Oukoku e Tsuzuku Michi

Northern Hardlett Territory – Salaedo Village. Evening.

Salaedo, a small village that can be described as nothing more than a rural, if not desolate, farming village.

Currently, a group with disproportionate numbers is marching toward the village in full force.

「Minister, we have arrived at today’s place of accomodation.」

「Very good, right on schedule. However my job title is investigation team leader, so calling me ‘minister’ is improper. Refer to me as leader, or Lord Fitton.」

The elderly gentleman strokes his white beard and alights from the carriage with a firm step.

He was indeed the Minister of National Affairs Bulga Fitton, head of the Hardlett territory inspection team, who received a direct order from the king.

「This is an utterly dreadful place to sleep, but not much can be done as this is just a farming village……」

A nervous village chief and governor guided the newcomers to the largest and sturdiest building with the least amount of draft, the governor’s house.

Of course, it does not come close to comparing with even the residences of the lower class nobles in the capital.

「I am sorry, leader. If we had more time in our schedule, we could have stayed in one of the cities we passed during the day.」

The page apologizes as he opens the door, which is shabby by noble standards.

「This will delay our arrival in Rafen by one day. His Majesty insists that we get there as quickly as possible. Being faithful to the king’s orders is paramount, things like the comfort level of our accommodations is secondary.」

「I’m sure more suitable accommodations are prepared for you tomorrow in Rafen. Please bear with it for now.」

Fitton frowns slightly at the narrow room and sits down on a chair without verbally expressing his discontent.

「It is not so much the shabbiness of the lodgings I am unable to bear, it is the people outside. Haven’t they misunderstood the king’s order?」

『Once you greet the feudal lord in Rafen, you must examine the treasury――why don’t I accept that duty.』

『There is no way you could rule this great domain and not have a secret fund――no, no I am most suited to do that.』

『Won’t you incur Lord Hardlett’s wrath by suddenly stepping in――eh, everyone wants to do it? Then I will do it too!』

『『Then we’ll yield the job of entering the treasury to you.』』

『Ehhh!?』

Those chosen from Kenneth’s faction are only talking about how to hide their dishonesty, and how to expose scandalous information.

『If the numbers are different to the ones on a document, it is an honest mistake, not an intentional concealment. You simply need to inform Lord Hardlett and have it corrected.』

『The territory is so large that a wagon can travel an entire day without reaching a city. It’s not unusual to have a few extra soldiers here and there.』

『Don’t panic if a woman exits from the bed or the closet. You have a maid outfit they can disguise themselves in, right?』

Meanwhile, those chosen from Erich’s faction are discussing methods of giving excuses.

Fitton shakes his head.

「His Majesty said, “Inspect every inch of the Hardlet territory and reveal everything.” To assume that there is injustice or to cover for it is to miss the point.」

Fitton drinks the tea served by the page and continues.

「I am no fool. I know His Majesty has included an equal amount of both factions to keep the balance. ……at the same time, I also understand why he put an uncompromising person like me as the leader.」

「What do you mean?」

His white beard somewhat perks up.

「I will not suspect or protect Hardlett. I will only report to His Majesty the truth confirmed by my eyes and ears. That is regardless of what either faction or the neutral party says. My power is far from the level of the military commissioner or the domestic affairs commissioner……the one appointed as the leader of the investigation team is myself. In the name of His Majesty and Goldonia, I will not bend the truth.」

He is a prudent and extremely cautious person, a man who lives by logic, a gear of the king.

The page smiled as he remembered his lord’s epithet disguised as a title of honor.

As he wondered how that inflexibility would affect tomorrow’s investigation, a commanding voice loud enough to drown out the other members of the team resounded.

「Confirm that all of the investigation team has entered the village! Station guards at the exits!」

「The night watch will go on patrol as soon as the sun goes down! The day watch will remain armed and on standby in the village!」

「Hardlett’s forces have contacted us saying be vigilant of the southeast!」

They are not members of the investigation team, they are knights of the kingdom tasked with escorting.

「There are 200 escorts to match the 50 of the investigation team. And a warning from Hardlett’s army also……? Isn’t this a little overkill?」

「It’s because a raid just happened. Considering the details of the incident, we can’t just leave it to Hardlett’s troops.」

The page knew about the rumors saying that Hardlett attacked both factions.

That’s why he figured the duty of escorting, which usually falls to the feudal lord, has been given to the knights of the kingdom.

「Why not? His Majesty concluded publicly that the attack on both factions was the work of thugs. So as his trusted retainers, we do not have a shred of doubt toward Lord Hardlett.」

The page stops himself before he could comment on his lord’s stubbornness and forms another sentence.

