“We have confirmed the capitulation of the rebel army at the front.”

“Again? That"s too quick, isn"t it?”

“I think it"s only natural. There"s no point in splitting military forces right now. After all they would turn into nothing more than targets for getting individually crushed. Duke Nürnberg should be gathering his whole army at his stronghold.”

◆◇◆◇◆

With Peter as supreme commander, the imperial army invaded Nürnberg Dukedom for a second time.
The advance was progressing well, but this was owed to it never turning into a battle.
We also continued to advance while only working on sending the disarmed troops and n.o.bles, who surrendered or abandoned Duke Nürnberg, to the rear.

“Our job only consists of the disarming of the groups that surrendered and the procedures to transfer them to the rear, right?”

“We will be given a warm welcome at the end of it all.”

“That"s true, isn"t it? I believe they are ready and waiting for us at their stronghold. Besides, Duke Nürnberg hasn"t counted on the lot that surrendered from the very start. Rather, if he can get them to surrender, Peter-dono"s burden will increase.”

“After all it would be wrong of us to kill the prisoners.” (Haruka)

“That"s how it is, Mrs. Haruka.” (Christoph)

“I-I still haven"t gotten married officially!” (Haruka)

“By now it"s probably just a matter of time. It"s not something you have to get embarra.s.sed about, is it?” (Christoph)

“That"s true, but…” (Haruka)

◆◇◆◇◆

The royal army was skillfully put to use by Philip and Christoph.
Erw and Haruka had become a lot more used to leading military forces. They are chatting while dealing with the escort of the enemy soldiers that capitulated. It"s to the extent that Christoph, who"s good at this kind of work, has enough time to tease Haruka who"s engaged to Erw. It"s the same for Philip as well, but if this person hadn"t been born into the Margrave Browig family, there wouldn"t have been any reason for him to act so unsightly in the dispute.

“Wendelin, are thou brooding over something?” (Therese)

“Just a bit. At any rate, there"s no need for you to especially come along on this campaign, is there?” (Wendelin)

“I"m well aware that I"m a bother, but I have to make sure with my own eyes. Duke Nürnberg"s…no, Max" death.” (Therese)

There was another person with a guilty conscience that had joined the royal army.
It"s Therese who had retired as d.u.c.h.ess Philip.
Naturally her desire to partic.i.p.ate was met with some doubts by Peter and his retainers.

『You are going to partic.i.p.ate in this? Don"t you think that it will cause unnecessary suspicions?』 (Peter)

It was his usual tone, but even Peter didn"t smile.

『What"s the reason, Therese-sama?』(Emera)

『As someone who was concerned with this civil war, I must ascertain it to the very end with my own eyes.』 (Therese)

『What is it that you have to ascertain?』 (Emera)

『That"s obvious. The moment of Duke Nürnberg"s death.』 (Therese)

Even Emera, who usually doesn"t change her expression much, couldn"t hide her surprise due to Therese"s reply.

『No matter what reason he might have, there"s no room to take extenuating circ.u.mstances into consideration with Duke Nürnberg. There"s no other option for that man but to die. That guy being the person with whom I a.s.sociated the longest is because I don"t have anyone to call friend. It"s something I have to see through.』 (Therese)

『I see. Does Duke Nürnberg have no friends either? Even a Duke by birth has it difficult, huh?』(Peter)

Peter is a commoner prince that had no expectations placed on him by anyone from the start, but because of that he had many friends in the same circ.u.mstances as him. They are supporting the current Peter and thus he is a person exactly opposite to Duke Nürnberg. Even though Duke Nürnberg has retainers, who he has a.s.signed to responsible posts, and n.o.bles, who share the same ideas as he does, he apparently didn"t have a single friend.

『So the same as Wendelin, huh?』 (Peter)

『I do have friends!』 (Wendelin)

Peter, that rude fellow. Even I have at least some friends!

『Ascertaining Duke Nürnberg"s death with your own eyes, eh…?』

『Once that"s finished, I won"t meddle any further in the politics of the Empire.』 (Therese)

『…Understood. I shall permit it. Let"s have you come along as mysterious female soldier Therese.』 (Peter)

In the end Peter gave his authorization and Therese joined the royal army as normal soldier.
It not being the imperial army indicated her complicated position.
The march of the imperial army"s main unit led by Peter is proceeding well. The entire Empire fell under Peter"s control in less than a month.

“Well, except for that underground fortress where Duke Nürnberg and his men have holed themselves up.” (Burkhart)

Burkhart-san says while looking at the mountain area located next to Duke Nürnberg household"s mansion which we finally occupied. As a matter of fact, there was a military fortress from the era of the Ancient Magic Civilization in the underground of this mountain area. Large-scaled defense facilities had been left behind in an usable state. According to the retainers we caught, Duke Nürnberg apparently obtained various magic tools through the excavation of that underground fortress.

“He has abandoned all territory and military bases. I guess he plans to gain time by secluding himself in there.”

“This might take some time,” Erw sighed.

“The main defense facility is of course an underground ruin.”

