of fate at work. I want to at least send him off while smiling at the end.
Imitating Dous.h.i.+ and Burkhart-san, I showed a smile.

“I"m reluctant to part, but I will disappear very soon.” (Alfred)

And at last the final moment came. His body has already become completely transparent.

“I wonder whether I will take lessons in magic from Wend next time after a few decades? Everyone, please treat Wend well.” (Alfred)

Leaving those words behind at the end, master ended up vanis.h.i.+ng completely. Only the corpse of the expressionless Talrand with his thin presence was left behind in the wake.

“Wend, I don"t know what"s best to say at such times, but…”

“I believe your master was satisfied after having seen your grown appearance, Wend.”

“Thanks, Ina and Luise. I won"t mourn any longer.” (Wendelin)

Rather than that, currently my rage towards Duke Nürnberg was outweighing everything.
A new empire to the extent of mocking the dead? That"s no more than a bad joke.
I take the spare magic gems out of my magic bag and replenish my mana.
I don"t manage to replenish more than 25%, but that should allow me to stand at the front line once again.

“Right now we are in the middle of a battle. The burden on Erw and Philip"s group is great. Let"s head out to the front.” (Wendelin)

“Yes, I shall accompany you.” (Katharina)

“Me as well.” (Wilma)

Ina and Luise nod. Katharina and Wilma gave their acknowledgement.

“I will devote myself to healing.” (Elise)

Elise declares that she will return to the rear to continue healing. At the time when I thought ‘Well then, it"s time for a counterattack", some disturbance apparently occurred at the frontline. That unrest reached even us.

“Earl Baumeister-sama!” Haruka rushed over to us as a messenger.

“Haruka, what"s wrong?” I ask.

“Duke Nürnberg made a big move! He has reorganized his entire army and simultaneously launched an attack against the left wing led by Earl Lärmer.” (Haruka)

“Tsk! Is it because Talrand died?” (Burkhart)

Burkhart-san reflexively clicked his tongue. That"s because it dampened our momentum to start a counteroffensive.

“We will head out to support the left wing! Please order Philip to reorganize the kingdom"s forces.” (Wendelin)

“Understood.” (Haruka)

With the death of Duke Nürnberg"s trusted retainer, Talrand, the war situation was about to
undergo big changes.

＊　　　＊　　　＊

“Talrand died?” (Nürnberg)

“Yes. He was defeated by Earl Baumeister.”

“Now you"ve done it, Earl Baumeister!” (Nürnberg)

No way!
Why didn"t you escape, Talrand?
Even though you staying alive would have threatened Earl Baumeister and the liberation army…
There"s no point in lamenting over things that have come to pa.s.s. My feudal army is fighting against the liberation army with its overwhelming superiority in numbers on equal terms. I was worried since I subst.i.tuted one third with disguised imperial army forces, but the imperial army is quite elite as well. They are fighting more than equally against the liberation army by cooperating. Talrand"s death is painful, but it"s not fatal.
It was good that I left one-third of my elites in the capital, foreseeing such development. I guess I will immediately send a messenger and have them do as planned.
Let"s retreat for now.
However, it doesn"t suit my nature to escape while simply showing my back to the enemy.

“Raise the big flag of the Duke Nürnberg household!” (Nürnberg)

“Lord, the big flag, it is?”

“Yes! It"s time to hoist the big flag depicting the family crest of the Duke Nürnberg household! My elites will demonstrate their true worth!” (Nürnberg)

Therese, you have acc.u.mulated victories thanks to Earl Baumeister. It looks like you got slightly ahead of yourself by gathering a slightly big number of soldiers, but I will show you the true ability of my Duke Nürnberg household"s feudal army.

“Reorganize the entire army and a.s.sault the enemy"s left wing. It"s not like our Duke Nürnberg household"s feudal army doesn"t know the words retreat and withdrawal, but by advancing forward in this situation, the losses will be lower instead.” (Nürnberg)

“It"s not the right wing?”

“The youngster of the right wing has already suffered a painful experience once. His preparations are likely rigorous.” (Nürnberg)

“But, Earl Lärmer is originally an excellent general…”

“How many years have pa.s.sed since he returned to his territory to inherit the peerage? There should be chances we can use with his judgement having rusted. Hurry with the reorganization of the entire army.” (Nürnberg)

We carry out a reorganization of the entire army while battling. Even the imperial army forces are elites who went through my harsh training. Right after finis.h.i.+ng the reorganisation, we attacked the left wing in one swoop with the entire army.

“No way! The enemy is coming this way with their entire army!”

The frontline commander of the enemy"s left wing became fl.u.s.tered, but they were immediately greeted by a downpour of arrows.
The front line troops of the enemy"s left wing thrown into chaos after the loss of their commander are demolished in one go. Widening that hole, we aim for the supreme commander Earl Lärmer.

