I decided then and there to refer to Jard as “Brother Dimwit” from here on out. Putting on a troubled smile, I shook my head. “My apologies, it’s just… You see, my territory is still quite weak, so if I sent any men from my small Chivalric Order into battle, this whole area would be in danger of collapsing. I cannot afford to leave.”
Jard and Sesto glanced silently up at the wall surrounding Seatoh Village. It was a beautiful bit of architecture that received diligent maintenance, and it was breathtakingly impressive from below. Atop the wall sat a series of ballistae stationed at regular intervals, pointing outward.
“…”
“Is something the matter?” I asked.
My brothers looked away from the wall and back at their adorable baby bro, wearing expressions that were difficult to describe. Sesto pulled his chin in and laughed dryly. “What? A-are you claiming all of this would be in danger?”
“Weren’t you the ones who said my village was nothing to brag about when you first arrived?” I asked, turning their words against them. “Personally, I agree. I have a long way to go before I can truly rest easy.” They both bit their tongues. “The cities you governed were way more impressive, right?”
Sesto frowned and glanced at Jard, who snorted and jerked his chin. “O-of course! The development was far superior to this backwoods village! They aren’t even comparable!”
He laughed, but I felt his mounting panic. Honestly, I understood his perspective. In a noble house that prioritized elemental magic over all else, losing out to his reject of a little brother must have been a serious blow to his pride.
Keeping my stubborn brothers in my field of view, I gazed dramatically into the distance like some pretty boy in a TV drama. Lacing my words with admiration for my brothers, I said, “One day, I hope to have a city I can be proud of. That’s why I want to take my time and make Seatoh Village into an even better place. Brother Dim… Ahem, Brother Jard, Brother Sesto… You both have powerful Chivalric Orders, and I pray for your success on the battlefield.”
Jard folded his arms and glanced behind him at the tough-looking mercenaries. When he realized they were staring back at him, waiting to see how he would respond, he cleared his throat. “M-mm… The strength of our Chivalric Orders is tremendous, and I have no doubt that we will be able to make up for your absence. I simply worried about taking away a chance for you to acquire your own accomplishments, but it would appear those concerns were unfounded!”
Sesto seemed relieved at the direction things were going. He nodded and put on a fake smile. “Th-that’s right. We were worried that you wouldn’t be able to perform any feats because you cannot use elemental magic… Ha ha…”
Now they were trying to act the part of considerate older brothers. Unfortunately for them, the mercenary outsiders were sneering derisively. Mercenaries could be a cruel bunch, and they essentially lived on the battlefield. Of course, it was scary that they were able to kill people they had no grudge against just for money, but their lack of attachment to their employers was also an issue. It took a large paycheck to ensure that mercenaries didn’t turn on their employers, to whom they felt no loyalty. Underpaid mercenaries would flee from losing battles or even betray their employers if the other side offered more money.
One way to judge what sort of group you were hiring was to carefully analyze their level of discipline, training, and equipment. The mercenaries Jard and Sesto had hired projected a threatening aura and were all garbed in completely different kinds of armor. They were a rough bunch, for sure. If someone told me they’d attacked some mountain bandits and stolen their stuff, I would believe them.
It also wasn’t difficult to discern their overall level of training. If Dee saw them, he’d happily step forward to retrain them. They looked weak. I struggled to understand why my brothers, as sons of a marquis, had hired these weirdos, but I wasn’t heading into battle, so it really didn’t matter to me. My only real concern was the prospect of someday having to fight alongside them, so I decided to really emphasize to Murcia and the others the importance of hanging back and defending the fortress. I didn’t want them getting caught in the crossfire of my dumb brothers.
I smiled at Jard and Sesto, then nodded. “Thank you for your concern! Good luck! I’ll be cheering for you both!
Murcia
I HEARD THE CHIVALRIC ORDER YELLING OUTSIDE early in the morning. I was used to it at this point, taking the cacophony as my cue to get out of bed. I approached the window and set my gaze outside, where I saw the Chivalric Order running as one. Dee seemed especially energetic, chasing after the armor-clad order members.
