Altina the Sword Princess

Three days ahead of schedule, Ferdinand reported that the project was completed.

And then passed out.

Regis rushed over in a panic:

【Mr Ferdinand?!】

Eric who was kneeling on one knee beside him opened his eyes wide too.

【He’s asleep?!】

【… Well, he had been pulling all nighters.】

【Then let him have a good rest.】

【Can that thing shoot normally?】

Uwah! Ferdinand opened his eyes:

【Of course!】

【Ah, you’re awake.】

【What are you talking about? I didn’t sleep at all. Ah, Sir Strategist, come take a look.】

Eric looked horrified:

【Why are you denying that you slept?】

【… He probably isn’t denying it, he just didn’t notice. He probably passed out on his feet after working the entire night.】

【Uwahhh…】

His body should be overburdened now, but Ferdinand was still fleet on his feet.

【Ahh, what great weather. It’s a good day to fire cannons!】

【… Yes.】

After that, Regis asked Eric to call Altina over.

The Belgarian Empire basecamp—

There were four houses built in a row.

Each house was about 5 minutes walk apart.

Aside from Regis, there were a lot guards here. The engineers who erected that contraptions were also looking from afar.

And then, Eric brought Altina over.

【So it’s completed?!】

【… Yes. Mr Ferdinand completed ahead of schedule.】

【It was a rush job, but we erected it perfectly!】

【Thank you!】

【………… Ah, I’m so happy!】

He lost conscious momentarily.

Altina pulled away a little:

【Erm… Regis? Is Ferdinand such an emotional person?】

【… It’s because he didn’t sleep.】

Uwah, the other staff officers also gathered.

Jerome walked over with a yawn. There wasn’t any battle for the past twenty days, so he had a relaxed time. It’s great that he wasn’t holding a wine bottle in hand, but he still unbuttoned the collar of his uniform.

【Oh… What’s all this scrap metal?】

【Those aren’t scrap metals. How can you be so unkempt in the presence of the Généralissime?!】

The deputy Marion buttoned Jerome’s uniform properly. However, she wasn’t wearing armour today.

The knight commander of the Black Knights, Holger, and knight commander of the Flying Sparrow Knights, Abidal Evra, were also here.

As the commander of the infantry, Balasko, was responsible for the defences of the basecamp, he led the patrol personally.

The mercenaries from 《Renard Pendu》 weren’t here. After all, they didn’t like crowds.

However, their strategist Jessica seemed unexpectedly curious, and was observing from a distance.

Ferdinand waved a red flag.

The engineers in the small houses saluted, and carried out the final phase of the project.

Regis looked from a spot slightly behind the house. As there were rope barriers, he didn’t go closer.

Altina tilted her head:

【Can’t we go closer to take a look?】

【… According to their calculations, it will be dangerous to go any closer.】

【Ehh?】

【… If there is an explosion, it isn’t safe at this distance either. But if we are too far away, we won’t be able to see anything at all.】

【Is that so?】

A voice came from the house:

【Unleashed—!!】

The wooden walls fell in all four directions.

A cannon appeared.

It wasn’t a normal cannon. It was ten times bigger than a normal one, so big that you would need to look up at it.

【Woaahh!!】 Cheers erupted from the crowd.

Regis clenched his fist.

【… Yes.】

Jerome stopped his yawn, and suddenly hooked Regis’ neck from behind:

【Hey, Regis! What’s that?!】

【Ughh… I-It’s a cannon.】

【I know! But why is it so big?!】

【This is a ultra long range cannon, the 《120 siege cannon》. As you can see, it’s too large to transport by land, and can’t be fitted onto a warship either.】

【I never imagined that you brought that thing here!】

【… Strictly speaking, what was brought here was the dismantled moulds, blast furnace, fuel, steel and other materials. As explained, it was too big to transport by itself, and breaking it into parts would lower it’s durability, so we couldn’t do that. So we need the preliminary job of removing impurities from the iron ore, then poured the molten iron into the mould to make it.】

Aside from the barrel, the smaller parts were transported here after making it in a workshop.

Jerome asked excitedly:

【Can it fire?!】

【Of course. We made a prototype in the suburbs of Sembione, and the range reached 3 Li (13km).】

If not, they wouldn’t have manufactured it at this spot.

However, according to their research, the shot would be affected by the wind, temperature, humidity, the earth rotation and magnetic field.

After being transported through the road with constant humid sea breeze, would the quality of the gunpowder be affected?

Could it perform as well as the prototype?

They built four cannons this time.

They were built some distance apart to prevent an explosion from one of them from causing secondary explosion in the other cannons.

Ferdinand turned back:

【Sir Strategist… this is a historical moment. May we fire?】

【… Your Highness.】

Altina nodded.

【In the Hispania capital of Cantanal, aside from the Emperor Amador Haulnelaz Othello and 60,000 soldiers, there are also more than 100,000 civilians. If we use this giant cannon to its full capacity, it would probably cause a lot of casualty to the citizens. Even so, I’m determined to win this war. I believe Belgaria Empire’s victory will lead the world towards peace. So—】

She lift a hand and swung it down:

【— Fire!!】

Ferdinand waved a red flag.

