Chapter 250 - The Battle for Migul and Marianne's Vow
I stood on the roof of the House Wanland mansion. It was gently sloped, but there was a maintenance scaffold where it met the wall. No one in the dusk-shrouded city was asleep; hidden in the shadows, countless people held their breath, their restless energy simmering. There was still time before the moon would rise and begin to bathe the streets in silver.
Lights were visible to the east and west of the city, signaling the advance of House Leafclout and House Airally. It wasn't they who were carrying torches, but rather the citizens living nearby, who had lit lamps in their rooms to silently track their movements.
Looking down, the ground was a long way below, higher than Ilisarie’s room I had jumped from this morning. A phantom pain flared through my body, which Elisha was supposed to have healed, as the memory of that terror resurfaced. I told myself it was just my imagination and continued to watch the scene unfold.
In the plaza before the mansion, bonfires blazed brightly, and a great crowd had gathered. Soldiers from House Wanland, soldiers from House Starunion, and surrounding them, the common folk—all stood not in a clamor, but in silence, looking up at us on the mansion’s facade.
Marianne stood in the center, flanked by myself and Tursa, the captain of her guard. Beside us stood Elisha and Marina.
A gentle breeze blew, and Marianne's tail swayed as if stirred by it. The tips of her ears twitched, and she took a deep breath.
"The city of Migul faces a great crisis. House Airally, seeking to seize control of this city, has joined forces with House Leafclout and launched a rebellion. House Starunion and House Skynorth have fallen, and we of House Wanland are all that remain."
Marianne paused, her gaze sweeping over the people assembled in the plaza. Seeing the crowd listening quietly to her words, she clenched her teeth.
"They did not declare war. They are attempting to take this city by the cowardly means of a surprise attack. They do not speak to us face-to-face, but lurk in the shadows, seeking only to crush us with force. They will claim that we have sold our city's independence to the Demon Kingdom. But no such thing has happened. Look at the man who stands beside me!"
Marianne’s gaze shifted from the crowd to me. She stared at me intently.
She's asking for confirmation. What she was about to do was a declaration of war against House Airally and House Leafclout. During the day, our fighting had been purely defensive. By going on the offensive, the conflict would escalate, potentially causing even more damage to the city.
She knew I was hesitant about what I'd suggested. And she felt guilty for dragging me, someone with no involvement in this city's politics, into this mess.
Her eyes were asking me: Is it really okay to involve you?
I met her gaze. Her eyebrows were perfectly shaped, framing strong, sharp eyes. But within them lay her soft, warm heart.
On the surface, this was House Airally's rebellion, but behind the scenes, a hunt for the transferred was underway. I didn't yet know the full picture, but I could no longer remain a bystander.
I gave Marianne a small nod, and she nodded back.
"This is Mash-sama, a hero from another world sent by Racshell-sama. A hero commanded by the goddess herself to defeat the Demon Lord stands beside me. This hero is here to fight alongside us. This fact alone should make it clear to you all. The claims that House Wanland, House Starunion, and House Skynorth have sold themselves to the Demon Kingdom are utterly baseless. It is all a conspiracy orchestrated by the head of House Airally, Ishtvan Airally, for the sake of his own ambition!"
At that moment, Elisha, clad in her vestments, stepped forward and struck the ground forcefully with her staff.
"I am sure none of you have forgotten the incident the other day when the great cathedral vanished. It was Mash-sama, here, who manifested Racshell-sama. The vessel for our god that we built could not withstand Racshell-sama's power, but…"
Elisha's clear, ringing voice took over for Marianne.
"Ordinarily, the church should remain neutral and entrust the politics of the secular world to its people. However, if the hero declares that he will act with House Wanland, then Ishtvan Airally is an enemy of the gods. I, too, will devote my strength to saving this city, alongside all of you gathered here!"
Elisha bowed her head, took a step back, and glanced at Marianne.
Marianne placed a hand on the sword at her waist and drew it slightly from its scabbard. Then, she pulled it free, raising the gleaming white blade to the night sky.
