“The enemy procession is entering the Great Forest, one after another.”
No need for observational magic. From the castle walls of the 4th Castle, I could see it all with my own eyes. The breathtaking sight of tens of thousands of Great Forest troops retreating quickly filled the walls with knights and soldiers.
“Heh, those sneaky bastards.”
A retreat couldn’t be prepared overnight. They must have been ready to withdraw at a moment’s notice. It seemed that they were once boasting about the Southern Republic being at the forefront of freeing beastkin slaves, in a kind of shared destiny. Seeing this, contrary to public perception, it was clear that the diplomatic prowess of the Great Forest was quite exceptional. Thanks to their clever agility, they had earned a position of independence despite not even having a tenth of the Empire’s power.
“The rebel army is also retreating.”
Those who had deployed all their forces to the high ground and built defensive fortifications were now pulling back. With half their troops having vanished, they determined that they could no longer defend and decided to abandon their dispersed positions. The enemy now had less than 10,000 infantry and fewer than 2,000 cavalry forces remaining. Given the qualitative difference, the suppression army was not going to back down now. Considering that the Great Forest had joined in cutting off food supplies to the South, the advantage lay clearly on our side.
There was no need to attempt a siege anymore. From now on, we could just let them wither away slowly. As long as we didn’t foolishly fight and lose all our knights due to their trickery, the tide of victory had certainly turned in our favor.
It was a reversal of fortunes.
“From now on, it’s a war of attrition.”
“Yes. If we don’t have prolonged battles, morale and tension will likely wane, so maintaining both at a certain level is important.”
“Hmm… that’s true.”
“I will ensure that you won’t need to worry, Lord Schlus. We won’t take any reckless actions.”
“Yeah… that would be for the best. But why bring this up all of a sudden?”
“Aren’t you leaving soon? You and your companions have brought victory. From now on, we-”
“Wait, we still have about three days to spare.”
“…”
Pelaine shut her mouth tightly. Perhaps feeling embarrassed, her face rapidly turned red.
“My apologies. I jumped to conclusions…”
“I believe we will receive their surrender within three days.”
“What? That can’t be! With the reserve food supply they have, it’s unlikely they’ll surrender in just three days…”
Right. They could hold out for a month or even a year if they wanted. But if Lorraine was anything like I knew, that wouldn’t happen. The rebellion she had sparked was motivated not only by her ambitions but also by her fury over the inhumane treatment of the slaves. With her personality, she wouldn’t issue orders to continue fighting until the last one starved to death.
“I just have a feeling it will happen.”
“…?”
Leaving the puzzled Pelaine behind, I descended from the castle walls. For the time being, there would probably be no major battles. The rebel army had reached a size where a single defeat would cause catastrophic losses.
It was truly exhausting to have come this far. They say a great commander avoids losing battles and only engages in winning ones. But I had done the opposite, managing to win by scraping through losing battles. Some of them were almost like gambling. At that time, I had no other options left due to the urgency of the situation, but looking back now, it was downright chilling. It was something I could never repeat.
Yet if I had to name a reason I was able to overcome such tough battles…
*Creek…*
“Ah, Master!”
It was definitely those guys. Upon opening the ward’s door, I found them all gathered around Trie, who was lying on a bed. It seemed they deemed this more secure than a hotel room exposed in their location.
“How are you feeling, Trie?”
“I’m totally fit! I want to get up and do some exercise right now…”
“No! You must remain completely still for now!”
“Come on, you’re making it hard for me to get up. Hehe.”
Iris looked unusually flustered. Was she nervous because a friend nearly died? But that couldn’t be. I had been stabbed before, and I had certainly been calm back then.
It was puzzling, but I decided to let it slide.
“By the way, Schlus, you got to listen to me. There was someone else in the hotel besides me, you know?”
“Oh geez. Here we go again.”
“…?”
Aintz and Erica turned away in exasperation, while Trie was quite indignant.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, yesterday, I fainted before I could finish them off, and someone kicked the assassins’ butts instead of me! It wasn’t you or Aintz, right?”
“Yeah, it wasn’t us. We never left our room.”
“Then that means there was a third party!”
“Hmm…”
A third party. Someone strong enough to handle the assassins and fight on behalf of the mages without pay, disappearing quietly afterward. Hertlocker came to mind, but it couldn’t have been him. If he did that, he would have been all over me asking for favors.
That left only one conclusion.
“Trie, it seems you’ve entered the realm of the superhuman.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“It appears your unconscious self kept fighting and took out the enemies even while you were unconscious.”
“Ooh! That sounds plausible!”
“No! That can’t be!”
Everyone but Trie seemed convinced. Even I felt it was pretty convincing. The mental fortitude to continue fighting despite being in so much pain that you lost consciousness. Trie had clearly grown another notch.
If she even properly unlocked her magical talents…
I couldn’t help but think a super monster might be born, surpassing the originals.
“Lord Schlus Hainkel! A letter from His Majesty the Emperor!”
“…!”
Just then, a messenger barged in as the door swung open. Dressed in royal garments, it was unmistakably from the imperial palace. I took a deep breath and stepped out to receive the letter.
It was fine to open it right here.
