Volume 9 Chapter 6 (1/2)

Jozu Fortress was a small fort between Apta and Birac that also served as a relay base for air carriers. Three hundred soldiers were permanently stationed there. Their composition was a hundred regular soldiers dispatched from the urban districts and two hundred reservists recruited from the local population.

The fortress had only recently been built. Taúlia's attack on Apta had revealed a problem: that, for a border defence fortress, Apta was a little too far from any other base. Accordingly, while expanding the air carrier relay base that lay in the direction of Birac, a cl.u.s.ter of buildings allowing soldiers to be in permanent residence were also built there. The one who had attended to these constructions was Kalgan, an administrative official from Apta.

Normally, it was a place that never had the slightest disturbance and where the only gunshots to be heard were from soldiers who sometimes hunted in the nearby forest. These last few days however, it had been wrapped in an unusually tense atmosphere. This was because there was some suspicion about what was going on in Apta.

First was when a large number of soldiers pa.s.sed through Jozu on their way to Birac and Solon. They were the mercenary troop that Odyne had dissolved as well as soldiers stationed at Apta. The next day, Nabarl, one of the twelve generals, and his Blue Dome Division travelled through Jozu.

Upon being asked, they said that -

”The crown prince has returned.”

It was not a story that Walt, the battalion commander in charge of Jozu Fortress, could easily believe. It was simply suspicious. He also had a premonition that things would not end peacefully.

”Get a s.h.i.+p ready for me, would you?” When Nabarl had been stopping at Jozu Fortress, he had wanted the means to return quickly to Solon.

”It would be difficult for me to do so,” Walt had obstinately declined. It was not that he was looking down on the upstart general. If it had to be said, his own origins were those of a gladiator. It was simply that he was a man devoted to his duty. ”This fortress' role is to send soldiers to Apta or to Birac in case of need, or to take in fleeing troops. There is no knowing if we won't need to transfer a large group all at once to one of the towns, and in any event, the s.h.i.+ps are for use in emergencies.”

”You are defying an order from one of the twelve generals?”

”I am not your subordinate. If you want a s.h.i.+p, please go as far as Birac. You should be able to appeal for one directly from Lord Fedom.”

Nabarl's face had flushed scarlet and he had headed to Birac, spewing invectives as he went.

”So is it true what they say about how he was beaten by Taúlia?” Asked one of Walt's men as he watched from a fortress window while the column of Nabarl's troops galloped away.

”Probably. But the part about Lord Gil Mephius having returned beggars belief.”

”Then there's that rumour that Generals Saian and Lorgo are plotting treason. They might be sending us an advance unit from Birac, no?”

”Treason,” Walt stroked his plump face, ”considering their personalities, I find that even harder to believe than the Prince's return. On top of that, no matter how you look at it, the soldiers currently in Apta don't even make up two thousand. What could they even do with those numbers… Be that as it may, all s.h.i.+ps are to stand by on maximum alert. Don't relax your vigilance when it comes to the area around Apta.”

”Aye.”

Walt was in his late thirties. Both his face and body were plump, so much so that when he wore full armour, he looked like a poorly-made doll for children, but although the soldiers might be expected to disdain him because of it, he was actually very popular.

He was also very skilled. Ten years earlier, he had won the Gladiatorial Champions.h.i.+p in Solon. He had then been appointed as a regular soldier and had seen service in any number of battlefields during the war against Garbera. On one of those however, he had been shot in the face. Walt had fainted but, miraculously, the bullet had crossed through his right cheek and had exited out of his left. Afterwards, when he regained consciousness, he had to evade enemies lurking along the mountain and only received proper treatment ten days later, when he had made it back to Solon.

As a result, both his cheeks were now constantly swollen, giving him a decidedly humorous appearance. Although he could not go so far as to say that he had originally been handsome, he lamented over the fact that, as a warrior, he had previously had a reasonably impressive face; which might have been why he indulged in binge eating while under medical care, resulting in him ending up with a plump physique.