【Fire!】

The gunner laying prone to the ground pulled the rope hanging from the cannon.

The cannon secured to the ground boomed.

A powerful shockwave spread out.

Even the tough soldiers screamed, and well trained warhorses neighed.

The barrel that had three times the diameter of a normal cannon shot out a burst of flame.

A flame so red that it was almost white.

Which emitted a large amount of smoke.

The payload shot through the fire and black smoke.

The giant payload from the humongous barrel flew into the blue sky at incredible speed.

As they were quite far from the capital, the barrel was angled up, so the payload drew an arc through the sky.

It fell beyond the horizon.

Smoke came up from there.

Shortly after, a “thud” came from there.

— Did it hit the target?

The soldiers started getting rowdy.

Ferdinand raised both his hands high.

【It worked ahhh!!】

The engineers cheered when they saw the shot fired off successfully, just like the prototype.

The wind and the angle probably caused the flame to spread further than their experiment did. It even caused a small fire.

One of the tents of the troopers were lit, and a group on firemen on duty rushed over.

The horses ran off after being spooked, and the stablehands quickly ran after them.

The cannoneer who was extremely close to the cannon fainted from the shockwave, and the medics brought him away.

Altina looked at this terrible sight with a grim face:

【…Regis, is this a failure?】

【No no no… It’s a success. There are some damages, but this is a very fruitful experiment.】

【We are at war right now!? Did the shot landed?!】

【… We will only know if the shot was on target a while later.】

【Ehh?!】

【We built a tall watchtower, but the shot landed 3 Li (13km) away, that is beyond the horizon.】

【Ahh… That’s true.】

【The observation team are hiding somewhere in between, a rider should be rushing back with the results. From where the shot landed, we will have the information needed to adjust the next shots— like I explained during the naval battle, the cannons first shot is for observation, the second shot will land closer, and the third shot will hit. That is the minimum standard for artillery… Our target this time is a city, so I hope the second shot will be on target.】

Before the observation results come in, they needed to clean out the cannon. Firing one round would produce a massive amount of soot and mess up the cannon’s position.

If there were any cracks in the barrel, they wouldn’t be able to fire the next shot.

After climbing up the still hot cannon and inspecting the various parts, Ferdinand made a circle gesture with both hands.

It seemed that the barrel was still serviceable.

Altina asked:

【When can we fire again?】

【… Wait for the barrel to cool, and the people to reload the gunpowder and payload, all that would take an hour.】

【Ehhh?!】

【Well… That’s really fast you know? Compared to the 《Lucia Rocket》 in 《Calun’s Adventures》, this is much quicker. That rocket can only fire every two hours.】

【Is it really fine for you to compare this to a story book?!】

【… You are only saying that now? Ah, the other cannon is ready.】

Regis pointed to another cannon.

After inspecting the cannon that just fired, Ferdinand wiped his sweat and stood at attention.

He already received the order from Altina, so he didn’t need to wait anymore,

He waved the flag.

【Fire—!!】

This time, the gunner hid behind a shield before pulling the rope.

The shockwave spread again.

The second shot was launched out through the thick smoke.

A giant shot drew a similar arc in the sky.

The cannon over there was operated by another team of engineer, and they cheered “Cannon two, cowabunga!!”

Altina had a complicated expression.

【Hmm… If this made the enemy surrender, I will feel as happy as attending a festival.】

【I feel the same.】

For the weapons though, it might feel like a pity to not be of use.

When the third cannon was fired, the observation data of the first shot arrived.

Ferdinand pumped his fist into the air.

【The first shot was on target! It hit Cantanal!】

Wahh! Not just the engineers, all the troops started to cheer.

Jerome curled his lips in a smile.

【Fufufu… How the tables have turned. Those Hispanian retards have to come out of their hole now. Alright, prepare for battle! The enemy has more numbers than us, so brace yourself!】

【W-Why do you look so happy…?】

Marion asked with a green face.

Jerome clenched his fists.

【Retard. We are here to slaughter the enemy. The killing will finally start, so of course I will be happy!】

【If there is a battle, you might die too…】

【Hah! If there is someone that good, I will welcome it. Coming all the way here won’t be a wasted trip then. Only if someone who can trade blows with me show up.】

During this 20 days, aside from the pioneers, the other soldiers were all idling.

The Belgarian basecamp was already fenced up and surrounded by war trenches, the defences were just like a fort.

When the first few shots landed, the Hispania Empire still didn’t know what was happening.

Explosions happened in the marketplace and civilian houses, there was even a fire.

They thought it was just an accident in the beginning, but there were reports of loud cannon sound from the Belgaria camp, and multiple eye witness accounts of shots flying from their side, and they reached a conclusion.

They were being bombarded.

Night—

An emergency war council was held.

This was the first time Freij knew of the Emperor attending a council after dinner.

Mariam wasn’t summoned this time.

There wasn’t time for even that. That was how urgent the situation was.

The Captain General reported:

【The Belgarian army prepared a gargantuan cannon that has a range of 2 league (11km).】

All the staff officers suck in a breath of cold air.

