Hachinan tte, Sore wa Nai Deshou!

I look forward to it since I never left outside the village. (Philine)

As we are right now in the middle of a civil war, we wont go to overly wonderful places though. (Wendelin)

Thats okay. Philine will follow master. (Philine)

Hey, Wend (Erwin)

Master, do your best.

Currently Im slightly upset at you. (Erwin)

Early morning of the next day after we performed the nursing round, we mount our horses once again and return to the field encampment.

Our numbers have increased after adding the girl called Philine, who was pushed on me last night by the village chief, to our group.

On the way back she was in high spirits while riding a horse together with Elise.

As it seems that she never left that village even once after getting born, everything shes see around us appears to be novel to her.

Happily chatting with Elise, she enjoys the scenery on the way while looking delighted.

What about your parents, Philine?

I was told by the village chief that my mother died soon after my birth and my father is somewhere far away. (Philine)

Is that so? It was difficult to be all by yourself, wasnt it, Philine?

The kind elder sister Elise was used to handling children because she looked after the orphans in the church.

While talking with each other, she extracts information about Philines circumstances skilfully.

And Erw, who had Philine pushed onto him by me, is in the middle of his deliberation how he should actually explain things to Haruka.

In my eyes the two are still at the state of engagement. Until now I never saw them making out much because the situation is as it is.

At most they have been training their katana techniques together, I think?

Though its probably physically impossible anyway since Takeomi-san is bound to come disturbing them without a doubt if they act too lovey-dovey.

That guy is restraining the two by often repeating Right now is a time of war, but his real motive is very likely that he doesnt want to see his younger sister and Erw getting along well since hes a severe siscon.

There wont be any problems if you treat her as normal maid apprentice. Am I wrong? (Wendelin)

I cant refute as its definitely a sound argument (Erwin)

Making a move on Philine en route or changing her into his concubine; thats Erws own responsibility.

I dont have any time to get involved with that.

Wend, if you get carried away, you will pay for it sooner or later, you know? (Erwin)

I will bear it in mind as admonition by a loyal retainer. (Wendelin)

We return to the field encampment without any particular issues.

When I went to Therese to report that we finished the nursing rounds safely, she blurted out something unthinkable just as she saw Philine.

What!? A new concubine? (Therese)

Surely not. Elise took her in. (Wendelin)

Alls well as I dont particularly mind. No matter how many wives thou have, my feelings wont change, Wendelin. (Therese)

Please give up on that already. (Wendelin)

Thats impossible. (Therese)

Impossible, you say? (Wendelin)

Therese presses and I dodge.

These days even the retainers of the Duke Philip household have reached a state of looking at us indifferently while hiding their criticism.

As expected, they got used to it, didnt they?

Im a woman that wont lose heart. (Therese)

Make sure to use that will-power of yours for ending the civil war and ruling the empire. (Wendelin)

Wendelin, saying what the gentlemen over there are already insisting on is a killjoy. I want thou to entertain me more. (Therese)

Theres nothing about that in the job description of a temporary staff officer. (Wendelin)

Its not like Therese has the hobby of enjoying getting verbally abused by me. At most it seems to be at the level of her having me amuse her by acting in a role similar to a clown that entertains a king, since I possess a honorary peerage for convenience.

Of course I turn that down since I dont have such resourcefulness.

Only people owning outrageous talent can become the clown of a king after all.

Otherwise they would immediately provoke the kings wrath and end up getting executed.

However, that doesnt mean that its fine if they use cynicism and abusive language.

Shes a fairly cute girl. Whats thy age? (Therese)

Yes, Duchess Philip-sama. Im nine years old. (Philine)

You are big (Therese)

Elise learned various things about her on the way, but Philine appears to actually still be nine years old.

Accordingly, contrary to her appearance, her speech and conduct has childish aspects.

In addition, the colour of thy hair is characteristic, too (Therese)

Philine had silver hair which we had not once seen in the empire yet.

My deceased mother said that my father had silver hair. (Philine)

Really? People with silver hair are rare in the empire though. (Therese)

Due to Thereses statement, the place got engulfed in silence all of a sudden.

If there are no silver-haired people in the empire, all thats left is for them to be very likely from the kingdom.

Even if they are from the kingdom, they wont be plain commoners, right? Theres no friendship between the two countries except for the trading decided by the Friendship Visit Group

As Luise says, that means her father is either a merchant, a noble or a member of the Friendship Visit Group entourage, but even in the kingdom there arent that many silver-haired people.

Among nobles they are few, too. As far the most renown household among them is concerned, there was no one except that person.

Its Margrave Breithilde-sama, isnt it?

Luise, are there any possible candidates?

If its limited to big-shots at the level of being chosen for the Friendship Visit Group, its only Margrave Breithilde-sama. (Luise)

Dear, the hue of this girls hair colour is exactly like that of Margrave Breithilde-sama (Elise)

Certainly, Philines silver hair looks almost identical to that of Margrave Breithilde.

Without looking at Elise, even I couldnt think of someones hair colour that resembled hers except that of Margrave Breithilde.

Philine, theres something we have to talk about

Please ask me anything master. (Philine)

(Im her master as well, huh?) (Wendelin)

Since we wont get anywhere even if we talk here, we decide to continue the chat after moving to our residence while also calling Burkhart-san.

What is it? This small girl is? (Burkhart)

Burkhart-san, who slipped out of the training of the magicians which hes carrying out in cooperation with Katharina, showed a puzzled expression after seeing Philine.

Hes probably thinking that its inappropriate for a young girl to stay at a savage field encampment.

Katharina and Doushi, who returned together, had curious looks.

Wendelin-san, is she your new wife? (Katharina)

No, and, should you be the one saying that, Katharina? (Wendelin)

Hahaha! Earl Baumeister, you are as jealous as you are young! (Armstrong)

Doushi, your misunderstanding is deep. (Wendelin)

Even though it would have been fine even if Katharina and Doushi didnt come back, I thought.

So, whos this little girl? (Burkhart)

That old man is scary. (Philine)

As Philine was apparently scared by Burkhart-san who brought his face close to her, she ends up hiding behind Elise.

I believe Im not as scary Doushi though (Burkhart)

Doushi-sama isnt scary. This old man is.

Burkhart-dono, its wrong to scare a still young girl.

How novel, to be liked by a child (Armstrong)

Burkhart-san revealed an unhappy expression as he was completely feared by Philine.

As a matter of fact he might be the most displeased about being treated as an old man though.

In reverse Doushi was happy because he wasnt feared by a child for a change.

As the talk will be long, please have these. (Elise)

Wooow. This looks delicious.

Philine stared at the cake prepared by Elise with shining eyes.

It was something we bought in a famous store in the royal capital. Magic is especially useful for such things.

Philine ate the fruitcake that had a great amount of whipped, fresh cream while enjoying it plentifully.

First, this.

I show a copy of an old diary that Philine had with her to everyone.

At first we thought that the village chief presented Philine to us in order to lower the amount of mouths to feed.

However, once Elise heard the circumstances from Philine herself on the way back, somehow it actually looks that there is another reason why she was pushed onto us.

Then give us an explanation, you shitty village chief! is the feeling that wells up within me, but he might have feared that we would refuse given that our social standing is overwhelmingly higher than his own.

The most he could do until we return was to let us know that her circumstances are written in a book belonging to Philine.

Damn it! That fucking village chief.

Well, dont say that. Even if the village chief of a poor village visits the guest house, where the Friendship Visit Group stays at, while bringing this girl along, it would be normal for him to get turned away at the front door right away. (Therese)

Even if he said Id like to get an audience since I have an illegitimate child of an upper-ranking noble of the kingdom with me or similar, it would probably be normal for him to get treated as swindler.

Therese came along even though I didnt even ask her to, but she does a proper follow-up for a change.

I understand that as well, but

This time I have a unique chance, that old man thought, I guess.

So, he should have told us the circumstances!

There was also the possibility of us declining because of the troubles involved as we are also participating in the civil war, if he says it unskilfully. Or such he might have thought.

He didnt consider it dangerous to send such a small girl to the outside world which is a battlefield?

And yet he thought that Wend will be able to let her meet Margrave Breithilde-sama?