Whereupon, his popularity actually increased. Personality could be influenced by appearance, but in this case, it was perhaps that his had been concealed beneath a warrior's harsh exterior. Strangely, people would gather around him, including n.o.bles, whom he had not previously had much to do with and who now invited him and called out to him at b.a.l.l.s, dinner parties, and the like.

Even after he returned to the battlefield, Walt's distinctiveness won him fame among friend and foe alike. He was idolized by the soldiers, loved by his commanders, achieved some military gains and, three months earlier, he had been entrusted with the newly-built Jozu Fortress.

Since the surrounding villages and marketplaces were under Apta's jurisdiction, he had neither the authority nor the revenue of a feudal lord but he was still quite successful for someone who had risen from being a gladiator.

At the fortress also, he was very popular with the soldiers. His orders were promptly and thoroughly put into practice.

And then, about ten days after Nabarl had pa.s.sed through Jozu, there was a report that a large force had been dispatched from Solon to Birac, and the level of tension increased all the more.

Around the same time, the net of airs.h.i.+ps spread out in the direction of Apta hurriedly returned. When he received their report, Walt's narrow eyes went wide. Even the a.s.sembled soldiers were visibly shaken.

”W-What should we do, Commander?”

”We can neither ignore it nor turn him away,” Walt pondered for a while. ”Then we may as well let him in. Whatever the cause, let's be grateful for being blessed with the chance to see his face.”

Walt had never met the crown prince of Mephius in person. At most, he had only seen him from a distance in Solon.

If this was an imposter, there was a very close resemblance. Nor was it only his appearance: Walt felt that his boldness at having suddenly shown up at Jozu Fortress with only a few attendants and his subsequent dignified demeanour were not things that just anyone would be able to imitate overnight.

Gil Mephius.

Without any prior warning, he had suddenly knocked on the gates of Jozu Fortress.

”I am honoured to meet you. I cannot express my delight at being able to behold the crown prince's n.o.ble visage even in such a remote and backwards place.”

”Yeah, but this place really has nothing going for it, huh?” His legs folded one over the other, Gil faced Walt with an impudent expression.

From the upper reaches of the fortress, they could look down on the surrounding forest. Once night fell, all four sides would be enveloped in darkness. Despite it being a newly constructed fort, merchants did not gather there nor did prost.i.tutes flock towards it, so there was no entertainment whatsoever. It seemed that the soldiers stationed here must need considerable fort.i.tude.

When Gil Mephius pointed this out, Walt answered him conscientiously -

”I give the soldiers leave once every ten days in s.h.i.+fts. Most of them go to Birac and spend their time there as they please. Although, as Birac it is a trade city in which people from all over Mephius congregate, I occasionally dig into my own funds and invite a troupe of entertainers here.”

Even as he answered, he was harbouring doubts.

For all that he says there's nothing here, what kind of business brought him then?

The Prince only had about fifteen attendants with him. Being that they were brawny, they were possibly his Imperial Guards, rumoured to have been promoted from being sword slaves, but given that they were lightly armed and so few in number, they could not possibly be planning to take over the fortress.

Hmmm - while Walt maintained a calm expression, inside he was hopelessly torn. The man in front of him was perhaps going to cause Mephius to be split in two. If he captured him now, should he send him to Solon? No, first should be a messenger to Birac. From there, they could perhaps contact Solon and await orders from His Majesty?

Walt had not yet received official notification from Birac. The natural course would have been for Lord Fedom to have sent his instructions once the troops led by Folker Baran had arrived, yet no messenger had come.

While Walt was thus conflicted -

”I wanted to see the new fortress with my own eyes. Also, I felt that I should personally see the soldiers. Since it's close to Apta, there will often be all sorts of instructions to send. It will be an advantage in those cases if the soldiers know my face and if I know theirs.”

