Chapter 2 – Michelia

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Seeing the soldiers of the Vorn family descending the hill, Mila ordered her men to share a part of their own supplies, such as medicine, wine, and bandages.

“It is nice to see you again, Lord Tigrevurmud.” An elderly knight with a gentle face addressed Tigre.

He had a slender build, his gray hair had been attentively smoothed down, and his short mustache was kept neatly. The softness of his demeanor would easily allow him to pass as a male servant instead of a knight, if only he changed his outfit.

“Sir Galyinin, it pleases me to see you in good health. Thank you very much for coming to our rescue,” Tigre clasped the knight’s hand, his face beaming.

Galyinin was one of Mila’s trusted aides. Back when Tigre had stayed in Olmutz, the old man had looked after him in various ways.

“You are most welcome. I am serving as adjutant of Lady Ludmila in this unit, so if you need help with anything, please feel free to rely on me at any time,” Galyinin said with a respectful bow.

Tigre knew that his outward appearance was deceiving as Galyinin was also very capable as a warrior and commander.

“You haven’t changed in the slightest,” Tigre commented with a broad smile, and called Raphinaque to introduce him to Mila and Galyinin.

Calling Raphinaque’s behavior and way of speaking polite would be a stretch, but he didn’t cause the other two to feel displeased. Rather, it seemed like his bright smile that clearly showed his teeth gave them a good impression.

“Lady Ludmila, you must have many things to talk about with Lord Tigrevurmud as fellow commanders. Sir Raphinaque and I shall take care of the soldiers.”

“Thanks, I will leave that part to you,” Mila said to the elderly knight and exchanged a look with Tigre.

Tigre nodded his head lightly at Galyinin, before separating from him and Raphinaque with Mila. As they had entrusted their men to their adjutants, both left their troops behind as they walked away.

Once they were alone, Mila stared at Tigre with worry written all over her face.

“You’re wounded all over. Are you really okay?”

“It’s not as bad as it looks. I don’t feel much pain either,” Tigre reassured her with a smile, causing Mila to grin broadly at last.

“Your hair has grown quite long. It looks good on you.”

Even though they had a multitude of other matters to discuss, Tigre chose such ordinary flattery. Mila brushed a few strands of hair out of her face so as to hide her embarrassment.

“And you’ve grown taller. Two years ago we had almost the same height.”

Nowadays Tigre was about a head taller than Mila.

After answering, “I trained hard everyday,” Tigre shifted his eyes to the spear in Mila’s hand.

“Long time no see, Lavias. How are you doing?”

He called out to the spear as if talking to a living being with an independent mind.

Thereupon, white, cold air soundlessly gushed out of Lavias’s spearhead. As if to answer Tigre’s question.

Mila smiled sweetly, “She’s angry.”

“Angry, you say?”

“Or to be precise, she pretends to be angry. She’s hiding her embarrassment, but in reality, she’s happy.”

The two looked at each other and laughed. Meanwhile, the sentient spear scattered more chilly air as if to profess her reluctance to agree.

Limiting their joy over their successful reunion to this, Mila and Tigre’s faces returned to being those of commanders.

The Muozinel forces, which had fled earlier, might come back with reinforcements in tow. Hence it was necessary for them to vacate their current location before that could happen.

First Tigre explained his current situation. He told Mila about how they had pitched camp around Eleşkirt yesterday, got attacked at dawn, and escaped all the way to this place while using the darkness and fog to their advantage.

“Duke Thenardier had dragons…?” Mila blinked her eyes in surprise. “That’s hard to believe all of a sudden. Then again, I doubt you’d lie to me…”

Her reaction caused Tigre to become surprised and confused.

“Didn’t Duke Thenardier inform you of this? I mean we’re allies…”

“No, he didn’t. But, well, I would have stayed silent about it in his position, too. That way he’d have been able to surprise Zhcted, and it’s better when you consider a potential disclosure of such information. But――”

Mila turned a stabbing look southwards ― the direction of the Muozinel soldiers’ escape route.

“Those Muozinel forces offered you to surrender, didn’t they? Their composure to do so means their surprise attack went smoothly, I think. Now then, I wonder where the dragons went and what they’re doing after not having driven away the Muozinel army.”

“Maybe something happened to Duke Thenardier. He should be the only one capable of commanding the dragons.”

Tigre also told Mila about his suspicion that the morning attack wasn’t aimed at the dragons but the human steering them. Mila expressed her agreement by nodding.

“Duke Thenardier getting injured, the dragons not moving, and the Brunian army inevitably retreating. That sounds like a plausible chain of events.”

In the past, Olmutz had had dealings with Thenardier and thus Mila knew about the duke’s personality. As such, she could guess that he wouldn’t want to enslave the dragons to anyone other than himself. Though he might have compromised if it was his son Zion.

“Things are graver than I expected…,” Mila groaned while holding her jaw with a hand.

“As for our side, I wonder where I should start… Did you know that there was a landslide in Salafan, the place where we planned to converge, making it impossible for armies to traverse the area?”

Tigre shook his head as he heard about this for the first time.

“Okay, I will explain from the start. Though it will take some time.”

On Zhcted’s side, Mila and Eleonora were scheduled to head south while leading an army of 10,000 men in total. However, their plans changed right before their departure. An equestrian tribe, which lived east of Zhcted, had invaded the kingdom’s realm, and Zhcted’s king had no choice but to order one of the Vanadis, Sofya Obertas, to intercept.

“If I remember correctly, wasn’t the principality governed by Sofy located in the southeast?” Tigre asked as he found this odd.

Sofy was Sofya’s pet name. During his stay in Olmutz, Tigre and her were introduced to each other by Mila. Sofy was a beautiful woman with a wide extent of knowledge and a broad-minded nature. She was called Sofy by those close to her and had allowed Tigre to do the same.

“Yep. Right now, the Vanadis ruling over the eastern Brest is absent. So there was no one else to handle it.”

Sofy quickly dealt with the equestrian tribe, but it produced a problem. Zhcted had intended to have Sofy protect the southern border while Mila and Eleonora would be invading Muozinel, but now that had become impossible.

“If His Majesty could have moved the other Vanadis, he would have done so, I’m sure.”

“So it was impossible?”

Upon Tigre’s question, Mila explained with an expression that made it clear that it was inevitable while counting down on her fingers, “Sasha ― we talked about her before ― Alexandra of Legnica can’t move because she’s sick. Elizavetta, the ruler of the northwestern Lebus, was on her way to subjugate the northern tribes. The one governing over the northeastern Osterode, Militsa, has been a Vanadis for just half a year, so it’d have been unreasonable to ask her. And Olga, the lord of Brest, has been missing for more than a year now.”

Many of these names he heard for the first time, but Tigre could grasp that the situation was dire.

“That Olga person having gone missing means that something happened to her?”

“It’s said she left behind a note, stating that she’d go on a journey for a while, and disappeared just like that. Sofy has apparently met her once, and said that there’s no need to worry about her. Maybe she left on her journey after being entrusted with a secret mission.

Zhcted’s king had Eleonora guard the southern border, appealed to the lords possessing territory in the south, and had them form a feudal army. Count Barshay was chosen as its commander.

――Wouldn’t that be beneficial for Mila?

Tigre was aware of Mila and Eleonora having a terrible relationship. All he ever heard about Eleonora from Mila was slander and badmouthing. Then again, Eleonora was apparently no better in this regard. Sofy had explained with a bitter smile that those two would start a contest of insults whenever they met.

“Count Barshay and I split out forces in two groups and invaded Muozinel. Each of us took several forts at the border. We planned to meet up afterwards and head south, but…”

But, at that point two unexpected incidents occurred.

First, the feudal army didn’t appear in front of Olmutz’s army even after their scheduled date for grouping up had passed.

After sending out several scouting parties, Mila finally found them. They had received several raids by the enemy, and while repelling and pursuing their attackers, they had widely veered off their planned route.

“Are you saying the Muozinel army used decoys to lure them away for the sake of preventing you two from meeting up?”

“Looks like it. Count Barshay is a careful man and he won’t recklessly charge into battle. The Muozinel handled it quite cleverly.”

Second, a major landslide took place at Salafan where they had planned to join up with Brune’s army. While waiting for Count Barshay, Mila had also dispatched scouts to Salafan as she was vigilant of enemy ambushes. The reconnaissance party returned several days later, bringing with them astonishing news.

“The river flooded and triggered a landslide. Now it’s hard to even walk in that area.”

2,000 Muozinel soldiers had lurked in Salafan as ambush troops. But, according to the scouts ― they succeeded in catching a survivor and interrogating him about what happened ― most of them were killed by the sudden landslide.

