Finally, five days after construction began, a fort stood atop Heine’s Hill. It was far from a perfect structure, but it was far beyond what anyone could have expected from a five-day creation. Rietz, judging the fort to be complete enough for the operation’s purposes, sent word to Fort Coumeire: the fort was ready, and it was time to bring in the airship.
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I stood by in Fort Coumeire, waiting for word to arrive from Rietz’s division. He’d sent a number of messages to me so far, informing me that the enemy had set up an encampment in a place called Klax’s Hill, but that since it wasn’t worth dealing with, he’d be ignoring them and continuing with his fort’s construction.
Rosell backed up Rietz’s judgment. According to him, as long as we used the airship well enough, the enemy forces on Klax’s Hill weren’t any cause for concern. The flip side, however, was that if the airship ended up being inoperable for whatever reason, they had the potential to turn into a much bigger headache for us.
Finally, word arrived from Rietz that the fort was complete.
“It’s time─let’s get this airship over to the fort! I’m counting on you to keep it safe,” I said to Braham.
“Understood! Just leave it to me,” Braham enthusiastically replied.
Braham’s unit of elite soldiers and the Shadows would be in charge of the airship’s transportation. I would be accompanying them as well, along with Rosell. Leading my troops into battle when they went out to capture Fort Purledo felt like my responsibility as the head of House Louvent, and it was a responsibility I intended to fulfill.
That meant, of course, that there would be two prime targets in the convoy: the airship and the enemy commander, which is to say, me. Protecting both of us at once would be a challenge, but traveling separately felt risky in its own right, so I decided to make just the one single trip. I was confident that the Shadows and Braham’s people would be more than capable of keeping both me and the ship safe.
Shin would be traveling with us as well, since we needed him to fly the airship. He wasn’t one of my retainers in a formal capacity and had no obligation to go into battle, but for lack of any other options, I’d asked for him to be present and he’d agreed. It wasn’t a fully one-sided arrangement─from Shin’s perspective, if the airship achieved great things in battle, Couran would be that much more likely to invest in its further development.
Shin had practically jumped at the opportunity to help out, in fact…but it was also his very first battle, and I could tell that he was pretty nervous now that the time had come. I couldn’t blame him. If the operation went south and he crash landed in enemy territory, then even if his elaborate wind magic systems cushioned his fall, he’d be cut to pieces by Seitzan soldiers the moment he touched down. I was a little worried that his nerves would keep him from flying properly, but I’d already asked him to take on the job, so now I just had to have faith in his abilities.
“All right─start preparing the airship for transit!”
I gave the order, and my soldiers got to work at once.
The preparations carried on throughout the day, and soon, night fell. We set out with the airship the following morning.
“I suppose it will be some time before we see each other again,” said Licia, a look of concern upon her face. She had accompanied me to Fort Coumeire, but I’d drawn the line at bringing her any farther than that.
There was no telling how long the battle for Fort Purledo would last, so assuming it would be quite a while before we’d meet again seemed like a safe bet. I could only imagine how much concern those circumstances would cause her until we were reunited.
“I know you’ll be worried about me one way or another…but still, I promise I’ll be back,” I said.
“Yes…and I’ll be waiting for you,” Licia replied. “I assure you that House Louvent will be in good hands in your absence.”
“Good. I’m counting on you.”
While Rietz and I were gone, Licia would be in charge of the castle. She was a smart and capable leader, so I knew that everything would be just fine with her watching over the home front. Finally, we finished our conversation with a gentle kiss.
I had no intention of dying and leaving Licia behind. I would finish the war as quickly as possible, and return to Canarre safe and sound. I swore to myself that I would make it happen.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” I said when it came time for us to part.
“I know you will,” Licia replied.
It almost looked like she’d started to cry, but I knew that if I turned around to look, I’d be tempted to go right back to her and stay by her side. That’s why I kept my eyes forward, never glancing back as I sallied forth from Fort Coumeire.
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Meanwhile, in Fort Purledo…
“What? They’ve already raised a fort on Heine’s Hill…?” Barth, the Count of Purledo, exclaimed with disbelief. One of his retainers had just reported to him regarding his enemies’ movements.
The fort wasn’t complete, strictly speaking, but from an outside perspective it looked like a full-featured, well-fortified stronghold. Barth had been aware that Canarre would employ someone well-versed in the art of construction, but he still hadn’t thought that they would be able to finish their work quite this fast.
“Wh-What about Klax’s Hill? Is our camp there holding strong?” Barth asked, fighting through his shock to confirm the state of his own army.