Disclaimer: I do not guarantee a 100% accurate translation. Do kindly notify me if you see any mistake.

His Excellency"s Agony

Haiderota"s Gale Chivalric Order Rorudor Rafuale was an organisation that was established at the same time as Sigibert Duevre being inaugurated as the military vice-minister, and was allowed to act freely on its own judgement as an independent force under the direct control of the king.

Sigibert who commanded it was backbitten that he had used his position of the king"s cousin and younger brother-in-law and gotten his current status. However, if the real him wasn"t shameless to that extent, then he wasn"t a bad person either.

However, Sigibert, who possessed an arrogance that was common and conspicuous in youths of n.o.ble birth, often lost his freedom of action as a result of his own actions due to that degree of pride and also tended to make fruitless effort because of too much sense of duty.

The one who had been skilfully a.s.sisting him was the “White Rose of Steel”—Clotilde Diaghilev.

More than a whole day had pa.s.sed since that morning when the bridge was dropped, and it was the afternoon of that day when the Gale Chivalric Order Rorudor Rafuale who had been intently galloping horses towards Aurillac finally and slowly arrived at a town which seemed that they could rest in.

Due to having kept running throughout a whole day and night without resting, the members were at the peak of fatigue. Although they came here while managing with spare horses and glossing over it, it might already be their limit. To begin with, the horses probably wouldn"t last any longer. In fact, even though there were 60 hors.e.m.e.n at the time of re-departure, several people had already dropped out as their horses had become unable to run. One should probably say that just by being able to arrive here without falling below 50 hors.e.m.e.n was splendid.

Their uniforms, which were new articles when they had departed from Aurillac, were also covered with mud because of this forced march. They had to remove the dirt and fatigue of their journey tonight and depart towards Aurillac tomorrow again.

Trying not to show her fatigue as much as possible, Clotilde lightly dismounted from her horse and called out to Sigibert who was completely exhausted on his horse.

「Are you all right, Your Excellency?」

「It"s not all right… not all right. It"s not, but—」

No matter how one looked at it, the totally exhausted Sigibert was nevertheless smiling while wiping the mud that had splashed onto his cheeks with a handkerchief and arranging his disordered hair by using his fingers as a comb. One couldn"t argue that it wasn"t simply enduring something out of pride, but to a person who was in a position where he must encourage his subordinates, one might be able to say that it was a very important talent.

「—Nevertheless, we can"t be flurried in this serious affair, right?」

「That"s a splendid mental att.i.tude, Your Excellency」

「Iyaa, what, as a royalty, that"s natural. Aha, ahahahaha—」

Sigibert, who had tried to get off his horse together with a dry loud laughter, missed stepping on the stirrup and fell down ungracefully.

「Your Excellency!」

「I, I"m all right. I just hit my waist a little. Yes, I"m all right—ow ow ow…!」

The town"s inhabitants were surrounding Sigibert, who had held his bottom down rather than his waist and stood up, at a distance and gazing at him. If it was the usual, he should send in a messenger beforehand and order the governor of that place the preparation to meet them, but there wasn"t even leeway of that extent this time. Thus, perhaps to them, it must be inconceivable that this slightly dirty group was unexpectedly the Gale Chivalric Order—the combat group that comprised two Dominas whom their motherland was proud of and the military vice-minister.

Sigibert, who had borrowed Arushanbor"s shoulder and stood up, put his hand against his temple and sighed.

「First… let"s see, we have to tell the mayor of this place about us arriving here, I guess. After all, we are a large household of 50 people, and even just preparing tonight"s beds and meals might be a task. Besides, the preparations of the horses also—」

Sigibert"s words paused there. When she unintentionally looked at him, he was stiffening as he looked diagonally upwards for some reason.

「Your Excellency…?」

Clotilde, who was lured in by that and chased Sigibert"s gaze, also stopped her movement suddenly and opened her eyes wide. Malena and Arushanbor too, were similarly looking diagonally upwards and stiffening like they were frozen.

「Well, well… you really arrived early」

From a window on the second floor of an inn a short distance away, Valeria Costacurta"s exclusive Hiera Glaphicos—that astute young man called “Dimitar Richternach” was looking down at Clotilde"s party.

「W, why are you here—!?」

「Ah, please wait a moment. I"ll go there」

When Dimitar temporarily retracted his face, following the footsteps of “dota dota”, Valeria"s party came out from the inside of the inn. They were Valeria Costacurta, Karin Rudbeck and their respective Hiera Glaphicos, and the remaining one was that girl who wore pink armour and helmet—in short, the party of important people from Amaddo, excluding the maids.

「What…?」

Even though he thought that they had surely turned back to Klutoreto like that and were returning to their country about this time, why did they arrive before them?

「Thanks for your hard work, Sigibert-kakka」

「Ah, iya, that—」

Receiving Valeria and Karin"s greetings, Sigibert hurriedly pushed Arushanbor away. As the Gale Chivalric Order"s leader and the military vice-minister of a country, he might not have wanted the figure of him standing up holding on to a person"s shoulder to be seen. Although to the other party that was Valeria and the others who knew the full particulars of the kidnapping drama on the day before yesterday, he felt that it was meaningless no matter how he fixed something, Sigibert was a person who would become broken unless he did so. He was a man who encouraged himself by continuing to put on airs and lived using self-respect for nourishment.

Fixing the tie on his collar at this late hour, Sigibert cleared his throat lightly and asked.

「Ah—… um, why is everyone here? Or rather, how did you come here?」

「Even if you ask me “how”… eeto, we came here normally by horses—」

Valeria replied apologetically in some respects.

「I don"t mean it like that—」

「It can"t be that you cross that river…?」

「Hai」

Dimitar answered promptly instead of Valeria.

「Since it was once decided that we"ll go towards Aurillac, we must go there at all costs—that"s Costacurtgeika"s thought. After all, in Roma, it"s even said that Her Eminence"s consent has the weight of a castle」

Clotilde, who had alternately looked at Dimitar who had spoken profoundly and Valeria who had nodded stiffly next to him, bit her lips, thinking that troublesome people had come out to the front stage in her heart.