Hearing their report, Mila sensed that something dangerous was afoot.

Muozinel’s army having guessed their meeting place wasn’t overly surprising. After all, the locations allowing large armies of more than 30,000 soldiers to be deployed were limited. At the same time, it was a heavy blow that Salafan had become unavailable as a meeting spot. If they were to force it and head over anyway, it was quite possible that they’d be targeted as soon as moving around became hard because of all of the mud and quagmires.

It had become necessary to urgently contact Brune’s army and decide on a new meeting place. If Mila let things go their own way, the danger of both armies getting crushed separately was quite viable. She suspected that Brune’s army had faced some kind of obstruction like Zhcted’s side had. Accordingly, Mila formed ten squads consisting of forty to fifty cavalrymen. The duty of those squads was to find Brune’s army and contact them. Mila herself led one of those squads.

And then she witnessed how Tigre’s forces were cornered by Muozinel’s army.

“…It was a close call then, huh?” One thing bothered him, but without voicing his doubts, Tigre smiled. “Guess it was worthwhile for us to frantically continue fleeing.”

“I was surprised when I found out about it being you guys. It’s great that you’re safe, seriously.”

Tigre was charmed by Mila’s lovely smile, and had to force down his stinging desire to hug her. He and his men had been in a desperate situation. If Mila and her soldiers had appeared a little bit later, Tigre and his men might have been taken away as slaves.

Even so, Tigre suppressed his urge with all his might as they were still in the middle of talking.

“Mila, what are you going to do from now on? Our situation ― or rather, the situation of our army ― is as you’ve heard.”

It was feasible to think that great numbers of Muozinel forces were present in the area. Assuming they were to try heading back to Brune’s army, it was likely that they’d run into those forces more than just once. Moreover, it wasn’t said that Brune’s army was still encamped at Eleşkirt.

“…Tigre, could you first let me hear your thoughts on this matter?” Mila asked while stroking the spearhead of Lavias.

Tigre stared at her while clearly baffled.

――Even if she talks about my thoughts, having no other choice than relying on Mila…

When he thought up to that point, he was suddenly taken aback and unintentionally lowered his head due to his own foolishness.

Less than fifty infantrymen were stranded in enemy territory while wounded all over. That was their current state. If Tigre asked for her protection, Mila likely wouldn’t refuse. But, what would the soldiers under her think? If they had to move through enemy land while dragging a burden along, their marching speed would drastically fall. The probability of having encounters with the enemy would increase, too. The discontent of the Zhcted soldiers would first be directed at the Vorn forces and then at Mila.

Thus it was necessary to come up with some kind of reason to get Olmutz’s soldiers to agree in order to avoid things developing in such a direction. Tigre was about to push that duty on Mila.

――Having no other choice than relying on Mila is inevitable. But, getting her to even come up with a method to guarantee our safety would be way too embarrassing, wouldn’t it?

When he stopped dwelling on it, he noticed Mila looking at him with a serious expression. Her blue eyes, reminiscent of unblemished ice, were silently waiting for his answer.

――Is she giving me a chance? She’s telling me to prove to her that I’m someone worthy of being saved.

“Let’s see…,” Tigre folded his arms and brooded.

He immediately came up with one idea and suggested it without delay.

“How about it? Won’t you join up with Brune’s army together with us?”

“Hmm?”

Her eyes twinkled, a cheerful smile revealed itself on her lips.

“Does that mean you want us to babysit you until you join up with Brune’s army?”

“You could get Brune’s army indebted to you in case you protected a noble of Brune. Even if I’m a rural noble, it doesn’t change me being a nobility either way. Even Thenardier wouldn’t be able to ignore it with you as the other party.”

“Just that alone? From my point of view, it seems like it’d be better for me to leave you guys back here and return to my main force. I mean, I got to know that Brune’s army apparently got defeated.”

Being told so in a rejecting tone, Tigre groaned lightly. Apparently this much wasn’t enough.

Mila didn’t say so out of spite either. Rather, she was accommodating. If she had been talking to some random acquaintance, the conversation would probably be over at this point.

――Something else…to get Mila and her troops to agree…

Although he desperately worked his non-existent intelligence, he failed to hit upon a decent idea. More than thirty breaths quickly passed, and yet Mila remained waiting patiently.

Just when Tigre let his eyes wander across the vicinity, hoping that he might find something to serve as a trigger, the Black Dragon Flags and the flags of the Olmutz Principality fluttering above Olmutz’s soldiers caught his attention.

“Isn’t Brune going to owe Zhcted something if you join up with the Brunian army and fight together with us?”

He used a somewhat cautious tone as this was something he thought of just moments ago.

How would Brune’s army move afterwards? Would they attempt to join up with Zhcted’s army as initially planned? Or would they give up on it?

In the latter case, Zhcted would be able to claim that she made an effort to join up with Brune’s army under harsh conditions. Tigre suspected that it would become an effective card to play during future diplomatic negotiations.

Of course, it was also possible that Brune’s army would recover from its loss, succeed in contacting Zhcted’s army and join up with them. In such a case, Mila’s effort would be in vain.

“…It’s somewhat lacking, but if you add both ideas together, you barely get a passing mark, I suppose. Taking the time after the battles into account earned you some extra points.”

Mila shrugged her shoulders as if it couldn’t be helped either way, but the smile on her face betrayed her satisfaction. Tigre breathed out in relief.

“Had you already thought of both?”

“Just the first. I didn’t think of the second. Very well, Tigre. We will head towards Brune’s army together with you guys. However, I will have you work for fifty people.”

Her eyes gleamed, full of energy.

Tigre nodded deeply, “I’ll happily oblige. I think it’s unnecessary to tell you at this point, but I do have some confidence in my archery skills and my eyesight. Please put me to use however you like, be it scouting or whatever.”

“I’m going to take you up on that,” Mila held out her hand.

Tigre clasped it tightly.

◆◇◆

At the time when Tigre and Mila got back to their soldiers, the treatment of the wounded had already finished for the most part, and everyone was ready to depart on a beck’s call. The sun had passed its zenith by now, but the sky was still bright.

Raphinaque and Galyinin were just in the process of checking the horses they had obtained from the Muozinel forces. Most of the horses had run away after losing their riders, but two had remained behind, standing stock still as if waiting for someone to pull their reins.

“We decided on our plan. We shall head for Brune’s army together with the Vorn unit,” Mila announced to Galyinin with a dignified expression.

After glancing back and forth between Mila and Tigre, the elderly knight lowered his head respectfully.

Tigre asked the other two, “Some among the soldiers of Olmutz should still remember me, right? I’d like to go greet them before we head out, if that’s okay with you.”

Although they had agreed to act together, the burden on Olmutz’s soldiers would be bigger. Even if only for the sake to quell any potential arguments as much as possible, Tigre believed that he ought to bow his head in light of the strain that would follow.

“That makes sense. Please allow me to guide you,” Galyinin smiled kindly after guessing Tigre’s intention.

“Okay, then I will allow myself to go greet the soldiers of the Vorn family as well. Could you please lead me around, Sir Raphinaque?”

Hearing Mila’s words, Raphinaque answered with a smile that flashed his front teeth, “It will be an honor for me.”

Just like that, Tigre met with each soldier of Olmutz, and just as he met old friends with both sides having missed each other, he also expressed his gratitude to soldiers he met for the first time. Of course, some of them faced him with a distrustful expression, but he managed to finish greeting all soldiers one way or another.

When they had put some distance between them and the soldiers of Olmutz, Galyinin whispered, “Lord Tigrevurmud, what is your take on Lady Ludmila having taken command of one of the scouting parties?”

“So was it based on some circumstances after all?” Tigre stopped walking and stared at Galyinin with a serious expression.

This was the part that had bugged him when he heard about Zhcted’s side from Mila. Under normal circumstances, the commander of an army should run around carelessly. There ought to be no need for Mila to lead one of the units herself.

“Yes, it is an important reason for her,” Galyinin informed Tigre with a calm expression after stopping as well. “Lady Ludmila has been worried about your safety.”

Tigre couldn’t find any words for a moment.

“Lady Ludmila has been convinced that you would participate in this war. And she has been worried that you might find yourself in a predicament. She wanted to save you if it was possible. Thinking that, Lady Ludmila took command of one scouting unit.”

The hot wind swiping across the land caressed Tigre’s face. His eyes became moist, and he felt a heat burning deep in his chest. Of course, Mila might also have considered it to be necessary for her to be in a place where she could make swift decisions, if necessary. After all, it’d be essential for her to grasp the state of Brune’s army as quickly as possible.

