Since we managed to suppress the rebellion before it began, the march continued without issue on the surface.
Well, everyone in the army knew the Imperial Guard had caused trouble again after the reassignment.
They were a gathering of people of good birth—an elite course, if one had to say it.
Besides being disliked for their blunders and arrogance, they were also being laughed at out of jealousy now that their equipment had been stripped from them.
But right now, no one said any of that aloud.
After all, we were in the middle of an arduous march up the Fanan Mountains in the north of the empire.
“This is... I think... I understand... the general’s... complaints... from sixty years ago...”
“Your Highness, please focus. We’re on a slope with a cliff on one side.”
Herkov was currently leading the donkey I was riding along the edge of a precipice.
Climbing a mountain made up of nothing but rock, wind, and slippery gravel was so inconvenient that donkeys were the only usable means of transport.
More than anything, the danger of having no choice but to cling to the rock face as we walked, like we were doing now, was exhausting enough even just sitting on a donkey.
“They say it’s only a little farther, so please endure it somehow.”
Wearerel, who unlike me was walking, encouraged me.
Carriages couldn’t pass through here, so first the soldiers confirming safety went ahead, followed by the commanders giving orders.
The Imperial Guard, treated as criminals, had been left restrained in the town below while preparations were being made to send them back to the imperial capital.
The rear support would come much later, and naturally the maids would move then as well.
Nomariola had offered to accompany me, but in the army, the general decided how the army moved.
In reality, she had been ordered to come later with everyone but the necessary personnel, since the terrain was too harsh and unsuitable.
Well, we were forcing our way along like this by insisting that we were among the commanders.
However, I had one more reason for opposing Nomariola’s accompanying me.
“Seriously... this place... is perfect for assassination.”
“Until now, it has only been harassment, but if they wear down your stamina and spirit with an unfamiliar long journey, then add fatigue and terrain with nowhere to escape, it becomes quite meticulously prepared.”
We had researched the terrain, but seeing it in person seemed to give even the grim-faced Icto something to think about.
The enemy’s methods, as far as we currently knew, were to plant bad rumors about me in General Wageris’s ears and obstruct cooperation.
As for the Imperial Guard, they had indeed chosen people with malice toward me.
There had also been people mixed into the engineer battalion who would harass us.
There were likely others planted for harassment as well, whether they never acted or simply failed.
“But here... whoever did it, responsibility would definitely fall on the local lord, right?”
Riding on a donkey was tiring too—or rather, it seemed I simply lacked the physical strength to traverse this place.
It was the first time I had ever put so much strength into my entire body, and though Herkov should have drilled me in everything he could at the palace, it seemed I hadn’t built up the basic stamina.
“If it’s a small lord on the frontier, even if he’s held responsible, he wouldn’t be able to refuse. It’s common enough, but small lords can’t defy the great lords who oversee the surrounding area.”
As Herkov said, the power dynamics between lords were difficult to overturn.
Maybe it was close to a prefecture and a city?
Even if one city said something was white, if the prefecture said it was black, the entire region would be treated as black.
If they rebelled, they could be coldly treated that much more, or have problems shoved onto them.
To take it further, this border domain was weak and small, so compared to the prefecture, it was about the size of a village.
If the great lord holding the rights and interests of the surrounding region cut them off, it would not stop at the lord’s head alone—his family and even his people could starve to death.
“What’s more, the great lord here is involved with the criminals’ guild. He’s proactive when it comes to violence and power struggles. There shouldn’t be enough benefit for him to seriously target Lady Asha, but if he moves, it will be troublesome.”
After deciding to follow me, Wearerel had studied many things outside his specialty.
That included the geography, history, and power relationships around these Fanan Mountains.
In fact, I had asked Sephira to look into information Wearerel wanted.
“Although we succeeded in driving them out of the imperial capital and took measures so that reconstruction would not be in sight, we still haven’t been able to reach the headquarters of the organizations that made up the criminals’ guild.”
The organized criminal groups rooted in the imperial capital through the criminals’ guild had been eliminated.
However, the four families that had created the criminals’ guild had merely withdrawn to their home bases and had not been captured.
Moreover, three of those families had their headquarters outside imperial territory, making them untouchable.
Only one family had its base within the empire’s territory.
The criminals’ guild had been established in the imperial capital because it was a great city, but they had advanced there precisely because they had gained strength in their place of origin.
It would be better to assume they still held coercive power in their home base.
(If I recall, the origins of one of the families that created the criminals’ guild were...)
