Chapter 2 – Supplies
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Imperial Calendar – Year 430, End of December
Cain put his name under the document in front of him and placed it on top of the pile of other signed documents. Leaning back in his chair, he sighed very deeply.
“I ain’t not suited for being lord. Moving my body is what I do best, seriously.”
“No, not at all. You’re doing the work as deputy lord outstandingly, yes,” Sitter responded to Cain’s mutter after having apparently entered the office at some point while wiping the sweat out of his face with a handkerchief.
Cain’s body jumped with a start.
How careless of me to not even have noticed him entering the room. My senses must have grown dull from all the unfamiliar work.
“This is additional work, yes.”
“For real!?”
“I would not lie about this, yes.”
With those words, Sitter placed new documents next to the other unsigned documents.
“Fuck,” cursed Cain and sifted through the new paperwork. Sighing deeply, “And here I thought I’d go and help Sub, if I got some spare time.”
“I have heard that Lady Fay is handling that side well, yes.”
“Well, that’s because Sub and his men are busting their balls to back that girly.”
Cain stopped writing.
If we’re talking about backing others, I only succeed as deputy lord because Lalya is nicely handling the patrols in the city while Sitter helps me with the office work.
“Okay, I will be going then, yes.”
Sitter picked up the stack of signed documents and tried to put his words into practice. But, halfway through the office, he staggered. It didn’t go as far as him falling over, but he was clearly reeling.
“Oh my, how unsightly of me. Please forgive me, yes.”
“Make sure to get some proper rest, okay?”
“Yes. See you later.”
Sitter left the office this time for sure while scratching his head. Once more Cain leaned back on his chair, sighing very deeply.
“……He seems to have it tough as well,” he murmured while looking up to the ceiling.
The demise of the emperor, Princess Tilia’s sickness, and a war. If you put all these things together, it became clear that something happened at the capital. Right now, the administrative officials around Sitter stood at a crossroad. They had to choose whether to remain in the Erakis March or go back to the capital. Putting aside the former, the latter would be likely hard, suspected Cain. Even if they went back to the capital, only days of humiliation and perseverance would await them. That was the reason why they were lost. And Sitter, who was trying to keep them together, was suffering.
“Guess now’s not the time to worry about others.”
Cain sat up straight and resumed his work.
※
“――Please check it all.”
“Umm, the wheat――”
Chrono was confirming the amount of provisions and horse fodder piled up in front of him while cross-checking it with the statement of delivery affixed to the board that substituted a clipboard. A soldier consumed 1000 gram wheat, 150 g meat, and 12 g salt every day. Those portions times 12,500. Plus the horse fodder. Horses ate 5 kg wheat, 4 kg hay, and 4 kg straw every day. This amounts times 1000. If Chrono were to be honest, just confirming the delivered amounts already took quite a bit of time and effort. His sole salvation could be found in him not having to think about water on top of all this.
After finishing the check, he signed the delivery document and filled out the necessary fields in the list at the bottom of the document. It was a list noting down the stock as well as the consumed and delivered goods thus far. They were controlling the inventory with this table, but it added even more work. Chrono dearly yearned for a calculator.
“…Here.”
“I confirm to have received it from you, Sir.”
Once Chrono held out the delivery note, the president of the Picks Company――a man whose body was clad in fine clothes――Dominique received the piece of paper with a smile. Chrono closely scrutinized the other guy.
“Is there something on my face?”
“No, I was just wondering whether it’s really alright for the president of such a big company to be in a place like this.”
“Haha, you’re quite a blunt man.”
Dominique laughed cheerfully.
A nice smile indeed. I guess that’s the sort of smile you make when you’re successful in your career.
“My work usually gets decided by the general flow of events, so it’s no problem even if I vacate the store.”
“I see.”
“Of course, some people don’t think very highly of this, but when it comes to matters related to the company’s future, it’s different.”
Chrono grunted conversationally. If he was honest, he couldn’t make heads or tails even if he was told something like this.
“It looks like I have lost you there. Paper, I am talking about the paper.”
“Aren’t you exaggerating a bit too much?”
“We have become able to buy something cheaply which we had to buy at the asking price of the Free City States up until now. Don’t you believe that to be amazing?”
“Well, if you put it like that, it sure does sound amazing.”
Dominique smiled wryly. Probably because he knew that Chrono hadn’t understood the gravity of this achievement.
“As I thought, you are an interesting man. If possible, I would like to forge a good relationship with you in the future.”
“You surely won’t tell me something as outrageous as you having influenced the Military Department for the sake of being able to greet me.”
“Haha, if I went this far for plain greetings, we would have gone bankrupt long ago,” Dominique laughed brightly once more. “So, how about it?”
“Oh, I want to build a good relationship with you as well.”
“That is music in my ears. Our Picks Company’s motto is to always be polite and kind. Please excuse me at this point,” Dominique said, bowed respectfully, and turned around.
Once he got on the carriage that had been waiting for him a few meters away, Mino called out to Chrono.
“Captain, it fine for us t’carry the supplies t’the usual spot?”
“Yep, please do.”
“Alright! Ye lazy bums! Hurry up and get workin’!”
As soon as Mino raised his voice, his subordinates, who had been watching the whole event――the minotaurs led by Horus――approached in groups. The minotaurs easily shouldered the wheat bags and casket, carrying them to the storehouse.
“Hurry up with the carrying. As soon as we’re done, we’ll get a break~”
“…That slacker…,” Mino whispered when Horus crossed in front of him while carrying a casket.
“Now, now, isn’t it fine? He’s got all lively again, hasn’t he?”
“Captain, if ye say such things, he’ll see it as a free pass, though.”
After getting soothed by Chrono, Mino spat out with a sigh, “By the way, yer okay, Captain?”
“I’m troubled with diarrhea, frequent pissing, and insomnia, but otherwise yes.”
Chrono looked up to the sky, sighing. The corners of his sight were dyed yellow. Because of all the training they were doing. In addition to the bad air, the sounds of weapons clashing and angry bellows in the distance only aggravated his feeling of tension by the day. Also――
“It might also be influenced by what I see in the numbers.”
“Is it that bad?”
“Yes,” Chrono passed Mino the board.
For a moment he was worried whether the minotaur would be able to read it, but Mino took the board and flipped through the pages. And then sighed very deeply.
“Lookin’ at it like this, just the supplies for one day are ridiculous.”
“If the Ninth and Twelfth Imperial Knight Order join, the consumption will get even worse,” Chrono sighed lightly.
At present, the First Imperial Knight Order led by Leonhart, the Second Imperial Knight Order led by Taur, eight battalions from various imperial regions, and Chrono’s group were present at the front base. In total, they numbered 10,500 people. If one were to add another 2,000 men to this figure――
“More than 200 bags of wheat will be consumed per day.”
“I feel like it won’t make much of a difference at this point, even if it grows by ’round 20 to 30 more bags. Which reminds me, if we’re goin’ with the main force, who’s gonna transport the supplies t’the front line?”
“Yeah, who. It’d be asking too much for us to keep going back and forth, right?”
“We alone would have our hands full with just transportin’ stuff.”
“Figures. I’ll try to find out later.”
“Please do, Captain,” Mino curtly bowed his head.
“Come to think of it…”
“Is somethin’ the matter?”
“I just remembered that I should thank you. Yesterday you told me that some folks might try to snatch the supplies, didn’t you? Thanks to that, we managed to catch the thieves. Still, for there to be soldiers who try to steal such things…”
“Well, that’s just how soldiers are,” Mino answered Chrono’s murmur with a rather philosophical approach.
It was an approach totally fitting for a veteran.
“By the way, Captain…”
“I think the military operation will start at the beginning of the new year,” Chrono said with his voice lowered.
Mino cast a fleeting glance at his feet, “Captain?”
“First we’re going to leave the primeval forest and head for the main road beyond it. Having chosen to march through the forest is for the sake of not provoking the Free City States. A war on two fronts would be just too pitiful to watch after all. Once we reach the main road, our army will split in main force and detached unit to avoid pincer attacks. The detached unit will be comprised of the Second Imperial Knight Order and one battalion. The main force is going to advance west in order to take the town of Markab.”