But, at the same time, Mila had thought of Tigre. It was coincidence and luck that they were able to meet again in this place, but Mila’s decision had drawn this luck to them.

“Thank you very much, Lord Galyinin,” Tigre bowed deeply.

He would have never heard anything like this out of Mila’s mouth. If he hadn’t told Tigre, the youth had remained unknowing for the rest of his life.

“I ask you sincerely to cherish your life which Lady Ludmila tried to protect to such an extent.”

Nodding, Tigre roughly wiped his face. About a dozen strides away stood Mila and Raphinaque after having finished their greeting of the Vorn soldiers. The two walked up to them.

“Still, I have heard about it from the young master…no, Lord Tigrevurmud many times over, but Lady Ludmila, you are truly beautiful. My lord is a lucky man to have been able to become friends with you.”

Upon Raphinaque admiring her without any reservations, Mila cast a teasing glance at Tigre.

“Many times? Give me an example of what he told you about me.”

“At first he quoted from some poem, talking about skin as white as perpetual snow and eyes filled with a radiance like a lake during spring. Then he expanded on your personality, and how much he had fallen in love with you…ah, no, he meant it in the sense of a knight offering his devotion…,” Raphinaque immediately glossed it over after having realized that he had tattled too much, but it was too late.

Mila’s cheeks turned crimson and she turned her face away so as to not meet eyes with Tigre. Tigre, on the other hand, was slightly, no, quite embarrassed himself, but he acted bold about it as it merely reflected his true feelings.

Standing next to him, Galyinin used that moment to speak up next, “Thank you kindly for your precious tidbits of information, Sir Raphinaque. In that case, I shall also talk about how my mistress has been evaluating Lord Tigrevurm――”

“Tigre, let us quickly leave this place before new forces of the Muozinel army show up,” Mila rattled down, interrupting Galyinin who was acting like a good-natured old man.

She seemed so panicked that she didn’t even realize how she had called Tigre by his nickname in front of their adjutants. Without noticing it either, Tigre swiftly wrapped up their conversation, saying, “Got it, let us move right away then.”

Accompanied by Raphinaque, Tigre headed back to the Vorn soldiers and informed them of their departure. Before he got on his horse, the elderly adjutant lightly drummed on his chest.

“It’s not like we can afford to get indebted all the time. I’ll work all those who can move hard.”

“Compared to being confronted with the two choices of death or slavery, that should be nothing.”

Raphinaque nodded with a laugh, revealing his teeth as if to express his happiness.

“But, young master, don’t think that Lady Vanadis is too ambitious a goal for you? I now understand why you kept talking about deeds of arms this and deeds of arms that, but I doubt it’ll be enough, unless you perform at the level of an earth dragon.”

“That much is easy peasy.”

Tigre’s reply was a prime example of bragging, but it was unmistakingly his true opinion. If he couldn’t pull off achievements at the level of an earth dragon, how would he be able to make his arrow reach a star twinkling in the sky?

†

The Vorn unit and Olmutz forces advanced north for around five belsta (approx. five kilometers), stopped their march on a patch of prairie located near a river, and started to set up camp. They ignited campfires, drew water from the river, and prepared dinner.

The Vorn soldiers actively did all those miscellaneous chores to lighten the burden on Olmutz’s soldiers. This happened upon Tigre’s order.

Dinner consisted of bread, cheese, resins, and soup with thinly sliced dove meat. The bread was something they had on hand while they bought everything else from a nearby village.

By the way, they came up with a little scheme for buying the food. Tigre and an Olmutz soldier, who could somewhat speak Muozinel, pretended to be Muozinel soldiers. After smearing their bodies with mud, they straddled the Muozinel horses, and rode into the village after waiting for sunset, managing to trick the villagers.

The Brunians, including Tigre, wolfed down the bread and soup. Since they had departed the battlefield after suffering a surprise attack at dawn, they hadn’t had any decent meal. At the most, they drank some water while shrouded by fog.

“There’s definitely some truth to the saying, hunger is the best spice,” Raphinaque commented while chewing on the sour resins, but no one reacted to his words.

All of them were preoccupied with their own food. Soaking the bread in the soup, they devoured it. They devoured the cheese as if savoring its saltiness. Each time a new bite passed through their throat, all of them rejoiced over being able to eat something.

“I don’t mind Muozinel fish, so I’d love to eat fish soupucha,” one of the Olmutz soldiers said while chewing on his bread, and laughed.

Ucha was a common dish in Zhcted. They usually made it by pouring water into a pot deep enough to mistake it for a bucket, then throwing largely-cut potatoes and salt-pickled salmon into it, before adding onions for their sweet taste, and boiling all of it.

Once they finished their meal, half of the soldiers served as watch while the other half went to sleep early. The Vorn soldiers were completely exhausted and Olmutz’s soldiers knew that the march would become strenuous, starting with tomorrow. They had boldly lit campfires. It came with the danger of the enemy spotting them from far away, but without the fires, beasts would approach, and if something happened, they’d be unable to react at once.

Because they had only brought a tent to be used for the commander, the soldiers wrapped themselves in their overcoats and lay down on the ground. The bugs were irritating, but the cool air felt pleasant.

◆◇◆

Tigre and Mila were inside the tent which had been built in the center of their night camp. The light of the lamp, which hung down from the ceiling, dimly illuminated the faces of the two as they sat next to each other. Both of them had removed their breastplates to be more comfortable.

Mila’s Lavias and Tigre’s black bow were leaning against the tent’s wall.

A small pot filled with hot water, two, silver cups, and three tiny jars were arrayed up in front of the two. White steam rose from the pot. The three jars were small enough to fit into Tigre’s hand. Each of the jars was closed with a cork while having characters carved onto its surface.

“Which will it be?” Mila asked Tigre with a cheerful expression.

She had told him that each of the three jars contained a different jam.

“Can’t you tell me about the types of jam contained in each?” Tigre asked hopefully.

Mila answered, “Nope,” with a smile.

“That makes it a fairly difficult question,” said Tigre, folding his arms.

Mila had a jam she wanted him to choose among the three, and told him to guess it. At a glance, it was a silly game, but Tigre knew about Mila’s love of ‘black tea’ (chayai). It went so far that she even brought tea leaves and jars full of jam to battlefields.

This is a game demanding seriousness. If I try to stand next to Mila, I mustn’t run away from this, and of course I cannot afford to guess wrongly either.

“Is it okay for me to touch the jars?”

“Sure, go ahead.”

Tigre first picked up the jar on the right side. After scrutinizing it from various angles, he put it back to its original place, and grabbed the jar in the middle next.

――I can’t really tell them apart by size, weight, or shape.

The only difference were the characters carved onto the surface of the jar. They were simple characters standing for sun, moon, and star.

He secretly took a peek at Mila while putting the jar back. She noticed his look and giggled, but it didn’t seem like she’d give him a clue.

After thinking it over, Tigre picked up the jar with the moon character, and passed it to Mila.

“Are you going with this one then?” Mila confirmed.

Tigre nodded, his face filled with nostalgia, “I remembered the time when you let me drink your chayai for the first time.”

While gazing at the new moon through a window in Mila’s room, he had drunk the chayai she had brewed for him. Back then, she had taught him the word for moon in Zhcted. He still could vividly remember it as if it happened yesterday.

“At that time I was truly happy. Lady Lana and Lord Galyinin had raved about the deliciousness of your chayai.”

“Galyinin sure loves to exaggerate,” Mila removed the cork of the moon jar while smiling wryly.

The aroma faintly tickling Tigre’s nose was that of grapes.

“I heard you can apparently harvest good grapes in Brune, so I made a jam with those.”

Once Mila brewed the chayai, she scooped up a small amount of jam with a small, wooden spoon, and let it melt in the tea.

Tigre thanked her while accepting the cup. As soon as he tasted it, he could sense the chayai’s fragrance, pregnant with the sweet aroma of grapes. The heat and sweetness slowly permeated his whole body, allowing Tigre to experience a sensation as if all fatigue was expelled from his body.

“What a bliss.”

“Of course. I’m the one who brewed it. Want to go with a cool tea next?”

Mila shifted her eyes to Lavias. She easily succeeded in creating cold tea with the ability of her spear.

“That’s way much of a luxury, isn’t it?”

The soldiers had drunk lukewarm water during today’s dinner. As might be expected, Tigre felt guilty.

“I think it’s been two years since I last drank your chayai like this.”

