Chapter 399 (1/2)

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Translator: Nat

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–Aegir POV–

Rafen Mansion. Night.

I take a swig of alcohol and gaze out the window at the city.

The sun has set completely.

「All the citizens are out today.」

Rafen is not enveloped in darkness.

Countless torches and bonfires can be seen all over, resembling a clear starry sky.

Work continues through the night to repair the crumbled city walls and people whose houses were destroyed gather outside around bonfires.

「The only ones sleeping are the tired soldiers, huh?」

In this situation, neither enemy or ally have any effort to spare to attack the other at night.

Lintbloom's request for reinforcements was also cancelled after we received notice from Claire that the enemy was defeated.

Although the Aless soldiers complained about wanting to fight more, they went straight to sleep likely due to the fatigue from their strict march.

「How far was the city damaged?」

I ask Adolph beside me.

I had him play an unfamiliar role as Supreme Commander.

He mocked himself saying he was inept, but I'm not going to blame him when the job was outside his expertise.

「The only structures that were significantly damaged were the city walls and the south gate. Then you have a portion of the residences in the south that were caught in the battle. ……With that said, many families in the southern region are relatively poor so if we correct the amount of loss, it's not actually that much.」

Including my mansion, most of Rafen's important buildings are concentrated in the center and north of the city.

「The problem isn't the damage to the city, rather it's the damage to the people. We lost a considerable amount of volunteer soldiers.」

「How many?」

Adolph takes out his records.

The list recorded the names of all the people who died in battle, and although it isn't complete yet, the final total of deaths was tallied.

「At the very least 1000, and probably close to 1500.」

「Fumu.」

In terms of soldiers, that number isn't a lot.

However, I let citizens who mobilized to protect the city die and I have to think of a solution.

「That can come later. If we get attacked once while we're talking here, it'll be unbearable to watch.」

Rafen won't fall now that I've returned.

「Tell them not to worry because I'll give some kind of reward. I have to apologize to Claire as well.」

Driving away external threats is the duty of a feudal lord, yet Claire did it as a merchant.

I'll have to buy her a luxury item worth an eye-popping sum of money.

「And then……」

I feel my voice get harsher.

「Call Leopolt back immediately.」

What is he doing in the first place with my army under his command?

「A messenger has already been sent. ……maybe he can't move because he's holding off the enemy's main force?」

「I know that.」

My voice gets even rougher and the attending maid's shoulders start to tremble in fear.

If Leopolt was an average man, I would split the responsibility with him for leaving the territory on his own while I was away.

But knowing him, he'll manage somehow, that's why anger is building up within me.

「Can I come in?」

As I was wound up from the unnecessary anger, a voice as pretty as a bell broke the tense mood.

「Oh, Peticheri?」

「It's Mirkura.」

Coming in at 150 cm, with a small build, slanted eyes and a protruding tooth, is the cute and capable information officer.

If it isn't Peticheri Mirkura, the information officer who has a complex about her overly cute name and has a love for big d.i.c.ks and s.e.x which belies her appearance.

「I can hear you……」

Peticheri clears her throat once and her face goes back to this cute serious expression.

The air somewhat relaxed after that exchange.

「The main cause for the enemy surprise attack has been confirmed.」

I also make a serious face.

To begin with, this attack caught us completely off-guard.

They didn't appear on the south side, where it made sense geographically, they came from the improbable east.

The attack on Lintbloom was unexpected too.

「The enemy departed from Kisatto, made a large detour to the east and crossed the mountain nation territory.」

「They went through there? Fumu……」

The mountain nation territory is a completely barren land aside from the maintained road connecting Rafen and Lintbloom.

There isn't a single town or village, there isn't a path, there isn't a stream to refill water from, and the number of monsters roaming freely is incomparable to that in the plains.

It's a place where even large armies can be wiped out if they aren't careful.

「I am of the same opinion. It seems the enemy was guided by someone who knew the area though. That individual is likely a betrayer.」

Peticheri's eyes narrow as she looks at Gido.

Oh, Gido was also beside me? He was so quiet, I couldn't tell.

「……」

Gido seemed to get enraged for an instant, but reconsidered and clenched his teeth.

There is a traitor among the mountain nation. That's what she is saying.

Gido wants to deny it as well, but is it such an unthinkable thing?