“Captain, what I wanted t’say――”
“Of course, Lord Taur will be commanding the detached unit,” interrupted Chrono.
The number of forces in the detached unit would be 2,000――or basically two battalions. Usually one would be uneasy about the detached force only having 2,000 men, but Taur was a veteran warrior with the nickname of Iron Wall. Someone like him should be able to hold back the army of Argo.
“In addition, there’s the issue of provisions for men and horses. The distance from here to Malcab is about four days, but we plan to account for seven days of provisions since it isn’t said we’ll be able to advance at a regular pace. Having said that, just carrying provisions for seven days will already take up close to 200 wagons. Argo seems to have a land full of wetlands, so I guess it’s a relief that we don’t need to worry about water.”
“Captain, what I wanted to ask is ’bout Arided and Deneb.”
“Arided and Deneb?”
“Lord Chrono, we know that you are very angry, but being ignored as bluntly as this is painful.”
“We kinda would like you to show some mercy soon.”
Hearing some voices below his feet, Chrono tilted his line of sight. Down there he found Arided and Deneb kneeling in seiza while having paper signs stating, 『We tried to steal food from the storehouse』, hanging from their necks.
“Have you been properly repenting?”
“Plentifully so. The pebbles biting into my shins are keenly urging me to regret my actions.”
“At first I believed that you were kind for letting us off with nothing but sitting in seiza, but how wrong I had been.”
“It looks like you still have plenty of leeway. I guess I should extend the period until evening.”
“N-No way! An extension until evening will be impossible for us!”
“Our hearts are about to break from being exposed to the scornful looks of the other soldiers, on top of the simple pain from having the pebbles cut into our shins!”
Arided and Deneb protested with teary eyes. Chrono went back and forth in front of the two, wondering whether he should forgive them or not. But then he noticed a stone at his feet. It had the perfect size for a weight stone.
“H-H-He has that aura of being about to say that he’s going to have us hold that stone.”
“Oh noes! If I had known this was going to happen, I kinda would have never thought of trying to steal food.”
“If you are truly reflecting, you should be able to remain in seiza, right? Even if it’s on the bare ground, even if you have to hold a stone, and even if…”
“”And even if?””
The two parroted his last words when Chrono interrupted his own remark.
“Even if it was on top of a heated iron plate that would roast your flesh and scorch your bones.”
“I-I-I-Impossible! I’d die if I ever experienced anything like that!”
“That is nothing but torture! It would have nothing to do with repentance!”
Arided and Deneb embraced each other with tears in their eyes.
“You won’t do it anymore?”
“”Never!!””
Both screamed in reply to his reaffirmation.
“Captain, yer threatenin’ ’em too much.”
“……Well, their reactions are kind of funny.”
“I-I’m bothered by that pause there!”
“I kinda felt terribly afraid of your eyes looking down on us like that.”
The two elves looked at him fearfully when Chrono answered after a while.
“It was a joke. Just a joke.”
“Oh my, were you truly kidding?”
A soft alt voice reached Chrono’s ears. Once he turned around, he found Rio standing there with a smile on her lips.
“Yo, Rio. It’s our first meeting in around a month, isn’t it?”
“What an unfriendly reply. Even though I found it unbearable to not be able to meet you.”
“Captain, who might that be?”
“She’s Countess Rio Cheiron, Captain of the Twelfth Imperial Knight Order.”
“So you’re not going to introduce me as your lover?”
“Wait a sec there, kinda! You introduced her as a woman, but that person is a man!”
“He smells nicely, but he looks just like a guy!”
The two elves pressed Chrono for an answer while Rio looked somewhat sulky about his introduction.
“Nice smell?”
“”Aaaahhh!?””
Once Chrono brought his nose close to Rio’s nape and took a sniff, Arided and Deneb cried out.
“Hmm, you’re right, she smells nice.”
“At the ball, you said that my perfume was too strong, so I got a new one. Though I must admit I hoped you’d have noticed it before the two over there pointed it out.”
Rio cast a fleeting glance at the ground. At the end of her look, Arided and Deneb were on all four, looking as if they had been utterly and completely defeated.
“I-I feel an incredible sense of defeat. But, it’s a fact that I’m losing out in comparison to the luster and color of his hair, and the smoothness of his skin.”
“With that nice smell I ended up feeling like I might be able to accept even losing here. That is a noble for you.”
Both groaned regretfully, looking up to Chrono.
“Why did you kinda make a move on a guy?”
“We kinda would like to request a convincing explanation.”
“Why, you ask…a lot happened.”
“Could you please not give us such an ambiguous explanation!”
“We desire the full account of all details!”
“At the ball, Rion and I――”
“”To the point!””
Arided and Deneb interrupted Chrono, repeatedly striking the ground.
“Got it. If you want me to get to the point…I was assailed by horniness.”
“”You beast!””
The two screamed.
“Even though you said you love Layla in your own way…what an outrageous beast you are!”
“I kinda want you to return my feeling slightly moved!”
The two continued hitting the ground――
“…Captain,” Mino muttered.
Once Chrono turned his eyes in that direction, the minotaur backed off.
No good, I’m being misunderstood here.
“Mino, let’s talk this over.”
“I’m a guy as well, so I can understand yer feelings.”
“Why are you backing off then?”
“T-That’s…”
Mino’s eyes were busily darting around. His look clearly betrayed that he was pondering how to overcome this predicament. Chrono believed that he had to dispel the misunderstanding as soon as possible, but Mino was first to move. His eyes opened suddenly and widely.
“I’ll go to Mr. Clay’s place to take the short course in first-aid-treatment!”
“Wait! Let’s first have a talk!”
“I understand! I totally understand yer feelings, Captain! But, I must complete the short course programme! What, no matter what sexual preference you might have, I’ll never betray ye, Captain! So please allow me to excuse myself at this point!”
“You don’t understand! You don’t understand anything! Minoooo!” Chrono yelled, but Mino ran off to some place while covering his ass with both hands.
“Hihihi, did I make him leave out of consideration?”
“That had nothing to do with consideration.”
Once he looked in her direction, Rio separated from Chrono, throwing her hands in the air as if surrendering.”
“Did I make you angry?”
“No, not really.”
“That’s great to hear. I was afraid that I could have offended you in some way.”
Rio felt relieved, but then pursed her lips as if sulking.
“But, wouldn’t it have been okay for you to mention with a few words that you wanted to see me? Besides, it was quite a shock for you to not have introduced me as your lover.”
“…”
Chrono couldn’t answer at once. Even if he was asked whether they were lover at this stage, he’d find it hard to answer.
“We’re lovers, aren’t we?”
“Rather than lovers, it’d be something close to dating, I’d say?”
“Dating?” Rio asked in return.
Her face betrayed her disappointment.
“Umm, wouldn’t it be just fine to call us lovers, if we’re dating? I mean, the tip of your dick has already entered me.”
“Dick, you say. That sounds quite lewd, doesn’t it?”
“So? How about it?”
“Rio, could you stop asking me things while clasping the hilt of your sword?”
She was cutely tilting her head, but her hand was tightly clenching the hilt.
“How about it?” Rio asked once again.
To begin with, Chrono thought that it might be fine to have her as a lover. Rio was a charming woman, and there was no reason to turn her down to the extent of losing his own life.
“Okay, then let us say that we’re officially going out with each other starting from today.”
“Oh, nice. It means I can still be together with you,” Rio smiled broadly.
Chrono felt uneasy after seeing that smile, but since anything he could say here would only stir up a hornet’s nest, he remained silent.
“Hmm, I agree with the view that dick has a lewd sound, but the atmosphere between them is kinda dangerous.”
“Or rather, it’s difficult to call it peaceful when one party has his hand placed on the hilt of his sword.”
Arided and Deneb muttered amongst each other at a place slightly away from Chrono. Seeing them over there, he wondered just when they had moved.
“But, is it fine?”