”Aye”

Gil Mephius glanced towards Walt, who was maintaining a respectful att.i.tude. And then, as he swatted away an insect that had flown in front of him with one hand, ”I'm thinking of staying here for a while,” he lightly said something utterly astounding.

Not even Walt could repress his emotions and he raised his head with a jerk.

”S-Stay?”

”Is that somehow inconvenient?”

”No… But…”

”To tell you the truth,” Gil cupped his hand around his mouth as though imparting a secret, ”the Garberan princess went to the west and hindered Mephius' invasion. You've heard of that, right?”

”There is something of a rumour, but…” Walt also lowered his voice and chose his words carefully.

”I have a slightly hard time handling that. Nothing could be more embarra.s.sing than handing my fiancée over to His Majesty like I've been told to, but at the same time, I don't know what kind of punishment Father will hand down to me if I openly defy him.”

What!?

Walt was both disgusted and furious with the man before him. He was going to split the country for nothing more than saving his own face. At the same time though, it had become increasingly difficult to ascertain whether or not this was the crown prince since he had brought up the matter of the Garberan princess.

I don't know. If he's an impostor, why are two of the twelve generals following him and even his fiancée the princess seems to be standing on his side. Or else, is it a plot against Mephius that the princess herself set up? No, there's no way a fourteen or fifteen girl could.

”Commander”

While he was becoming increasingly mired in confusion, one of his men called out to him. He stepped away from the prince for a moment and heard the report.

”What? From Lord Fedom?”

”Aye, it has just arrived from Birac. He has something to say about Apta.”

It's finally arrived - he felt that it was a bit slow but at least it had still arrived in time. Walt mulled over his thoughts for a moment.

”Right, I'll go straight to Birac from here. Since we may need to send messengers at a moment's notice, have the airs.h.i.+ps on standby along the highway.”

”Aye. …And, about His Highness?”

”It's actually rather convenient that he came here. Since he said he wanted to stay, let's grant him his wish. Don't let him go back. You lot do everything you can to keep him here. Use every means possible to prevent him from changing his mind.”

If Fedom - or rather, His Majesty the emperor who would be contacted through Fedom - decided that the man here was an impostor, he would just need to arrest him and take him to Birac, and his duty would be complete. They would be able to prevent the country being torn apart in vain.

”But for all that you say to use every means possible, there's nothing but forest here,” the soldier, whom Walt had known for a long time, looked baffled.

An amiable smile crossed Walt's puffy face, ”this is the most important task since I took up my post at Jozu Fortress. I'll do it even if it kills me. If I have to, I'll even offer a few of the women I fancy,” he joked.

In actual fact, Walt had never been known to bring anything like a mistress, but his subordinate soldiers grinned in response.

”Are you leaving? I figured as much when you got that report earlier, but you're really busy, huh?” enquired Gil Mephius, looking completely unsuspecting, as soon as Walt announced that he had to start getting ready to go.

”I am truly very sorry. Although there is nothing here that can distract Your Imperial Highness from boredom, please take your time and relax as much as you like. My subordinates have their orders, so if there is anything that you wish for, please do not hesitate to tell them.”

”Oh? Well, I'll do as I like then,” Gil said nonchalantly. ”Anyway, what's this business that's got you in so much of a hurry?”

”Well, it is not me. Lord Aulin is ever abrupt. He sometimes likes to bring his family to go for a stroll in the forest, so maybe that is what it is this time too?”

”Humph. If it's such an idyllic place, maybe I should go out for a walk too.”

”Ah, by all means.”

Walt hurriedly left Jozu Fortress.

Before long, a succession of carts arrived from Apta one by one. They were loaded with clothes, food and large quant.i.ties of wine - in short, they were Gil's personal belongings sent for his stay at Jozu. Given that the Prince's luggage had arrived right after he did, it appeared that he had, from the start, intended to ignore whatever wishes Walt or those at the fortress might have.

Since the carts kept arriving incessantly and insisting on checking each and every one of them might incur the Prince's displeasure, Gil's men were asked to stay by the gate and were left to identify the goods and people.