"Rule by force has no place in the city of Migul. But if Ishtvan Airally intends to take this city by force, then I shall answer with this sword. I swear to Racshell-sama and to all of you gathered here! I swear that, no matter what, I will not surrender the future of this city to them! If they intend to strike me down in a night battle, then I swear I, too, shall strike them down in this night battle!"
A cheer erupted from the crowd at her words. It swept past us, who were looking down, and spread into the night sky that enveloped Migul.
The roar echoed, growing stronger with each repetition.
Just then, Marianne’s body swayed.
I reached out and supported her by the waist. She leaned against me, entrusting her weight to me. Tursa noticed something was wrong and quickly stepped in front of her, shielding her from the crowd's view as he let out a roar of his own.
I half-carried Marianne down from the roof and into the building. Her cheeks were flushed, and her breath came in hot gasps.
"Mash… what am I trying to do?"
"You said you had a fever, didn't you? That speech was more than enough to rouse them. Leave the rest to Tursa and get some sleep."
"I can't do that…"
Marianne shook her head. Then, she moved away from me and started walking.
"I can't. You're the one who put me in this position as head of the house. And even in a situation like this, you're still here by my side. I have to win, no matter what. Otherwise, I'm not worthy of standing next to you."
"None of that matters. You were about to show a moment of weakness just now, weren't you? That's fine. What's the point of creating a world where you can't be yourself? Leave it to us and get some rest."
Marianne shook her head again and looked behind her. Elisha had followed us.
"Elisha-sama, a miracle of healing, please."
At her words, Elisha lowered her gaze.
"Marianne-sama, this is not the church. I can take away your fever. But in this place, I cannot remove the cause of your fever."
"That's fine. Considering our fatigue, both I and the soldiers gathered here need to settle this tonight. As long as it holds until morning, I'll be fine."
Elisha and I looked at each other in silence.
After her vow, Marianne led the army to retake City Hall.
Tursa led a mobile unit composed entirely of beastmen, charging up the main staircase in a single, swift assault.
The enemy must have expected a battle within Wanland territory and never considered that we would strike out. They had deployed the same number of soldiers as when we had visited during the day.
By the time Marianne's main force arrived, the tide of battle had already been decided. Immediately, they began to drag things out of City Hall and build barricades to block the main staircase and side paths.
Meanwhile, I took Riley, Ilisarie, and the members of Neko no Ko Koneko—Takemura, Komachi, Fang, Doris, and Beers—and circled around to the north side of the hill where City Hall stood.
"So what's the situation, exactly?"
Beers asked. For some reason, it felt like a long time since I'd last seen his bald head.
"The enemy commander is Ishtvan Airally. However, there's a possibility that Zeno Leafclout is a co-commander. A thousand of House Airally's troops and five hundred of House Leafclout's were moving in from the west and east to launch a night raid on the Wanland mansion."
"So you used that opening to launch a surprise attack and retake City Hall. But… isn't fifteen hundred a bit much?"
Although the four ruling houses maintained standing forces like personal guards and special units, they didn't keep large garrisons, instead summoning troops from the city and their surrounding domains as needed. We had information that House Airally had hired mercenaries and House Leafclout had summoned soldiers from their lands.
Against them, we had five hundred House Wanland soldiers, two hundred and fifty from House Starunion, a hundred remnants of House Skynorth, and a hundred of the Wandering People, for a total of nine hundred and fifty. Our forces numbered less than a thousand in all. While citizen volunteers would likely join, we couldn't rely solely on their strength.
"Those enemy numbers are from the start of the battle. And since it's not a simple melee but an assault on a mansion, it's bound to have caused them considerable casualties, even if it's not a full-blown siege…"
"Can't afford to be optimistic," Beers said.
I nodded in agreement.
"So, which building should I hit?"
Komachi asked me. I scanned the city streets. The cityscape, illuminated by the faint light of the Crystal Palace floating overhead, was dark, making it difficult to distinguish the buildings. Crystal Square, which was usually brilliantly lit even at night, was now cordoned off and shrouded in the same darkness as everywhere else. From among the shadows, I found a particularly large mansion and pointed to it.
"That big one there."
It was the House Airally mansion. We would use Komachi's special skill from here to bombard it. If we burned their headquarters, the enemy would surely be thrown into disarray. If we were lucky, they would have to divert troops to guard the mansion, dispersing their forces.
