320 - The Winning Horse
――The village, located a short distance from the highway, had been noisy since morning.
Adults were entering their homes with farming tools, praying that nothing would happen.
The sight witnessed by a boy who had rushed out of the village was not like any army he had ever seen before.
"What is that...?"
It was as if a fortress were moving. Soldiers marched without end around it, heading toward Central, and the cold morning air felt different than usual.
The boy, mouth agape at the movement of a massive army the likes of which he had never seen, looked up at a blue-haired man standing atop the fortress. Atop the fortress flew a white flag with a blue circle drawn on it. It was decorated with gray ornaments, and it was clear it was a flag representing an army.
However, he had never seen such a flag.
The boy watched the scene until his family came to drag him back into the house――.
Watching the soldiers advance along the highway, I felt the cold morning air.
"The air is bad. If the soil is dry, the dust will be terrible. On the other hand, if it rains, it'll sap our strength."
Looking around from the roof of the fortress, I saw white smoke rising nearby. There was likely a village somewhere.
We continued our march, having entered the direct territory of Banseime. There was no real resistance, and no enemies emerged from Central.
They shouldn't be unable to gather troops just because neighboring countries had invaded. It was obvious they were luring us into Central.
Even so, to fight Celes, we had to head for Central.
Vera, wearing a coat, came up to the roof.
"Is it alright for the Alliance Leader to be outside without any guards?"
As she stepped onto the roof, the wind blew, swaying Vera's black hair. The twin-tails were swept by the breeze. Holding them down with her hand, Vera looked toward the chimneys visible from the roof.
Looking at the chimneys sending up white smoke, she nodded a few times and then turned her face toward me.
"I've heard others are heading for Central too, but the final battle is definitely at Central, right? You're not getting picked off one by one?"
To the worried Vera, I shook my head.
"There's no need for that worry. I've considered the possibility that they might leave Central open and target somewhere else. I don't think they'd leave their defenses thin, and if it's Celes, she'll make Central the site of the final battle."
"It doesn't feel like you understand your sister's personality."
Seeing my grim expression, Vera gave her honest impression. Smiling slightly, I explained to her.
"She's definitely waiting for us. Depending on how she did it, she could have targeted somewhere else with a literal army of suicide soldiers, but the reason she doesn't is probably because it's a hassle."
Rather than it being a hassle, winning or losing doesn't matter to the current Celes. As long as she can live a luxurious life, she doesn't care how many of her subordinates die.
No, she'd probably just laugh at the sight of it.
"We can win, right?"
At Vera's question, I looked straight at her.
"We can win the war. Without a doubt. I've made that much preparation. Besides, thanks to the forces we've absorbed, we have even more breathing room."
Many lords had offered their cooperation. Conversely, there were many cases where the lords said they wouldn't cooperate, but the commoners participated.
If it meant escaping the current Central――Banseime, they would cooperate. Or perhaps they were cooperating with us because we have food, just to survive.
"The war, huh. So, what about the most important part?"
She was likely referring to the direct confrontation with Celes. I nodded.
"That's why I started this. Sorry, but I have no intention of challenging her if I can't win. I decided to march because I felt our current strength was at its peak."
It was a fact.
Starting with Novem, the companions I had traveled with as an adventurer. And then Glacia, Eliza, Ludmilla――the combat power was all there. In a one-on-one, there's a high possibility I'd lose, but it's just a matter of not letting it become a one-on-one.
"I don't care if she's my sister or a girl. We'll surround her and beat her down."
Vera shrugged her shoulders.
"That's a terrible thing to say, but it's the safest way. I'm relieved you're not letting sibling relationships or male pride or sentimentality get in the way."
Vera seemed to agree with my judgment. However, personally, it was a pathetic story. It was like saying, "Since I can't beat my sister, I'll fight her together with my lover."
"As for me, I'd prefer to say that and solve it alone."
As a personal opinion, I wanted to stop Celes with my own hands――with my hands alone. But in terms of ability, that was impossible.
"If you say things like that and lose, I'll resent you for the rest of my life. Throwing away a winnable battle for personal feelings is something only an idiot would do. Well, I don't hate that kind of thing, though."
However, Vera said she would absolutely hate it if she were in that position.