“What is?”
“Look, Rio, you’re an old nobility, so won’t you be frowned upon in society?”
“If I worried about such things, I wouldn’t attend balls while wearing a dress.”
“That might be true, but is it really alright?”
“I’m telling you it is, so it is. Hehe,” Rio laughed and folded her arms once more.
Moreover, she entwined her fingers.
As I thought, she feels awkward. I guess my perception of her fingertips trembling hasn’t been my imagination either.
“Your hands are shaking, you know?”
“They’re just trembling from joy over being able to touch my lover.”
Chrono silently scrutinized Rio. For a while, she took on his look directly, but eventually she ran out of endurance and averted her eyes.
“…I’m nervous since I’ve never done anything like this,” Rio mumbled under her breath.
“At any rate, it’s very reassuring to have you with us, Rio.”
“Unfortunately it’ll be impossible for me to stay with you. The Ninth is in charge of supplies after all.”
“Eh?” Chrono yelped in surprise.
“The 9th Imperial Order is in charge of the supplies. Since your group will be acting alongside the main force, we’ll be in charge of resupplying the troops by traveling between the front base, main force, and detached unit.”
“I see. Still you did well to receive the consent of your knights to this.”
“Even I’d love to also be given the chance to obtain war merits I can boast of, you know?” Rio said with exhaustion dyeing her voice.
“Is possibly your delayed arrival――”
“No, it’s not like we argued about the task assignments.” Suddenly Rio brought her lips close to Chrono’s ear, “As a matter of fact, I was told to guard a certain high-class guest.”
“Are you talking about Tilia?”
“No,” Rio blurted out sullenly.
Maybe――
“Did something happen to Tilia?”
“No, nothing,” replied Rio right away.
Chrono could tell from her attitude that something did happen indeed, but he was certain she’d give him the slip, even if he pointed it out.
Having said that, maybe I should try to dig a bit deeper when we’re alone. Well, it’ll probably make her unhappy if I talk about another woman while spending time with her, but――
“Anyway, my delayed arrival came from having to dispute with the Twelfth over the matter of guarding. Since we couldn’t find a solution, no matter how much time passed, I simply ran away since it became too much of a hassle.”
“That’s a lot worse actually.”
“Even without me being present, the geezer will bring it to a close for me. Oh, by the way, geezer refers to the butler working for my family. He retired as knight a long time ago, but when I took the post of captain, I made him return so as to have him serve as my adjutant. He’s one of the few people I trust.”
“Okay, if things work out fine with that, why not. Still, a high-class guest, huh?”
Very likely Rio――the 9th Imperial Order being assigned to supplies isn’t unrelated to that high-class guest either. This whole thing has become really fishy.
“By the way, how much do you know about the war this time around, Chrono?” Rio whispered.
Chrono scanned the vicinity. Arided and Deneb were gone, probably hiding themselves. As such he guessed that it’d be okay to broach that topic now.
“I don’t know anything, but I’m suspecting it’s related to a dispute over imperial succession. If Alfort, the younger half brother of Tilia, achieves some military gains during this war, it will become a possibility to endorse him as next emperor, right? After all, Tilia is sick or something like that.”
“You spell me surprised. You’re a smart guy. So, what are you going to do?” Rio asked, her eyes slightly widened.
“Nothing in particular.”
“Oh? I thought you’d be the first one to go and rescue Her Highness the Princess.”
“Unfortunately I must tell you that I don’t plan to go that far. I can only pray for her safety.”
“No need to worry. She was alright when we fought.”
“You fought?”
“Don’t worry. I made sure to go easy on her,” Rio answered nonchalantly.
“Really? You didn’t gouge out her eyes, tore off her ears, or amputated her limbs?”
“What do you take me for?”
“A yandere who fed her manservant to the beast and chopped up her coworker.”
“Jealous? Hehehe, no need to worry, Chrono. I’m fully devoted to you.”
Rio put some good strength into her arm.
“…Rio.”
“It’s alright. I wouldn’t do anything like cutting off any parts of her body. But, since I couldn’t get her to yield even after I demonstrated my strength…”
“Yes?”
“I told her that you made me your lover. She suffered a terrible shock from that. I think that finally broke her will.”
Rio looked happy, acting as if she had no choice anyway.
In any case, the most important part is Tilia’s safety. But, there’s something that bothers me about this.
“Was anyone else present?”
“Prime Minister Alkor, Count Piske, Chief Court Lady――”
“Ah, that’s enough,” Chrono interrupted her.
“Is it okay to interpret it as all of the empire’s higher ups being in cahoots about this?”
“Indeed, but you don’t need to look so upset about this, do you? We’re lovers, right?”
“Back then we were still at the stage of dating.”
“That means it’s no good, if it’s a relationship of just your tip having entered, huh?”
“…Maybe.”
“I see,” Rio sighed lightly after Chrono agreed with a slight delay.
She feels like being scorned. But, this is how I work and Rio has become the lover of such a guy. I’m sorry, but I have no choice but to get her to give up on me while thinking that she was bitten by a dog.
“By the way, what are your plans after this?”
“Since it looks like the transport of the supplies has finished, I was planning to check on my men. What about you, Rio?”
“I’m going to take a bath. After all, it looks like I’m not very well-received when having dust all over me.”
“A bath? In this cold weather?”
“It’s the perfect temperature for a hot body.”
Rio separated from Chrono, turned around, and left.
※
Chrono walked through the front base, searching for his men. The base itself was huge. The Free City States were just a stone’s throw away and beyond the primeval forest lay Holy Kingdom Argo. The base had been designed to be bog so that it could become a base of operations for counter offensives and hold back any enemy attacks.
The 2nd Imperial Knight Order, which protected this region, served as a pillar of the Empire’s defense. But, that should be something embarrassing for the members of the 2nd Imperial Knight Order, including Taur. The Empire’s defensive strategy was based on a non-aggressive defense policy. They weren’t allowed to attack, and they had to refrain from pursuing fleeing enemies.
There was no doubt about this exposing them to a fairly big amount of stress. And as Chrono kept walking while lost in thoughts about this matter――
“Now listen! We’ve got plenty of other work to do, so we’re going to quickly whip up lunch!”
Chrono heard Shaela’s voice from a nearby building. Once he peered inside he found more than fifty women cooking. The cooks Chrono had brought along amounted to five, including Shaela, so the majority were cooks brought along by the other unit commanders. And yet, Shaela ordered them around without any hesitation.
Probably having noticed Chrono, she approached his location.
She was wearing a long-sleeved outfit with closed buttons reaching all the way up to the base of her throat. She had carelessly tied her hair together. Chrono assumed this to be her own idea of a self-defense policy. However, Chrono got horny from seeing her straggling hair and the constrained chest. He was being allured by her charm and beauty.
“Is something the matter?”
“No, nothing in particular. I’ve simply got some free time so I’m checking what my subordinates are up to.”
“What a worrywart you are. Wouldn’t it be fine for you to act boldly as befitting a commander?”
“Walking around calms me down.”
“Ah, okay. That sounds just like you, Lord Chrono,” commented Shaela with a faint smile.
“What about the thing I asked you to prepare?”
“Give me a moment.”
Shaela turned on her heels and headed to a shelf located deeper inside. The cooks followed her with their eyes. They were likely curious about her relationship with Chrono.
After a short time, she brought back some rod-shaped――the portable meal Chrono had asked her to make for him.
“For the time being, I made it as you told me, but I can’t guarantee the taste.”
“As long as it’s edible, it’ll be fine.”
Chrono accepted the meal from her, and put it into his pouch except for one rod. After sniffing it, he nibbled on it.
Hard. Way too hard.
Since he hated the idea of damaging his front teeth, he bit down on it with his molars. As he chewed on it many times over, it became softer, before finally turning edible, but――
“How is it?”
“It’s got a wheat taste, or rather, wheat is its only taste.”
“I mean, I kneaded wheat flour and salt with water.”
“Also, it’s super hard,” groaned Chrono.