(Armed tenant farmers who arose about four hundred years ago. They armed themselves under the pretext of protecting farmers, and with that military force as their backing, they built close ties with landlords and entered politics as well...)
(I don’t have the leeway to listen right now, so hold on. Also, Sephira, keep watch on the surroundings.)
(I have already identified a suspicious armed group.)
For a moment, because of my fatigue, I couldn’t grasp the meaning.
“...Huh!?”
I ended up raising my voice right beside him, and Herkov was startled enough for his fur to stand on end.
At the same time, I firmly shut my mouth.
(Share the information with Herkov right away!)
(Understood.)
It seemed Herkov heard it, and his bear ears shot up toward the sky.
That alone was enough for Icto to sense something was wrong, and he began casually keeping watch over the surroundings.
“...It looks like His Highness isn’t sitting properly. Let’s stop for a moment and check the tack.”
Herkov made an excuse and stopped the donkey.
In the meantime, Sephira contacted Icto and Wearerel and informed them of the situation.
We stopped for the moment and pretended to adjust the tack, creating some distance from the army ahead.
At the same time, the troops behind us could no longer advance because we had stopped.
This place, trapped between the rock face and the cliff with nowhere to escape, happened to work in our favor for securing safety.
(Sephira, what are they doing?)
(They are standing by even now, intending to drop rocks the moment Master passes beneath them. I recommend collapsing their foothold with magic and eliminating the scoundrels.)
(Then we won’t be able to get any information. Besides, if the road is blocked, we won’t be able to achieve our original objective.)
(Damage to the road descending to town would also be a loss to both Karuu and Wabili villages. I surmise they would stop fighting in order to restore it.)
That was certainly one option.
But the army destroying infrastructure would be far too underhanded.
Maybe that was common sense from my previous life, but I couldn’t allow harm to come to noncombatants.
(At any rate, stopping the assassination comes first this time. So since no one will be harmed right now, do it.)
(Order accepted. Once safety is secured, I will ask again for an explanation of the criteria behind that judgment.)
I felt like I was going to be bombarded with questions later, but would I have that much stamina left?
Sephira took advantage of being invisible and approached the enemies hiding in a high position.
Disguising it as a perfectly natural gust of wind, she rolled a single stone in time with the enemy’s movement.
It made a surprisingly loud sound, and more than anything, falling rocks were dangerous.
That was exactly why not only we, but also those behind us looked upward.
It was a place one would not notice if one only watched one’s footing, but here there was nothing but wind-scoured rock.
The hidden enemies were exposed to view.
“Damn... Retreat!”
“Wait!”
Wearerel, who had already put distance between himself and the others to ensure safety, used magic to send a great gust of wind and leapt upward.
With no safety rope and poor footing, doing that must have required a considerable amount of courage.
Even so, Wearerel did it.
Apparently, the safest foothold was the very rock they had planned to drop on me, and he landed on it.
“Stop!”
Wearerel made as if to capture them, but the other side immediately retreated.
There was also the danger of pursuing them alone, so Wearerel used the old path that had been up there and rejoined us beyond the cliff.
“Hey, damn it! What the hell is going on!? You’re telling me there was a suspicious group!?”
General Wageris, as usual, seemed lively even on a mountain road like this.
We had passed the dangerous cliffside path and were now in an open flat area within the mountains that could temporarily serve as a gathering point.
Judging from the terrain, snowmelt probably collected here or something.
Incidentally, we were in the middle of questioning the locals hired in town as guides about the old path.
Apparently, the old path had led to another village, but part of it had collapsed more than ten years ago.
Even when they petitioned the lord, it was never repaired, and so it had fallen out of use.
“It’s all right. There were no casualties, and thanks to Wearerel, we managed to put a mark on the suspicious people. We can track them later.”
“...You’re awfully well prepared.”
“I didn’t think only the Imperial Guard would come after me.”
Without putting it into words, I tried to convey that there were parties aiming to assassinate me.
The instant I did, General Wageris made a displeased face.
Or so I thought, but instead of saying anything to me, he grabbed Herkov by the scruff of the neck.
“What the hell are you making a kid say, you bastard? Has your skill really rotted that far?”
“Say that to your father-in-law and the rest of those palace bastards.”
Their extremely dangerous exchange was somehow scarier than shouting.
And I had discovered one reason General Wageris wouldn’t listen to me.
He had been treating me completely like a child.
No, I certainly wasn’t an adult yet, but still.
Ah, so that was why he kept telling me to stay out of things.
As I was thinking that, for some reason, the two beastmen began growling at each other in intimidation.
Regular Update
Next: The Dangers of the Fanan Mountains 2