Komachi, standing next to me, leaned forward, raised her hand, and stared at the point of my finger.
"That big building, right?"
With those words, she turned her palm toward the ground.
"Special Skill, 28-San Howitzer!"
A steel cannon with a barrel taller than I am emerged from the ground at her shout.
The muzzle was so large my head could have fit inside it completely. I peeked into the opening, but it was pitch black and I couldn't see anything.
"It's dangerous, so stand back. And cover your ears, you might rupture your eardrums."
Nodding at her, we moved away.
"Are you sure about this…?"
I couldn't help but voice my concern.
"About what?"
"Last time we fought, you missed…"
"Hah? That was naval bombardment, we were both moving, weren't we? Besides, without that magic barrier, you guys would've been algae in the river! This time, it's a fixed land cannon doing high-angle fire. I'll definitely hit it."
While Komachi was retorting, the cannon barrel was moving. It seemed to adjust its firing angle automatically according to her will, but it didn't seem to adjust for accuracy.
Then, the barrel stopped dead.
"Alright, fire!"
With her shout, the cannon erupted in fire. A shockwave and the roar of the blast echoed around us. With my hands covering my ears, I watched the shell's trajectory. It landed on a building well short of the target mansion, exploding with a deafening roar and sending up a plume of black smoke.
"Uh oh…"
"'Uh oh' is right! You hit civilians!"
There was no way the residents of that house were safe. Lights flickered on in the surrounding houses.
"One more time. Wait ten minutes."
I pulled out my phone and checked the time. How long did we have before the enemy surrounded City Hall and began their assault? Before then, I wanted to destroy both the Airally and Leafclout mansions beyond any hope of quick repair. And with that last shot, the transferred on the other side must have realized we were here. I believed Levante would notice. They should get here before the enemy does.
Her cannon's weakness was that it couldn't fire in succession and required time before the next shot. She began to adjust the firing angle based on the first impact.
"Observing from the sky."
Perhaps intending to do some spotting for her artillery, Takemura used his special skill beside her as she adjusted the angle, creating countless balloons and hastily ascending into the sky.
Watching his receding figure, he looked like a sitting duck. I worried what he would do if he were shot down. This wasn't over water. But then again, he was the one with the immortality special skill.
As I was thinking about this, I realized Riley was standing next to me, glaring at me from the corner of her eye.
"It's not what you think. Komachi is Takemura's girlfriend. They're not all my women!"
"I haven't said anything yet!"
Just then, Komachi raised a hand. Then she brought it down quietly.
Simultaneously, a deafening roar echoed as the second shot was fired. The shell tore through the darkness at a tremendous speed and, this time, struck the target mansion directly.
Crimson flames and black smoke erupted, followed by the sound of the explosion reaching our ears.
"We did it…"
Komachi nodded at my murmur. I was no longer sure why Takemura had flown up, but since no one else seemed to care, I decided to forget about it too. With this, the second phase of our counterattack had begun.
"Should I hit them with one more?"
I nodded at her words. Just then, I noticed Ilisarie watching us with a cold, detached gaze.
"Ishtvan, the human leader, had ambitions to rule this city, but he's an old man. It's possible he was commanding from his mansion instead of the front lines."
"So what if he was?"
"If this bombardment took his life, you've just lost your foothold for ending the war. He may be an enemy you have to defeat, but he's also the man you need to negotiate a conclusion to this battle."
Her words held neither the heat of provocation nor the dampness of concern for our well-being. She was simply stating the facts, dispassionately.
"Next up is House Leafclout. If Zeno is still there, or if you left any of your valuables in that mansion, I guess I feel bad for you…"
Hearing my words, Ilisarie's lips curved into a faint smile, but it vanished as quickly as it appeared.
As always, I couldn't figure out her intentions. And I didn't know why she was even here.
Just as I was about to question her, Komachi raised her hand and looked at me.
I covered my ears and nodded back at her.
The third roar thundered through the air.
Thank you for reading. To those who have liked, bookmarked, and rated this story, your support is my motivation. I am truly grateful for the typo corrections.