Chapter 24 - Adolf and the Archbishop ①
If one goes west from the town of Nakanohara along the highway connecting east and west, they will reach the mountain range with a pass in three days on foot. In the meantime, one passes through about seven small towns—which could also be called villages—that serve as post stations, and each village has a post station managed by the guard where several horses are kept at all times. In an emergency, if one switched those horses one after another, they could reach the foot of the pass from Nakanohara in about seven or eight hours.
After leaving the town, Adolf confirmed that the sun had set at the second village, then took off the blue robe he was wearing and put it on a member of that village's guard.
"I'm sorry, but could you go to the village at the foot of the pass like this? I will go there by tomorrow afternoon. If I become unable to go, I will send a messenger, so could you wait there until then?"
Adolf told the squad leader of the guard who had come with him from Nakanohara.
"What will you do, Mayor? And how about the rescue of the returning soldiers?"
"I feel bad for the returning soldiers, but I'll have them endure a little longer. Just in case, ask the hunters about the situation at the pass. I've decided to follow a slightly different path."
Adolf answered the squad leader's question and then told the person at the post station that he wanted to ask a hunter familiar with the local geography to act as a guide.
After seeing the guards depart for the next village, Adolf took out a single candle, lit it, and put it inside a lantern. He was measuring time. That candle took two hours to burn out completely. At this time of year, dawn should break after about three and a half candles.
Eventually, three hunters gathered in response to Adolf's request. From their appearance, it was clear they had gained a fair amount of experience. Adolf gave ten silver coins to each of the gathered hunters.
"This is a down payment. We should be able to return here by tomorrow noon, so I want you to follow my instructions until then. The reward will be paid again when we return. I think I can pay at least double the down payment."
When Adolf showed them a leather bag, they could see it was filled not only with silver coins but even gold coins. The hunters stirred, rejoicing at the unexpected reward.
An older man among the three stepped forward and introduced himself as Angus.
"I take it you are Mayor Adolf of Nakanohara."
Apparently, he knew Adolf. Adolf had been the defense commander of Nakanohara in the previous war, and hunters are valuable archers and scouts in war. It wasn't strange for him to know the face.
"Indeed, I am Adolf, but have we met somewhere?"
When asked, he said his daughter was in his care. His daughter apparently worked at the town hall. When he heard the name, she was a girl he knew well. Being a hunter's daughter, she was poor at paperwork, but she was kind-hearted and sharp-witted, so he had hired her as a receptionist. She was also entrusted with serving customers and prepared drinks for guests shown to the Mayor's office according to the season and the person. Because she treated everyone with the same kindness, her reputation in town was good.
It is national policy to recruit applicants not only from the town but also from the villages. The daughter had been hired in accordance with that policy. In other countries where a clear class system exists, it would be impossible to be hired by a public institution that oversees taxation, justice, and military affairs, even if it's just one region of the country. It is unique to Sertoria, where no class system exists.
"I'm the one who's always in her debt. She's smart and sociable, so her reputation around her is good."
It was the truth. He didn't say it just to please the father, but Angus broke into a smile and bowed in thanks.
Adolf gathered those present and spoke of the current situation. There were four village guards and three hunters. Normally, they weren't the kind of people one would discuss classified matters with, but he knew from experience that in an emergency, it was better to speak openly and clearly rather than hide things poorly.
"I see, both east and west."
"Since Bishop Catherine went, the east shouldn't be a problem. However, I thought it better to investigate the west. What do you all think?"
"As you say, the west is strange. I've never heard of bandits attacking soldiers."
"The fact that they're just surrounding them is also bothering me, and it's strange that several people were able to escape. If they were bandits, they'd finish them off properly so the escapees wouldn't call for reinforcements."
"If the goal is to stall them, it makes sense."
The hunters likely had experience in military service. It was already a conversation between scouts.
After discussing it, they concluded that the returning soldiers were not attacked by bandits but were stalled by someone. And they deliberately let several people escape to report this to Nakanohara. To make them report it. What they didn't understand was the motive. What did the bandits want to do?
"How about thinking of it this way? If someone wanted to occupy Nakanohara, what would be the obstacle?"
Adolf sensed that everyone's discussion had reached a deadlock and let the conversation proceed under one assumption.
The seven men began talking again.
"First, there's no Royal Army, right?"
The Royal Army is currently facing off against the Demon Lord's army.
"After that, according to the Mayor, the guard is a quarter of its original size."
"Since the vigilante group can't be moved, we'll leave them as they are, and Bishop Catherine went east. After that..."
Everyone looked at Adolf's face.
"Mayor, is it alright for you to be here?"
"Is it not allowed for me to be here?"
"Nakanohara will be empty."
"The enemy will think so too."
The seven looked at each other and nodded.
"Are you pretending to be deceived?"
The three hunters grinned. They looked as if they wanted to say the Mayor was also a wicked man. Whether as a hunter or a scout, outwitting the opponent is a daily occurrence. They likely understood Adolf's way of thinking easily.
"And the enemy?"
"Is it the south?"
For them too, the wounds of the previous war had not yet healed, and they immediately assumed the Kingdom of Engrio to the south.
"I don't know. If Catherine going east is also part of the enemy's plan, the opponent might not be human."
The church does not participate in conflicts between nations. There should be no need to drive away a priest.
"Bishop Catherine went out to hunt Revenants, right? Then, isn't the opponent Revenants?"
