Chapter 160: Father’s Last Gift
The Schwarzwald Knights’ desires aligned with ours.
“This is a real help, truly… If we fail, we’re counting on you.”
“Understood.”
“That leaves three of the Four Heavenly Kings. Reinhardt, which one will you take?”
“We’ll take the ‘Ancient Cave.’ We’re familiar with it.”
“Then, we’ll go for the ‘Mirror World’…”
After that, well, things were decided as expected. It would be great if our four parties could defeat the Four Heavenly Kings of the Evil God one by one like this… Well, for now, I’ll just have to trust in their strength.
“At this point, it’s unsettling not knowing what the other parties are doing…”
“To borrow your words, only the Holy Sword can deliver the final blow to the Evil God. Since they don’t possess a Holy Sword, there’s no particular meaning even if they try to get ahead of us, is there?”
Just as Benjamin said, whatever those without a Holy Sword do is meaningless. In fact, it’d be a pointless death.
“I wish they would cooperate too… They can’t defeat the Evil God.”
If only at least one more party would cooperate, we could aim to subjugate the Evil God from the start… Things really don’t go as planned.
After that, several more questions were thrown my way, and I answered all of them honestly to the best of my knowledge. As for how I knew, I pushed through by saying I saw it in a dream.
It’s strange for me to say it, but people sure do believe words like “I saw it in a dream.” Well, they might be half-doubting, half-believing, but that means they believe half of it.
Everyone who came here must be desperate for information. I wonder what the other parties are thinking… Information gathering is a basic skill for adventurers.
Well, I guess no one would think I possess such detailed information.
Next, I need to appeal directly to General Altmeier and ask him to strengthen the kingdom’s eastern defenses. I hope the General will believe my dream story too…
◇
He didn’t believe me.
No, to be precise, it was more like he wanted to believe me but lacked conviction and couldn’t mobilize the army.
The national army will apparently gather near the royal capital as planned and rush to the Evil God’s resurrection site as soon as it’s known. While the margraves in the east, west, south, and north endure the anticipated monster attacks, they will apparently deploy forces appropriately.
General Altmeier couldn’t act as a general, but he acted as the head of House Altmeier.
He sent a part of the army under House Altmeier to the Margrave Baumgarten Territory.
Right now, everyone must be desperate for even a single soldier. I’m grateful.
◇
I, Cassandra, was meeting a familiar face in a room of the mansion in the Margrave Baumgarten Territory.
“Lady Cassandra, it has been a long time!”
“Rudolf. Why are you, the commander of House Altmeier’s pride, the Third Army, here?”
“We, the Third Army, have been ordered to defend the Margrave Baumgarten Territory. From this moment, we are under your command, milady! The details should be in the letter I’ve been entrusted with.”
Snatching the letter from Rudolf, I saw the unmistakable seal of House Altmeier and my father’s handwriting.
To summarize, it seems Dietfried made some moves in the royal capital. Apparently, he had a dream that the Evil God would resurrect in the east of the kingdom…
Father wrote that Dietfried’s dream, him being a Dragonslayer, might be a divine message from the Goddess-sama, but I doubt he himself believes it.
It’s probably out of concern for me, his daughter.
Still, to dispatch an entire army corps. And the Third Army at that, a gathering of battle-hardened veterans. Father’s overprotectiveness is as strong as ever, it seems. He has a stern face but is a sweet-tooth who loves sweets. He’s not good at conversation and can be blunt, but he’s incredibly indulgent with me, his daughter.
He complained endlessly about me staying in the dangerous Margrave Baumgarten Territory, but the affection for me written at the end of the letter must also be true.
“Rudolf, do you know the contents of the letter?”
“No. However, I believe I understand the gist of it.”
“My father has caused you trouble…”
“Not at all! We of the Third Army are delighted to be able to fight under your command again, milady!”
“A mere slip of a girl like me? Grandfather or Father would be able to utilize you all much more effectively.”
“You are too modest. Certainly, the Old Man and the Master are skilled in deploying troops, but when it comes to commanding an army corps, there is no one who surpasses you, milady.”
Rudolf, who somewhat resembled my father, said so with a broad smile.
“That is only thanks to the power of my Gift.”
“‘Hawkeye.’ The eye that sees all from the heavens. It’s a Gift any tactician would covet. However, no matter how convenient a Gift is, it’s meaningless if you can’t master it.”
“Can I truly say I have mastered it?”
“Of course, Lady Cassandra. You are the treasure of House Altmeier. Your military strategy will eventually surpass that of the Old Man and the Master. For that reason, you must survive this conflict no matter what. These are my proud subordinates, trained for this very day. Please, wield your power to your heart’s content.”