186 - Looking Ahead
Inside the orb.
As I sat around the round table with the successive family heads, I was stunned by their unusual reaction.
"Eh? You don't have a plan like you usually do?"
The Fifth Head looked at me with exasperation. He pressed his hand to his forehead.
『Are you an idiot? I've told you before. War is a matter of numbers. Even if we have some advantage because it's a defensive battle, we're facing an army of tens or hundreds of thousands. Do you think we can win that easily?』
The Third Head seemed to agree, laughing as usual.
『You can't simply overturn a difference in numbers like that. We have a little bit of a time cushion, so we'll just do what we can.』
The Fourth Head took off his glasses.
『Do you think we're the only ones who can think of plans? Do you think our predecessors didn't think of them? The moment the labyrinth went berserk, it was already a failure. In times like this, being steady is best.』
Then why did they suggest I go to the front lines?
"Does that mean we can't win? Then why did you decide that I should take charge of the front lines!"
At that, the Seventh Head gave a smirk.
『Because the victory Beim seeks and the victory Lyell seeks are different. To Beim, it might indeed be called a loss. Well, we, however, will win.』
As I tilted my head in confusion, Mireia-san, who was standing behind me, let out a sigh.
『Lyell, you must have a broader perspective. The small nation that let the labyrinth go berserk—Beim won't go to rescue them, will they? Even if this rampage ends, do you think Beim will cooperate to rebuild that small nation? Or perhaps they'll rule it themselves?』
Beim didn't seek much territory.
After all, they employed a somewhat peculiar method of governance, and if their territory expanded, they couldn't maintain it. Or rather, they believed the returns were too small to justify the maintenance.
When this labyrinth went berserk, they had warned the neighboring country. However, by the time the neighboring country acted, it was already too late, and the labyrinth was apparently just waiting to erupt.
The problem was that the berserk labyrinth was closer to Beim, meaning monsters would certainly invade Beim as well.
The Guild also predicted that most of the monsters would head toward Beim, as monsters tended to aim for large cities with high populations.
The Third Head explained it to me, since I didn't understand.
『Now then, based on its policy, Beim isn't obsessed with land. But not every country is like that, right? Who is the neighbor of that neighboring country, Lyell?』
"Vanseim. Will they move?"
The Fourth Head's glasses glinted.
『They will. In fact, their army should already be gathering at the border. It's for defensive purposes, but once this is over, there's a possibility they'll invade. They can prepare various excuses, like helping with reconstruction, but the biggest problem is this... you can't trust a country that let a labyrinth go berserk.』
If it had happened in a remote frontier where no one lived, it would be understandable.
If a labyrinth appeared in a place no one visited, it would be natural for the response to be delayed. However, lords existed specifically to prevent such things from happening.
The successive family heads were looking beyond this defensive battle—they were looking at what came after the victory.
The Fifth Head spoke.
『Vanseim will become our neighbor. Even if they can't move immediately, Beim will have to deal with them... can we feel secure with a single pathetic fort on the border? In the worst case, I want Beim to buy us some time. Since I've been given full authority over the fort, I intend to make several moves.』
To put it in ultimate terms, as long as the city was safe, Beim was fine. Even if they lost surrounding towns and villages, and even if their food self-sufficiency rate dropped significantly, Beim was a place that could rebuild as long as the urban area remained intact.
The capital of merchants and adventurers could use its overflowing wealth to buy massive amounts of food.
Therefore, they solidified their defenses in the fortress city of Beim, their main strength.
Evacuations were also underway, and many people from the surroundings were gathering in Beim.
They likely intended to use the gathered manpower as makeshift soldiers.
The Fourth Head added,
『Shall we expand the fort? Not just for this defense. But to keep Vanseim in check in the future.』
"You were thinking that far ahead? You really do love war."
The Third Head looked at me with a face of disbelief.
『Huh? I hate it. I told you before, didn't I?』
"Eh, but..."
The Seventh Head spoke to me as if admonishing me.
『Listen, Lyell. War is just one of many means. It's not something you do for pleasure.』
"No, but you're showing a lot of enthusiasm, aren't you?"
The Fifth Head stated flatly.