Even though we kept in contact through letters, we didn’t have a chance to meet. Ever since then I obtained all kinds of new tea leaves. I’ll treat you anytime once you come to Olmutz.”

“Allow me to look forward to it then. Come to think of it, how is Lady Lana doing?” Tigre asked, recalling something important.

Lana was Svetlana’s pet name.

“She’s fine. Last year, your father and you sent her a horse, didn’t you? She’s riding on it almost every day. What about Lord Urs――your father? Also, your little brother?”

Tigre explained that his father was bedridden due to sickness. Seeing Mila look worried, he said with a smile, “He’s absent from this war to take care of himself, but it’s no problem. Thanks to you, he’s been enthusiastic about improving Alsace a lot more. Dian is doing great, too. He races off somewhere whenever you take your eyes off him for a moment, so Bertrand has put a long leash around him.”

Dian was Tigre’s half-brother from a different mother. He turned two years old this year. His mother was one of the maids who had worked at the Vorn family’s estate in the past. He was born during Tigre’s stay in Olmutz, so Tigre got greatly surprised when he came back to Alsace.

“If Dian grows up enough in a few years, I’d like him to meet you. Father also said that he regretted not being able to meet you this time.”

“My mother also wanted to see you again. She said that you’re free to come over whenever you feel like it.”

“That lady isn’t thinking of the Vosges as her backyard or something, is she…?” Tigre said with a bitter smile, containing a tinge of astonishment, while thinking that it was so typical of her.

◆◇◆

Tigre had met Lana halfway through the winter three years ago. Lana had visited Alsace while only accompanied by a small number of attendants. Tigre ran into her party when he was on the way back from hunting, and thus led them to his father.

The suggestion Lana brought up with Urs was astonishing to say the least. She said she wanted to form friendly relations with Alsace.

Usually that would be unthinkable as Olmutz was a prominent principality in Zhcted, comparable to a high-ranking noble in Brune. Of course, Urs questioned her about the idea behind this. And Lana told him everything without hiding anything.

She said that it was for the sake of restraining Leitmeritz. Leitmeritz was yet another principality under the rule of a Vanadis like Olmutz. The bad blood between Leitmeritz and Olmutz was famous across countries by now. And it didn’t seem very likely that the present Vanadis would do anything to improve that relationship either.

Battles between Vanadis were prohibited unless it was about a fairly dire issue, but it wasn’t as though it never happened. And Alsace possessed a mountain road leading towards Leitmeritz. The road itself had been completely neglected and made a passage even for travelers a challenge, but the existence of that road alone was of importance for Lana. Because it allowed her to consider the possibility of Olmutz invading Leitmeritz through Alsace if something were to happen.

At first Urs was troubled, but in the end he went along with Lana’s suggestion.

But, things didn’t end there. Lana made one more proposal. It was about allowing Olmutz to look after Tigre for one year.

Before visiting Urs in his mansion, Lana had witnessed Tigre’s archery with her own eyes. At that time, Tigre was still fourteen years old, but he was already able to precisely hit a target 250 alsin away. That was a total shock for Lana, who hailed from Zhcted which didn’t shun archery.

“Marvelous,” Lana had concisely praised Tigre’s archery skill, and argued that living in Olmutz might have a positive influence on the boy.

Urs had called Tigre, explained the situation to him, and asked whether he wanted to go to Olmutz.

“I’ll go.”

That answer would bring a huge change to Tigre’s life as he’d meet Mila in Olmutz’s governmental residence.

◆◇◆

As she poured them a second serving of black tea, Mila confronted Tigre with a question, apparently having thought of something, “Why do you think did Muozinel’s army launch a surprise attack in the morning? Would they really need so much time to come up with the idea of targeting the supreme commander?”

Tigre noticed the tiny changes in her expression and tone. She was now acting like a teacher who was questioning her student.

He broke into a smile due to the nostalgia triggered by this. During his stay in Olmutz, Tigre had learned all kinds of things from Mila. It ranged from governmental and military affairs, to etiquette, tactics, and history, even covering the ways of brewing black tea.

By the way, he was also taught spearmanship and swordsmanship, but after going at it for around one month, Lana finally gave in, declaring that they’d focus on his strengths instead, and thus ended his short but fruitless endeavor in learning any combat art other than archery.
Either way, because of all that, it reached the point that Mila would always challenge Tigre with a question like this whenever something came to her mind. Then again, Tigre likewise enjoyed answering the problems she threw at him.

“They probably aimed for the very moment when we’d relax our attention…in short, right before we’d join up with Zhcted’s army. They kept tabs on our state up to the very last moment by regularly dispatching scouts, I suspect.”

Muozinel wanted to prevent Brune and Zhcted’s armies from joining up at any cost. Brune’s army should have expected that the Muozinel would try something until then and prepared for as many possibilities as feasible. But, Brune’s army relied on its dragons and became careless. Tigre himself was no exception to that either.

“Even so, the enemy commander is truly remarkable,” Tigre said, his voice brimming with awe and admiration.

Mila replied, “Their commander is most likely 『Red Beard』. I told you about him before, didn’t I?”

“Kureys Shahim Balamir, huh…?” Tigre spat out with a sigh and a shake of his head.

Kureys was a prince of Muozinel’s royalty and had made a name for himself as a great commander who was feared by Muozinel’s neighboring countries. The alias 『Red Beard』 stemmed from his beard which reached down all the way to his chest. Listing all all his military achievements would be endless, but the story of him having obtained complete victory over the army of an eastern country, which had consisted of approximately 50,000 soldiers and a hundred war elephants, with less than 10,000 soldiers one year ago was quite famous.

When Tigre considered that such a man was leading the Muozinel forces, he became all depressed, and wondered whether it had really been a good idea to have asked Mila to accompany him and his men.

Am I not merely exposing her to danger? Or, would something like this not have happened if I had more strength?

“Nothing is going to change even if you worry about it, right?” Mila commented with a cold, rejecting voice.

She had likely guessed Tigre’s train of thought from his expression.

After blinking several times, Tigre revealed a bitter smile and churned through his dull red hair.

“It’s just as you say, I guess. It looks like I tend to rack my brain over too many unnecessary things.”

Tigre wasn’t the supreme commander of the Brunian army. He was no more than the commander of a small unit composed of less than fifty soldiers, and the most he could achieve by himself was to somehow try staying alive while relying on his allied forces. It was one thing to guess the intentions of the enemy’s supreme commander, but losing sleep over it went beyond conceit.

Seeing Tigre smile, Mila’s face relaxed in relief, and she said so as to console the youth, “You must be exhausted. You should soon get some rest as well.”

Without answering, Tigre turned his body towards Mila and stared at her straight-on. Then he extended both hands and hugged her delicate body.

“W-Wai-…”

While she was flustered by the sudden turn of events, Tigre put all his feelings into what he was going to say next and whispered into her ear, “I couldn’t wait to meet you again.”

Mila stopped moving, and Tigre continued, “I believed that I’d be able to meet you somewhere since I knew that you were participating in this expedition. I didn’t think that our reunion would take place under such circumstances, but…even so, I’m truly happy that I was able to meet you once more.”

Her sweet scent tickled Tigre’s nose. His heart raced due to the sensation of her soft hair touching his cheek. He could feel her warmth from where their bodies met. Right now and here he fully experienced anew that they had reunited as she was currently resting in his arms.

Mila answered with a voice so faint out of embarrassment that it was prone to vanish at any moment, “I’m smeared with mud. And even my sweat…”

“Still, it’s your scent which I like so much,” he answered immediately.

Mila sighed lightly. She let the tension in her body go and entrusted herself to Tigre.

“I wanted to meet you as well. I thought that you would definitely join this expedition.”

“There’s no way I wouldn’t have participated after knowing that you were with Zhcted’s army. Though it’d have been better if I could have informed you through a letter or some such beforehand.”

Things were hectic and busy until their departure and thus Tigre didn’t have any spare time for something like that.

“Don’t mind it. In the end we were able to meet again.”

Tigre put strength into his arms as he hugged her, “I love you.”

Mila’s eyes widened slightly.

Tigre continued, passion dyeing his words, “I want to stay by your side. I want to look at your smile while being closer to you than anyone else. I want to be the very first to support you when you feel angry, sad, or depressed. I want to spend all times of happiness with you. I desire your everything. And I’d like you to stay by my side while accepting my everything.”

He passed on his passionate, sincere feelings with such a verve that he thought the heat welling up in his body might turn into flames and spew out. Mila’s cheeks relaxed and she surrendered herself to the comfortable feeling of his embrace.

The words she’d heard from him two years ago under the Sizurite. Slowly shaking her head, she told him, “Sorry.” As if following the script from back then.

