Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 271

271

The advance of the Imperial Army slowed down after occupying Avalon. This was due to the influence of the weather as the season turned to winter. Although Arkadon wasn’t exactly the same environment as medieval Earth, many aspects were similar to some extent. In the Middle Ages, wars were sometimes halted due to the seasons, and even if not completely stopped, progress slowed considerably. On days with heavy snowfall, they were often stuck in one place for days.

I sometimes adjusted the weather when it was too severe, but I mostly left it alone because it was bothersome to pay attention to it every time. In any case, the advance continued steadily, even at a slow pace, and the battles between the two sides also unfolded in earnest. It was about a month after the expedition began, as initially predicted.

Battles were more often about confronting each other across the castle gates than launching surprise attacks. The routes for moving the army’s numerous supplies and equipment were limited, so the places of confrontation were practically predetermined from the start. And such places were usually structured to be easily defended from the inside, which was the most concerning part for the advancing side.

Of course, that was only in general cases, and it didn’t really apply to us. We had a terrifying presence that rendered the defenses useless.

That was ‘Spear’s Daughter,’ Alisa.

“Aaaagh! It’s collapsing!”

“Everyone, run! Retreat! Retreat!”

The screams of the enemy army, thrown into chaos by the loud explosions, were music to my ears. The sight of the solid castle walls collapsing like tofu was now a familiar sight. This was the third time. The castle walls that had been obstructing our army’s path were losing their function one by one, thanks to the efforts of Alisa—and me, who was leading her. Listening to the loud cheers of our allies echoing all around, I mumbled blankly.

“…If this were an online game, I would have gotten the ‘Castle Wall Breaker’ title.”

“Onli… what?”

“Or the ‘Castle Collapse Master’ title.”

“…?”

“Could it be the ‘Bankrupted the National Treasury’ title?”

“…What are you talking about since a while ago?”

Lapis, who was next to me, shot me a dumbfounded look. From the sharply narrowing eyes, I could feel a strong will to torment me if I didn’t explain properly.

“No, I just feel like I’ve become a villain because I’m destroying everything I go to.”

“Huh?”

“It’ll cost a lot of money to restore all that, right?”

That’s the problem with civil wars. Because you’re fighting on your own land, you end up losing whether you win or lose. Take the castle walls collapsing before my eyes, for example. Right now, it’s just a passage for us to break through, but in fact, it’s one of the main defense lines protecting the empire, so it would be very troublesome if it disappeared.

Perhaps Isana will be busy repairing the damaged gates after this war is over. But the main culprit for destroying those gates is none other than me. It feels like I’m adding a burden to his shoulders every time I destroy one. I said it with a sense of responsibility, but Lapis doesn’t seem to think so. His face was even more frowned than before.

“I thought you were being pathetic about something again. Are you so worried that you’re now concerned about restoration costs? It’s not going to collapse just because you destroy a few of those, you know?”

“Still, a loss is a loss.”

“War is originally a money-guzzling fight. What kind of war are you going to wage if you can’t even bear that much loss? It would be a bargain if you could end it with just one castle wall. Isn’t that why you chose this method?”

“…”

I couldn’t say anything because it was all true. In fact, it was hard to find a better method in terms of efficiency. The fact that the attack became easier was one thing, but more than anything, it greatly reduced unnecessary casualties. Once the castle walls collapsed, the enemies lost their morale.

Absolute power inspires fear in everyone. Even in a world where supernatural abilities exist, the limits of humans are fixed. Alisa’s power was at a level that easily overturned the common sense here (which is natural since it’s actually my power). The enemies couldn’t easily overcome the fear of the ground shaking and the castle walls collapsing. And those who are gripped by fear tend to choose to run away or surrender rather than resist.

Even now, the enemy soldiers were retreating quickly like a receding tide as the castle walls collapsed. All the allies had to do was chase them to a suitable point.

“It’ll be easy again today.”

Sybelius muttered quietly, watching the situation with a bored face. Agreeing with his words, I calmly looked around. The heated scene was becoming deserted and gradually being cleaned up. Since the enemy had simply run away, there were hardly any casualties.

The casualties on our side from the repeated battles over the past few weeks were about 100. Even considering that this was a tally only from the main force of the advance party, it was said to be an unprecedented figure in history. Moreover, most of them were the result of surprise attacks, and there were almost none in siege warfare. Certainly, considering these points, there was no need to worry about the restoration costs for the castle walls.

