*

　It stank, Roy rubbed his nose as he walked.
　The wind flowing from the enemy field position was pregnant with a stench.
　It wasn't the stench of decay.
　If it were summer, it would still be January now - it's still winter.
　It takes time for a corpse to decompose.
　The stench is really the smell of vagrant blood and guts.
　The smell gets stronger the closer you get to the enemy field position.
　I look behind me over my shoulder and see Richard scowling.
　His complexion is not good.

''Is this the first time you've smelled offal?''
Yeah, well, you're right.

　Richard clammed up.
　I think he's afraid of being described as a coward.
　That's what men are like.
　Military men are especially prone to it.
　They believe that if they are manly they will be respected by their peers and if they are not, they will be despised.
　That's ridiculous.
　Manly or feminine, the ones who are despised are despised.
　But unfortunately, when a lot of people believe that, it's true.
　Especially in a closed environment like the military.
　After falling into a state of self-imposed bondage, they force others to do the same.
　They believe it's the right thing to do and they can't get rid of it.
　Or maybe they have a deep sense that it is wrong.
　Still, we can't say it's wrong.
　To deny the values that are shared by so many is to cease to be a friend.
　It would isolate us on the battlefield.
　That's a terrible thing.
　Only true heroes can fight on a battlefield full of enemies.
　There are no true heroes, so sympathetic pressure prevails.
　It's trivial.
　It's trivial, but the fact that it hasn't gone away must have some merit.
　For example, increasing the sense of solidarity on the battlefield.
　Well, it's pointless to increase the sense of solidarity if you die from it.
　As I was thinking about this, Richard gradually opened his mouth.

''Roy-dono is ... no, it's nothing.''
I'm not the first person to do that.

　Roy chuckled.
　The first time he'd smelled offal was when he'd come face to face with his mother's corpse.
　The second time was when he had avenged his mother's death.
　He learned then that beautiful women and ugly men didn't smell much differently from their offal.
　Before that, it's no good if the leader of the Kingsguard is an inexperienced murderer.

''But will it be alright?''
What?
"Will the rebels keep their word?

　Richard grunted as Roy asked back.

'Didn't I tell you it was going to be okay?'
That's true, but...

　Richard nagged.
　The anxiety must be rising now.
　He feels ashamed of himself, but it's a natural human emotion.
　The rebels - if Crono was lying, Roy and Richard would die.
　It's hard to keep your cool in a situation where you might die.
　I think I'm going to be okay, Roy said, looking up at his beloved spear.
　There is a white cloth tied to the tip.
　This is the signal that we have come to negotiate.
　Roy stopped in front of the obstacle at the front and raised his spear.
　The soldiers who were looking at us from the hole looked at each other.
　At that moment, something moved in the corner of my vision.
　When I looked around, I saw that Crono and the Minotaur were about to come out of the field position.
　Crono is holding a folding chair and Minotaur is carrying a table.
　They seem to be making a place to get through, but it won't be easy to break through.
　Crono and Minotaur bypass the obstacles and come closer to us.
　Quite some time has passed--.

''Hi, it's been a while.''

　Crono stopped and bowed his head lightly.
　Roy's eyes widened lightly.
　It's not that they have a feud, but they are their own enemies.
　It's no wonder they have bad feelings.
　Despite that, Crono's attitude was too normal.
　It was at least a little surprising.

''Yeah, it's been a while. I haven't seen you since the Imperial City.''
What does that mean you're here?
I'm here to discuss a temporary truce.
Good.

　Crono exhaled as if in relief.

'Heh, I see.'
It was worth it to bring the chairs and tables.

　As Crono put down his chair, the Minotaur set the table down.

'Come in,'
Yeah, I'm sorry.

　Roy gave him a look and offered Richard his beloved spear.
　Richard pretended to be puzzled, but he was afraid to take it in his hands.
　Roy sat down in a chair, and Crono sat down too.

'But then again, I didn't expect Lord Roy to come. I only thought that Argena-dono would come...''
Really?
Yes, really.