Because he couldn’t create canned or bottled food because of the technological limitations of this world, he thought that it might be possible to make something like crackers, but this here was more like a wood stick.
“And here I thought it’d be a great idea as a backup plan.”
“So, what are you planning with that?”
“Well, it’s good enough as a makeshift portable meal. Could I get you to make more of these?”
“How many do you need?”
“We need ten rods per day at the least, and since we have to cover four days…20,000.”
“20,000, you say!?”
“No go?”
“Look, I’d love to somehow get it done for you, but…”
Shaela turned her face away, repeatedly glancing his way. Her glances were quite suggestive.
Is she possibly――
“I understand. Please indulge in my pale body to your heart’s content.”
“I haven’t asked anything like that, have I!?” Shaela yelled with her face bright red.
This triggered squeals to become audible from behind her. But, as soon as Shaela cast a glare at them over her shoulder, the cooks resumed their cooking as if nothing happened.
“Sheesh, could you not badmouth me like that?”
“To be honest, I’d like you to become honest about your feelings soon.”
“We’re no animals. What would be the point in me succumbing to my own desires?”
“Excuse me, but even I know that time, location, and occasion play a role. Even right now I’m doing my best to suppress my true feelings.”
“Your true feelings?” Shaela asked, frowning.
“I wanna become a widow’s fuck toy.”
“Are you an idiot or something!?!?” Shaela cried out in response to Chrono spelling out his true desire.
“For you wanting me to vent my sexual desire on you――”
“Huh? I haven’t said anything about wanting to become your fuck toy.”
“D-Don’t tease adults!” Shaela yelled loudly.
Seeing how even her ears had become bright red, Chrono suspected her to be ashamed.
“So, what’s the problem?”
“We lack manpower. The ones from the Erakis March are five, including me. No matter how you put it, 20,000 of those meals with just five people is beyond impossible.”
“Putting it the other way, you could make them if you had enough manpower, right?”
“Well, yes.”
“Then I’ll offer some money. Could you hire people willing the help?”
“It depends on the amount of money. How much can you fork over? Oh, and don’t come up with something silly as paying with your body or some such, okay? Otherwise I’m going to kick you.”
Shaela’s pretty eyebrows were knitted. Noticing that, Chrono knew he had to answer seriously. Especially since he hated the idea of getting kicked.
“How about ten gold in total? If silver coins are okay as well, I’ll pay with silver.”
“That should be plenty,” Shaela nodded, full of satisfaction.
“Let me tell you just in case, but try to lower the price as much as possible, okay?”
“I know. Who do you think I am?”
“the landlady of an inn which she had to relinquish after creating a debt of 100 gold coins.”
“I just loaned it out. It’s not like I relinquished the inn,” she said as if justifying things. After a while, she suddenly looked at Chrono, “Come to think of it, what are you going to call that portable meal?”
“How about hardbread?”
“What a cheap name,” Shaela replied while looking appalled.
What a terrible assessment, even though I actually thought about it seriously.
“In that case, it’s fine for you to come up with a name.”
“Then, rod…hardbread will do.”
She was about to say something else, but went along with Chrono’s idea in the end.
She probably wanted to call it rod bread, but then realized her own bad naming style.
“Oh, by the way, who’s the guy looking our way from over there?”
“Looking our way――gh!”
Once Chrono turned around he gasped. Rio was gazing his way from the shadow of a tree.
※
Chrono walked around the outskirts of the front base, his arm linked with Rio’s. The outskirts consisted of wilderness, but right now they were used as a training ground. Over there, a cavalryman――not an imperial knight since they didn’t wear silver armor――charged on their steed towards a lizardman who had set up his shield.
Both parties clashed with the lizardman being blown away right after. The cavalryman turned the neck of the horse and lifted the helmet’s visor, revealing a slovenly grin.
Anger welled up inside him, but Chrono restrained himself. Something similar was taking place all over the training ground. It was a training that had been officially approved by the battalion commanders and thus it wasn’t Chrono’s place to say anything about it, but――
“What is so enjoyable about using your allies as target dolls?” He spat out.
Only nobles could become cavalrymen. There existed an insurmountable difference between nobles and commoners. But, that didn’t mean nobles were allowed to do whatever they wanted to commoners. Much less so considering they’d be fighting side-by-side with the lizardmen in the near future. Hence Chrono was baffled about the purpose of doing something that would hurt the solidarity of the whole army.
“Can’t you let me hear about it anytime soon?”
“About what?”
“Your relationship with the woman from earlier,” Rio answered while putting strength into her arm.
“She’s a cook I brought with me.”
“Heeh, so you tell your cooks that you want them to become your fuck toys?”
“You heard that?”
“I already told you during the ball, my ears are pretty good.”
“Ugh,” groaned Chrono.
He thought he’d be able to skillfully gloss it over, but it looked like it wouldn’t be that easy.
“Just once I had six goes with her.”
“I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
“I fucked her six times in one night.”
“Hmm, six times in one night….wait, six times?” Rio conversationally agreed while not showing much of an interest, but then suddenly stared his way. “Is that normal?”
“I’d say it’s a lot? After all, it seemed to be her first time to have had six rounds.”
“Six times, huh? I’d be happy if you could hold back on me when we do it.”
“…..”
“Why won’t you answer here?” Rio asked with a somewhat flustered voice when Chrono remained silent.
“I can’t promise you anything.”
“You won’t be gentle with me?”
“Depending on the circumstances.”
“Got it. So, how do you feel about her?”
“You’re awfully curious about all of this, aren’t you?”
“We’re officially dating since today. I’d like to get a grasp on my lover’s sexual relationships with other women.”
“The Landlady…I’d like to make her fully mine someday.”
Rio stared his way once more. Looking as if she had trouble understanding him.
“Chrono, you’re a sleazebag, aren’t you?”
“You fell in love with such a guy, though.”
“Hehe, it’s just that you possess lovable weaknesses,” she laughed happily.
It was around the time when a guy was heading their way when she suddenly looked to the front. His hair was short and he wore silver armor, the proof of an imperial knight. He was as tall as Mino and shouldered a poleax. He glared at Chrono as if he was looking at the murderer of his parents.
He closed the distance and just when Chrono believed they’d bump shoulders at this rate, his arm was suddenly pulled. Of course, the one pulling was Rio.
A bang and clattering could be heard, and once Chrono looked back in a hurry, the man had fallen to his knees. Rio let go of Chrono’s arm and planted herself in front of Chrono as if to cover for him. Green light was swirling in a vortex centered around her index finger. Chrono guessed that she made the guy tumble down with her divine art.
“Are you okay? It’s dangerous if you don’t watch your feet. Or did you fail to look where you’re going because your head was full of running into Chrono?”
“You bastard! Do you intend to mock me!?” The man jumped up in response to Rio’s provocation, and raised his poleax.
A two-meter tall guy raising a poleax overhead did possess an impact. But, the intensity was remarkably inferior compared to Chrono’s foster father. Though this didn’t mean Chrono would be able to win against him――
“Not knowing about me, despite being an imperial knight, is――”
“I do know you, Rio Cheiron,” the man growled with an abysmally low voice.
Probably because of his rage, his face had dyed dark red.
“You’re that disgrace of a man who participated in the ball while wearing a dress.”
“Oh my, no one complained about it, you know?”
“How shameless of you to spout such crap.”
“Well, before any of that…” Rio drew her sword and pointed its point at the man, “a guy, who tried to harass Chrono because he was unable to stop me, has no right to talk all that high and mighty, don’t you think? But well, I’m a nice person, so I’ll forgive you if you prostrate yourself and apologize.”
“Rio, that’s the line of a villain,” Chrono retorted, but he was ignored as if it was natural to do so.
Tilia had asked just how Rio had sneaked into the ball’s venue, but finally that riddle had been solved. It wasn’t all that complicated either. Rio had simply defeated one of the knights of the 2nd Imperial Knight Order guarding the place.
“How impudent! I’ll make that mouth of yours shut up for eternity!”
“You should limit your sleep-talking to the times when you’re in bed.”
