How To Live As A Third Son Of A Failure [EN]: Chapter 255

Upon hearing the somewhat impatient words, I pointed to the horse tied in the plaza for the investigator.

“Can I borrow it?”

“Use it as you please.”

Having received permission, I mounted the horse and said to Ruth,

“I need to go to the Imperial Palace. What about you guys?”

“Oh, then I’ll help Vice Commander Baylorn a bit more. It’s been a while since I’ve seen him, and I need to stretch my legs.”

“Alright. Just don’t get hurt. Illia, you’ll help Ruth too, right?”

“No. I will continue to escort the Count.”

“…As you wish.”

I sighed and reached out my hand. Illia took my hand and sat behind me on the horse, then wrapped her arms around my waist as if to prevent me from escaping. What a burden.

Afterward, I spurred the horse and quickly galloped towards the drawbridge leading into the Imperial Palace.

“Who is this?”

A figure guarding the drawbridge saw me and began to laugh heartily.

I stopped the horse, wondering who it was, when I heard the sound of a black figure snapping his fingers. Then, a bright light shot up into the air from his fingertips, illuminating the surroundings.

Magic?

As the drawbridge brightened, the face of the other person was revealed.

Even in the dark night, he wore a luxurious robe with a sheen, and above it was a lean but sharp middle-aged face, and a luscious silver fox brooch on his chest.

“It’s been a while.”

The one who greeted me was Floin Bashrun, the head of the Bashrun Dukedom, one of the best-known families on the continent.

Next to him, I saw Fleta quietly bowing to me, and a man who appeared to be a knight.

Oh, but that knight looks familiar… Who was he?

“It’s been a while, Count Cain. It’s the first time I’ve seen you since I served during the Territory War.”

“Sir Hawkins?”

“That’s right.”

It was Hawkins, the vice-commander of the Wisdom Knights, whom the Duke of Bashrun had assigned as a supervisor to me during the Bashrun Territory War, who had stepped forward as a mediator.

It feels like only yesterday that Fleta and I were charging into the castle where she was being held captive, but how many years have passed already? Time really flies.

“What brings the three of you out to greet me?”

The Duke of Bashrun shrugged at my question.

“Isn’t it only natural for the Chief of Staff to assist the Commander when he enters the palace to meet His Majesty the King?”

Commander? Well, I had roughly heard about it from Marquis Halin Irfe. The main supporters of the Royalists were Duke Bashrun and Count Lindaier.

However, Count Lindaier is more of a presence who shines on the battlefield, befitting a knight. Besides, he is currently defending the north against monsters.

So, it’s not particularly strange that Duke Bashrun is in charge of the overall command. As a mage, he would naturally be intelligent, and he would have considerable experience, as I saw during the Bashrun Territory War.

But what I’m concerned about is the next word.

Chief of Staff? Who? Me?

When I pointed at myself with my finger, the Duke of Bashrun chuckled and nodded.

“That’s right. I recommended you myself.”

…What is this, a meteoric rise to success?

I could even come up with a novel title?

‘From a Minnow to a Corps Chief of Staff in Another World?’

As I was imagining this alone and chuckling to myself, Fleta tilted her head.

“What are you laughing about so much?”

“No, I just had a funny thought… Sir.”

I was about to speak informally to Fleta as usual, but then I remembered that the Duke was next to me and awkwardly added ‘Sir.’ At that sight, the Duke of Bashrun cleared his throat.

“You don’t have to be so formal. You’re welcome anytime.”

“…”

“Father!”

At my silence, Fleta’s scream erupted. Usually, it’s ‘Duke, Duke,’ but when she’s in a hurry, ‘Father’ comes out.

“Hmm? Didn’t you seem to dislike it too?”

“Eeeek…”

Fleta gritted her teeth and turned her body away, heading towards the inside of the Imperial Palace. At that sight, the Duke of Bashrun winked at me slightly, and I could only smile awkwardly.

Thus, Duke Bashrun and I began to walk side by side towards the Imperial Palace, with Fleta far ahead.