　Crono said with a smile.
　Perhaps it's a lie.
　I have no way of verifying the truth, but we should assume that he knows the inner workings of the Imperial Army to some extent.

'So, you're talking about a truce.
'Yes, we need you to collect the bodies and the wounded. It's not like we're going to fight with the wounded cooing and moaning about the stones...
Well, yeah.

　Roy nodded.
　He thought to himself what he was talking about while keeping them disposable, but he couldn't just leave the wounded to keep morale up.

'How long do you want the truce to be?'
Yeah.

　Roy crossed his arms, but given the state of the Imperial Army, a long truce would be difficult to achieve.

'How about until noon tomorrow?'
Tomorrow afternoon?
Yeah, I'll give you proper notice if I need an extension.
...I see.

　Crono nodded after a moment.

'By the way, you will refrain from attacking us when we transport the wounded, won't you?
''Yes, if you tie a white cloth to the tip of the stick and hold it up so that I can see it clearly, I will not be the target of the attack. However, I will attack you if you are coming towards the battlefield from the imperial capital, or if the cavalry is moving alone...
You're solid.
He's still in command.

　Crono laughed and Roy caught on and laughed too.
　I couldn't help but laugh, but it's not a very funny situation for the Imperial Army.
　Setting a marker to refrain from attacking means that they were expecting this situation.
　They are too far behind.

''Just to be sure, since we're not going to touch them when we transport the wounded, you won't destroy the field positions over there either, right?
Of course.
'I beg your pardon. But I need a guarantee.
All right. I'll supervise the operation. If any of my men start acting suspiciously, just kill me.
Mister Roy.

　It was Richard who responded to Roy's words.

'What?'
Wouldn't that be too dangerous?
I don't have a choice.

　It's quite thrilling to know that if a subordinate behaves in a questionable manner, you're dead.
　But that's what being in charge is all about.

You can't complain about this, can you?
Yes, of course.
Good. I guess we have a deal.

　Roy patted his chest.
　Half of it is serious, the other half is an act.
　Thank goodness the conditions were within our expectations.

''How many people will be working on it?''
Yeah. How about a thousand people?
A thousand?

　Crono raised his eyebrows in difficulty.

'No?'
I understand.

　Crono said with a sigh.
　I can't say I'm surprised.
　I thought they would persist because they could make us consume our food fodder without fighting.
　Did they think they couldn't attack the supply units during the truce?
　Or did they have other options?
　Either way, they didn't think it was necessary to persist here.

''Then--''
Wait a minute.

　Roy was about to stand up when Crono spoke up.

'What?'
'Baron Bowties-oh, you're the Director of Finance now, aren't you? I haven't finished with the Director of Finance, Bowties.
If I ask for it back, will you give it back?
'Of course. 'Because Treasurer Bawties is an important man,'
Someone important.

　Roy muttered softly and sat back down.

'What are the terms of the handover?'
No, sir.
You don't have it?

　Roy muttered in disgust.

'I just don't think they'll trust us with no terms, so we'll hand them over once we've collected the bodies and the wounded.
You do have one, don't you?
How about those terms?

　Crono leaned forward.
　Now, what's going on, Roy crossed his arms.
　It would be easier to keep him until the battle was over, he thought, but it would be a bad idea to leave the Director of Finance alone after recovering the vagrant's body.

'All right,'
Good.

　When Roy nodded, Crono patted his chest.
　Did he make a deal with the head of the Bowties Finance Bureau?
　Such an imagination passed through his mind, but it was unlikely that the head of the Bowties Finance Bureau would agree to it.
　They are killing my wife and children.
　In the unlikely event that we were to make a deal, we'd have to deal with it personally.

'The truce is until noon tomorrow, and the number of men working over here is a thousand, and when we carry the wounded, we'll make sure we have a stick of cloth tied up so we can see them, right?
Yeah, it's nice to meet you.

　Crono bowed begrudgingly and Roy stood up.

*

I need your help.
It's hot. It's hot. Get me some water.
Ow, that hurts.
Please, please. Kill me.

