Ah. Just like me, Murcia had been kicked out of the house. And this was after he dedicated so much time and energy to studying so that he could become the head of House Fertio. Now, out of nowhere, he no longer had any goal; I couldn’t begin to imagine how sad and frustrated he must have felt. And to add insult to injury, he was ordered to support his little brother. His self-esteem must have been at rock bottom.
I had no idea what to say to him.
Murcia seemed to snap to attention after a moment. He shot me a pained smile. “Hey, this has nothing to do with you. You have incredible talents, and you’ve worked hard for everything you have. That’s why, if you’ll let me, I want to learn as many things as possible from you.”
“Murcia…”
He flashed a warmer smile then; his words were akin to those of a saint. I almost squinted, as if I were blinded by a bright light. What a man. In his position, I would have spat out all kinds of resentful words about daddy dearest.
The man before me, my older brother, was the one person in my family who had been kind to me through thick and thin. This was my chance to show him my loyalty. With a heart full of determination, I looked solemnly up at him. “Thank you, Brother. As it happens, I’ve been looking for someone to become the lord of this castle.”
“Uh…what?” Murcia looked back at the massive Japanese castle sitting on the stone wall. He blinked a few times and pointed at it. “You can’t possibly mean that castle, right?”
When he glanced back at me, I smiled and nodded. “I absolutely do! We have fresh personnel headed here from Seatoh Village to swap places with the people currently here. We’ll only be able to have merchants coming and going for a bit, but I imagine that before long new adventurers and residents will move here. We’re in the process of boosting our Chivalric Order ranks, but once we have enough people, this place’s population will break past two thousand in no time. After that, the plan is to use it as a starting point to invade and take Yelenetta’s territory. I’m going to have you establish the Murcia Chivalric Order and place you as the supreme commander of it!”
“The Murcia Chivalric Order?!” Murcia’s eyes went wide.
There’s no way I’m just going to make him a governor. I need manpower, after all! “Correct. I believe you’ve been trained in combat as well as domestic affairs, and you’ve been taught how to properly manage a Chivalric Order. You have the experience and knowledge of a member of House Fertio, which has spent much of its existence on the battlefield. So I think you’re a perfect fit for a fortress city designed for defense. I want you to use this territory as a foothold to eventually establish your own house!”
“What?! You want me to become independent? But I don’t have that kind of…”
“Why do you disparage yourself so much? I’ve always believed that you would become a better head of the family than Father ever was!”
“Y-you really think so? That seems so unlikely.” His expression was troubled, but I could tell that deep down he was happy. All right! I’m going to take him to the top. I’m going to make this fortress city invincible!
“Murcia, your legend begins now!”
“My legend…?”
Leaving aside the question of whether Murcia bought what I was selling, he did at least seem willing to hear me out. “You know,” I said, “this is actually the first time you and I have ever eaten together like this.”
“Ah, that’s true.” Murcia cast his gaze out the window of the castle tower, his expression conflicted. “But, um, this place seems a bit wasted on me.”
The red sunset was gorgeous, and the green lines of the mountain range had turned a vivid orange. From our vantage, atop the massive castle and looking down, everything below was stained red. Lights illuminated the wall before us at equal distances, serving as a lovely garnish to the natural view.
It was, in a word, brilliant.
“What a tremendous view,” I said.
“Yes,” Murcia agreed haltingly. “It sure is.”
Why were we having the kind of conversation you’d expect to hear from a pair of lovers? Till arrived then with food in hand, interrupting the weird vibe. It was time to get down to business. I turned to face Murcia.
The room we were in had a traditional Japanese style, wood flooring or no wood flooring, and we sat on cushions around a large, round table. This was the kind of setting that soothed my nerves. Maybe Murcia didn’t feel the same way, but once he’d lived here for a while, he’d get used to it.
“If you’re willing to lend me your aid,” I said, “then I’d like to tell you my plan for the future. Will you agree to be the lord of this castle?”
Murcia gulped and sat up straight. For a moment he stared at me in silence, but then he seemed to accept his fate. “Of course. I was ordered to support you, after all. Just remember that there are things I can and can’t do.” He gave me a strained smile.