“Both of you, calm down,” Chrono called out.
It might have been best if he had wedged himself between both parties, but he had a hunch that he’d end up becoming mince meat in such a case. Just when he wondered whether he’d be forced to witness Rio killing someone――
“Gaul! What are you doing!?”
An angry roar echoed to the three. The voice was so loud that it startled all three. Probably having lost all fighting spirit due to that, Gaul lowered his poleax. Rio also sheathed her sword since she didn’t seem to have any interest in fighting an opponent without any will to fight.
“You can have victory this time.”
“Are you tucking your tail between your legs, running away?”
“――gh!”
Once again a dark red hue colored Goul’s face. But, this time he didn’t go along with the provocation. He turned around and walked away. Next a man in silver armor passed Chrono and Rio with his armor clattering loudly.
“Gaul! Wait! Gaul!” The captain of the 2nd Imperial Knight Order, Taur, yelled loudly, but Gaul didn’t stop.
Taur came to a halt, dropping his shoulders in dejection. Then he walked up to Chrono and Rio, and bowed his head while placing his hands on his knees.
“Lord Rio, please forgive my foolish son.”
“You should have disciplined him a bit better, don’t you think?”
“Rio,” said Chrono while tapping her shoulder.
Even though it was his own fault, it was still a nasty way to phrase it.
“So, the man from before…Mr. Gaul…is your son, huh?”
“Yes, he is my dumb son. He used to be a straight and honest boy in the past, but recently he has started to become quite defiant. I must admit, I am quite envious of Lord Chrod to have been blessed with such a good successor.”
“No, I’m not that great of a son either…,” faltered Chrono.
To be honest, I feel like he’s just misinterpreting it as the grass being greener on the other side of the fence.
“Shouldn’t you be chasing after your son?”
“Yeah, please forgive me once more,” Taur quickly bowed, before running after his son.
※
“Okay, with this――”
“Are you two on inspection?”
A voice reached them from behind. Rio groaned as she turned around. Drawn in by her action, Chrono also turned around, just to spot the captain of the 1st Imperial Knight Order, Leonhart, approaching them. Seeing him wear his silver armor, Chrono guessed that he had just finished his training.
“Why…are you frowning at me?”
“Obviously because you got in the way of our date, no?” Rio wrapped her arm around Chrono’s while looking sullen.
“Hey, wait a sec…Rio.”
“Isn’t it fine for us to act a bit like lovers?” Rio objected with her lips pursed sulkily.
Me assessing that as being cute probably proves what a rotten guy I am. But I wonder what Leonhart thinks about this.
Once Chrono looked at the other guy, Leonhart appeared to be calm. Since he had flagged talks about the evolutionary theory as heresy, Chrono had assessed him as conservative, but――
“Is something the matter?”
“No, nothing――”
“Chrono is worried that you might complain in some way, Sir Leonhart.”
“No way. I would never get in the way of other people’s romances. I don’t want to get kicked by a horse after all. Hahaha,” Leonhart laughed brightly.
“Are you training?”
“Yea, we got joint training with the Second.”
“So, how’s the state of your old home?”
“They have become much stronger compared to the time when I still belonged to the Second. Their morale being high before battles might also play a role in this, but Sir Taur’s tactics have become even more clever. This is a key factor.”
“That’s just proof of you getting older.”
“I don’t think I’m at an age to be treated as an old man.”
Leonhart smiled wryly at Rio’s remark. Suddenly Crono recalled the scene of a lizardman being blown away. He felt like Leonhart could deal with that matter for him, if he asked.
“…Sir Leonhart.”
“What is it?”
“Earlier a cavalryman blew away a lizardman on the training ground. Could you have them stop doing that? We must fight together very soon, so I doubt it’s the right time to do a practice that kills any team spirit.”
“Hmm, I see,” Leonhart folded his arms and turned his eyes to the training ground.
The same scenes as the one mentioned by Chrono were repeating themselves over there.
“I understand. I’ll notify them to have the men stop any practice that would use our allies as targets.”
“Thank you,” Chrono bowed his head.
To be honest, I’d like him to stop it right away. But, if he did that without listening to the other side, it’d just buy him the animosity of the soldiers. I cannot afford to trouble him over this.
“No, don’t mind it. If you notice anything else, I’d like you to inform me right away. I can’t deal with everything, but I promise that I’ll listen to as many of your opinions as possible.”
“…”
Chrono silently stared at Leonhart.
“Is something wrong, Lord Chrono?”
“Somehow I just felt like I cannot match you.”
“I’m not the kind of person you imagine me to be. My maid Lyra keeps telling me that I’m no good. Moreover, I cannot listen adequately to my subordinates unless I put in great effort. Then again, I’m older than you, so I’d clearly lose face if I couldn’t get you to think of me as being beyond your power,” Leonhart lightly shrugged his shoulders.
That gesture was strangely cool.
“Anyway, I’ll excuse myself before I get kicked by a horse.”
“Good work.”
“Take care.”
“You guys as well.”
Leonhart left with those words. After a short time, Chrono spoke up.
“Sir Leonhart sure is an outstanding man. He’s definitely in the top rankings among the nobles I met so far.”
“You think so? To me he looks apathetic to everything and anything, though.”
Chrono reflexively stared at Rio.
“Something wrong?”
“That’s a harsh opinion, considering he’s your friend.
“We’re colleagues. Though on close terms, I guess,” Rio revealed a cynical smile, before suddenly pulling on Chrono’s army.
“Alright, where are we going next?”
“Over there,” Chrono pointed at the next destination.
Something like a crowd of people had gathered over there.
※
Where Chrono and Rio arrived, Chrono’s men had formed a circle with Mino and Clay in the middle. Arided and Deneb had blended in among the crowd, too.
“What are they doing?” Rio whispered.
“It’s a short course for emergency aid.” Chrono whispered back.
“It’s about dealing with injuries…”
Clay was kneeling next to Mino, extending a hand to a canteen. He opened its lid and sprinkled the water on Mino’s forearm.
“First you must clean the wound with water. If you don’t do this, the wound will fester. Next…”
Clay closed the canteen’s lid, and thrust a hand into his pouch. That he took out from within was a cloth. Clay folded it thoroughly and pressed it against Mino’s forearm.
“Please suppress the wound with a cloth.”
“Sir Doctor!” Leo raised a hand after having listened to the explanation at the very front row.
“What is it?”
“Don’t you tie a place closer to the heart than the wound when someone gets injured?”
“That is also effective, but in that case, you’ll interrupt the blood flow, causing the wound to decay.”
Chrono’s men stirred as they had apparently suffered a shock from Clay’s explanation.
“For this reason, you should first try to stop the bleeding with this pressure method. If the bleeding doesn’t stop with that――”
“I see. So you’re saying you only tie it like that when prioritizing survival.”
“Yes, indeed,” Clay agreed.
“Once the bleeding stopped, leave the cloth just like that and bind the affected part with a bandage.”
Clay wrapped Mino’s forearm in bandages with practiced movements, and stood up.
“Okay, now let’s have you guys try the same by forming teams of two. If anyone is left over, please tell me.”
“Okay!” Chrono’s men answered, starting to train emergency aid.
All of them were very serious about this. As Chrono watched them go at it with a satisfied look, Clay drew closer to them.
“…Lord Chrono.”
“Good work. How’s the course going? Is everyone taking it serious?”
“Yes, thanks to that, the course makes good progress,” Clay answered with a formal expression and tone.
He was like a different man, compared to the time when Chrono met him in the hospital first.
“Sir Doctor!”
“Excuse me, Lord Chrono…”
Clay revealed an apologetic expression upon Leo’s call.
“Please take care of it.”
“You can count on me.”
Saying that, Clay headed over to Leo.
“Why are they doing something like this?”
“It stems from the time when Argo invaded us…”
“Your first campaign, right?”
“We barely managed to repel the enemy, but our losses were heavy,” sighed Chrono.
He felt depressed whenever he remembered that battle.
“So that’s why emergency treatment, huh?”