Freij showed a bitter expression:

—Mariam’s judgement came true.

The enemy prepared a weapon to break the stalemate.

And they concealed this cannon when they attacked Fort Bassetti. Freij felt ashamed to have lost to an enemy that was holding back.

The Captain General continued:

【According to scout reports, there are four gargantuan cannons in the middle of the Belgarian camp. They have many procedures to take before firing, and could only fire once every hour.】

Phew… Everyone breathed out in relief.

【But if that is so…】

【If things goes well for them, they can fire 50 shots at us. Aside from its range, the impact is powerful too.】

The Captain General pointed out the short sightedness of the staff officers.

As the battle gets worse, the commander will tend to underestimate the enemy.

Freij nodded:

【Maybe the number of cannons will increase too.】

The staff officers’ faces glommed immediately.

They clearly didn’t want to think about this any more, but wasn’t this obvious?

The Captain General must have thought about this question too.

【It appears that the Belgarian army used the blast furnace to make the cannons. I don’t know how much supplies they actually have, but we have to consider the possibility that they will make more cannons.】

A young officer stood up from his chair with a start:

【Let’s attack! It is definitely not God’s will for us to watch idly while the capital burns!】

【That’s right! And we have a larger force than them!】

The other young ones let their blood got into their heads too.

Freij didn’t say it out loud, but he was regretting being put on the back foot strategically.

— Rather then leaving the capital to fight now, they should have cut off the enemy’s supply line while they were stalled in Fort Bassetti instead.

Even attacking the Belgarians when they just reach the capital would be a better option.

Back then, the enemy was exhausted after fighting and travelling for more than half a month.

But now, they had sufficient rest and erected the defences of their camps.

They were ready for an attack.

No, the enemy only used their humongous cannon trump card after they were ready.

A battle they could win by defending the fort had now changed, leaving them no choice but to attack the enemy.

Another officer raised his hand.

【E-Erm… Our sea route is still open… And the enemy’s cannons can’t be move… So…】

【So, what are you trying to say?】

Urged by the Captain General, that officer squeezed out meekly:

【We can move to another stronghold… What do you think, Sir?】

That wasn’t a bad proposal— Freij thought.

If Cantanal wasn’t a holy site.

As expected, the officer who raised this suggestion was lectured fiercely for not understanding the importance of religion.

Freij could empathize with him, but there were some battles they couldn’t run from.

Maybe someone could think of a better reason after seeing their inevitable defeat, and convince the Emperor to leave…

But their army was 60,000 strong.

The Belgarians only had 40,000.

More importantly, if the enemy soldier came near the walls, the naval fleet would fire upon them.

There was no way to win— only a minority thought that.

The Captain General lowered his head and asked:

【I humbly propose that we attack. What are your thoughts, Your Majesty?】

Everyone looked at the silent Emperor Amador.

He nodded lightly.

【I will permit it. Robbing the lives of our devout believers without using blades is the work of the devil. Purge the heretics.】

【Yes Milord! We will protect the peace of Your Majesty and the capital!】

Not just the Captain General, all the staff officers stood up and saluted.

All the officers moved to another room to discuss the details of the battle.

It was time for the Emperor to turn in.

Freij reached into his coat.

In his pocket was a piece of paper Mariam gave him before he left his house.

『Belgaria’s has finished setting up their base’s perimeters, and their defences are all set. Their rifles and infantry are both better than ours, there is no way we can win in a straight up fight. You must never leave the capital for an all out battle.』

The next day—

Altina pointed:

【They are here, Regis!】

The enemy forces emptied out from Cantanal. The Hispanian had decided to fight on the plains.

Regis called for a messenger.

【… Ready the artillery.】

Understood! The soldier rode off on a horse.

Since this was a straight up battle, the basic strategy had already been decided.

They would cut down the enemy numbers from long range with their medium sized cannons.

When they drew closer, the riflemen will shoot volleys at them.

Once they start to charge, the heavy infantry will switch out the front ranks. After bearing the brunt of the charge, the riflemen in the second rank will open fire.

That was the gist of the plan.

Shortly after, a report came in:

【The Hispania forces are 60,000 strong! Their cavalry is leading the way!】

【… I see. We will stick to our plans, open fire when they get into range.】

【Yes Sir!】

After watching the messenger ran off, Altina muttered:

【Is this normal?】

【… Yes. The enemy thinks we can’t win with just cannons and riflemen. So they decided to charge with the cavalry to stop the effectiveness of the riflemen, then crush us with their superior numbers— the 《120 Siege Cannon》 couldn’t be moved after all, so we can’t adopt any special formation.】

【Isn’t that a flaw?】

【Not at all… We spent all that effort to build that cannon to lure out them out. We won’t be crushed by their forces. It seems that the commander of the Hispanian army still doesn’t understand the power of the rifle. This is our victory.】

【You are really confident.】

【… Please don’t worry.】

【But you looked a little uneasy?】

Regis touched himself. In the face.

He still felt uneasy at the sight of 60,000 enemy soldiers marching his way.