「A family has been tasked with holding down the area where the enemy supposedly marched through. There are no further reinforcements from the same path.」

「Great.」

That's all Gido says before he exits the room with a stern expression. You weren't the one who did the betrayal so don't let it bother you too much.

「One more thing.」

Peticheri brings her mouth close to my ear.

「The enemy attacked in a way like they knew Rafen didn't have a proper army. They were able to pinpoint important structures like the sluice gate to the water supply. There is also someone giving inside information in Rafen…… one who is close to Lord Hardlett.」

「Another traitor, huh?」

Recently, it feels like I've heard this kind of talk non-stop.

「It's my specialty. I will let you know as soon as I identify the individuals.」

「Peticheri.」

She turns back before das.h.i.+ng off.

「Thanks.」

「……well, this is a serious matter to the kingdom.」

She probably wanted to say it coldly, but it's cute how she's turning red.

「And also, don't you think you should cover Melissa-sama with a blanket about now?」

Peticheri goes back to a straight face and Adolph awkwardly leaves the room.

「Ah…… ah……」

Melissa is laying on the bed with her legs spread out and looking up at the ceiling.

「……I understand your craving for women after battle, but you don't have to go that far.」

Melissa is literally lying in the shape of the character ”大” and occasionally twitches.

「It wasn't my l.u.s.t. My love for her exploded.」

「Aheeh……」

Normally, I would love her pa.s.sionately and finish by releasing, but the current me can't e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.e.

I kept ramming into her with my hard thing and Melissa ended up in this state.

Even though she is a former prost.i.tute with an abundance of experience, she might not wake up for a while.

I did a horrible thing to her.

「By the way, Peticheri. How about one round before your mission……」

「Well then, if you'll excuse me. After all, if this happened to Melissa-sama, then I would die.」

The number of women willing to help me do something about my c.o.c.k just decreased.

Is there something I can do about Sekrit's arm……?

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「The main army led by Leopolt-sama has arrived in Rafen!」

「Finally?」

Leopolt obediently listened to my order of highest priority and returned to Rafen.

Now the fear of Rafen falling has pretty much disappeared, but conversely, mostly everywhere else within my territory, excluding the eastern region around Rafen, has become unprotected.

「It can't be helped. Rafen is the centre of the territory――」

「My women are in Rafen. Protecting them is the highest priority.」

Celia tackles my back softly. I wonder what's wrong.

Now that I'm healed by Celia's cuteness, it's time to get down to business.

I sidestep Celia's tackle and turn toward Leopolt.

「Did you fail to predict the enemy's surprise attack? Or were you not able to move while taking on the enemy's attack?」

The tension filling the air right now can be felt even by me.

It's strange of me to blame Leopolt when I wasn't here at a critical time, but this is something I have to confirm.

The surprise attack pa.s.sed through the mountain nation territory, a direction in which we did not antic.i.p.ate.

Leopolt led an army fewer in numbers than the enemy eastern army and engaged them.

It wouldn't be strange if he simply did not forecast or knew but couldn't act.

However, I figured this guy would have been able to do something.

In other words, it was possible that there was a worse choice.

「……haa.」

Uncomfortable with the strained atmosphere, Tristan repeatedly weaves his fingers together.

Leopolt then opens his mouth with his usual expressionless face.

「I considered the possibility of a surprise attack. It was clear the enemy was acting as decoy so that was my next logical thought.」

Fumu.

「Although we had inferior numbers, the battle was in our favor. It was sufficient enough that we could possibly spare some forces to send to Rafen's defense.」

I knew it. I thought he could the whole time.

「……」

Myla awkwardly averts her gaze from me and stares downward.

「Why didn't you do it then?」

I don't look away from Leopolt's eyes.

「To win in the long run. I judged that Rafen did not require backup.」

「In other words, you knew about the surprise attack and chose not to send soldiers back.」

It was as I expected.

I don't know how he plans to lead us to victory.

But this guy decided to abandon Rafen for that victory.

In other words, he's abandoning my women.

「That's right.」

I approach Leopolt until we're barely touching and stare at him.

Since he's slightly shorter than me, he has to look up at me.

He doesn't seem guilty at all and is holding out his chest confidently.

「Garrrrrr.」

Celia is beside me trying to be menacing to Leopolt.

「Err…… um……」

Contrarily, Myla is anxiously trying to get in between us.

