260 - Chapter 15: Prologue
――It was the throne room.
In that place where only a king was permitted to sit, Celes was relaxing with her foot resting on the back of Remis, who was prostrate before her.
Appearing in such a place was a young man with a side-parted hairstyle and hair longer than before, adorned in the armor of the knight who had once stood against Celes, having made it his own: Bread Bumper.
Previously, he had been lovers with Doris, the daughter of the former Viscount and current Baron of the Circle family, but now he was a member of Celes's Imperial Guard and looked only at Celes.
He had achieved the promotion he desired, and currently, he was entrusted with thirty thousand soldiers of Central.
"Celes-sama, I, Bread, shall lead thirty thousand elite troops to confront Beim, who insulted Celes-sama. Please await the good news."
Bread had thought that by showing off his prized armor before departing and reporting to Celes, he would get her to notice him.
However, Celes was being fed fruit by Rufus... the Crown Prince, who was nearby holding a large plate.
Then, she made a gesture as if deep in thought. Her mouth was moving as she chewed, and that gesture alone caused the men around her to blush. They were men held by Celes, wearing provocative clothing that was out of place in the room.
Every one of them was handsome, and they loved Celes. No, they were captivated. Having abandoned their former wives and lovers, they had now become Celes's toys.
"Beim? Ah, now that you mention it, they did say something like that. Lately, the number of nobles with the spirit to rebel within the country has decreased, and it's been boring. But moving all the way to Beim is a hassle... so I left it to Bread, didn't I?"
"Yes! Even if it costs me my life, I shall surely exterminate every last person in Beim!"
The Imperial Guard's morale was very high, declaring they would make those who insulted Celes pay with their lives. They were a legion that had already thrown away their lives, captivated by Celes.
Celes seemed uninterested.
"Bring back something interesting as a souvenir. Also, today, a boy among the hostages whom I've liked for a while finally gave in to me. So, I want to return to the inner palace quickly."
Bread hurriedly apologized.
"M-my sincerest apologies! I shall depart immediately."
However, Celes was giggling.
"Wait. Come to think of it, that piece of trash was in Beim. Bread, take that 'medicine' with you. Use it when all else fails."
That medicine――it was a drug that fused humans and monsters, brought in by Zain and completed through repeated human experimentation in Banseime.
Bread was shocked by those words.
"B-but Celes-sama, surely there is no need to go that far――"
Celes stood up on top of Remis and looked down at Bread from a high position.
"Who told you that you could talk back? This time, it's not a medicine that kills immediately. Besides, can't you risk your life for me?"
At those words, bloodlust from the surroundings was poured onto Bread. Numerous sharp gazes looked as if they were about to attack Bread at any moment.
"T-that is not the case! I simply wanted to meet Celes-sama's expectations before using such a medicine! This Bread belongs entirely to Celes-sama. If it is your command, I shall accomplish any mission!"
Celes watched Bread as he made his desperate excuses with a smile. She had seen through it as an immediate lie. Her face showed that she understood Bread did not want to become a hideous creature.
Cold sweat ran down Bread's back.
"Fine. I'll forgive you. In exchange, work for me."
After saying that, Celes stepped off Remis and returned to the inner palace early in the morning. The men around her, and Rufus, the Crown Prince, followed behind her.
Bread felt a sense of relief in his heart.
(Finally, a chance has come. I want to serve under Celes-sama for a long time. I don't want to use a medicine that turns me into such a monster. Now then, that means I'll need an achievement in Beim. Just as it happens, that guy is in Beim... Liel, you shall die for me. I will display your head before Celes-sama and enter Celes-sama's inner palace myself. Then, both as a man and as a vassal, I will be seen by Celes-sama.)
Bread, whose values were distorted, swore in his heart that he would obtain the head of Liel, who had once shown him the difference in their abilities――.
――The front lines of Banseime.
In the place where a neighboring country once existed, Broa Cadell watched the forces gathering one after another.
The large ones were several thousand people. The small ones ranged from a few to dozens.
Forces of nobles from a wide range, from knightly houses to ducal houses, were gathering.
Broa sighed as he looked at the forces.
"We're struggling with a labor shortage over here, yet those who have extras certainly have extras."
Along with his adjutant knight, he watched from a room in the castle once used by the neighboring country's king as the forces continued to gather.
"Our schedule was significantly disrupted by the preparations for receiving them, though."
Broa laughed.
"Indeed. Preparing to receive hundreds of thousands of troops, and gathering materials for the strategy meeting for the conquest of Beim... it's been quite a lot of work. Now, if there's a problem with this――"
The adjutant knight nodded with a serious expression.
"The Imperial Guard and elite units coming from Central. They certainly have a track record, but I've heard nothing but bad rumors. That they carry out massacres for pleasure. They don't think about post-war governance at all."
Broa returned to the desk and picked up some documents.
"Bread Bumper. Originally born into a knightly house that wasn't hereditary. He achieved military merit in the war to become a formal knight and then entered the Imperial Guard. His career alone is impressive. The knight he defeated was a well-known knight in Banseime, too."
The adjutant knight looked dissatisfied.
"It seems he participated in the previous Griffon hunt. He might be an acquaintance of the eldest son of the Walt family in Beim. Perhaps we should be careful?"
At those words, Broa shook his head. The adjutant knight had never seen Celes up close. Therefore, he was underestimating Celes somewhere.