If it was just simply magic being her forte—even if she was the once-in-10-years talented woman Valeria—they could oppose her with Clotilde"s power. However, this young man, Clotilde particularly regarded him as their weak point, who was accompanying Valeria was a possessor of a strategist-type talent that couldn"t be dealt with by ordinary means.

Crown Prince Jeffren Isaac and this Dimitar Richternach; it somehow felt like many capable people like these had appeared in this world in Amaddo. And then—aside from whether it was a good or bad thing—most of the senior statesmen with a strong right to speak in Haiderota"s royal court were nothing but military people who were weak in Machiavellianism, truly typical of the military superpower Haiderota. It was still fine now, but when the change of generation of capable people eventually advanced, Amaddo might greatly open up a big lead over them in strategy battles.

In any case, now wasn"t the time to be thinking about that sort of future matter. Since Valeria"s party had come here like this, they couldn"t treat them coldly. Clotilde calmed her mind and spoke to Sigibert.

「—At any rate, we can"t leave our guests from Amaddo at an inn like this. Let"s prepare rooms at the town hall, Your Excellency」

「Ah? U, umu, that"s right. It"s as Diaghilev-geika says. Let"s arrange it with the mayor of this town immediately. I"m sorry that it"s cramped, but I"d like both Her Eminences to wait at this inn a little longer until then」

「I"m greatly obliged to you for your consideration」

Karin courteously bowed her head.

「—Well then, see you again later」

When she had placed several members of security roles in front of that inn and she herself had straddled the horse again, Clotilde went towards the town hall together with Sigibert and Malena.

Making sure to push aside the people who were crowding on the main street, a group of men and horses marched in an orderly manner towards the town hall. Sigibert, who was moving at the front, asked Clotilde in a whisper.

「Nevertheless, this has turned into a troublesome matter. Why didn"t they return to their country, I wonder? It can"t be that they were given some detailed instructions by Isaac-kun and came here with the intention of making trouble for us, can it…」

「I can"t a.s.sert that that possibility is completely non-existent, but since they intentionally remained in our country which Yururogu might open hostilities with, this can"t be done unless they have an appropriate resolution and objective. Rather, it might be a contrivance of selling a favour to our country in some sort of way」

「N, now that you mention it…! If it"s Isaac, it seems that he"d really do it; he"s liable to do it, he"s liable to do it!」

Bending the riding crop with a “giri giri”, Sigibert ground his teeth. Naturally, so that they wouldn"t do strange things, they had secretly ordered the members who were left behind under the pretext of security not to be negligent in their surveillance.

「W, what should we do? What are we going to do, Diaghilev-geika? If they follow us to Aurillac as it is, then…」

「Certainly, no matter what their objective is, them moving around in this situation now is not amusing…」

In the first place, Haiderota finding fault with Amaddo, saying “introduce your new Dominas”, was the cause of this matter. As a result of the king being overcame by the courtiers of the hard-line faction who were obsessed with a sense of rivalry against Amaddo, Valeria and Karin"s foreign travel to Haiderota turned into a reality.

They couldn"t tell them to return to their country now, and before that, only the authority of making such a diplomatic decision wasn"t given to Sigibert or Clotilde. Even if they sent Valeria"s party away, Amaddo might not accept it unless the king apologise at least.

They couldn"t send them back to their country immediately. And if they couldn"t, then coming up with the very best move among them was what Clotilde"s party ought to do now.

「It can"t be helped. We"ve reached a situation about which nothing can be done; we can do nothing but to escort them to Aurillac, I guess. …However, though you might receive a scolding from His Majesty in the distant future, it doesn"t mean that there"s no plan that can make this situation into a plus to some extent」

「What!? W, what"s that—?」

「It"s to dispatch horses in every direction immediately and make Amaddo"s Dominas" intention of visiting Aurillac as planned known to every place」

「B, but, when you think about security matters, I feel that spreading around news like that isn"t very good…」

「No, it"ll be fine with this. At least for the short term」

Clotilde declared so with confidence. If the commander of Yururogu was capable and vigilant, there should be an effect.

「I"ll explain in detail when you"ve calmed down. …More importantly, if we don"t secure an inn and the horses in preparation for tomorrow"s departure」

「Ah, un, that"s right, as one would expect of Your Eminence! Of course, I"ve also noticed that matter though, un」

Sigibert, who had smiled awkwardly, ordered Arushanbor in a hurry and made him head for the purchasing of horses.

Sigibert who almost put on airs reflexively even towards members of the same organisation seemed irresistibly cute to Clotilde.

♦♦♦

Although it wasn"t raining, Cyril"s mantle was getting wet and increasing its weight heavily. He felt that he was being mercilessly deprived of his body temperature just by keeping still.

If possible, he wanted to light a fire and eat something warm, but that wasn"t going to happen in the current situation of Cyril"s party. Collecting dry firewood in this dense morning mist was an impossible story, and there was something which he must think about first rather than a warm meal now.

Thoroughly chewing the hard deer jerky and sending it to the inside of his stomach, Cyril repeatedly asked his subordinate whom he had made to go draw water.

「…They aren"t the thoughtless words of a drunk?」

「Hai. As it"s a story from a parent and child who are about to leave for fishing after this, I don"t think that it"s completely nonsense… at any rate, the village has been talking about nothing but that rumour since yesterday」

「If… that"s the truth, it"ll become troublesome」

Cyril stared at the map with a grim expression.

What his subordinate, who had gone to a nearby river to draw water, found out from the fishermen who came out to catch freshwater fish after this was the story of the Dominas of the neighbouring country, Amaddo, heading for the royal capital, Aurillac.

Cyril"s party had already grasped the information about the Dominas coming from Amaddo. Rather, the military operation this time was changed to carrying it out suddenly was because they had aimed for the timing when the Gale Chivalric Order left Aurillac for that meeting. However, it was an unforeseen situation to Cyril"s party that Amaddo"s Dominas headed for Aurillac as it was.

Presently, although the Gale Chivalric Order should be heading for Aurillac at full speed, that was the best evidence that they had noticed the movement of Yururogu"s army. If that was the case, Amaddo"s Dominas might of course knew the possibility of a battle breaking out in Haiderota"s territory too. If one was thinking about the safety of the first-cla.s.s important people called the “Dominas”, it was normal to discontinue the foreign travel to Haiderota and return to Amaddo.