When one of the guards said that, an objection came from one of the hunters.
"Then why lure out the Mayor? It makes no sense."
It was a way of speaking that could be taken as disrespectful toward Adolf, who would become the defense commander of the entire Nakanohara area in an emergency, but Adolf didn't mind.
A magician's magic is not very effective against Revenants. Fire magic, which is said to be the most effective, has a high risk of spreading to surrounding houses if it's high-level or above, and cannot be used in urban or siege warfare.
"If both are going to attack together, they'd have to lure out both the Bishop and the Mayor, right?"
At the words of one hunter, the rest of them froze.
"No matter how you look at it, you..."
"That's right, such a reckless thing..."
Everyone reflexively looked at Adolf's face, but Adolf was not laughing.
"No way, could such a thing really..."
The person who said it likely meant it lightly, but because Adolf remained silent, his face stiffened.
Nakanohara will fall. Everyone thought so.
"Are you worried about your daughter?"
Adolf asked Angus, who had become completely silent.
"She's a hunter's daughter. I taught her how to use a bow and arrow. If it comes down to it, she'll fight bravely."
The father, putting on a brave face, was forcing a laugh. Adolf patted Angus's shoulder two or three times and then tightened his expression.
"As the defense commander of Nakanohara, I have a duty to protect the lives of those living in the Nakanohara area from the enemy. At the moment, I don't even know if there really is an enemy, but I must take measures just in case. I'm sorry, but please lend me your strength."
The men nodded powerfully.
The Nakanohara River flows from west to east across the Nakanohara Basin, which is surrounded by mountains. Many riverboats come and go, and along with the highway running nearby, it is an artery of logistics. The guard of the village where Adolf and the others were now also managed several riverboats. Adolf borrowed one of those boats and headed downriver with three village guards and three hunters.
The boat had one oar on each side, and they rowed it. Despite it being nighttime, they went down the river at a fair speed. On the way, they added one riverboat operated by two guards from the village next to Nakanohara to their group.
Adolf and the others arrived at a small hill on the south bank of the river, about an hour's walk from Nakanohara. Though called a hill, it was so steep it could be called a block of rock, and there was no path up. Actually, this rock had a reconnaissance base made by hollowing out the area near the top. It was connected to the north bank by an underground passage running under the river.
Adolf decided to wait there for a messenger from Nakanohara. Because when he departed Nakanohara, he had asked his direct scouts to report here if anything happened in Nakanohara.
The second candle was already lit and had become quite short.
He was able to safely meet with the scout and receive a report. Everyone's faces changed color when they heard that the town was being attacked by a swarm of five thousand Revenants. However, although attacked, there was a prospect of intercepting them at the back of the church, and at the main gate, the guard was the center of setting traps and preparing to intercept.
The current position of the Engrio army was also identified. They were apparently resting at a pasture away from the surrounding villages, about two hours' walk from Nakanohara. At least, on the surface, they didn't seem to be coordinating with the Revenants.
Adolf made the two guards from the village two doors down, who had come this far on the riverboat, messengers to the Nakanohara guard that had headed for the western pass. And he gave one instruction to his direct scout. After seeing each of them disappear into the darkness, he gathered those present nearby.
"I'm going to the town's main gate by boat now, but is there anyone who will come with me?"
Village hunters and guards have no duty to defend the town. Naturally, a reward would be paid. But unfortunately, the opponent was Revenants. They couldn't counter them with the weapons they handled.
However, everyone said they would go.
"If Mayor Adolf dies here, the Revenant users or the Engrio lot will become the Mayor, right? If that happens, everyone living in the Nakanohara area will rise up all at once and it'll be a war, so they'll die there anyway. Rather than that, if I fight and die with the Mayor here, I might become a village hero."
He told Angus to go to the town via the mountains and see his daughter.
"Even if I went after leaving the Mayor behind, my daughter wouldn't speak to me. If I follow the Mayor, even if I die, she'll at least attend my funeral."
He wouldn't listen, saying that was enough.
Adolf was happy, but he couldn't just be happy. He deliberately set conditions.
"I want you to follow my instructions completely. I will not allow disobedience. Also, I will not allow a meaningless death. Those who survive after things are finished will receive one gold coin as a reward. Those who die will have ten silver coins given to their families separately from the condolence money. Also, if I die or if I tell you to run, you must absolutely escape and tell this to anyone from any village. I will write a letter so that the reward of one gold coin in that case will be issued by the village headman. Is that clear?"
The reward for dying was half of the reward for surviving. It was Adolf's message to survive. He thought that rather than becoming a hero by dying, it was better to be a good father by living. Since no objections were raised, Adolf finished writing letters for everyone, gave one to each, and boarded the boat.
The second candle was about to burn out.
When they approached the town, Adolf used [Camouflage] magic, and the figures of the seven people, along with the boat, vanished from above the river. While they stopped rowing and let the boat drift with the river's current with the town on their left, the boat flowed toward the vicinity of the main gate.
A large number of Revenants were swarming at the main gate. If there was someone controlling them, it was easy to surmise that they were outside the main gate.
As if circling behind the swarm of Revenants, they brought the boat to the shore a little further down and went ashore. There, he temporarily deactivated the [Camouflage].
Adolf's aim was to capture those controlling the Revenants, which was coincidentally the same as the Archbishop of the Great Church of Nakanohara. Although neither side realized it, they were to launch a surprise attack on the casters who would be behind the main gate at almost the same time.