Chapter 363 (1/2)

Chapter 363

Translator: Nat

–Aegir POV–

「Fuaaah」「Haahu . 」

When I stretch my body a little, Sekrit yawns emphatically, which then triggers Celia to stifle a yawn .

Myla, who normally interjects with a comment about how lax I am, is quietly taking a drink of water from her canteen .

「You can’t really help loosening up . 」

We’ve crossed the Goldonia border and been walking for a while now .

It is unthinkable for enemies to chase us this far and n.o.body within Goldonia will attack us .

There’s no reason to hurry so we return to the capital at an easy pace .

「It has gone down, huh . 」

We started with close to 20 000 soldiers and are left with less than 10 000 .

The Seventh Division royal army especially has been reduced to a third of its original numbers .

Regardless of the injured we sent back home along the way, it is without doubt that we still suffered a tremendous amount of casualties .

It is enough to make the King and Erich angry .

「It’s not Aegir-sama’s fault! In that situation, nothing could be done without reinforcements! In fact, we’re able to come back with this much alive in large part because of Aegir-sama’s strength!」

Celia is on my side as usual .

「I’ve compiled the loss report . Please use it when you inform the Military Commissioner . 」

As usual, Leopolt ruins the warm and fuzzy atmosphere .

I take Leopolt’s doc.u.ment and hand it off to Celia .

We still have some time before reaching the capital . I’ll think of an excuse for Erich by then .

「Ah . 」

Solana happened to be where my wandering eyes landed on .

Her cheeks turn red when she catches me watching .

How cute…… I’ll gobble her up sometime soon .

She felt slightly unworthy of being the only one to escape, however she was relieved when she noticed the other refugees .

There was also some incidental drama between Solana and Suzy when they met .

「Ah!」

My eyes land on the bow cavalry girl this time .

As soon as I look at her, she blushes and starts breathing heavier .

Furthermore, her eyes become moist and she embraces her own body .

「Aah, chief…… so lovely…… too dreamy……」

Apparently, she fell in love with me after I saved her from danger .

「Fuuh . 」

I get caught up in the moment and make a striking expression .

「Haau!?」

Her face turns red like an apple and squirms restlessly .

She’s madly in love . If I said I wanted to see her body, she would certainly not hesitate to strip on the spot .

Oh right, there was something I wanted to say .

「We lost a lot of bow cavalry this battle . I’ll be meeting with the mountain nation leaders later so come with me . 」

「Y-yes, of course……」

I give her ear a playful bite and blow softly into it .

「Ah! Aaaah――!!」

She trembles and collapses to the ground, her face becoming slovenly .

「L-……let me go and change my underwear . 」

Cutie .

「Hey now, doing obscenities in front of soldiers is not a very justice-like thing to do . 」

Jim appears with his loud voice .

He’s smiling so I don’t think he’s seriously rebuking me .

「Is your wife alright?」

「She was a little shocked, but that’s where a husband comes in . 」

Good .

I’m glad it was worth the effort, since we went through some hards.h.i.+p and Pochi also injured its face .

As a bonus, Solana was saved too .

「……Ahem, may I interrupt?」

Myla cuts into our conversation .

「What is it?」

When Jim allows it, Myla clears her throat once more before she speaks .

「……I have something I want to ask you again . 」

Did something happen?

If we cause trouble for Jim, then it would make our future interactions more difficult .

Everybody goes quiet, their attention focused on the two individuals .

「We have different values than those who lived under a monarchy after all…… still, we’ll be in your care from now on, so I will do my best to improve in the areas you are not pleased with . Say what you want!」

「It’s nothing too big……」

Myla hesitates, then gathers courage to say what she has in mind .

「You and your wife…… your voices at night are too loud!」

I quickly support Celia before she falls off her horse .

「Day after day, all the way until dawn! I’m not telling you not to do it, but you could at least try to keep it down!」

Myla, who is red from embarra.s.sment, is pretty cute when she yells .

Now that I think about it, Myla’s tent was close to Jim’s .

「Be considerate of me who has to hear it every night! What’s with the “Oh yes!” or the “Come on! Sweet heart”!? I’m not even able to be with Lord Hardlett due to his injury!」

Myla hounds Jim for an answer .

I’ll step away for a bit .

「Ooh, so you overheard our love voices…… I’m pretty sure Goldonia allows loving s.e.x though . Aegir is pretty loud too, no?」

Stupid, don’t say anything unnecessary .

