How do you know?

　Mireille said he knew what the enemy's movements meant, and I asked him a question.

'I told you before that the enemy forces have Attah's brother. Maybe that's the plan he came up with.

　Does that mean you know what your brother is thinking?

What's the plan?
'The attacks can't reach us from the large catalyst machine, but what will be effective in this battle isn't attack magic. There's a magic called Rain. It's a magic that makes it rain locally for a short time. With this magic, you can make it rain right where the Clan is.
What are you going to do with the rain?
'The land where the Clan is camped. The ground here is a bit poorly maintained on the roads, and it is also of a muddy nature. When it rains, it takes away their mobility. In addition, the sound of rain has the effect of making it difficult to hear other sounds. This is Thomas's strategy to take away their mobility and hearing, making it easier for them to carry out a successful surprise attack. It's likely that he's running a surprise team in addition to the catalytic unit without being noticed.
"You're going to kill Master Clan with that surprise attack...
That's what I'm talking about.

　There is also the question of whether it will work that well.
　Why wouldn't the Clan crush the large catalytic machine that is headed for the mountains in the first place?

　I ask.

'Why is Master Clan letting the enemy's large catalytic machine head for the mountains without telling us?
'It's probably because we can't read the enemy's aim. If they are sending their troops to a place that is seemingly unrelated to the war, they won't have time to devote to it. And we have to take into account the possibility that it's a trap or something.

　Indeed, as long as we don't know what the enemy is aiming for, it would be fatal to move poorly.

''It's a very bad situation for our army to have Clan-sama killed.

　Rietz said.

　I understand that very well.
　Without the Clan, the legitimacy of this army will be lost and it will collapse.
　I may not only lose my career, but my position may become questionable as well.
　We must avoid that.

''I must advise Master Clan to defeat the troops heading for the mountains now.
'Then there's a good chance you won't be able to make it... it's also possible that you're too late to realize it in the first place, and you're no longer physically ready to make it.
That's....
It's possible you won't make it in time, but I never said you would. We'd better get some help. Someone who can get to the scene as quickly as possible and who is also strong enough to save the Clan from a surprise attack.

　When he said that, my mind conjured up images of Pham in The Shadow and Ben.

　Currently, just Pham is still here.
　It should be possible to ask him to do it now.

'I'll let The Shadow take care of it.
'A clandestine mercenary... well, that's probably the best way to go about it.
I'll be right back.

　I ran to Pham and made a request.

'The general is about to die? That's another big deal.

　He said that as if it were someone else's business.
　Well, maybe it's actually someone else's problem from his point of view.

'Do I get paid?'
Oh, yeah, how much would you charge me?
I need something other than money.

　I found that statement surprising, as he'd generally demanded money as his reward.

'What do you want?'
Make us your vassals.
What?
I don't really like the idea of being a mercenary because I'm not very stable. I had no choice but to do it since I took over from the previous generation, but if I found someone I thought would be willing to serve, I would serve him.
Do I look like I'm ready to serve?
'Yeah. The ability to see the abilities of others, and the ability to convince someone successfully, is one of the highlights of your life. I can serve you.

　I've said that I can serve from the top of things, and I'm glad to have The Shadow serve me, too.

'All right. I'll accept your service.
We have a deal. Good luck in the long run. Well, that is, if you can make it.

　With one last ominous word, he went to help the Clan.