Moreover, opening and closing the gate each and every time was extremely laborious. So there was no help for it but to leave it open. Of course, the number of guards around the gate was reinforced but, as people and goods arrived one after another, they grew exasperated and just watched them pa.s.s through.

The next day, Gil spent the entire day looking around Jozu Fortress. During that time, the succession of goods continued to arrive.

When, while still broad daylight, they saw him and his men sharing a toast from the contents of a wine cask that had only just arrived, Walt's subordinates exchanged whispered comments.

”Is he really the crown prince?”

”With that kind of behaviour, he can't be the prince.”

”No, if he was an impostor, he'd make sure to behave like a real crown prince and absolutely wouldn't be so unguarded.”

”At any rate, Crown Prince Gil was known as a 'fool', ya know…”

”Shh! If by any chance he's the real thing and he hears you…”

By and large, Gil seemed to spend the entire day enjoying himself. But when dusk fell, he suddenly complained in a deliberately loud voice that -

”This is boring.”

As soon as they heard that he had lost interest, Walt's men were suddenly thrown into a panic. They ran around calling at the villages around the fortress and sc.r.a.ped together whatever pretty young girls and villagers that had any kind of talent they could find. That night, they held a small banquet to welcome the prince.

In that way, they were able to prolong his stay by a day, but the fortress soldiers were wracking their brains to figure out how on earth to arrange an entertainment programme for him from then on, when,

”I want to see what you can do, since you're the ones defending the fort,” Gil once more abruptly brought something up.

It was in the early afternoon of the second day.

”The attendants I brought with me were hand-picked as the best among the Imperial Guards. How about it? You could have a contest with them.”

That was equivalent to telling them to have gladiatorial contests with the Imperial Guards. The soldiers were naturally taken aback.

”I'm not saying to fight with weapons. You, my friends, are probably thinking that you're not gladiators. How about bare-handed wrestling?”

”That's harsh, Your Highness,” the giant swordsman Gilliam laughed out loud. He had officially become an Imperial Guard in Apta. ”We're called Imperial Guards now, but we were all gladiators. There's no way we'll lose to them and they'll just be disgraced at having been beaten by former sword slaves. Who'd want to get into a fight with absolutely no advantage for them?”

The Imperial Guards all roared with laughter.

Most of the soldiers at Jozu Fortress only had experience of doing what Walt told them to on the battlefield. One could tell at a glance that hostility had started gleaming in their eyes. Besides, they were under strict orders from battalion Commander Walt to induce the Prince to stay at all cost. They accepted the contest that he had forced on them.

From then on, the contest was held until the sun set.

The first to go were soldiers who gave an impression of strength, but after several of them were pinned to the ground in no time at all by the former gladiators, people with confidence in their own skills were clamouring to barge in. Even the one who, from the looks of it, had been acknowledged as the boss of the infantrymen within the fortress, was as helpless as a baby in Gilliam's hands.

Every time one of the soldiers from the fortress lost, a man who seemed to be a company commander would yell for someone to get a certain person, until finally, even those among the guards on lookout who seemed somewhat skilled were mobilised. The former gladiators heaped victory on victory but they were much fewer in number compared to the fortress' soldiers and, after a series of bouts, they were starting to show signs of fatigue. That being the case, more and more of them suffered defeats, so that the fortress soldiers became increasingly charged up.

”You did it!” the crown prince clapped his hands in delight. ”But after all, there aren't that many of them. I'm not saying that to make excuses, but the fairest way to settle this would be to have a deciding match between the strongest from either side.”

And so it was decided that whoever was the strongest among the Jozu soldiers would compete in the next round.

”Our side will send out Pas.h.i.+r. Oi, someone run back to Apta and get that guy here.”

Since the runner-up from the Gladiatorial Champions.h.i.+p was going to come, the feeling of compet.i.tion became even more heated.

