Rietz was about to begin his march.
　The destination was the place where the enemy was going to carry out the operation that Shamal had told him about. It seems that it is the squad with Ars that will carry out the operation. Shamal had brought a map with him beforehand, and the location of the objective was marked on it.
　According to the scouts' reports, for now, it seems that Ars and his men are marching towards the point marked on the map.

　Before starting their march, Leets asked Shamal about the condition of the soldiers on the forest side, as he was also curious about their condition.
　It seems that they are the soldiers for insurance in case they fail to defeat Leets as a result of the operation, and will come out of the forest later.
　I sent about ten stranded soldiers into the forest as a precaution.

　And before we left.

Okay, now I'm gonna take your catalyzer just in case.

　Rietz told Shamal.
　We don't fully understand the enemy's strategy. It's a good thing that they used the Rumble on the way to the city, because if they used the Rumble on the way to the city and took us by surprise at the same time, we wouldn't be able to breathe.

　Shamal handed me a small catalyst machine without any particular resistance.

(This is........)

　Rietz looked at the catalytic machine and noticed something.

　All catalytic machines are engraved with a number.
　When using the transmitters, by saying the number in a spell, the sound can be delivered to the catalyst machine with the number written on it.

　The number of the catalyst machine that Shamal offered him made Reetz feel uncomfortable.

(This catalyst machine's number is 23159........wasn't it a different number than the one Shamal had?)

　The catalytic converter has a specific person in charge. This is because it is less likely to cause confusion in the transmission of information. It is forbidden to use transmitters on an opponent's squad in a simulated battle.
　Since Rietz doesn't use magic, he doesn't completely know the number of catalyst machines that everyone has, but he had a feeling that it was different.

(If they were different, why not?　Did you have a breakdown?　(Or is it because you have two?)

　A breakdown is not inconceivable, but it's not often that magic is used at this stage in the early stages of the game, and if you don't use it, you won't know if it's broken down or not.
　The possibility that it is because you have two of them is high, Leets thought.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find out what's going on.
　Otherwise, there was no need to bother hiding it.

　We must first confirm whether this catalyst is Shamal's or not. The magicians have memorized all of their numbers, so Reetz asked Charlotte secretly so that Shamal could not hear.

'What?　Shamal's catalyzer number?　...22134, was it?　No, maybe it was 23112?　Ummm, I don't know.
'I'm sorry I was wrong to ask you...'

　Charlotte wasn't good at memorization and didn't remember the number of the catalyst machine as if it were a number.
　That's why she couldn't use the transmitters, and although they were overwhelming in real battles, it was fair to say that they were dragging their feet in simulated battles.

　Rietz asked the other magic soldiers.

''23159 is Tenkes' number.......Shamal is 23111.
I knew it was different.
So close... 2,311.
Well it would be a great opportunity for you to remember this.

　Rietz mutters in dismay.

'But why the wrong number?'

　Charlotte asked me, and I explained that Leets was likely to have two.

'Heh, you have two,'
'It's certainly not natural for a magical soldier to have another's catalyst machine. They're used to using their own, so it should be far easier to use them.

　It seemed unnatural even from a magic soldier's point of view, and Rietz's suspicions deepened.

　But it's not confirmed yet.
　Rietz began a body check of Shamal's body.
　Shamal resisted at first, but eventually gave up and accepted the body check.
　As a result, he found another small catalytic converter.

'What's the point of having two?'
....
'Well, I understand. The scouts report that the squad with Master Ars and his men have arrived at the location marked on the map you brought with you and are waiting. When they arrived here, they were going to rumble with the catalyst machine you had hidden. That was careless of you.
''Yes ... yes ... yes. I screwed up........

　Finally, he admitted it. It was purely just a mistake, apparently, to give him a catalyst machine that wasn't his.

''Let's pretend that we're stuck in the middle here and head to where the squad with Ars-sama is. If Rumble doesn't become, the enemy's surprise attack will not succeed and we should be able to fight in our favor.

　I said that, knowing that Reetz would win.


　00


And, well, they'll be sure to win like this.

　Mireille chuckled and spoke to me about the movements of Leets and the others.

　Her plan, simply put, is to make them find out on purpose.
　By deliberately making Shamal make a mistake on purpose, she would make Leets and the others think that she had defeated our strategy.
　That way, they'll be caught off guard if they think they've seen through our strategy. The reason we made them talk about a complicated strategy for nothing is because they would feel uncomfortable if it was too simple.

　I think it is a good strategy to read people's minds.
　According to the scouts' reports, the Liets seem to be coming towards us.

　The way to beat them is to wait for them to get closer.
　Then, when they are much closer, you move your troops at high speed.
　Reporting on the transmitters takes quite a bit of time to cast the spell and to finish casting it and be ready to send sound.
　If we can move our troops before they finish transmitting information and move to a blind spot and launch a surprise attack from there, it would be a very effective attack on the careless Leets.

'I don't know if it's a success at this stage yet. It's possible that the Leets have missed it.
I don't think so.

　If they had missed it, Leets would be on his guard and would come at him. If that happens, we'll be forced to change our strategy.
　However, it seems that Reetz and the others are coming towards us at a slightly earlier speed than usual. I'm sure they think they've seen through the ruse and have been less vigilant, albeit slightly.

　And after some time has passed, the catalyst machine of the magicians belonging to the squad was contacted.
　It's a signal that we've come to a place where we can move.

''Alright, let's go.''
Yeah.

　I motioned for everyone to get moving.

　Leets and the others have not yet come to a position where they are visible to the naked eye.
　Thinking about the enemy's route of advance, I moved my troops at high speed so that they could get into a shape where they could go around.

　The slightest delay will lead to defeat, so I moved my troops quickly anyway.

　After that, I succeeded in getting behind Leets and the others.
　Leets and the others have stopped their advance. Perhaps they are currently in the process of receiving reports from the magic soldiers.

　First of all, I think it's a bow and arrow, and I shower them with a large number of arrows from behind.

　I was able to take out quite a few enemy soldiers.
　At first the opponents were confused, but with Rietz's skill, the confusion was easily cleared up and the battle began.

　Rietz's troops were severely cut down by the first bow, so they had a hard time, but they fought hard, and although our surprise attack was successful, the battle was unexpectedly close, and eventually we won.


　○


I owe my victory to the success of Mireille's plan. Therefore, I will continue to use her as my vassal, as I had promised.

　After the fight was over, he declared that in front of everyone.

　Many of them looked dissatisfied, but none of them complained since it was a promise.

''However, if you continue to cause problems repeatedly in the future, we may have to expel you. Keep that in mind.
Okay.

　I put a nail in the coffin. Well, I doubt you'll listen to me.

　Anyway, it was decided that Mireille would continue to be a vassal.