Volume 2 Chapter 18 (1/2)
Editor: Tan
Chapter 2 Episode 18
(Outbreak of war 1)
Day 165 after being summoned to another world: (Outbreak of war).
”This is bad…, we cannot use this plan anymore...”
Ryouma scratched his head while staring at the ceiling inside his own room.
Beside Ryouma, only Sara and Laura, both of whom are wearing chainmail underneath their maid outfit are present
However, both sisters did not talk to Ryouma.
Because right now, their duty is to not disturb their master.
In the first place, Ryouma's words did not require any answer either.
They were words that came out unintentionally while he's in deep thought.
Both sisters had understood that since they had been with him for more than five months now.
”Nee-sama... Ryouma-sama seems to be in deep thought…, could he perhaps forgot that the banquet party will start soon?”
”Indeed... But you must not disturb him, alright?..., he will immediately call out to us the moment he made up his mind..., when the time comes you can just inform him that you’ve declined the invitation. ”
The sisters have decided that he will be absent from the dinner party.
”Unn…, understood..., then I will go and decline their invitation. ”
”Thank you…, please do so..., I don't want to leave Ryouma-sama unsupervised after all…, please give her highness the princess my best regard as well. ”
”Un..., I understand, it would be dangerous if an a.s.sa.s.sin were to show up like the last time after all...”
”Indeed... Well, I think we should be fine since this is Ryouma-sama we are talking about... Ah right, go borrow the kitchen and prepare some evening meal for him.I'm sure he will be hungry when he's done. ”
”Unn... Understood. ”
After exchanging a few words, Sara left the room quietly.
Jet black darkness has already loomed over the sky outside.
Currently, it would be a great opportunity for a.s.sa.s.sins to come out since even the moonlight is covered by the clouds.
Of course, the security within the castle is regarded as impenetrable. However, the place is guarded by humans and therefore error is bound to happen at some point.
Furthermore, their priority is to protect Princess Lupis’ safety.
It would be natural for them to treat the rest of the people as a second priority, even if they are the people who helped the Princess.
The other day Ryouma was attacked by a.s.sa.s.sins.
Ryouma, who noticed an arrow flying toward him, immediately bent his body to dodge it. Although the arrow missed, but because the arrow had poison on it, it could have been fatal.
Since the a.s.sa.s.sin's whereabout is still unknown, they need to be cautious in case a second surprise attack happen.
Both Laura and Sara are ready to become Ryouma's s.h.i.+eld.
However, since the sisters understand that Ryouma does not permit the sisters to sacrifice their lives to save his, they armed themselves to be ready to respond to any danger..
One of the countermeasures is the chainmail they are wearing underneath their maid clothes.
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”Fuu... I'm hungry...'
Almost two hours had pa.s.sed since the time Sara went out to inform the princess that Ryouma can't partic.i.p.ate in the banquet.
”What time is it now?”
”It's currently 8.05 p.m. ”
Laura immediately replied.
”Ah, I see... Wait! There's a dinner party today isn't it?”
”I've already declined it on your behalf.”
”I see…, thanks, you’re a lifesaver. ”
Originally, Ryouma was supposed to dine with Princess Lupis tonight.
But a report that arrived in the morning had changed everything.
That report sent Ryouma lost in thought. He had to think about the countermeasures.
”Is there any message from them?”
”We were told that since Ryouma-sama might be busy thinking about a plan, Ryouma-sama does not have to be worried about being absent. However, there will be another meeting tomorrow, and they want Ryouma-sama to present the plan at that time. ”
Princess Lupis was surprisingly favorable towards Ryouma, despite his refusal to her invitation which is usually an act of serious offence.
This, in turn, reflected how important the report they received this morning was.
Hearing Laura's words, Ryouma feels relieved.
”I see…, phew, tomorrow huh...”
*Growl*
Sound came out of Ryouma's stomach.
Other than drinking tea, he has not eaten anything since Lunch. As expected, Ryouma was starving.
”I'm hungry... Is there anything to eat?”
”Yes, Sara had already prepared some food.”
”Is that so? Then let's eat together. You guys have not eaten either right?”
Ryouma knew that the girls wouldn’t eat before him. Hearing his words, Laura nodded her head happily.
”We'll prepare it immediately. ”
”Now then. Because there's not much time, let's go over the plan while we eat. ”
Both sisters turned their gazes towards Ryouma and nodded their head.
For Ryouma, both sisters have become his maid, his guard, and also his important adviser.
By explaining his thoughts to the sisters, Ryouma can sort out his train of thoughts clearly, and at the same time, it also functions as a rehearsal before he has to explain it to Princess Lupis.
Particularly, choosing the right words to convey the meaning and expression across is important.
Since both sisters are from a Knight family, by this world standard, they had received the best education.
From Ryouma's perspective, their knowledge is more or less only equal to upper grades of primary school. However, since it was a knowledge obtained during the period of chaos like this, it was something they can be proud of.
In fact, most of the commoners, who accounted for over 90% of the total population are unable to write their own names.
Let alone mathematics.
With the exception of merchants, most common people can’t even do simple additions.
Because of that, Ryouma words can often be misunderstood by others.
Even when he was explaining a general concept, they were not able to grasp the essence of his ideas.
That's why Ryouma explains it to the sisters first.
By observing their reactions, he is able to identify which words are not suitable to use.
Afterward, he can rephrase his sentences or explain it in more detail.
”Are you two aware that General Hodram has joined the n.o.ble faction?”
The sisters nodded their head.
Originally it was a piece of information that was only known to a small number of people. However, this sort of information will eventually be leaked.
This bad news that arrived in the morning is no longer a secret to the people in the castle.
Although Ryouma is disappointed that a national secret leaks so easily like this, he felt it can’t be helped since the level of crisis management in this world is quite poor.
Even if Mikos.h.i.+ba Ryouma is someone who had been summoned from another world.
It is impossible for him to change the way a country does things in a single night.
There's no choice other than for him but to prioritise the problems in front of him and rectify them in order.
That being said, the only things that got leaked was that General Hodram has joined the n.o.ble faction.
How he ended up siding with the n.o.ble faction remains a mystery.
”I see... First, should I start by explaining how it ended up like this? ”
Ryouma began to talk while munching down a piece of steak and followed by some wine.
It was around four days ago when General Hodram had left the royal capital, bringing with him the ‘white sword chivalric order’ in the name of restoring order.
Ryouma was not aware of this
He heard that General Hodram had a direct talk with Princess Lupis.
In reality, ever since the n.o.bles faction started supporting Princess Ladine, the Kingdom’s security has deteriorated.
To maintain peace, one needs power; and to maintain that power, one needs strength.
Justice without power will never prevail.
Nevertheless, the royal capital Pireaus is one of the big regional cities. The n.o.bles faction and princess' faction stationed their soldiers in such city because of its strategic value. As a result, the security of Pireaus is the strongest compared to all the nearby cities.
Consequently, this leads to less soldiers guarding the smaller towns and villages since it has less strategic advantage.
Of course, something like this is inevitable.
Because neither Princess Lupis nor Duke Gerhardt have an infinite military power.
Ryouma is also concerned about the security, but there's nothing he can do.
And General Hodram took advantage of that flaw.
”The kingdom cannot live without its people!”
With that line alone, it would be hard for Princess Lupis to ignore the argument.
If Ryouma or Elena were to hear these words from general Hodram, they won't be able to believe in it.