Then a few hours passed and it was time to hold a military discussion.

　The place is in a room called the Discussion Room.

　It is a room with a long desk placed in the center. A map is placed on that desk.

　The nobles had already come and taken their seats.
　Most of them are the ones I have seen at the last party.
　However, at the last party, the vassals directly serving the nobles did not participate, but they seemed to be participating in the military council. So there are a few faces that I don't see.

'Oh, isn't it Ars? I've heard from Master Clan that you were invited to join us, but is it true?
Lady Lemaire.

　Rumail approached me. It seemed he too had been called to the military council.
　There was also the appearance of his vassal, Menace, a little behind him.

''But you've already been called to the military council, you must have been quite pleased with Master Clan. Isn't that great?''
'Thanks to Master Lemayle for telling my story to the Clan.
As I recall, I've told Master Clan a lot about you. So. Well, I didn't mean to make a big deal out of it, I was just telling you the truth, so it's your ability to get him to like you.

　As we were having this conversation, a nearby nobleman told me that he was

'Isn't that the same little boy who was at the party the other night? Why is he here?

　That's what he called out to me. A dubious look came over his face.

'I was invited by Master Clan.
A child like you?　Not only is it a child, but when it comes to the House of Rovent, it must have been a weak fiefdom.
You got a lot of admiration for me, don't you?

　They look at me with a look of contempt. He seems to have used some kind of dirty method, and he's being wicked.

'More importantly, are the Marcas there your vassals?　Why did you bring the Marcas and others with you?

　This time, another nobleman calls out to me.

He's a vassal.
'A Marka is your vassal?　Don't be silly. They are an inferior species. What do you think you're doing by making them your vassals? Take them out of my sight!

　I said, looking at Leetu with blatant disdain in my eyes.

'Wait, he's...'

　I stop Rumail from trying to talk back.
　In a situation like this, I have to talk back to him myself.

''Rietz is a capable individual. He is a skilled swordsman and has a clear mind. He has served me well many times. And even though you are higher in rank than me, this is the Clan's castle and the Clan is in charge of the military council. I have no need to obey your orders here.
....

　The nobleman glares at me, as if he can't think of any words to say back.

''Hmmm, you'll show your incompetence sooner or later anyway. I look forward to that moment.

　He said and left me.

''........Thank you, Ars-sama.
I'm saying it's mainly a matter of course.

　From then on, Leets was given a stern look, but no nobleman appeared to complain directly to him.


　We take our seats.

　It seems that quite a large number of people will be participating in the military council. I guess they decided that the more people there were, the better ideas would come out.

''All of you, well done for coming together.''

　The Klan comes into the discussion.

'Let's get the discussion started as soon as possible. This time I want to discuss strategy of warfare.

　Strategy is the way the battle is conducted, the scenario. If you don't have this in place, you won't win the battle in the end, even if you win a localized battle.

Robinson.
Yes, sir.

　When his name was called, Robinson, the Clan's right hand man, opened a rolled up piece of paper in his hand.

''Our current strength is about 110,000 men in total. Fifty-five thousand infantry, thirty thousand archers, twenty thousand cavalry, and five thousand magicians. There are three thousand small, five hundred medium and five hundred medium catalytic machines and five hundred large ones. The magic water is about fifty-four thousand one hundred and thirty in all. There's plenty of food for them, and they can continue to fight for several years.

　Robinson talks about the strength of his army.

The strength of the enemy's forces is not fully known, but they are probably 20,000 more numerous than ours. But in terms of the quality of their equipment, they are better equipped than we are.

　It seems that we still don't have a complete picture of our opponent's strength.

　After Robinson spoke of the strength information, one of the nobles

'I'll tell you what I think!　Our troops are of high morale and good quality!　When it comes to the battle, you will win!　This time our goal is to bring down the enemy's stronghold, the Alcantes!　If we mobilize our entire army to attack them, they will fall immediately!

　He said that out loud. He was a man who looked like a martial artist to the eye. The opinions were those of a martial artist, and he didn't seem to have any deep thoughts.

'That's too shallow of an idea. I'm not naive enough to ensure victory with such a simple approach.

　This time it was the aristocrat with the glasses who said that.
　He seemed to be a bit of an intelligent man. The man's appraisal revealed that his intelligence was 71. By the way, the man from before was 41.

To win the war for sure, it is essential to exploit the enemy's weaknesses. Basamark's weaknesses are, quite simply, the lack of legitimacy in his claims. Originally, it was logical that the eldest son, Lord Clan, should be the one to take over the family, but Basamark said that he had originally been appointed as the successor, and although it was a blank slate, it was only because Lord Clan refused to do so, and that he hadn't actually changed his mind about making himself the successor, which is exactly what you'd have to ask the former Governor to find out. We are making a claim.

　The bespectacled nobleman speaks fluently.

'Basamark is so good at orchestrating that he could have rounded up a lot of nobles to his side, but what about the people?　Do the residents of Alcantes have any doubts about the fact that Basamark is currently ruling?　If Basamark loses support from the people of Alcantes and begins to support the Lady Clan, our victory will be as good as assured.

　Now he's still saying a decent strategy.
　He hasn't said how exactly he's going to get the residents of Arcantes to support the Klan, but that would be a tactic, not a strategy.

'Mark, I'm afraid you're not getting enough information.

　It was the Clan who said that. 'Mark is the name of the spectacled nobleman I mentioned earlier.

'He's very good at garnering support from the people. I've built Sempraa into one of the leading commercial cities in the province, while Basamark has garnered support from many different cities in Meesian. The support for Basamark must be especially strong among Alcantes residents. The challenge is how to garner support for Basamark after he is defeated. It will be very difficult for me to garner the support of the people of Alcantez while Basamark is alive.
Oh, yeah I'm sorry.

　The idea was dismissed, and with a blue face, Mark apologized.

'There's no need to apologize, as there's nothing wrong with expressing an opinion.

　The Clan follows up with that, but the atmosphere of the place becomes slightly heavier.

　There was no one to offer an opinion for a while, and silence reigned during the discussion.

''Oh, um, can I give my opinion?''

　It was Roselle's trembling voice that broke the silence.