SIDE: Edmont (General)
　The easternmost city in the kingdom, where all the kingdom's soldiers are gathered.
　It's amazing how they managed to gather such a large number. Well, the quality is terrible for that.
　I still have to watch for any mischief, and I'm sure there must not be many soldiers who are actually misbehaving in the city. .......
　Haha, now the king is going to be hated by the people again .

'General!　It looks like war has been declared successfully!

Yeah. So you're still on schedule, four days from now?
　It's already been three days since the first day of the Tripartite Conference. If the king is working as planned, war should start a week after the declaration of war.
　The man who came to report to me nodded at my question.

"Yes, sir. "Yes, sir. It will begin at the same time His Majesty crosses the border.

Yeah, I see. How are the men?

"Good, I think. It's just that ......
　His men were stammering. Well, they're the men you've got for me.
　Well, I don't mind this kind of thing.

It's just that there are so many rogues, you don't know what will happen until we get started?

'Yes ......, honestly, I can't rely on those guys to help me out. ......

What choice do I have?　We don't have the money to hire proper mercenaries in our country. Besides, if we can get those guys out of the kingdom, that's all the money we'll make.
　At least that's what the nobles think.
　Well, it's not good for us to be fighting for our lives.

Do you suppose that General ...... wants them to commit banditry in the Empire?

I don't know. But I'm not gonna ask them to play by the soldier's code. Let them do what they want.
　It's better to let them run amok than to waste your energy on a bunch of disobedient thugs.

Are you sure you're okay with this?　I think I would be betrayed in a heartbeat if the war situation went badly.

That's what I think. So I think I'm going to let them be a diversion, separate from them.
　You can't be taking these people with you to the dead city.

Is that a diversion?

Yes. I will have them storm a few major cities in the west of the Empire. And while the Empire takes care of business, we'll go straight to Mirdeen.
　You will send your goons to the three main cities in former Philibert territory, while we head straight for Mladin.
　We've checked the roads before. We'll take the shortest route.

"Will it work that well?　If they ignore the bandits and wait for us in Myrddin ...... we can't very well win, can we?

'They won't ignore it. I don't care how much the city is in decline, if we ignore it, the people will turn against us.
　And there's nothing worse than a thief who's got his money.
　He'll know that too.

''Would you be a diversion then? ......
　Don't look so worried.

Well, you knew this was a war that was impossible. Well, you knew it was an impossible war. It's going to be hard.
　We have a 5 percent chance of winning, at best. Unless a few lucky breaks come together, we'll be hard to win: .......


　SIDE: Leons.
　I turned off the monitor.
"I see. ...... A very Kingdom-like tactic.
　That's a really dirty tactic. But it's annoying when it's done.
　That general was tough to beat.

What do you want to do?　Do you want to ignore the bandits?
　Elsie, who was watching me, looks at me like she's worried about me.
　Don't worry about it. We'll win.
　By the way, Sherry, Belle and the others went to the dungeon early in the morning.
　They want to raise their levels as much as possible to prepare for the war.

If winning the war is all he cares about, that's fine. It doesn't work that way, does it?

Certainly, we'll have to deal with that later,

Yeah. Besides, wouldn't the lords trust a man who abandoned them?
　The bandits will be taken care of, but people's trust can't be regained.
　Therefore, it would not be wise to leave a city that I will have to rule afterwards.

That's true: ....... But isn't that exactly what they want if they allocate their troops to three major cities?



''Yes, but ....... Worst-case scenario, we could have a defensive battle here if we had a magic squad. Or we could hire some city adventurers to use their magic guns. Don't you have quite a few magic guns in stock?
　Originally, I was going to make the knights who can't use magic use magic guns ...... but that job can be done by adventurers.
　We just need to send the knights to the cities to somehow buy time with the remaining members.
　We'll have to give up this plan to stop them.

We have enough magic guns ready to distribute to the adventurers. It's just that the magic stone is .......

''In that case, I'll have the magicians focus their magic on the magical stones before the battle here starts. Arrange for an abundance of empty magic stones.
　Even if we can't keep them here, we won't arrive here for two weeks at the earliest.
　That should give us enough magic stones to stock up on.

Understood. I'll see if I can arrange for the adventurers to visit some of the local merchants.

Chamber of Commerce?
　If you're an adventurer, aren't you a guild?

"Yes, sir. Your own adventurer. Most of the adventurers operating in this city are employed by the most powerful merchants.

Okay. Well, I'll let Elsie do that for you.
　As for the merchant, Elsie knows how to handle him better than I do, so there's no need for me to help her out...

'Yes, sir. I'll take care of it. And what about the ...... shield and armor?　The Knights said it wasn't necessary.

Well, they all have their own equipment. Well, have your adventurers wear them. They'll be able to shoot and protect themselves from incoming fire.
　Master invented it. We have to make good use of it.
　Speaking of which, does the Master realize that the war is about to start ......?

Yes. Well, I'll make those arrangements for you.

Yes, thank you.

No. That's the only way I can help you.

