We had managed to avoid an assassination that would have dragged the unrelated people around us into it.
Even after that, though, I had kept my body rigid atop the donkey so I wouldn’t lose my balance, and my stamina had hit rock bottom.
What we finally reached was a mountain hollow within the range, a basin shaped like a mortar.
By then, I was already being carried along seated on the pack frame on Herkov’s back.
“Just like the documents said, there really is a white road running through the lowest point in the center, dividing the two villages.”
We made a rest area at a spot overlooking the villages and looked down.
The houses were scattered, but the overall scale was not large. Higher up were pastures, relatively flat.
The houses, however, had been built on the slopes atop high stone foundations.
That, too, was just as the documents described.
And even the place where the soldiers were fighting, in what had once been pastureland to our right, was the same as it had been sixty years ago.
It was probably a place that made fighting easy.
“Your Highness, First Imperial Prince, it appears the engagement has only just begun. General Wageris says we will first put our own forces in order, so please do not act on your own judgment and rush ahead…”
Celine brought the report.
It seemed we had arrived just as the lord’s soldiers stationed in the villages had begun skirmishing with one another.
Then Celine, looking as if it was hard to say, continued with General Wageris’s message.
“He said, um, to make sure you understand not to interfere with the battle.”
“I’m not going to charge in without guards or soldiers in a state like this, you know?”
“He said he wanted to avoid any complaints that we failed to respond immediately and allowed the number of wounded to increase.”
Even Celine, as she said that, was watching my reaction. Did they think I was that unreasonable?
“Wounded because we don’t respond? I know I’m an amateur. But I do understand the danger of taking military action when we’re lightly armed, prioritizing safety, out of step from the march, and haven’t even caught our breath.”
Military action was meant to hurt people, so I at least understood that rushing in without preparation or a plan would only get people injured.
We had numbers, so we could win in the end, but we needed to rest first to keep pointless losses down.
Then, once everyone had caught their breath, we could form ranks capable of protecting themselves, and only after that could we act.
If we were going to make them risk their lives, then unless we at least let them prepare to protect themselves, the soldiers wouldn’t move.
“Could it be that General Wageris thinks His Highness has not received any proper education at all?”
When Ikuto murmured that, Herkov, who had taught me about military matters, bared his fangs.
“Huh!? What the hell does that bastard think I am? I’m His Highness’s tutor, damn it.”
But Wearerel raised a finger and pointed out,
“On the contrary, perhaps he does not imagine that you have taught him such practical matters. Thus far, Lord Asha has only spoken up when deviating from military convention.”
So that was another way to look at it.
It was true that I had only said anything when I was opposing General Wageris, but the reason I stayed quiet otherwise was because I understood what was going on.
“Um… in view of the woman on the road who claimed that bandits had appeared. And he also said to keep watch so that you do not go off on your own to pursue the assassins.”
Celine apologetically told me the truth.
Apparently, this was trouble I had brought upon myself.
No, but shouldn’t the assassins be something I can deal with on my end?
Hmm. Still, he had already warned me, so I suppose I should prioritize securing my own safety for now.
“I understand. I know my place. I won’t lower morale by insulting them as weak soldiers in a situation like this.”
Back then, it had been obvious that simply gathering enough people and marching would drive the bandits away, so I had incited them.
This time, however, the enemy was fully armed.
What’s more, we weren’t rescuing weak people who were fleeing; we would be thrusting ourselves sideways into a clash between people who both held weapons.
If things went badly, the Imperial Army could end up taking hostility from both sides all at once.
Precisely because there was a danger of turning it into a one-against-two situation, I had no intention of denying General Wageris’s decision to spend time preparing.
“You’re a captain, aren’t you? Is it all right for you to be here?”
Herkov addressed Celine, captain of the headquarters-attached management platoon.
“The management platoon handles not only basic supplies, but also inspecting and distributing weapons and armor, right? Aren’t you especially needed for the preparations?”
“No, there are others, and the headquarters itself does not need to move. This time, I have my hands free.”
Originally, the headquarters’ duty was command and orders; if it ended up fighting, that meant it was already a losing battle, or a fighting retreat.
“In this situation, it would be harder to lose.”
Wearerel looked down at the fighting soldiers and nodded.
Because the land was shaped like a mortar, we were overlooking the villages and the surrounding points.