“If they’re methods properly taught by a doctor, it should change the outcome in the field.”
“I think it’s a good idea. You have to do everything you can.”
“Thanks.”
Once he thanked her, Rio looked dumbfounded.
“I worry that I’ll become satisfied with the outcome, if told that it’s a great idea by a Knight Order leader.”
“Chrono, you’re too much of a worrywart.”
Rio answered, looking appalled.
※
No sooner than Chrono and Rio returned to the front base, a horse rushed into the camp at high speed. The one riding it was a woman in a white uniform. Her long, blond hair was tied on either side of her head. Chrono thought she might keep galloping towards them just like that, but she actually turned her horses head around, getting further away from Chrono and Rio again.
“How dangerous. What does she plan to do if she runs someone over like that?”
“That’s Cecily Hamal of the Twelfth.”
“An acquaintance of yours?”
“Her big brother is the captain of the Fifth. Because of that, I’ve met her several times.”
“Hmm,” Chrono agreed conversationally.
It’d be one thing if she was a knight order’s captain, but this woman was a regular knight. He suspected he wouldn’t have much to do with her.
The woman, Cecily, stopped her horse and raised her voice, “His Highness Alfort is going to appear any moment! All of you, on your knees!”
“Chrono, go down on your knees.”
“Yeah, I know.”
Urged by Rio, Chrono knelt down.
“Is it okay to not lower my head?”
“You’re a noble, so no need for that.”
After a short time, a file of cavalrymen entered the front base. But, His Highness Alfort was nowhere to be found. Just when Chrono got tired of it as his knees had started to hurt, a box-shaped carriage came into sight. It was a gorgeous vehicle that was drawn by eight horses.
The carriage slowly lowered its speed and came to a halt before long.
A man dismounted his horse. He had a medium build and a handlebar mustache. As if having arranged it in advance, the other riders followed his example, dismounting their horses as well. The bearded man proudly walked up to the carriage and opened its door.
Hearing a cackling next to him, Chrono looked at Rio, just to find her looking downwards with her shoulders trembling repeatedly. He didn’t know what was so funny about all of this, but it seemed to be a laughable spectacle in her eyes.
Once he shifted his eyes back to the carriage again, a boy was just in the process of carefully climbing off. He wore a uniform-styled outfit, but it had much more decor than the uniforms of imperial knights. Chrono guessed that boy to be Alfort.
Taking the lead, the bearded man started to walk and Alfort followed him. Suddenly a horse neighed, causing Alfort to cower. Snickers could be heard from all around. And most likely out of embarrassment, Alfort’s cheeks dyed crimson. However, the bearded man walked on as if nothing happened. Before long the uneven pair disappeared inside a pompous building.
Chrono stood up and offered his hand to Rio. She smiled shyly, accepted his hand, and got up.
Suddenly he recalled a certain matter, “Which reminds me, why did you laugh back there?”
“Yeah well, I couldn’t help laughter welling up in me when I saw Count Piske.”
“You mean the guy with the handlebar mustache?”
“Yep. Count Beltil Piske. He’s the captain of the Twelfth and a Deputy Army Corps Commander.”
“Hoh, so that guy used to be Fay’s boss. You think I should greet him, just in case?”
“If you want to do that, go for it, but I think you’d better not do it.”
“Why?”
“Going by the light investigation I did, it seems like Fay’s transfer wasn’t without problems.”
“Indeed. But, you did well to find out about Fay.”
“If you do your job seriously, you’ll catch wind of at least that much.”
“Hmm, so that’s how it is.”
While agreeing here, he felt a sense of impending danger in his chest. So far he’d simply thought that the people with keen ears around him were many, but now he started to feel like he might be the only being left out of the loop in regards to information.
“By the way, what sort of work do you…or rather, the Ninth Imperial Knight Order do?”
“Our key job is to guard Castle Alfirk.”
“Castle guards, huh? Is it something like you taking command during battle?”
“I leave the command to the geezer while coming out on-site. The right person in the right place, basically.”
“The right person in the right place is…”
…important, Chrono kept that last part to himself.
“Why did you fall silent all of a sudden?”
“I was just wondering what sort of work you’re usually doing.”
“Didn’t I just say I come out on-site?”
“I meant in detail.”
“Usually I randomly loiter around in the castle. Sometimes I also have a chat with Lady Farna.”
“Farna?”
“The mother of His Highness Alfort and the concubine of the late emperor. She also works as Chief Court Lady, though,” explained Rio briefly.
“So you had a friend as well, huh?”
“You sure don’t hold back on saying rude things. But, well, I guess you could call her that.”
Rio was looking rather sullen, but her expression immediately softened down. Putting aside Farna’s matter, Chrono felt like he managed to guess the reason why Rio was such a well-informed insider.
“You’re eavesdropping while using your work as an excuse, aren’t you?”
“I enjoy hearing about the scandals of others. It’s my greatest entertainment.”
“You’re free to enjoy that on a personal level, but――”
“How unexpected. You’re not blaming me for it or anything,” Rio giggled.
“Is something the matter?”
“The old man has arrived.”
Saying that, Rio looked back over her shoulder. Lured in by that, Chrono looked behind her. Just to spot a cavalry unit led by a bearded man to approach them. He guessed the man to be around the same age as his foster father. The white beard covering his mouth made him look like a dandy.
“See you later.”
“Okay, see you.”
Rio headed over to the men while lightly waving a hand.
※
At night Chrono was slurping his soup, before breathing out in relief. His dinner consisted of sausages, bread, and a hearty soup. Staring at a bonfire, he narrowed his eyes.
“Watching a bonfire does give one a peace of mind~”
“Captain, yer not goin’ to eat over there?”
“Ugh, don’t pull me back down into the quagmire of reality,” Chrono groaned in response to Mino’s question.
By the way, ‘over there’ referred to the mess hall for officers.
“Did something happen?”
“I feel uncomfortable over there,” Chrono mumbled under his breath.
He thought he’d be able to eat his food calmly if Rio, Leonhart, and Taur were with him, but unfortunately those three were dining at the mess hall for knight captains.
“I did my best, but I was openly being ignored. And just when I thought someone would talk to me, they showered me with sarcasm…it didn’t look like I’d find any new friends there.”
“That’s, well, inevitable, I’d say.”
“Forgive me. For our worthless superiors.”
Chrono slurped his soup in dejection. And as he did, he was offered sausages from his sides.
“It’s kinda a present for you, who’s being depressed.”
“It’s not like we’re checking your mood or anything.”
“Thanks, Arided, Deneb.”
“Guh!”
He thanked Arided first, and then Deneb. Thereupon, Arided groaned regretfully.
“Ugh, there’s a clear distinction being made here.”
“No need to feel so vexed about it.”
“Many dramatic events, which would make the narrator and listeners tear up, were kinda necessary for us to build up this style.”
“That’s a rather short explanation, isn’t it?”
“That’s…a lot kinda happened.”
“Yes, a lot happened.”
With those words, Arided and Deneb bit into their sausages.
“Weren’t ye goin’ to give those to Captain?”
“It’s become unnecessary since Lord Chrono has already cheered up.”
“Rather, now it’s us who are down in the slumps.”
The two elves pursed their lips sulkily in response to Mino’s comment.
It looks like I hurt their feelings, and while it’d also be okay to leave them alone…
“I’ll give you two something nice.”
“”What! What is it?! Tell us kinda!””
Both drew close, being all smiles. Chrono retrieved two pieces of hard bread out of his pouch.
“”What are those?””
“Portable provisions with the name Hard Bread.”
“Ahaha, excuse me.”
“But, this sort of consideration kinda earns high points with me.”
Both accepted the bread and put it into their mouths. For a short while you could hear crunching. Elven biting force appeared to be superior to that of humans. In the blink of an eye, the twins crunched the bread apart and swallowed it.
“How did it taste?”
“It was kinda quite tasty.”
“Kinda a fresh food texture.”
