BXBX NOVEL 139 - - Art. 139. Fighting Is Over... But The Work Is Not Finished.
Those were the words that came out of my mouth. Indeed, there were so many carts left that it could only be described as such.
"King, what should we do with all this food?
One of my men asks. I frown.
"Don\'t be that king. Linos is fine. But we can\'t take this back to the capital. Well, it\'s food the Lamarons took from the people. Let\'s give it back to them."
I write on a piece of paper I had brought with me.
He had his men copy it down and sent it to the lords with Sadakichi and the other faerie dragons. They prepared several dozen letters and ordered them to be scattered in the vicinity of the lords\' mansions, in case they were not delivered directly to them.
Meanwhile, Lafayence and his men were very efficient in capturing the fallen Lamarons. After the capture, they found that there were nearly 2,000 seriously wounded or slightly wounded. Especially the seriously wounded, I had to be sent to heal them. By the way, the number of casualties on the Lamaron side was a little more than 1,000.
I locked the disarmed POWs in the ward and dug a big hole in the meadow with earth magic. I instructed my soldiers to bury the dead there. While I was doing this, I ordered the soldiers to prepare a late lunch.
Lunch was to be a kind of barbecue. We started with the leftover grilled rice balls for breakfast, and then grilled more and more meat and vegetables. Soon, a delicious smell wafted through the air. I order the ones who are free to eat first. I looked at the POWs, and saw that they were clinging to their wards and watching the barbecue. I go over to them.
"What are you guys, hungry?"
The soldiers nodded their heads.
"Hey, guys! Let these guys have some food!"
Under a clear blue sky, the rain of the morning had cleared away, and the barbecue party began.
When we had finished eating and were taking a rest, one of the lords who had been deprived of food arrived with dozens of men. Then the lords came one after another to claim their food.
The lords responded in different ways. Some were very high-handed and tried to rip us off and take our food back, others were blunt and unobtrusive, and the most common were the ones who made excuses and gave me a bunch of sycophants.
"No, that\'s our king. I knew you would defeat Ramalon\'s army. We wanted to take a shot at him too, but we had to give the credit to the king. We dared to overlook them. I was right!"
As you can imagine, I had to laugh at that. There are idiots everywhere, but I really felt sorry for those who serve such a lord.
I was disgusted by the three different attitudes of the lords and told them all the same thing.
"First of all, you are not qualified to be a lord. First of all, you are not qualified to be a lord, because you have failed to protect your people. This is the result of your greed and self-preservation. I don\'t think you can protect them in the future. You\'ve proven yourself incapable of it. Don\'t tell me you were careless or that it was a ruse. This time it just so happened that my men noticed and were able to save the day. Normally you and your people would have starved. The people are the most pitiful of all. For their goodness, I will return what was taken from them this time. Think carefully about what you are going to do now. There will be no next time.
The lords all looked at me with hatred, and returned to their own lands with the surplus of food in their hands.
As the sun was setting, Count Saracenia, whose territory is at the far end of Agartha, arrived.
"...Is time running out already? ... .
No, just Linos. Welcome, Count Saracenia. The food they took is there. You can take it back with you."
Count Saracenia stares at the cart full of food. Then he sighs loudly.
"I was about to let my people... starve."
"Oh, yes."
"I have fallen for the enemy\'s childish sweet talk... My king... my lord Linos... Saracenia Jahem, I thank you for what you\'ve done.
"Oh, no need to thank me. But there will be no next time. But there will be no next time. A lord who can\'t feed his people is a man who can\'t do a hundred good things.
Count Saracenia looked me in the eye for a moment, then returned with his men to his estate with food.
Lafayence comes to my side as I see him off.
"Mister Linos, why don\'t you go back to your house for the rest of the day?"
But, General...
"We\'ll camp here tonight. You will be safe here tonight with this ward of yours, Lord Rinos. The warding stones I gave the soldiers will last two more days. We will have no problems until tomorrow morning when we take the prisoners back to the capital. I\'m sure your wife will miss you."
The old general winks at me.
"But there are so many prisoners of war, aren\'t there? Are you all right?"
"Don\'t worry. We have enough food to feed the prisoners. Besides, it will be good training for the soldiers. It\'s not often that we have such a good training opportunity to send more POWs than our own troops.
The old general looks at his soldiers with a happy face.
"I understand. I will take your word for it. Please don\'t force the soldiers to work too hard.
"Yes, I know!"
I step over to Ilimo and call out to the soldiers.
"You guys! I\'m going back to the capital first. The rest of you will follow General Lafayence\'s orders. You did a great job today! See you in the capital!"
With that, I drove Ilimo.
When the soldiers are out of sight, I dismount from Ilimo and set up a transfer link to the palace in the capital. When I moved to the backyard of the mansion, I found Rico there.
"Linos!"
When he saw me, he suddenly jumped into my chest. Ilimo, perhaps sensing this, walked alone toward the stable.
"What\'s wrong, Rico?"
"...I had a scary dream."
"A dream?"
I replied, patting Rico on the back. Rico was shaking.
"I dreamt that in the battle... the ward of Rinos was broken... and Rinos was killed."
"I see. That was a scary dream. Don\'t worry. I\'m alive. I made it back alive, just like I promised, Rico."
Rico looks up from my chest and gazes into my face.
"You really are Linos, aren\'t you? You\'re Linos, aren\'t you?"
Rico mumbles, touching my face and body.
"I\'m okay. I\'ve got legs, too, you know?"
"The feet... what does the feet have to do with anything? I knew it. It\'s Linos.
Rico lets out a giggle. Oh, man, she\'s really cute.
I enter the house with Rico. Dinner had just been laid out in the dining room, a fish dish specially prepared by Peris.
"Welcome home, master!
"Welcome home! Master!"
"Master! Welcome home!"
They greet me with their mouths. And then Mei comes up behind us.
"Welcome home, master."
"I\'m home, Mei."
"Master Rico has been restless all morning, pacing back and forth between rooms in Agartha. When he came back to the house, he went back and forth between the backyard and the house, worried about his master. I am so glad that he is back safe and sound.
"Oh, I\'m sorry I worried you. ...What\'s the matter Rico? You don\'t look so good. Are you okay?"
"Because... I had such a scary dream..."
"Well, let\'s have dinner. Wow, that looks delicious! That\'s what I\'m talking about, Perlis! Let\'s eat before it gets cold!"
After making sure everyone is seated, I open my mouth.
"We were able to win this battle with almost no damage. It is also thanks to all of you. I thank you. Let\'s eat!
""""""Itadakimasu! """"""
Everyone enjoys a meal together. The usual scene of a dinner was there.