「Mumu? What are we looking a……mmgh.」

「Irijina-san, be quiet for a while.」

Irijina struggles as her mouth was covered by Luna.

A part of me wants to laugh at the comical sight, but the situation between Leopolt and I is still touch and go.

Leopolt didn't give any excuses when he answered my question and he doesn't avoid looking at me.

On the other hand, while I know it's meaningless to blame Leopolt, his unapologetic att.i.tude gets me a little annoyed.

The one who intervened before anything broke out was Tristan.

「Now, now. Why don't we sit down and have some tea?」

「「……」」

Initially, Leopolt and I did not react, but Myla and Luna agreeing enthusiastically prompted us to follow suit.

「We're sitting down.」

「Right.」

Leopolt complies with my instructions.

His att.i.tude is poor yet he's willing to listen, huh?

Leopolt and I take opposite seats so we can face each other.

Myla and Tristan sit on either side of him, with my personal army lined up behind them, whereas Celia and Irijina sit adjacent to me, with my followers sitting down as well.

「……So.」

I ask the question against after downing the boiling tea in one gulp.

「Why didn't you prioritize helping Rafen?」

「Like I said before, I thought it wasn't necessary.」

The only reason I didn't slam my fist on the desk was because Celia tried to copy me and is reeling back in anguish.

Tristan once again steps in.

「It's true that we believed it wasn't necessary…… however, it holds a different meaning than what I think you're thinking.」

When Leopolt eyes Tristan, he shrinks his head down into his shoulders and continues nonetheless.

「If we don't explain, the Margrave will stay angry. What will you do if he ends up rampaging?」

Talking about me like I'm a monster? If Celia wasn't trying to cool off her burnt tongue by blowing ”fuu, fuu”, I would have kicked you.

「First, the reason why we didn't return to Rafen to protect it. As Leopolt said, it was done premeditatedly. But we didn't think it was okay for Rafen to fall.」

「What do you mean?」

I get up from my seat slightly and plop myself down onto the chair again.

「In other words, we judged that Rafen could sufficiently handle the enemy's surprise attack. If we diverted some troops to Rafen's defense, we would have no other choice than to retreat on the main front.」

「As a result, the city walls were destroyed, leading to urban warfare. If I didn't return, the city would have eventually fallen.」

Tristan sighs and takes a sip of his now-warm tea.

「The procedure to enlist soldiers by turning Rafen's citizens into volunteer soldiers was given to Adolph-san. The city also has various…… defense mechanisms. We thought that would be enough to repel the enemy…… but the size of the enemy force was greater than antic.i.p.ated. And who knew they would also detour around through the east.」

Myla chimes in regretfully.

「The enemy's directive clearly changed. They focused on sound military strategies up until now only to suddenly switch to consecutive risky maneuvers.」

「Their commander changed?」

Spoken like that, it's pretty unskilled of me to leave the territory and do my own thing.

If I stayed near Rafen, I might have realized it.

A small smile creeps onto Tristan's face when he sees my expression relax somewhat.

「Leopolt-san was considerably fl.u.s.tered when he heard the enemy ambush consisted of 15 000 soldiers. The report came in during mealtime and he was holding his fork and knife in the opposite―― ow!!」

Tristan's face suddenly distorts.

Somebody kicked somebody under the table just now.

「It was an error for failing to predict their numbers, however retreating before the enemy's presence would simply invite them to pursue. Thus――」

Leopolt interrupts and continues matter-of-factly in place of the agonizing Tristan.

「……mmfu.」

Leopolt eyes Myla when a giggle escapes her lips.

I'm very curious about what this guy looks like when rattled. It's a shame I wasn't there.

「Since Rafen ultimately didn't fall, I'll let it go. ……Tristan and Myla, come report to me later.」

Hidden behind Leopolt's expressionless demeanor is an annoyed look.

In consideration for that face, I'll forgive him.

「Rather than that insignificant matter, regarding the advance from the east.」

Everyone goes silent when Leopolt brings up the next issue.

Running through the mountain nation territory with a large army is impossible, that's common sense. At the very least, they would need a guide.

「I have a general idea, but first we will defeat the enemy.」

Gido and Luna hang their heads repentantly.

With the potential of a traitor in their midst, they can't really act freely.

Uncovering them can wait though.

Here is where the next move will be made.

「Adolph. Conscript all the young men in the territory.」

The entire room stirred.