「Eh? I have to refrain from doing anything until Lord Hardlett’s injury heals…… that’s why I also……」

「Hahaha, he was making love and rocking the carriage quite a bit during the day . Such a grand display of love was enough to make me dumbfounded . 」

Irijina couldn’t read the mood and tempted me, so I went along .

Then Sekrit overheard and made it a three-way .

Both of them have strong bodies and were pent up, meaning the s.e.x would naturally be rough enough to shake the carriage .

「……Lord Hardlett」

Myla stares daggers at me .

I put some distance between us .

「After I told you so much not to do it!」

Celia goes around and cuts in .

「I can’t say I support what you’re doing with Pipi-dono and Marta-dono though . They’re so tiny that your s.e.x feels like something a pervert would do . 」

Eei, this guy really doesn’t know when to shut up .

That’s how you pay me back for saving you? Don’t make me steal your wife .

「Even Pipi and Marta…… we were listening to the doctor’s instructions and holding back this whole time . 」

「Uuuuu……」

Celia and Myla press me .

「Koーhoーkoーhoー」

「Don’t lie! You can speak properly!」

「Tonight I―― no, you’re not allowed any women until your injury heals!」

In the end, I was forbidden from embracing women until I completely recover .

「……hm? What’s that?」

「「Don’t try to change the topic . 」」

I see some smoke rising in the distance .

I think that’s around the mansion of some n.o.ble where we got supplies from on the way to Libatis . Was there a fire or something?

One Week Later . Capital – Goldonia .

「Alright, we will return to the garrison!」

Commander Keith salutes and leaves .

Sorry, I forgot you were even here .

「Him and his army look somewhat unhappy . 」

「Well of course they would . 」

Despite escaping with their lives, it doesn’t get rid of the taste of countless defeats .

I take a rough look and see that the number of soldiers who have their complete set of equipment can be counted . Most of them are missing helmets, have torn their arm guards, and picked up swords from the enemy after losing their own .

「They were complaining about how Goldonia didn’t send reinforcements the whole way back, saying how they would have won if more troops came . 」

My squad ultimately didn’t collapse once .

n.o.body felt like they would lose irrespective of how many allies fell around them .

「I should give my excuse to Erich and the king . 」

「Don’t say it to His Majesty . 」

First is Erich .

I enter Erich’s office, bow so slightly it was almost unnoticeable, and then give my report .

My posture is straight and my expression is as unhappy as possible .

「……」

「……」

The silence lasts for a while .

Leopolt is staring at Erich just like I am .

Is he waiting until I say something?

Fufufu, I purposely had Celia wait outside the room .

Without anything pretty to look at, Erich must find it tough .

If I were him, I’d get annoyed after thirty seconds .

Erich flips through the report doc.u.ments quietly, sighs and opens up his arms .

「I understand what you want to say . I’ll explain so please take a seat…… having you two stare makes me uneasy . 」

After I sit down, a small smile emerges on Erich’s face .

「I’m sorry . You did well to come back . I was prepared to lose the seventh division . Most importantly, I’m glad you’re safe . 」

Erich and I exchange a handshake .

This should be fine, I’ll get Celia to come back in and balance out Leopolt’s presence .

「Let’s get right to the issue at hand . To keep it simple, His Majesty has commanded for all the kingdom’s armies to mobilize . 」

Looking closer, I see Erich is extremely fatigued and is running on fumes .

「Did something happen?」

「An attempted a.s.sa.s.sination on His Majesty . 」

Wow, that kind of thing happened?

The king doesn’t have it easy either .

「――that is what’s being told in public, but the reality is different . His Majesty’s beloved Rosario was targeted…… apparently she was hurt quite badly . The king went mad with anger and intends to kill everyone related to the incident . 」

「What!?」

I slam the desk and stand up abruptly .

I’m fine with the king being targeted . I can’t forgive anybody who would hurt a woman .

All the cowardly a.s.sa.s.sins need to be ma.s.sacred .

「Other people would normally say “why go so far for a mere lover”―― you really are something different . 」

Erich smiles wryly and continues .

「Well, I’m a man too . Besides, I have no intentions of protecting sc.u.m who would kill a woman to get to His Majesty . I have no qualms if those involved in the attack were all killed . 」

That’s when Erich expresses his dilemma .

「However, His Majesty is going far beyond what is normal . ……here is the list of people who conspired in the plan and who His Majesty personally ordered to be subdued . Don’t leak this to anybody outside the room . 」

I flip through the pages so that Celia can see .

Leopolt also s.h.i.+fts his position to get a better look .