However, it was said that the party from Amaddo, far from returning to their country, was heading for Aurillac as planned.

「We must ascertain the authenticity of that information first, but—」

Appeasing his thirst with cold water, Cyril shut his mouth.

The existences of the three magic warriors Marefikos who were hot on Lampito"s heels when she had kidnapped Sigibert from Klutoreto a few days ago and then rescued him were on Cyril"s mind at this point.

「Your Eminence」

Cyril turned his head and glanced at Lampito who was sitting back to back with him and filling her mouth with jerky with a “mushi mushi”.

「—When Your Eminence abducted Sigibert, you said that there were three magic warriors who had come to pursue your party」

「U?」

As she stuffed jerky into her mouth to the extent of her cheeks swelling, Lampito looked up at Cyril and nodded.

「One of them was a silver-haired woman in white uniform—there"s no mistake, is there?」

「U, uu, un」

It was most likely the “White Rose of Steel”—Clotilde Diaghilev without a doubt. If it was the Dominas whom Haiderota was proud of, then Lampito being defeated might also be possible.

However, it seemed that the one whom Lampito actually fought wasn"t Clotilde. According to the faltering girl"s words that Cyril had somehow deciphered, the ones whom Lampito fought were a young man and woman magic warriors—a young man who carried a black long sword and a beautiful girl who was younger than Clotilde.

If that pair was Haiderota"s magic warriors—though it"d be unpleasant—this matter wasn"t complicated. It"d be fine just by being prepared for an inscrutable war potential besides Clotilde.

What became really complicated and troublesome was the situation of Amaddo"s Dominas and its related people hindering Lampito. Although Yururogu was advancing its troops towards Aurillac, it wasn"t thinking of fighting against even Amaddo simultaneously. Or rather, establishing cordial relations with Amaddo and not wanting it to intervene in this time"s “internal strife” was Yururogu"s objective.

Therefore, clashing with Amaddo"s Dominas here was bad. If the one whom Lampito fought was really a Dominas of Amaddo, then the need to explain that Yururogu didn"t have an antagonistic intention towards Amaddo, using a diplomatic route in the distant future, would emerge.

Moreover, if Amaddo"s Dominas were really heading for Aurillac, it"d also affect the marching of the main force. If by any chance it became a situation where Yururogu"s army had caused harm to Amaddo"s Dominas, Yururogu would completely make an enemy of Amaddo. They didn"t know that Amaddo"s Dominas were in Aurillac—such an excuse probably wouldn"t be accepted.

「Link up with His Excellency immediately! If we don"t work out a countermeasure…」

Muttering with a bitter expression, Cyril stood up.

「Oo, ooo, o」

Lampito, who was cheekily leaning against Cyril, lost her support and toppled over with a “koten”.

Cyril looked down at her and indifferently to the utmost, spoke without putting in any emotion.

「Let"s go, Your Eminence. The battle hasn"t started yet」

「U—…u? Un, I, under, stand」

Nodding many times, when Lampito had forcibly stuffed the remaining jerky inside her mouth, she then jumped onto her horse at a run.

「It"s good that you"ll obediently follow this petty official"s instruction, …but I"ve to instil the general etiquette into you before you grandly make your debut to the citizens. As one would expect, that"s too unrefined」

Sighing weakly, Cyril stopped the short break and ordered his subordinates to mount their horses.

Although the sun should have risen already, the morning mist was enshrouding the inside of the dense forest and even the signs of it clearing up couldn"t be seen. Cyril"s party adopted a close formation and galloped their horses so that they wouldn"t lose sight of each other.

「…!」

Lampito suddenly brought her horse near him and pointed at her ear.

「I, I-I, can, hear, s, s, something…!」

「What?」

Cyril looked around the vicinity and listened carefully.

The sounds of violent horses" hooves—other than that, nothing could be heard in particular within this quiet forest. However, Cyril who tried to discard it thinking that it might be the girl"s mistake immediately noticed his misunderstanding.

「There"s someone else besides us—」

The next moment, the sound of horses" hooves grew louder in one breath. What Lampito had heard were the sounds of hooves that horses, apart from Cyril"s party"s, were carving.

「!?」

It was nothing but a prank which the dense morning mist had created that two groups of men and horses would suddenly cross each other without really noticing it until that moment.

「—Guu!」

「Uwa!?」

Everyone there might have tried to pull the reins and rein in their horses at once. However, the horses crashed into each other without making it in time, and there also seemed to have people who fell from their horses.

But then, there was no time to leisurely confirm that.

「Oh…h!」

Cyril realised that his subordinate who was just behind him had gasped in surprise and drawn the sword on his waist. That was natural as a reaction of a person who had suddenly encountered someone inside this forest where one"s field of vision wasn"t effective, but nevertheless, he should have suppressed that with his reason.

「Stop!」

The horses" neighs drowned out Cyril"s shout.

Although the other parties whom he had finally confirmed by sight at close range seemed to be a group that had put on matching blue mantles, he didn"t know their origin. What Cyril had at least understood at this moment were the facts that they were a group that carried weapons in their hands and that their number was far more than theirs.

「Don"t mind them, withdraw!」

Right besides Cyril who had shouted again, Lampito agilely stood up on top of the horse"s saddle.

「What are you—」

「E, e, enemies!」

Lampito pulled out the knife with her left hand and made the magic crest Hieratika run from her slender arm to its tip in one breath. A red incandescent ma.s.s instantly swelled upwards and drove the cold mist away.

「Uoah!?」

「Baa—!」

「You this fellow—!」

Carrying Lampito who had suddenly made a flashy magic explode at the moment when the two groups met under his arm, Cyril kicked the horse"s abdomen.

「All members, withdraw!」

Calling out to them so, Cyril galloped his horse. At any rate, he had his hands full just by taking Lampito and leaving here; he didn"t have the time to worry about his other subordinates.

「You this fellow really did an unnecessary thing…!」

Repeating his irritation towards Lampito, Cyril single-mindedly galloped his horse.