「In the first place, it is said that Lord Hardlett can mobilize ten thousand soldiers. It doesn’t matter if we have 200 or 300, we won’t put up any resistance if he’s serious.」

「I told you not to hold any doubt. Those soldiers are also an important target of investigation.」

At the same time as he spoke, the page didn’t actually believe Hardlett was going to do anything.

Although the kingdom’s knights were assigned as escorts, it was in a more public relations sense.

Their main purpose is to inform the citizens along the way that the investigation team is coming by order of the king so cooperation can be smooth.

「The deputy is an escort after all, it’s possible he could take the leader’s life and make it look like an accident――」

「Enough Hamit. If you keep going, I will have to oppose your marriage with my granddaughter. ……being mutually in love at a young age is fine, but I don’t know about getting her pregnant before marriage.」

The page chuckles sheepishly and gets down on the floor, asking for forgiveness.

Of course, Fitton isn’t being serious. In fact, he appeared to be enjoying the exchange with the page.

In any case, it would be impossible to execute an assassination and make it look like an accident or the work of a mad man with 200 knights around.

There also won’t be a full-scale attack.

Attacking the investigation team appointed by the king in his territory would be treason.

「Your Excellency, for tomorrow’s schedule, do you plan to only greet Lord Hardlett?」

「No. I have something of high priority that needs to be investigated.」

Fitton looks out the window with a stiff expression.

「I received a tip from a certain source. I heard Lord Hardlett is harboring a group of traitors in his territory. A young woman and a child……I guess she would be a young girl now.」

「A group of traitors?」

Fitton closes his eyes as if he is remembering something as Hamit looks at him dubiously.

「It’s not anything you need to think about. Her face is one I know well so I will recognize her in one glance. Now then, tomorrow is coming soon. I will check tomorrow’s plans with the investigation team members and retire to bed early.」

Fitton fixes his collar and exits the building.

Then he comes to a complete stop.

Even someone like him who hasn’t walked on the battlefield could feel the bizarre atmosphere.

The peculiar smell of rural soil gets strangely tangled in his nose.

The horses the knights are riding change direction without reason and the farm horses of the village suddenly neigh.

「Careful above――!!」

A lookout standing in the village’s watchtower raises his voice.

When everyone turns their eyes upward, arrows dyed red by the light of the setting sun whizz down from the sky.

「Woah!」

「An arrow? An arrow!? Where did it come from!!?」

Confused nobles scramble to jump head-first into farmhouses and sheds.

「Minister!」

Hamit grabs Fitton’s arm and pulls him into the governor’s house.

The sudden volley caused everyone to panic, but after about 30 seconds of frenzy, the knights regained their composure first.

「Arrows number approximately 30! Casualties……none! Not only was it a small amount, most of it didn’t reach us!」

「Secure the exits of the village! Deploy the day guard in front and the night guard in the rear.」

「Take defensive positions until we identify the enemy’s position! Don’t let a single rat in!」

As the knights regain control, members of the investigation team hide in places with a roof and also calm down.

「It seems this isn’t like the Mozadier incident.」

「There are too few of them……are they ignorant bandits who gathered after seeing our clothes?」

「I hear there is a settlement of savages to the east. Perhaps it could be them.」

Arrows rained down again, but the equipment of the knights of the kingdom, while elegant, did not neglect performance.

The neatly lined up wall of shields effortlessly repelled the incoming arrows.

The assailants who popped their heads out of the brush were also sighted.

With no more than 50 in total, they could not hope to break through 200 of the kingdom’s knights.

Even the traditional nobles, who were especially flustered, resume breathing.

「I guess they’re just bandits……I was frightened for a second there.」

「Tell the knight captain to eliminate them quickly.」

With some leeway created, their self-interest also returns.

「Allowing bandits to attack us when we received a direct order from the king is a grave mistake by that Hardlett. He isn’t properly governing his place at all.」

「This can be a chance. If even one of the kingdom knights die……」

「Radhalde’s subordinates must be beside themselves because of this blunder. Lord Fitton, I trust you are seeing this?」

「Naturally. “The attackers are roughly 50 bandits. They attacked despite seeing the kingdom’s flag. There are serious doubts about the loyalty of the residents toward the kingdom and maintenance of order in the territory”, is what I will have to report.」

Fitton takes out a notebook and writes a few sentences uninterestedly.

After preventing a few sporadic arrows and prioritizing the safety of the investigation team, the knight captain who had been on the defensive finally gave the order to counterattack.

「The enemy is a mere 50 infantry. Charge in and rout them!!」

Half of the cavalry break off from the army and ride forward, and the other half fortify defenses in preparation for additional hidden soldiers; an impenetrable battle formation.