「So many…… ah, this name belongs to somebody we met at a dinner party once . She argued with Nonna-san about something . 」

「From individuals with important positions in the capital to lords of certain regions to underlings like tax collecting officials and royal guards, such a wide variety of people are listed . You can see why reinforcements couldn’t be sent, right?」

The king can’t only rely on the royal guards to catch all these people and actually the name of the royal guard captain is also listed here .

Many of them are influential and powerful people, so it isn’t wrong to ready the army .

There is one thing bothering me though .

「Isn’t it impossible for this number of people to have conspired in the plan? No matter how you look at it, this is too many . 」

If all of them were conspiring, this would be more like an insurrection than a mere a.s.sa.s.sination .

How large was the scale of attack?

「It was a group of ten people, some who were clearly veteran mercenaries . 」

「「No, no, no, it’s not what you’re thinking . 」」

Celia’s voice overlaps with mine .

「This list of individuals is capable of hiring thousands of people . It’s hard to believe they came up with just ten . 」

Celia nods enthusiastically .

Erich also nods .

「I agree . If all of them were accomplices then His Majesty would not be alive . ――don’t leak this either . 」

Erich stares at us, making sure we absolutely won’t say anything before he clears his throat and continues .

「99% of everyone written here are innocent . They have no relation to this case whatsoever . 」

I don’t get it . What’s the point of killing people who aren’t related?

「I told you, His Majesty’s anger is making him act irrationally . His Majesty intends to execute not only the attackers, but also their family, friends, acquaintances, and anybody he considers even a little bit suspicious . That’s where this huge list comes from . 」

「That’s ridiculous . Is there anything that can be done?」

Killing those who hurt a woman is justified, killing those not connected is pointless .

Erich simply shakes his head .

「It’s no use . His Majesty is no longer willing to listen . You’ll understand when you see him . 」

Erich declared that quite clearly .

Which means, there probably isn’t anything we can do .

「Hey . 」

「No, our names, the names of Myla-san’s family, and the names of Count Binbo and his friends aren’t there . 」

I feel relieved after hearing that from Celia .

「So I’m sorry about what happened this time . I’m obviously going to praise you for return with the army . Regarding the losses, don’t worry . I don’t intend to speak on it . I know you’ve probably lost plenty of soldiers in your army too, but nothing will be done until this matter is finished . ……」

Umumu, if I’m not getting anything then how can I reward the mountain nation?

I have to think about a solution .

Oh yeah, I have to tell Erich about South Yuguria .

「I want to speak about the South Yuguria army――」

Borrowing help from Leopolt and Celia, I explain how the South Yuguria army uses power and clever schemes to precisely fulfill its ambition of expanding its territory .

Erich occasionally asks questions and listens earnestly .

「I understand that South Yuguria is a bigger threat than expected . It’s just right now we are in no position to prepare for them…… the king is giving orders day and night after all . 」

Erich smiles bitterly when Celia slumps in disappointment .

「You have made me aware of their use of wagons to move swiftly and their formidability . Simply having that knowledge will make a difference in how I deal with them . Good work . 」

Erich retrieves an expensive-looking bag of cookies which emanates a fruity fragrance from within his desk .

A smile immediately returns to Celia’s face, although she quickly suppresses it .

「……I-I’m not a child, cookies are not a big deal . 」

Erich and I smile at the same time .

I’ll take them, our journey home will be a long one and sweets will help .

「This is for you . 」

A key? What is this a key to?

Erich whispers to me in a way Celia can’t hear .

「It’s the key to the house of one of my lovers . She’s someone with a high s.e.x drive and can’t live without a man, you see . She’s willing to pull any man willing to entertain her . It’s normally my responsibility to attend to her needs, but as you can see I have my hands full . 」

Is he saying what I think he is?

「You were extremely interested when I brought it up before…… if you like, please help yourself . 」

「My pleasure!」

I accept the key with both hands and clutch Erich’s hand tightly .

「…… I’m quite fond of this one so don’t completely take her for yourself . Keep things casual . 」

「Yes, yes, of course!」

I just received a wonderful reward .

I’ll keep a secret from Celia and Myla .

「Alright, go for your audience . I warn you though that the king is not how he used to be . Pay careful attention and choose your words wisely or your head will fly in one breath . ……and do something about the bulge in your pants . 」

I guess I can’t make the same excuse to the king .

――Audience .

「Hardlett, you’re back!」

As soon as I stepped into the room, the king welcomes me with a loud shout .

His clear and piercing voice has no trace of gloominess .

He doesn’t appear to have lost his senses like Erich described .

「Yes Your Majesty, I’ve just returned . 」