Hachinan tte, Sore wa Nai Deshou!

In the end we were successful in safely returning to the field encampment located in the Great Sorbid Wasteland .
We had expected to get pursued by the rebel army after they became hot blooded due to their victories, but they wisely chose to not to .
If they had, they would have fallen prey to wide area advanced magic by Burkhart-san and me though .
The mixed rebel army unit that tried to keep us locked up in the Talberg Mountain Fortress is likely in a state of annihilation . The other military forces might have hurried to defend the fortresses and cities they recaptured .
Therese also left troops behind as a restraint . We came back to the headquarters while nodding off atop our horses .

“If one considers the losses, there are many points to think about, but I guess we are still better off than the others . ”

We were greeted by the retainers of the Duke Philip household and High Earl Mizuho in front of the headquarters’ entrance .
High Earl Mizuho’s remark is likely a sarcastic stab towards the retainers of the Duke Philip household who are next to him .
He has deliberately said it so that it will reach Therese’s ears through them .

“… (The atmosphere is bad, isn’t it…?)”

A tense air is hanging between the retainers of the Duke Philip household and High Earl Mizuho who is likely boiling with anger inside .
I’m sure there are various things he wants to say as more than 20% of the troops he dispatched were killed in action .

“That stupid brat survived . What a bother…”

Then High Earl Mizuho drops a bombsh.e.l.l .
The one whom High Earl Mizuho means with 『stupid brat』 is young Duke Baden .
Although he had captured the commercial city Halbart for a while, he immediately got besieged by new enemy forces . Moreover, as there wasn’t sufficient food in the captured Halbart and as they couldn’t plunder any from the inhabitants just because of lacking food, they had to run away . During the escape they suffered from persistent pursuits .
It looks like they were rescued by reinforcements led by Therese and High Earl Mizuho on the way, but having lost 30% of the whole army, it was an utter defeat .

“That little b.a.s.t.a.r.d acts arrogant despite coming back after getting his a.s.s wiped . ”

The reason for him acting all self-important is easy . If he bows his head in front of Therese and High Earl Mizuho here, it will affect the reputation of the Duke Baden household .
Even if the person himself wants to apologize, his retainers will be against that .
I see . With Therese and the others having begun a struggle for supremacy behind closed doors and the rebel army under Duke Nürnberg, who is trying to crush us by using the military forces of stupid n.o.bles, the proverb that a war is won by the side that makes less mistakes proves to be true, I guess .
It’s said that there are also situations where you end up losing after making a mistake or getting held back by others for reasons other than one own’s ability .
Good grief, all of this is really educational, I have to say, but it still resulted in us having taken the mountain fortress for some reason .

“It looks like they are having an emergency meeting, Earl Baumeister . ”

“Do I have the qualifications to join that?” (Wendelin)

“I think that it’s already past the time to talk about such formalities . ”

“Therese-sama’s intention are as plain as day . To an extent that it’s very easy to understand . ”

“Now, now, don’t say that, Earl Baumeister . ”

When I headed towards the building with the headquarters that was specified as meeting venue together with High Earl Mizuho, Therese awaited us at the entrance .

“Ooh! Thou achieved big military gains, didn’t thou, Wendelin!” (Therese)

In the end we retreated after we captured Talberg Mountain Fortress once, but even going by a little estimate, we have killed close to half the enemy army that fought us .
There are also many n.o.bles and magicians confirmed to have been killed in action . Compared to the other groups, it’s a huge military achievement .

“Why yes, thank you…”

However, my disappointed expression didn’t fall apart from that .

With the plan being reckless to begin with, there was the possibility of us having no other option but to surrender or get destroyed, if Alfons’ reinforcements didn’t come .
No matter how many siege forces we are able to repel, there would be nothing more that we could do once our food ran out while being surrounded .
Even if we took a gamble and attempted to escape while independently crus.h.i.+ng the enemy army, it was probable for us to get annihilated if we failed at that .
It was quite likely that there would have been victims even among us if we went unskillfully about it .
Therese came requesting a handshake with me, but ignoring that on purpose, I hug Elise’s and Katharina’s shoulders and enter the building .

“Dear . ” (Elise)

“Wait a moment! Wendelin-san!” (Katharina)

Going by appearance, I couldn’t be regarded as anything but a hopeless, l.u.s.tful n.o.ble, but it’s also a provocation meaning 『Sorry, but both my hands are full』 .
Elise doesn’t say anything as she apparently realized it, but Katharina was surprised and raised her voice apparently believing my action to be indiscreet .