"That won't happen. He's a man who managed to enter the Imperial Guard. He must absolutely love Celes-sama. The problem is that he has no experience properly commanding a unit. Despite that, he's been given thirty thousand, and this will be his first proper large-scale war. I just hope he doesn't overstep."
Broa seemed to half-expect that Bread would throw the battlefield into chaos.
Facing the black line of forces coming down the highway, the two of them predicted that the upcoming invasion of Beim would be a terrible thing.
Broa said――.
"I want to keep the casualties as low as possible. Though I know that's impossible."
We, who had gone to seek cooperation from Fanbayle, returned to South Banseime by sea via Cartaphus.
When we arrived on the Vera Trace, captained by Vera Trace and loaded with luggage, Novem and the others, as well as Adele-san and her group, who had arrived first, came to welcome us.
Riane, with her pink hair in a ponytail, was wearing clothes easy to move in. She was descending the gangplank carrying a travel bag packed with the supplies gathered in Cartaphus.
She didn't look like a princess, but she still had an air about her.
"So this is South Banseime. I've heard about it, but it's quite developed. There are many ships, and the port is full of cargo."
She was giggling, appearing to understand that the contents of the luggage were related to the war.
Since Banseime declared war on Beim, preparations had been proceeding in great haste in South Banseime.
As Novem approached us, Miranda waved her hand at me. Then, she looked at Shannon, who had descended with me.
"Shannon, you didn't cause any trouble, did you?"
At Miranda's smile, Shannon looked away.
"O-of course not. How many pinches do you think I saved us from with my quick thinking? Liel had a really hard time, after all."
It certainly was hard. Being strangled with a demonic expression by the smiling pink devil beside me was the greatest pinch.
However, the one who saved me wasn't Shannon, but Parselena-san, who had been a hostage.
Seeing Shannon sending glances for help to those around her, Clara, who had descended, simply nodded to Miranda for now.
But from that alone, Miranda seemed to have caught on.
"You caused trouble, didn't you? Well, I figured it would end up that way anyway."
"...I worked hard."
While listening to the conversation between the sisters, I heard the report from Novem. I had obtained information through Monica, but I still wanted to confirm it.
No, perhaps I just wanted to talk to Novem.
"Any new information?"
"None. Beim still seems to think they can handle things on their own. I've heard stories that they reinforced Redant Fortress, and that residents of Beim also participated, gathering over a hundred thousand people for defense..."
The surrounding countries were reluctant to cooperate with Beim.
Beim had cast me aside. That single action had cornered Beim's situation, involving the surrounding countries and others.
I looked at Novem.
"I want Beim to do their best, though. I want them to hold out as long as possible."
Novem also nodded.
"Everything is proceeding exactly as Liel-sama predicted. After this, if the setup works, things should go according to plan."
Novem seemed to believe that the strategy I――no, the strategy thought up with the successive heads within the Orb and Mireia-san and the others, would certainly succeed.
Then, I spoke to Novem.
"Hey, Novem."
"Yes?"
Looking at Novem's face as she waited for my words, I swallowed them. I felt a bit ashamed of myself for almost saying, "Do you like me? Aside from the Walt family."
I haven't grown at all.
Moreover, this wasn't the place to ask such a thing.
"No, it's nothing. I'm going back to rest for a bit. Also, this is Riane-san. You've probably met before."
Riane greeted Novem.
"Nice to meet you, Novem-san. Please teach me various things as a senior. For some reason, I was viewed with caution by Ludmilla-san in Cartaphus, so we couldn't talk much. Let's get along."
Novem also smiled at Riane.
"Indeed. Let's get along, Riane-sama."
"Riane is fine."
"Then, Novem is fine for me as well."
Their exchange of smiles might look heartwarming to those around them. But why... to me, it looked like they were checking each other's strength. I must be tired. That must be it.
It's probably the influence of seeing the images inside the Orb, being threatened by the Fifth Head, and being shown the experience of the sixth generation's failure.
As I shook my head, Aria, Clara, and Miranda and Shannon, who were beside me, looked back and forth between me and Novem and the others.
Then, Shannon spoke.
"Amazing. Their magic is clashing violently. Novem is parrying it, but that Riane, the princess, is very aggressive."
Miranda looked at Riane.
"She's a troublesome opponent. I don't think we'll lose, but dealing with her will be a pain."
Watching Miranda say such things, Aria looked exasperated.
"Try to get along a little. I mean, why do we have to be so considerate of each other as allies?"
Clara said to Aria.
"You are mistaken, Aria-san. Precisely because we are allies, we must be considerate. It's the same with family."
While we were having such a conversation at the port, Vera and Monica descended from the gangplank.
"Huh? You're still here? You should go back and rest quickly. Once things get busy, you won't be able to rest properly."
Feeling Vera's kindness in her concern, I told myself that Novem and Riane were surely not checking each other's strength.
――Beim.
Tanya, who worked as a guild receptionist, brushed back the hair by her ear.
While usually working as a receptionist, she had a hidden side as a cleaner――a Sweeper, and she felt the recent silence of the guild.
Although there were still many problem children, she let out a light sigh seeing the situation of the East Branch, where she felt a bit of loneliness.
It had been quite busy since Liel's group left Beim. And the atmosphere within Beim leaned toward war day by day; now, many adventurers were requested to take positions for the city's defense instead of their usual work.
As a result, there were fewer adventurers returning to the guild after finishing their work.
Tanya thought it was the silence before the storm.
"I hope it ends without anything happening."
The actions of Liel and his group, and the great nation of Banseime.
Tanya felt keenly that they were about to swallow Beim――.