“The Capital is noisy. Is that your doing?”

“Yes, well. By the way, you arrived earlier than I expected. I thought you would come after things here were settled.”

“Didn’t you send a letter? Saying that we need to make a new agreement with the Elves. We need to handle that quickly before we can proceed with the work sequentially.”

“Ah, the Elves. That’s right. Then, when will the legion arrive after the agreement is concluded?”

“The troops I led are already gathered in the west of the Capital, Westguard. Once the agreement is concluded, the rear guard will depart from Bashruno.”

“That’s fast. Um, what’s the number?”

“About fifteen thousand, combining the advance and rear guards.”

“Isn’t that a bit small?”

“All trained soldiers, though.”

“…I take it back. Fifteen thousand regular troops, where did you gather them from?”

“I squeezed every noble in my duchy dry. On the condition that they don’t conscript [force into military service].”

It’s almost early autumn. The Easterners would have been relieved that they didn’t conscript farmers during the harvest season.

“What is the knight order’s strength in the West?”

“Including the knights of the Bashrun family and its subordinate nobles, eighty.”

Fifteen thousand regular troops and eighty knights.

That’s a really powerful force. I’m feeling the majesty of the Bashrun Dukedom again.

“What about the East?”

“Five thousand trained soldiers and fifty thousand conscripts. Thirty knights.”

“That’s a lot of conscripts.”

“It can’t be helped. Someone has to make sacrifices. But it’s also a good opportunity for the East to wash away its past mistakes, and they didn’t seem particularly negative about the conscription.”

“The East has always been a place with frequent civil wars. Even if they are conscripts, they will be veterans who have held weapons at least once.”

“Next, you’ll ask about the North, right? The North has informed us that they will send 5,000 regular troops. The knight strength is only thirty from the Wind Knights. The North is protecting the kingdom from monsters, so it would have been difficult to send troops and knights easily.”

“It’s not bad. The Wind Knights are a small elite, so we can’t judge them by numbers alone.”

“Are you taking sides because it was once Lindaier’s command?”

I shrugged at the Duke’s playful remark and changed the subject.

“I’ve already heard about the royal family’s support from Marquis Halin Irfe. He said he would support 10,000 conscripts from the direct territory, and a total of twenty Royal Guards and Capital Knights.”

“What about Count Graham?”

Master Count Graham.

It would be very reassuring if that person joined us. But unfortunately, he is not participating in this expedition.

“Isn’t Master Graham the commander of the Royal Guard? He must protect His Majesty the King.”

“That’s a shame.”

“Of course, it’s a shame. He’s a Master, after all.”

“By the way, how much troop strength is expected from the Southern Army, including Rodkius? I have some information that I’ve gathered, but I need to hear the royal family’s information as well.”

“Marquis Rodkius has probably been preparing for war for a long time. The fact that he waged a territory war in the Bashrun Dukedom before was also in that context. According to the secret investigators, the regular army is about 30,000.”

“30,000? That’s crazy.”

“Of course, that’s the maximum estimate.”

“It’s always standard to make strategies assuming disadvantages. 30,000… What about the knight strength?”

“If we only consider the known knight strength of Rodkius and the southern lords… it’s about seventy…”

“Is it?”

“If we consider the existence of the Unholy Knights, we should think of it as double that.”

“Damn it.”

“The conscripts will be desperate, so they’ll scrape together everything they can without looking to the future. Then, wouldn’t 100,000 be easy? The population of the South is the largest on the continent.”

“100,000? If they want to, they can gather more. Aren’t they fighting in their own home? There’s less to worry about logistics.”

“Indeed, logistics are the expedition’s weakness.”

The expedition to strike the South will be very long and arduous. There is a huge mountain range between the Central and Southern regions. Even with the Duke of Bashrun’s incredibly perfect logistics capabilities, it won’t be easy.

Anyway, roughly what are the numbers?

The Allied Forces have 25,000 regular troops, 60,000 conscripts, and 160 knights.