"If we don't win, there's no tomorrow, so I won't forgive you for holding back. Your sister... at this rate, there's nothing good about her staying alive. Ending it quickly would be more merciful."
This was likely Vera's way of encouraging me.
"...That's the plan. I have a promise, after all."
As I gripped the jewel, Vera looked back and forth between me and the jewel.
"You said you heard the voices of your ancestors? They're not here now, right? Come to think of it, I heard voices on the ship before."
"Ah, now that you mention it, you did hear them, Vera."
Remembering that Vera had heard them on the ship, I felt a sense of nostalgia.
"I didn't realize those were the voices of the ancestors, though. Is it a promise with those ancestors?"
That was part of it. But the main reason was different.
"No, more like a big brother? Though I don't acknowledge him as such."
Letting go of the jewel, I turned my gaze toward Central.
――Lariel's army approaching Central.
Among them were nobles arriving one after another, trying to jump on the winning horse. Those aiming to restore their houses. Those who had fled from Central.
Those who wanted to be recognized as nobles. Furthermore, adventurers and mercenaries.
Such people sought an audience with Lariel. However, Lariel basically did not seek any more military strength.
It is very difficult to make someone feel indebted just by having them participate.
In the midst of this, Ralph Sarcly was contacting his daughter, Miranda.
He had gone to a tent near the Mobile Fortress and called Miranda out.
Miranda, having descended from the Mobile Fortress, entered the tent with her guards and met with her father, Ralph.
"It's been a while, Miranda."
"It has. Has it been since that warehouse? Since I was dumped by a certain someone who mistakenly purchased a Griffon instead of a Hippogriff."
Ralph, whose expression didn't change at Miranda's sarcasm, pressed a demand upon her.
"I want you to protect a group of court nobles who fled from Central. I was helped by them, and there are several houses that helped you in the past as well. Also, they possess military strength. If you add them to the battle line, they will do as much as they can――"
However, Miranda rejected the request with a smile.
"At this point, I don't need soldiers who have barely even fought. Even if they have plenty of combat experience, there are still problems. If the chain of command is an issue, it's the same for my unit. If you absolutely insist, I'll at least use them up on the front lines."
Ralph, whose expression didn't crumble at his daughter's attitude, looked at Miranda with a serious face.
"If you cooperate, there's a benefit for you too. You have no real backing. Even if you're the Alliance Leader's woman, your position is weak. Even if you establish a new country, civil officials will be necessary. If they are from Banseime, they can be useful to the Alliance Leader. You can't exactly call in civil officials from other countries, can you?"
In other words, he was telling her to secure civil officials and solidify Miranda's position. In fact, it was one of Lariel's weak points.
There was a huge benefit for Miranda. By obtaining civil officials and cooperating with them, she would become an existence that Lariel could not ignore.
In Lariel's harem, which was largely focused on military power, it would be possible to stay one or two steps ahead.
"True. It's attractive. But, no."
Still, Miranda showed her refusal.
"...I thought you were a smart girl. Are you going to prioritize emotion and lose out on profit?"
Miranda said with a smile.
"Emotion? It's not that I'm not taking them in because I hate you. Actually, I want civil officials so badly I could die, and I want to compete with Rianne. Civil officials will be necessary in the future. But I calculated the profit and judged them unnecessary."
Seeing Ralph's eyebrow twitch slightly, Miranda sensed that her father was bewildered.
"You don't understand my profit. My profit is Lariel's profit. Would that be a profit for Lariel? Civil officials who use me as backing to carry on the Banseime way... they'd be a nuisance."
What Lariel aimed for was the governance of the continent. For that reason, there were various parts of the Banseime way that were problematic.
And while Lariel could do many things, he was still young. There was a possibility he would be played by nobles who had lived as civil officials.
One couldn't say there wouldn't be those who cheated on paperwork to line their own pockets. If such people appeared, a faction for Miranda would be created, and Lariel wouldn't be able to easily touch them. In the worst case, there was a possibility they would cause problems without Miranda's knowledge.
There were such circumstances, but the biggest disadvantage was.
"I won't give preferential treatment just because they're from my family. During this important period of building the foundation, I don't want to choose civil officials through connections. I want to go based on personality and ability."
If there were important positions and they were filled through connections, it would be a great disadvantage for Lariel.