“My lord, our right side is in danger of being attacked by the enemy"s centre…”

“There are countermeasures set up for that as well. Perhaps the Mizuho army will turn up, intoxicated by their feelings of wanting to use their new toys.” (Nürnberg)

My forecast is correct. Therese, who leads the central forces, apparently ordered the Mizuho forces to attack our right wing.

“It"s that magic gun?”

“Prepare the s.h.i.+elds!”

It will be fine if we aim for the capital with a counterclockwise movement after pulverizing the enemy"s left wing.
The Earl Mizuho Country has magic guns, but we are no scarecrows either. Did you think that a professional soldier has no countermeasures in stock?
If they really think so, the Mizuho army consists of idiots that are beyond help.

“Fire!”

“s.h.i.+eld unit, you just have to defend.”

It"s still impossible for us to produce a magic gun, but we have deployed huge s.h.i.+elds to block their bullets.
The magic gun unit, which is weak at close combat, won"t draw near anyway.
All we have to do is to block the shooting with s.h.i.+elds.
At any rate, currently the attack against the enemy"s left wing takes the highest priority.
If we stumble by stopping here, we will be caught by Therese.

“Gah, Magic Katana Unit!”

“They made an appearance after all, Earl Mizuho Country"s trump card. But…”

I have also prepared as many countermeasures as possible against the magic katana, the other trump card of the Earl Mizuho Country.

“Magic Sword Unit! To the front! Just defend without trying anything unreasonable!”

Even the empire has magic tools called 『Magic Sword』 that boost their cutting edge with mana.
Their abilities are far behind those of magic katana, but we continued to improve them.
We will handle it one way or the other as long as it"s a defensive battle. Besides, the numbers of our Magic Sword Unit are far greater.

“Defeat Earl Lärmer while the Magic Sword Unit is doing its job!”

If we focus our attacks on the left wing, they will turn into a disorderly mob. That"s likely why Therese entrusted the command to Earl Lärmer with his exceeding ability to lead troops, but that will lead to your death, Earl Lärmer.

“Just aim for Earl Lärmer"s head!”

As expected, except for the unit under his direct command, the wing is fragile. They have fallen apart easily.
Earl Lärmer seems to defend frantically while waiting for reinforcements, but seeing that we stopped the Mizuho army, they won"t be in time.

“Die! Earl Lärmer! An old n.o.ble like you is not needed in the new empire!”

My army"s vanguard cut already into the elite forces protecting Earl Lärmer.

“Duke Nürnberg household"s retainer Ogot Fang! He has killed Earl Lärmer!”

My retainer apparently finished him off successfully.
The shock of having lost its commander spreads throughout the entire left wing. By now they are not forming the orderly ranks of military forces anymore. Each of the feudal armies belonging to separate n.o.bles scattered away.

“All that"s left is to advance!”

A major commander of the enemy was defeated. This likely made up for Talrand"s loss a bit.
After this, there"s only escape without being too greedy here.
The unit back in the capital should be properly carrying out its task as I"ve ordered them to.

“The enemy"s left wing has already fallen apart. Remove only those standing in the way of our path!”

Just as I predicted, the enemy"s left wing that was still in chaos didn"t come attacking my army.
Even the offensive of the Mizuho army has been blocked with few losses while focussing on defence.

“So it"s one way or another a draw?”

“Lord!”

“What"s wrong?”

“Defend yourself!”

“…!? What are you!”

No sooner than being called out by the magician next to me, he deployed a firm 『Magic Barrier』 all of a sudden. The instant I wonder why he"s doing that, a torrent of bluish-white light a.s.sails me.
The bluish-white light clashes against the magician"s 『Magic Barrier』 and shone even more intensely.

“Kuuh! Help me out! It"s impossible for me myself!”

All magicians on my side step out in front of me and deploy strong 『Magic Barriers』, trying to defend against the torrent of bluish-white light.

“This is?”

“It"s void magic! For it to be so mighty!”

With just this I understood. Since it came from the rear, it"s definitely the deed of Earl Baumeister. I guess he hates me for having ordered Talrand to summon his dead teacher.
At any rate, what frightening power. Moreover, only I have been set as a target.
The 『Magic Barriers』 deployed by the magicians with their full power are smashed apart by the bluish-white, spear-like light and it"s about to pierce my body.

“Gnah! Call for more help!”

“Uwaah—!”

The light erases our officers and men that stood in its line of fire. Several of the magicians, who stepped in front of me and were eagerly defending, had their 『Magic Barriers』 penetrated and died.
Earl Baumeister, you pest! My household"s precious magicians!

“No matter how you look at it, there"s no way for void magic with this much power to continue forever! Block it if you don"t want to die!”

Twenty seconds after that the bluish-white light, supposedly fired by Earl Baumeister, ceased.

“It seems it came to an end without me dying.”

“Yes.”

In exchange, several dozens of soldiers that stood in the line of fire and six of the magicians, who protected me, died.
Without their devotion, I would have been killed by Earl Baumeister, I"m sure.