It's enough. You're a big help.
　Without Elsie, the preparations for the war wouldn't have gone so smoothly.
　I'm so grateful. As I thought that, I hugged Elsie tightly.

"Thank you, sir.

Well, I'm going to go ask the magic squad about the magic stone.

"Okay. I'll ask the city's merchants to loan me some adventurers.

'Well, Stan must still be in the castle: ......
　I left Elsie and went to Stan's room.


So I'll just need a little more time.
　I was on my way to Stan's room when I heard Mr. Flair's voice .
　Seeing the slightly troubled voice and the person with whom I was speaking, I quickly hid as soon as I could .
　No, I don't feel like I need to hide, but my body moved on its own, so it's no use.

'We've been waiting for another month ....... Besides, there's a war coming up . We don't even know what's coming next: ......

I know. . by the time the war starts: ......
　Miss Flare bowed her head and went before Stan could stop her .
　Oops .

''I understand your impatience with the war, but if you're a man, I think it's cooler to just sit back and wait.
　I understand your impatience, but sometimes you just have to be patient.
　I don't know how long we've been putting up with you, Mr. Burt.

Leos.
　Oops, I forgot I was hiding.

I'm sorry to surprise you. But I thought we should have a little talk in private.


I started dating Flair a little after ...... the most powerful battle of the Order.
　I walked into Stan's room and he began to explain the situation to me in bits and pieces.

"Yeah. How long have you been in love with him?

It was at my tryouts for the Order. I fell in love with Flare at first sight when she was interviewing for a job.

'I see. ....... Do you like Stan properly, Flair?　Oh, no, if you're in a relationship, yeah. . sorry.
　But that's what you mean by Mr. Flair, who is too old to marry, is hesitant to get married: ......?

No. ....... Honestly, I don't know. Maybe it's ...... but I think Flair is in love with someone else. It's just that it's an unbeatable love ...... and she's decided to get involved with me to forget that person.


　Eh, this is getting complicated again.

''I like someone else: ....... Flare, I believe you went to school with your brother Alex at wizarding school. Could it be that you were in love with ...... a nobleman who had a fiancée?
　If that's the case, they're already married, right?
　Still, you can't give up: .......

'Maybe I am,'

'Yes ......, oh, and by the way, I remember brother Ivan was still in the castle.
　Brother, I'm sure you and Fleur were close.
　He might know something.


　I decided to act on the spur of the moment, so I came to your brother.
Was it someone who liked Fleur?

Yeah. You don't know your brother?

Of course I know who you are. You're Cliff.

"Yes!
　The ridiculous name was mentioned as an obvious one, and me and Stan were surprised to hear it.
　No, Mr. Cliff is .......

'Well, I don't know if you still like him. If you want, Flare was dumped once when she was in wizarding school.

Why?

'Well, in those days Cliff was living in his mother's face. You couldn't marry a commoner, you know.
　It's true that Cliff's mother was quite resentful of Shelley's mother, who was a commoner.
　With Cliff's situation, it was hard to choose Flair as a mate.

I see. ...... Thank you.

Oh. Was it Stan?　I'm looking forward to seeing what your unit does.

...... Yes.
　He popped Stan on the shoulder and walked away.
　Stan, you look like you're about to die.
　That's what happens when you find out that your rival is the next emperor.

"Cliff. ....... "Your enemies are more powerful than we thought.

...... Yes. But I could see why Flair would be bothered.
　It's not good that you're so down before the war.
　And moreover, it's cruel that the captain of the magic squad, the most important person in this time, is in such a bad state.

''If it's the Crown Prince, I'd better give up on him. ......
　I don't know. I was going to help you, but I feel like I've done something unnecessarily wrong.
　Think about it: ....... You have five wives, right?

"Well ......, no, I don't think that's necessary. If you want, you should be willing to take it away from me.

What?

'Mr. Cliff isn't a man to get mad about something like that. Or maybe he's not even interested in it: ......
　He told me he wasn't going to marry me.
　So I don't think you have to give up on him. But I want Cliff to be happy, too, and I have mixed feelings about that.

What do you mean?

Well, we'll see. In the meantime, we'll have to see ...... how Mr. Flair feels about Stan.

How can I help?

Did you go on a date or something?

No. We're both busy... ...... only three times.
　That's three times in that amount of time. ...... It's not much.
　No, it's my fault we're so busy.

You know, we never saw the light of day. I'm sorry.

No, no. I hope you don't mind.

'Right. ....... Then why don't you go away somewhere far away when the war is over?　I'm sure you'll hear the answers afterwards.
　We won't be in the country anyway, on our way home.
　I need you to rest your wings for a while. Freya-san, you'll be able to think more clearly about your relationship with Stan when things are calmer, rather than during this busy time.

'Yes. ...... I understand.

Okay, if you decide to do that, you can go to ......
　Then I had Stan tell Flair that he didn't have to answer to her yet, and that we had to go somewhere after the war was over, and I went back to my room, satisfied.
　Then I forgot that I had to tell Stan about the magic stone.
　Oh, I made sure to tell Stan right away the next morning. Yes, sir.