Chapter 50: The Imperial Count
Yurisia, having agreed to join Royce, was guided to their hideout.
“I-Is this really your hideout?”
She couldn’t help but ask.
This was just an ordinary village in the plains. It was close to Razbel, making it the most unsuitable place to hide. She didn’t know why they were hiding, but she tilted her head, wondering why here.
“Yeah. It’s a village we spent fifteen years building. I hadn’t even told Randolph I was alive so as not to violate the treaty, but you found out, huh…”
He said, joking around. The name of her father, Randolph von Razbel, had come up, but she couldn’t understand it at all. As she tilted her head again slightly, an old soldier, likely his aide-de-camp, began to explain to Yurisia.
“When the country was handed over to the Lestall Kingdom, a treaty was concluded on the condition that His Majesty Royce would never set foot in Belfast lands again. In return, in the event of war, Lestall would send over thirty percent of Belfast’s forces at its peak as reinforcements from their regular army. However, that treaty was broken last year. Therefore, we are moving to reclaim our country.”
Hearing that, Yurisia timidly looked up at Royce.
“Rui’s father… could he be… the former king, His Majesty Royce…?”
“Huh? You didn’t realize?!”
“B-But then that means Rui! That Rui is a prince!”
Royce nodded at Yurisia, whose face had turned pale.
“Yurisia, it’s not your fault. You were good to him. I don’t resent you at all. I actually want to thank you.”
“N-No… I was the one who received so much kindness from him…”
“Stop it… Don’t blame yourself. My son was kind, wasn’t he? Then, for Rui’s sake too, don’t blame yourself.”
At his words, she looked down, an even gloomier atmosphere emanating from her. It wasn’t that she couldn’t accept his words. It was because Royce wore such a grief-stricken expression, as if he were on the verge of tears.
“Miss Yurisia, His Majesty is saying that you should show Prince Rui, who is watching from heaven, a smiling face. If you are someone who went to the battlefield to honor His Highness’s wishes, you should be able to do at least that, shouldn’t you?”
“――――Hah! Yes…”
Yurisia raised her head as if jolted, and though awkwardly, her lips curved slightly into a smile.
“What the heck. You listen to what Genzou says right away, huh…”
“N-No, that’s not it, His Majesty Royce!?”
“Ah, it’s fine, it’s fine! You can keep calling me ‘Father-in-law.’ It’ll distract me a little too…”
Realizing the implication of him not prefixing “Father” with “Rui’s,” Yurisia’s face flushed bright red.
“No, no, that’s not it! It was my unrequited love… He said we couldn’t be together…”
Yurisia, who had just regained her composure, sank into gloom again, and Genzou sighed, “Aah, aah…” “Wait, is this my fault?” Royce glared at Genzou, but a teasing voice replied, “Your Majesty has always been rather inept with women, hasn’t he?” Although Royce was speaking out of concern for her, he seemed much calmer mentally than at first, so their bickering was just light banter.
“Shut up. More importantly, the next plan. It’s about time we strike, isn’t it?”
“That may be so, but… in this situation, unless we catch them completely off guard very skillfully, we’ll end up facing several thousand soldiers. That’s the difficult part…”
Until now, they had infiltrated undefended towns, rescued their comrades’ families, inflicted as much damage as possible, and then hidden in this hideout. That was done in towns during peacetime, which weren’t heavily fortified. The number of soldiers who could rush to a sudden incident was, at most, around a hundred.
But this time was different. The closer they were to Razbel, the more soldiers were prepared to mobilize at any moment. If they carelessly provoked them, the enemy would likely deploy their entire army immediately. Even for a group of high-ranking Knights, if that happened, a rout would be inevitable. The already diminished Belfast Army would be further depleted. If it came to that, it would be better to lie low until the opportune moment and join forces with the Razbel army.
“Can’t be helped. Guess we’ll find some scouts and crush them again…”
Royce’s word decided their course of action. They once again began moving towards the Daltone area and started scouting for enemies.