“――Sizurite.”

Both said that word at the same time. Mila widened her eyes once more. Two years ago, she was the only one mentioning that star. Tigre loosened his embrace and laughed like a kid who had succeeded at pulling a prank.

“You’re right. My arrow still cannot reach the Sizurite. But, it’s not like everything is the same as back then either.”

“Right…that’s right, isn’t it…?” This time it was Mila who hugged Tigre.

Afterwards both talked about whatever crossed their minds. The state of their respective fiefs, strange events that occurred during the last two years, the situation of the restaurant they had visited together during Tigre’s stay in Olmutz, all the uproars caused by Lana, the stories Tigre had heard from peddlers and minstrels who had visited Alsace…

Suddenly, Tigre noticed that a few strands of her were stuck to Mila’s cheek. Feeling strangely charmed by that sight, he felt how a fire was lit inside his body. A fire that desired more of her warmth and touch. He leaned his body forward, attempting to overlap Mila’s small, glossy lips with his own.

But, it was prevented by Mila’s index finger.

“That’s going too far.”

“I see,” Tigre obediently pulled back.

He knew he was still lacking the necessary qualifications. Mila would ask him whether his arrow had reached the Sizurite, and his answer was bound to be disappointing. First he had to make his arrow reach that star.

Tigre salvation in this was Mila’s willingness to wait for him. She believed that Tigre would be able to reach that place someday. But, he knew that it didn’t mean she’d wait for him indefinitely. Mila was a Vanadis, and as ruler of Olmutz, she had to prioritize her land in her decisions.

“But, I’ll be looking forward to it,” Mila leaned herself forward and pressed a kiss on Tigre’s right cheek.

Her lips left his skin within less than an instant, but even so, Tigre believed that he wouldn’t forget that sensation.

“Mila, is it okay for me to do the same to you?”

Upon his question, her cheeks dyed crimson and she nodded faintly. Tigre gently kissed her forehead. And then continued with her hair, right cheek, left cheek, left ear, right ear, naturally resulting in Mila starting to panic. She immediately grasped Tigre’s jaw, restraining his movements.

“W-Wait. How many more kisses do you plan to give me?”

“I planned to kiss everything besides your lips,” he answered as if it was only natural.

Mila slapped Tigre’s forehead with a fed-up look.

“That’s obviously going way too far, idiot. You always get carried away whenever I leave you some space.”

“…Sorry.”

Knowing that Mila was on the verge of getting angry for real, Tigre released his hug and bowed his head deeply. At that point, Lavias blew a cold wind against his head as if to deliver the final blow. Tigre reflexively directed a reproachful look at the spear.

“It looks like your remorse is still lacking. Use more force, Lavias,” Mila said while turning away.

As soon as the cold air released from Lavias gained even more strength, Tigre scurried away in a hurry. Then he bowed in apology once more.

“Very well. Lavias, you can stop now.”

Mila thought that it might be a rather lenient punishment, but she knew that it was no more than the weakness of having fallen in love. She got surprised by being hugged, but she didn’t feel bad about it all and instead was happy. His warmth made her heart flutter, meaning that Mila was no different in regards to excitement and desire.

“Come on, hurry up and leave.”

Tigre sluggishly raised his body and stood up. Then he grabbed his bow.

“Good night.”

“Thanks, a good night to you as well.”

After Tigre had left the tent, Mila extinguished the lamp light and wrapped herself up in her overcoat. Before closing her eyes, she traced her lips with a finger within the darkness.

†

Most people seeing Kureys Shahim Balamir for the first time would get startled as the difference between their imagination of him, going by the stories about him being a renown general feared by the neighboring countries and a royal prince enjoying the deep trust of his older brother the king, and the real person were just too shockingly glaring.

He was 38 years old and possessed a lean body, but his eyes were big and sunken-in while his nose and ears were long. The red beard――the origin of his nickname――extended all the way to his chest. Or to describe it concisely, he looked weird.

A big feather was stuck in the white, silken turban covering his head, and his body was clad in a flashy attire adorned with stitchings of a golden bull and a silver falcon. He personally liked that eccentric outfit, and yet rumors were going around that he’d been mistaken for a clown because of his attire and appearance.

Right now, Kureys presided in the land of Eleşkirt together with 10,000 soldiers. His army had set up a camp in a place around five belsta west of the site of the previous battle.

Darkness had spread its wings in the sky with the moon having risen high up to illuminate the land with its brilliant light. Inside a luxurious tent adorned with golden and silver threads Kureys was just now receiving a report from a subordinate.

“The Brunian soldiers are continuing to escape further west. They have clearly retreated by twenty belsta.”

“Haaahaha, what a magnificent way of tucking the tail between your legs and fleeing. But, I wanted to get my hands on the corpses of those dragons,” Kureys guffawed loudly, his shoulders shaking.

Several reasons why the Muozinel had built their camp in this location existed, but one of them was the troublesomeness of dealing with the three dragon corpses. The bodies were way too heavy for war elephants, and once they concluded that carrying just one would require several dozens of soldiers, Kureys had decided to leave the corpses behind. But, as even he didn’t feel like setting up the camp close to those dead cadavers, he had his army move back all the way here.

“Still it was a rather strange battle. Was Eleşkirt known for fog to appear in the mornings?”

“I do not know, Your Excellency, but I think it might not be all that strange seeing how summer has been drawing closer. Besides, that fog worked in our advantage. Was it not possibly Bahram’s divine protection?”

Bahram was one of the main gods worshiped in Muozinel. He ruled over victory and war. The golden helmet and sword depicted on Muozinel’s flag were actually symbols of Bahram.

The Muozinel army was able to get so close to the Brunian camp not only because of the very dim lighting of dawn, but also because of the area being shrouded by fog. As such it was only reasonable for them wanting to believe this to be a god’s blessing.

――It’d be great if it was truly Bahram’s divine protection, but well…

The early morning’s fog was so odd that even Kureys, who thought that something like divine protections didn’t exist after having waded across many battlefields throughout his long life, couldn’t help but think there might be some truth to it. However, currently he didn’t have the time to extensively dwell on this matter as he had to consider how to proceed with Brune’s army.

“All three dragons had their heads lopped off, correct?”

“Yes,” answered the soldier with a stiff expression. “After the Brunian army was gone, I confirmed it with my very own eyes, but…it was a truly gruesome sight.”

Three headless large beasts with an overall length close to eighty chet lay in their own dark red blood. Undoubtedly it had to be a gut-wrenching, severe sight to behold.

After waiting for his man to regain his composure, Kureys calmly asked, “What do you think happened there?”

“…I cannot tell, Your Excellency.” The man had a ghastly pale face, his voice quivering. “I truly do not know. As a matter of fact, I tried to cut one of the corpses with a sword. But, the blade was repelled as if hitting a rock, numbing my hand in the process…”

Seemingly recalling the events of that time, the soldiers rubbed his right wrist.

“In that case, those things will become wolf fodder. They should be able to live on those big cadavers for a long time to come, I suppose,” Kureys commented nonchalantly.

In response, his man nodded while keeping a straight face. Mistaking how to react with a royal’s joking could easily lead to death. Hence it was still the better option to be regarded as a guy who didn’t get a joke.

“I thought that I maybe should not tell you this, but…the soldiers hailing from this area have been clamoring about this possibly having been the deed of a monster.”

“A monster?”

“I heard it takes the form of a beauty, lurking in rivers and lakes. If you carelessly approach, that monster will either scratch off your head or drag you underwater. It seems to be a tale that has been passed down in this region for generations.”

Kureys was unsure whether he should laugh it off, but seeing the grave expression on his subordinate’s face, he responded seriously.

“Do you think that this monster or whatever it is has slain those dragons?”

“It is a joke that naturally deserves severe rebuke, but I cannot think of any other explanation…”

“Let me ask you, did one of my army’s soldiers die by being dragged underwater or having his head lopped off in a way that would suggest that it was done by a monster?”

“No! No one did…!” The soldier violently shook his head

“In that case, such a monster doesn’t exist,” and then the prince continued with a somewhat admonishing tone while his eyes were all smiles, “The dragons having died might have unexpectedly been a blunder by the Brunians. In the first place, it’s a crazy story for several dragons to obey a human.”

Kureys himself didn’t think that Brune did anything wrong. But, what was necessary now wasn’t getting down to the truth, but preventing a drop in morale among the soldiers. For that sake he opted to deny the monster’s existence.

――Similar rumors have been spreading about the landslide at Salafan.

