2 - Attack on the Linus Imperial Army Part 1
THINGS were peaceful.
Now, I could play with Daux and Marie whenever I wanted. I was left to my own devices while Karna was at school, so I was ecstatic that I had friends to play with.
Things were going well with Project Roslan as well.
However, the tower was still in the planning stage.
The blueprints I’d gotten a glimpse of were much more different from what I’d imagined—the tower was so sturdy it seemed more like a fortress than a tower.
At least make it round! It’s supposed to be a tower, after all!
I’d tried voicing that request, but they’d told me it would be less stable if it were round. I also tried suggesting they incorporate a framework of metal support beams inside whatever other building materials they planned to use, but it seemed that in this world, metals such as iron were only used for making weapons.
I hadn’t been able to get my point across at all, so in the end, they decided to hold a joint meeting between the carpenters’ guild and the blacksmiths’ guild soon.
I wanted to prepare a sample before that meeting, but I was terrible at drawing, so I planned to make it out of clay.
Oh, I should have Daux help me! He’s good at working with his hands.
But I’d already confirmed that neither Daux nor Marie was available to play today, so I planned to go somewhere within the imperial palace I’d never been to before.
I brought Shinki and Spica with me and asked Seigo and Rikusei to be my guides.
Kai had smoothly integrated with the couriers at the imperial palace. Marie had told me about the rumors that were going around about the “beautiful young man” who’d recently arrived at court. Still, I wondered what exactly he did all day.
“Lady Neema, where are you going today?”
“Today, I’m going to meet the soldiers!”
It would be a shame to miss the opportunity to see an army even stronger than our own Royal Knighthood!
I’d heard that in addition to the large number of beastpeople serving in the imperial army, there were also a few elves.
And so, today, I’d asked Seigo and Rikusei to lead us to the imperial army’s office. This office, which was inside the imperial palace, was where most of the administrative work was carried out, but the imperial army’s headquarters was located elsewhere. I’d been told that the barracks where the wyverns lived was at this other location, so I wanted to visit it soon, too.
“…I’m not good with wyverns…”
When I mentioned wanting to visit the wyverns’ barracks, Spica physically recoiled.
That’s fine! It’s not your fault; being afraid of wyverns is hardwired into your DNA, so there’s nothing to be ashamed of.
“When we go there, you can play with Seigo and Rikusei a short distance away,” I suggested.
The dragon stables in the Kingdom of Gaché were spacious, so I assumed the wyverns’ barracks in the Linus Empire probably were, too. If so, I figured we could probably find a safe place for Spica to play where the wyverns were unlikely to come.
“But I want to stay by your side, Lady Neema…”
“Spica, you need to pay attention to your instincts as a beastperson,” I said. “If you continue oppressing them, they might become dull, and when it comes to it, that might be the difference between life and death!”
Her instincts as a beastperson were essentially her natural survival instincts. A beastperson was no match for a wyvern, and the fear she felt in their presence was her survival instincts at work, warning her not to get close or else she might be eaten. But if she dulled those instincts, they might not kick in when she most needed them—when her life was in danger.
“Okay…”
Spica looked dejected, so I took her hand and tried to cheer her up by saying, “It’s okay, don’t worry! There’s no possibility of the wyverns attacking me. If anything, it’s people you need to focus on protecting me from. I’m counting on you, Spica!”
Once I started participating in social functions as a member of the nobility more and more, there would be times when it wasn’t appropriate to be accompanied by a male bodyguard. That would be Spica’s time to shine.
I hoped it would never be necessary, but a small part of me also secretly longed to see Spica’s fighting skills in action.
Maybe I can drop in sometime while she’s training? I can just imagine how cool a faceoff between Spica and Shell, dressed in maid uniforms, would be!
I was walking along holding hands with Spica, and as the army’s office came into view, Shinki suddenly burst into action. It wasn’t just Shinki—Spica also jumped in front of me, covering my body with her own.
Peeking out through the narrow space between Spica’s arm and her torso, I saw something large flying towards us. Shinki caught it and tossed it to the side.
I glanced over at the thing that had been thrown on the ground and found that it looked suspiciously human-shaped…
“Look out!” a soldier shouted, running towards us in pursuit of the thing that had come hurtling in our direction. A “thing” which it turned out really was a person.
“…Are you okay?” I called out hesitantly to the person lying sprawled out on the ground, but they appeared to be unconscious.
“Forgive me, my lady! Are you injured?!” the soldier who’d finally made it over to us asked frantically.
That guy’s the one you need to be worried about, not me!
“I’m fine. Please see to him first.”
“Thank you. This is a common occurrence; he will be fine.”
Even as he said that, though, the soldier scooped up his fallen companion, threw him over his shoulder, and took off jogging back towards the building.
“…What was that all about?” I wondered.
“They’re training over there, so he was probably thrown by someone.” Spica pointed to an open area that appeared to be a training arena, which made sense given our current location, but I still couldn’t wrap my head around the other part of what she’d said.
Since when can humans fly through the air like that?! Whoever threw him must be on the same level as Grandpa Gouche and Shinki!
I was curious now, so I detoured straight to the training arena to look there first.
Unlike the Royal Knighthood’s training grounds, this arena was outdoors but had no roof, making it seem almost like a sports field. A simple grid-patterned fence surrounded the arena that was just a bit taller than I was, meaning the man who’d come hurtling at us must’ve been sent flying over this fence.
I peeked into the arena through one of the gaps in the fence and saw many people fighting.
“Who goes there?!” someone shouted suddenly, causing me to flinch back and freeze.
Whoa, that surprised me!
Spica stepped protectively in front of me and spoke with the soldier on the other side of the fence. “Pardon the interruption during your training session. My lady would like to tour the facility. If you wouldn’t mind pointing out the person in charge?”
Seeing her hold her own like this drove home how much she’d matured.
“Oh, a little noble lady, eh? They sure are curious, aren’t they, sticking their noses into the strangest places whenever it suits their fancy… Wait here a minute.”
With that, the soldier wandered off.
A minute later, someone came out of the office.
“I was informed that an unusual little noblewoman has arrived saying she would like to view a rough and unrefined location such as this?”
Yep, that’s me—the strange and curious little noblewoman. And anyway, what’s with his prickly attitude?
The man identified himself as a lieutenant, gave his name, and bowed as was required by protocol, but his blatantly rude attitude made it abundantly clear how much of a waste of time he considered this conversation.
Yeesh, as a grown adult, you’d think he could act with basic courtesy!
“Forgive me for interrupting your important work. I am Nefertima Osphe, visiting from the Kingdom of Gaché. I would very much like to observe today’s practice session.”
Striving for a flawless presentation, I curtsied, introduced myself, and stated my reason for coming.