Yurisia hid with Royce and the others in the bushes within the forest, staring down the road. There were many sounds. A group of several dozen. The sound of dozens following a single Beast-Drawn Cart. She clearly predicted they were soldiers.
“The numbers seem just right,” Royce said.
“Yes. About fifty or sixty, I’d say,” Genzou replied.
The soldiers nodded as if it were natural. It seemed they could all enhance their hearing. Because of that, she felt a little embarrassed. Not a single one of them made a sound from fidgeting; she felt like she was the only one making noise. But at the same time, she also felt exhilarated at the thought of being useful to Rui’s father.
Rui, are you watching me? she murmured to herself in her heart.
Just then, a fireball came flying towards them. It wasn’t on a direct collision course, but it landed quite close.
“Tch, they’ve spotted us. We’ll take them head-on. Got it?”
“Sir!!”
With a rustle, the soldiers stood up all at once and, in an instant, formed ranks on the road. Yurisia, unable to keep up, followed Royce as he walked forward and readied her Gun.
“Ah, so they shot at us. Let’s give ’em some of our own,” Royce said.
“Yes!” Yurisia replied.
The distance was roughly two hundred meters. Even if one poured a lot of Magical Power into a shot, it might reach, but it wouldn’t easily hit even a stationary target at such a range. It was that kind of distance. Rui could easily hit a stationary target at this distance even with normal magic, but for others, it was normally an impossible range. Considering the distance, she remade her Gun, making it larger. She also changed the explosive Magic Tool to match, readied her Gun again, and fired five shots in quick succession. Several men collapsed one after another.
“Whoa, that’s amazing! You hit all of them at this distance?!” Royce exclaimed.
“No… one shot was deflected. The person at the front is probably a high-ranking Knight,” Yurisia replied.
“Hoh, that’s convenient. We need the strong ones to come out a few at a time.”
Immediately after he said that, a black aura billowed out from the specialized armament Royce was wearing. This was something often emitted by high-ranking Knights with poor control when they roused their fighting spirit. Immediately after, with a speed unthinkable for a former king, he charged into the approaching enemy soldiers. “It’s dangerous alone!” Yurisia was about to say, but in that instant, the soldiers charged forward like a gust of wind.
“Ah, I have to provide cover…”
She hurriedly readied her Gun again and shot at enemy soldiers who entered her line of fire. Thanks to practicing extensively on Monsters, she could land her shots. However, aiming for the gaps in the armor of moving targets was difficult, and her accuracy was only about three hits out of ten. This was a completely different situation from the last time when she could shoot them in the back unnoticed, and she showed signs of panic. Still, she continued firing and stopped after taking down about seven of them. It wasn’t that her Magical Power was running low. It was because after her trick had been figured out, her shots were easily blocked. Yurisia gritted her teeth and joined the fray with a melee weapon.
“Hey, hey! What are you guys doing, getting pushed around like this? Are you trying to embarrass me?”
A young man, who had merely been watching from the rear, spoke a single word, and the twenty-odd surviving enemy soldiers visibly bristled with killing intent.
“Yes, yes. That’s it. Ah, I’ll take care of the two in front, so don’t interfere.”
The man, as declared, stepped forward and stood before Royce and Genzou.
“You guys are pretty good. Come on, entertain me. Let’s have a duel, a duel! Ah, even if you say no, I’ll still kill you, you know?”
As the man postured and readied his sword, an enraged Yurisia lunged at him. The man easily parried her sword, a smirk playing on his lips. Whether it was his words about killing in a duel or because Royce was Rui’s father, Yurisia ignored the voices around her and continued to emit a ferocious killing intent.
“A young woman, huh. It’s been a while since I’ve cut one down, but can you actually entertain me?”
“Yurisia, get back! I’ll handle him!” Royce shouted.
“Too baaad! Once it starts, it doesn’t stop, you know. A deathmatch, that is!”