「These are disloyal men who dared to shoot arrows at the royal flag. You may refuse to accept their surrender and cut them down, but leave one or two alive to be questioned.」

The knight captain nods at Fitton’s instructions, then puts down the visor of his helmet and stands in the front.

Other knights line up with him.

「Teach these bandits the power of the kingdom’s knights!」

One hundred knights led by the captain run toward the bandits concealed in the brush.

50 infantry are no match against 100 heavy cavalry.

The knights were in a charging formation of a single horizontal line, with those wielding crossbows on the outside, so even a wall of spears can be penetrated without issue.

「The assailants are beginning to flee!」

「Of course! Don’t let a single one escape!」

The knights did not suspect anything when the assailants abandoned their bows and started to run away.

They even increased their speed to stop the enemy from escaping.

「Regret that you chose the wrong opponent to mess with and go to he――――」

Suddenly, the knight captain was flipped up.

It was not a metaphor or a mistake.

The ground burst open, the head of the captain’s beloved horse was torn off, and the forward-leaning part of the captain was blown into the sky along with his armor.

A thunderous boom drowned out the surprised gasps of the knights.

The sound of a cannonball sinking into the captain’s face and body, his scream, and the sound of his life fading away were all erased by the eardrum-shattering roar.

「What happened!?」

The ones in the rear were the only ones who could process the situation enough to let out a scream,

「A-an explosion!? No, look at that――!!」

A knight who remained in the village points to a cleverly disguised wagon.

People seemed to move around the wagon, then there was another boom and rising smoke, then a few knights were sent flying seconds later.

「A cannon!? Impossible……aren’t they bandits!?」

New nobles who participated in the war against South Yuguria shout in disbelief.

「Cannons which can shoot while attached to wagons are new weapons even the royal army doesn’t have! No wait, could it be the Hardlett army’s field artillery――」

No time was given to them for further analysis.

A farmhouse with several people inside was flattened in an instant.

「An iron ball!? I-it’s a catapult!!」

The steel orb cuts through the sky stained by the sunset as a black spot.

「Evacuate! Wooden roofs are meaningless in the fact of catapults.」

A shed which was hit directly was destroyed along with its contents, a residential house collapsed, and the knight protecting the entrance became a stain on the ground.

「Your Excellency――!!」

Hamit grabs Fitton by the arm and runs.

A few seconds later, the governor’s house suffered three shots by iron balls which caved in the center.

「T-this kind of……investigation……ordered by the king……」

Hamit yells with his arm around Fitton’s shoulder.

「Catapults and new model cannons! There is no way bandits would have such weapons! This is an attack by Hardlett! If so, this village will be surrounded at any moment! Please withdraw at once!」

Hamit desperately pulls the dumbfounded Fitton’s arm.

In the meantime, the situation worsens.

「Here come the arrows!」

「The number and force won’t be anything like before!!」

If the earlier volley was a drizzle, then this volley is a torrential downpour.

Nobles without shelter to protect them and knights scrambling after their camp was ravaged by iron balls fall over one after the other.

「Guwah! Lord Hardlett……why……sister……」

Cedric falls off his horse after being hit in the shoulder by an arrow.

「Damn you, Hardlett!! Ugyaaa, sister!!」

Reval curses as he lays on the floor mixed with debris of a destroyed building.

「Ugah!」

Hamit turns when he hears the groan to see an arrow stab Fitton in the forehead.

「Your Excellency!!」

Strength leaves the elderly man’s legs, and he silently crumbles to the ground.

Hamit tries his best to lift his lord up.

「Your Excellency……grandfather……」

The arrow pierced halfway inside, his eyes are wide open and his body doesn’t twitch.

To anybody’s eyes, it was an instant death.

Hamit places his lord on the ground and stands up.

Normally, he must bring his lord’s corpse back with him. If that isn’t possible, he must protect the corpse to the end and share its fate.

But he can’t do that either.

He can’t die here.

His most important duty is to get out of this place and report the situation to the king as soon as possible.

「Uooooh!!」

Hamit runs through the shower of arrows and iron balls.

In the corner of his eye, he could see the investigation team and the kingdom knights fall in a heap.

The clopping of hooves from a horse not belonging to the kingdom knights could be heard near the village.

Hamit, while hindered by the vibrations of the dropping iron balls, ignores the pain of the arrow stabbed in his arm and jumps on the ownerless horse.

He furiously spurs his horse to the north, getting hit in the back, arm, and leg by multiple arrows.

The corpses of the kingdom’s knights were piled up at the exit of the village, and another cavalry was about to enter the village.

「Mooooove!!」

Not decreasing speed and wildly flailing the sword in his arm, Hamit runs through the center of the slow-to-react cavalry.