– “Schlus Hainkel. I have heard that the suppression army has declared a slave liberation from the South. I presume this was your directive. I will overlook this for now, but in the future, please be sure to consult with the imperial court before making such significant decisions…”
So, the reaction to the slave liberation edict had finally caught up.
There was no need to read further. It was already too late.
“Please tell His Majesty it’s too late.”
“Huh? Is that all?”
“That’s all.”
What reaction would they have if they heard about my appointment of the rebel leader as a knight and the national funeral, along with the solo negotiation? Would they end up having a heart attack from the blood pressure?
And if Aria ascended to the throne, I’d actually be quite grateful. I gave the messenger a pat on the shoulder and returned to my friends.
*
The enemy had halved their forces, but that didn’t mean the suppression army could take it easy.
If anything, things had gotten busier.
Previously, the enemy had been camped out to besiege the 4th Castle, making it easy to monitor their troop movements. Now they had pulled forces somewhere and hidden, making the tracking process much more difficult.
This was where the observational spell I had created came in handy.
I once attempted to observe using mana fluctuations instead of visible light, and I never expected the range of observation would expand so much. Once I return to the system, I might as well patent it.
Or maybe I first need to write a paper to prove the principle…
That, I really dislike.
“Ooh! Their movements have become smoother! Did you get enlightenment or something?”
“Ugh!”
And now, I was sparring with Trie. I had emphasized not to get up, but as soon as Iris left the room, she unraveled her bandages and begged me to train, leaving me no choice.
By the way, did she really cross over some sort of wall?
She used to let me win a couple of rounds, but now I didn’t even have a chance of winning.
“Whoa? You’re being quite aggressive!”
Trie’s comment gave me a hint.
I can’t let her win.
I wouldn’t be able to defeat Trie anyway.
So that meant I had only one option.
“I got you.”
“Huh?”
Our blades met, right at each other’s throats.
It didn’t matter who was slightly faster. In a real fight, we’d both end up with our heads sliced off.
Mutual destruction.
In other words, a draw.
“Is this right? How can we choose a move that leads to our own demise?”
“That goes for you too, Trie.”
“Well, I naturally assumed you would dodge.”
“That’s what I thought too.”
“…”
It seemed that we both had similar thoughts.
If we fought in a situation like that in real life, we wouldn’t last a second.
It was so absurd that it made me laugh.
“Phew… I’ve sweat too much. I need to wash up.”
“Oh! They have a bath here?”
“Yeah. I was about to head there now. Want to join?”
“Wha, huh?! No way! Master, are you crazy?”
Trie, who had just been confidently sturdy like a man, grew timid and distanced herself from me.
At times like this, I couldn’t help but realize she was a woman.
“Just kidding.”
“Uh, um… please save those kinds of jokes for later. I almost dropped dead just now.”
There was a bathhouse the knights used in the afternoon.
I could technically enter them too since I was a knight. But all the knights were men, and there probably wasn’t a division for male and female baths. What to do about Trie?
“Hmm… you might want to come in later. Let the bath empty out for about an hour.”
“Ah. Since all men in there… right. Thanks.”
I left the blushing Trie behind and headed to the bathhouse.
It was pretty large from outside. Considering the city’s size, such a huge facility must be maintained.
I stepped inside.
There, I quickly spotted Taylor sitting at the entrance and napping.
“Well met, Vice-Captain.”
“Ah! Lord Schlus. Welcome.”
“What, running a bathhouse now?”
“Hahaha, not at all. But right now…”
“Right now?”
“Ah, never mind. Please feel free to use it.”
Taylor had a moment of awkwardness before widening his eyes and grinning at me.
What was up with that? Why the strange reaction?
While tilting my head, I stepped further inside.
‘Isn’t anyone else here?’
The changing room was quiet.
No matter how I looked, I couldn’t find any other knights.
Had they all finished and left?
Then again, it was a rather awkward time, coinciding with dinner.
I stripped off my clothes and tossed them into a basket, wrapping a towel around my waist.
“Oh…”
As I stepped outside, I couldn’t help but gasp.
Although it was called a bathhouse, it resembled a hot spring more.
With the steam thick, visibility was nearly nonexistent due to the high temperature.
It felt like the perfect place for an event where the protagonist gets labeled as a pervert, just like in a manga or anime.
But for me, there wouldn’t be such occurrences.
Unless it was Hertlocker, maybe.
“Ahhh…”
I dipped my feet into the largest tub first.
Then, slowly lowering myself in, I felt the warmth envelop my body relax me completely.
Ah. This is it.
I had completely forgotten the pleasure of a bath since coming to this world.
I could almost imagine drinking banana milk afterward; that would be the icing on the cake.
Of course, I knew that was just a dream that wouldn’t come true.
“Phew…”
*Step…*
As I leaned against the stone and relaxed, I heard faint footsteps from behind.
As I had suspected, I wasn’t the only one here.
Other knights were starting to come in.
I wondered if it would be someone I recognized and turned around.
Due to the steam, it was hard to see…
What’s with that figure?
Why does it look so curvy?
Like a woman’s body…
“Huh?”
“Eh?”
*Perk.*
Only when I saw the little cat ears pop up in shock did I realize.
The one standing there, hiding her body with a towel, was none other than Pelaine.
