This village had become something special to us adventurers. It had good food and clean beds, along with a dungeon right in the center where we could earn a living every day.
But more importantly, they’d given us a Blessing and we received Gifts. Thanks to that, we were way stronger than when we arrived.
That’s why we’d decided to fight.
At this point, we could probably take on a hundred regular soldiers solo without even breaking a sweat. But in no time at all, the enemy had been captured, and the battle was now over.
“Huh. That was actually kind of anticlimactic. When I heard there were five thousand enemy troops, I seriously thought we were screwed.”
I nodded along.
“Yeah, no kidding,” Hazena said with a sigh.
By the way, we didn’t just win; we crushed them. Not a single member of our party had so much as a scratch on them.
“Less than five hundred of ’em even made it this far! But what was with that maze of walls? It was just there when I woke up this morning...”
“I knew Mayor Luke was talented, but...”
We’d seriously underestimated him. He was a damn monster.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Ha ha ha... I can’t believe I was even a little worried.”
I’d watched the entire battle unfold from atop the watchtower in the center of the village. My guards, including Bazara, had been sent to the battlefield, leaving only a few to keep watch, including myself and Lord Luke’s maid, Myria.
Lord Luke hadn’t even flinched when he saw Lord Raoul and his five thousand troops.
I’ll admit that I’d panicked a bit when they somehow made it through the labyrinth of walls despite losing most of their army, but in the end, those worries had been for naught.
“That giant tree in the fields was actually a tree dragon?!”
It had suddenly charged at the enemy army like a predator lying in wait. I couldn’t believe Lord Luke had been keeping that monster in his back pocket. The two armies had eventually clashed, but even then, our side had completely overwhelmed them.
We barely had any injuries. Bazara had gone into the battle prepared to die if he must, but he’d managed to knock an enemy soldier unconscious.
I needed to thank him properly later.
But the most important thing was that my family and everyone who’d come with me from Liesen were saved. Even my wife, who’d protested my decision, would have to forgive me. If I hadn’t done this, I think she might’ve killed me herself before Lord Raoul got his hands on me.
I’d lose my title as governor of the North, but I didn’t care about that anymore. I was going to live here with my family from now on.
I couldn’t wait to see how this village would evolve. And if I could, I wanted to use my experience as governor to help it thrive.
✦ ✦ ✦
“This is just crazy,” Sirius muttered under his breath. He was relieved the battle was over, of course, but he was mostly overcome with sheer disbelief. Seren had told him to go home, but he’d chosen to stay.
He’d been ready to step in and fight Raoul himself if it had come to it, but it didn’t. He’d stayed up in the watchtower the whole time. There was something strange about it, though. Even though they were so high up, he could make out the tiniest details—like the grooves in the rocks scattered across the ground—of the distant terrain. It was like his eyesight had been boosted several times over.
Thanks to that, he could clearly see Philia’s face, stoic and fierce, as she stood with her bow in hand on the battlefield. He’d had to force his gaze away, reminding himself that it wasn’t the time to stare at her.
Just then, his enhanced vision caught something moving across the wilderness in the distance. “Hm? What’s that?” he wondered.
Then he realized it was a group of people, all of them armed.
Are they reinforcements?
Sirius suddenly froze when he recognized the man leading the newcomers.
“F-Father?!”
✦ ✦ ✦
“Hurry! Move faster!” Sedes Bazlata bellowed as he urged his men forward.
About five hundred soldiers—most infantry—followed behind, struggling to keep pace with their frantic lord. They were headed to the wilderness to the north of Arvale.
“Damn it! The battle’s already begun by now! We have to get there before the city falls!”
Bazlata had urgently mobilized his troops after receiving word that Lord Raoul, heir to the March of Arvale, was leading five thousand soldiers toward the frontier city where both of his children resided.
One of his vassals silently readied himself as he galloped alongside Bazlata.
I’ve never seen Lord Sedes this panicked, but who could blame him? the vassal thought. If things go badly, he could lose both his children. There’s no doubt we’re undermanned. And there are five thousand of them... Still, we’ll put our lives on the line and fight until the end!
“If Raoul discovers my children have sided with Lord Luke, House Bazlata will be finished!” Sedes shouted, unaware of the thoughts running through his vassal’s head. “We must reinforce Raoul’s army before the city falls! If we make it in time, we might just scrape by and avoid total disgrace!”
Wait, what?!
The vassal had assumed Sedes intended to side with his children, even if it meant defying Arvale, but it seemed like he’d gotten it backward.
He’s abandoning his kids to save his reputation? N-No, wait, maybe this is just part of his plan. Maybe he’ll side with Raoul so he can beg for his children’s lives later? Yes, that must be it. Surely Lord Sedes has thought this through. It’s a brilliant move to protect both his family and his domain. Yes, that must be it!
They pushed themselves to their limits and finally arrived at the wilderness, but what they saw nearly left them speechless.
“What the hell is that?!”
A massive wall stretched across the horizon, carving through the forest. Even the capital city didn’t have walls that big. How could fortifications like this exist in a place like this?
“Lord Luke’s city is inside those walls?”
There was no sign of Raoul’s army, and Sedes wondered if they had already broken through.
One of his men pointed. “Lord Sedes! Over there!”
There was an opening in one of the walls, but no gatehouse or guards. Anyone could’ve seemingly walked in and out freely.
“So what’s the point of all these walls, then?” Sedes muttered in confusion.
Just then, a rider approached them at a gallop.
“Father!” they called.
“Sirius?!” Sedes wondered what the hell his son was doing right in the middle of a battlefield. “No... The battle’s already over? Damn it, we were too late. But why are you out here, Sirius? Ah, I see. You must’ve seen how the battle was going and switched to Lord Raoul’s side!”
“No, father. Lord Luke won the battle. Seren’s safe too.”
Sedes’s eyes widened. “Wh-What?!” he said, utterly shocked.
Lord Luke won?! But how?!
“Did you come all this way to help us, father?”
“Huh?”
“You came for me and Seren, even though it would put your own territory at risk, didn’t you?”
“Y-Yes, of course! I decided to help you! That’s why I’m here!”
“Father!” Tears filled Sirius’s eyes. “You came for us, even after we left without your permission!”
Sedes, on the other hand, was sweating bullets.
I can’t admit that I planned to sacrifice my children and side with Lord Raoul. But this is all their fault! They betrayed me first! Wait, hang on. If Lord Luke has won, they were right, which makes me the fool. Well...I’ll just pretend I believed in them from the start! Yeah, that’s it!