If they encountered an armed group besides their allies inside the enemy territory, it"d surely be the enemy without a doubt. However, to challenge the other party whose number was far more than theirs without any plan was a much too reckless act. Cyril"s party which was merely less than 10 hors.e.m.e.n might easily be annihilated by the counterattack of them who would be burning with anger.

Most importantly, at this timing when they had to highly prioritise linking up with the main force, the matter of causing an unnecessary battle itself was unthinkable.

This girl called “Lampito” unmistakably possessed greater magic talent and combat ability than Cyril"s party, but she didn"t have the intelligence to effectively use that talent. Unable to determine when she should use it and when she shouldn"t use it, and only knowing wielding that powerful strength, she was a girl that was like a baby.

Although Cyril looked back to the rear over his shoulder, he didn"t see any silhouette that had come to pursue them. It was a fortune that they weren"t pursued by the enemies, but they had strayed from his subordinates. They"d probably gather in due course for the linking up with the main force if they were alive, but the possibility of them being counterattacked by that group and then losing their lives was also probable.

「…!」

Cyril glanced at Lampito whom he had carried under his right arm, subdued his anger and sat the girl in front of him.

「…Let"s hurry」

「U」

Perhaps Lampito couldn"t understand Cyril"s anger.

Although everyone, the soldiers who had gone to the kidnapping of Sigibert some time ago, didn"t return in the end except Lampito alone, she was a girl who declared that it was because their abilities were insufficient, her expression unchanged. Even if her comrades now died because of her again, it didn"t seem that she"d feel remorse for that; to begin with, she might not even have the self-awareness that it was her fault. For this girl who was like a beast that was difficult to control, perhaps their deaths were just the consequence of their weaknesses.

Therefore, Cyril didn"t say anything anymore.

It was meaningless even if he said it; Cyril"s duty was to make sure not to let her behave thoughtlessly before that.

In short, the deaths of his subordinates were all Cyril"s responsibility.

♦♦♦

The huge magic flame which had blown the cold mist away with just one blow was stopped at a wall of strong power and scattered into the sky.

「……」

Shaking his wrist lightly with a “pura pura”, Lucius put on his glove again.

「…Is it fine already?」

At the centre surrounded by the members of the Seal Chivalric Order Tanpries Aigies, Isaac, who had held his head under his arms and fallen prostrate on the saddle, timidly raised his body.

Although the forest at dawn had already regained its previous tranquillity, the smell of blood was mixed in the air. A man who was cut down in a single stroke by Lindegokyou and then fell from his horse had died in a puddle of blood.

The members, who had drawn their swords, loosened the thread of tension which had been making them tense and quietly leaked out sighs.

「…He didn"t have any item that may indicate his ident.i.ty」

Hazard-kyou who had searched the man"s corpse looked back at Isaac and reported.

「He couldn"t have been a traveller who was surprised at the sudden encounter and just drew his sword by reflex for self-defence, …right?」

「If he was a traveller, he"d have luggage typical of one」

At Isaac"s words, Lucius answered while looking around the surroundings.

As much as Lucius could confirm, the other party should have at least five, six hors.e.m.e.n, but it was only one person who was defeated here. The remaining had probably ran off to somewhere. Although their ident.i.ties were uncertain, just the fact that they weren"t a friendly party was incontrovertible.

「—Before that, Your Highness. A decent traveller won"t shoot magic at the moment when two people meet」

The magic, which the horse-riding girl whom they had encountered just now shot, could be flicked off by the “Iron Wall Rampart” that Lucius had instantly deployed. If his reaction had been late, needless to say Lucius, Isaac who was behind him and the members who formed a circular formation to protect him might have been blown off in a bunch. A person who could unleash a magic of that degree in that instant—in addition, a girl who seemed much younger than Lucius, couldn"t be a mere traveller.

「…However, he also didn"t seem to be a type of bandit」

Perhaps he was bothered by the smell of blood, Isaac held his nose and mouth down with a handkerchief and looked down at the unidentifiable corpse.

「Certainly, it"s more fitting to say that he was a person of some army rather than a thief」

「Then, this person is Haiderota"s…?」

The one who muttered so was Angel Saforcada. However, he didn"t looked straight at the corpse. Somehow, he didn"t seem to be very good with blood.

「It might be too hasty to decide so. One can say that Haiderota is already in a state of war with Yururogu. There"s also the possibility that this person is a spy of Yururogu」

「I, I see… I"m sorry, I was too hasty」

「There"s no need to apologise, right?」

Lucius clapped on the shoulder of the boy, who looked down, with a “pon”. Although he was slightly impatient, one could say that Angel had been able to demonstrate more than enough that he had just the ability not to make Bermudes-kou, the person who recommended him, embarra.s.sed with today"s accident. After all, Angel had deployed “Rampart” almost simultaneously as Lucius and repelled that fireball together.

「Even the newcomer, Angel-kun, in our Chivalric Order can accomplish this much. …If a Vice-Minister-kakka of somewhere learns of this, he"ll probably break his riding crop and feel bitter」

Wearing his hat again, Isaac smiled.

「—Saa, let"s hurry」

「Ha」

Lucius left about three members at this place for the present and ordered them to follow the party after burying the unidentifiable corpse together with its personal belongings. They could by no means carry the corpse on a journey where they had to hurry, and if they left it here as it was, it might become just bones in the blink of an eye because of the animals in the forest. For the sake of investigating its ident.i.ty again later on too, burying it here now was the best choice.

「All members, mount your horses!」

At Lucius"s command, the Chivalric Order straddled the backs of the horses again and started running in the forest.

「—What do you think, Lucius-kun?」

Isaac, who was keeping pace with Lucius, secretly whispered to him.

「About what?」

「About Angel-kun」

In front of the pair, Angel was travelling at the head of the group together with Hazard. Perhaps because an incident like just now had happened, his eyes flew here and there restlessly, and he seemed to be cautious of the vicinity.

「…Certainly, he seems to be a possessor of a considerable power. Setting having little combat experience aside, are the excellence of that reaction and instantaneous judgement innate? If not, he might have acc.u.mulated a great deal of magic training」

「That"s to say, he has the qualifications as Lindegokyou"s successor, is it?」

「I think that he still lacks the ability as Lindegokyou"s successor, but if we teach him various things at practice, can he not immediately absorb and cope with them, I wonder?」

Rather, Lucius"s genuine thought was that he should put Angel close by for that training.