“Still, it’s a waste.”

“Tsk, don’t start fretting about it now. You seem to have forgotten, but you’ve already done worse than this, you know?”

“Worse than this?”

“I’m talking about the 10-year drought. If you count the losses, wouldn’t the damage then be hundreds of times greater than this war? Compared to that, the cost of repairs is just the price of jerky.”

“…That’s a heartwarming word of comfort, thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome.”

Lapis responded with a refreshing smile to my glare. Seeing his proud face, he clearly thought he had really enlightened me.

“Sir Alfred! The enemies have all run away! This battle is also a great victory!”

Just in time, Count Marcus, the vanguard commander, shouted with an excited face, as if the battle had ended. He had been using honorifics to Alisa since some point. It was against the hierarchy within the army, but no one questioned it. No, rather, it was taken for granted.

The successive victories had completely reversed Alisa’s rank. She was already being revered as Spear’s Daughter, but now they were regarding her as Spear itself. Alisa, who had been embarrassed and troubled at first, was now enjoying the situation, as if she had given up.

“Thank you for your hard work, Count. Let’s clean up the surroundings and let the soldiers rest.”

“Yes, I understand!”

The way she gave instructions in an elegant tone was as natural as if she was born with it. Seeing this, humans are indeed creatures of adaptation. It seems closer to resignation in that she occasionally looks back at me with a troubled face. Every time that happens, I wave my hand with a smile, and now she puffs up her cheeks with a sulky face whenever our eyes meet. It’s quite fun to watch.

She would really resent me if she knew I was thinking this way. Honestly, I felt a little sorry. Unlike Alisa, who was becoming more and more prominent, my group and I had completely withdrawn from the front lines. Using the excuse that we were participating as escorts, we were only doing the bare minimum of defense even when battles broke out. Even then, Sybelius was doing most of it, so there was nothing for me and Lapis to do. Deron and As were absent more often, so they were out of the question from the start. Even now, the two demons had been missing for days. In any case, it was like leaving the responsibility to a child and playing around in the back.

“What are you thinking about?”

Lapis’s voice was heard as I was watching Alisa entering the castle amidst the cheers of the people (Sybelius was busy guarding her side), feeling pleased. Knowing the meaning of his subtly gazing eyes, I deliberately pretended not to know and asked back.

“What?”

“Don’t play dumb when you know what I’m talking about. You’re being too obvious about pushing that kid. What are you thinking, giving all your credit to her?”

At the expected topic, I glanced around. I was worried that someone might be listening, but I felt a thin barrier of mana first. He had already cast a spell around us to prevent our conversation from leaking out. I was automatically impressed by his keen sense, which was exceptional only at times like this.

“It’s true that that kid has quite a talent for a human. But what she’s getting now is an excessively undeserved honor. If you make her so famous, it’ll be difficult to handle the aftermath later, right?”

“There’s not much of an aftermath. It’s common for heroes to be made on the battlefield. Wouldn’t most people just consider it an exaggerated rumor?”

“Even so, her achievements will be recognized. The empire will have no choice but to treat that kid well just for that. You know that it’s already past the point where they can just give her a title and be done with it, right? Isana will be worried about rewarding her according to her merits, so why are you making things so big…? Aha, I see.”

Lapis, who had been frowning and questioning me, suddenly realized something and chuckled. I couldn’t help but feel a pang in my heart at his next words.

“Are you trying to set her up with your contractor?”

“…Um.”

I guess it was too obvious. Lapis’s face became sullen as I scratched my cheek awkwardly. I thought he would openly ridicule me, but he surprisingly accepted it quickly.

“They did seem to have feelings for each other. A goddess of the battlefield, who is no different from the main character of the victory, and an unmarried young emperor… It certainly looks good. At that point, the atmosphere will form where the people around them will push for marriage even if you leave them alone. At least it’ll be a justification.”

“Hehe, right?”

“But why go to such lengths? Judging from what Trowel said, it seems like the stars of fate are already connected between the two of them. If that’s the case, it’ll work out somehow even if no one steps in, right? From what I can see, this empire doesn’t seem to care about status or origin when deciding on an empress.”

“Yeah, that’s what they say.”

“Knowing that, why are you setting up such a grand stage? I know you’re worried about that kid, but aren’t you taking care of her too much?”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about. To be exact, this is for Isana, not Alisa.”

