105 - - 第百五话 新たなる火种と突然の来访者
Not only that, the scent carried by the north wind was not reminiscent of spring, but that of iron. And there was also the smell of blood. It was easy to imagine what kind of group they were.
At the top of a small hill, this army stopped on foot. One of the cavalrymen at the head of the group suddenly takes off his helmet. His beautiful blond hair is fluttering in the wind.
"That\'s it..."
That giant tombstone. I\'m sure of it."
The cavalryman next to him replies in a muttered voice.
"Let\'s go first. There\'s a good chance we\'ll be attacked. Everyone, proceed with caution.
"If we hold that area, the only thing we have to watch out for is the west side. We must hold them at all costs.
With this conversation going on, the army slowly made its way down the hill.
"Is it true that the Lamarong Empire has finally moved its army?"
"Yes, a week ago, apparently. They say that the army is advancing at breakneck speed and is approaching the royal capital.
Such is the conversation among the nobles of the Heedata Empire. For the first time in several years, a temporary session of the House of Lords had convened.
The extraordinary House of Nobles is convened in the event of invasions, disasters, epidemics, and other national events, and has been convened recently since the fall of the previous emperor. The nobles are, in any case, hell-eaters. They spend their days and nights gathering information to prevent their houses from being disadvantaged and to find anything that might be beneficial to them. The House of Lords, where all the nobles gather, is the perfect place for them to exchange information.
For some reason, I am attending such a meeting. Or perhaps it would be more appropriate to say that I am watching. I am watching this meeting from a gap in the curtains behind the throne where the emperor sits.
The meeting was very simple and consisted of two main things.
The first was the birth of a legitimate son to His Majesty the Emperor. The second was that the Lamaronic Empire, which is located in the south of the empire, had advanced its army to the north and attacked the empire\'s neighboring countries. The Empire is considering how to respond to the situation and if they send out their army, they will inform each house of their role in the matter. That was the end.
The meeting ended with a quickness that was almost too quick. His Majesty comes down from his throne.
"This is only a public event. This is just a public event. I want you to attend.
"I\'m going to attend?"
I\'d like to ask you for a favor. Lamar\'s army has invaded the kingdom of Juka.
"In the kingdom of Juka..."
That country has been in a state of civil war since the coming of the Great Demon King. While we were waiting to see how things would turn out, Ramallon started to make his move.
The Heedata Empire, the Kingdom of Juka, and the Lamarong Empire have often fought each other in the past because they are major powers, but in recent decades they have maintained a fine military balance and kept the equilibrium. On the contrary, the Kingdom of Juca has been gradually encroaching on the territory of the Lamarong Kingdom, thanks to the leadership of General Kargi.
At first, when the Imperial Palace heard that the Lamarong Empire had moved its army, everyone in the Empire thought that they were trying to regain their lost ground, but they unexpectedly continued their march northward and are now approaching the old royal castle of the Jukha Kingdom.
If the Juca Kingdom is swallowed up by the Lamaron Empire, the empire will be poked in the side. In addition, our ally Niza would also be in danger. This was something that could not be overlooked.
"Lord Linos is from the Jukka territory. He is the son of Juka. I thought it only right that he should attend this meeting."
Thank you very much.
I have no feelings for the kingdom itself, but the capital is filled with many precious memories of living with Erza, Master Falco, and Eril and the others. I\'m the one who destroyed it, but I don\'t feel good that someone else stepped in and ruined it. I am grateful for His Majesty\'s concern for my delicate feelings.
His Majesty took me to a room I had never seen before.
In addition to His Majesty, the commanders of the various armies were present, as well as the Prime Minister and Prince Weiras. In short, this was the "Imperial Council" that decided whether or not to go to war.
"Now, I would like to hear your thoughts. Speak frankly."
From these words of His Majesty\'s, the commanders of the various military units expressed their opinions. One of them said, "If the Lamarong Empire has advanced its army, let\'s advance south at once. No, no, it is better to wait and see.
"Hm, we can\'t come to a consensus on this. Then what is your opinion, brother-in-law?
Suddenly His Majesty turns to me. The two commanders of the army looked at me with a look of obvious displeasure.
"How big was the army that invaded the kingdom of Juka?"
"Probably about 3,000."
The Prime Minister answers immediately. As expected, he seems to have all the information.
"So, how many troops do you have in the home country of the Lamarong Empire?
About 200,000.
The problem is...
The commander of the southern army interrupts me and opens his mouth.
"To get to Juca, we must go along the border of Lamarong. There are 50,000 troops tightly packed there. First we have to drive them out. And even if we defeat Lamaron\'s army in Juka, we will have to fight against the 150,000 main army that will come from the south. So, if we move our army this time, we will have to invade with almost all of the empire\'s forces!"
"I told you that would make the Empire less defensible!"
"Then you\'re just going to stand by and watch with your fingers crossed!"
"..."
In the end, the discussion returned to its original point. Then came a long period of silence. I quietly break the silence.
"...Excuse me, Prime Minister, but how many troops do you have in the southern army?"
"We have 50,000 men each in the north, west, east, south ... and the Imperial Capital Defense Force.
"Then give us the 50,000 for the defense of the capital! And if we gather mercenaries from the nobility and combine them with our southern army, we will have 150,000 ... if not 150,000, then 120,000 or 130,000. We may be outnumbered, but we cannot win."
"Can we win with such a hodgepodge army? They have an army of 150,000 well-trained men and women, remember?"
You\'ll never know unless you try!
If we are defeated, the empire may be destroyed!
"... My lords, enough. We will not get a better plan than what we have now. You\'ve all done well. Go home and rest. And tomorrow night we\'ll have another strategy meeting.
With a single word from His Majesty the Emperor\'s crane, the Imperial Conference was adjourned.
"Well, we\'ve got a big problem. I\'ll think of a strategy for now.
After that exchange with Prince Vilas, I was finally released from the meeting.
It was midnight when I left the castle. My head was spinning as I rode the Ilimo back to my house. On the way back to the mansion, I was using the wings of the Ilimo when suddenly the Ilimo stopped in the sky.
"Master, I think we have a stranded man.
Looking down, I saw a hooded wizard-like figure lying on the ground, with another hooded figure frantically caring for him.
"We can\'t just leave him like this, so let\'s go downstairs for the time being.
"Soleil! Soleil! Get up! Please! Wake up!"
It\'s a woman\'s voice. She is frantically calling out to a fallen person called Soleil.
"Are you okay?"
"Oh... oh... oh... oh..."
The guy who was yelling sees me and starts backing away for some reason. He looks scared.
I know from experience that no amount of words can clear up a misunderstanding in this case, so I go over to the fallen guy and cast a recovery spell on him anyway. But there is no response.
"Water? Are you hungry?"
I give him a lunch box from the infinite storage and water by magic, and also make hot water for him.
"Here, let\'s see how it goes, shall we?
With that I got back on the Ilimo and headed back to the house.
"Linos, Linos, please wake up. Please wake up.
Rico\'s voice wakes me up. By the way, I ate a meal right after I came home last night, took a bath, and went straight to bed. Oh, I\'m sorry. I thought I had overslept... but when I opened my eyes, I found a fully dressed Rico at my bedside. d*mn... I missed Rico\'s beautiful appearance today... I suppress my frustration and get up from the bed.
Please get dressed quickly. You have a visitor."
"Guest? Who is it?"
"A messenger from the kingdom of Juka."
"The Kingdom of Juka?"
With a strange feeling of unease in my heart, I change my clothes and head for the reception room. There they were, the two hooded men I had seen last night.