　Grunts could be heard from all over the enemy field position.
　Roy stood next to the most forward obstacle and raised a stick with a white cloth tied to it.
　It's a stick that looks like it's three meters long.
　With this, it would not be impossible to see from the enemy camp.
　It's a marker for transporting the wounded, so it's not necessary right now, but it's a matter of mood.

"...Hey, get it over with.
Ha!

　Roy snapped his chin and a large number of civilian soldiers walked past in front of him.
　They held a stretcher in their hands, made from an assortment of materials.
　When making the stretcher, Argena still did not look good.
　However, I forced her to nod her head.
　I'm really glad she said the word "leave it to me".
　If I hadn't taken the pledge, I would have wasted my time again.
　Nevertheless, the number of stretchers is insufficient.
　So--.

'Alright!　Let's get the cart up!
All right!　We're going to be very careful!
Don't break it!　Slowly, slowly!

　The civilian soldiers shouted to each other and woke up the cart that was lying on its side.

'The bodies are over here!'
You got a wounded man over here!

　The civilian soldiers deftly retrieve the bodies and carry the wounded on stretchers.

''Well there's nothing to do.

　Roy blurted out, leaning against a wooden pole.
　I said I would supervise, but the common soldier is well behaved.
　No, he gave a small shake of his head.
　Richard must have selected well-behaved common soldiers.
　I knew it, but he's a decent guy.
　How could such a man have fallen through the cracks at the military academy and been sent to the imperial capital like good riddance?

''It's the other way around...

　The teachers at the military school could not understand Richard's brilliance, and his superiors must have been repulsed by his ability to do his job.
　Roy would be grateful to have subordinates who could do the job, but there is a large percentage of the world who don't think so.
　Especially a proud - some would say hubristic - nobleman who is the captain of a battalion.
　He must have been pissed off at being told the right thing to do.
　I'm tempted to welcome him as a subordinate, but Richard will refuse.

''Well let's just call out to him, shall we?

　If you don't and you originally agreed to do so, you'll make a profit.
　Once the rebellion is put to rest - when it is put to rest, we will have to rebuild the army.
　That's when we'll need people like Richard.
　I observe the movements of the ordinary soldiers as I think about this.
　Suddenly, he realizes something.
　The ordinary soldiers didn't try to go beyond the obstacles that had been neutralized.
　Well, that's no surprise.
　You've seen such tragedy.
　Most people would be intimidated.

"Ta, help me~
I need water.
I can't move because my legs are twitching.
I need you to get over here.

　You can hear those voices, but the civilian soldiers do not try to get to the other side of the obstacle.
　They turned their faces away or turned over.
　'It can't be helped,' said Roy, scratching his head.

'Hey, you there!'
Ha!

　The general soldier straightened up at Roy's words.

'Keep this.'
What?

　Roy pushed a wooden stick with a white cloth tied around it to the civilian soldiers and headed down to the disabling obstacle - the wounded beyond it.
　The rebel soldiers are looking at us through the hole, but they don't seem to be planning to attack us.
　Roy leaps over the incapacitated obstacle and heads further back.

'Ta, help me!'
Yeah, I'll be there.

　Roy headed towards the direction of the voice.
　The owner of the voice was holding his stomach.
　The wound was not very large, but it smelled like stool.
　Perhaps he had damaged his internal organs.
　Roy picked the man up and headed back the way he had come.

'Help me.'
Oh, you'll have to take me with you.
Help me.
Help me.

　Cries for help came from everywhere.

'Don't worry!　I'll help you!

　Just as Roy raised his voice, one general soldier jumped over the disabling obstacle.
　When one of them jumped over, they jumped over one after another.
　The first soldier to jump over the obstacle comes running towards us.
　Then he stopped in front of Roy.

''Mister Roy, we'll take care of the rest...''
Yeah, you're on it.
I'll take care of it.

　The civilian soldier said with his back straight and received the wounded.
　As Roy stood there, the soldier who had deposited the stick approached him.

'Lord Roy!　I'll pay you back!
I'm sorry.
No, no!