As long as their birthplaces weren"t asked, there were quite a lot of young men in the Seal Chivalric Order who would work their fingers to the bone, but the people who had this much talent were really few, after all.

♦♦♦

Night; suddenly feeling thirsty, Valeria woke up. Even though such a thing didn"t happen very much normally, in this particular case of today, it might be because fatigue had been acc.u.mulating as expected that she slept poorly.

Although she was together with Karin and Petra in a room that was given to them at a corner of the town hall, both of them didn"t notice Valeria slipping out of her bed and were sleeping soundly.

Putting on her gown, Valeria carried the empty pitcher and went out the room.

「—Oi」

「Hi!?」

Valeria, who had tried to walk slowly and quietly in the dark corridor where there was only starlight shining in from the windows, was called to a halt before carving the first three steps and looked back with clumsy movement.

「…What are you doing in the middle of a night like this?」

Opening the door of the opposite room, a half-naked Dimitar showed his face. While scratching his dark grey hair roughly, he stared at Valeria fixedly. No, he might not be staring, but because of his expression that seemed to be displeasure from waking up, it only appeared like she was being stared at.

「T, that… I"m slightly thirsty」

Valeria held the pitcher up and showed a forced smile. Thereupon, Dimitar grabbed his sword and shirt from inside the room and came out.

「W, what is it?」

「…Sigibert was abducted from the tabard inn in Klutoreto, you know? Is there any guarantee that this place is perfectly safe?」

Dimitar muttered with a sulky face and began walking while b.u.t.toning up the shirt that he had put on. He seemed to be saying that he"d accompany her to the kitchen.

「Even if you don"t do that much for me in particular—」

「Or rather, do you know the location of the kitchen in the first place?」

「Ah」

Now that he mentioned it, Valeria didn"t know where the kitchen was. On the contrary, the astute Dimitar, having decided to stay here for one night, might have immediately wandered around, roughly investigating what was where and from where they could go in and out.

「…I"m also hungry. I might as well guide you」

「Eh? Even though you ate that much without limit?」

Today"s dinner was a lively one, with not just Sigibert, Clotilde and Malena, but also the mayor and his wife joining in. The fact that Dimitar should also have been at the dinner that was satisfactory in not just the flavour, but also in terms of quant.i.ty, and yet was already hungry was in no way comprehensible.

「My body is probably trying to recover the blood that I had shed」

Stroking the back of his neck, Dimitar muttered in a way of speaking that one couldn"t tell was in all seriousness or in jest.

「—I hear that it"s good for anaemic people if they eat liver. In today"s dinner menu, the stewed pig liver cream was especially delicious」

「I don"t like liver very much though—」

「I didn"t say that you"ve to eat it in particular」

Picking up the candlestick that was hanging on the wall at the end of the long corridor, Dimitar descended the stairs.

「…?」

When they had descended to the first floor, Dimitar suddenly stopped his feet.

「What"s the matter?」

「The other side of the door ahead of here should be the kitchen… but look, there"s light. It seems that someone is there」

「…There"s also a pleasant smell somehow. Isn"t someone cooking?」

「At this time?」

「Isn"t it just nice; you want something to eat, right?」

「That"s true though」

Shrugging his shoulders, Dimitar pushed the kitchen"s door open without even knocking in particular.

「—Eh?」

Valeria, who had stepped inside the kitchen after Dimitar, saw a figure shaking left and right in front of a big oven and opened her eyes wide in surprise.

Perhaps noticing the voice that had unintentionally leaked out, she stiffened just as she looked back at Valeria.

「—」

In a pose where she was about to move a skewer which was grilled with an open fire to her mouth, Malena Puyol stared at Valeria and Dimitar. Soon, beads of sweat oozed out with a “futsu futsu (flowing out)” on that chubby glossy white skin.

「E, errr—」

「T, this is terrible!」

When Valeria softly called out to her, Malena suddenly made a face which seemed to be crying and started bowing many times.

「—I"m sorry, I"m sorry! Please keep this matter a secret! Especially from Clotilde-geika; please…!」

「…Rather, won"t it be exposed immediately if you loudly make noise like that?」

「Auah!?」

Pointed out by Dimitar, Malena hurriedly held her mouth down.

「…There"s a visitor who came earlier than us, huh. That"s certainly convenient」

Dimitar, who had snorted “fufun”, showed a smile that seemed wicked and started wandering inside the dim kitchen, where speaking of illumination, was just the flame of the oven.

「Oi, Chubby」

「Ha!?」

「It"s you, Puyol-geika. As one would expect, calling you “Chubby” is too rude, huh. I also want something to eat though?」

Looking into the pots which were placed on the wide table in turns, Dimitar asked rudely. Not even a tiny amount of the awareness to pay respect to Malena could be felt anymore.

「There"s something, right? Anything is fine even if it"s something similar to what you"re eating」

「Eh? —Ah, ha, hai! In here…」

Malena moved a big ceramic plate which had been put in the oven onto the table.

「I think that this is the meal of the chefs, but whether or not it"ll suit your taste is…」

「Garbage Pie, huh」

「…What"s that?」

Valeria, who had quenched her thirst for the present with the water of a water jug, looked at the pie-like thing that remained on the plate and knitted her eyebrows. Although it was a food that she was seeing for the first time, it somehow smelled of animal and her appet.i.te wouldn"t come forth.

「This surely won"t suit your taste, I think. …It"s a pie that was stuffed with internal organs, waste meat and the like which n.o.ble-samas hardly eat and then baked」

When Dimitar had searched for a fork from somewhere and come back, he started eating the pie of entrails without hesitating. Although having even such an imagination was unpleasant, Valeria wouldn"t want to kiss a man who would reach his hand out to a food like this without hesitation no matter how much he wanted to eat liver even if she die.

「…By the way, you」

While holding the plate in his arms and eating the garbage pie with a “musha musha (munching)”, Dimitar spoke.

「Ha, hai?」

「Do you not have a relative or something in Amaddo? Around Seriba?」

「Ha…? N, no, as much as I know, there isn"t—」

Seeming to want to say that she couldn"t understand why such a thing was asked, Malena showed an indescribable smile and tilted her head to the side.