Our force was not yet in order, but we had secured an advantageous position.
More than anything, the lord’s soldiers had the enemies they were fighting right in front of them, and they could not immediately change their target of attack.
Into that situation, a large and well-equipped Imperial Army had taken up position on higher ground.
It was terrain and a situation where we could win as long as we moved our soldiers without panic.
The headquarters only needed to plant itself firmly in place, so Celine had been assigned to watch me.
“Moreover, the enemy’s armaments are more substantial than expected. I doubt anything will happen, but I am here as a guard.”
Even if it had been with my consent, it was General Wageris who had separated me from my guards.
So it seemed he had paid attention to my protection as well.
Celine had stepped forward as the representative to speak, but behind her were around twenty soldiers from headquarters.
My guards were being detained in the town, the military officers had not arrived yet, and the laborers were scheduled to move after safety was secured, so they were not here.
On top of that, there had just been an assassination attempt outside General Wageris’s sight.
He probably had no intention of taking his eyes off me.
“When you say their armaments are more substantial than expected, do you mean in number? Or quality?”
Ikuto asked.
Small lords were, frankly, poor; they had even seemed reluctant to spend the money to repair the old road.
If they had somehow gathered expensive things like weapons, then where they had come from was a concern.
“In number. They should not have the financial power to support a standing army, yet their equipment is uniform and shows no sign of deterioration.”
Celine did not specify either army.
In other words, both sides were better prepared than expected.
The lord of the village called Wabili was on Romlusi’s side, and if they could reach that far…
As I sank into thought, Celine took one step closer.
“If you can offer an explanation for the cause, I would like to hear it. This is an opinion the army needs as well.”
“Hmm. This is only a situational guess, but weapons have to be made from scratch if you’re procuring them new, right? That means they couldn’t be gathered in about a month. In other words, someone who knew more than two months ago that the Imperial Army was coming here would have had to arrange it.”
And even using fast horses, it would take a month to reach this frontier.
Working backward, the range of suspects became extremely limited.
It was probably the people in the imperial capital who had raised their voices to send me here, but there was inconsistency in what they were doing.
It didn’t feel like there was anyone taking overall command; rather, various people who disliked me were each making their own little moves.
Among them, there had also been someone who thought to take advantage of a situation where they could reliably kill me.
(Well, Sephira is constantly scanning, so we can deal with it.)
(No hidden enemy presence detected. Below, approximately one hundred personnel engaged against one hundred as fighting forces. Infantry only. No movement from archers, cavalry, or other forces. Though they are engaged in battle, their suppressive capability is questionable.)
Sephira, who had even noticed and warned me about rocks falling from above, had apparently already scanned the visibly engaged forces as well.
“Could it be that their morale is low?”
“Oh, you noticed? Just as Your Highness says, it looks like those guys have no intention of fighting seriously. Only part of them is moving.”
Herkov said the same thing as Sephira.
Ikuto, who had been watching the state of the battle, gave a single nod.
“From skirmishing to the deployment of troops, and then the dispatch of forces from the Empire. Even if they win, they do not have the military strength to confront another nation. The morale of the soldiers sent here must be low.”
Apparently, the adults’ view was that the moment the Imperial Army arrived, it was time to stop.
Even if they had received slightly better weapons, they would have no desire to come all the way into these mountains just to fight a losing battle.
“So sending soldiers all the way here was a claim of sovereignty. But the countries have already reached an agreement, so it’s truly pointless.”
The villages were close enough that if we did not clearly state they belonged to us, they might be casually snatched away.
However, the matter had already been settled with their incorporation into the Empire, so the Romlusi side would simply have to persuade their local lord from above.
The Imperial Army also served as the messenger to convey the decision, but that messenger wasn’t me.
So the problem I needed to worry about was the two villages with a history of discord.
The Empire would be handling all the work related to their integration.
If we bungled things here, then even though this could serve to establish the authority of an emperor who had expanded his territory, we would instead give others an opening to say that there was a problem with his ability to govern.
“With more personnel, the burden of vigilance will be reduced, so Lord Asha, let us spend a little time reviewing the information on this land.”
Having decided there was nothing more to see, Wearerel announced that it was time to study.
I felt like we didn’t have to do it right now.
Still, I had come here in order to resolve this, so I decided I would do what I could.
Regular Update
Next Time: The Dangers of the Fanaan Mountains 3