I suppose he gave me a strangely high assessment.

You know, thats because you never lost in a war, Wend. Such rumours naturally spread to commoners as well.

I started to feel a strange persuasiveness from Erws reasoning.

Wend, I wonder, dont you have to read that diary? (Ina)

So I have to read it, huh? For the sake of making sure. (Wendelin)

I think theres almost no mistake about Philine being Margrave Breithildes illegitimate child, but since I was urged on by Ina as well, I decide that I have to read the diary once to check.

The one copy is something that belonged to Philines deceased mother.

It appears that she got assigned as one of the people in charge of taking care of Margrave Breithilde at the time of the previous Friendship Visit Group. Thats when she had a love affair with him.

Omitting the small details of the diary about that part, she returned to that village right after Margrave Breithilde returned to the kingdom. At that time she was already pregnant.

She gave birth to Philine as unmarried mother, but her physical condition declined when Philine was still very young and her mother ended up dying just like that.

At the end of the diary was written that shes worried about her very young daughter that will be left behind.

It seems she was in charge of Margrave Breithilde when taking care of the nobles of the Friendship Visit Group.

I explain the contents of the diary in a simple manner to everyone.

Holy cow! Not only a travellers journal, but even making an illegitimate child

You didnt notice, Burkhart-san?

I guess thats because I was all the time together with just Doushi and Therese-sama last time. Let alone that master hasnt said anything to me, he even said Isnt it an honour to be the guard of Duchess Philip-dono?. (Burkhart)

I think he said that because you would have been a nuisance for his tryst.

That must be it (Burkhart)

Upon Luise pointing that out, Burkhart-san dropped his shoulders crestfallen.

So, do you have any evidence?

I do

Philine was made to carry one bag as luggage by the village chief.

Inside were the love letters from Margrave Breithilde addressed to Philines mother, a letter of verification stating that its his child if a child is born despite it having been an affair for around one week and a knife that was decorated with a wonderful ornament that had the Margrave Breithilde households family crest on it.

Or rather, if he goes that far, I think that it would have been the best for him to take her along.

Maybe he was scared of his legal wife?

Theres nothing I want to say in particular, but hes the worst. (Katharina)

The fairly blunt act of Margrave Breithilde was criticized by Katharina who is in a position that she doesnt have to hold back on nobles too much since shes a famous magician herself.

It seems that Elise and the others agree with her, too.

In that moment the reputation of Margrave Breithilde, who looks like an agreeable liberal arts youth, took a heavy hit.

Love letters, Margrave Breithilde is a liberal arts person even at such times, isnt he?

When I tried checking the contents despite feeling guilty about it, after taking just a look, there are embarrassing lines such as The sun-like beautiful you and How should I convey this throbbing excitement in my chest to you? written in there.

Seeing the contents, Doushi and Erw burst into laughter while rolling on the ground due to the overly embarrassing passages.

The person himself was probably serious, but seen by an outsider, its a public execution as its a kind of comedy.

The difference between the scornful laughter of the female camp and the foolish laughter of the male camp was surreal.

Wend, you dont write many letters, do you? (Ina)

Thats because Im bad at it. Though I have more opportunities to do so than Luise. (Wendelin)

Since its difficult for me as well, I hate letters and such. (Luise)

Im a man who even found sending mails in my previous life annoying.

I dont have a hobby of expressly writing unnecessary letters either.

So, this is?

Next, another copy of a diary appeared, but the things written in there were even more embarrassing.

Sent to my beloved by Amadeus Freitag von Breithilde. Poems of Love. Its completely off?

An embarrassing poem that seems to be something composed by Margrave Breithilde himself was recorded on that page of the diary.

It appears that travellers journals and similar are his strong point, but he has absolutely no talent in writing love letters and poems.

To me it looks as nothing else but Margrave Breithildes dark past.

If I had written something like that and it got leaked out into society, I would certainly consider suicide.

The quality of the poem was embarrassing to that extent.

Margrave Breithilde-sama is unexpectedly irresponsible, too.

Its not a conduct that I can praise overly much.

As it looks like even Elise, who doesnt bad-mouth others much, and Ina, who usually avoids criticizing someone in a high position since shes a common sense person, have joined in, the reputation of Margrave Breithilde as father and man has hit rock bottom at this point in time.

Believing that it would be futile even if he covered for Margrave Breithilde here, Burkhart-san stayed silent without saying anything.

I guess the sole salvation might be Philine receiving the female camps sympathy?

I wonder if a normal woman would be happy to receive such a poem?

Umm I have heard that love is blind. To the bitter end its just something I read in a book though (Ina)

After looking at the Margrave Breithildes peculiar embarrassing linguistic expressions that were written in the letters and poems, Ina states her impression in a whisper.

I think that even Elise thinks that she wouldnt be happy even if she received this poem.

Ina gave quite the ambiguous reply.

Margrave Breithilde-sama has zero talent as poet.

He might have prospect as a comedian though. (Luise)

Luise, you

It should definitely be a hit if its publicly shown at a noble salon, but thats not because of him having a talent to make others laugh but simply because that poem will be ridiculed.

Getting apparently ridiculed, his life span as comedian will likely be short.

But even before that, Im sure that the person himself will be unwilling to be treated as comedian.

So, you are saying that this girl is Margrave Breithildes illegitimate child?

I think all the evidence has been put together. Philine.

Yes, master. (Philine)

Me and Erw seem to be currently Philines masters.

Once I called out to her, she answered alongside a pure smile.

A bit of fresh cream was stuck around her mouth, but since she was a beautiful girl that has inherited the blood of Margrave Breithilde, that made her all the more cute.

Philine, you have cream on you. (Elise)

Thank you very much, Elise-sama. (Philine)

Getting the cream wiped away by Elise, Philine looks happy.

Elises special characteristic that is idolized by Wilma got triggered by Philine, too.

Well, what was the hair colour of your deceased mother?

It was light brown. (Philine)

I see. Thanks for telling us. If you want another serving of cake, do tell Elise. (Wendelin)

Yes. (Philine)

Philine herself apparently doesnt care at all about her own father as she seems to be entranced with the cake shes eating for the first time in her life.

Its definitely not like shes cold-hearted, rather she probably doesnt feel anything about it even if her father, whom she hadnt seen even once since being born, is mentioned.

So, what will we do?

Thats, of course, hand her over to Burkhart-san.

Me? (Burkhart)

Not expecting to be nominated at all, Burkhart-san ends up staring in wonder.

I mean, look, shes your masters daughter.

Well thats certainly true, but doesnt it look like she hates me (Burkhart)

With Philine being a slightly unusual girl, she likes Doushi more than Burkhart-san whos popular with women and children.

Therefore it was dismissed by him as he wouldnt be able to take care of her himself.

Rather, as shes a girl, have the young ladies over there take care of her.

Burkhart-san apparently wishes to leave the care of Philine to Elise and the others.

Doushi is I guess impossible

Being liked by someone and being able to look after that very person are two different pairs of shoes.

Besides, given that it will turn into a problem if Philine becomes like Doushi, it might be best to prevent that from happening.

I would hate it to be blamed by Margrave Breithilde later.

Philine, the cake is delicious, no? (Armstrong)

Yes, Doushi-sama. (Philine)

Thats great. (Armstrong)

Shes an unusual girl, isnt she?

After all she owns the notable characteristic of being afraid of Burkhart-san, whos well-received by children and women, and instead not only isnt she scared of the unpopular Doushi, but she actually even likes him.

Even though her appearance is on the cute side, she seems to unexpectedly like strange things.

Its your turn after all, Burkhart-san? Look, its a good training for the time when you get a daughter.

I will consider that after my wife gets pregnant. Say, havent you entrusted her to Erw-boy, Earl-sama? (Burkhart)

If she she were a simple commoner, it would have been fine with that, but now that we have confirmed her the daughter of Margrave Breithilde, it becomes necessary to handle her appropriately.

Meaning, we got once again burdened with difficulties.

Thats right. I agree with my lord.

Even though he has no official position, the times when Erw calls me lord are mostly when there is some worthless reason for it.

Erw showed an expression of got ya on his face.