「Is that so? I"ve asked you something trivial. Forget it」

「Haa…」

「L, leaving that aside, why is Puyol-geika in such a place at such a time?」

Trying to change the delicate atmosphere, Valeria asked unnaturally.

「Are you an idiot? It must be because she was hungry, right? If not, there"s no way that she"d be grilling meat with the oven while shaking her bottom with humming mixed in」

「P, please don"t say it! Please don"t mention that anymore!」

「Even though you said that, you"re steadily eating meat」

Looking at Malena who was stuffing her mouth with grilled skewers with a “moshari”, Dimitar raised his lips.

「—Ma, all the surrounding people probably know that you"re such a person, so there"s no need to keep up appearances now, is there?」

「B, but, the truth is, I"m strictly ordered by Clotilde-geika to abstain from eating between meals…」

「Ah—…」

If her figure changed greatly, her magic crests would be distorted and she wouldn"t be able to use magic well—recalling the conversation that she was made to hear from Dimitar, Valeria nodded vaguely. After all, she felt that it"d be rude if she clapped her hands together saying 「I see!」.

「If I"m dismissed because my ability isn"t enough, though disgraceful, I"ll still accept it. But…, if I"ve to stop being a Dominas due to my figure of all things! In regard to my parents, siblings and my whole clan, I won"t be able to save my face! They"ll think “Don"t you have that much self-restraint?”!」

「Even though you said that, you"re steadily eating the next meat…」

「U, uuu… but, this is delicious! My stomach which can eat anything deliciously is detestable!」

Tears spilled over and fell in large drops on Malena"s glossy and tender cheeks. Although, to the people, it might be a very silly worry, to almost unconsciously cry in sympathy might be because of Malena"s cuteness that gave one the impression of a small animal.

Dimitar put a small frying pan into the oven and threw lard into it. Furthermore, while he was heating up the frying pan, he carried a lump of cheese out from a shelf, placed it onto the table and sliced it with his favourite sword.

「…In any case, a type like you probably can"t move your body to maintain your figure. If you move your body, the outcome will be you becoming all the more hungry and the amount of your meals increasing more and more」

「I, I experienced that already…!」

「If that"s the case, do intensive training of magic. That seems to unexpectedly make one lose weight. It might be because one will get mentally tired」

「Is, is that true!?」

「…Maa, in your case, I think that it"s also better to decrease the amount that you eat a little though」

When the lard had gone round the frying pan, he put the sliced cheese in one by one. The cheese began to dissolve quickly with a “jyupu jyupu”, and started to waft an appetising aroma.

「—By the way, the town that was occupied by the enemy, what kind of place is it?」

「Do you mean Luberuteiyu?」

「That one. I heard that it was a port city」

「Even if it"s called a port city, it doesn"t face the sea」

「Come to think of it, you did say that it"s at a place where one have to go fairly upstream along the river」

Before they knew it, Valeria and Malena were standing on both sides of Dimitar and peering in at his hands" movement. They shouldn"t have been so hungry, and yet the smell of the cheese which began to burn fragrantly had an attraction that was in no way easy to oppose.

「Though it"s an important stopover when transporting things, which had crossed the sea and were carried here, to various places using land routes and the river, the scale itself isn"t very big」

「What"s the enemy"s number?」

「Saa… according to the testimony of the people who had escaped from the town, it seems that they slipped into the storm and the darkness of the night, landed suddenly and occupied the town in one breath, but unfortunately, their numbers are… however, since the number of their cavalry doesn"t seem to be many, aren"t infantry and archers their main const.i.tuent?」

「Ma, if they try to transport not only soldiers, but even warhorses in the thousands, it might be quite troublesome. —Then, how far is the distance from Luberuteiyu to Aurillac?」

「That too, the exact number is difficult to know, but I think that perhaps it"s 1000 leagues or so in a straight-line distance?」

「Fumu」

When Dimitar had sprinkled salt on the crisply-toasted cheese, turned the frying pan over and transferred it to the plate, he held it out in front of Malena. Looking at that plate and Dimitar"s face alternately, Malena"s throat made a gulping sound.

「Eh? M, may I!?」

「Don"t worry about it」

「I"ll gratefully receive it!」

Malena started eating the crisply-toasted cheese immediately. Dimitar roughly wiped the blade of his sword, stored it in the scabbard and leaned it against a pillar that had a gloss like it was smoked black.

「—If the enemy has started advancing southwards from Luberuteiyu, can they arrive at Aurillac smoothly?」

「No, that"s… in addition to there being innumerable branches of the Rübel River in the south of Luberuteiyu, it"s a vast area of lakes and marshes… nmu, so a route where large-scale military force can be a.s.sembled and advance on is very… hamu, l, limited」

「If we gain control of that route, we can restrain the enemy from proceeding southwards, huh」

「You can say so…? After all, there"s a town that can also be called a defence position on that route…」

「Defence position?」

「Hai. It"s a town called Delbrück」

Malena who had eaten the cheese up in the blink of an eye wiped her mouth and smiled cheerfully. Even though she was making a face like it was the end of this world until a little while ago and saying 「Please keep this a secret!」, she was surprisingly self-interested.

「How much is the population?」

「Eto, if I remember correctly, I think that it"s about 20,000? As peat can be collected at that area, the population seems to be numerous as it is since the olden days」

「If the town"s population is 20,000, let"s see, its standing army"s number is 7, 8,000 at the most, huh. Though we don"t know how much is the enemy"s military force, judging from them having advanced their army to the inland areas in a bold manner, it shouldn"t be few to the extent that we can temporise. If things remain as they are, I might feel slightly anxious」

「Sigibert-kakka also said that previously」

Deliciously drinking up the water of a beer mug that Dimitar had held out, Malena took a breath with a “puha”.

