270 - The Worst Man
――The number of refugees flowing into Beim increased day by day.
Groups seeking help arrived today as well before the heavily fortified gates. Seeing this, a young adventurer guarding the perimeter clenched his fist.
"Why are we just leaving them! If we had gone, we wouldn't have let those Banseime cowards do whatever they wanted with Beim!"
He was both right and wrong.
It was true that Beim had many capable adventurers. Comparing them individually, many possessed strength exceeding that of an average soldier. However, adventurers who had never experienced a battlefield did not understand accurately.
Paired with that young adventurer was a man in his forties who was considering retiring from adventuring. He wasn't particularly outstanding, but he had accumulated a fair amount of experience.
Driven by a desire for money, he had been to battlefields and experienced various things there. He had been told by the guild to lead young adventurers and had been appointed as the coordinator for several parties. However, from the perspective of such a man, the young adventurers around him were amateurs.
They had fought monsters in labyrinths. They had gone to subjugate monsters upon receiving requests. They had only that level of experience and did not actually understand what war was.
Even a scale of a thousand per army is difficult, but a war on a scale of hundreds of thousands――the man looked at the young adventurers.
"What happens if we disperse our forces? Just how many people do you intend to go and help with?"
The young adventurer said,
"It's obvious. If we have a few hundred, we can go help. We can save the villages and drive those Banseime bastards back!"
The man shook his head at the words of the young adventurer, who had heard from refugees that looting parties of several hundred had attacked.
"...If you go out with that few, you'll be surrounded by double that number and crushed."
Banseime had the numbers from the start. Furthermore, the enemy even had mercenaries who were familiar with the geography of Beim. Normally speaking, Beim was being cornered.
However, many of the adventurers did not understand this. It felt as though they failed to grasp that they were fighting fellow humans rather than monsters.
No, the scale was simply too large for them to respond to.
"We've fought and survived on the twentieth basement floor! We have the strength to go to the thirtieth basement floor. There's no way we'd lose that easily."
Looking at the confident young adventurers, the man touched his iron helmet as if to hide his gaze.
"...Do you lot know who is in charge here?"
Then, the adventurers looked at the man.
"What? Are you telling us to follow your opinion? Sorry, but no matter what an adventurer without skill says――"
Facing the young adventurer who looked down on him, the man spoke.
"No. I mean the person managing this place. Someone far above me. The person responsible for these gates."
Facing the young adventurers who looked as if they couldn't understand, the man steeled himself, thinking as expected――.
(Is there actually someone who has fought a war on this scale? The opponents are people who fight wars all year round.)
――The center of Beim.
In the place where merchants and guild executives gathered, complaints from the refugees who had fled were delivered almost daily.
Asking for funds to rebuild the damaged villages was still the better side of it. The more troublesome problem was those claiming they were victims and demanding better treatment.
They rented out many inns, but providing rooms was not nearly enough. If they crammed people into unused buildings, complaints followed. In the midst of this terrible situation, the most troubling thing was――.
'Why was Liel exiled?'
The fact that Liel had repelled a massive army of monsters and achieved the miracle of Redant Fortress was a recent event in Beim and remained in people's memories.
The voices demanding that those responsible for letting the Redant Fortress be bypassed so easily and causing such damage take responsibility were growing louder day by day.
The conference room... There, the future response was supposed to be discussed.
But in reality.
"It is not my responsibility! You all agreed to the exile!"
"It is a fact that the Southern Branch pushed it through!"
"The mercenaries of the Southern Branch took the lead in drawing in Banseime! I won't let you say you have no responsibility!"
The executive of the Southern Branch was being blamed by the other executives and merchants in attendance. Hearing that many of the mercenaries guiding Banseime were mercenaries from the Southern Branch made one want to blame them.
And day after day, the meetings failed to reach a conclusion.
"N-now is not the time to be saying such things! We should immediately think of a countermeasure against Banseime!"
"Before that, the refugees who have entered the city of Beim look like they might start a riot. Someone needs to take responsibility!"
"I hear there is looting in the surrounding areas. Why not dispatch ten or twenty thousand to rescue them?"
"Who will lead them? Besides, the Banseime forces have already assembled and are aiming for the urban areas."
Because the meetings were inconclusive, the response was delayed. The merchants did not want to send soldiers out, as they wanted to protect Beim where their trading posts were located.