The young man runs like the wind to the road leading to the north.

Sharp pain in his back and the leaking blood causes his consciousness to waver.

「Your Excellency……I will definitely……get to His Majesty……」

Just as he looked ahead with determined eyes, Hamit and his horse spun in the air and slammed on the ground.

「It was a good decision to prioritize escaping. Taking initiative to break through before being surrounded was also smart.」

A thick chain was coiled around the leg of the horse that broke its neck and is now convulsing.

「But it was foolish to run out to the road after seeing a planned attack which included siege weapons.」

Hamit’s consciousness fades into the darkness.

「Now the plan is complete.」

He hears a woman’s voice.

「He let me go so I helped out. However, I just can’t figure out what his goal is.」

The person’s low-pitched monotonous voice no longer reached Hamit’s ears.

Rafen.

Porcelain shatters with the distinctive shrill crashing sound.

「A-are you alright!?」

We were busy getting ready for the investigation team to rummage through the house, running in a flurry up until the day was over, and it was close to dawn when we could finally eat, but that was when the squad sent to guard Salaedo came in with an urgent message.

『Salaedo has been attacked――the investigation team and the knights escorting them have been wiped out.』

That must have been Nonna breaking a dish with her forehead when she fainted.

「Attack aside, they were annihilated?」

I ask as I chew on my sausage.

「Yessir, most of the team under leader Lord Bulga Fitton were murdered. Most of the kingdom’s knights, excluding a very small number of heavily injured, have also been killed!」

「That’s terrible.」

I drop my spoon on the table after a single scoop of tomato soup.

「It can’t be……why……after trying so hard.」

Tears well in Celia’s eyes.

Claudia freezes right as she pokes her steak with a fork.

The dinner which he hadn’t eaten in a day also dribbles out of Adolph’s mouth.

Oil and soup get the scattered documents I was reviewing while eating wet.

「Almost all the buildings in the area were destroyed……by what look to be catapults and field artillery.」

「Then they aren’t bandits.」

I grab the steak garnish bare-handed and toss it in my mouth.

Myla covers her mouth and runs to the corner of the room.

Tristan is slumped over the table with both hands holding his head.

Mel beckons her children and hugs them, trembling.

「Considering this situation……I figured it was best to report to Hardlett-sama before telling the Military Commissioner and the capital.」

Even Sekrit is gazing downward and her hand has stopped moving.

「Fumu……」

When I stood up, Nonna recovered.

「Let’s run away, Aegir-sama!!」

She puts a foot on the table with food lined up, and jumps, stepping on and breaking a dish in the process.

「Let’s run! Let’s run!! With the investigation team operating under the king’s orders…… they won’t listen to any excuses!」

Nonna wails in my chest.

I thought she was done when she raised her head, but she pounds on the messenger’s chest with her fists and yells at him.

「He’ll be killed next time……he’ll be killed again……Aegir-sama and the children and Carla, everyone will be killed!!」

Nonna cries hysterically.

She won’t calm down unless the situation itself calms down, so I forcefully put her on my shoulders.

For now, at least she won’t move.

「Biiiiーーーー!!」

Well, I can’t help it if she sobs.

Nobody else opens their mouth.

Head-helmina crawls out of her pot and sits in a meditating pose.

She uses hair skillfully to write some kind of complicated character.

「Hmm, I can’t think of anyone who can be the culprit except me.」

Everyone speaks out at once to object, making it hard to understand what they’re saying.

「But I don’t remember any of it. So, let’s ask.」

「Ask? Who are you going to――」

I scan the room and then shout.

「Leopolt. You’re here, right?」

The door opens.

It wasn’t opened emphatically or slowly.

And in walks Leopolt with his usual unfriendly expression and his back unnecessarily straightened.

「You called for me?」

He responds in a flat monotonous voice and in a typical gloomy look.

I talk back in an equally bothered face.

「When will the field artillery and catapults return?」

「The catapults will arrive in the morning of the day after tomorrow. There is no point moving the field artillery so I’ve stopped them from coming.」

I wonder if this is what they call deafening silence.

It’s so quiet I can hear soup from the broken dish dripping on the floor drop by drop.

「F-kkh, kukukuku! Hahahaha!! You did it!? So you finally did it!!」

Nonna takes Sekrit’s maniacal laughter as the signal to scream loud enough for the window to shake, and Celia pounces at Leopolt.

Myla draws her sword as she sniffles and Adolph uncharacteristically roars angrily.

「Everyone shut up.」

The one sentence suppressed all sounds and movements.

I watch Celia, who froze in midair with her hands over her mouth, fall to the floor and then continue.

「Leopolt, was it you?」

I ask as I gently lower Nonna from my shoulders.

「――yes.」