Salafan was the land where the Brunian and Zhcted armies planned to congregate. Kureys had stationed 2,000 soldiers over there. It was a measure to grasp the enemy’s further movements, and depending on the circumstances, obstruct them. But, close to half of those soldiers lost their lives to the river overflowing and the subsequent landslide. And even those who were lucky enough to survive were so exhausted that they’d need to recuperate for a while.

This was rather aggravating for Kureys. Losing those soldiers hurt, but up until now he had never deployed soldiers to a location prone to a disaster occurring. He had never misread the terrain like that.

“As for me, I’d like to focus on Brune’s army rather than some monster no one has ever seen.”

Hearing that, the soldier finally pulled himself together and nodded. The prince continued while tracing a finger across a map, “If they have retreated twenty belsta today, I doubt that they’ve got any intention to advance again. It looks to me as if they’re going to continue retreating before eventually heading back to the border.”

“I have heard that the enemy still has a flying dragon left. Several soldiers reported the same…”

Kureys heartily laughed at his man’s face which was dyed with apprehension.

“They’re probably planning to scurry back home while keeping that one dragon safe. If they were to lose even their last dragon, I’m sure the Brunian army’s morale would completely plummet to the ground.”

Kureys had his soldiers scout Brune’s army many times over until today. Thus he knew that the Brunian soldiers had relied on the dragons’ power, even while fearing them.

“Okay, so I gather we are to keep attacking them from behind as they run to the border, giving them a good shake?”

“You got it. Amass our soldiers at the border while hitting the fleeing army as suitable. Even they can’t pull back just like this, I dare say, so they should challenge us to one more battle at the border. It’s possible that they’re hiding other aces, even if they don’t use their dragon. So don’t become too complacent.”

The soldier saluted and left. Kureys placed a hand on the jar with kumiss that had been placed on the table next to him, and filled his golden cup with the fermented milk. After taking a sip, he sighed lightly.

“Assuming we’re going to have a battle near the border, I should have enough time to gather around 20,000 soldiers by then.”

I’d like to prepare twenty war elephants. If used cleverly, they should be able to exhibit a destructive force comparable to 10,000 soldiers. Given that Zhcted’s army has less troops than Brune’s army, I’ll leave that side to my subordinates. If we defeat Brune, Zhcted’s army will very likely pull back.

Around the time when he had emptied his cup, he heard a servant from outside his tent.

“Your Excellency, Lord Damad is requesting an audience with you.”

Damad was one of Kureys’s trusted subordinates.

“Let him in,” Kureys ordered curtly.

Soon after, a youth entered the tent. Going by his face, he was around twenty years old. He was tall, and coupled with a narrow chin and nose as well as a sharp gaze, he engendered a masculine aura.

“You have my deepest gratitude for granting me the opportunity of having an audience with you, Your Excellency,” Damad rattled down with a somewhat faltering voice while bowing clumsily.

He was a man possessing plenty of ability as a warrior and commander of a thousand men, but because of his poor farmer’s upbringing, he was completely unaccustomed to etiquette. He might not have been appointed to any significant post, if he was serving under anyone other than Kureys who didn’t care much about courtesy. Kureys urged him to continue by nodding.

“Ayşe…err, Lady Ayşe told me that she would like to act separately, saying that she found someone interesting among the enemy.”

“Hoh. Was there such a good-looking knight among the Brunians that he’d draw that girl’s eyes?” Kureys laughed.

Ayşe was a member of Muozinel’s royalty. She was the daughter of the previous king, born by a temple priestess, and thus possessed no right to the throne. And to be clear about it, even her being recognized as royalty was only thanks to the present king’s benevolence.

Kureys met the girl out of curiosity, took a liking to her after they chatted for a while, and invited Ayşe to work under him. This appeared to be something Ayşe herself had wished for as well, and thus she happily consented. Later Kureys ordered Damad to serve as Ayşe’s advisor.

“It’s an archer. One with skill that seems somewhat unbelievable.”

“Hoh. But, among the Brunians? You say they have someone specialized in archery?” Kureys’s eyes twinkled in bliss upon Damad’s explanation. Regardless of friend or foe, Kureys always loved to hear about people with outstanding talents. “Haaahahaha, that sure sound interesting. Go on and give me the details.”

“I heard he hit a target after shooting his arrow from 250 alsin away. I haven’t seen it with my own eyes, and given that it’s been reported by the soldiers, it’s possible that it has been exaggerated, but…”

Ayşe had been entrusted with a hundred cavalrymen by Kureys in this army. But then again, she possessed no ability to command troops, meaning the one actually moving the soldiers was Damad.

After the surprise attack this morning succeeded, Damad ordered his soldiers to head north. Most of the Brunians had escaped westwards, but if they had pursued in that direction, they’d have competed with their comrades over achievements. Naturally Damad believed that they, who only had a hundred cavalrymen, would be at disadvantage.

However, around the time when the sun had set, his men came back, covered in wounds and decreased in numbers. They told Damad and Ayşe that they had encountered a group of Brunian soldiers and that their commander had been killed by an archer.

“According to their report, that Brunian unit was apparently rescued by a group of Zhcted forces. Lady Ayşe mentioned that she was curious about that part as well.”

Damad’s face was hard, and a light of displeasure flickered in his eyes.

Kureys soundlessly laughed, his beard swaying faintly. He suspected that Damad wanted him to forbid a pursuit. Doubtlessly he wanted to be ordered, “You are to join the pursuit of Brune’s army.” After all, this side was much more likely to reap military achievements than chasing after a small group of straddlers.

“Very well, she has my permission to act separately.”

Disappointment spread across Damad’s face.

While stroking his beard, Kureys added, “If you manage to catch that archer alive, I’ll pay you 800 gold. If it’s his corpse…hmm, let’s see…okay, let’s go with 500 gold in such a case.”

Damad’s expression immediately changed altogether. Even just 500 gold was enough money to spend a splurging life for more than ten years.

“I-Is that really true…?”

“Do you doubt my words?”

“No, I would never dare,” Damad paddled back in a hurry.

Different from the time when he had entered the tent, Damad left the tent while brimming with motivation.

Though, it wasn’t as if Kureys had decided on that reward out of kindness towards Damad. Assuming Brune truly had an archer capable of hitting a target over a distance of 250 alsin, he’d pose a threat. It’d be a cheap bargain to get rid of him for 500 or 800 gold.

Besides, Kureys was also bothered by the story about Zhcted forces having rescued those Brunian straddlers. As such, he had decided that it’d be better to have Damad chase after enemies who’d bring uncertain elements to the war, if it also allowed the youth to gather some experience.

――I managed to obtain something to look forward to besides the war, huh?

Kureys refilled his cup with kumiss, and cheerfully drained it down.

◆◇◆

Having returned to his own unit, Damad made a beeline for the command tent. After making the guard outside announce his arrival, he immediately stepped inside.

A girl was slovenly lying on a carpet, illuminated by the light of a lamp. While nibbling on honey-smeared bread, one knee drawn up and her cheek resting in her hand, she was gazing at the chessboard placed in front of her. It was such a display of bad manners that even Damad, who didn’t demand women to exhibit refinement or feminine modesty, couldn’t help but to knit his eyes in blatant disapproval. Her whole demeanor woke an urge in him to admonish her that she should behave properly since she was already thirteen years old.

As soon as he entered, she looked up to him and asked with a smile, “Oohh, Damad, so how did things go?”

“We have obtained permission from His Excellency, Lady Ayşe.”

Damad sat down opposite of her with the chess board between them. His speech was polite, but his attitude was anything but that. Officially Damad served as her adjutant, but he felt more like being her babysitter. As such, he found it difficult to treat her with respect.

Then again, Ayşe didn’t demand anything overly unreasonable from those around her. Whenever she told a soldier to go buy wine from a nearby village since she felt like drinking some, she’d prepare the necessary money to pay for it. Of course it’d depend on the soldier’s skill in negotiating with the villagers when it came to the question as to how much he’d be able to pocket of that money.

What stumped him the most were the times when she suddenly summoned him to her tent and ordered him to keep her company. He’d be more than happy to oblige if those were the words of a pretty woman of marriageable age, but when they came from a girl who was seven years younger than himself, he could only sigh. And what made it actually worse was the teasing it earned him from his colleagues and subordinates.

On top of that, Ayşe’s idea of Damad keeping her company actually meant her wanting to use him for killing some time. She’d make him humor her with some idle gossip or make him listen to stories of legends. Sometimes he also had to act as her chess opponent.