　The general soldier shook his head violently from side to side as Roy thanked him and accepted the stick.

''Shh, but my military uniform...''

　Hmm?　Roy looked down at his military uniform.
　It didn't look like much of a wound, but he must have been looking at it wrong.
　The white military uniform was stained red.

'It's not so much that your uniform is dirty,'
'Ha!　I'm sorry!

　The common soldier straightened up.

'Go.'
Ha, I'll save as many people as I can!

　The general soldier saluted and ran down to the wounded.
　You've done your job as a superior officer, Roy let out a small breath.
　He would encourage his men by showing them to take the initiative.
　There may be other ways to motivate your subordinates, but this is the easiest way.
　Roy let out a small sigh and looked up at the sky.



　The sun had set and Roy returned to the Imperial field position.
　It was no different from the enemy field position.
　Voices could be heard from everywhere.

'Ouch, ouch!'
Water. I need water.
Ha, you need a quick fix.
I mean, godd*mn it, how could you let this happen...

　Roy heard the grunts and headed for the tent where Algena was.
　Some of them were clasping their hands to us, but it wasn't a good feeling.
　It was uncomfortable, to be honest.
　The reason I helped the vagrants was to preserve the morale of the general soldiers.
　In the first place, Roy didn't strongly disagree with Arjena's decision to use the hoboes up.
　In other words, he was the one who threw them into hell.
　And yet it was uncomfortable to be thanked for it.
　After all, I guess I am a straightforward person.
　At least I have the sensitivity to feel shame for my series of actions.

'I'm home now,'
You....

　As Roy entered the tent, Argena frowned blatantly.
　Perhaps it was because his military uniform was stained with blood.

'Why don't you at least go change your clothes?
I don't have a spare uniform.
So you're a Kingsguard.
It's the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard.

　Roy walked over to the table in the center of the room, feeling disgusted.
　There was a revised map on the table.

'A strategy meeting?'
What else is there?

　Algena asked back with a straight face.
　Well, that's also to be expected.

''So what do we do now?''
"The work of the mercenaries has given us a complete picture of the enemy field positions.
It was a terrible loss.

　Roy said, shelving himself.
　He felt uncomfortable when he saw the enemy field position, but he didn't realize what it was.
　That's where I stopped thinking.
　I should have thought about it more then.
　If I had done so, ten thousand people would not have been killed or injured.
　Regret is always bitter.

'The centre, which we thought was so thinly held, is solid. So we'll go for the right wing, or the left.
That's a good idea.

　Roy spread his arms out.

'If we bypass it, we won't be able to take advantage of the force difference, so we'll neutralize the obstacle.
Just so you know, I'm not going to let you rush in with your clothes on.
I know that.

　Arjena said irritably.

How do you do it?
You're in charge.
Okay.

　Roy let the words out with a sigh.

'Do you disagree?'
No, I'm not saying that. I'm not saying that, but let me ask you one question. Is that what you think?
...yes.

　Arjena answered after a moment.
　Maybe she had been instructed to do so by the Director of Military Affairs Ralph.
　But even if he pointed that out, Arjena would insist that it was his idea.
　As long as there was no way to be sure, that was the end of the story.

'All right,'

　Roy scratched his head and headed out.
　On his way out, he stopped and turned around.

'Is there anything more?'
'The truce ends tomorrow at noon. When that's over, Treasurer Bowties will be released.
Okay.

　Argena let out a small breath.
　It felt like a sigh, not a relief, but a sigh.

'Perhaps the Treasurer Bowties should take a break in the Imperial City.
Agreed. End of story.
Okay.
Yes.

　As Roy exits the tent, Richard runs up to him.
　He stopped in front of him and saluted.

'You're a tightwad, aren't you?'
It's in my nature.

　Richard gave a sly smile.
　As Roy started to walk away, Richard hurried to follow him.

'What are your plans?'
'I'll walk around the camp at random and sleep in my tent. What's the status of the wounded?
We've collected just under 3,000 people. We'll send them back to Teito first thing in the morning.
It's a lot... well, it is.
I'm sorry, but we can save a few rations and cavalry horses.