『Once I decide to do something, I do it thoroughly. Listen, if we can avoid war, we should; it's better not to have it. It costs money, you lose the talent you've raised, supplies vanish... it's the worst. Even so, if we must do it, we simply give it our maximum effort.』
Mireia-san didn't interject.
Then, the Fourth Head looked at me.
『Lyell, for a lord, war is just an extension of daily work. You avoid it if you can, and you maintain military strength so the opponent doesn't invade needlessly. Remember that. It's the same in the fight against monsters. Never forget the objective. We fight because it is necessary. That's all.』
Seeing the four of them with serious expressions, I nodded silently.
Then, the Third Head raised his hand.
『Is the talk finished? Then shall we return to the main topic... shall we go tell the Guild to send some people! I'm sure they won't, though!』
Seeing the Third Head looking so amused, Mireia-san chimed in.
『Well, then why bother asking?』
『Because I want the fact that we requested cooperation and were refused! For the sake of the future, we must accumulate such facts now!』
『To seize power in the future. How wonderful!』
Seeing the two of them laughing happily, the Fourth Head muttered to himself.
『I want to squeeze more out of that bastard Fidel. He definitely still has some leeway. Actually, it's frustrating that Beim isn't shaken by this much.』
The Fifth Head looked at the three-dimensional map of the fort's surroundings visible on the round table.
『We have some time, and we have manpower. If we have the funds, we can do a major expansion here. Assuming we set traps, what kind of traps should they be... which ones would be best?』
He was thinking about where to place the traps with a grin.
The Seventh Head smiled.
『We have forces in the rear anyway. We can let a few through. Also, any recovered magic stones or materials are for us to take home. Beim seems to intend to buy them, but no one said they would sell.』
The Third Head laughed.
『The advance party has already entered the fort, and preparations are underway. Beim said we could do as we pleased because they thought this place wouldn't hold anyway! Let's go flashy!』
Looking at the five of them, I thought,
(Lies. These guys are definitely enjoying this!)
――At Redant Fort, positioned on Beim's border, Beim's soldiers were carrying out the handover.
Normally, a small number of managing soldiers stayed in the fort, and several mercenary groups were hired for defense. Rather than being tense at the border, they mostly just hunted monsters to ensure the safety of the surroundings.
The neighboring country also owed money to Beim and wouldn't dare invade carelessly. The fort was essentially there as a formality.
To escape from such a decorative fort, the man who was the soldier captain was handing over duties to the person in charge who had arrived at the fort, but...
The opponent was Neu Bardel.
The commander of Zain's Holy Knights, who had brought over nine thousand personnel to the fort.
"U-um."
"Is there something else?"
When Neu said that, the soldier captain saw a new group coming along the highway.
Judging by the flags, soldiers were following behind the Rolfis knights. Their number was equal to Zain's.
"No, I heard you were going to defend this place, but are you serious? This place is, well... like a decoration."
Hearing that people from another country were coming to defend the place while they themselves were fleeing, the soldier captain thought they were being foolish.
However, in reality, an army of tens of thousands was gathering at the small fort. He began to wonder if it was really okay for them to flee.
"That is the order. Don't worry, we'll do our best to keep them from passing through. However, it is small. I've passed through here before, but I wonder how to handle this... I was ordered to wait for Lord Lyell's instructions..."
Neu had originally been an adventurer in Beim. He was originally from a noble family of knights. He had fallen from grace and drifted to Beim.
However, Lyell had given him the position of Knight Commander, and he was now a knight of Zain.
While the soldier captain was bewildered, a large metal box was heading toward the fort from another highway――.
――As it was a place where a fort was positioned, the location was suitable for defense.
The fort wasn't placed on a plain; while not quite a natural fortress, it was a suitable location for a fort.
Clara, who arrived by operating Damian's porter, checked the information on the fort and spoke to the automatons Number Two and Number Three she had borrowed from Damian.
"Now then, shall we take detailed data and summarize it? I expect Lyell-san will come, but before that, we must grasp the terrain as much as possible... are you listening?"
The automatons Number Two and Number Three had expressions more lacking in motivation than usual, their shoulders slumped on the spot.