“You b.a.s.t.a.r.d!”

“I think the meeting is more important for now, but is there something wrong?”

A retainer that was attached to Therese curses at my rude conduct, but I forcefully face him down with my public position .
Even the other party threatens me rudely using the excuse that I’m a n.o.ble of a foreign country . Thus we are of equal status in that regard, I think .
Although it’s called a great military achievement, there’s also the side of the Mizuho army that had many losses while fighting together with us .
I didn’t feel like obediently accepting her handshake .
Besides, it won’t result in any decent outcome even if I receive preferential treatment in the current situation .

“Therese-sama, originally we are mercenaries . ” (Burkhart)

“Just the appearance of the Royal Head Magician at a council of war of a foreign country actually leads to various problems . ” (Armstrong)

No matter how lenient Burkhart-san and Dous.h.i.+ are towards Therese, they didn’t forget to give her a short warning .

“First comes the meeting, Therese-sama . ”

“Got it . Let’s start then?” (Therese)

Even if it’s called a meeting, it’s close to a court-martial in reality .
Once I entered the building, the n.o.bles inside plainly showed their hate on their faces .
No matter how many military gains we might obtain, in the end we are still outsiders .
Even so, we are a related party to the defeat this time .
If requested by Therese, I intended to tell them my view .

“Well then, should we try starting the meeting then?”

First Alfons, with a rare serious expression that doesn’t break apart, reports the changes in the war situation, our losses, and the enemy army’s losses, though those are only an estimate .
Young Duke Baden’s group lost in total 5367 soldiers without decently damaging the enemy army .
It’s been more than 30% in the battle to capture Halbart and in the retreat battles after that . There are also more than 2000 casualties from the military forces of the n.o.bles who went out to capture other cities and fortresses .
The sole salvation might be that the losses on the side of the rebel army were large when they were appropriately attacked by the reinforcements of Therese .
Going by estimation, around 9000 soldiers were killed .
However, among those, 5000 enemy soldiers were the result of our and the Mizuho army’s military achievements .
Once they have been informed about our and the Mizuho army’s military gains, around one third of the n.o.bles became openly hostile .
From their point of view it’s disagreeable for the Earl Mizuho Country that’s treated as a foreign country to take up an important position in the empire after the war due to having played an active role during the civil war .
As for young Duke Baden who’s the one responsible for the defeat; he’s expressionless just like a noh mask .
It’s a fact that he caused a debacle, but he likely detests Therese having stolen the liberation army’s leaders.h.i.+p with that as the reason .
Furthermore, as for the liberation army; it apparently reached the point of being called like that since Therese’s and allies armed forces hasn’t been a popular name .
Naming the enemy as a rebel army was written down in official doc.u.ments that were prepared formally .

“(Everyone’s quiet, aren’t they…)”

With the sequence of events being as they were mentioned above, everyone stayed silent while attending the meeting .

With the sequence of events being as they were mentioned above, everyone stayed silent while attending the meeting .
Therese wants to carry out a centralization of the liberation army’s command and charge young Duke Baden with the responsibility for the defeat, but as she will be troubled if he betrays the liberation army after getting blamed too much, she’s hesitating about how to find a new approach .
Young Duke Baden doesn’t want to throw away the aspiration of seizing the initiative once again by taking a bit of the responsibility upon himself .
The n.o.bles are either supporting one side or are troubled which side they should support .
It was my first attendance in a war council during the war, but I didn’t think that it would be this tedious .
Maybe the internal affairs are similar in the rebel army as well .
While I was fed up, Dous.h.i.+ and Burkhart-san, who are attending the meeting as well, drunk maté tea and ate the cookies which they had put into a magic bag after Elise had baked them before .
They craved for sweets since they are worn-out and have empty stomachs after just returning to headquarters .

“Dous.h.i.+, nothing is getting settled . ”

“In the first place, it’s a meeting that doesn’t require us, who are treated as mercenaries, to attend . ” (Armstrong)

“Dous.h.i.+, it’s the end if you say that, right?” (Burkhart)

“But, it’s a fact, isn’t it, Burkhart-dono?” (Armstrong)

As there’s no way for him to drink alcohol here, Burkhart-san drinks tea while crunching on rice crackers he bought in Earl Mizuho Country .
It looks like he was happier with rice crackers than sweet cookies . As I had seen him buying a huge amount, he likely still has some left on stock .

