Now, I don't think it's going to accomplish anything since we've lost touch, but the Heavenly Gate still exists in the Orin oracle country. So I tried to leave to just check it out, but........

　The Pretares family's retainer, Dominic, suddenly appeared at the rear, chasing after him on a fast horse [The rock salt mine is in trouble, that it is!　I need your help!] And it's a troublesome thing to do.

　As long as they ride fast horses and go out of their way to follow our footsteps and ask for our help. It must be quite a hassle, and we have our own investigation to do.

　We'd like to pretend that we don't see them and get away. However, after asking me to take care of Viville, it would be too insincere for a human being to ignore it and shake it off. That's why I didn't like it, but I decided to stop the car and wait for Dominic's arrival and listen to what he had to say.

Dominique," he said, "that explanation doesn't make sense at all, does it?　Can you calm down and explain the situation first?

　The rock salt resistance is a key part of the Pretares family financial recovery.
　I know it's desperate.

　As far as I'm concerned, a forced march with no preparation or information, just a hurry, is very dangerous. That's what the God of Warfare says, and no matter how impatient Dominic-san is, I'm not going to do anything until I've listened to him and made a plan.

'Then get in the self-driving car and then you can explain!　Get your self-driving car out first!

　 Our destination is going to be the city road for now.

　The self-driving car is driven by Manya and I decided to get into the cargo bay and hear the details from Dominique-san.


The cargo compartment of the self-driving car

First, you must moisten your throat. It's a diluted wine, but it's cold.　We can go on sitting now. The horses have the family crest on them too, so it looks like the officials have recovered them, so you can talk to them without worrying.

　With a calm motion, he proceeds to pour the wine from the cooler into a copper cup.
　Dominic is finally relieved, and he clears his throat with a thin, well-chilled glass of wine.

　In case you're wondering, the diluted wine is for customers. We have a refrigerator in our house, so there's no need to mix the liquor for embalming purposes. And no drinking and driving, even in another world!　Furthermore, Midea is underage, which is why barley tea is mainly fruit juice.

(Barley tea is made from roasted barley, not tea leaves, so it can be prepared in Ares.

It's a nice chill that brings you back to life, but thanks to you, I can breathe a sigh of relief. I'm already in a self-propelled car, and I will explain to you in detail about the rock salt mine.

　I started sharing information (data link) with all my friends. I brought in a sound collection microphone because it's too much trouble to explain it again later. Multi-purpose goggles are also possible, but I don't want to equip them in the car.

　By the way, the multipurpose goggles were custom-made just for the Goddess's research and development center. The armored vehicle does most of the data processing, but it's more versatile than the personal equipment of the digitization unit and has more information to share. However, it is a terribly expensive item.

　You can communicate with just a headset, an arithmetic unit and batteries, but it's still heavy and cramped. That's why the only person equipped during the ride is on immediate response duty.

If you have any papers to fill up, we'll have a desk for you. If you want something to drink or eat, don't hesitate to ask. Well, I'll be on my way.


★Dominique's explanation.

　Around the time we left the Proving Ground, thieves started coming around the salt mine. That seems to be how it all started. In the beginning there were about a hundred of them, but for some reason the number has increased rapidly to about three thousand now. It seems that the number is increasing slowly even now.

　The number should be called a bandit army rather than a burglar.

　It is fortunate that the territorial guards dispatched by Sailor-sama have made a valiant effort to retreat the main body of the bandits to the vicinity of the Ikaruga Forest while the number of bandits was small.

　These territorial guards, in fact, were the devouring vassals of Sailor-sama, who were on a part-time basis. They never want to lose their jobs. Furthermore, they were looking forward to the opportunity to make achievements and return to the realm with their families.

　You can't get away with it in front of them, even if you're several times as big as they are. It's not just a matter of time before you're ready to make a move.

　After the size of the bandit army became large, they didn't strike out anymore. However, the bandits were so traumatized that they switched from attacking the rock salt fighters directly to attacking the rock salt merchants in small groups.

　Thanks to this, the rock salt resistance was unharmed, but the transport of rock salt has been drastically reduced.

　Moreover, the current bandit army strength is far greater than the defensive strength of the Rock Salt Antiquities, and even if the street guards of the surrounding countries were combined, it would not be enough. No matter how traumatized they are, it's no wonder they're in a situation where they can attack at any time.