"To think I cannot work by my Master's side."
"Why must I be here while that piece-of-junk squishy one stays behind... I wish I were scrap."
It had been decided that Lyell would come to the fort later riding Mei, but the borrowed automatons showed no motivation.
"Um, if you don't do your work, I think Professor Damian will be troubled when he comes?"
When Clara mentioned Damian's name,
"Master has no interest in trivial matters."
"Well, we'll do what we're told, what we're told. But it can't be helped that we lack motivation. After all, we are maids."
Clara adjusted the position of her glasses with her finger.
(That definitely has nothing to do with being a maid.)
Thinking that, she looked back at the fort.
"A large-scale expansion here... I wonder what Lyell-san is thinking."
Even if they hurriedly enlarged the fort, it would be meaningless in the face of a monster army said to number in the hundreds of thousands. Unless special processing was applied, the fort would be blown away by the monsters' attacks.
Tools and such had been loaded into Damian's large porter and brought along, but even if they managed to build the fort in time, it would be nothing more than a facade.
Clara planned to quickly check the surrounding situation and return the large porter to Beim. There, she would receive supplies and return here again.
Aria had been chosen as Clara's escort.
As she stepped down from the porter, she was yawning while carrying her spear.
"Hey, is it really okay for Adele and Maxim-san to be the ones giving instructions here?"
When Aria asked, Clara nodded.
"It's Lyell-san's instruction. Adele-san seems to be good at that sort of thing, and Maxim-san is the guard."
Clara and the others had arrived at the fort first.
Then came Adele, carried on Maxim's back as she descended from the porter. She had become motion-sick along the way and was in a state where she was useless.
Maxim was calling out to Adele with a worried look.
"My lady, are you alright?"
"S-sorry. I can't..."
Aria looked at Adele with anxiety.
"It's going to be okay, right?"
Clara pondered for a moment, then simply nodded――.
When I went to the Guild headquarters to ask for manpower, I was gently refused.
I asked them to dispatch excellent personnel, but as expected, they seemed to be concentrating their forces on the defense of the urban area and turned me down.
Taking Novem and Miranda with me, I left the Guild headquarters and headed for Rauno-san's office.
Miranda seemed unable to understand my actions.
"You backed down quite easily. I thought you'd negotiate more. The other party was actually surprised."
If I had negotiated, they might have dispatched personnel they didn't want to lose.
But if that was all, it was better that they weren't cooperative from the start.
"It had a purpose. The fact that they wouldn't cooperate has been established."
With just that, Miranda seemed to understand, her eyes narrowing.
"I don't know what you're planning, but I feel it's too early to make an enemy of the Guild."
Novem said nothing about my actions.
However――.
"Lord Lyell, what will you do about Eva-san? Even if we can get cooperation from the elves, in terms of numbers, it will be whether they reach a few hundred or not."
I had asked Eva to call out to her kin and request cooperation. I actually wanted Novem to do it, but he had refused with an ambiguous smile.
If I had pressed him a bit, he might have done it, but I had stopped it based on my own judgment.
"Even a few hundred are reliable. They were originally a hunting people. Those who moved to the urban areas probably threw away their bows, but they have their songs. Don't you think information manipulation is important?"
Miranda shrugged.
"Are you thinking about what happens after the victory already? There are already plenty of songs about you, Lyell."
I needed to build connections now. And I wanted even greater fame.
In such a case, getting the elves, who were singers, on my side was an important matter.
Novem looked at me.
"As you wish, Lord Lyell."
That was all he said.
(Winning here isn't the final goal. That's right. My goal is――)
Beim—who still thought of this as a fire on the opposite shore, and who, faced with the terror of the monsters before them, failed to see Celes behind them――.
There was a need to make them feel a sense of crisis.
And before they felt that crisis, I needed to obtain a certain level of fame――.
As I walked with the two of them, I heard Mireia-san's voice. Looking at Miranda's state, she seemed to have some thoughts.
『She has talent. But, as expected, she's lacking a little. Lyell, I wonder if you'll invite Miranda to the orb someday? Oh, and Shannon too, of course.』
I had a slightly bad feeling about this.