That evening, a new group of visitors arrived at the fortress' front gate. Because there were a lot of them, and also for one other reason, the sentries were wary; however, as the entire group was composed of women, and as they also explained that their visit had been requested by the prince, they were soon allowed to pa.s.s inside. The other reason for the soldiers' caution was because the women were all Zerdians.

As well as the people, wine caskets, and cages hung with curtains were also carried in at the same time. They were being pulled by several medium-sized Houban dragons, but what was surprising was that the one leading the Houbans was a woman.

The group entered and headed towards the soldiers, who were completely exhausted from the fights. They were all beautiful young women. It was as though the stench of sweat and men that had been hanging over the fortress had been swept away and a cool breeze carrying tinkling laughter had blown in instead.

”They're a troupe of Zerdian dancing girls,” Gil raised his voice to welcome them.

Prompted by the Prince, the dark-skinned women started whirling and dancing throughout the fortress, playing their flutes all the while. The soldiers' eyes were glued to those bewitchingly supple limbs and ostentatiously contorted bodies.

”This is the least I can do to show you all my appreciation. Zerdian woman aren't bad to look at, right? Come, drink, sing. The dancing girls are dancing and twirling for the brave heroes.”

For most of the Mephians, it was their first time seeing western dances and hearing the expressive sound of their flutes. Their weary bodies and minds seemed to be lapping up the sights and sounds. As they, of course, also did with the alcohol that Gil had had prepared.

The banquet that was a complete change from the wrestling contest grew lively. There were incidents in which someone mistook the Zerdian dragon-handler for a dancing girl and tried to come on to her only to get kicked; but, other then that, everyone drank and sang a lot, with the soldiers even throwing off their leather armour to join in a large dancing ring.

The Prince was merrier than anyone, pressing drinks on the soldiers and throwing his arms around the shoulders of the dancing girls to sing together. The soldiers who were under orders to detain him there felt that it was their duty to take part in the revels, and so continued to eat and drink without restraint.

It was probably the most boisterous night that Jozu Fortress had known since being built.

And so.

The night wore on.

Most of the exhausted soldiers were lying collapsed all around. Dancing girls crowded flocked around those who still retained some of their senses and offered them wine or pressed them into dancing with them, so that the number of victims kept increasing.

”What's this, you guys, you're pretty undisciplined,” Gil laughed flippantly as he himself staggered along between people. ”Even though you'll be going sightseeing after this - Oi, get it ready,” he shouted in a loud voice and clapped his hands.

At which, cages with a pulley were brought from the front gate. Those who still had some consciousness left strained their eyes towards these huge cages, wondering what he had in mind this time.

But when the curtain was opened, what leaped out completely overturned any of their expectations.

A row of soldiers in full armour and weaponry, complete with guns and swords.

While the soldiers raised their voices in astonishment, about fifty jumped out of the cage and, as though their deployment had been determined beforehand, they quickly ran to every strategic point in the fortress and, encountering almost no opposition, they seized complete possession of it in no time at all.

There were three cages in total. The last man to come out of them had a body no less powerful than that of a lion and he walked calmly towards Gil.

”Did you call for me, Your Imperial Highness?”

Pas.h.i.+r.

Gil laughed. ”You're a bit late. I was going to have them choose the strongest soldier in the fortress, but... Everyone's completely wasted.”

”Then should we wake everyone up?”

The soldiers serving at the fort were rounded up in one place. Since the majority of them had fallen asleep and those who were still conscious were worn out and had been made to drink far too much, n.o.body put up any resistance. Naturally, most of their weapons had been confiscated.

”W-What,” Walt's adjutant shouted, although apparently unable to articulate. He was not tied up but he was surrounded on all sides by Gil's armed soldiers. ”W-What ish thish, Your Highness! D-Did you d-desheive us?”

”I'm having you take some time off,” Gill said between hiccups. ”We won't take your lives. Right then, tomorrow, you'll be leaving for Birac. Anyone who has luggage to take had better gather it up now.”