“(Wend, Burkhart-san is an old man . )”

“(I can hear you, Erwin)”

“Sorry!” (Erwin)

Looking at Burkhart-san slurping his tea while eating rice crackers, Erw pointed that out to me in a whisper, but with Burkhart having heard that, Erw apologized earnestly .
It’s a mood that makes it seem as if we aren’t attending a meeting at all, but as no one, including Therese, says anything, it’s actually eerie .

“Wend, I want to eat a mango . ” (Ina)

“Sure . ” (Wendelin)

Once I take out a mango we picked up in the Demon Forest from my magic bag and pa.s.s it to Ina, she immediately cuts it into little pieces that are easy to eat, piles those pieces up on a plate and places that plate on the table .

“My stomach is empty . ”

“As it’s a meeting, I wanted to postpone eating . ”

“You might end up falling asleep with your stomach full . ”

It might be as Luise says, however that’s still better than taking part in a meeting that bears no fruits like this one .
Therese’s group, the leading group of the meeting, remains silent while exchanging glances .
As we are treated as mercenaries, our position is low . At any rate, we enjoyed tea and snacks without minding the surrounding gazes as we are probably not too conspicuous .
Since we couldn’t eat much food during the retreat, we had become hungry .

“I want to eat a full serving of meat . ”

“That’s true, I guess . You played a major role in the battle after all, Wilma . It would be great if the meeting could end swiftly so that we would be able to have a proper meal . ”

Wilma obtained great military achievements by killing many commanders and soldiers with the prototype magic sniper rifle .
Rather than wasting time with such a pointless meeting, I’d like to have a meal swiftly .

“Good work, you did well . ”

“That feels nice . ”

When I gently stroke Wilma’s head while praising her, she closed her eyes and became entranced .

When I gently stroke Wilma’s head while praising her, she closed her eyes and became entranced .

“Sorry . I forgot you, Katharina . ” (Wendelin)

Being an excelling magician, she flourished greatly by freely and mostly independently using magic .
If this was a civil war in the kingdom, it would definitely result in an increase in territory and a rise in peerage .

“I don’t have any particular need to have my head stroked…” (Katharina)

“Do you hate it?” (Wendelin)

“Umm… If the one doing it is you, Wendelin-san…” (Katharina)

“As I want to do it, bring your head closer . ” (Wendelin)

“I guess I have no other choice then . ” (Katharina)

Even while saying something like that, Katharina closed her eyes apparently not being against it when her head was actually caressed by me .
Since she’s a shy person, it won’t happen unless I don’t tell her myself .
Having said that, it’s a joke, but as the meeting really isn’t making any progress, I’m simply provoking them by deliberately acting like that .
I expected for there to be n.o.bles causing a fuss by saying stuff like 『How indiscreet!』, but they are silent after sending a look our way for just an instant .

“Ah, right . There’s something I’d like to ask of you, Elise . ” (Wendelin)

“Okay . What is it?” (Elise)

“Feed me . ” (Wendelin)

“Understood . Dear, please open your mouth and say A~~~h . ” (Elise)

“For a body worn-out from battle, fruits are the best . ”

“Elise, you too . Here . A~~~h . ” (Wendelin)

“It’s delicious . ”

I continue my provocation even further, but it looks like Elise realized my intention .
She fed some of the cut mango to me .
She also knows that no matter how many great military achievements we obtained in the recent battle, those haven’t contributed in any way to the war situation .
She cooperated with the provocation that was filled with my protest .

“I will feed you as well, Wend . Here . A~~~h . ” (Luise)

“Me too . Here . A~~~h . ”

With Luise and Ina partic.i.p.ating as well, the room, where the meeting is held, got enveloped by a strange atmosphere .
The n.o.bles who don’t say anything while wearing discouraged expressions, Therese who can’t grasp a clue how to breach the topic, we who are feeding each other fruits and sweets with six people, Dous.h.i.+ who is eating a lot of sweets and fruits while drinking maté tea, and Burkhart-san who’s quietly slurping his maté tea .
Only time is pa.s.sing, but finally a single n.o.ble starts to blame us as if a dam has broken .
It looks like he couldn’t put up with it any longer at last .

“What are you, the likes of mercenaries, doing at such a meeting?!”

Going by my conjecture the middle-aged, fat n.o.ble that donned an attire with flashy ornaments, which were of bad taste, is probably around the rank of an Earl?
For a n.o.ble it’s probably troublesome if they don’t readily remember foreign n.o.bles of which there are plenty, but it might not be that much of a problem in this case .
That’s because we are mercenaries after all .