Relieved despite his underwhelming enthusiasm, I decided to share my plan with him. “Thank you, Murcia! Okay, so first I’d like you to defend this fortress city for a year. After that, depending on how our forces come together, we’ll invade Yelenetta and take their territory! We’re going to keep taking land closer and closer to the ocean, until we eventually acquire a port that can connect us to the Central Continent! At that point you will be the lord of at least three fortress cities, so once His Majesty gives you a peerage, I’ll need you to appoint governors to all of them! Once more people start moving here, I’d like you to select candidates with the potential to be your Chivalric Order’s commander on top of the governor candidates. Six to ten candidates for each, please! It might be difficult to figure this all out within a year, but I’ll send you people with high aptitudes, so—”
“W-wait a second, Van! You’re being awfully loud about this crazy plan of yours! Are you sure that’s okay?”
He was flustered about my majestic plan, naturally. The truth was that I wouldn’t be able to get my hands on new spices or foods if I wavered here; I needed to gain a foothold that would lead me to the Central Continent, at any cost. I looked my brother directly in the eye. “Murcia, if we chip away at Yelenetta’s territory, eventually we’ll get our hands on the black balls. When that happens, we’ll never have to fear the enemy again. Worry not!”
His expression shifted to one of surprise, but it didn’t stop there. Eventually, his eyes narrowed and a strangely sad expression settled on his face. “You’re amazing, Van. I think I finally understand how someone so young has accomplished so much.” He rose abruptly to his feet. “So this magnificent fortress city will eventually be my home, huh? Protecting all of this is my mission… All right, Van. I’m sure I’m deficient in many ways, but I want to do my best to fulfill my duty.”
As he spoke, Murcia moved to the castle tower’s outer hallway, then cast his gaze around without moving the rest of his body. Finally he turned back to face me, smiling.
“I look forward to working together, Baron Van.”
I stood up and bowed. “Thank you so much, Murcia!”
His smile turned sentimental then, and he chuckled. “Van, I think our roles are backwards.”
“Ah, sorry!” I couldn’t help but smile back. I was just happy to finally have a chance to talk to my family.
Unfortunately, our brotherly moment was interrupted by a surprise attack. “It’s the enemy!” yelled a member of my order from out on the wall. “Yelenetta’s army is attacking!”
Hearing this, Murcia rushed out of the outer hallway, and I positioned myself next to him. We both looked down to the ground, where flaming arrow after flaming arrow soared toward the wall. Fortunately for us, the walls around the city had been repaired by yours truly, so they were super-duper tough; fire arrows would have no effect. The Japanese-style roofing and walls protected us perfectly.
But there was a bigger issue: why hadn’t the members of the Seatoh Village Chivalric Order, with their incredible eyesight, seen this surprise attack coming? Was there some secret road besides the main one that let Yelenetta draw near undetected?
“Can anyone confirm where they came from?” I shouted, directing my question at nobody in particular.
A few people on the wall exchanged words and then hustled into action. Two people split off left and right, proceeding along the wall while the other order members posted up at the ballistae. The order members who’d received the report began gathering at the wall and the towers.
The order member who ran off to the right side turned to me and yelled, “Lord Van! It appears Yelenetta’s forces are coming through the forest!”
“Huh? Were they not visible from up high?”
“Correct! Nobody would have noticed them unless they were constantly keeping their eyes on that area!”
“Gotcha! Get ready to defend the fortress!”
“Yessir!”
I turned my attention to Yelenetta’s forces beyond the wall. They were getting into formation, and it was clear now that more troops were joining their ranks from the right side. Even more striking was their gall to get into formation right in front of their enemy.
Murcia cast me an exasperated look. “Is it just me, or does no one here have any sense of urgency? With that many Chivalric Orders attacking, I don’t think I’d be able to stay calm.”
I shook my head gently. “They’re just doing their best to keep themselves together. The most worrisome thing is how quickly the enemy has returned after their defeat. It’s strange for them to be back already, having just lost such an important defensive position.”
“Huh?” He cocked his head in bewilderment. “Why? I doubt they expected the walls to have been repaired. It makes sense to me that they’d hurry back if they want to take advantage of us being unprepared.”
I nodded. “Indeed. Perhaps I’m overthinking things. Remember, though, we took over one of their massive strongholds in the blink of an eye. Not only that, Scuderia’s army traveled straight through the Wolfsbrook Mountain Range to get here, so it would be reasonable to think most of our forces were still present. Why would they assume we only have a skeleton crew?”
“Don’t tell me…” Murcia frowned and swallowed hard, catching my implication. Once again, I nodded.
“This is only conjecture, but I believe there’s a traitor in our ranks.”