“Hmm?”

“If Alisa is tied to this place early on, she won’t give her attention to other places, right?”

I told Lapis, who was making a bewildered expression, about the exact fate that the two of them possessed. Two men born under the star of the monarch and one companion star. About the love triangle that was already predetermined and would inevitably be experienced someday.

“Puhaha!”

As soon as the explanation was over, Lapis burst into a frivolous laugh. It was a serious matter in its own way, but anyway, he was a guy who couldn’t find even a speck of seriousness.

“What’s that? Monarchs fighting to take one woman even though they’re monarchs? Isn’t that too childish for the scale of a monarch?”

“I don’t think you’re the one to talk.”

“What did I do?”

“Remind yourself of someone who summoned the Water Spirit King hundreds of times, even though they were a dragon, in order to make a contract.”

That someone even created a strange cage to force a contract. I was dumbfounded to see the person who directly carried out that childish act, which I was embarrassed to say myself, laughing at other people. But the person himself didn’t seem to think so at all.

“Ha, what are you talking about now? A Spirit King is more valuable than something like a woman.”

“She’s not just a woman, she’s a destined partner to spend her life with?”

“She’s just a human anyway.”

…Yeah, if nothing else, I know you’ve never been in a relationship in your life. And that you won’t be able to for the rest of your life.

I sighed as I looked at Lapis, who was widening his eyes as if asking what the problem was. I had momentarily forgotten that the lizard, who was only a genius in studying, was a dullard whose emotional age didn’t even reach five years old. It was clear that I would only get tired if I argued with him for no reason.

“Anyway, I’m going to push the two of them hard. I won’t ask you to help, so don’t interfere.”

“Hmm, so you’re going to give her a lot of honor and wealth to solidify her position? You’ve come up with quite a cunning idea for someone like you.”

“Well, it’s not all for that purpose, I’m just doing it as a side effect. Alisa is already deeply involved in the work here anyway, so it’s better for her to achieve results and be recognized, right?”

“That’s true. But do you know that when a flower blooms, it gives off a fragrance?”

“Huh?”

“In addition, when the fragrance spreads, bees start to fly in. Moreover, that kid isn’t even from this empire. Probably every country will flock to try to win her over. What are the chances that another monarch will be among them? At that point, I think they’ll show interest even if they didn’t know about it. It’s like cooking a delicious stew and giving it to the dogs. Well, just saying.”

Go ahead and curse me, curse me!

My stomach was boiling at his spitefully smiling face. The reason I couldn’t openly refute him was because I couldn’t deny those words. The more famous Alisa becomes, the more she will stand out, and the higher the possibility that another monarch’s star will recognize her. It’s not like I didn’t know that. Of course, I knew it from the beginning.

“El, Lapis! What are you doing not coming? Are you going to keep staying there?”

A clear girl’s voice was heard from afar. Alisa, who noticed that we weren’t following, was turning around and waving her hand. Her brightly smiling face was like that of a goddess of victory, completely unaware of the worries of the world. She would be furious if she knew what we were talking about now. She probably doesn’t even think that she’s destined to be tormented by two men. I hope she never finds out…

‘But it’ll be difficult.’

The inside of my forcibly smiling mouth was bitter. Lapis’s words are half right and half wrong. It’s true that I’m making Alisa famous, but even if I didn’t, the result wouldn’t be different. Even if I hide her tightly, she will eventually bloom and start to give off her own fragrance. It was obvious that the fragrance would attract other stars. Sooner or later, they are destined to meet in some way. That’s what fate said. Just like Isana and Alisa met in that small village in a distant foreign land that had no connection to them.

So it would be okay to prepare a little. Even if it seems a little mean to someone, I can’t just let it happen knowing it. In that sense, I’m really glad that the star of the monarch who met Alisa first was Isana.

If Duke Carrowell hadn’t been cursed, he wouldn’t have had to go to that distant land. It was also fortunate that he summoned me while being chased by the Archduke, and that he met the woman of fate on his journey to save his cousin. He was surprisingly strong against bad luck.

‘I hope no one gets hurt or suffers.’

No one can know the future, but I hope that the two people I care about don’t become a relationship where they resent each other. As I walked towards Alisa, who was urging me on, I quietly prayed for their peaceful future in my heart.