In my position as retainer treating the esteemed daughter of Margrave Breithilde-sama, who is the leader of the kingdoms south, as maid apprentice is impolite. Theres no other option but to leave this to you, my lord. (Erwin)

Its a sound argument, but I guess Erw cannot resist feeling happy about being able to use this as excuse to pay me back for having pushed Philine on him once.

Due to Philines unexpected appearance, I took a trashing as payback.

Erw, try to spell out your real intention.

No matter how you think about it, no one but you can look after her, Wend. Serves you right. (Erwin)

I cant refute that

Erw deliberately offered his opinion while respectfully bowing his head, but a bright smile is plastered on his face.

It was obvious that you couldnt interpret that as anything but him being happy that he pushed a seed of trouble upon me.

Just a bit, I feel like killing you, due to that bright smile of yours.

With it being a real problem, theres no other choice but have you take care of her, Wend.

Even if thats so

This kind of banter with Erw is no problem since its indispensable for the sake of preserving my ego as Wendelin and not as Earl Baumeister.

Given that even Erw can discern between a private and an official occasion, it wont turn into an issue either.

Rather than that, the matter was that she would definitely be forced onto me as wife if I go to return her to Margrave Breithilde after having taken care of her.

Once Philine turns 15, Wend, you will be 22 years old. I dont think that feels out of place at all.

Moreover, as shes an illegitimate child, her rank in the succession line will be low as well. So there wont be any kind of problem with that either. (Ina)

I couldnt do anything but sigh due to Erws and Inas opinions.

I have no doubt that Margrave Breithilde will say that as well.

Master, am I a nuisance? (Philine)

Just when the discussion got heated, Philine, who finished eating the cake before anyone realized, asks with her eyes tearing up.

It looks like she ended up wondering whether shes unwanted from the flow of the conversation.

Theres no way for that to be true. Since it will take some time to let you meet your father, Philine, I plan to have you learn various things during that time.

I will be able to meet father? (Philine)

Hes in a foreign country. Because its not possible to let you meet with him due to the circumstances, I want you to work as maid for a bit. Elise. (Wendelin)

Yes.

Please use your free time to give her a basic education. (Wendelin)

Understood. (Elise)

I placed my hands on Elises shoulders and asked her to see to give Philine an education.

The least amount of etiquette as noble daughter and such, I guess?

Since you are probably busy as well, Elise, I dont mind even if its one for a maid apprentice though.

Since her father is Margrave Breithilde, it should be necessary for her to have a minimum of manners before letting her meet him.

We will work out an attire that makes her look real somehow or other later on. Right now the end of the civil war is the highest priority.

If its about that, I will help out as well.

It appears that the talk about teaching Philine good manners as noble pulled Katharinas heartstrings.

She volunteered to participate in Philines education.

Cake. Delicious.

Wilma, who has been silent all the time, is simply eating the cake she received from Elise while looking as if shes enjoying it.

Shes probably believing that she wont be able to to teach noble manners by herself.

Eh? Katharina, you will?

Although my family got ruined once, I learned the things necessary for a noble without giving up. Its something Im making use of even now. It will be fine to leave Philine-san to me with a peace of mind. (Katharina)

Really?

Wendelin-san, do you have any complaints about my conduct as noble? (Katharina)

Katharina, your conduct as noble is slightly unnatural.

Shes sticking too much to formality. Given that it looks as if shes using all her strength as shes always slouching, she ends up appearing as if she has no leeway due to somehow being at her absolute limit.

Also, I think its also a problem that she occasionally spins her wheels with all her heart.

Wendelin-san, you are too obedient. By nature thats how nobles are. (Katharina)

- End of Part 1 -

I dont quite understand since I became a noble all of a sudden, but if all nobles were like Katharina, I feel like that would be a problem in itself.

Beside, it will be problematic if Philine obtains a loner characteristic similar to me and you, Katharina. (Wendelin)

Im telling you, Im no loner! (Katharina)

A loner says that they are no loner.

Master, loner, whats that? (Philine)

Someone like Katharina.

Geez, Im no loner! (Katharina)

Philine is puzzled due to Katharinas and my dialogue.

Luise had remained silent until now, but she looked as if being downhearted.

Whats wrong, Luise? (Wilma)

That girl, Philine, even though shes seven years younger than me, shes close to ten centimetres higher than me (Luise)

Upon being asked for the reason by Wilma, Luise laments over the slow speed of her growth.

Certainly, if you were to compare Luise and Philine, the majority of people would probably say that Philine is the older one.

But, being small makes it easy to get caressed by Wend-sama. (Wilma)

Im an adult woman, thus Im not happy even if I get caressed. (Luise)

Really? Katharina is delighted when occasionally getting caressed.

That doesnt suit her.

Thats none of your business! (Katharina)

Leaking the conversation between the two to Katharina, she retorts with a loud voice at Luises statement.

In the end its decided to place Philine at my side as a maid apprentice on the surface and to have Elise and the others take turns in educating her.

Of course its a secret to the surroundings. I have Therese keep it confidential, too.

Given that Therese is a high-ranking noble as well, not allowing her to reveal that kind of information was willingly accepted and guaranteed by her as its a required etiquette for a noble though her countrys different.

In exchange thou will owe me one favour. I wonder how I should have thou pay me back? (Therese)

Even though only slightly, I ended up cursing Margrave Breithilde who isnt here.

Therese-sama, I brought the tea.

Sorry. (Therese)

One week after accepting Philine, Duke Nrnberg should have gathered up his forces and come to attack according to Therese, but for some reason theres no sign of that happening.

Philine, who wore maid clothes that were adjusted by Elise, lived in our house while learning the minimum amount of manners as a noble daughter and maid.

Since she had also been a freeloader in that village to begin with, she was apparently able to handle the bare minimum of housework.

She is handling the work quicker than I expected.

That Philine pours tea to Therese who had visited our home for some reason. Therese thanks her for that.

I dont know why she came here, but Im sure its not for anything decent.

Her speech and conduct being bad for my stomach was, by now, a set fact.

This is classified information, you know but it looks like an expeditionary force of Helmut Kingdom or something like that was annihilated. (Therese)

Haa?

At first I didnt comprehend what Therese was talking about.

Thanks to that device, the operation of magic airships and communication seems to have been jammed in the north of Helmut Kingdom as well. The whereabouts of the Friendship Visit Group are unknown as well. The royal palace of Helmut Kingdom couldnt hold back the advocates of a troop dispatch? is mine and that of the other nobles reasoning. (Therese)

His Majesty

To the nobles, who desire achievements and territory, and the military authorities, who aim for an increase in the military budget, the disappearance of the Friendship Visit Group until now might be a big advantage.

Information doesnt flow in almost at all as the espionage network is not working with communication being impossible. So its also possible that they were unable to restrain a call for a limited troop dispatch by the nobles who felt anxious.

However, this opinion is just a conjecture.

Without any communication, it was a problem that no news reached this place.

Even Therese is somehow gathering information by constructing an information network through carrier pigeons and the traditional fast messengers, but the degradation of speed and accuracy of those was considerable after all.

Theres also the mutual killing of spies. At this time it also happened that absolutely no information came in.

Its not definite information. But they probably aimed to occupy the north of the Gigantic Crevice once the opportunity showed itself after waiting and seeing. (Therese)

She heard that an estimated number of 5.000 to 10.000 soldiers of Helmut Kingdoms royal army infiltrated the empires territory with a human wave tactic through a impromptu rope-way and occupied a part of the empires territory. Duke Nrnberg, carrying out a night attack, destroyed the royal army like a gale with a cavalry unit he led himself.

Just how weak is the royal army

Even though they are our allies, their weakness is pathetic.

Duke Nrnberg is a great commander if he actively takes part in a normal battle. (Therese)

Apparently he even left behind the slow-footed infantry and performed a night raid with a swift attack against the royal army which was exhausted from having just crossed the Gigantic Crevice.

Even if theres uneasiness as to combat strength with just the cavalry, he didnt want to let the advantage of opportunity get away.

You might also say that this serves as proof for Duke Nrnberg being a great commander.

So, what about the royal army?