The guild, for the sake of face, wanted to send adventurers to rescue the residents of Beim.
Opinions were divided, and at the end of every meeting, almost without fail――.
"...Why not send an envoy to South Banseime? If it's by sea, Banseime cannot lay a finger on it."
The voices calling for help from Liel and the others grew louder, and as their own positions finally became precarious, the flow turned toward seeking help from South Banseime――from Liel.
However, those in Beim understood. They were the ones who had exiled Liel, and from a third party's perspective, Liel was a complete victim.
The merchants who had started new businesses in South Banseime were also people they had exiled. Even if they asked for help, would he help them?
And the most important thing was...
"Even if we ask for help, South Banseime does not have that much military power. Besides, what would they demand from us?"
The one watching these meetings every time was Tanya, who participated along with the executive of the East Branch. The executive of the East Branch――Tanya's superior, spoke.
"Since South Banseime is also in danger, there is a possibility they would cooperate. No, I should say there was. It's already too late now that things have come this far."
Tanya asked her superior,
"Would it not work to offer reinstatement to the guild, preferential treatment, and appropriate rewards?"
The superior smiled slightly.
"Would he move for something like that? Tanya, what would you think as someone who was a receptionist?"
Tanya thought for a moment and shook her head. Her smooth black hair, reaching her shoulders, swayed.
"...It's impossible. I don't know what Liel-kun would need to be presented with to save Beim."
The superior also nodded. Then, news arrived in the conference room. A guild employee, out of breath, opened the door violently.
"South Banseime, with an army of approximately ten thousand, has crushed the Banseime forces that were looting southern Beim!"
For Beim, this was the best possible news――.
――Bread was irritated by the attacks he received day after day.
When night fell, loud noises would suddenly be heard. The neighing of horses and the sound of metal. The ringing of bells. Furthermore, they were being attacked under the cover of the dark night, and supplies were becoming somewhat scarce.
It wasn't that they were still lacking supplies. Looking at the overall picture, it was a trivial problem. However, the fatigue of the soldiers was accumulating day by day.
The Baronet was lined up on horseback near Bread. Bread turned his gaze toward the Baronet.
"I wonder if Liel and the others are truly panicking?"
To the voice mixed with a bit of anxiety, the Baronet spoke confidently.
"It's the opposite. Faced with this many of us, they have no effective means and are merely performing sporadic harassment. If we neglect our vigilance, we will suffer damage, but the final victory is unwavering. That is all they have left. If they had any other way, they would have attacked long ago."
Bread pondered.
(True, the Baronet's words have a point. They can't attack, so they just do harassment.)
"I understand. Let's increase the number of night sentries."
Bread attempted to deal with the harassment from Liel and the others by increasing the night security more than ever before――.
――Night.
Eva, seeing that there were many sentries, thought for a bit.
Around her, the elves――the harassment unit――were standing by, waiting for Eva's instructions. A dark elf woman spoke to her.
"Now, what shall we do, Princess?"
Eva was surprised.
"Wait, what's with 'Princess'?"
"The Nihil clan. And you're our star of hope. 'Princess' isn't bad, right?"
Thinking it was slightly off, Eva puffed out her chest a bit and placed her hand on her large breasts.
"Stop with the 'Princess'. Let's see, 'Diva' is fine. The world's greatest diva."
She intended it as a joke, but the dark elves all at once said,
"Understood, Diva."
"A diva, huh. You're quite bold, Diva."
"Well, if it's an elf, that might be better, Diva."
Facing the dark elves who intended to seriously call her Diva, Eva shook her head. Her expression was a bit embarrassed.
"I'm sorry. It was a joke, so please stop. It was my fault."
Then, the dark elf woman said to Eva,
"Now, so what are we doing today, Diva? Will you use your skill to make loud voices or sounds? Or an attack with arrows?"
Thinking that the 'Diva' calling wouldn't stop, Eva's shoulders slumped. Then, she spoke to the dark elves.
"...The enemy numbers are high today, so it's fine. This alone is enough harassment. Let's move ahead and rest."
"Is that okay?"
"I don't mind. Liel also said to leave a moderate interval. It seems that's more effective."
Eva and the others' harassment was steadily exhausting the Banseime army――.
We, who were waiting for the Banseime army, were holding meetings with the units that had joined us as preparations progressed.