“If you ask what we are doing; it’s a light meal before dinner as we withdrew in a situation where we couldn’t eat and drink much . ”

“If you ask what we are doing; it’s a light meal before dinner as we withdrew in a situation where we couldn’t eat and drink much . ”

“Do such stuff after the meeting! Just what the h.e.l.l do you b.a.s.t.a.r.ds think of a meeting of the authorities?”

“Authorities, you say? At this meeting where no one is talking at all?”

Due to me pointing it out, everyone showed bitter expressions on their faces .
Because of the defeat, it’s necessary to hold a meeting to reprimand and punish the people responsible and to learn a lesson from those battles, but no one wanted to be punished . No one said anything as they were afraid of young Duke Baden being removed from the race for the next emperor if he’s made to take responsibility for this time’s defeat .
Even Therese hesitated to make any kind of announcement as she was thinking that it would alienate young Duke Baden if she punishes him unskillfully .
That how things probably stand .
However, while that may be true, there’s no meaning in having held a meeting if she stays silent without declaring anything .

“I feel like we won tactically at parts, but since it was strategically a crus.h.i.+ng defeat, you have to quickly reflect on it and move on to the next plan, don’t you?”

“The losses on the rebel army’s side are huge…”

“Those are losses Duke Nürnberg has taken into consideration . ”

What I understood in these two battles is that Duke Nürnberg hasn’t dispatched much of the military forces of the n.o.bles and imperial army, which sympathize with him, and neither did he send the elites of his own feudal army whom he can trust the most .
Something like the troops that besieged the Talberg Mountain Fortress were obviously intended to be crushed . Although their n.o.ble heads are idiots, he can’t make light of their military and economic strength .
Even though the reinforcements that were sent out by Therese obtained results beyond expectations, those troops were as weak as being below second rate despite having large numbers .

“They are weak, but if you fight them, our allies will definitely incur losses . Once those losses acc.u.mulate, Duke Nürnberg will go for a decisive battle with his trustable military forces that are still fresh while our side will be in a state of exhaustion . ”

To begin with, the rebel army that’s holding the south and centre is predominant .
As for the ability to mobilize military strength, the other side was superior .

“That’s the biggest reason why Duke Nürnberg hasn’t come out until now . He has been dispatching soldiers while calmly calculating the difference in military strength between our side and his own . ”

“However, for us high cla.s.s n.o.bles to be deceived by Duke Nürnberg’s schemes that easily…”

“It has been you gentlemen who chose to go along with it, right?”

Just because they are n.o.bles, it doesn’t mean that all of them are excellent .
Even I have seen excellent n.o.bles and those that aren’t until now .
Because their education environment is better than those of commoners, the ratio of knowledgeable people is probably higher .
However, there are also many people, who only possess knowledge but don’t know how to apply it, and those who are egoistic and arrogant due to their birthplace . They caused many victims by heading into battle while only defending themselves with a 『Magic Barrier』 .
Unexpectedly the nature of people other than n.o.bles might not be that different either .

“They thought that it would be bad to not attach themselves to the rebel army out of geographical reasons and such . Beyond having joined up with the rebel army, they want to increase their influence and territory by raising military achievements . As a result we are losing our military forces by joining in on the battles as their numbers are big . ”

There’s no loss for Duke Nürnberg due to their defeat .
He can charge them with the responsibility of having lost . This time he won’t punish them since they recaptured the military locations, but they uselessly wasted their military forces .
Something like losing a huge number of troops in the current situation is similar to lending a helping hand to Duke Nürnberg’s power as dictator .
They will be crushed if they go against him . In reality he might have already made a move on the n.o.ble households that lost their family heads in action .
By placing a person that follows his own intentions as successor, Duke Nürnberg will put them under his control .

“Given that Duke Nürnberg is aiming for an unified, beautiful empire, he won’t hesitate to remove n.o.bles that will become a hindrance to that . ”

Although he allows even foolish n.o.bles to survive as long as they are obedient towards him, he will immediately get rid of them by having them intentionally clash with our side if they prove to be even slightly defiant .
The smart n.o.bles should either calmly a.s.sist in his hegemony or keep a mostly neutral stance as they still don’t know which side will win .
They are likely waiting and watching the situation without opposing Duke Nürnberg .
From Duke Nürnberg’s point of view, that’s satisfactory .
If our side loses, they will truly obey Duke Nürnberg as they are no fools .
Raising the peerage and gaining territory by taking a gamble is fine . And reliably protecting one’s territory and peerage is fine as well .
Either of those options is correct for a n.o.ble .