“Lord?”

“Don"t panic! Our Duke Nürnberg household"s feudal army doesn"t need anyone who gets shaken by something of this level!”

Luckily Earl Baumeister released his spell on a small scale, only targeting me. Thanks to that, there haven"t been as many losses as expected. If he had tried to kill me and annihilate our military forces, it would have been easily blocked, even with the one firing it being Earl Baumeister. He"s probably angry over the matter with his master, but he"s acting quite composed.

“The spell came flying from a high alt.i.tude… Does that basically mean that Earl Baumeister fired the spell while floating in the air? Ah, I see, the 『Canceller』 he stole from Talrand, huh?”

In order to definitely kill just me, Earl Baumeister apparently used the canceller and sniped at me with magic from high in the air.
His mana has lasted for quite a while. Though he probably made use of the huge magic crystal he took from Talrand…

“So many dead with just that…? But, even Earl Baumeister should have run out of mana.”

It"s best to withdraw from here as fast as possible.
The dead magicians were only at intermediate level. The grandly disturbed left wing of the enemy can"t move with their commander, Earl Lärmer, having died in battle. The enemy"s central block, which had the elite Mizuho army and the power of the magic gun, their new weapon, sealed away, and the right wing, led by that brat who has already lost to me once, is moving sluggishly as well.
If we retreat at this point, it won"t turn into a defeat at least.
Though I was scared out of my wits by Earl Baumeister at the very end.

“Lord, our cherished big flag has…”

“How dare you, Earl Baumeister…!”

The traditional big flag of the Duke Nürnberg household was torn to shreds by Earl Baumeister"s spell.
He didn"t take my head, but I suppose he succeeded in declaring war against me.

“Hoist the spare flag and retreat speedily.”

Even though it was a big flag that we put to use for many years. There"s nothing that can be done. Something like a big flag can be replaced anytime, either way.

“The Duke Nürnberg household will be indestructible as long as I stay alive! Don"t get disturbed over something like a big flag. We will withdraw as planned!”

“Certainly!”

My trained army was able to safely withdraw from the battlefield by taking a detour while showing absolutely no further discomposure.

“Lord, after all the imperial capital is…”

“They have done it properly just as planned, right?”

“There was no oversight.”

My retainer answered my question.

“Then it"s fine. It"s a temporary cease-fire, but it will allow us to store some strength. It will be nice for Therese to suffer from having to deal with the capital and the trash living there.”

Tough luck, Therese. Only the most worthless garbage is left behind in the capital. It will be wonderful for you to lose power as you will be forced to quarrel with them to the utmost.

“Let"s retreat to the Nürnberg Dukedom then.”

Everything is going according to my plan. Talrand"s death is painful, but Therese, Earl Baumeister, I will have you allow me to realise my ambitions without fail.
And I will definitely kill you. So you better get ready for it.

＊　　　＊　　　＊

“… It failed, huh…?” (Wendelin)

As expected, directly sniping the supreme commander of a big army is difficult.
If it was possible to do it so easily, winning a war would be simple.
After replenis.h.i.+ng my mana with my spare magic gems, I used 『Flight』 with the canceller owned by Talrand. I sniped at him from high in the air with void magic. Although I raised its power by also making use of the mana of the huge magic crystal I stole from Talrand, the layer of magicians around Duke Nürnberg is dense after all. It was completely blocked.
And once the effect of the canceller vanished, the black jewel broke into small pieces.

“Dous.h.i.+!” (Wendelin)

“Leave it to me!” (Armstrong)

The falling me was caught by Dous.h.i.+.

“It failed?” (Armstrong)

“I killed a few soldiers and magicians that were near Duke Nürnberg.” (Wendelin)

“It can"t be helped.” (Armstrong)

It"s inevitable for the protection of the supreme commander to be firm. The same applies to Therese as well.

“Wend, it doesn"t look like we will be able to pursue them.”

At that point Erw appeared, leading a part of the kingdom"s forces, and informed me of that.

“Even if it"s just one wing, the death of a commander hurts, eh?” (Wendelin)

“It was the number 3. I suppose Earl Lärmer was a famous soldier.”

That means there were many n.o.bles thinking that they don"t want to suffer any unnecessary losses by pursuing Duke Nürnberg"s feudal army that had managed to kill Earl Lärmer so quickly.

“The losses among the Mizuho army are insignificant, but it ended with them being unable to attack Duke Nürnberg"s feudal army.”

Haruka showed a mortified expression. She likely didn"t expect for the consecutive victories of the Mizuho army, she considered to be strong, to be stopped by Duke Nürnberg in such way.

“Either way, we are stuck with wasting time on the reorganisation of the collapsed left wing. A pursuit is impossible.”

From his view as professional, Philip also judges a pursuit to not be viable.
Like this, the direct showdown between both armies came to an end with an outcome resembling a draw.