I guess it’ll be no problem if elves can eat it. Well, since it’s basically emergency rations, the best would be if we don’t need to use them at all though――
Chrono let his eyes wander. Leo was silently staring at his soup. Taiga did the same. Both were feline beastmen, so Chrono assumed they disliked hot food. Horus had already finished his meal. Apparently having become sleepy from filling his stomach, he was frequently blinking his eyes. Lizad was quietly eating his food. Now that it had become evening, the temperature had fallen, but he seemed to be still going strong, probably because he was close to a bonfire.
Chrono looked up to the sky. The moon was shining. Suddenly, a worry whether he’d be able to return to the Erakis March without losing anyone welled up in him. He persuaded himself that it’d work out fine. The weapons and armor were brand new. Their team work was decent. For these reasons, things should be alright.
※
After finishing dinner, Chrono went back to his own lodging house. The furniture there was kept to a minimum, but since it was a detached house, he felt at ease with not being fussed over.
“Yo, you’re late. I thought I might as well go to sleep soon.”
“…Rio.”
Chrono groaned because Rio was lying sprawled on his bed. Moreover, her clothes were scattered in a straight line, leading from where Chrono was standing to the bed. After picking up all the pieces of clothes Rio had flung off, he placed them on the table in the center of the room.
Then Chrono took off his uniform, leaving him standing there with just his underwear. He wasn’t embarrassed about this outfit since he usually slept just like that.
Once he walked up to the bed, Rio flashed a coquettish smile at him, tightly hugging a blanket.
“Hehe, are you interested in what you’ll find below this?”
“You’re naked, right?”
“Wouldn’t it be fine for you to act at least slightly embarrassed?” Rio pursed her lips in apparent displeasure.
“Yeah, yeah. There’s no space for me to sleep there, so I’ll lean against the edge.”
“What, we’re not going to do it?”
“Recently my health hasn’t been the best. Or to be very blunt: my sexual desire has sharply decreased.”
“Can’t you do something about that?”
“Hmm, I’ve never experienced a situation like this.”
“In that case, I’ll――”
“No, thanks!”
Rio clicked her tongue cutely, before moving to the edge of the bed. Chrono turned the blanket over and quickly returned it to its previous state. His heart had thumped after seeing the pretty, white back line.
“Is something wrong?”
“No, it’s nothing. Oh, turn your back on me. Otherwise I’ll feel myself to be in danger.”
“That’s a mean way to put it.”
Rio turned over and Chrono quietly got in the bed. Thanks to Rio having laid there, the blanket was somewhat warm. Besides, it smelled nice.
“…Chrono, you’re breathing like a beast, you know?”
“Isn’t that just your imagination?”
Chrono restlessly stirred. He gently put an arm around her from behind, causing Rio to tremble with a start. Her body was lean and toned, as you’d expect from someone training regularly. But, if you were to ask whether it was a hard body, the answer would be no. It was plenty soft where it needed to be and its skin was smooth.
“Chrono, it’s pressing against me, you know?”
“…”
He didn’t answer. Certainly, as she had pointed out, his dick had regained some of its fervor.
“You said your sexual desire has decreased, didn’t you?”
“…”
In the end, he didn’t answer. Rio squirmed away from him. But she quickly stopped. After all, the bed was placed next to a wall. When Chrono got up, Rio’s body trembled a second time. Fear was dyeing her eyes. You could say this or that about her, but Rio was a well-bred lady. It was only reasonable for her to lose her cool at the last moment. Chrono lifted one of Rio’s legs while making her lie on the side.
“Ah, Chrono, won’t you let me get mentally ready for this? I still need some time…”
“I feel like you’re set perfectly.”
“――gh!”
Once Chrono pointed out the truth, Rio’s skin dyed red, probably out of shame. She had likely judged that she had no escape routes left anymore. Rio closed her eyes as if having resolved herself for the worst. And then――
“At least, take it eas――――ugh!”
Rio squealed loudly. Chrono had thrust his dick inside her. In the next instant, Rio bent back. It was a reaction as if she had climaxed.
No, I suppose she actually did cum.
He cast a fleeting glance at her nether region. He got the impression that she was barely holding back. Just then, his sadistic urges came out. Rio tried to get away from the smiling Chrono. But he had no intention to let her go.
With her waist in a hold, she used sheer strength to break free. She looked like a cat in that regard.
“Chrono, gentler――”
“Sorry,” apologized Chrono.
With every new, rough thrust, Rio bent backwards as if having her spine broken. With her breathing going wild, she moaned hoarsely.
Chrono, who wondered how long she’d manage to last, started to move his waist while smiling.
※
“Now then, I wonder whether everyone knows about jelly strips as food. Jelly strips are made by heating seaweed until it dissolves and then letting it harden into a jelly-like texture. Even those who have never eaten it might have seen videos where the jelly dish is being squeezed out of a quadratic prism container with a pusher. In other words――”
“Chrono, what are you mumbling to yourself?”
“Basically, I’m recounting what happened between you and me.”
Chrono sighed lightly before folding the bed sheet, now stained with bodily fluids, and placing it on the floor. Once he looked in the bed’s direction, Rio was sitting next to it. No, it would probably be more accurate to say that she had flopped down there because her waist gave in. Rio was panting heavily but seductively.
“That was incredible. I thought I would be going crazy there.”
“Yes, it was certainly an incredible amount.”
Chrono sighed very deeply.
It’s as if a dam burst. Well no, I guess that goes too far, but it’s a fact that it was a quantity going well beyond expectations.
“Do you always shoot out that much?”
“No way, this time was a first for me. To make matters worse, I can’t get any strength into my legs and waist either.”
Saying that, Rio tried to get up by propping herself up on the bed. Her trying to get up with her body trembling as if she had just been born excited Chrono. Chrono quickly walked up and touched her. In response, her body trembled with a start.
“……Chrono, why are you grabbing my waist?”
“……”
“Chrono, I’m tired. You can tell, can’t you?”
“……”
Chrono didn’t answer, merely breathing roughly.
“Could you answer in some way? I’m getting scared here, okay?”
“Sorry.”
“That’s no――aahh!”
Rio almost fell back down again, but she couldn’t.
“Acting like that even though you released so much…you’re a bad girl.”
“Chrono, spare me.”
“Sorry,” he apologized once more.
Once he started to move, Rio immediately began to moan. With her whole demeanor being so adorable, he had no other option but to screw her violently.
※
Wagons packed with provisions passed in front of him. Igniz sighed gloomily while watching the steady stream of goods being carried into the town of Markab. It was encouraging to see that they had managed to gather the necessary supplies faster than expected. But, because of that speed, he could tell that the supplies had been obtained with methods close to plundering. He fully understood. ‘If only we could have dispatched our troops quicker,’ Igniz bit down on his lip.
Half a month ago they received a report about disturbing movements within Cepheus. King Magnus had summoned the five great priests and his six generals, including Igniz, and consulted with them about possible countermeasures. Even now Igniz still felt enraged about the five great priests being invited to a war council, but what pissed him off even more was how the great priestess of the jet-black temple hadn’t answered that call.
That old hag served as great priestess since the dawn of the kingdom. In short, she was the kingdom’s walking encyclopedia. No one would slight her words. And at the very least she possessed a voice influential enough that few would dare to laugh it off. And yet, she didn’t answer the call. She didn’t do what she was capable of, and that caused Igniz to get angry at her.
However, if he’d mention any of this to her, she’d only laugh at him, telling him, “It’s ridiculous for you, who is such a stickler when it comes to separating worldly and religious matters in statehood, to rely on me. As if I’d care about the current situation. If you say you want me to help you, I will do it, but it’d only make your principle-driven argumentation a bad joke.”
Whatever the case, Igniz had to accept reality. Igniz pushed down his anger and appealed to dispatch troops to the border. General Aqua and General Ventus, old friends of his, agreed with that notion, but the remaining three generals and the five great priests were against it. Their reason being that it was yet too early to adopt such a measure.
Of course, Igniz didn’t back down. It’d take time to move the army, and if they wasted time now, the kingdom would be in danger of being overrun. And that was something her couldn’t approve of.