　Richard was muzzled.
　Only sixty percent of the provisions had arrived.
　They would have to save somewhere.
　Then they would have to cut back on those who couldn't fight.

Can't you have that much to spare?
It's only 60% of what arrived. If you add it up to what we have now, it will be gone in six days.
Six days. If I can get my supplies in, I should be fine.

　Roy let out a deep sigh.
　He hadn't thought he'd have to fight while worrying about his food while fighting in the Imperial territory.
　What a demotivating story.

''What do you think about our future mission?''
The enemy field positions are outnumbered on both flanks.
Both wings, huh?
The basic policy is to neutralize the obstacles in order to get the most out of the troops and let them do the rest.
Well that's a lot.
Well, yeah.

　Roy nodded vaguely.
　It was probably directed by the Director of Military Affairs, Ralph, but he couldn't read Argena's intentions in any way.
　I don't know what he was thinking, Roy let out a small sigh.



　In the field hospital, more than a dozen wounded soldiers were cheerfully scraping up their dinner.
　The hospital food was quite luxurious compared to the usual meals.
　Crono patted his chest as he looked at the wounded soldiers.

''Are you relieved?'' (Bum?)
Yes, that's a relief.

　Crono nodded at Mino's words.

''The general is worrying too much.'' (Bumo)
Yeah, but...

　I was chilled to the bone when an Imperial soldier - a mercenary with an upturned vagabond, according to the information I got from his captors - threw a magic item into the trenches.

'Dr. Weissman, it varies.'
Isn't it strange that it's so varied? (Bum?)
Well, that's how much I appreciate it.

　Crono chuckled.
　This time the trenches had an improvement that Dr. Weissman had devised.
　The idea was to dig a deep trench in the bottom of the trench.
　By dropping the magic item there, the damage was kept to a minimum - no deaths, many stunned and temporarily deafened - and we were able to keep the damage to a minimum.

'It was really good,'

　Crono muttered and turned on his heel.
　With a commander in place, there was no rest for those who could rest.
　It was a situation he had finally learned after several failures.
　He left the tent and walked through the camp.
　We walked wherever we wanted to go, wherever our feet took us.
　The air in the field camp is somewhat loose, perhaps due to the fact that the armistice period is in full swing.
　However, I don't intend to blame them for that.
　The mainstay of the Imperial Army is the volunteer soldiers.
　If the tension continues for too long, they will be mentally exhausted.
　They need time to relax.

''Even so, I didn't expect the empire to drink the truce.'' (Bumo)
Yeah?
"I used up all my soldiers so spectacularly.

　The second-in-command snorted, perhaps angry at the Imperial Army's methods.

''Is that so?''
"Conversely, what made the General think the Empire would call a truce? (Bum?)
Maybe it's because I trust Master Roy.
"Trust? (Bum?)

　The First Officer parroted.

'The first time we met, we were having a lover's duel in Alfilk Castle.
"Lover's duel... sounds like you're going to lose your honor whether you win or lose." (Bumobumo)
We've been together since then, and I've always felt uncomfortable, but it's like Tyga's words have convinced me.
"Are you trying to pull an Arised and Deneb? (Bum?)
No, I'm not a copycat.

　Crono looked around and let out a breath of relief.
　He felt like he was going to jump out of the darkness.

'With what certainty?' (Bum?)
Lord Roy is a calm man, you know.

　Even during the duel, he was able to assess his opponent's attacks.
　At least he wasn't swept up in his emotions.

'So I was wondering if Lord Roy would be willing to swallow the truce.
"You've been paying attention, haven't you?
Not so much.

　Crono puffed out his chest.

''But isn't it bad to have such a calm person come out to you? (Bum?)
Well, that's not a good sign for a short-term fight.

　'But,' Crono continues.

'I'd appreciate it if you'd come out to see what's ahead.
Do you still have a plan? (Bum?)
It's a gamble, but the probability of that happening is relatively high... depending on the enemy.
"I don't know what you're talking about.

　Bufu~, the deputy exhaled through his nose.