Chapter 731 - Chapter 3: The Demon Lord's Resurrecting Cave in the Demon Realm ② (Morandine) Outpost
I stayed in Finis for three nights. This was because after charging magic into several orbs brought by the lords, I went to see the Water Dragon. At the temple, there was a banquet including Poppy. Poppy seems to have gotten used to living at the temple, and was being quite pampered by the Priestess and other temple servants, as well as the King and Queen and the Crown Prince and Princess. As a cat, that is. And after that, I visited the border lord and the Queen, and that night, we crossed the Northern Gram border and arrived at the checkpoint with Morandine. Since Eowyn-sama accompanied us and we had a letter from Price-sama, we were able to cross the checkpoint and enter the country easily.
"It has been a long time. Henry-sama, Eleanor-sama."
The one who welcomed us was Sir Edgar. It's been since whenever.
"Hey, Sir Edgar! It's been a while."
"Sir Edgar. It's been a long time. Is everything well?"
The old couple exchanged greetings in their usual field clothes and handed over souvenirs.
"Thank you for coming all this way."
"Nonsense, this time we are the Henry Party. We are private citizens, so do not worry about it."
"That's right, Sir Edgar. We came at the request of the Church. You may treat us as commoners."
That's probably not going to happen.
The welcoming party also included the Archbishop of the Morandine Royal Capital Grand Cathedral. If I recall, he was the person who incurred Price-sama's displeasure over something from at least six hundred years ago. No matter how you think about it, it's a false accusation.
Following the Henry Party, I knelt before the Archbishop and offered my greetings.
"Price-sama and Bishop Harrison have already arrived and are staying at the local church."
"Hmm. Then let us go and greet them as well."
Henry-sama replied to the Archbishop's words and boarded the special carriage provided.
On the way, including eating lunch at a certain fortress for a break, it took almost a full day to reach the church in the village closest to the target Demon Realm. According to Sir Edgar's explanation, if we used Flight Magic, it would take another hour of flying south to reach the fortress we would use as a base. In other words, where we are now is geographically north of the Demon Realm.
"I am glad above all that you are cooperating despite your busy schedules."
At the church, Price-sama, the local head priest, and Harrison-san welcomed us. With two heroes, old and new, having arrived, the village is in a welcoming mood. The old couple joined in. As usual, they raised their hands in response to the cheers when they introduced themselves.
While the old couple was responding to the cheers of the residents, I greeted the priests, including Price-sama.
"Jeanne, thank you for your hard work amidst everything."
"No, this is my main job, after all."
"Since you are busy, I have taken away half of your work. I feel sorry for that."
Well, those parts are certainly true. I haven't seen the rats, foxes, or bats of Nakanohara for a while, and the winter wolves and bears are doubtful this year. Since Priest Williams ended up going in my place, I haven't been able to go to the Great Shark Festival either. This is because there are many long-term expeditions. In exchange, requests from the royal family and the Church pay well per case. I can't earn in volume, but they provide all the meals for the duration, so that's not to be scoffed at. You could say I'm being given good work.
"Let's go inside and I'll explain this operation while we take a break."
Leaving the old couple who were waving and shaking hands with the villagers, I was guided into the church.
This investigation consists of the five regular members of the Henry Party, with Price-sama and Harrison-san as non-regular members, and Mary and I as special participants. As for the rest, it depends on whether the Morandine side provides people, but it's basically support.
While the old couple was providing service to the villagers elsewhere, Price-sama gave us an overview.
"The Demon Realm we are investigating this time is surrounded on all four sides by plains. We are currently on the north side of that Demon Realm, but on the other three sides, the Morandine army is in position to draw attention. we will take advantage of that opening to infiltrate."
I understood why Sir Edgar was the only royal messenger. They are leading forces divided into three locations.
According to Price-sama, this investigation is predicated on a conquest. The proposer is King Seldic of Engrio. King Seldic, perhaps because the conquest of his own country's Demon Realm is complete, seems to want to lend his Monster Extermination Unit and Magic Corps for the conquest of other countries' Demon Realms. It's quite an enthusiastic story, but in short, he probably wants to maintain a state of non-war. If non-war is achieved on the White Island, he can send that many more soldiers to the continent. There are even rumors that East Liber will cover the necessary expenses. If that's the case, it would be a national mercenary business. Even if they don't cover the expenses, it would be a seasonal job aiming to capture famous nobles or loot towns and villages. Besides, Engrio has a significant number of private mercenary groups in its own country. Since the mercenary groups were created as a result of their own military system reform, he would be in trouble if they became bandits if he didn't find work for them.
"It might be cynical, but considering that background, King Seldic's proposal makes sense. And above all, Morandine is the stage."
Because of his past actions, it seems they won't take it in a purely positive light, but he brought that on himself. However, for the Church, which loudly advocates for the subjugation of monsters on a daily basis, it's a dream come true. Morandine might also be criticized by other countries if they keep saying they're rebuilding the national army forever. Above all, they would be looked down upon. King Seldic's proposal must have been a godsend.
"In the plan, the armies of each country are scheduled to begin the conquest next summer. Since this is an investigation for that, let's do our best."
"Hmm. We must do the investigation thoroughly and avoid unnecessary loss of military force as much as possible."
Before I knew it, the old couple had come inside.
"Please, we count on you. Let's do our best so that it meets the Goddess's will and that as little unnecessary blood as possible is shed."
It seems the intentions of these three elderly people are the same.
After resting at the church, we move to the fortress in a medium-sized bowl. It's likely a fortress for monitoring the Demon Realm. In other words, it's the front line.