「—According to His Excellency and Diaghilev-geika"s conversation, it seems that they"ll most likely concentrate the war potentials from various places at Delbrück, reorganise, and engage the enemy army that will come closing in from Luberuteiyu」

「I see」

「However, the rebel army"s general is most likely Archduke Euchemard Duevre… that"s what His Excellency is most cautious of」

「Euchemard…?」

「Archduke Euchemard is the younger brother of Arthur Duevre, who arbitrarily claims to be Yururogu"s king, and a person who is holding the two appointments of prime minister and supreme commander of the army concurrently. He"s old, but it seems that he"s known for being very proficient at war… ah, of course, I haven"t seen that person myself though」

Although she was speaking ill of Yururogu"s king by using the expression “arbitrarily claims to be”, the people of Haiderota most likely had no choice but to acknowledge the ability of Euchemard as a soldier. That was well understood from Malena"s way of speaking. He seemed to be quite a strong enemy.

While pouring the water which was drawn from the water jug into the pitcher, Valeria tried asking somehow.

「Did something like this also happen before?」

「No, if it"s a national border violation from mounted bandits" plundering, then it has happened to the extent of countless, but it seems to be the first time that a rebel army of this scale has suddenly stepped into the inland areas. That"s why the situation this time seems to be clearly different from usual」

「Is that so? —I"ve more or less understood」

「—Eh?」

「Iya, thank you for this useful conversation」

「D, did I perhaps… s, say something that I mustn"t say!? Like a state secret or something!?」

「It probably isn"t anything exaggerated like that. It"s merely something that we"ll know eventually」

Extinguishing the oven"s fire, Dimitar patted the girl"s shoulder. Showing a beaming smile which he absolutely wouldn"t show usually was, on the contrary, scary.

「—Ma, I"ll keep the fact that you ate between meals here a secret for you, so you should also forget about tonight, obediently return to your room and sleep early」

「No, no way…!」

Leaving Malena who had received a shock there alone, Dimitar quickly left the kitchen.

「H, hey, Dimitar!」

Running after Dimitar with short steps, Valeria secretly asked.

「What?」

「To have asked thoroughly to that extent, what on earth did you know?」

「I don"t know anything」

「Ha?」

「I don"t know anything, but it"ll be a factor for the time when we decide something from now on. Even if we asked the other Her Eminence, she most likely won"t reveal her own country"s information easily like that. Our luck is good that there"s a gluttonous and loose-tongued Her Eminence」

When she had thought why was he keeping company with the gluttonous Malena, was it because he was thinking of such a thing; Valeria was struck with admiration now.

「—Tomorrow will be a long trip from the early morning too. Rest well, all right?」

Curtly saying so, Dimitar then withdrew into his room.

「—」

When Valeria had quietly opened the door and entered the room, she returned to the bed after locking the door securely. Fortunately, Karin and Petra were sound asleep. They probably didn"t notice that she had slipped out of bed in the middle of the night and done this and that with Dimitar.

Although Karin was also like that, Petra in particular would often tease Valeria with such things.

Things like what Petra was antic.i.p.ating would never happen between them.

Nodding many times in the dark, Valeria pulled the blanket over her head.

♦♦♦

The atmosphere was tense.

It was because of the soldiers striding throughout the town, but before that, it might also be related to the fact that this place was an occupied territory. There were no figures of people working in the harbour and the market, and due to that, the sounds of wooden hammers and military shoes were extremely conspicuous.

This Luberuteiyu was a commercial city in the north of Haiderota. The town which was developed at a site that was almost the limit where one could go upstream the Rübel River, which flowed into the northern sea, by a large sailing ship wasn"t very big, but it had prospered as a junction of the sea route and the land route from time immemorial.

In other words, it could be said that here was the southern limit where large warships could invade. It was in view of its weakness in defence awareness as it didn"t face the sea and its strategic importance that Yururogu"s army took advantage of the storm, crossed Haiderota"s territorial waters, went upstream the river and a.s.saulted Luberuteiyu.

「…If we couldn"t capture this place, we"d have an experience like infants who were left behind on the land of a foreign country and be at a loss」

Cyril, who had nearly galloped his horse without sleep or rest and finally arrived here, leaked a sigh of relief with a “ho” and mocked at himself.

In the end, he wasn"t able to meet his subordinates who had gotten lost in the forest again. If they were alive, they"d probably come here, and if they were dead, it"d be a matter of that extent; even if they were captured alive, since they weren"t given important information, there wasn"t anything that would be a disadvantage to them now. Although it seemed to be cruel, in that situation, Cyril and Lampito reaching here alive was the top priority.

「……」

Lampito, who had narrowed her eyes in the sunlight that was blazing down from above her head, hid herself behind Cyril while grasping the shirttail of his military uniform tightly. The sunlight wasn"t avoided because of that; rather, this girl might be trying to avoid not the sunlight, but the gazes which the surrounding people were directing towards her.

The central plaza which, properly speaking, should be crowded with people seemed to have become a temporary parade ground and a stable, and because of the soldiers who held spears in their arms and the horses that were greedily devouring fodder, it still showed a kind of bustle which was different from the usual.

「I"m glad that you"re safe, Cyril-sama!」

「Where"s His Highness?」

Handing the horse"s reins over to a soldier who had come running up to him, Cyril asked.

「Presently, the headquarters has been set up in this town"s commerce and industry meeting hall. His Highness is also commanding the army there」

「The number of men who are working outside seems few though…?」

「Ha, as it was His Highness"s command that we"re to follow Cyril-sama"s suggestion, we"ve divided the women and children and confined them in several warships, but unfortunately, it seemed to be immediately after the big transactions had ended that we arrived here—」

「The crucial male labour had loaded the goods and left the town…, huh」

As one would expect, even Cyril couldn"t read that timing, but even if he lamented the past, the situation wouldn"t change for the better. Depending on how one thought about it, it could also be said that it was precisely because male labour was few that the resistance was little when they occupied this town, and the damage was kept to the minimum.

「—Whatever」

Receiving the soldier"s guidance, Cyril headed for the town"s commerce and industry meeting hall.

If it was this building where the town"s merchants and artisans gathered and held meetings frequently, then it had sufficient area to gather soldiers and hold war councils. When Cyril had come, a war council commenced just after this.

「…You"ve returned well, Cyril…」

「I"m sorry, Your Highness」

Facing Euchemard who spoke words of appreciation, Cyril joined in after an apology first.