Thereupon, the opposing camp suggested that even a small force would be able to repel the enemy if they used the terrain skillfully, insisting that their army was quite capable of pulling off the same feat Cepheus had performed during previous hostilities.
Igniz felt dizzy from their exceedingly optimistic way of thinking.
What allowed Cepheus to withstand our attack were the demi-humans who excel humans in ability. Their commander’s role in this played a big role, too. If the difference in military strength is tenfold, soldiers will be seized by fear. It won’t be strange for them to desert during the battle, too. And yet, the enemy commander made the soldiers fight. He was able to rally their fighting spirit. And not just that. He formed a detached unit and had them attack our headquarters. Just what sort of brutal fight must that have been?
Igniz had only seen the traces after the battle, but he got a rough idea from those. The enemy was prepared for death and fought like death soldiers.
Does this country have a commander who could make our soldiers carry out something like that?
In the end, this caused the troop dispatch to be decided too late.
Sooner or later, the imperial army should target Markab and start advancing towards it. As long as we have provisions and a prospect for reinforcements, we’ll be able to hold out, but――
“Your subordinates still haven’t arrived?”
“I will send a runner for them right away, Sir Commander,” Igniz answered to the man, who had addressed him with an irritated tone, while pretending to be calm.
In response, the man shouted, “I told you to address me as Official of Divinities, didn’t I?!?” 1
“Oh, forgive me then, Sir Official of Divinities.”
Igniz apologized for form’s sake to the hysterically screaming cleric. The Official of Divinities was the commander of this time’s military operation. Igniz didn’t know his name because he had told him to be called Official of Divinities without bothering to introduce himself. The priest slighted the name he received from his parents while cherishing his post at the temple, causing Igniz to wonder whether anyone would really want to butter up the temple to such a degree.
However, considering his success in life, he might have been right about this. After all, the Official of Divinities has been assigned as commander in spite of not having any military experience.
“I would like you to expect that my subordinates will need at least two more weeks to arrive here.”
“Why are they so slow!?”
“At present, only 1000 of my men and 3000 of yours can be moved,” Igniz answered indifferently, swallowing down the comment that all of this was owed to him and his people being a nuisance.
But, the official probably perceived the unspoken stab. One of his eyebrows shot up. However, this time he didn’t kick up a fuss.
“What sort of strategy do you plan to use, Sir Official of Divinities?”
“What, you can’t even tell something so simple?”
The official snorted in obvious contempt.
Very likely he’s planning to face the imperial army at the bottleneck situated near Markab. That place is flanked by steep hills on both sides of the road. If you take good positions, you can attack an enemy from three sides. But――
“We will meet the imperial army in the hilly area located in the middle between Markab and the border fortress. If we attack them while cooperating with the guard unit stationed at the fortress, we won’t have anything to fear from the imperial dogs.”
“Sir Official of Divinities, please reconsider,” Igniz squeezed out while feeling dizziness assailing him.
The official’s plan wasn’t that bad. Except for it assuming that the enemy hadn’t done any preparations whatsoever.
“Humph, and here I was wondering what you would say. General Igniz, you do not understand?”
“What do I not understand?”
“Our piety. The commander of the fortress is a pious priest of the god ruling over pure-white order. The imperial army will soon realize our strong belief.”
“…Please reconsider.”
“Give it a rest! I have been appointed as commander by His Majesty the King!” The official screamed hysterically once more. “Besides, I have another plan at hand.”
“What sort of?”
“We’re going to assemble the farmers of the nearby villages! I think we’ll be able to only scrape together around 2,000 of them, but they’ll serve as a nice military force! If we use 6,000 soldiers and our belief, we’ll be able to easily repel the likes of imperial scum! Hihihihi,” the official chuckled.
It caused people――the wagon drivers――to look at him. Probably noticing that, the official stopped laughing and wiped his mouth with a handkerchief.
“Well then, I’m going to supervise the work. You do…whatever you want.”
“As you command.”
Igniz turned around and left. Otherwise he might have ended up punching the official.
What’s the point in gathering farmers who haven’t gone through any sort of military drill? Even if we manage to repel the imperial army, this region will fall to ruin after losing 2,000 male workers. But, right now I have to focus on the imperial army.
While walking, he considered various ways to win, but nothing good came to mind. But that was only reasonable since he wouldn’t have been bogged down with the stigma of a losing general if he could come up with ingenious ideas on the spot.
“Maybe I should try to switch my way of thinking.”
“Hoh, did you come up with a good idea?”
When he muttered to himself, he heard a smooth, female voice. It was strangely loud and clear despite all the hustle and bustle around Igniz. Once he looked in the direction of its origin after clicking his tongue, he spotted the old hag dead drunk at a bar.
“Damn hag! What have you been doing!?” Igniz yelled loudly, quickly drawing close to her.
“No need to raise your voice so much. You’ll just scare the other guests.”
“You’re the only guest here.”
“Hmm? Oh, they’ve all gone away without me noticing, huh?” The old woman tilted her head after surveying the bar.
“As if I’d know! Since when are you drinking here anyway!? Why didn’t you attend the war council!?”
“I’ll start crying if you yell so much.”
“Tsk,” Igniz clicked his tongue. “So, why didn’t you attend the meeting?”
“I haven’t been invited. That’s why.”
“There’s no way――no, wait, don’t tell me…”
“See, you got an idea, right? And intruding upon a meeting uninvited would be…well…”
The great priest of the pure-white temple, Albus, crossed Igniz’s mind. It was after that devastating personnel selection of a priest hailing from the pure-white temple as a commander. Igniz wouldn’t find it strange at all, if that man had manipulated things behind the scenes to keep the hag away from the war council.
“You’re utterly useless when it comes to matters unrelated to fighting, aren’t you?”
“But, you should have known about the meeting and possible schemes, hag.”
“I was visiting the elven village, so it’d have been impossible for me to attend anyway.”
“You scouting…no way, haha,” Igniz laughed away his own thought.
He couldn’t believe that the old hag would scout for him or anyone else.
“Quite a casual stab at my feelings, wasn’t that?”
“Why did you go to the elven village?”
“I advised them to take refuge since the imperial army would pass nearby.”
“Going out of your way for something so pointless…” Igniz spat out.
If the elves had a place to run away to, they would have done so long ago. Not having done so means they can choose between staying right there or dying a dog’s death at the roadside.
“It’s in their nature. Around ten years ago several elven villages existed in that area, but they’ve been mostly scattered after having their houses burned by the royal army.”
“It’s my first time to hear about those villages.”
“Well, that makes sense. You’re a man who doesn’t bend his character.”
“If they wanted to kill the elves, they might as well have forced them to fight the empire,” Igniz snarled.
The imperial army’s elves were fearsome enemies for their high skill at archery and magic, but the kingdom’s elves were helpless beings. Igniz asked himself about the point of killing such people.
“By the way, what about the elves in your territory?”
“No clue. I don’t have any interest in things like that.”
He knew that his own territory also housed an elven village, but he didn’t actively contact them. And he had no plans to change that stance either. Of course, he didn’t plan to persecute them, though. He had sworn himself to not do anything that would buy him the animosity and scorn of the hag.
“What do you plan to do next?”
“I’ll drink my booze over here.”
“We’re in an emergency.”
“You’re free to have your little battles, but I help people without choosing sides.”
“What’s the idea behind helping the enemy?”
“Their life is as good as yours,” she retorted as if it was natural.
If he had been a believer of the goddess ruling over jet-black chaos, he might have felt deeply impressed by her words. But, Igniz only felt chills from that remark because he interpreted it as being told that all life was equally worthless.
“Hag, I’m going to change this country.”
“Is that so? Good for you. It’s your life, so do with it what you want,” she answered before gulping down her wine.
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Translation Notes:
- This one is a bit difficult to localize since it stems from the Department of Worships/Department of Divinities, both state institutions of old Japan where Shinto priests worked on matters related to religion. In the West, the church got its legitimation by crowning the kings/emperors and of course acting as political party / state religion, but I’m not aware of any departments that were integrated into the state systems.