But Nia is generous, so maybe it would’ve been fine? Maybe one day, I thought while on horseback, we can have the kind of relationship where we could talk about things like this.
Now face-to-face with her, I’d cooled off, and from the expression on her face, it looked like I was doing a good job of keeping myself in check.
“Oh, I didn’t do anything. It was all just because Count Farlon was willing to hear us out,” Nia said. “But I’m glad that I could be of some use.”
That was why Nia’s response didn’t seem like she was worried about me. She might’ve been humble about it, but in the end she accepted my praise. The way she did it made me feel satisfied too. The fact that she was so adept at negotiations like the one we’d just had was probably because of how experienced she was interpersonally. A hint of jealousy flashed through my mind for an instant, but it faded just as fast, seeing as it was against multiple people I didn’t know. What was more important was the fact that her skills helped us here.
“Really, the coming days will be your time to shine,” I said. “Especially in the beginning, you’ll be the main contact for the mayors and such in the areas we’re headed to.”
“Yes, of course. That was my intention from the beginning, after all,” she confirmed, tone absolutely firm despite the fact that we had to shift our original plans.
Before we’d arrived, the plan had been that I would take charge of stabilizing domestic politics, while Nia would go around the region networking with various community leaders and asking for their assistance in governing. But with the situation as it was now, it was honestly too dangerous for her and her servants to go alone, which was why I was now going to accompany her. This would soothe my worries, and it would also do more to show local leaders my authority.
But that wasn’t all.
“Do you think they’ll bite?” I asked.
“Most likely. If the second prince is the one behind everything, then he’ll want to show off his achievements as soon as possible. And, um, I feel bad for saying this, but you’re the perfect bait,” she answered with a nod.
We were talking about the group masquerading as bandits and haunting the area. The likely culprit behind them was the second prince of the Kingdom of Sylvario, Balthazar, who doggedly chased clout in his desire to usurp the first prince. If we were to give him a chance not only to capture but even to strike down someone like me—a man with a terrifying reputation earned straight from the battlefield—at a time when it would grant him the best opportunity to regain the territory his kingdom had lost, then he was nearly guaranteed to try to get at me.
“They run away every time we chase them, but with me out there, it’ll be a different story. If they come at us, then it shouldn’t be that hard to catch one or two of them.”
“It will depend on just how many men they have. From what we’ve heard so far, they likely have thirty men at the most. Considering how few Special Battalion troops will probably be dispatched to us, it will be dangerous, but...”
The look Nia gave me after my carefree statement was incredibly apologetic. Of course it was. We’d probably only have about ten people dispatched to us, when the “bandits” would have three times that. Even with Laura, Tom, and me, the odds were stacked against us. Even a well-trained knight would struggle against so many enemies.
Or at least, normal knights would.
“I mean, the Special Battalion folks are specifically trained for situations like this,” I added.
“I guess that’s true,” she said, giving me a wry smile. She was probably remembering the morning training I was doing before we came out here.
The reason I’d trained to take on multiple enemies at once was for scenarios exactly like this one, and, of course, I’d trained the company I’d led in much the same way. While none of them were as good as I was, they had a ton more experience fighting multiple enemies than the average knight. It was necessary training; we were often dispatched in small, elite groups, and it seemed that this time around would be more of the same. “But even saying that, we haven’t actually seen the ‘bandits’ fight, so we shouldn’t take them too lightly. From the brigade’s reports, it seems they’re used to actual combat, so their judgment shouldn’t be that far off,” I said.
“We have no choice but to take their word for it. Really, I would have wanted to have a little more investigating done before we made any moves, but it’ll be winter soon enough, and we can’t afford to wait.”
“We might end up having the citizens of Stonehunt and Diamoncut suspicious of us if we did. Declaring that we would handle things immediately and then proceeding to sit on our hands would only invite distrust.”
“That’s true. They probably want to gauge your performance as the territory lord, and words without action here would only undermine your authority.”
I had to nod at Nia’s words. I mentioned this before, but the citizens didn’t really care which country controlled their region. The thing they did care about was their mayors, maybe the territory’s lord. I don’t think I need to spell out what they’d think if a lord showed up making all sorts of promises while actually just sitting on their ass.
What was even worse was the fact that we’d risk losing all of Nia’s connections if that happened. People didn’t care if something they weren’t hoping for never happened, but if you betrayed their expectations, they’d keep that grudge.
“On the other hand, if we can successfully convey our goodwill through our actions, it will only benefit us in the long run. If we can eradicate the bandits and put a damper on Sylvario’s plots while getting the trust of the citizens to boot, just by putting ourselves at risk, then there’s no way we wouldn’t do it,” I said, counting the reasons.
“Though I feel a bit bad that the risks are just as big as the reward,” Nia commented apologetically.
It’s really not that big of a deal. “From my perspective, it’s not very high-risk at all. You’re the only one I’m worried about.”
“For goodness sake, please, worry about yourself a little bit!” she cried, unusually pouty.
Cute. Wait, stop that, Ark! Or wait, don’t. It might be my fault for only thinking about it from my perspective.
“I’m sorry for worrying you. From where I see it, going up against three times the number of enemies is business as usual for me, so I’m not that bothered by it,” I apologized.
“I mean, that in itself is probably an issue, but truly, your work is difficult, isn’t it?”
In Nia’s eyes was an incredible sense of pity. Damn, once I find myself really enjoying being looked at like this, it’s over.
“But I never would have expected His Highness Prince Alphonse to send you out on missions like that. I thought he would give you enough men to do what you needed to do.”
“Ahh, I see. He does send out enough, though.”
“Huh?”
I was quick to nod at her comment. His Highness did, in fact, give us enough knights to do the job, though sometimes barely. Most of those times, I’d get sent out. But Nia didn’t seem to understand what I was saying, and she asked me to repeat it. And I can’t say I blamed her.
“His Highness does indeed send us out with enough men to do the job.”
“Huh? But you just said that you’re often outnumbered three to one, didn’t you?”
“Yep. But we always get it done. That’s why I’m still here, after all.”
“Even if that’s true, isn’t such a thing quite unbelievable?”
She seemed quite confused, but it made sense once you thought about it some more. Books on warfare often advised to have a minimum of three times the numbers of soldiers stationed there to take a heavily guarded fort or castle, after all. So basically, you were supposed to have three times the troops to beat an enemy with that much of an advantage.
The reason she was surprised was because she understood that the Special Battalion was an attack unit assembled to put His Highness’s tactics to work, even if we were often outmanned against our enemies. We’d never been sent to attack a castle head-on, though, of course. Even for field battles, it’d be stupid to run headlong at a group of enemies three times the size. Normally, that is.
That was why I was pretty sure she’d just have to see it for herself; words just wouldn’t cut it.
“I think in this case, it would be easier for you to just see us in action.”
“I see. If you say so, Lord Ark.”
When I said that, she nodded immediately. She was smart, so she probably knew exactly what I was thinking. At the very least, she didn’t think I was joking.
“But really, I’d prefer not to have to see it at all,” she quipped, her smile a little strained.