The scariest thing about it all was that Dee wore heavier armor than any of them. He was covered from head to toe, and he was also equipped with a large shield and the massive sword that was as long as he was tall. But despite the added weight, he was chasing the order and laughing at them.
In case you were wondering, my initial food and personnel concerns were solved by the goods Van was sending us and the adventurers who were transporting it all. The big problem was that the adventurers were hunting down tons of monsters while they performed security duties and they kept coming back with butchered monster parts. We didn’t have the funds on hand to buy any of that stuff from them. Some of the adventurers were putting the parts on transport carriages and taking them home, but the rest were just sitting there.
Van himself had hired these adventurers, and they cut off the materials they intended to sell, then dried the meat that would otherwise rot. They also gathered timber and ore from the surrounding area, storing it all in the storage space in the castle town that faced Yelenetta. At this rate, the Mary Chamber of Commerce might dispatch a caravan.
At the moment, the Bell & Rango Company was making round trips from Seatoh Village, but I was still anxious about buying or trading materials, weapons, and daily necessities. Given that the population would only increase going forward, small purchases wouldn’t be enough. A caravan from the Mary Chamber of Commerce could fix that problem. But even then, it would be no easy task to service a road through the Wolfsbrook Mountain Range so that caravans could freely come and go.
All the monsters in the area were on the large side. And if you let your guard down for even a moment at night, your carriage could be destroyed. It was also easy to imagine carriages sliding down cliffs when combat took place. Weighing the dangers against the potential profits, personally, I would choose not to dispatch a caravan.
“Though I’m sure that’s not a good way to be thinking about it,” I muttered as I changed.
It was a bad habit of mine to assume that things would go poorly from the outset; it made me hesitate to make decisions. Father had pointed this out repeatedly. And neither Father nor Van seemed to have this problem. Jard and Sesto also believed in their own decision-making, though in their case it was because they failed to think things through.
Father considered the worst-case scenario, then used that as the foundation for his strategy. Van was similar. When he put me in charge of this castle, I asked him what I needed to do to protect it. He looked down at the fortress city from above the top floor and said, “Personally, I’d think about what I would do if I was the enemy. First, I’d accept the cruel reality that I would take heavy casualties trying to storm Fortress City Murcia. I would also take great care to avoid ballista fire. Then I’d spread out wide to either side and destroy the wall with brute force.
“Another possible strategy would be to get as close as possible without being discovered; to do this, I’d have to cultivate the land to make a path. I’d cross through the dangerous mountains and attack from either the left or right flanks. Wyverns would make this possible. My final strategy would be starvation tactics: Yelenetta has already penetrated deep into Count Ferdinatto’s territory, so they could invade from there and cut off our supply line.”
He explained it all as if he were a veteran commander. I was speechless, but Van just smiled and continued.
“Of course, digging holes, launching attacks from the river, or striking at night are also options. Surprise attacks, basically. Either way, you have to be flexible. You’re a careful person, Murcia, so I think you’re well suited to defensive or field battles with smaller numbers of soldiers. You have Dee with you, so follow your heart!”
Then he returned to Seatoh Village like it was no big deal. Van always seemed like he was having fun and going with the flow, but the more I spoke with him, the more surprised I found myself by the depth of his thoughts and his consideration for me. He was still only nine, and I’d heard Esparda and Dee were always by his side, educating him. But even then, that could not account for what he had already become.
If someone were to tell me that Van was an elven child who was fifty years of age, I would have believed them.
I heard someone calling for me from a distance. Wondering what was going on, I stepped outside to find Arb yelling from a watch tower. Normally he would have come to see me directly, but he seemed to be in a hurry. Were we being attacked?
“Did something happen?!” I shouted quickly.
Arb pointed to the rear of the fortress city. “I see the royal banner! The royal army has arrived!”
Two separate emotions took hold of me. The first was a tremendous sense of relief; their arrival meant that I had successfully defended the fortress city. The second was anxiety over the certainty that I would have to play host to noblemen and noblewomen, His Majesty included.
I made a strangled noise. “Prepare to welcome them! Hurry!” I said, panicked, and Arb nodded vigorously.
“Yessir!”
Even as he responded, I was turning on my heel to sprint down the castle stairs. In the back of my mind, I pictured my father’s face, and my stomach began to ache.