【… Well, there’s something that bothered me.】

【What is it?】

After hearing her question, Regis organized his thoughts and answered:

【… The enemy escaped spectacularly from Fort Bassetti. They should have an amazing strategist.】

【Is that so?】

He didn’t tell Altina the name of Mariam Louis Jiménez.

【But they didn’t harrass us even once when we were erecting the 《120 Siege Cannon》. And the tactics for this battle is surprisingly normal… As if they didn’t have any plan.】

Attempting to nullify the effectiveness of the riflemen with a cavalry charge was too naive.

【Even with an excellent strategist, that person might not be in command of their entire forces, right?】

【… That might be so. Maybe he got demoted after losing Fort Bassetti.】

He heard that girl was the daughter of the fort commander.

Maybe they lost the internal power struggle after losing that fort— Regis thought.

Altina said jokingly:

【If they ran this time too, wouldn’t this be an easy victory?】

【… No it won’t.】

Ehh, she looked confused.

【It won’t? If the enemy fled, we can take Cantanal easily, right?】

【Even if that happens, the war will continue. For example, if the Belgaria Empire’s capital Versailles fell, but Emperor Latreille is still alive, what will the soldiers do?】

【Reorganize and take back the capital! Who cares about Latreille!?】

【… My example was bad.】

Right now, the Belgarian Empire had a Généralissime.

Leaving the feeling of the citizens aside for now, she held a symbolic position in the military.

Regis rephrased:

【… Not just for Belgaria… The empire will only lose if the Emperor surrenders to an enemy nation while he is still alive. When the Emperor gives the edict to stop further resistance, their government will then dissolve.】

There were other possibilities, such as the Emperor being killed by an enemy soldier or committing suicide, which might lead to the collapse of the Empire. But that was dependent on how the war was going.

If their fighting strength and command structure remained intact, even if the Emperor died, the Empire could still stand.

Altina pondered and said:

【Oh, that means Regis wants to take the Hispanian Emperor alive?】

— Take alive.

Leaving her phrasing aside, her meaning was spot on.

Regis scratched his face:

【… Well, it will be problematic if the Emperor escaped. It is still too early for them to abandon Cantanal so easily, since they had to save face.】

【Hmm.】

【Do you know about traps used to catch foxes? They are concealed, and delicious bait is used to lure them in.】

【Regis, have you ever trapped a fox before?】

【… I read it in a book.】

The cannons boomed.

When the Hispanian army reached a certain distance, the Belgarian army started their bombardment.

The enemy cavalry started charging at the same time.

The fact that they were vanguards meant the calvary wasn’t weak.

Their speed could rival the knight corps from the Belgaria First Army or the Germanian Federation’s cavalry.

The figure of them charging in full plate armour on a horse befit the ruler of the battlefield.

However, this thinking was outdated.

The fence around the camp stopped the cavalry charge. The makeshift fence could be trampled by the cavalry, but it was enought to slow them down.

【Fire!!】

On the command of the riflemen commander, the guns started shooting.

Countless bullets drilled small holes in the sturdy steel plate armour.

【Ehh?!】

【Ahh?!】

Their voices were muffled, and some didn’t even make any sound—

The cavalry fell one after another.

Another report came to Regis:

【We have decimated the enemy’s 2,000 cavalry!】

【… Yes.】

This was the obvious outcome of 2,000 cavalry charging 2,000 riflemen.

With equal numbers, and fences and traps, riflemen could stop a cavalry charge.

War had changed.

It was a cold way of saying it, but if we think of soldiers as money…

The knights needed to be trained from young, and taught swords, spears, bows and horsemanship. They would also need full plate armour, lances and all other equipment. Raising a war horse that wasn’t afraid of gunshots cost more than the life earning of a commoner.

Raising a knight that could fight on the battlefield would take the money that life earning of ten peasants— People often said that.

On the other hand, including the material cost, a rifle cost just one piece of gold. That was half a year income for a peasant.

Even a conscript would be serviceable with three months of training.

The strategy of the Hispanian army was a failure from the start.

They wanted to stop the riflemen with their cavalry before pressing in with their infantry… But before the infantry begin to charge, the cavalry got wiped out.

Even so, the enemy didn’t falter.

Regis pulled back the 2,000 riflemen, and switched in a fresh group of 2,000 riflemen.

There were 6,000 riflemen, and another 4,000 in training.

Even High Brittania didn’t have an army of 10,000 riflemen. In this continent, only the First and Fourth army would have such a unit.

A hail of bullets that the Hispania army never imagined rained down on their soldiers.

The Belgarian had the overwhelming advantage.

However, the enemy was still a 60,000 strong army.

After the battlefield was filled with corpses, they were finally entering melee combat.

Regis issued the order:

【Riflemen fall back, heavy infantry switch in. Tell the Black Knights and Flying Sparrow Knights— When the enemy’s second rank start to veer apart, the knights should attack that weak spot.】

After switching out the front ranks, the infantry from both sides started fighting.

This was the first hand to hand combat in the invasion of the Hispania Empire.

Unlike the Hispania army that battled primarily on the sea, the Belgarian army always fought on land,

The difference in the quality of the troops begun to show.

The Hispaniards pushed the Belgarians back with the momentum of their initial charge, but the battle line held fast.