It looks like quite a few nobles were defeated. Though the information as to whom exactly is lacking. (Therese)

There might have been some commanders of the royal army and northern nobles who sent out their soldiers.

At any rate, the royal army was destroyed to the point that nothing is heard of them anymore.

Its bad that they would have to cross the rope-way even if they tried to return to the kingdom. Theres no safety zone as long as they dont cross the Gigantic Crevice even if they escape.

They have capitulated after giving up, are getting finished off through a hunt for the remnants of the defeated army or are killed off by hunting down the fleeing soldiers. (Therese)

Guess so So thats delaying them closing in on us?

Will there be another troop dispatch by Helmut Kingdom? Does the kingdom adopt a wait-and-see stance after shrinking away since their troops got annihilated? The rebel army will likely close in on us after making sure of it. (Therese)

Also, if they leave the defeated soldiers alone, the public order will deteriorate.

Since its possible that the desperate, defeated soldiers will attack villages and cities in their desire for food, Duke Nrnberg has the duty to mop them up.

You are saying they are moving to get the support of the populace as its a coup detat administration?

After all its completely unknown how many escaped and died, they might have encountered many unexpected difficulties. (Therese)

I wonder how many soldiers will be forced to come along with the rebel army? (Wendelin)

Even though they are thy allies, thou are saying something terrifying there. (Therese)

For me the royal army counts as an ally.

However, in this situation I dont have the leeway to help defeated soldiers who are 1500 kilometres away in the south.

Crossing the rope-way of the Gigantic Crevice and making a half-assed number of troops invade in this chaotic situation is reckless in itself.

Moreover they ended up throwing the situation for our side into disorder unnecessarily. If things dont go well, this might actually become the main reason for the defeat of the liberation army.

If he pulverized a royal army of several thousands with one blow, Duke Nrnberg will likely start to talk very highly of his own deeds of arms.

Theres the possibility that the number of nobles and people following him due to that will increase.

Considering that, I didnt feel an ounce of will to save the royal army whose commander I dont know.

After all they are an existence pulling our legs.

Maybe the kingdom let Duke Nrnberg obliterate the war advocate faction that has become uncontainable?

As information about the state of the empires civil war almost didnt flow in at all, the nobles advocating a reckless dispatch of troops grew in number within the kingdom.

Accordingly it might have developed into something like the kingdom saying Then, form an advance party consisting of only those like-minded.

The kingdom might have thought that it would be a reason for great celebration if they succeeded despite the low probability, and likewise, even if they failed, they would get cleaned up by the imperial army.

There are scary people in the kingdoms government.

From the Gigantic Crevice to here its 1500 kilometres in a straight line. Theres little hope that theres a commander who grasps the current power distribution of the rebel army and the liberation army as well as the deployment of the armies and using that, systematically gathers the remnants of the defeated army and escapes up to this place.

If there was such excellent commander, they wouldnt have gotten annihilated to begin with, I think.

Being told that

The royal army was scattered by a single strike with a adequate night attack by Duke Nrnberg, just like the seeds of balsam. However, it seems its actually less than half the military forces that got killed in that night raid. Accordingly the rebel army seems to hunt down the dispersed remnants of the royal army. (Therese)

The information from Therese ended at this point.

Duke Nrnberg wont make a move until he destroys the hiding and fleeing royal army in the empires south.

With those circumstances, we decide to seclude ourselves in the field encampment in the Great Sorbid Wastelands.

Even if we once again attacked fortresses and cities because of their lacking stationed troops, the military forces that would have occupied those place would get beaten just like in a whack-a-mole game, thus we will obediently stay in the encampment this time.

Since our forces grew, we advance the construction of the encampment, the mud wall and the trenches against horses while at the same time carrying out things like training and army corps organization.

Given that the number of soldiers increased, we completed something like a district where merchants that had their sight on those soldiers gathered and in addition it was also necessary to run a red-light district which is an unavoidable part at the front.

Of course that responsibility has been completely placed on Therese.

In my eyes a red-light district isnt really necessary. But, if we leave it alone, spies will enter. Also, our combat strength will fall if diseases spread. Good grief, why does the virgin me have to (Therese)

Around half a month after the destruction of the royal army, Therese sighed in her office while signing budget documents for prophylactic medicine against venereal diseases that will be sold cheaply to prostitutes.

I dont need something like a red-light district either though. (Wendelin)

Wendelin, thou have five wives after all. (Therese)

While looking at a business license of a brothel that had been newly established, I looked for errors in the documents.

At the beginning I was slightly bewildered, but when I actually tried to do paperwork such as this, my memories from my previous life are useful as well.

Since there might be idiots trying to attack my wives, brothels are a necessary evil, I suppose?

Thats a splendid way of thinking for a devoted husband. If thou like, I dont mind at all if thou add me into that as well. (Therese)

Hahaha, thats a funny joke, you know. (Wendelin)

Thou have dodged that one smoothly. However, its only headache-inducing problems. (Therese)

Assembling the military forces and finishing their formation, we are training them now. The expansion of the field encampment goes favourably as well.

But, its a long encampment of several ten thousand troops without fighting.

Even if you consider just their food consumption, Therese and those in charge of accounting in the liberation army are likely at their wits end.

The rewards due to distinguished war services are put on hold. We are even asking the nobles, who have some leeway, to provide food and money. Im envious of Duke Nrnberg who is controlling the central area. (Therese)

Shes going to have to repay the nobles, of whom shes receiving support, by adding some extras.

In noble society, words such as volunteer or donations dont exist.

No one considers the donations to the poor and the church as genuine donations as they obtain benefits in the form of reputation due to those contributions.

I will say it one more time; in noble society words such as volunteer or donations dont exist.

The rebel army is likely managing with the national treasury of the central government, arent they?

It can be seen well on a glance, but thats carrying on by sacrificing the precious assets of the empire.

If its a foreign campaign, theres the chance of obtaining profits through the pillaged money and goods or territory, but since its a civil war, the empire is just eating up its own money, food and goods.

Once the civil war ends, its quite likely that there will only be emptiness awaiting Thereses group in the treasuries located in the empires imperial palace.

Its a great help that thou are here, Wendelin. (Therese)

Really? (Wendelin)

Even the other nobles cant ask for anything too greedy in front of thou, Wendelin. (Therese)

I have obtained the best deeds of arms within the liberation army, constructed the field encampment, have gone on nursing patrols to cast healing magic in the occupied area in the surroundings and am furthermore assisting Therese as a staff officer. I have also provided quite the amount of food and money.

Since even someone like me hasnt received any special rewards except being conferred the title of honorary Earl, it seems to be a situation where its difficult for the other nobles to speak up.

If you dont provide proper rewards afterwards, it will trigger a second civil war.

Thats something harsh to say. Of course I will provide satisfactory rewards. (Therese)

Its probably fully possible if its the national power of the empire, but the empire will likely stagger for a bit due to the heavy burden on its financial affairs.

It wont work out unless she creates a new power distribution in the empire with the nobles who participated in the liberation army. For that reason the liberation army has to shave off the territories and peerages of the nobles, who participated in the rebel army, as much as possible.

But, if she goes too far with that, it will lead to a second civil war.

With the difficulty of balancing that out, I was certain that I would immediately escape and seek asylum if it was me.

Thats because I think I would become like Xing Y who was ruined due to failing in his sharing of the rewards, going by Earths terminology.

Really, if there was another optimal person, I would have handed it over to them a long time ago.

You have my condolences.

Why are thou treating it as if its somebody elses problem? It also concerns the reward for thou, Wendelin.

I still havent received even a single copper coin, but with the annuity as honorary Earl and the individual request achievements as mercenary, I can look forward to receiving a decent amount of money.

Also, Im greatly profiting due to the collection of metal resources from the abandoned mines around the Great Sorbid Wastelands.

I use a large amount of money, but since it also serves as training to increase my mana amount, its convenient. Since I can extract metal resources from new underground veins that other magicians dont reach, I didnt suffer any losses at least.

Therese is believing them to be abandoned mines where one cant mine anything, but since its a mountain of treasures for me, it matched the interest of both sides.

Given that its a considerable amount of money, I have to come up with another reward as well though. (Therese)

A payment in kind, you mean?