There was not a single lie in Gil's words. Without a single exception, the soldiers were sent away. They were forced to get themselves ready without being able to fight back.

Seated in the reception hall on the ground floor of the fortress, Gil kept an eye on the proceedings as the soldiers scuttled away. Not far from him, Pas.h.i.+r was hurling out instructions to the men deployed throughout the fort. It had only been five days since Gil - or rather, Orba - had reshuffled the unit centred around Pas.h.i.+r into the Imperial Guards, but it looked as though he had already efficiently unified his subordinates.

A Zerdian woman came up to them. Unusually for her, and so as to put the soldiers off guard, Hou Ran was wearing make-up and was dressed up. Her long-sleeved, long-hemmed clothes and the veil over her face cleverly concealed her scars.

Orba was going to give her his thanks but, faster than he could open his mouth, she stomped on his foot with all her strength.

”Drunkards tried to fondle my b.r.e.a.s.t.s three times.”

”What? W-Who on earth would do such a thing?” Orba asked with the pressure still weighing down on his foot.

”The expression in their eyes were the same as the Prince's right now.”

With an air of having said all that she wanted to say, Ran suddenly turned around. Pas.h.i.+r was facing away to one side, his shoulders quivering.

The conclusion was that within one night, Jozu Fortress pa.s.sed to Gil Mephius.

The next day, the full-scale transfer of supplies and military personnel began.

As far as...o...b.. was concerned, one of the biggest gains was that they had gotten ahold of a great many s.h.i.+ps. There were no large air carriers big enough to transport huge groups of soldiers, but there were three each of both the cruisers and the high-speed crafts that could carry four or five people. Furthermore, there were reserves of precious ether since the base often served as a relay station for airs.h.i.+ps.

He had not only summoned soldiers from Apta, but also several administrative officials. Among those was Kalgan, who had been serving Orba since long before. At Orba's prompt orders, they rushed to contact all the nearby villages, a.s.sembled groups of woodcutters who made their livelihood by felling trees and working the timber, and, just as before, organised a hierarchy with Kalgan at its summit.

Incidentally, although every last one of Walt's soldiers had been driven away, the non-combatants that were the servants had remained at the fortress. As 'Crown Prince Gil', Orba personally addressed them as much possible, so that even though their safety was at greater risk than before, they felt a sense of security about not having their jobs taken away from them.

Meanwhile, Walt had arrived at the trade city of Birac and had met with Fedom.

”I don't remember summoning you,” he had said, his face momentarily bewildered.

As Walt explained about the Prince's visit to the fortress, Fedom's expression had changed in the blink of an eye.

”Fool!” He had yelled so forcefully that his saliva went flying. ”You were tricked by the impostor. Even if Jozu Fortress is falling to flames right this very moment, I won't be held responsible for it. It was all because of your stupidity!”

Could the shock Walt received then even be measured?

Before long, news arrived by the airs.h.i.+ps that were distributed along the highway for carrying messages that his subordinates were heading in a column towards Birac.

When Walt heard the full story from them, his face boiled red with a rage that was no less than Fedom's.

”T-That, that swine!”

He did not seem to hear anyone's voice as he threw himself on a horse and galloped towards Jozu Fortress. A dozen of his men, thrown into a panic, chased after him but half were unable to keep up with him and got left behind.

It was late at night two days later that he finally reached Jozu.

”Impostor Prince. You and your cowardly tricks! Come out here. Come out and fight me fair and square, one on one!” He yelled as his horse raced around the fort's circ.u.mference.

Along the fortress' outer wall, soldiers stood in a row, holding torches aloft. With the light from the flames s.h.i.+ning on Walt, all of them threw vulgar jeers at him. Walt's winsome face was now entirely like that of a demon.

Orba emerged and looked down at Walt's galloping figure. When Walt noticed him,

”So you've come out, you cur. Well, come on. I won't let your men interfere. Come and fight me!”