The Hispanian forces that were planning to surround their opponents by using their superior numbers were thwarted by the two Belgarian knight corps.

Regis exhaled in relief:

【… We held the line.】

Altina’s expression darkened:

【The troops movement had dulled.】

【… Is that so? As expected, they had accumulated a lot of fatigue from the long campaign.】

【They had grown dull because there wasn’t any battles. They reacted after thinking about it, and are already slower by one breath’s time.】

She said angrily.

【… Well, we can’t train on the march, or conduct battle exercises in the battlefield.】

They did inspect the tidiness of the unit’s formation though.

Altina clapped her hands:

【We need to train from now on! The rifles gave us an advantage, but our melee battle became a mess.】

【… I will think about it.】

Even though there had been several battles, Regis never thought their infantry’s movement would turn dull.

He didn’t expect such a problem to arise after the riflemen got stronger.

As Regis couldn’t wield swords or pikes himself, it was difficult for him to see the conditions of the soldiers.

Even now, his only thoughts on seeing them battle were “Everyone is so amazing.”

Altina finally drew her sword.

Schwing! It sliced through the air. Her escort Eric opened his eyes wide from her sudden movement.

Altina yelled:

【That’s terrible!】

— She was acting just like her master, Lord Baltasar.

Regis was troubled.

He had to stop her from running to the front lines.

Imperial Year 851, December 31st—

The Belgaria Empire won the battle that was fought on the last day of the year.

The Hispania army attacked with their entire army of 60,000, they didn’t achieve the result they wanted. They switched formation three times, but their attack was completely thwarted by the enemy, increasing the losses.

When the Captain General ordered a retreat, they lost almost 20,000 men.

Blood seeped through the bandages.

Freij said in agony:

【…Mariam … If I die, you must live on freely. I’m not wealthy, but I still have some money, Even a small noble is fine, if he is a good man… Find a man… Who will treat you well like a normal girl…】

Mariam frowned troubledly.

She wrapped the bandage and pulled tight.

Freij’s face scowled:

【That hurts! Be more gentle.】

She sighed, and wrote with her pen that was on the table.

『Dear Father, a flesh wound on your arm won’t kill you.』

【No no no, it is deep enough to hit my bones, right?】

『There are no bones in such a shallow spot. There’s plenty of meat though.』

【Plenty of meat… Hey, I’m not fat, right? Right? Hey Mariam, this is a serious question.】

『Instead of that, tell me about the battle.』

She took out a map of the nearby terrain, and placed red and white chess pieces on top of it.

Freij sighed.

— Look how happy she looks.

She definitely saw a real battlefield before, but she wasn’t afraid at all. She was completely in her elements.

Her grandfather would look lively when he talked about things related to war too.

Was it because of her blood line? She couldn’t help sighing.

Freij sat down and started shifting the pieces.

【We advance this way, and when we were trying to attack like this, we were blocked…】

『Retarded.』

【Is that so? I think this is normal.】

『At the very least, use a night raid or attack in rainy weather.』

【Don’t say that. This is the first time we commanded a 60,000 strong army.】

It would be hard to see if the unit was moving correctly in the dark, or if anyone had fallen behind. If it rained heavily, the sound of the rain would drown out the voice of the commander.

They wouldn’t be able to manage a large scale battle.

『This requires training. Just mustering all the troops is useless. After all, these thousands of soldiers couldn’t move together as one.』

【I know, but it can’t be helped. When Belgaria attacked, we never thought we would need to gather a massive army of 60,000.】

【?!】

Wait— She grabbed Freij’s hand.

【What?】

『Why did you move that piece?』

The piece in question was the cavalry of the Belgarian army.

【Why… That’s what happened. I was watching from behind, so I remembered it all. This is correct.】

Upon her urging, he continued the next moves. This time, he moved a Hispania piece.

The strange thing was, the order seemed to be reversed.

But Freij was sure that was the right order.

Before the soldiers from his army moved, the enemy already seized a better position.

The enemy was already prepared to charge. In that case, they would be taken out one at a time even if they had the advantage in numbers.

【I guess we are just unlucky.】

『Dear Father, did you hit your head when you fell off your horse?』

【I didn’t fall off my horse! I was just grazed by a ricochet.】

『The enemy commander predicted the movements of the Hispania army.』

【What?!】

『I could basically predict the same too. On the surface, the Hispania commander choosing to attack the heart of the enemy isn’t wrong, but this is actually the trap the enemy set intentionally. All the weak points in the enemy’s base are all a trap they prepared ahead of time.』

【It can’t be… How is that possible?】

『Intentionally showing holes in their defences, and shoring them up when our side makes a move.』

【… Was their next move the same thing?】

『Yes. The Belgarian strategist should be that Regis. If the commander was him, then he is a really timid man. He seemed very afraid of the enemy not moving according to his script.』

【Timid? That strategist?】

『And the Hispania army that followed the script of that strategist flawlessly are too kind.』

【Don’t say that. Everyone fought to protect the capital with their lives on the line. We are not wooden chess pieces.】

Ughh, Mariam turned stiff.