Its good that thou catch up fast. I did write up an official document as test. Thou might as well sign it if thou desire so. (Therese)

Lets see oi! (Wendelin)

The contents of that document were about Therese offering herself to me.

Moreover, its written in a thorough, official writing style in order to show its public validity.

Once I sign it, Therese will be formally assigned to me.

Oi, next empress!

Isnt it still possible that Urquhart the 17th will govern himself if hes alive? (Therese)

Havent we decided that to be impossible? (Wendelin)

Even if hes still alive, no one will follow an emperor who was driven out of political power by a coup detat directly following his enthronement.

Above all, what would be troubling is him deciding the reorganization of the nobles and the payment of the rewards as it suits him while ignoring the war services of the liberation army.

If he slighted the nobles, who participated in the liberation army, for the nobles, who stayed neutral, got captured or sided with the rebel army in the capital city, it would develop into a second civil war without a doubt.

Its a joke. Its fine for thou to come to mine own room at any time if thou wish to mate with me to the best of your ability. (Therese)

Therese-sama, its always the same with you.

How about finally giving up on that?

Being persistent naturally lies in mine own character. (Therese)

Elise and Ina, who quietly processed the documents while listening to Thereses and mine conversation, calmly cut her off just like always.

This had become a natural scene in the last month, but it doesnt seem like Therese has any intention to give up at all.

Being able to receive Elises and Inas assistance is a great help in decreasing the workload. (Therese)

And in this one month Therese had stopped adding -san to my wives.

The act of her passing around the documents she ought to handle herself is a proof of trust in Elise and the others.

Even the stubborn Therese understands that we wont side with Duke Nrnbergs camp no matter how the dice may roll, and thus sets aside and allocates such work to us.

Well then, todays documents are up to here Excuse me!

At the same time as I have reduced the large amount of documents to zero, a young retainer of the Duke Philip household plunges into the room all of a sudden.

It seems that he has urgent business.

Has Duke Nrnberg come attacking?

No, theres a shabby, beggar-like group outside

Only consisting of men, they are dirty as they apparently havent had any baths, but there are also people riding a horse. Everyone is armed and their eyes are glaring.

Once the guards wondered whether its an enemy attack with their numbers also amounting to more than 1000 people, they were told We are Helmut Kingdoms royal army! and thus the guard came to ask for instructions how to handle them.

Are they allies?

Travelling 1500 kilometres within a month is not impossible for the humans of this world who have a slightly sturdier body than the humans on Earth.

But, maintaining a group of more than 1000 people until this place while crossing enemy territory, which also includes mountains and monster domains, was on the side of abnormality.

A disguise, I guess?

Maybe there are acquaintances among them? Wont it be fine to show up there?

That might be true as well

Taking along Elise, who knows much more about the kingdoms nobles than me, I climb atop the mud wall close to the front gate of the field encampment.

Since they had thrown away their shields and armour that had their crests on them in order to not be recognised as royal army, and their beards and hair freely growing downwards, they were a gathering of a great number of men wearing dirty clothes.

Going by their looks, they appear to be mountain bandits. I can really understand the guards being nervous.

Probably they cant deny the possibility of them being actually the rebel army while looking like the remnants of the royal army.

Do you have a commander!?

Once I yell loudly, the group divides and two men come forth.

Huh? I feel like I have seen them somewhere

I have a hunch that I have met them in the past, but for some reason I cant remember.

I dont recognize them all them ore since their hair and beards are freely growing out as well.

Elise, do you know them? (Wendelin)

Umm it looks like I have healed many of them before (Elise)

Elise, who healed in the royal capitals church since her childhood, has, generally speaking, a large, diverse circle of acquaintances.

There are also many people who are thankful for getting healed by her. That was also related to her nickname of Saint.

Elise-sama! Im Alexis who received the grace of getting healed by you in the past!

Saint-sama! I received your healing five years ago.

Dozens of men express their gratitudes with loud voices once they discover Elise.

We still cant give up on the possibility of it being a disguise, but many among them remembered Elise.

And, the two men, who came in front previously, call out to me.

Earl Baumeister, certainly I wont let you tell me that you forgot about me!

We will be in a bind if you forgot about us after thoroughly defeating us in the dispute.

Ah, yeah! The former Browig brothers! (Wendelin)

The two commanders were the elder brother Philip and the younger brother Christoph who opposed me in the dispute with the former Margrave Browig household and who have now become former members of the Browig household.

Seconds!

Me too!

The dirty, bandit-like group that surged into the field encampment were indeed the survivors of the royal army that broke through the middle of enemy territory.

After confirming for several hours whether they are spies of the rebel army for cautions sake, they are eating as if greedily devouring the food that was put out while forgetting their manners after they got accommodated, had their hair cut, their beards shaved and entered a bath.

The other soldiers were also in the middle of eating at another place.

You dont say, for the former Browig brothers to

Earl Baumeister, putting aside our past connection, please stop using that name.

Our current family name is Frhlich.

The brothers, who fell from being candidates for the next family head of a Margrave household to being retainer and family head of a nominal appointed Knight household in the capital, werent invited much to exchanges between fellow nobles and should work as government officials and military personnel due to the connections of Minister Edgar.

I see. You say you sent out troops in an attempt to get a territory by taking advantage of the civil war in the empire.

Earl Baumeister, it looks like you are misunderstanding something.

Right now we dont have the leeway allowing us to dispatch that many troops.

With Philip and Christoph pointing it out, I realize the fact that they shouldnt be able the send out military forces with the assets of these two.

Why are you together with the soldiers then?

They are from the Marquis Lger household.

Marquis Lger household?

Its a distinguished military family of appointed nobles, dear. (Elise)

Elise quietly tells me who cant recall the names of nobles well as usual.

Earl Baumeister, its great for Saint-dono to be your wife.

Philip turned an astonished expression towards me who doesnt remember the faces and names of nobles well.

I agree with that as well.

Lets get back on topic.

This Marquis Lger household appears to be famous for being anti-Empire diehards.

Im told that seven family heads had been killed in wars of the past.

That means their minds are filled with resentment towards the empire, but since more than two hundred years have already passed since the last person killed in a war with the empire, the actual state of their resentment is doubtful.

Currently, rather than calling it revenge, I think its an antithesis towards Earl Armstrongs household and Minister Edgar who belong to the ceasefire perseverance faction.

I knew this as well, but in reality, different from their appearances, these two households were in the moderate faction that wants to maintain the ceasefire.

They arent negligent towards preparing for war that might happen at any time, but I believe that they dont want to go to war if possible.

As for the true opinion of the armys top brass, I guess they are really reluctant about a war.

As Philip says, theres actually a trend of disliking war among the big-wigs of the army.

They can secure their current positions for a set number of years if theres no war. On the other hand, if they lose once it turns into a war, they will end up driven out from their positions after being forced to take responsibility.

The ones desiring a war are a part of the ambitious troops, or the Marquis Lger household thats currently disconnected from the main faction, I guess.

Additionally, the one who drove the Margrave Lger household into a corner is you, Earl Baumeister.

Me?

Christoph joins in on the talk and starts saying that Im the cause for the Marquis Lger household running wild.

Why me though?

Lately there has been a tendency towards disarmament. For the kingdoms government it was an obvious choice, but its only reasonable that the armys upper echelons dont find that amusing.

His Majesty was carrying out a gradual disarmament.

But, if the share of posts decreases, the military nobles will naturally express their dissatisfaction.

The future of that dissatisfaction changing radically into anti-Empire expedition doctrine also exists as possibility.

The one preventing that is me, is what Christoph is saying.

You dont understand? Its the Pangenia(T/N: probably spelling error: Palkenia)Grasslands and the Herthania Valley.

Since the number of places that need guards to keep up the public order increased, the budgets and posts of the military has substantially increased.

Given that their budget grew even without going to war with the empire, almost all military nobles returned to their former ceasefire faction.

Thats nothing the Marquis Lger household should be happy about.

Accordingly they apparently gathered the war advocates to a certain extent and proposed a troop dispatch plan to His Majesty.