The several ten thousand elites that had been carefully selected by Duke Nürnberg have holed up themselves in the underground stronghold from the era of the Ancient Magic Civilization while possessing large quant.i.ties of food and goods.
I learned that it will be harsh for the attacking side if they don"t at least possess three times the numbers of the defending side. The number of soldiers on our side are exceeding theirs by more than three times, but one can"t deny that the imperial army is an a.s.sembly of various kinds of troops. Above all, it"s very likely that the enemy still owns some magic tools that can be turned into weapons.
Burkhart-san predicted that it would turn into a difficult battle.

“Do you have an ingenious idea, Peter?” (Wendelin)

“First, a standard siege that doesn"t allow even an ant to get through…ha, that"s impossible though!” (Peter)

Since the defense facilities use the underground ruins in the mountain area, they should be able to escape through some hole as long as we don"t surround them with quite a large army. On a first glance the population of Nürnberg Dukedom is awfully submissive towards the invaders but they have likely formed an underground organization that secretly provides Duke Nürnberg"s army with provisions and information.

“How troublesome…in case we eliminate those resistance forces, we will mistakenly end up killing innocent residents…”

Even the residents that had been obedient towards Peter and the others so far might oppose them then.
If we make enemies out of a great number of people living in the Nürnberg Dukedom, the superiority of Peter, who had finally managed to a.s.semble a big army, will vanish in an instant.

“As long as you limit it to military affairs, Duke Nürnberg is definitely a genius.” (Ina)

I guess Ina"s a.s.sessment is correct. Although it"s for the sake of surviving, it looks like he doesn"t consider the future overly much.
After all Nürnberg Dukedom will fall into ruin all the more, the longer this drags on.

“But, dear, if we b.u.t.t in too much…” (Elise)

“I guess you"re right there…” (Wendelin)

The civil war is in its final phase. Once Duke Nürnberg is defeated by Peter, it will be the end. Us, as foreigners, taking center stage in such atmosphere is not smart.
Meaning, it"s fine as long we just partic.i.p.ate.
As it"s the same with the Earl Mizuho Country"s army, they fell back to the rear as they already obtained plenty of military achievements in the capital defense battle.

“Our encampment is next to that of the Mizuho army.”

Given that Peter"s victory is pretty much set in stone, there are many n.o.bles and soldiers, who are full of spirit to gain rewards as compensation for their war expenditures, additional territory, a higher peerage and high-ranking positions in the government by earning achievements in the attack against the underground fortress where Duke Nürnberg is hidden.
Outsiders like us will observe from the rear while leaving it to them.
Once we set up camp at the location a.s.signed to us by Peter, a messenger from the neighboring Mizuho army visited us.

“Excuse me! Our Lord wishes to invite Earl Baumeister-sama"s party for dinner.”

“Please tell him that we will gladly accept the invitation.” (Wendelin)

He"s probably asking about taking a meal since both of us have time to spare.

◆◇◆◇◆

“Therese-dono, you don"t look very disappointed, do you?”

“I became free. Let alone being displeased about that, I think that it"s great.” (Therese)

“The emperor"s throne doesn"t give any happiness, huh?”

“After all that throne has been made out of thorns.” (Therese)

Therese doesn"t mind High Earl Mizuho having changed allegiance to Peter. In return High Earl Mizuho doesn"t mention the matter of Therese not having removed the previous emperor either. After all those are already matters of the past.

“Oh my, how beautiful.”

“I guess there"s also food that you enjoy by looking at it.”

Katharina and Burkhart-san had their eyes sparkle due to the luxurious cuisine one wouldn"t expect to appear on a battlefield. Mizuho"s hospitality was an extravagant, traditional j.a.panese meal brought in courses.
Although that"s not something one would consider to do during a war, the probability of Duke Nürnberg leaving his underground fortress to stage an attack is almost non-existent and thus it probably poses no problem.
This kind of cuisine I only ate at a high-cla.s.s restaurant where my company performed its business entertainment in my previous life. With my salary back then, well, it was a meal well outside of my range.

Appetizer: Tofu, Abalone, Sweet Coltsfoot, Bean-curd lees.
Supper: Sea bream in tofu skin, grilled mullet roe, hen-of-the-woods.
Sas.h.i.+mi: Black tuna, squid, flounder, prawn, blood clam.
Ha.s.sun: Common clam, mizuna, dipped garden eel, bamboo shoot with pepper stir-fry, stewed sardine, kelp with herring roe.
Flame-broiled: Mackerel pickled in sweet miso, f.u.ki flower buds.
Boiled dishes: Small turnip, fish liver and eggs in tea cloth, cabbage, taro cormel.
Pickled dishes: Halfbeak, red turnip, wood jellyfish.
Main dish: Matsutake rice.
Finis.h.i.+ng supper: Red miso soup.
Pickled vegetables: bok choy, chopped vegetables pickled in salt with red s.h.i.+so leaves.
Dessert: Soft sweet bean jelly, pear, powdered green tea.
(T/N: Don"t ask me to explain all of these… pwease…)

A menu, which had the various dishes listed with a writing brush on paper that was similar to j.a.panese paper, was placed on the table. Young, uniformed Mizuho soldiers served as waiters. Since it"s this kind of job, all of them are ikemen.
Even so, there are many dishes with the same name as in j.a.pan, aren"t there…?

