“Incidentally, I’m to understand that your airship played a part in the conquest of this fort. Will you show it to me?” asked Couran.
“Of course,” I replied.
I escorted Couran to the area where we were keeping the airship.
“So this is the vessel that’s accomplished so much,” Couran marveled as he admired the airship. “So it’s true? It truly does fly?”
“It does, yes,” I said.
“Would a demonstration be possible, perhaps?”
“Takeoffs and landings both pose a degree of risk, I’m afraid,” I said, going on to describe the flaming arrow incident.
“I see. Indeed─it would be best to keep it grounded until battle necessitates its launch. Instead, explain to me what it’s capable of, and spare no detail.”
“Certainly, Your Majesty. However, I believe there’s someone else who would be more prepared to offer an explanation than I am,” I said before calling Shin over to join us. “This man’s name is Shin Seimallo. He’s the inventor responsible for the airship’s creation.”
“Oh, really? So we have you to thank for this remarkable creation?” asked Couran.
“Y-Yes, umm… H-Hello!” Shin timidly squeaked out in reply. He’d never met Couran before, and I didn’t get the impression he knew who he was, but between the deference I was showing him and Couran’s regal bearing, it seemed Shin had at least reached the conclusion that he was someone important.
“H-Hey, who’s the new guy?” Shin whispered into my ear the moment he found an opening. I whispered back, informing him that he was Couran, the King of Missian. “K-King Couran?! Th-Thank you for taking the time to visit us, Your Majesty!” he sputtered. Clearly, knowing who he was dealing with hadn’t done his nerves any favors.
Shin went on to deliver a very halting explanation of the airship’s capabilities.
“I see… That would indeed be frightfully potent on the field of battle. A one-sided assault from the sky… And of course, the mage who was aboard the ship, Charlotte, deserves her fair share of the credit for your stunning victories in the battles for Purledo and Fort Sokan. I’ve no doubt that she is the finest mage in all of Missian. Still, I’m certain that even a lesser mage aboard this vessel could accomplish great things,” Couran said, seemingly quite impressed.
“I believe, Your Majesty, that if we were to make more airships, they would allow us to dominate any war we participate in,” I said. “Moreover, they could serve many purposes outside of warfare as well, and the design still has ample room for refinement and improvement. If you would be willing, I believe that financing that further development would be a valuable investment for you and for Missian.”
“Financing, is it? This is a valuable enough project to be worth a fortune on its own, I’ll grant you that. I see ample reason for optimism, and ideally, I would hope to ensure that airships can be produced all across Missian. I will see to it that the most talented engineers from all across our fair kingdom are gathered together in Canarre. I trust that you will be prepared to teach them how you built your creation.”
“Y-Yeah, of course! I can do that!” said Shin.
I knew how massive of a development this was. If airships could be made all across Missian, it could change the world in a massive way.
“Very good,” said Couran. “We can sort out the details regarding your funding after the war’s over, then.”
“Th-Thank you so much, Your Majesty!”
Shin had been on pins and needles from start to finish, but in the end, his conversation with Couran went well. Considering how wealthy he was, I had a feeling that his investment in Shin’s work would prove to be very substantial indeed.
“With your airship on our side, this war is as good as won. I’ll call a meeting at once.”
With that, Couran sent for his followers. The time had come for another council of war.
○
We soon came together to discuss our strategy for the assault on Castle Kuat. The castle in question was quite large, and the Duke of Seitz had recalled the troops he’d led into Missian to defend it, so at the moment, it was packed to the brim with soldiers. Missian’s army was still larger, but not by a tremendous margin─we had about three soldiers to every two of theirs.
Typically, one would hope to have several times the enemy’s numbers in order to have any hope of claiming a fortress like Castle Kuat. We, however, had the airship: a weapon capable of nullifying many of the castle’s defenses. I was certain that with the airship to help us, we’d be able to claim the castle for our own. It could come in handy during a field battle as well, so even if the enemy tried to catch us in an ambush before the siege began, we’d be fighting at an advantage.
The plan that we’d settled upon by the end of the conference was quite straightforward. We would march on Castle Kuat, taking the chance to whittle down the enemy’s numbers if they chose to sally forth and attack us. The airship was the key to accomplishing that last goal─if we could use it to disrupt the enemy’s chain of command, it would reduce our losses and lead us to victory. Finally, if the enemy army retreated into the castle, we would use the airship to lay waste to it from the air, then storm into it in force.
Kuat, the city that was host to Castle Kuat, was very sizable and featured a wall around its perimeter. Bombing the city would risk inflicting civilian casualties, so it was decided that we would issue a warning to the populace a short period before we went on the attack. I hated to think that innocents would be caught up in the fighting anyway, but we didn’t have much in the way of other options. Civilians always died in battles over cities like this, even when the attackers used more conventional tactics, and all one could do was accept the fact that it was a necessary sacrifice.
Neither I nor my retainers found any particular flaws in Couran’s strategy, so none of us spoke up to protest it and the meeting ended without incident. Couran gave the order to make preparations to march for Castle Kuat─after all, the sooner we staged our assault, the better. I’d come to appreciate that speed and decisiveness were some of his strongest traits as a commander. My army ended up marching along a short way after Couran’s.