Usually it would have ended with a rejection, but theres the suspension of communication and magic airship flight in the north and the whereabouts of the Friendship Visit Group are unknown.

No matter how much they inquired the empire about it, no satisfactory answer came.

If one considers the dignity of a state, it was a truth that they couldnt send out soldiers for the sake of checking the situation.

So?

With the Marquis Lger household taking the supreme command, an advance unit of 8.000 soldiers crossed the Gigantic Crevice.

It would have been great if they had tread carefully while quietly sending out reconnaissance units and adopting a wait-and-see stance, but the incompetent Marquis Lger split the army into units that occupied the cities and such they discovered through the reconnaissance and a unit to guard the rope-way.

It seems that they plundered joyfully with Marquis Lger himself standing at the head of the forces.

So you brothers worked hard at pillaging, huh?

You are quite blunt, Earl Baumeister. (Christoph)

Christophs eyes slanted upwards.

Considering the past connection between me and these brothers, its unlikely that they will be delighted to reunite with me in the far distant territory of the empire.

No matter how low he fell, Philip is still an appointed Knight. And I dont think that Christoph wants to abase himself in front of me either.

We joined the campaign on the order of Minister Edgar. I guess it was for the sake of babysitting the stupid Marquis Lger.

Which reminds, theres something I heard from Minister Edgar before.

He said that Philip is excellent as soldier.

The conditions are harsh, but if he does it skilfully and his achievements are big, its also possible for him to rise in peerage.

Even his little brother Christoph joined the campaign as military bureaucrat to obtain achievements.

With the circumstances being like this, we were suddenly considered a burden by Marquis Lger.

I dare say that Marquis Lger is quite incompetent. Once he saw our personal history, he probably felt very relieved for us to be below him.

Telling them You incompetent brothers who lost your family and territory protect the troop headquarters, he ordered them to standby at the headquarters in the rear while leading 500 soldiers of the royal army.

There was no other way but to call it irony that they were able to defend against Duke Nrnbergs night raid exactly because they were in the rear.

So, what about Marquis Lger?

He was apparently killed by Duke Nrnberg himself. The soldiers that ran away said so.

The mounted Duke Nrnberg apparently let the Marquis head fly into the sky with a flash of his own sword.

With the death of the supreme commander, the expeditionary force plunged into chaos.

Moreover the other three groups of nobles that split their forces to work hard at plundering became a target for thorough elimination.

We escaped north while picking up the survivors of the defeated army.

- End of Part 2 -

The southern ropeway was something crude that was built as temporary solution. It ended up getting destroyed by Duke Nrnberg right away.

Since its easy to estimate their escape route, the officers and men, who escaped to the ropeway, should have either been killed or taken prisoner, Philip explained.

Why did you escape north?

Thats because we were aware of the current state of the civil war in the empire. We wondered whether we would be able to somehow join up with the powers opposing the rebelling forces that are controlling the central government.

What about the move of setting up a ropeway somewhere along the Gigantic Crevice once again and use that to escape?

Who will affix the rope?

The rope of the ropeway that was affixed when they invaded into imperial territory in the beginning was apparently affixed by a valuable spy who cooperated with them.

But, the remnants of the defeated army on the empires side have no means to affix a rope on the kingdoms side.

Even if they tried to ask someone on the other side by making a racket, theres no one there. And, if they were noisy, the remnants would only notify the local residents of their existence.

Huh? So crossing the 1500 kilometers to the north was an unexpectedly good call?

I guess it worked out because communication through magic and magic tools was obstructed.

Philip, alongside Christoph, made the troops go north partly on instinct.

Picking up the remnants of the royal army along the way, they occasionally crushed small-scaled search parties and search parties led by local nobles.

Since the magicians belonging to the royal army carried food with them in their magic bags, they advanced on unpopular mountain roads as much as possible while stingily rationing out their food.

Discarding their armours and shields along the way since they bore the crest of the kingdom, they kidnapped local residents they found and had them act as guides when they lost their way.

It was a pity for the residents, but apparently they released them once their guidance ended after passing them a gold coin more or less.

We were saved from troubles thanks to the jamming of communication magic, you know? Without that, we would have been captured or annihilated on the way.

Looking at the slow movements of the rebel army, the rebels themselves apparently suffer from the jamming, too.

Well then, I wonder what we should do about you?

Oi, whats that about, Earl Baumeister?

It was a reunion on the distant, isolated imperial soil, but the other side was someone who has a past history with me. From the standpoint of the soldiers and nobles of the liberation army, theres no reason to welcome someone like the remnants of an enemy army, which invaded their own country under the cover of the civil wars turmoil, warmly.

To begin with, they are no allies. Although they are not directly attacking the liberation army, they likely harbour the sentiment to execute them on the spot since they are aggressors no matter how you look at them.

Even though our war is with the rebel army, you guys are invaders.

If we provided a timely help to them, theres the possibility that the nobles and soldiers would even resent us for doing so.

Currently we are having them eat a meal after putting them into baths, but there were many among the nobles and soldiers of the liberation army that are looking at them with cold eyes.

But arent you and the other people of the kingdom as well, Earl Baumeister?

Even so, although we were treated as mercenaries, we achieved distinguished war merits while belonging to the liberation army.

Having received a honorary peerage as well, we are getting accepted on the surface at least.

You guys treatment is troublesome.

You dont mean to say that you intend to abandon us?

Its troublesome because I cant do that

If I did that, it would then turn into an issue when I returned to the kingdom.

Even though they are people I dont like, I have to shelter them somehow.

Can I have you follow me once you finish your meal?

To a meeting with Her Excellency Duchess Philipp?

Correct. Therese-samas judgement will decide your treatment.

After I caught Doushi, who was hanging around nearby, we headed to Therese while taking the brothers along.

If you ask why Doushi was there; thats because this person, even though he may appear to be like this, is a highly celebrated person in the kingdom.

Hes treated as mercenary currently since his high social standing would be inopportune, but its odd that theres no feeling of him being out of place even when he normally joins in on the construction of the encampment or participates in the training together with the soldiers of the liberation army.

As for magicians, they have pretty much an image of being intellectuals, but Doushi is an extreme opposite of that, I guess. In spite of his ability being top-notch on the continent.

This was Burkhart-sans impression of Doushi.

Oh! Isnt that Earl Baumeister and the former Browig brothers who have fallen after getting tattered and defeated? (Armstrong)

The minute Doushi spots the brothers, he unleashes a comment towards them I wouldnt directly hurl at them.

Doushi, you dont go easy on them, do you?

I think theres no point even if I beautify my words. Its the truth after all.

Looking at it objectively, Doushi has a deep loyalty towards His Majesty.

For his words towards the brothers to be this bitter can probably be accredited to the fact of them sabotaging the kingdom.

Is it alright for us to not head to Duchess Philip-sama?

Apparently they couldnt say anything, even if they tried to talk back, since its the truth. Christoph uged us on to quickly go to Thereses location while having cramps on his face.

I suppose thats true as well. Lets hurry up then.

Once the four of us visit Therese, she greets the two with a smile while already being aware of the circumstances.

It looks like thee suffered various difficulties. However, to escape northwards was a bold idea, wasnt it?

Since magic airships dont work in the northern part of the kingdom either, a simple ropeway is indispensable for crossing the Gigantic Crevice.

However, you cant set that up easily owed to the width of the Gigantic Crevice.

The one that was used for the overlooked smuggling was cut by the rebel army. Even the one that was set up with troubles by Philip and the others cooperating with a spy staying in the empire has been cut a while ago.

At the time of escaping we were around 2.000. It would have been impossible to fix the ropeway while escaping the enemy armys search and then return with everyone by crossing the ropeway after that.

They apparently considered capitulation and honourable death as well, but they wanted to struggle to the bitter end if they had to die anyway.

There was only little information about the empires civil war we could procure on the kingdoms side, but we heard that theres a power opposing the rebel army in the north.

They might be able to fight after getting accepted once they link up with that power. If thats no good, they would all together choose a honourable death then. It seems that they kept going north with a do-or-die spirit.

Philip-dono is mine and Philip-donos name are the same. Even if theres a difference between thy family name and mine first name. However, thee seem to be an excellent commander.