She then dropped her shoulders:

『I’m sorry.』

Freij scratched his head:

【Well, those who fell while fighting for god would be summoned before Him, and be liberated from the shackles of labour. They are feasting in heaven ahead of us.】

【……】

【By the way, I carried out the scheme you mentioned last time. I chose some men from their faces. If it works, we will receive a signal tonight.】

『You are amazing, dear Father.』

【Hmmp, you finally notice.】

『As expected of my son.』

【Hey, stop that!】

Was she possessed by her grandfather, who was also Freij’s father?— Freij was worried about that, and such a joke was very scary.

Mariam smiled.

She only looks like a teenage girl when she smiles. It felt a little eerie since she couldn’t speak, but Freij had gotten used to her.

She then reverted back to her calm face:

『The plan has been executed. Can we find the enemy’s weak spot with that? The next step is important.』

【Ahh, well… I think… I should report this to His Majesty.】

『I will let Father make the decision.』

The next morning—

The war meeting in the palace was like a funeral.

After prettying up the draft several times, the report said the inflicted losses on the enemy was 10,000, and their losses was about 10,000, an even match.

However, the truth was 3,000 enemy casualties and 20,000 friendly casualties.

Their advantage in numbers was gone, and they were now even with the enemy.

On top of that, they lost their precious heavy cavalry.

Captain General said stiffly:

【… Also… The Belgaria army’s Généralissime call for our surrender.】

They want us to admit our defeat.

After finishing his report, the Captain General stood stiffly there like a statue and didn’t sit down.

The Emperor was so quiet that he might as well be asleep.

The other officers also waited with bated breath, as if they were on the verge of suffocating to death.

Explosion from the distance could be heard every now and then in this silence.

Belgaria was stll bombarding this city with their gigantic cannon. It might hit the palace one day. Even their war room wasn’t safe.

Freij raised his hand.

【Erm…】

Everyone looked surprised.

The atmosphere was heavy, but Freij couldn’t change track and say 【No, it’s nothing.】

He mustered his courage and said:

【Actually, I carried out a scheme during the battle yesterday.】

【What?!】

The Captain General who was the commander didn’t feel that keeping him in the dark was a praiseworthy act.

However, the Emperor silenced the place with a raised hand.

【Alright, explain the details.】

【… Tch.】

The Captain General sat down in deference.

Since the Emperor bade him to continue, Freij couldn’t sit now. He said:

【Ehh… I picked some subordinates who looked like Belgarians, and made them wear the enemy equipment we seized and infiltrate into the enemy ranks during the chaos of battle.】

The Emperor narrowed his eyes:

【Oh?】

【Some time ago, when the enemy attacked Fort Bassetti, we captured some enemy soldiers, that’s where we got their equipment from. We also interrogated them for the enemy’s passcode, so they won’t be exposed that easily.】

A password would only be known to allies, used to identify friendly soldiers, and prevent the enemy from infiltrating.

Seeing that everyone was listening quietly, Freij continued:

【Well… I ordered them to find a chance to sabotage those huge cannons, so we won’t need to be so anxious about attacking them.】

【Very good.】

Freij said frantically in response to the Emperor’s compliment:

【My deepest thanks… However, the enemy is also wary of such sabotage too. So we need to create a chance for them.】

【……】

Seeing everyone urging him in silence, he carried on speaking.

Freij wasn’t sure if this plan would aggravate them, and felt his heart racing:

【Well… This is a plan that will incite panic in the Belgarian army without risking our forces… And… That is to poison the lake.】

Not just the Emperor, even the Captain General sitting beside him opened his eyes wide.

【What did you say?!】

【Ah, no, it’s just a suggestion! An idea!】

Freij waved his hands in a panic.

The faces of the other officers also turned gloomy. The lake near Cantanal was important to the citizens, the water source that nurtured the prosperity of the Hispanian Empire.

It was taken over by Belgaria Empire as a base camp, but the orchard there was famous, and every Cantanal resident has eaten that fruit before. It was the taste of their home.

If they poisoned it, who knows how many years it would take before it reverted back to normal.

【Granted.】

The one who said that was the Emperor.

Even the staff officers couldn’t conceal their surprise.

The Captain General said with trembling words.

【E-Erm… Your Majesty… Poisoning the lake? But, if that happens…】

【The Belgarians are heretics, what’s there to hesitate?】

Everyone gasped, but no one dare refute the Emperor.

Everyone stood and bowed deeply:

【We are honoured by your edict. We will expel the enemy out of our sacred land.】

The Emperor placed his right hand on the holy seal:

【May His will be done.】

Freij felt a chill down his spine.

The Emperor prepared to leave.

At this moment— He remembered something and stopped, before turning to Freij:

【I want to ask something.】

【Huh?! Yes, Your Majesty!】

The sudden question threw Freij in a panic.

【The plan to infiltrate the enemy and poison the lake… Did you came up with them?】

【Ughh…】

These were all Mariam’s ideas, of course.

But these plans were too despicable.

If he said his daughter’s name, that would be akin to pushing all the responsibility onto her.

If he claim to be one who came up with it, then he would be a father who took his daughter’s merit for his own.