I parted with Sir Edgar at the village. Sir Edgar is leading a unit of the Morandine army along with the lords of this area. The placement is north. If they invade from three sides while hinting at an invasion of the forest, naturally the north side will look empty. In a normal siege, an ambush would be placed there. They would purposely let the enemy, who found an escape route to the north, flee and then launch a surprise attack. However, this time we are only doing an investigation. Accordingly, the military force is also small. In that case, for the forces lurking in the forest, rather than attacking the northern unit which is far away, it would be better to lure the enemies from the remaining three sides into the forest. He will apparently lead a fake ambush to make them think so. That makes the north under-guarded and easier to infiltrate. At the same time, it's likely for the defense of the village in case of emergency. The villagers will also feel at ease. It's surprisingly labor-intensive.
Seeing off Sir Edgar and the head priest, we took off in the medium-sized bowl. No high speed. It took a solid hour, so it's already close to sunset.
The fortress isn't that large. In Sertoria, it's like the ones often found in the Nakanohara district for villager evacuation. It's built on a small plateau.
As we approached, Will began waving a flag with the Morandine crest, borrowed from Sir Edgar, tied to the tip of her spear. It must be a signal. As we approached the outer wall, the soldiers waved to us. When Eleanor-sama launched a single bolt of lightning to liven things up, a cheer arose.
Amidst the excitement of the soldiers, after grandly circling once along the outer wall, the bowl landed in the courtyard of the fortress. Judging by the placement and size, it's likely the main tower. Directly in front of the entrance is a warrior in quite magnificent armor. He's still young. Since several people around him exude a veteran aura, he's probably a scion of a Morandine noble.
The warrior was the eldest son of the lord of this area. In other words, he's the commander of this fortress. Since his father is with Sir Edgar, he's a substitute, so to speak. He welcomed us along with the bishop attached to the fortress, presumably.
"I have heard the rumors. To be able to meet the three former heroes and the current hero, Bishop Harrison... it is a supreme honor for me."
If you say things like that too much, the delinquent old people will get carried away.
Since the sun had set, it became a strategy meeting combined with dinner. It turned into a welcome party just like that. Originally, this fortress was for monitoring the Demon Lord's army. That's probably why the bishop is also at the fortress. This time it will be the base for the investigation team, but it's not like an army is being mobilized. It should be a relatively easy mission. And yet, they've lit bonfires and are keeping quite strict watch. They are tense, thinking the Demon Lord's army might come. They were probably told not to relax their guard in case of emergency, or something like that. Therefore, alcohol is limited to one cup per person, and the soldiers are all still wearing their armor.
"In the plan, it was said that you would depart two hours after sunrise on the day after you all gathered, which is tomorrow. Therefore, I assume the departure is tomorrow. What kind of plan do you all intend to go with?"
The eldest son asks with flushed cheeks. He's full of motivation.
"Let's see. Shall we depart before dawn tomorrow?"
It's Eleanor-sama. There was someone even more motivated than the commander.
"Before dawn? Has that been discussed with our allies?"
"No, not at all. It's no problem. Originally, we are outside your country's military chain of command. After all, we are private citizens."
See, she's getting carried away.
Eleanor-sama says she wants to see how the monsters move in response to tomorrow's feint from three sides. If the monsters' reaction is widespread and involves complex movements, then like the Northeastern Forest where Number Six or whoever was, there's a boss of the Demon Lord's army remnants who is coordinating the entire Demon Realm. On the other hand, if the response is local and simple, it can be seen that there is no semblance of an army, and at most groups of two or three hundred are acting individually. Eleanor-sama says she wants to confirm that.
"But without coordination with allies..."
The young unit commander must be serious. He seems to fear disrupting the overall operation. I've heard that arbitrary action on the battlefield can, in some cases, lead to the collapse of the entire army.
"Young master."
Here, Henry-sama spoke.
"Y-yes."
"Does the young master not send out scouts to reconnoiter the enemy's situation?"
"I do, but..."
"I am saying that we will become those scouts. To thoroughly reconnoiter that vast forest, one has no choice but to enter the forest."
"B-but. I cannot expose you all to such a death trap..."
If he were to let former heroes and a hero die in vain, this young master wouldn't get away with it.
"Then, will the young master come as well? Let us go as an officer's reconnaissance."
"S-such a reckless..."
For us, hiding our presence is a prerequisite. If he doesn't know that, it would be reckless.
"You all are people of status, even if you are support. You are different from lowly people like scouts."
Ah... so he's just a noble brat after all. In a certain country, the scout captain has served as Military Minister for two consecutive generations, though. Even in that country, the scout unit is apparently a gathering of commoners.
"Price-sama, please say something."
The brat sought reinforcements, trying to hold his ground.
It's useless to ask. They're just delinquent old people anyway.
Price-sama let out a sigh. After letting his gaze drift into space for just a moment, he stared at Henry-sama as if he had made up his mind.
"Henry, what are you saying!"
Eh? That's unexpected.
"You are no longer the King. Stop being so selfish!"
Henry-sama is listening with his head down.
The brat also has a look of joy at Price-sama's momentum.
"You are a hero, even if it's 'former.' You are someone capable of extraordinary things. You must not think based on that standard. It is enough for just us to go. We will depart before dawn tomorrow by ourselves. This is the decision of me, the Vice Head of the Medioland Royal Capital Grand Cathedral, who is in charge of this investigation. Is that clear!"
"Eh? Um? Price-sama?"
"I have understood!"
What a farce. The brat was outmatched.