Therese praised the ability of Philip as commander who broke through 1.500 kilometers of enemy territory while leading 1567 soldiers.

Certainly, thats not something anyone is able to accomplish, I think.

Considering that, it was a terrible downfall drama though.

Wendelin, thou are acrimonious, arent thou?

Im the victim after all.

A huge territory isnt something that can be easily controlled completely by a novice feudal lord and the next feudal lord. Philip-dono and Christoph-dono failed miserably concerning the results, but even for me that possibility was bound to exist. They have already received their punishment. This time they drew quite the short stick. Wendelin, dont tease them too much. (Therese)

An organization that gathers people is really complicated.

An organization thats pulled by a superior leader, who takes the initiative, will be fine at such time, but once that leader vanishes, it sometimes happens that those organizations fall apart immediately.

On the other hand, a leader, who advances things while regulating the opinions in the surroundings, wont be able to make important decisions and there will be times when they fail as well. Occasionally they will end up being half-assed even as they get accomplishments.

It was necessary to sometimes respect the opinions of the surroundings in order to prevent an organizations collapse.

Even so, since there are also patterns where organizations continue without falling into chaos when replacing their leader, one cant say which of them is correct.

In Thereses eyes it seems to be possible to have these brothers as allies as they are victims who failed after getting dragged along by the huge organization called Margrave Browig household.

Haa

Theres no guarantee that thy children or grandchildren wont do the same.

That will be their own responsibility, thus, if they dont have the ability, many people will be happy by them not becoming feudal lords.

Wendelin, thou are as bitter as ever. Well, past relations dont matter. Theres the issue of treatment towards Philip-dono and the others. For his social standing to be a soldier of the kingdom is unlucky. (Therese)

Even though its a civil war of the empire, soldiers of the kingdom will participate.

Moreover, since it will only be on the side of the liberation army, it will get harsh if The liberation army has betrayed the country to Helmut Kingdom! by the rebel army.

I will place the complete royal army group under Wendelins command and they will be treated as mercenaries. (Therese)

Im inexperienced in the command of armies

It shouldnt be possible for the inexperienced me to suddenly command more than 1500 soldiers.

Philip-dono exists for that sake. Leave it to him. I will be troubled if I cant have thou stay at my side, Wendelin. (Therese)

Once its the decisive battle, both sides magicians will exchange magic spells.

As it seems that there are also cases where one side suddenly lost due to their supreme commander getting blown away in an instant, if unlucky, Therese apparently wants to place us at her side.

This is definitely not because shes anxious about only herself. The liberation will fall apart right away once Therese dies.

Even Duke Nrnberg should place several high-ranking nobles at his side. (Therese)

High-ranking magicians, eh

Blatson and those four brothers were the greatest authorities at the court, but the number of intermediate-levelled magicians still runs deep. There are also unaffiliated, excellent magicians. Its possible that he will scout them by paying a large amount of money. (Therese)

We will have to aim for mutually killing magicians again.

It cant be helped as its for the sake of victory, but shes likely having a headache when considering the damage after the civil war since either are magicians of the empire.

Therese showed a bored expression.

The former royal army will be placed in my central army. They will be very useful as they are highly experienced and since they number 1500 soldiers, but I think theres no one who wants to receive their commands among the people of the empire. On the contrary, they might try to use and waste them. If they are under thy command, there will probably be only few unnecessary quarrels. (Therese)

Saying it like that is also called imposition though, I believe.

Thou will have an able commander and elite soldiers under thou. If thou are a noble, thou are to be capable of controlling them skilfully. (Therese)

Understood.

I cant refuse anyway. In worst case it will be fine to use them as shield.

Its an awful way of thinking, but since its a war, its wrong if one doesnt protect their own body by themselves.

Then, with this

Doushi and me take our leave from Therese while taking the brothers along.

In the end it has been decided that I will also act as commander of the royal army which will become one corps of the central army.

Even while being treated as mercenary, Im a staff officer and an imperial honorary noble. That resulted in me also leading the royal armys remnant soldiers who are likewise treated as mercenaries.

Entrusting the actual command to Philip, Christoph will be treated as second in command, staff officer and military official in charge of the miscellaneous matters related to the royal army.

Theres no doubt that they are hating me, but Id like them to deal with that somehow since they are adults.

Its Earl Baumeister-sama!

Doushi-sama has come as well!

We can still fight.

The royal armys soldier cheered loudly when they saw Doushi and me.

Even though they somehow managed to survive through the hardships, they were uneasy as this is enemy territory, but its probably reassuring for them since famous allies are here with them.

However, the biggest problem was the bad state of the relationship of the two brothers who act as commanders together with me.

By the way, about the matter of equipment

Given that the soldiers are anxious to make that public, Christoph has come to ask me, who is the top albeit only in name, politely.

Armour, huh?

If I remember correctly, you threw those away since they were equipment of the royal army, right?

Doushi sighed after looking at the soldiers with their shabby appearances.

Of course they didnt let go of their weapons, but they had discarded their shields and armours that bore the crest of the kingdom. All of them wore worn-out ordinary clothes.

Since they didnt wash their clothes or changed them in this month, their outfits are tattered.

There were some who are wearing some armour parts, but they seem to be soldiers and knights of feudal armies.

As the imperial army doesnt know the crests of the kingdoms nobles anyway, they are keeping them equipped.

Is it because they became shields with their low numbers?

Philip nods upon Doushis question.

They werent able to link up much with the escaping soldiers of the feudal armies. Their numbers are low as many of them died in action at the many occasions where they took the full brunt of the attacks since they have armours.

1500 armours and spare weapons are in dire need, Christoph explained.

Since that will cost money, he, who is in charge, is asking for my instructions.

New items are impossible, but there are quite a few plundered items that were repaired. I will talk with the one in charge.

That will be a help.

There are many items that had the crest of the empire, but seeing as they cant introduce themselves as soldiers of the kingdom either way, it wont be a problem.

I wondered whether he would say that he doesnt want those items since they are possessions of those died in action, but it doesnt seem like he feels much about that.

Maybe its a peculiar feeling of a Japanese.

Additionally, given that there are many who own nothing but the clothes on their back, underwear and clothes are required as well.

It was also necessary to secure tents for lodging.

The face of Christoph next to me became pale while calculating the expenses.

Somehow I understand his feelings.

But, a war is something that costs money anyway.

It will cost this much at the very least.

Im sure.

He had written down quite the high sum of money, but after confirming that theres no error in his calculation, I put my sign on it.

If you show that to the one in charge of supplies, it should be prepared. In order for it to not turn into a nuisance for his other tasks, accept it after checking the sizes. If you tell him the sizes of the underwear and such, he should put them out from the inventory. If you need anything else, theres no other choice but to buy them from merchants since they are organizing a market, I guess.

We have some money on us, but there are many soldiers who are penniless.

If its a mission within their country, close to all soldiers carry at least their wallet, but since it was an invasion into enemy territory, Philip and Christoph didnt possess anything but a small sum of general funds.

There were villages that sold food at agreeable prices during the escape, but it was a large sum of money for mediocre food.

There were also the remunerations to the guides, so it doesnt look like they have overly much money left now.

I will provide two gold coins per person to cover the costs for the equipment and other necessities. Keep a moderate level at letting some steam off and make sure to get their appearance in order so that I wont feel embarrassed at the time of the decisive battle.

Understood.

The merchants will accept gold coins from the kingdom.

As the gold content and weight is equal as in accordance with the treaty, we normally did our shopping with the kingdoms currency as well.

I pass the the share of money for the number of people to Christoph.

To the brothers I handed lots of gold coins for different items.

Earl Baumeister, dont spend money again.

Therese is stingy after all, you know?

The biggest weak point of the liberation army is its constant lack of money.

All the participating nobles are taking part in the war by covering their expenses and the rewards will be paid after the victory.

Since the supreme commander Therese isnt the empress yet, its not like this method is wrong by any means.

However, it would be necessary to hand out rewards with a little extra after the war.

Even I have lent a considerable amount of money until now.

Probably thats why Therese occasionally aims to pay with her body.

Im sorry in various ways.

Sorry.

The two apologized although they likely hate me.

