Episode 11: As Expected of Minashiro-sama
The grim news brought by the expressionless female officer was unexpected.
“Barbat didn’t just retreat, did he?”
“No, it seems the Naia army is heading towards Fort Ronchant in the north.”
“Damn it, was Grandpa their target from the start!”
“Yes, most likely.”
This is the worst. I completely misread the enemy’s intentions.
When we made contact with the Kingdom of Naia’s army, it was strange that we managed to escape without casualties.
I thought it was odd that no pursuit magic was coming our way, but it seems we were lured to this hill from the beginning.
“You’ve done it now, Barbat.”
“…!”
My voice came out lower than I intended.
A bit of my Magical Power leaked out, and I might have intimidated the expressionless female officer.
“So, the ten thousand below the hill are just a decoy?”
“Y-yes.”
“Hm? What’s wrong? Your face is red.”
“N-nothing. It’s nothing at all.”
“Is that so? If you say so.”
I was surprised when the expressionless female officer suddenly started blushing.
Seriously, she turned as red as a boiled octopus, and I was worried she had a fever.
But seeing that the female officer could actually make human expressions, I felt a little relieved.
(Now, I’m starting to get a little curious about what kind of person this Prince Barbat is.)
To outwit me, he might be quite the sharp one.
I guess I’ll do a little profiling on him.
“Tell me about Barbat. What kind of guy is he?”
“Is that alright? Barbat is currently moving north at high speed.”
“It’s fine. Tell me what you know.”
“Yes, sir. Understood.”
The expressionless female officer seemed a bit hesitant, but when I had her tell me what she knew, it went like this:
Barbat von Naia, 26 years old, second prince of the Kingdom of Naia.
One older brother, two younger brothers, one younger sister. No partner.
Direct and crude personality. The worst reputation within the Kingdom of Naia. A pedo who eats young girls. A playboy. A degenerate who would lay his hands on his own sister. Heavily in debt. Proficient in wind-based magic.
He’s completely exposed without me even profiling him.
It seems the expressionless female officer is quite a capable officer.
I softened some of the harsher descriptions, but even then, Barbat was, to put it mildly, a scumbag.
From what I’ve heard, I can’t imagine Barbat’s personality being behind Naia’s current movements.
There’s a possibility someone else is giving the orders.
“Um, is it really alright for us to be doing this?”
“Yeah, I’ve learned a lot thanks to you. I appreciate it.”
“Y-yes!”
(Huh? What’s with this female officer’s reaction?)
She stubbornly doesn’t change her expression, but somehow she looks like a dog happy to be praised by its master.
As I stare at her, the female officer’s face gets redder and redder.
(Could this be… could it be?)
…No, let’s stop with the foolish thoughts. I need to focus on Barbat right now.
I’ll put the discomfort I felt in the back of my mind for now.
I left the tent to coordinate the situation with the officers.
I found Getrude outside, giving instructions to the troops, so I called out to her.
“Getrude, where are the guys who went north now?”
“They’re already beyond the horizon. They’re probably fifty kels ahead by now.”
I could see dust rising in the distance Getrude was looking at.
Barbat’s army consists of a mixed force of infantry and cavalry. They’ll probably arrive in two or three hours at the earliest.
And below the hill, ten thousand soldiers stand as if to block our path.
“I see. Then we can’t catch up even if we ride our horses now.”
“Minashiro-sama, what do you intend to do?”
Getrude presses me for a decision. Her eyes were intense.
Before I knew it, all the officers who had been in the tent earlier had gathered around me.
The “oh well” feeling from before was gone, and they were waiting for my instructions with serious expressions.
I confirmed the feel of the gold coins in my pocket and steeled myself.
“I’m going to target Barbat directly.”
I won’t let Barbat get to Grandpa.
I said I’d take him down here, so I’ll definitely take him down.
“D-directly target Barbat? How on earth!”
“It’s impossible to use long-range bombardment magic from this distance!”
“Even if it reached, he’s using ‘Maten’ to move at high speed, so it’s impossible to hit him!”
The officers started clamoring loudly. They were probably thinking of breaking through the ten thousand soldiers and then heading to the battlefield where Grandpa is, but that would be too late.
“Prepare for a cavalry charge. I have something to do now.”
I brushed aside the officers’ noisy words, closed my eyes, and began to gather my Magical Power.
“Minashiro-sama, what in the world are you…”
“Don’t make a fuss. Minashiro-sama intends to do something.”
“Could it be, from this distance! Th-that’s impossible.”
I held out my right hand and focused on changing my Magical Power into the shape of a wave.
What I’m about to do is an application of “Magical Power Detection,” a sonar-like technique that nobles usually use to detect magicians, called “Detection Magic.”
“Lord Getrude, what in the world is Minashiro-sama doing?”
“I don’t know either. It looks like ‘Magical Power Detection,’ but the scale of Magical Power being used is on a different level. But Minashiro-sama is beyond the norm in everything, probably the strongest in the history of House Ortenos in terms of Magical Power. I wouldn’t be surprised no matter what Minashiro-sama did.”
“A-as expected of Minashiro-sama!”
Ugh, it’s distracting.