「I lost all the soldiers who were entrusted to me; moreover, I failed in the abduction of Sigibert Duevre. Now that things have reach a situation about which nothing can be done, whatever the punishment may be, I"m resignedly prepared to receive it」

「I knew that it was a dangerous infiltration mission. From the beginning, I"ve never thought that it was a mission that could be accomplished without sacrifices」

Curving his mouth that was completely covered by his moustache and wrinkles, Euchemard smiled.

「And even though you failed in the abduction of Sigibert, you succeeded in the confinement of the Gale Chivalric Order, right? As a diversionary tactic, the result is more than enough. On account of that fact, take that as making amends for the blunder which you spoke of…」

「Your words are too kind—」

「Lampito as well…」

“Jirori (glance)”, the old man"s eyes turned towards the girl who was covered with bandages. As if she was frightened by that, Lampito drew back her head.

「—I"m glad that she seems to be attached to you. She seems to be in a somewhat exaggerated outfit though」

「As for this, I"m greatly ashamed… by all rights, although I should have brought her here unhurt, it"s also all this petty official"s inept.i.tude that things became like this」

「It"s fine already, don"t exaggeratedly apologise for everything. The main discussion won"t proceed…」

Euchemard, who was sitting at the chief seat, lightly waved his hand and indicated the empty seat next to him.

「Before that, Her Eminence"s treatment」

「Umu. —Speak to the magic warriors, and have them take charge of her treatment immediately」

As soon as Euchemard said so, Lampito tightly grasped Cyril"s hand and leaned in close so that she clung to Cyril"s hips more and more.

Even though he was dumbfounded at Lampito"s timidity which was entirely different from her boldness when she was fighting, Cyril didn"t show that on his expression and spoke to Euchemard.

「Your Highness, if possible, please do it here as it is—」

「…She really has become attached to you, Cyril」

Combing his moustache down, Euchemard laughed in a low voice.

In the end, Lampito sat side-by-side with Cyril and received the magic warriors" treatment in that state. Unlike the magic large country Amaddo, users of healing magic were precious talents in Yururogu. Serving beside the king and distinguished people at normal times, them preparing for the commanding officer"s unexpected injury like this at the destination where they had gone to war was the usual state of things.

Euchemard pa.s.sed a gla.s.s which he had personally filled with wine to Cyril and began to talk again.

「…I was just discussing a matter with several generals just now, but I want to ask you the authenticity of it」

「Is it a matter regarding Amaddo"s Dominas?」

「Umu」

Properly speaking, it was a good time which wouldn"t be strange even if an advance party had already departed from this town. However, judging from appearances, there was no indication of that yet. Considering that it was the army which Euchemard was commanding, its movement was slow, but thinking that there was a reason for it as expected, Cyril nodded.

「On my way here, this petty official also heard of that rumour」

「Is that the truth?」

「…I couldn"t verify its authenticity, but isn"t it in all probability information that Haiderota had intentionally spread?」

「As expected, it"s like that, huh…」

For Yururogu"s army which didn"t want to fight against Amaddo as much as possible, Amaddo"s Dominas were existences that they couldn"t carelessly start a fight with. In the end, they had no choice but to be prudent in advancing their army. If they harmed them in the middle of their march, it"d leave a serious crack on their diplomatic relations with Amaddo in the distant future.

—The possibility of Haiderota, which had antic.i.p.ated that Yururogu would think that way, purposely spreading the rumour that Amaddo"s Dominas were in the middle of travelling inside the country was likely enough. If Cyril was in Haiderota"s position, he"d probably do so. In fact, although Euchemard was slightly aware that this was Haiderota"s plan, he couldn"t move his army greatly.

「Though I sent scouts to the south and had them investigate the movement of Amaddo"s Dominas, the fact that they"ve returned to their country couldn"t be confirmed yet…」

「Regarding that, there are a few things that are on my mind」

「What is it?」

「Are the magic warriors who pursued Her Eminence, who had abducted Sigibert Duevre, and then hindered her perhaps not the aforementioned Dominas—」

「What?」

After Cyril glanced at the girl beside him, he appealed to the several generals who sat in a row.

「—If there"s a magic warrior in the Gale Chialvric Order who can fight against Her Eminence directly head-on and inflict injuries of this extent on her, it"s probably only Clotilde Diaghilev alone. …However, it wasn"t a person of the Chivalric Order who had actually confronted Her Eminence, but a boy and a girl in unfamiliar clothing」

「They"re the Dominas from Amaddo…?」

「The girl, she most likely is one」

「…U, u」

While cheekily drinking Cyril"s wine, Lampito nodded stiffly.

「That night, the party from Amaddo had stayed at Krutoreto together with Sigibert"s party, so it"s possible that they helped out at the time of emergency. …Amaddo is a country that is good at political horse-trading; they might have the intention to sell Sigibert a favour」

「Did Lampito… defeat that Dominas?」

「No」

「…It"s fine if that"s the case. If Lampito didn"t kill her, we can avoid the worst-case scenario」

As if feeling relieved in some respects, Euchemard leaned deeply against the chair and took a deep breath.

「However, if they"re that kind of meddlesome people, it might really be possible that they"ll also head for Aurillac without returning to their country obediently. For now, we should advance things a.s.suming that Amaddo"s Dominas are in Aurillac. It"s vexing that our precious momentum was weakened though…」

「It"s almost certain that Aurillac used the names of Amaddo"s Dominas to restrict our movement. However, if you change the point of view a little, you can also think that the current them are unable to have the realistic war potential to immediately oppose our army"s sudden invasion」

As long as they weren"t in such situations where they couldn"t escape an urgent problem without making some sacrifices, Haiderota might not have taken an action like using the names of the state guests from Amaddo to confine Yururogu"s army. After all, it"d definitely create a big debt to Amaddo.

Having deliberately done it meant that Haiderota was put in a situation where they had no choice but to do so.

Euchemard stood up and looked out over his subordinates.

「…At any rate, it"s certain that we"ve seized the initiative. Though we must fully pay attention to the matter about Amaddo"s Dominas, we"ll advance our army just as planned hereafter」

「Ha!」

The several generals stood up after Euchemard. Although Cyril also tried to stand up instantly, Lampito was grasping the shirttail of his military uniform, and he almost just fell over.

End of Chapter 2