While spouting taunts, he slashed at Yurisia, but she parried with her swordsmanship skill, “Circle Waltz,” and landed a counter. The man barely dodged it, a few strands of his hair fluttering down.
“Heh, that was close
It was on top of the armor. It hadn’t caused any damage. He probably hadn’t lost any Magical Power either.
“Ah, yeah. As long as you understand. As long as you understand…”
Showing his flippant face again, he lunged at Yurisia.
By that time, her intense emotions seemed to have calmed, and she was directing eyes like ice at the man.
She effortlessly parried the rushing sword strikes with a circular motion.
However, Yurisia’s counter was also easily defended against.
The man gradually increased his speed, as if he were conducting a training session.
“Ahaha, I get it. With your physical abilities, you’re about at your limit, right?”
“—!?”
What should have been parried with her circular motion slipped through at the last moment, and at this rate, she would take a full-force diagonal slash.
Against a superior opponent, this mistake was fatal, and she broke out in a cold sweat, but she couldn’t perform a feat like Rui, instantly raising her enhanced output to its maximum, and had no way to dodge.
However, the sword was stopped just as it lightly touched her hair.
“I can’t have my son’s bride getting scarred, now can I?”
Royce stepped forward, as if to shield Yurisia behind him.
“Um, I! I’ll do it!!”
“Hey, hey, you’re going to make Rui’s great achievements known, right? Then what is it you should be doing?”
“—!?”
Hearing those words, she instantly understood and fled into the forest.
“Huh? Why’d you let her get away, old man…?”
“What, did you think your enemy would just listen to what you say?”
“…Ahaha, I wonder if you’ll be able to say the same thing after I’ve diced you up!?”
The man, who had unnaturally returned to a smile, designated Royce as his enemy and attacked, but Royce lightly met his strike, and the man faltered, losing the blade lock.
“Well, you’re so-so. You’re not skilled enough to be getting so carried away, you know?”
“What are you saying after just one exchange, old man…?”
The man’s atmosphere changed completely; he clad himself in dense Magical Power and directed intense killing intent.
He pointed his sword straight at Royce, gathering power, and lowered his stance.
“A thrust, huh. If I know it’s coming, it’s easy—“
An attack that should have been obvious from his stance.
However, despite not taking his eyes off him, by the time he realized it, the sword tip was already before his eyes, grazing his cheek and breaking his posture.
He instantly regained his stance, but by then, the man had already initiated his next move.
I’m going to get hit by this, Royce thought, his expression twisting.
At that moment, a sharp, dry thwack echoed, and the man’s hand was knocked away.
“Tch, that thing from before, huh? What kind of accuracy is that…
Well, I guess you understand the difference in our strength now, huh?”
“Haha… Looks like the young lady saved me there.
No, you could say Rui lent me his strength…
Genzou! I’ve found a bastard I definitely want to crush. Give me a hand over here!”
The old soldier, who had been waiting behind him even before being called, said, “I thought I’d leave the assessment to you, but his first move was a feint, was it? Carelessness is a great enemy, indeed,” and stood beside Royce.
“It’s that sadistic temperament peculiar to Daltone, isn’t it?
He probably intended to deceive the young lady and torment her.”
“Even if I get used to seeing it, the disgust doesn’t stop. When I see trash like this…”
In complete contrast to before, the two of them lowered their stances, ready to strike at any moment, but the man, conversely, dispelled his killing intent and acted flippant.
“Ahaha, being lumped together with the likes of Daltone is troubling!
We are the Empire’s elite, you know?”
“—!? The Empire, you say…”
Having heard that, they hesitated to attack recklessly.
Even understanding from the opponent’s personality and the already unfolding situation that there was no chance of reconciliation, facing Daltone and the Empire simultaneously meant the collapse of Razbel.
They had to do it, but they couldn’t move. They were driven into such a state of mind.
“Why… King Mildrad was supposed to have abhorred the Empire…”
“Ah, them, you mean. They’re not around anymore. I killed ’em.”
“—!?”