I think they werent capable of doing something like this at the time when they were successor candidates of the Margrave Browig household, but they can lower their heads as excellent commanders.

Maybe the position and social status is more important that Im thinking.

But, you brothers are on unexpectedly good terms.

If you get ruined this far, you will end up tired from quarrelling as well

There are no retainers to instigate either, I guess.

If it had been only those two, that unproductive quarrel between brothers might not have happened.

Compared to that, they are normally doing their jobs without quarrelling now.

As thanks, please lend me Erwin, Earl Baumeister. That guy should become a good commander.

Philip suggested to teach his knowledge as commander, including his practical experience, to Erw by taking charge of him.

Erwin doesnt have the ability to calmly lead a large army while remaining in the rear as leader. But he should be naturally able to get used to skilfully move military forces of around 10.000 soldiers while working up a sweat himself at the frontline and a bit in the rear. If its guards for you, Earl Baumeister, we will send some over from our side.

Philip revealed his plan of training Erw as commander apprentice and not as my guard.

I guess hes trying to repay his debt of gratitude to me in his own way.

In that case, I think I shall request that of you.

I dont know how much of a commander he will become, but I will teach him as much as I can.

Thus it has been decided that Erw would be attached to Philip and be taught in practical manner in the ways of commanding an army.

It feels a bit sudden, but its a good chance, right?

Erw begins to study the commanding of an army together with Philip at his side.

Finishing the supply of new armours and weapons, the royal army that had its spirit restored and bought necessary items with the bonus they received, set up tents around our mansion and lodged in those.

Since they are a corps that treats me as its top, they settled with me in the centre.

If their equipment is in order, they are elites, huh?

If you exclude the part of remaining soldiers of feudal armies, they are soldiers of the royal army who usually kept training. I think that will make it easy for Erwin-san to move them, too.

Given that they cant call themselves royal army as is, they are currently treated as mercenary army under my command.

Once 1500 people work as one corps, it will eternally keep generating a large amount of documents from that moment onwards. Christoph dealt with those at a staggering speed.

Erw, I cant leave Therese-donos side. Please command the royal army group by aptly cooperating with Philip-dono.

I guess I will manage somehow since Philip-dono will be with me.

Erw-san, I will help, too.

Haruka volunteered to assist Erw.

Shes a beautiful woman, isnt she? Is she your fiance, Erwin?

Yes, correct.

I see. Doesnt she resemble Karla a bit?

Oi

Nii-san, As one would expect, thats

Even though it would have been fine if he had introduced himself harmlessly here, Philip ends up prattling about something unnecessary.

Even Christoph warned his elder brother while frowning.

Erw-san, Karla-san is? (Haruka)

Err (Erwin)

Erw clouded his words since he didnt want to tell her that she was the woman that rejected him after he fell in love with her before due to his obstinacy as man.

However, that behaviour aroused Harukas suspicion in reverse.

Erw-san, are there any other fiances? (Haruka)

Of course not.

Even in this world theres a fixed number of jealous women, but theres a tendency to call it disgraceful if the wives of nobles show it publicly.

Even if other fiances exist, shes only asking because of the issue of hierarchy and the conditions of her wedded life.

Thats how it should be at least, but our faces turn pale due to the threatening, dark aura that can be felt behind Haruka for the first time.

If he provokes her, the current Erw wont be able to win against her katana.

And, that person also reacted due to the possibility of Erw being unfaithful.

Erwin! You are neglecting my cute sister to have an affair!?

At the same time as the wind stirred like a gale, Takeomi-san drew his katana and pressed its tip against Erws nape in an instant.

Even though hes an expert to begin with, he apparently becomes even stronger where his sister is concerned.

I have heard that you are a single, but concealing the existence of lovers and fiances besides our Haruka is dishonest, isnt it? Normally you mention that ahead of time, right!?

Takeomi-san! You are losing your temper a bit too much!

Carried away by his agitation, Takeomi-san ends up moving the katana tip that was pressed against Erws neck. A little bit of blood trickled down from Erws nape.

Philip-dono.

Nii-san, take responsibility by explaining

I feel sorry for letting it slip, but whats wrong with this man?

Philip was surprised by Takeomi-san who suddenly drew his katana and pressed it against Erws nape.

Hes probably all the more surprised since he knew about Erws skill in swordsmanship.

Swordsman of Earl Mizuho Country, Takeomi Fujibayashi.

Hes someone that will become my brother-in-law.

I see. Somehow it looks complicated

Given that, Philip explained Karlas circumstances after that, Takeomi-san finally withdrew his katana.

So thats how it was, huh?

Haruka showed a relieved expression, but all of us perceived it.

Shes an unexpectedly jealous person which means that Erw wont be able to womanize or fool around anymore.

My condolences. (Burkhart)

Burkhart-san consoles Erw by placing his hand on Erws shoulder.

Burkhart-san, you havent gone to such establishment once after getting married, right? Theres the rumour that you are being dominated by your wife

Thats an irresponsible rumour, okay? Even married, Im still a free man.

Even married you are serving as employee of the Margrave Breithilde household. As such you arent that much of a free man.

Dont talk about it as if its somebody elses problem. Even you, Erw-boy, wont go on in the same manner as before once you marry, you know!?

For some reason the two started a stupid quarrel, but I think they should rather consider their surroundings a bit more while making such statements.

Once I casually looked at Haruka, the threatening, dark aura returned behind her.

Erw-san, are you saying that you are frequently going to such establishments?

No. Theres no way for that to be true.

He denied it frantically, but it looks like Haruka couldnt believe him.

Erw-san, we will become a married couple. To hide secrets from each other isnt agreeable.

Excuse me! No I definitely dont go there! Im different from Burkhart-san!

I dont go either!

At the same time as saying that, Haruka forces him to spill the beans that there was something.

No one could speak up due to Erws overwhelming pitifulness.

Only Burkhart-san insisted on his innocence, but people apparently change once they marry.

If it was during his time as bachelor, he would have calmly told stories about how he went to play in the red-light district.

I got completely dragged into the quarrel. Philip-dono, you are cruel, you know? Just because you were dropped and chased away by your younger sister.

Karla cooperated on all fronts by maneuvering to ruin her elder brothers for the sake of gaining her own freedom.

Probably shes resented by those two due to that.

Earl Baumeister, nii-san doesnt know, but I dont bear a grudge towards Karla anymore.

At first he apparently considered her as ungrateful and terrible sister, but once he fell into a position that resembled that of Karla, he grasped Karlas suffering well.

Its because she was used while not receiving any favours from the Browig family. I suppose that even I used her. Using her quick wits for nothing but the chance to crush us, shes now gratefully accepting a modest life without any complaints. That means our downfall was karma.

It appears that he received a letter recently.

It looks like she will live out her life as wife of an archery instructor of the Margrave Holmer household. She said that she felt regretful for setting up various schemes for that sake. Even regarding this aspect, we cant say anything since its our incompetence to be blamed.

Christoph, even I dont have any particular intention to say this or that against Karla anymore. But, rather than that, I think that I will face forward in the direction of receiving a reward by obtaining achievements here.

Though the matter of that reward led to me being mucked about by my fiance thanks to you, Philip-dono

Earl Baumeister, theres nothing to worry.

How come?

A good commander is also excellent even if led by others. Even Erwin will be immediately able to become a man that is skilfully led by his wife.

I feel like thats a very high-handed pet theory

There were strange troubles, but the royal army got their necessities of life arranged and started training from the next day.

As practice, Erw has been entrusted with a unit of 100 soldiers, which apparently puts him into distress due to the unfamiliar task.

This time it will be fine with you getting a touch for it.

This time?

Correct. I believe theres no time. Its uncertain whether the conclusion will take place this month, but the decisive battle is close.

While watching the unit that hes commanding, Philip estimated that the decisive battle with Duke Nrnberg will be soon.

He should be finishing the arrest and killing of the royal armys survivors. Therefore, its not that far away anymore.

Three days after Philip prophesied that, a huge rebel army that seemed to blanket the Great Sorbid Wastelands showed up, just as he had predicted.

For the first time after the coup detat, the two supreme commanders will directly clash against each other.

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