The units that joined were the main force of the Four-Nation Alliance. Since a portion of them didn't know Banseime's movements, they couldn't let go of important forces.
However, once it became clear that Banseime was targeting only Beim, they immediately came as reinforcements by sea. Mainly, the ships of the Trace family and the ships of the merchants worked hard.
The one approaching me, her silver hair swaying, was Glacia, wearing black clothing. No, Glacia. She had a somewhat stern expression, but when I smiled at her, her white cheeks flushed.
"I'm happy to see you, Glacia."
As I spread my arms, Glacia hesitantly approached and hugged me. She was showing her presence and position to those around her. That was also convenient for me.
However, Baldor, who had joined recently, had his eyes wide open. Beside him, though not Baldor's instructor, Maxim was explaining various things.
"Lord Maxim, just how many women is Lord Liel keeping around!?"
"Calm down, Lord Baldor. He's not keeping them. He's the one being kept. Please be respectful. After all, he has provided quite a few soldiers. One country provided ten thousand, which is on the same scale as Lady Eliza of Lusworth."
Within the Four-Nation Alliance, those who provided ten thousand were Galleria and Lusworth. Zain provided eight thousand, and Rolfis was the smallest with six thousand because they lacked the personnel to organize.
This meant that an army of thirty-four thousand had assembled in South Banseime.
Although the soldiers of Cartaphus were exhausted, nine thousand could be moved. In addition to forty-three thousand, with my unit and South Banseime――I was in a situation where I could move forty-five thousand.
Glacia-san hugged me, and even though I was hugging her lightly, the feeling of her large breasts...
'Liel, if you let your guard down and look lecherous, it sets a bad example. Pull yourself together. If you're not used to women, since we're at it, I'll tell Miranda to immediately take your virginity――'
Mireia-san pushed Miranda strongly, pretending to give advice. However, the Fifth Head had a different opinion.
'Alright, ignore her. Novem or Aria is the decision. Both of them won't stir up the surroundings with that matter, so it's safe.'
The Third Head countered that opinion.
'Oops, it would be a problem to forget my top recommendation, Clara-chan. Aria-chan isn't bad, but she has a personality that can't lie. It's certain that information would leak from there... Here, it's decided: Clara-chan or Novem-chan!'
However, the Seventh Generation also raised their voice.
'Foolish. The important issue of the primary wife is also involved! Liel, settle for Ludmilla or Riane.'
What a thing. The opinions didn't align at all. It's been like this from the start, but the opinions within the Orb never align.
I separated from Glacia. I spoke to Glacia, whose cheeks had turned red.
"Please lend me a hand this time as well, Glacia."
Then, while mindful of the surrounding gazes, Glacia brushed back her hair.
"Leave it to me. I will swing my spear for your sake. Th-that is... my... as your woman..."
Just as she said that, Eliza entered in a hurry. In white clothes, contrasting with Glacia. And her light blue hair gave a cold impression to those around her.
While thanking Glacia, I headed toward Eliza.
"I've been waiting, Eliza."
"H-hm! I wanted to come quickly, but my vassals wouldn't let me. But now that I am here, you can be at ease!"
As I spread my arms and hugged her, Baldor spoke once again.
"...Lord Liel, surely you don't mean..."
Maxim let out a dry laugh.
"How is it? Amazing, right? ...Truly, it's a help that this is an era where there are many women among leaders. Lord Liel is amazing. He certainly brings down the prey he aims for. I'm worried about Lady Adele, so I'll absolutely never let them be alone together."
Baldor looked at Maxim's face seriously.
"Surely, not Rolfis and Zain too!"
"Unfortunately..."
When Maxim said 'unfortunately', Baldor looked relieved. However, upon hearing the rest of Maxim's words, he held his head in his hands.
"...As for Zain, I don't even know how that will turn out. According to rumors, there's a relationship with the previous and current Saintesses. And the Princess of Rolfis was rejected by Lord Novem. Lucky you, I don't know if it's a family precept or something, but it seems you meet the conditions for everyone except Rolfis."
Baldor muttered.
"...The Walt family's marriage precept, is it. Indeed, if those are met and Lord Novem of the Foxus family acknowledges it, there's no mistake. However, the issue of the successor is certain... At this rate, it will be like the time of the great-grandfather... Father, what should I do..."
Why was it... looking at Baldor, I started to find it amusing. I even thought that maybe I should introduce a few women to Baldor as well.