Royce clenched his teeth.
To destroy the Mildrad Royalty was his long-cherished desire.
But now was not the time for that. At this rate, far from reclaiming the country, Razbel itself would be lost.
A sense of tragedy emerged from that fact.
“Ahahahaha! That’s great, that face!
Then shall I tell you one more thing? The other day, it was decided to attack this place with a large army of roughly twenty thousand.
Among them, of course, are the Empire’s elite units. It’s hopeless, isn’t it?”
“T-Twenty thousand, you say…”
Never before in history had such a large force attacked Belfast. It was that large a host.
No matter how much this world valued quality over quantity, being clearly outnumbered meant certain defeat.
On top of that, this time, they say the Empire’s elite units are also present.
If the great power, the Belkurd Empire, were to join the war, twenty thousand wouldn’t be an impossible number.
Seeing the quality of this man and the soldiers he led, his words certainly had credibility.
If the Empire was siding with Daltone, there would be no need for them to bluff.
“So, it’s just a matter of sooner or later, so will you quietly let yourselves be annihilated?
Wait, huh…? Hah? You guys… what happened to you?”
Seeing the state of his own forces, the man’s expression instantly turned cold.
It was because, before he knew it, all but one of them had been annihilated, and moreover, the enemy had only suffered about ten casualties.
The sole survivor ran up and advised a retreat.
“Your Excellency, those guys got wiped out one after another… There’s no way I can handle this alone! We should make a temporary retreat here!”
“Indeed, facing this many opponents might be a bit dangerous…
Oh well, I guess this means I have something to look forward to later.
Tsutomu-kun, I’ll listen to your loyal advice, so you take the rear guard, okay?”
“Heh!? N-No way!? Hey, at least run, Your Excellencyyyy!!”
As he reverted his armament to Magical Power and turned on his heel, walking towards the Beast-Drawn Cart, Tsutomu wailed at the top of his lungs, but Royce and Genzou didn’t move.
Their minds were preoccupied with far more pressing matters.
Watching the two retreat, Royce and Genzou were lost in thought.
“Twenty thousand… where can we possibly pull together enough forces to counter that number…?”
“Whatever we do, our funds are already… Perhaps it’s better to move to reclaim Belfast now.”
They had been waiting for the right time, thinking it would be bad to cause major confusion during wartime.
Many of Lestall’s watchdogs must be lurking in the central command. If they carelessly moved to reclaim the country without laying the groundwork, it could hinder the war effort.
“No, there’s no money there either. Randolph should be pulling all the strings he can, to the limit.
That direction won’t work… Damn it, is there any other way…?”
“…Shall we storm the Lestall Royal Palace and demand they fulfill their promise?”
The soldiers, who had gathered despite their injuries, turned gazes of astonishment towards Genzou’s voice.
The implication behind those words was that they would lose the noble cause of their long-cherished desire: the restoration of Belfast.
Royce looked around at everyone, then actually put it into words.
“Are you really sure? The chances are low, and even if we succeed, we’ll lose the just cause for reclaiming it.”
“It cannot be helped. If Razbel falls, the restoration of Belfast will be completely crushed.”
Hearing that, he muttered, “Indeed. If it goes well, we lose our just cause but maintain the status quo, is that it?”
Just then, a rustling sound came from the bushes, and tension ran through the soldiers, but it was the lovely young girl, Yurisia, who emerged.
Suddenly being subjected to such gazes, she remembered her earlier selfish actions and bowed her head deeply.
“I am truly… sorry…”
“Hmph, what’s my benefactor, who saved me, talking about?”
At that voice, Yurisia quickly raised her head and stared intently at Royce’s face.
The same expression as Rui, the same words. Even his mannerisms were the same.
“Royce-sama…”
Her expression softened gently, and then, with eyes filled with the determination not to make a mistake this time, she gazed in the direction the enemy forces had departed.
After that, deciding to first confirm the facts, they dispatched soldiers to Daltone to investigate.