Naturally, Ralph was thinking of using Miranda's position to hold a large faction of civil officials. Miranda had seen through that.
"If you don't establish a foothold at this time, you'll be an outsider for the rest of your life."
Hearing Ralph's words, Miranda laughed.
"If that's for Lariel's profit, I'm fine with that."
Ralph glared at Miranda and began to persuade her.
"Problems can occur due to lack of knowledge and experience. There's no way those who served as civil officials in the Banseime royal family, which has a long history, would be useless."
"True. But... they're being destroyed, aren't they? I wonder if there's any reason to preciousy carry on the ways of a country that's been destroyed?"
"...Do you despise tradition?"
"I don't despise it. But I can't recommend people who come along later and say, 'Hand over the good parts.' Well, since we're blood relatives, I'll put in a word for you to some extent. Choose... either be thrown out just like this, or let the Sarcly family remain as nobles for the time being."
Realizing there was no room for negotiation in Miranda's words, Ralph stood up.
"I wonder where you're going?"
To Miranda's question, Ralph replied.
"It's not just you. Though she's unreliable, I'll prop up Shannon. If she's also the Alliance Leader's woman, she can be a figurehead. Though she probably doesn't have talent like yours."
Since Miranda was a no, he intended to prop up Shannon. Miranda waved her hand lightly.
"Yes, good luck, Father."
She saw him off with a smile――.
"Sigh, day after day, why do I have to deal with these people? I'm busy right now, and they're like, 'How are you feeling today?'... You can tell just by looking at me. Read the room."
As we approached Central, the number of people flattering me in the face of a massive army increased. Mercenary groups approached, and adventurers also gathered.
Perhaps influenced by the fact that I was a former adventurer, they seemed to want me to pull strings for them.
While I was sitting on the bed in my room, covered in a blanket, Shannon entered the room.
"Hey, it's time for food."
As I stood up, I felt a chill. Inside the Mobile Fortress, there was a workshop using fire, so it was far warmer than outside.
But even so, I felt cold. I had been in a warm place for too long, and my senses had gone haywire.
"Got it, I'm coming. Oh?"
Remembering something, I asked Shannon.
"Weren't you called for an audience today?"
Though not as much as me, there were many who sought audiences with my companions. Even for Aria, people claiming to be relatives she had once helped or who had helped her were swarming.
It was the same for Eva. Not just as a representative of the elves, but she was sought for audiences as a representative of demi-humans.
Clara was also sought for audiences, especially by those related to scholars, because she was from Alamsars. In many cases, it was to ask her to pull strings.
In the midst of this, Shannon, who was rarely sought for audiences because her sister Miranda was there, had unusually been requested for one.
"...Yeah, they said a bunch of things, but I didn't understand, so I just said 'pass'."
Thinking that was a typical response for her.
"Don't give answers that make the other person resent you. Turn them down gently."
"Isn't that just turning them down in the end?"
"It's better than having them fly into a weird rage. Besides, people who can't read the trend of the times until they get here are scary because you don't know what they'll do. And yet their tongues wag uselessly... sigh, it's a waste of time. What is it, 'I rushed here as reinforcements.' And then 'I have no food,' it's just mooching."
I knew that holding audiences was important, but I couldn't help complaining. There are people who tell truly pointless long stories.
It's worse because they believe it's an appeal. I understand they're desperate to jump on the winning horse, but...
"I can understand the feeling of royalty who demand money for audiences. If you don't set limits, the petitions are unbelievable. ...What's wrong?"
Shannon was less energetic than usual. Though she was talking, she seemed a bit sad, or rather, she looked tired.
"What, is something you hate coming out for dinner today? I'm not giving up my dessert."
Looking at my face, Shannon had an exasperated expression, but she shook her head.
"Not knowing is happiness, isn't it? Well, in exchange, I'll take today's pudding."
"Wait! Why are you targeting my pudding? Stop it. Target some other pudding instead of mine!"
Then, Shannon got genuinely angry. With a serious expression.
"Don't mess around! With Lariel, it can end as a joke, but if I touch another pudding, it's war! No way, no matter how delicious it is, I can't bet my life on a pudding!"
"So my pudding is okay!?"
As we made a racket, I felt like Shannon's expression had regained some of its energy――.