As Caspond pondered Marquis Bodipo’s reply, he sensed for a moment that the other man was not hiding anything, and Caspond smiled coldly in his heart again. While he already knew this, he was simply confirming that reaction with his own eyes.
“…I see. It would seem that your opinions coincide with mine.” Caspond outlined his plan to ruin Jaldabaoth’s scheme by slaughtering the demihumans. “However, what will we do if Jaldabaoth shows up?”
“Is Jaldabaoth such a mighty demon? I hear even the Captain-dono could not protect Her Majesty.”
Count Granero had never faced Jaldabaoth before, which was why he was asking such an innocent question. Caspond responded in a somber tone.
“He is extremely powerful. We asked the Sorcerer King to face him, and his battle with Jaldabaoth was truly intense.”
“The Sorcerer King? Do you mean that undead king?”
It was only to be expected that they would exclaim in surprise.
“Oya? Did you not hear about that? I see…”
“So you called upon the help of another country’s army, my Prince? That is very bad!”
“Not an army. Just the Sorcerer King.”
The nobles froze with an ”Eh?” on their lips. It took some time before they stirred again.
“The Sorcerer King? By himself? The one and only king, the one who stands at the pinnacle of his nation, came over by himself?”
Caspond nodded in response to Count Randalse’s question.
“How could that be, that’s impossible, right? There’s no way such a king would exist! Did he not have his armies on hand?”
It makes no sense at all, the gathered people muttered. Some wondered if this was some kind of scheme. However, Caspond denied them with the finality of an executioner’s axe.
“Though you might say so, it is the truth. All we can do is accept it. In addition, if the Sorcerer King had brought his armies with him, then they would have moved out the moment he lost his duel against Jaldabaoth.”
“He lost?… I don’t get it. They say he’s one of the undead, so could it be that even his brains rotted away? However… is this not very bad?”
“It is. However, one of the envoys who requested the Sorcerer King to come was Remedios. I believe handing her over to gain the forgiveness of the other party will be a necessity, as are other diplomatic measures.”
“Will that settle matters? …Now that you mention it, the Sorcerous Kingdom is a nation within the borders of the Kingdom. In that case, they will not be able to cross the Kingdom’s borders to reach us… does that mean we must be on alert once the Kingdom is destroyed?”
They could not understand what was going on, and the nobles all clutched their heads. It was as though they were thinking about what to do if the sun rose in the west. Therefore, they decided to shelve the matter for the time being.
“Well, let’s put that aside for now. What are your future plans, Your Highness?”
“I–I would like to retake the capital. And I would like to do this as soon as possible.”
“In that case, we will surely aid you!”
“Your Highness will become the hero who saved this nation from Jaldabaoth!”
“The demihuman army which invaded our nation was 100’000 strong. They’ve been culled to around 30’000 strong now, If we rally the people of this city and the soldiers we brought, we’ll be able to beat them easily!”
“Your Highness! The day will soon come when they call you Your Majesty!”
Caspond faced the flattering nobles and put an expression of his face that said they had hit the nail on the head.
“Umu. I will not forget to be grateful for the help all of you have given me.”
“What are you saying? We are only doing our duty to the Holy Kingdom and the royal family!”
In his heart, Caspond smiled in a completely different way.
“Very well. Then, gentlemen, let us make ready to take back the capital!”
Part 2
A week after they had joined up with the armies of the Southern nobles, they finished their preparations and began a new advance.
Their next target was the city of Prart, to the west of Kalinsha.
Neia could not hide her unease as she wobbled on the back of a horse.
While it made perfect sense to seize this chance to exterminate the demihumans while Jaldabaoth’s wounds had not yet healed, it did not sit well with her feelings. She wanted to increase the number of supporters and put her efforts into finalizing the preparations for the rescue effort that would be sent out in search of the Sorcerer King.
That said, Neia knew from first-hand experience with Remedios that a commander’s irritation was closely linked to morale. She could not take her frustrations out on her subordinates.
Neia took several deep breaths to calm herself, and her lungs filled with cool air. While spring was close, one could still feel winter in the air.
After regaining her composure, Neia surveyed the army which was going forth.
There were about 95’000 people here, in a column that seemed to stretch on forever. Their forces were composed of roughly 30’000 men from the Southern nobles and 65’000 men from the Liberation Army. Incidentally, of the remaining 20’000 men from the South, 10’000 were assigned to secure their axis of retreat and the other 10’000 were resting in Kalinsha.
Among them were 2’000 archers led by Neia, all of whom belonged to the Rescue Corps.
Facing them were the remnants of the demihuman army, which were estimated at around 30’000 strong, so there was an overwhelming disparity in numbers.
However, each individual demihuman was stronger than a human being, and more importantly, they had to be on guard against Jaldabaoth, so they could not be careless even with their numerical advantage.
They had embarked on this operation under the assumption that Jaldabaoth was still wounded and unable to take action. If Jaldabaoth had fully recovered, then they would be marching to their deaths.
Her heart beat like an alarm clock.
Should I have prioritized the Sorcerer King’s rescue over everything else,Neia wondered. Her thoughts began to go around in circles.
“-Baraja-sama. Do you require information from the corps members in other units?”
Beldran had walked his horse beside her before asking his question, and Neia blinked in response. She had no idea what he was talking about.
After some thought, Neia finally got it, and she hurriedly waved the hand which was not holding the reins of her horse.
“No, no, we don’t need to do spy-like stuff like that. After all, we’re comrades marching towards the same goal.”
“Ohhh! I expected nothing less of you, Baraja-sama. As the spokesperson for His Majesty, your words are most kind.”
“…Although her face is scary.”
After Beldran praised her, Shizu spoke up from behind Neia. Since Shizu could not ride, the two of them shared a saddle.
Even if Shizu was her senior, and one who was worthy of her respect, it was still a little annoying to hear her keep harping on that over and over again.
Should I just have her walk…
Shizu’s stride and stamina exceeded those of a regular human being. She was riding only because it would be rude to let one of the Sorcerer King’s subordinates walk.
Beldran heard this, but he did not help her at all. He neither supported nor rejected that statement. He probably could not deny those words because they had been spoken by a subordinate of the Sorcerer King and more importantly, because they were obviously true.
Well, I guess he can’t just say no… after all, I wouldn’t have to wear the visor if I weren’t like that…