Master and Slaves

“This morning, the Tres Kingdom army invaded the Relun Kingdom.”

I see.

So that was why it was a strategy meeting.

Strangely convinced, I this time asked Bastian directly.

“Where did they invade?”

“That doesn’t matter! What’s important now is whether we sortie or not!”

Just as Bastian was about to open his mouth, Bernfried cut in with a loud voice.

“Why doesn’t it matter? Wouldn’t the strategy change depending on that?”

“How would it change?!”

“If it’s far from our destination we attack immediately. If it’s close, we watch a little longer, let them advance deeper, then attack. So they don’t send their main force this way.”

“Something like that, we’d turn the tables…”

“You lost because you couldn’t, didn’t you?”

“Nugugu…”

Bernfried grimaced as if he had bitten a bitter bug.

“So, how is it?”

Ignoring Bernfried, I turned my face toward Bastian and asked.

“Yes. They appear to be heading for Marienberg Castle.”

“Marienberg Castle?”

“Yes. That place is near the borders with both the Cardilia Kingdom and the Bayern Kingdom, and is a castle that should be called a fortress, built to keep both countries in check.”

Bastian gave a simple explanation.

“A youngster who doesn’t even know Marienberg Castle…”

Bernfried spat a curse out of frustration, but I paid it no mind.

“And our destination is?”

“It’s far. We plan to attack around this area on the northern side, so…”

Saying that, Bastian pointed to a single point on the cloth on the table… which was indeed a map.

It was certainly on the northern side, and quite far from the southern border where Marienberg Castle was.

“Indeed. So what’s this Stahleck Castle?”

Where Bastian pointed a castle was drawn, and “Stahleck” was written.

“This land is barren, and there is also the elves’ forest to the north, so the land’s value is low and they have not stationed many soldiers. Therefore we plan to seize this castle and make it a base.”

Humu… I thought it sounded good.

“What’s the source of the information that there are few soldiers here?”

“From Lord Bernfried.”

At Bastian’s reply I looked at Bernfried.

“Hmph!”

Bernfried snorted and looked away.

Are you a child.

“Haven’t you done any reconnaissance here?”

“Yes. According to Lord Bernfried’s words, there was no mistake.”

Hey now, isn’t knowing the enemy’s situation common sense in war?

Are they all amateurs?

I sighed and let a mutter slip.

“Which means we don’t know what the current situation is…”

“What was that!”

Perhaps hearing me mutter that, Bernfried shouted at me.

“…You don’t have to shout that loud; I can hear you. It may have been so when it was your country before, but it’s different now, right? If the heads are different, the measures they take will also be different.”

I had deliberately angered him to point out the mistake, but I somehow grew tired of explaining.

“Then how about sending scouts here? They don’t have to go all the way inside. Just looking from the outside—for example if a huge amount of food is being sent in, or if the soldiers are training.”

“Looking under the latrines would also be good.”

Bastian proposed that.

Under the latrines?

“Why look at a place like that? Or rather, can you even look at a place like that?”

“Castles of this kind have no sewer facilities, so they build latrines into the castle walls. If you look under them, you can tell the number of soldiers.”

Instead of Bastian, Baldo answered.

I see.

“If we had the magic unit, peeking inside would be a trivial matter. Kukuku.”

He said something unpleasant as usual, but… that’s right. They can use magic too.

“That magic unit’s… who was it again?”

“Lord Hein?”

Bastian answered.

“Yes, yes, Hein-san can use that kind of thing, right.”

“No, Lord Hein can hardly use magic.”

“Eh?”

“There seems to be someone among Lord Hein’s junior disciples who can use it.”

Ah, come to think of it, they said his command ability was higher than his magic.

“I see. Then can’t we take that person along?”

“Yes. They are tired from the long journey, so immediately after arriving is…”

“They have far too little stamina. They lack the readiness to always be on a battlefield.”

While I was talking with Bastian, Bernfried cut in.

“Well, there’s no point talking about that now. Then anyway, I think we should send scouts immediately.”

While giving Bernfried a perfunctory response, I proposed it to Bastian.

“Yes. It won’t be too late to move after that. However, we must not let them notice our intent, so let us carefully select those who go as scouts.”

At Bastian’s words, everyone here nodded.