Occasionally she also demanded his view on the war. At such times he’d tell her while breaking things down as much as possible, but he had his doubts about her ability to understand what he was telling her. Seeing how the other party was royalty, and above all, because he had been ordered by Kureys, he interacted with her seriously, but he had quickly realized that it was a role requiring patience.

Once he mentioned the reward Kureys had promised them, Ayşe revealed a sour look.

“Isn’t that way too little? Did he haggle with you or something?”

“You think so? I believe it to be an appropriate amount of money.”

With one of her cheeks puffing out thanks to the bread stuffed in it, Ayşe answered Damad’s objection, “The opponent can shoot his targets with a bow over a distance of 250 alsin, meaning he’s a fearsome archer who can kill our commanders with a single arrow. Didn’t you also say that it’s a distance where aiming and hitting would be impossible?”

“Indeed. That is why I believe…the soldiers have made a mistake. They must have mixed it up during the heat of their battle against the Zhcted forces, and precisely gauging a distance with eyesight isn’t an easy feat at all.”

Damad barely managed to avoid calling their words an exaggeration.

Ayşe lifted an eyebrow, “You didn’t hear the story of a Brunian soldier having crushed both eyes of a war elephant with bow and arrows during the battle at the border?”

Damad searched his memory. Now that she had told him, he felt like he might have heard something along those lines. The existence of the earth dragon, which had demonstrated an overwhelming might and brutality, had been so prevalent that no one had paid much heed to that story.

“Forgive my words, but for such a person to exist among the Brunians who are known to be archery haters is…”

“No one says that he has to be a Brunian just because he’s a part of the Brunian army. Didn’t we have a combat slave unit in our army’s ranks as well? That unit consists of Muozinels, Zhcteds, and Brunians, does it not?”

The combat slave unit was, as its name suggested, a corps made up by slaves. Naturally, it was treated quite badly and they were often deployed in dangerous places on the battlefield. But, this was also the reason why they were a powerful unit.

――Our princess sure isn’t shy of talking back.

And even though those were Damad’s thoughts, he saw Ayşe in a slightly better light as her argumentation had a basis that followed her own kind of logic.

“Anyway, we will somehow catch that archer. Please leave it to me.”

It’d make it impossible for them to participate in the battle against Brune’s army, but having been promised a reward was a big boon. And this was something he only managed to secure because Ayşe had shown a strange curiosity in that particular archer.

Ayşe looked at Damad while wiping her honey-smeared hands with her own clothes, “You must be unhappy with this as you won’t be able to head into battle against Brune’s army.”

“…Not being allowed to fight shoulder-by-shoulder with your colleagues is disappointing for a warrior.”

It was doubtlessly true that he would wonder just what he was doing while his comrades-in-arms were earning themselves merits of war during the battles against Brune and Zhcted’s army.

“It’s not that I’m looking down on you, but I believe it’ll be better for you to not take part in that battle,” Ayşe commented with her eyes lowered on the chessboard.

Several pieces were standing, or lying, on the board. They had been set up randomly without following the standard chess positioning. Damad suspected that she wasn’t playing chess, but instead speculating while regarding the pieces as Muozinel, Brunian, and Zhcted armies. He had seen her do the same several times before.

“Why? You are not going to tell me that our army is going to lose, are you?”

“I haven’t said that. But, this war has been odd. In many ways. For example, the dragons being beheaded just when our army invaded the enemy camp,” answered Ayşe while moving a piece.

Damad grimaced. Of course he had also heard the story about the unnatural death of Brune’s dragons. He had scoffed at the gossip of it being the deed of a monster, but he couldn’t rid himself of the feeling of eeriness gnawing at him.

Suddenly, Damad recalled the story of his young mistress having spent her childhood in a temple dedicated to the Water Goddess Anāhitā. It was said that her grandmother, who was loved by the previous king, possessed outstanding powers as priestess. Ayşe had informed him about it during one of her many requests to keep her company.

Then Ayşe changed the topic. She moved the pieces on the chessboard, roughly explaining their positions in Muozinel’s north and northwestern parts.

“My territory, albeit small, is located in the northwestern part of Muozinel. It contains wilderness, mountains, and a single village. That’s all. However, it’s a precious piece of land bestowed to my grandmother by His late Majesty. Have you ever heard the name Oltu?”

“Only the name and the route to reach it.”

Thinking that it might come in handy for the war, he had crammed several locations and roads in Muozinel’s north. He’d heard that Oltu belongs to royalty, causing him to memorize it over other places out of bias. Though he surely hadn’t expected it to be Ayşe’s fief.

“The other day I received a report stating that the village got sunk by the flood. The village possessed a temple dedicated to Anāhitā, but the water didn’t care overly much. Because Brune’s army had invaded, most of the villagers had evacuated in advance, I heard, but… The water must have withdrawn by now, but they probably won’t be able to go back until the end of the war.”

“So you wish to check on that place while searching for the archer?” Damad asked in anticipation of what his mistress would say next. While feeling that it was a surprisingly awkward way.

He could understand the wish of wanting to protect one’s territory. If he had been in her position, Damad thought that he’d have likely come up with some sort of reason and moved in a similar way. As far as he was concerned, he wanted to quickly catch the archer, get back to Muozinel’s main force, and join the battle against Brune’s army, but the prospects for that were slim.

“Uh huh…” Ayşe mumbled, hesitant to be clear about it.

This was unusual for her.

“A strange story has been passed on in Oltu for generations. It talks about a monster called 『Nixy』 having been sealed deep inside the temple by a wandering knight for having thoroughly harassed the locals.”

“I think that’s the kind of story you can hear at various places, though.”

“Bear in mind that one, who responds to his mistress’s story in such a manner, won’t get far in life,” Ayşe teased, finally laughing.

Damad felt somewhat irritated, but he strove to not show it on his face by remaining expressionless.

Just a few days ago, a similar situation occurred. Back when he had conversationally told her, “That’s a truly novel story,” it had earned him a sullen look and a biting, “I hate obvious flattery.”

“About that 『Nixy』, they say she lives in water, causes fog which she can use to freely move around, cuts rocks as huge as huts as easily as butter, and pulls people inside the water to feast upon them.”

“Are you saying that this monster has woken up, just to wander the lands now?”

“No way,” Ayşe burst into laughter, “I’m just telling you to head out while being on your guard.”

Understanding that she probably wanted to scare him a bit, Damad revealed a wry smile.

‘These parts of her show her childishness. When I was thirteen years old, I was already wandering the battlefields as a common soldier, but I also had times when I spoke about ghost stories and went through courage tests with kids of my age.

“For the present, I will take a look at the enemy army’s state. Please follow me with the rest of the unit, Lady Ayşe.”

“You’re not going to take any soldiers with you?” Ayşe tilted her head.

In response, Damad argued that the soldiers were afraid of the archer in question and that it’d be easier for a single rider to hide when the number of enemies was big.

――250 alsin, they say? Does such a guy really exist?

Up until now, Damad had never heard of an archer capable of such a feat. By the way, Damad wasn’t aware of the Vanadis’s presence either. The soldiers had kept it to themselves as they didn’t want to report that they got their asses handed to them by a young girl.

“I see. Then let me give you a little charm.”

Ayşe abruptly raised her body, and walked on all fours toward a corner that was stuffed with jars, boxes, and a foldable chair. Damad ordered her to stand up and walk properly in his mind, but didn’t voice it out.

Soon after, she grabbed something and tossed it towards Damad. What he caught was a small porcelain bottle. It was small enough to fit into one hand, and had been plugged up with a stopper carved out of wood.

“It’s Holy Oil. You should keep it close to the skin.”

“I shall gratefully accept your present,” Damad respectfully expressed his thanks while kneeling on one knee.

Although it was called Holy Oil, it was merely oil that had been manufactured by a temple, and thus it didn’t mean that it possessed mysterious powers. But, it was certainly true that it could be described as oil of fine quality, meaning it wouldn’t stink or immediately catch fire. He appreciated it quite a bit.

Damad left the tent, leaving Ayşe behind, called a subordinate, gave him several instructions, and had him prepare a horse.

Then he left during the night, intending to cover as much distance as possible.

†

Around the same time, the supreme commander of Brune’s army, Duke Felix Aaron Thenardier, had reached his peak of culminated displeasure. Right now he was all alone inside his commander’s tent. He quietly allowed his thoughts to wander while sitting in a gorgeously decorated chair.

He was a 43-years-old man with a huge frame that had not once missed its daily training. His whole body teemed with raw ambition while at the same time giving anyone a strong impression of majesty and personality as befitting for a high-ranking noble representing Brune.