Sweat covered Freij’s brows.

【… This is a revelation from God.】

【Oh?】

【… When I was praying, I heard the revelation from God.】

The Emperor nodded slightly three times.

【If that is so, then this is the right plan.】

【I am very thankful!】

Freij bowed deeply. The Emperor then left the room.

The Captain General facepalmed himself.

【Ahh, this is really…】

All the officers cast accusatory gazes at Freij, but he was already resolved for that.

He muttered:

【… I don’t like doing this either. If we won the battle yesterday, then I won’t need to speak about this plan either.】

Everyone lowered their heads upon hearing that.

Three days after the battle.

The Belgarian army continued their long ranged bombardment of Cantanal.

After dinner—

Clarice brought a fresh flask of water for Regis’ tent.

【The water from the lake smells a little, so I added something to mask the smell.】

【Is that so? Thank you.】

【There are more and more people who have stomach upsets. Please take care of your health, Sir Regis.】

【I understand.】

Speaking of which, Regis felt a little hot yesterday.

Was it because of fatigue?

When Clarice was about to leave the tent, another woman came in.

She was the strategist of 《Renard Pendu》— Jessica.

The two ladies looked at each other, and there seemed to be sparks in the air.

However, Clarice dislike speaking with others, and left quietly with a bow.

Jessica laughed softly.

【How scary.】

【… What’s the matter?】

【I’m thinking that it is almost time for the Hispania Empire to give their reply.】

【We have been sending them demands for surrender, but they didn’t answer.】

【Are the bombardment ineffective?】

Jessica tilted her head.

Regis refute that:

【According to spy reports, it dealt heavy damage to the enemy. Many citizens wants to leave the capital.】

Their sea routes were still open, so they could leave via ships.

【That’s true. If it was me, I would have fled.】

【The Hispania Emperor prohibited the citizens from sailing out to sea.】

【Ara.】

【… The Hispania Army suffered heavy losses in the battle some days ago, but they still had 40,000 soldiers. The citizens will need to keep working to maintain the forces. They would need cooks, laundromats, doctors, barbers, musicians…】

【It would be great if the Belgarian army have such people with us too.】

【Yes, it will keep morale up.】

They took turns to cook and do laundry. There were doctors traveling with the army, but their hair were cut by each other with knives.

Jessica nodded:

【And they had not revolt yet, as expected of a religious country.】

【Their tolerance for suffering is very high.】

【Will the Emperor run away by himself?】

【… They haven’t been pushed that far. Even if they did run, it will be pointless without an army. If they move 10,000 or more troops, we would notice easily.】

When she heard what Regis said, she put a finger on her lips.

【Is that so… That’s the reason why you let the enemy forces off?】

【Ehh?! No, not at all.】

【If it was you, you could have destroyed the enemy forces in the last battle, right?】

【… I don’t want to see such a horrible scene.】

20,000 corpses were terrible enough.

This wasn’t just a problem with numbers though…

But he didn’t dare imagine having 60,000 corpses littering the battlefield.

Regis continued:

【… It’s true that I didn’t want to see such a scene, but we didn’t let them go meaninglessly either.】

【That’s good then.】

Jessica poured water from the flask into a cup.

And moved it to her lips.

【Hmm?】

【… What’s wrong?】

【This water…?】

【Oh, Clarice said the lake water smells, and added something to make it fragrant.】

【Did you do anything to the maid that caused her to bear a personal grudge against you?】

【Ehh?!】

Jessica put the cup on the table.

【You better check this out… No, it’s probably too late.】

【… What do you mean?】

At this moment, someone ran into the tent.

It was the female doctor:

【Sir Strategist! It’s terrible! A lot of soldiers are down…!!】

【What?!】

Regis wanted to stand up.

But his knees buckled, and he keeled over.

【Ehh…?】

When Regis even realized it, he was already on the floor.

The female doctor shouted:

【Sir Strategist!】

【Auric!】

Jessica also yelled.

Dinner started churning from his stomach.

The intense pain made the world seem red.

And then, came the sound of a large explosion.

It sounded similar to the cannon fire of the 《120 Siege Cannon》, but it was definitely different.

This noise happened four consecutive times.

It was rowdy outside the tent.

Regis tried to open his eyes.

【Ugghhh…】

【Pull yourself together, Sir Strategist!】

【Vomit it out! It will help keep you alive!】

The female doctor and Jessica knelt beside him.

Regis reached out his hand:

【… Hurry… Check if Altina is safe.】

Intermission

The girl watched the morning sun from a balcony.

Her blonde hair shone under the golden light, making her look like a goddess that descended from heaven.

Her name right now was Elise Archibald.

【Bastian, don’t make that face.】

Elise will be going to the south today. She will be following the Fourth Army south, and then make her way back to the High Brittania Kingdom.

Heinrich Trois Bastian de Belgaria was the younger brother of the current Emperor. He couldn’t stay freely by her side anymore.