“It"s delicious.” (Katharina)

“How magnificent.”

“It"s tasty, but I would be happy if the portions were a bit bigger.” (Wilma)

“I think so as well! I"m also at the point where I want some wine!” (Armstrong)

Ina and Luise honestly enjoyed the various dishes, but for Wilma the portions are too small. It will probably be bad if she doesn"t eat something later on when we get back to our own camp.
Dous.h.i.+ threw a tantrum as he wanted some alcohol.

“Uncle-sama, this is a battlefield. You will have to wait until the battle"s over.” (Elise)

“Guuuhh…what disappointment.” (Armstrong)

I think that it"s usually the other way around, but Dous.h.i.+ got chided by Elise, his younger niece.

“Cheers on becoming a free woman, Therese-dono. Earl Mizuho Country has to get involved in the Empire"s politics from now on as well. That will only increase the troubles.”

“There"s still another trouble remaining.” (Therese)

Therese gave High Earl Mizuho, who was lamenting over the coming difficulties after the civil war ended, a short warning.

“As expected, it"s going to be a tough battle, huh?”

“It"s not like Duke Nürnberg was imprisoned in the underground fortress. He secluded himself in there out of his free will. The number of his forces has dwindled a lot, but the remaining troops are his true elites. If those aiming for military achievements charge in without thinking, the number of casualties will only grow unnecessarily, I think.” (Therese)

Therese"s prediction came true on the next day.

◆◇◆◇◆

“They got defeated when they attacked to have a look at the situation.”

“That"s a disaster, isn"t it? Oh well, isn"t it fine as long as we win in the end? Therefore, do your best.”

“Eh—-! That"s your reaction here?”

◆◇◆◇◆

When I believed it to be strangely noisy last night, Peter had apparently launched a night raid using a part of his military forces.
The next morning Peter showed up as all of us were grilling the food we had received from High Earl Mizuho over earthen charcoal braziers and open fires as subst.i.tute for breakfast.

“I guess all"s within a.s.sumption?” (Therese)

“Uuh, it"s awkward with Therese-dono here…” (Peter)

“Therefore, Wendelin, there are ambitious people scheming to oppose Peter-dono by using the achievements of defeating Duke Nürnberg after the war, but all of them have been simply eliminated by taking advantage of the battle as they were idiots who charged against an underground fortress without any kind of plan. It"s not something at the level thou would need to care about.” (Therese)

“What a frightening story.”

That means Peter got rid of potential enemies by making use of the battle.

“It"s fine for thee to not concern yourself with such matters, Wendelin. This fish called saury is delicious with the oil sticking to it. It goes really well with this grated daikon and this citrus. Saury is a native product limited to Nürnberg Dukedom.” (Therese)

“Therese, that"s a native product of Philip Dukedom. Though it has been caught by Mizuho fishers.”

“I know. That was a light joke.” (Therese)

Therese said something similar to what a daimyo would say in a j.a.panese rakugo while eating the grilled saury.

“I wonder whether the chestnuts finished roasting?” (Wendelin)

“Wend, they are done.”

“However, freshly roasted chestnuts are dangerous!” (Armstrong)

“Really? If you peel them like this…”

Luise clad her fingers with a very thin film of mana and completely peeled the just roasted chestnuts in an instant.
If it was an ordinary person, they would burn their fingers. Peeling them down to their thin skin is difficult.
Because Luise is a martial arts expert, she can do that.

“You are amazing, Luise. And the roasted chestnuts are delicious.”

“Hehe, I got praised by Wend. Roasted chestnuts are tasty, aren"t they?” (Luise)

Everybody enjoyed the roasted chestnuts that had been quickly peeled by Luise.

“Dear, I will later prepare Mont Blanc and marrons glaces. Nonetheless, the new chestnuts are great.” (Elise)

“Elise-sama, I will make sweet chestnut bean jelly and chestnuts in red bean soup later on.” (Haruka)

“Those certainly sound delicious as well.”

“Wend, the potatoes finished roasting. The new potatoes are sweet and tasty.”

“Potatoes are great too, aren"t they?”

“Such irregular breakfast at times is nice.”

We noisily grilled various ingredients and enjoyed the food together.

“Say…have you all listened to what I said?” (Peter)

I did, but I didn"t expect the imperial army to become unable to continue their operation due to the mindless acts of incautious n.o.bles. I don"t think that it"s necessary for us to help out either.

“Even if us foreigners made a move here, we would be very likely told to not do anything unnecessary. The saury is delicious, but I really need booze to go with this.” (Burkhart)

“Burkhart-san, for better or worse we are still in a war.” (Ina)

“Injou-chan, you are too serious. Ah, I wonder whether I won"t get a vacation soon.” (Burkhart)

Burkhart-san said it in my place, but that"s how it is. Please do your best with just the imperial army.

“Don"t say that…”

◆◇◆◇◆