After suffering a surprise attack at Eleşkirt, the Brunian army collapsed without being able to mount an orderly counterattack. They abandoned their tents, flags, weapons, and armors as they single-mindedly fled westwards.

Duke Thenardier hadn’t had much of a choice but to go with the flow. He had advanced westwards while coping with attacking enemies and confused allies. All the while seething with a feeling of deep-rooted disgrace.

The enemy’s pursuit only let up after they had distanced themselves fifteen to sixteen belsta from Eleşkirt. Once they had come this far, the clusters of Brunian soldiers, who had trudged onwards while using their swords and spears as props, had finally started to show some sort of unity again after having looked like a bunch of losers beforehand.

After advancing another five belsta, Thenardier ordered to set up a camp at last. It was his implicit declaration that they’d only save the soldiers who managed to escape all the way up to this place.

The total number of Brunian soldiers that amassed in the camp amounted to slightly more than 18,000. Close to 5,000 men had died, got captured, or continued to wander Muozinel lands.

――Those damn, black mutts of Muozinel. What pests.

A bottle with Brunian wine and a silver cup had been placed on the stand next to him. The cup was already filled to the brim. Thenardier grabbed it and gulped down its content. He had known what to expect, but its lukewarm temperature became another source of displeasure for him, nonetheless.

Just when he had emptied the cup, Steed, Thenardier’s close aide, entered the tent. He was one of the few men trusted by the duke.

After a humble bow, Steed gave a short and concise report, “According to the Muozinel soldiers, they were ordered to only hunt humans and run away as soon as they encountered a dragon. Assuming the Muozinel’s army was responsible for the death of the dragons, I think it would be correct to regard the low-ranking soldiers as not having been informed of it.”

“Good work,” Thenardier curtly thanked Steed.

Before coming here, Steed had tortured several Muozinel soldiers, which they caught on the way, on Thenardier’s orders.

“Was there anyone among the lords who had anything useful to say about the death of the dragons?”

Steed shook his head, “Some said that it might have been the deed of a monster said to live around here, others blamed it on Muozinel curse casters. But no one had any decent suggestions to offer.”

“Even if we regard a monster as out of the question…curse casters, huh? A curse that kills dragons but not humans doesn’t make much sense. I’d think it’d be a lot easier to curse me to death than the dragons,” Thenardier ridiculed with a scornful laugh.

Then he picked up the wine bottle and refilled his cup.

――Which reminds me, I’ve heard those draconic toolsViralt of Zhcted’s Vanadis are able to easily cut through a dragon’s scales…

Thenardier sank into deep brooding as his face was reflected by the wine in his cup.

――Maybe Zhcted has betrayed us to Muozinel. Or did one of the seven Vanadis move on her own? Well, I doubt that Zhcted would betray us. The execution was too sloppy for this to be the work of Zhcted. The participating Vanadis could have simply pretended to be allied forces to get close enough to me. So, what about another Vanadis who has some sort of interest in this expedition failing?

No, this makes no sense either, Thenardier shook his head. Waiting until the other three dragons caught up with our army and Muozinel’s launched its surprise attack lacks logic. It’d put the Vanadis and her forces at risk as well, wouldn’t it? Besides, if such a Vanadis had actually gone out of her way to behead three dragons, someone would have witnessed it.

――I lack too much information to make any conclusions.

He drained the wine. And after breathing out lightly, Thenardier shortly announced, “We’re heading back to the border.”

“Are we going to retreat?”

“You also heard the report about the landslide at Salafan, didn’t you? Joining up with Zhcted’s has become difficult under these circumstances. In addition, as of yet we don’t know why the dragons died. As I thought, we should have brought Drekavac along, even if by force…”

Drekavac was an elderly diviner who worked under Thenardier. The duke trusted that old man so much that he always left important tasks to him instead of his subordinates of old. Drekavac was also outstanding as diviner, but more importantly, he was endowed with such an extensive knowledge across many fields that it made the duke wonder just where he had learned all this. He knew about the stars’ movements, the legends handed down in various areas, history, geography, weather phases, medical plants, the fauna of distant, foreign countries, and many other things. And he had put that knowledge to use for the sake of Thenardier more than once or twice.

It was Drekavac who had brought along the dragons, too.

Back when Drekavac mentioned it while saying that it’d be possible as long as the duke provided plenty of funds and time, Thenardier had been half in doubt, but even so, he had told Drekavac to give it a try and prepared the amount of gold he desired. He did so out of a feeling that he wouldn’t even mind if Drekavac took that money and vanished with it. It was an unbelievable level of tolerance considering it was Duke Thenardier, but it showed just how helpful Drekavac had been.

And then, around a month later, Drekavac really came back with four dragons in tow.

“I have finished their training, My Lordship,” stated the old diviner, his body wrapped up in a black, long robe, after bowing at Thenardier.

For around ten days afterwards, Thenardier tried out all kinds of things with dragons. He investigated whether their scales truly couldn’t be damaged, how much destructive force their fangs and claws possessed, or how long the flying dragon could remain airborne.

After sating his thirst for knowledge, Thenardier decided to invade Muozinel. And back then, Thenardier had ordered Drekavac to accompany him on the campaign. After all, Drekavac was the only person capable of handling it, if anything happened to the dragons. But, the old diviner rejected the order, claiming that he was bad with hot places.

This reply upset Thenardier, but it was plain obvious that Drekavac wouldn’t follow his orders, even if he were to forcibly drag him along. As such, he had no choice but to give up on the idea of having Drekavac join the expedition.

“If we end up losing our last flying dragon on top of this, it will become impossible to recover from this. Compared to that, a temporary defeat isn’t such a disaster.”

“What are we going to do about contacting Zhcted’s army?”

“I’ll send out Zion as a messenger. While riding the flying dragon.”

Steed blinked his eyes in surprise at his lord’s response.

After requiring a span of two breaths to recover from the shock, he asked Thenardier, “Is that a good idea…?”

Steed was well aware of Duke Thenardier’s extremely lenient and dotting attitude towards Zion, in spite of his usually grim temperament. It was also dangerous to let Zion ride the flying dragon, but Steed wondered whether having Zion cross enemy territory to look for Zhcted’s army wasn’t close to wishing the death of his own son.

“The back of a dragon, who flies across the skies, might actually be a rather very safe place,” Thenardier laughed while getting another refill of wine. “The Muozinel will likely do everything in its power to hinder us and Zhcted’s army from getting in touch by sending out soldiers. They also have the locational advantage over here. So, even if we send out a hundred riders for example, it’s possible that not a single rider is going to reach his destination. And assuming he does reach Zhcted’s army, it’s quite likely that he won’t be able to get back here, I’d say.”

“Okay, I understand the reason why you would use the flying dragon. But, would it be not wiser to go with someone other than Lord Zion? It might sound presumptuous of me, but if you give me the order…”

“You’re in charge of organizing the soldiers, aren’t you?” Thenardier said, interrupting his trusted confidant. “Also, it’s not like anyone can get on the flying dragon. To be honest, even I was surprised when Zion landed the flying dragon in front of me. It’ll be worthwhile to have him garner some experience.”

Catching a faint glimpse of fatherly affection in Thenardier’s voice, Steed lowered his head.

“Please forgive me for being too forward with my words, Your Excellency.”

Thenardier waved his hand, indicating that Steed didn’t need to mind it.

“Prepare a messenger, Steed. We’re going to rely on the 『Black Knight』.

“Are you going to call over Lord Roland and the Navarre Knight Order?”

Despite being surprised by this piece of information, Steed didn’t allow his astonishment to show on his face. Then again, this development was still within the range of his expectation when compared to the idea of sending out Zion as messenger.

The Navarre Knight Order was tasked with the protection of Brune’s western border. Its members were known for being a lot braver and more daring than other knights. Especially Roland, the one leading the Navarre Knight Order, was famous for possessing overwhelming abilities as a warrior. So much so that King Faron had lent him Durandal, the treasured sword of Brune which was referred to as 『Sword of Invincibility』.

“Before this war, I told him to move up to the Scarlet Sand River. Through King Faron, that is. I think they should be close to the border by now. I had planned to keep them on standby there if nothing happened, but…”

“However, is Lord Roland really going to follow your orders?”

Doubt colored Steed’s eyes. Roland had offered his allegiance to King Faron and was a man valuing righteousness above all. Steed had even heard that he hated and deeply loathed Thenardier who had been slighting the king and ruled his own lands with an iron hand.

“Limited to this time, my and the king’s interests align. It’s an order by King Faron.”

“Very well, I shall send a messenger at once.”

Thenardier continued to advance his preparations for winning one more battle before withdrawing.

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