The youth rubbed his eyes:

【M-My face isn’t weird!】

【Fufu… A smile still suits you the best.】

【Elise, you must take care of yourself, alright? Don’t push yourself too hard!】

【That’s what I want to tell you. Bastian, don’t be too reckless, okay?】

【I will try…】

【Your martial skills are strong, but if you keep depending on that, it will fail you one day.】

Bastian scratched his head:

【I know. Professeur Bourgine also tells me that. So in the end, you are still lecturing me, huh.】

Elise tilted her head:

【Do you want to talk about something else?】

【Ah, no… well, that’s fine too.】

【What do you want to talk about then? I’m curious.】

Bastian felt his cheeks burning up:

【It’s nothing.】

Elise turned flushed too.

【You are making me embarrassed too.】

【W-Why?!】

【…Bastian, we will definitely meet again.】

She reached out her right hand.

After hesitating for a moment, Bastian took her slender hand with his rugged right hand.

【Yes, we will…】

【I hope you can become the person you aspire to be.】

【Elise too, you must succeed, okay?】

【I won’t fail. I have help from you and so many people. I can’t fail again.】

【I want to continue helping you too…】

The two of them let go of their hands at the same time.

【You have your obligations too. I don’t want to get in your way.】

【Well, I still have to write the most amazing masterpiece in the future too.】

【I’m not expecting much though.】

【No no no, it’s an adventure chronicle that will definitely make you laugh.】

【Fufu…】

It was almost time.

After exhaling, Bastian put his hands on his waist.

【Let’s have breakfast. Professeur Bourgine should be up now… I feel sad that this will be the last time I can eat Elise’s bad cooking…】

【!】

Elise suddenly hugged Bastian tightly.

With her arms around him.

【Bastian… Bastian… Bastian…】

【Ah, erm, huh…?!】

【Boo… hoo…】

【Elise……?】

【I thought about it many, many times. To forget about my country and keep staying with you…】

【You…】

Tears swelled out from Elise’s eyes.

Bastian was at a loss:

【Me too. I thought about taking you with me and running to some other country.】

【……】

【But...】

Elise nodded:

【Yes. I know. I have the expectation of many people on my shoulders.】

【We can’t let them down.】

She nodded again.

And then closed his eyes.

【But, at least for now… Bastian… can you listen to my wilful request?】

【Ahh… erm… yeah.】

Bastian hugged Elise back.

Then bent his body and slowly drew near her lips.

And pressed his own lips on top of hers.

Bang! He felt a sharp pain in his head.

【That hurts?!】

When Bastian jumped up, he realized he was in his own bed.

Standing beside him was Elise— Or rather, someone that somewhat resembled Elise.

She was Franziska.

When he first met her, she was wearing light armour and wielding a crossbow. A mercenary from the renowned 《Renard Pendu》.

But right now, she was wearing an apron and holding a frying pan.

【How long are you going to sleep, Bastian?!】

He dreamt the same thing again.

It was memories of the day he parted with Elise. Even though it had been several months.

Bastian sighed, and nursed his temple.

【Don’t hit me with a frying pan.】

【It’s your fault for not getting up.】

【It can’t be helped… I was reading late into the night.】

【Professeur Bourgine is waiting you in the dining room.】

【Really?! She’s going to scold me again!】

Bastian jumped off his bed and started stripping.

Franziska started blushing.

【R-Retard! Why are you stripping all of a sudden?!】

【How can I change without taking off my clothes?!】

【Can’t you see there is a maiden here!?】

【Huh? Where? Ah, hey, stop that! The frying pan really hurts!】

Five minutes later—

Bastian rubbed his head as he rushed to the table for breakfast.

There was a lot of sausages and pickled cabbages on the table.

【It’s the same thing again.】

Bourgine who sat opposite him said with an awkward smile:

【After the High Brittania cooking, it’s Germanian food this time huh. How luxurious.】

Franziska poked at the pickled cabbages with a red face.

【It taste nice, right? I hope you won’t compare this to High Brittania cooking.】

【Well, the taste isn’t bad though.】

But it’s the same dish every day… Bastian grumbled in his heart.

Bourgine asked:

【Bastian, are you going on a trip today?】

【Yes, I already planned it all out. I will be meeting with the western nobles in Rouen city. I will be back at night.】

【It will be great if they concur with you.】

【That’s right.】

Franziska shrugged:

【It can’t be help. I will go with you.】

【But why? It might be dangerous.】

【Bastian, I’m not sure if you can wear your formal attire by yourself.】

【Of course I can.】

【Even men need to put on makeup.】

【Really—?!】

She pouted:

【B-Because you helped me so much… So I want to help you too! And I don’t have the money to repay you.】

【Well, it’s fine…】

Bastian’s grandfather was a Marquis, and Bastian was the younger brother of the Emperor. He had the money to spare.

【I can help you in other ways, so you can concentrate on your goal.】

Haha, he laughed wryly and said:

【Thank you, I will be in your care then.】

【Right!】

Franziska gave a firm nod.

Bastian clenched his fist:

【Since there are so many people supporting me, I have to work hard too.】

【I don’t really get it, but do your best!】

【No no no… I already said this a lot of time right?】

【I think you did—】

Seeing that Franziska still didn’t understand, Bastian said:

【I want to set up a parliament in the Belgaria Empire.】