The Southern Army has 30,000 regular troops, more than 100,000 conscripts. There are also 70 knights, plus the Unholy Knights.

The Duke of Bashrun frowned.

“The knight strength is a bit ahead, but considering the Unholy Knights, I don’t feel very pleasant. How did Marquis Halin Irfe’s negotiations go?”

“We have secured a promise of participation [from the Magic Tower].”

The Duke of Bashrun’s expression brightened at the fact that Marquis Halin Irfe had secured the participation of the Magic Tower through negotiations.

After roughly finishing the calculations in his head, the Duke of Bashrun nodded.

“Mages are the flower of large-scale battlefields. With this, the numbers roughly match. Of course, war isn’t just about numbers.”

“The opponent has that black-haired man, so we must not be careless.”

“But don’t we have that monstrous Elf warrior?”

“Lordain? Ah, that’s right. He will probably be with us. That’s why Master Count Lindaier didn’t bother to participate.”

“Then… in the end, the variable is those Unholy Knights you mentioned.”

As the Duke of Bashrun said.

The strength of each side is roughly known, but only the Unholy Knights are still shrouded in mystery.

The Duke of Bashrun must have felt the same way about the part that bothered me.

“Well, let’s think of it as each side having a hidden card. The Elves won’t just send Lordain alone. That force will be an unexpected variable for the opponent as well.”

“If necessary, we can call Count Lindaier and his friends with the rear guard.”

“Yes. I think it’s better to watch the situation for now.”

As we talked, Duke Bashrun and I entered the Imperial Palace and arrived at a place we had been to several times. It’s the conference room where I used to brief my plans to swallow the East.

“We will wait in another place.”

Fleta and Hawkins headed to the reception room near the conference room.

Afterward, Duke Bashrun and I straightened our clothes and opened the door to enter the conference room.

The interior of the conference room was as I remembered it. King Belinthes and Marquis Halin Irfe were already sitting at the wide oval table. Belinthes smiled at Duke Bashrun and me.

“Welcome. Duke Bashrun, Count Cain.”

“Greetings, Your Majesty.”

“Sit down. This is not a place to be formal. Make yourselves comfortable.”

Make myself comfortable? Well, if you say so.

I leisurely pulled out a chair and sat on it. Belinthes, who was looking at my appearance with satisfaction, clasped his hands together on the table and opened his mouth.

“The die has already been cast. So now I want to hear a detailed plan on how the war will be fought.”

The Duke of Bashrun nodded at Belinthes’ words.

“Count Cain Arfen, my Chief of Staff, will explain that matter.”

Again, again, again.

Damn it, why is it always me? I want to just sit comfortably and listen for once. No, more than that, Duke Bashrun, you haven’t even made a detailed plan with me yet?

The Duke of Bashrun, whom I glanced at, had an expression that said, ‘I don’t know about that~ I’ll just listen to what you have to say~’

Damn it. What can I do? If I’m told to do it, I have to do it. If being born as a subordinate is a sin, then it’s a sin.

I got up from my seat, cleared my throat, and put my hands behind my back.

“Then, from now on…”

Afterward, I slowly opened my mouth in a low but clear voice.

“I will explain the conquest of the South, including the Rodkius family and its subordinate lords.”

Just as I was about to continue speaking, Marquis Halin Irfe raised his hand with a mischievous face.

“Wait, what’s the operation name?”

“Operation name… you mean?”

“The New World Operation, which swallowed the East and opened a new phase, was very impressive at that time. Is there nothing like that this time?”

I cursed several times inwardly at that sly face and blurted out the words I had come up with on the spot.

“The Rodkius family is the darkness of the kingdom. The kingdom has been overshadowed by it for too long, and its glory has faded. I have boldly decided with the mindset that we must now remove that darkness and regain the brilliant light that the kingdom has lost.”

After pausing for a moment, I opened my mouth again in a low and serious voice.

“Operation Dawn. It is Dawn.”