　Or rather, how could they frighten them to this extent?

　However, the bandit stronghold is in the vicinity of the Kitamura Forest, west of the Kaido, due to early losses. Nevertheless, a small unit continued to threaten the rock salt transportation route east of the highway, and the number of people was too unnatural as well. So no one thinks that they are just bandits.

　So, in the Alpes Guards, the supply of cheap rock salt has stagnated and the price of salt has risen. As a result, prices began to rise, and King Alpu, who didn't like the friction with the neighboring countries, finally decided that it was the work of a hostile force and decided to use the national army to defeat the bandits.

　However, with more than 3,000 bandits on the battlefield, the Alpes cannot afford to send a single army. Therefore, King Alpu asked for cooperation from the countries affected by the banditry.

　In response, the Berta Urban Confederacy, which belonged to the Luxen Chamber of Commerce, the largest shareholder of the Rock Salt Antiquities, and whose trade was being blocked. The Aigis Shield State, which was upset when trade between Berta and Aigis was halted. These two countries promised to deploy in response to the request for cooperation.

　With this, a joint defeat by [Alp, Aigis, and Berta] was scheduled to take place.

　However, just before this defeat, the new Emperor Ares took exception and declared that [dispatching the defeating force would be considered a declaration of war]. They demanded that the participating countries reduce the scale of the conflict or cancel it.

　In the opinion of the new Ares Empire, the banditry itself was suspicious of a plot by the Olin nations. In the unlikely event that this was a ruse, the three-nation coalition and the self-proclaimed bandit army intend to join together to invade our country...

　Dominic explained the positional relationship with the current map.

　If we were to compare it to the Earth, Spain is the newborn Kingdom of Ares. The position of the bandits is on the west coast of France, near the Pyrenees Mountains.

Dominique's map


The red star is a rock salt antioxidant.
The blue circle is the expected range of the bandit stronghold.
That doesn't narrow it down much.

The orange circle is the Sailor's management area.
5) is Aigis Shield State.
The 1111 in the north is the United Cities of Berta.
The new kingdom of Ares is at the western end.
The southeast corner is the Olin oracle.


　According to the original plan of defeat, the Alp Guards and the Aigis Shield Army met at the T-junction of the road, or the capital of Aigis, and became the main force of the defeating force. The Berta Urban Confederate Army moved southward from the north and established a defensive position, a pincer operation aimed at putting pressure on the bandit army and preventing them from escaping.

　However, from the perspective of the newborn Ares Imperial State. If it was a ruse, the allied forces and the bandit army could meet up near the border. Furthermore, if the Olin oracle nation was behind, a severe defensive battle was inevitable.

　Moreover, if the initial attack was delayed, the barrier and other defenses would not be ready in time, and there was a high possibility that the enemy would break through. The defensive strategy of the new Ares Empire is a mountain warfare with the Pillay Mountains as a fortress. It's a situation where it's no surprise that they are on high alert.

　Then, there was also talk of the new Ares Imperial State defeating the bandits. However, if it was a conspiracy, there is a high possibility that the defeating force would be caught between the bandits and the allied nations.

　Besides, it would be difficult to rescue the counterattack forces that were far from the border. Furthermore, if the Allied troops were chasing the defeated counterattackers into the checkpoint. If they were caught in the rout, the garrison at the checkpoint would collapse, and they could be invaded deep into the country.

　Besides, the newborn Ares Empire is one of the three major powers and a powerful nation. If it is judged to be a conspiracy, it is standard practice to send out reinforcements and aim to destroy each of them while preventing the gathering of the nations. In the worst case scenario, there is a fear that this could lead to a war between the Olin kingdom and the new Ares dynasty.

　Then, in the event that the Three Powers Coalition accepts the plan to reduce the size of the strike force, the number of bandits is expected to grow to about 5,000 by the time the strike is carried out.

　Therefore, the strength of the force to defeat the rebels was planned to be more than 10,000, which would be enough to ensure victory in the field. However, under the proposed reduction, the maximum number of defeating forces would be 5,000. If they were fighting a bandit army, they would still be able to win, but the losses would be unnecessary and the situation would be prolonged.

　In addition, if the bandit army was a plot by another force. It wouldn't be surprising if they were mercenaries or a regular army, in which case the defeating force would be defeated.

　They're making preparations under these circumstances, but even if they're ready, they can't act.