“Then let us continue discussing future policy just like this.”

Once they decided a policy for the moment, Bastian ordered a man in armor who seemed to be a subordinate to leave, then declared that.

Come to think of it, they had said they would do that yesterday.

“First we should liberate the royal capital of the Cardilia Kingdom, Cardil!”

The first voice was, as expected, Bernfried.

“Was it not decided the other day that we should take Torrestia first?”

Baldo said that with a fed-up expression.

“However, I still cannot accept it. Why do we not take them in order?”

“To do that our forces are decisively insufficient. That is why we will surprise-attack Torrestia, the enemy’s home base.”

At Bernfried’s question, Baldo answered in a way that felt as if he had said it many times.

“However, if we on the attacking side have no base, can we not store food or rest before attacking?”

Giacomo, a Cardilia noble like Bernfried, threw him a lifeline.

“That is why we will occupy a place that will become a base before taking Torrestia.”

Bastian answered.

“Then Cardil would also be fine.”

“Cardil is too large. If we split off soldiers for the defense of that land, the soldiers for taking Torrestia will decrease.”

Again Baldo reacted to Bernfried’s words.

As I thought, was Bernfried a hard opponent for Bastian?

“However, if we make a base around Torrestia, is there not a large possibility the enemy will learn of it? If they learn of it we cannot surprise-attack.”

“Even so, invading Cardil is reckless. The enemy will likely have left enough soldiers to defend Cardil, so I think it would be harsh with our forces.”

“Then taking Torrestia would be the same. We make a base, the enemy learns of it, we cannot surprise-attack and take Torrestia, then we are caught in a pincer by soldiers from Cardil who received word—would that not be the outcome?”

“If you say that, then when attacking Cardil a base would also be necessary. Then would it not become the same as what Lord Bernfried said? If it is the same, I think if we take Torrestia, the home base, that will settle the matter.”

Words were exchanged in the order of Giacomo, Bastian, Bernfried, and Baldo.

It was a short time, but listening to each of their arguments, to put it simply, they just wanted to take back their own country’s royal capital.

They were trying to give that priority by attaching reasons.

Well, that was only natural.

And if you excluded that and listened objectively, taking Torrestia seemed better.

However, there were also correct points in what Bernfried said.

Being attacked from behind would be unbearable.

Which meant if we attacked from the opposite direction from Cardil we would have some flexibility with time, but…

Was there some easy way to come out behind Torrestia?

I looked down at the cloth map spread on the table.

…Nn?

This is… trees?

Because there are a lot of trees… a forest?

This is… ah!

“Master, is something the matter?”

Muriel spoke to me as I looked down at the map.

“Ah, this forest is the elves’ forest… right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“If we pass through here we can go to the west side of Torrestia, right.”

“Eh? Yes, we can go, but…”

“Then couldn’t we take Torrestia without worrying about Cardil behind us?”

“Um, that is…”

“That cannot be done.”

Muriel tried to answer, but Helene cut her off and answered.

“Nn? Why?”

“Because humans cannot approach the forest where the elves live.”

“Why?”

“Elves dislike outsiders. They have put up a barrier, and if humans enter the elves’ territory they are obstructed, and sometimes killed. My father was also killed that way…”

Helene said that as if spitting it out with a bitter expression.

I see, so that was why Helene hated elves.

Nn?

“Does this forest have a name?”

“Yes, if I recall it is the Forest of Wandering… ah!”

Muriel tried to answer, then raised her voice as if she had remembered something.

What she had remembered was probably the same as me.

“That’s right. Sophia said she was from here, didn’t she. Can’t we ask her somehow?”

“That elf girl…?”

Helene asked back with a look of dislike.

“Yes, let us keep that in mind for now as well.”

Somehow it felt halfhearted.

“Anyway, as for future policy, Torrestia is acceptable, yes?”

I heard Baldo’s voice confirming with Bernfried.

The other side’s discussion also seemed to be reaching its final stage.

Baldo was raising his voice a little, which was rare.

“…That’s… right…”

Making a difficult face, Bernfried nodded reluctantly while dropping his eyes to the map.

As the closing of the meeting, Bastian spoke so that everyone could hear.

“Then the final objective is taking Torrestia, and for now we will scout Stahleck Castle and deal with it based on that information. Is that acceptable?”