39-Episode 39 To Canale Castle




 A few days after my father's death, reports of the Clan raising of troops came to my ears.

 The Clan had written a proclamation for the raising of the troops, and it had been delivered to the houses of weak lords like the Loebent family.

 The content of the proclamation was to condemn his brother Basamark anyway.

 First of all, it identified Basamark as the mastermind behind the assassination (there is no clear evidence). It also went on to say so much about Basamark's shortcomings. He stressed that Basamark had no vessel for being a governor and that he was the one who deserved it.
 He also condemned Basamark for the fact that he now had the provincial capital, Alcantes, in his hands. He had repeatedly demanded that the provincial capital be surrendered, but when his demands were not met, he seemed to have decided to raise the troops this time.

 But is Alcantes now in the hands of Basamark?

 Arcantes is the most populous city in the state of Mythian, as it is the capital of the province.
 Naturally, the number of troops that can be mobilized for it is also high.

 In addition to Alcantez, there are three other major cities in Mycian.

 Masa, the largest city in the west, closest to Lumberk.
 Sempra, on the south side.
 Belzud is in the east.

 Incidentally, Arcantes is located in the center of Mythian.

 The Klan now governs Sempraa.
 Sempra is a city that faces the sea. It is the richest city in Mythian, with a thriving trade by ship.
 If you use the money to hire mercenaries, you might be outnumbered, but not outgunned, in terms of population.

 The question is which of the two lords of Belzud will side with the rest of the big city, Masa.
 I don't know which side these two lords will be on yet. We need to find out as soon as possible what they will do with this campaign.

''Arus-sama, we have received a letter from Lemeil-sama. Perhaps he wants you to come up to Canale Castle.

 Rietz reported that.

 When I read it, it was just as Rietz had predicted.

'I knew it would happen. What will they discuss at Canale Castle?'
Perhaps it's about war strategy. Perhaps you've received instructions from the Clan.
'Hmm, I wonder how this war will work for Canale County...'
I guess so. ''Yes, that depends on the situation. We don't know which side the lords to the west of Mythian will take at this point. But if the Masa county chief arrives at his brother's side, it could be quite a mess.

 Masa county, where the western metropolis of Masa is located, is located in a place that has a little bit of territory with Canale county. The location is to the northeast of Canale County.

 It is a county several times larger than Canale County, and even if you fight it properly, your chances of victory are slim.
 There are reports that Perena County, which is to the east of Canale County, will follow his brother, and if Massa follows his brother, Canale County will have no choice but to follow his brother's side.

''Well, if I go to Canale Castle, I'll be able to get some idea of what the situation is. I suppose this will be my first job as a lord.''
'Yes. Well, I don't feel like this is my first time, since I've been there before as a substitute.
Yeah.

 The previous discussions were simple, though, so this one is likely to be a much more complicated exchange, so it's still kind of like a first time job.

'Yes, it is. I'm going into town, but can you make contact with the mercenary group called 'The Shadow' that Rietz was talking about the other day?

 Since my father died and became a lord, the decision to hire or not hire mercenaries will now be mine.

 I've had some of the soldiers trained as information gatherers, but it still takes time, so I wanted to have an information gatherer now.
 The more I think about what I'm going to do, the more I think I still need information. No matter how intelligent we are, we can't make an appropriate decision without information.

''We can contact them from the town of Canale. But they're not the type of people who are only driven by money, so I don't know if we can hire them.
'You're a mercenary and you don't just work for money?
''Most mercenary groups depend on their rewards, but there are some rare ones that don't. The Shadow Commander is an oddball, so I'm not sure what criteria he uses to choose them.
'I see. Anyway, I'd like to hire you, so after we talk at Canale Castle, you can meet with the Shadow Commander.
Yes, sir.

 I then choose which ones to accompany me.
 Like last time, I decided to take Rietz, Charlotte, some of my vassals, and this time, Roselle, too.

 This time there could be a full-scale military congress.
 I decided to take Roselle with me, not because I thought she would have good opinions, but because I wanted her to gain experience early on if she was to become a military strategist in the future.

 I left the mansion with my vassals and made my way to Canale Castle.