There you are.

I'm sorry it's so late.

I visited the vice-commander's tent just as the date was about to change.

'There are more people here than I expected,'

　In addition to the deputy commander, there were five men and women in the tent who appeared to be knights. They are not armed, but they are clearly wary of me. Although it was more than I expected, considering the fact that adventurers with no discernible intentions visit late at night in a place where the head of the army is in charge, it might be correct to express that there are only five of them.

''It's okay. These are trustworthy people. After all, they're my boys.

You have a lot of kids.

I've left five other men near the frontier county.

　 In more ways than one.

'So you didn't come all the way out here in the open to talk about it, did you?

Saying that, the deputy commander took out a piece of paper from his pocket. That piece of paper was given to me when I shook hands with the deputy commander when I came here, so that people wouldn't find out. The content of the piece of paper is: 'I want to discuss a plan to break the current situation, so please wait for me around the time the day changes, with only those you can trust for sure.

''You didn't have to do this roundabout thing, you should have proposed it right then and there... you might have made some unnecessary enemies because of your attitude back then.

''It doesn't matter if strangers don't like you, and to begin with, the number of people related to the Frontier Count Army alone is more than a thousand, and is still increasing, but the fact that there are five people who can be trusted for sure means that the deputy commander must be worried about the same thing as me, right?

You mean the spies...

　The deputy commander muttered in a bitter voice. 'With an army this large, it's rather strange to think that they aren't there.

''It's a bit strange that the other side hasn't made any moves when the situation is almost in our favor, so it's better to act on the idea that there are spies there looking for an opportunity to turn the tables.

So you act like you don't want to cooperate, and then you sneak up on me to see me... so what are you going to do?

　As I spoke up to this point, the five people who had been following the deputy commander began to turn their vigilance from me to their surroundings.

''The task itself is simple. First, we will destroy the opportunity for the one shot that that side wants. Next, we'll raise our spirits and finally show our prowess.

'It's simple, sure, but the question is how to do it... but if you get it wrong one way in any of them, you'll have an avalanche of enemies coming at you.

　The man who was sitting next to the deputy commander had the most questions as well. It is said that the enemy's imperial soldiers will come to the very edge of the border, but since they have not yet left their own territory, they cannot attack from us, and if they prepare to attack, there is a possibility that they will say that they are trying to invade the territory of the empire for defensive purposes and attack us. 'Yes,' he said.

''So if we win, we will carve out the kingdom's territory, and if we lose and are attacked, ''That was the outburst of some troops and not the will of the Empire. ''I've already disposed of those who were masters, so I want my territory back''?

　Hearing my words, the deputy commander and the man nodded. If that happens, as a kingdom that didn't want to set things up with the empire if possible, they'll have to return the land they cut out, even if they know it's a lie.


''Well, that's going to happen. If that happens, it will be a big loss for us. With the cost of maintaining the army and paying the adventurers, we're even now in the red.

　I thought it was a feminine way of thinking to worry about the pocketbook situation of the frontier county army when you're standoffish with the enemy.

''I can't help what I've consumed so far, but if my plan succeeds, it might be a plus in the long run.

'Ho but it's expensive instead, isn't it?　I have to pay you.

　I say that with my mouth, but the deputy commander seems to be interested in my plan.

''I'll keep it cheap. Well, from now on, I might say something reckless to the Frontier Count family.''

We'll leave that to Master Lyon.

So, I guess we have a deal.

　The deputy commander, who had sold Rion to me in a quick decision, leaned forward to tell me his plan as quickly as possible.

''My plan is........''


Deputy Commander SIDE

Do you think it will work?

Well, I guess it's all right.

　My son, who is my secretary, looked worried. When I looked closer, I could see that the other four men looked the same way.

'I've heard he's done something similar to phase one of the operation in the past. Phase two is just a little exaggeration of what we always do, and when it comes to phase three, it's just what we usually do.

　The strategy Temma mentioned was indeed simple. But if it worked, it would be very effective, and in the long run, I would say it would pay off.

'Well, we'll see when the sun comes up. Tomorrow ... or maybe today. You'll be busy, so go to bed.

　Although I told my sons that, I myself do not really believe in Temma with all my heart. It is clear that in my heart, I was worried that I might not really forgive the old times and fail on purpose. Because of that.........

'It's so early in the morning it's a bit of a sleep deprivation...'

　The truth is, it's more than a little, but the head of the organization can't show that the head of the organization isn't feeling well, etc., where you don't know who is watching.
　With that in mind, I stepped out of the tent that served as my room and looked around with my chest out....

'Haha this is an eye opener...'

　

'Really, we may have made up the deficit....'

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Vice Commander SIDE finished

How about this?

　I was taking a nap in the carriage after a quick job before dawn, when I was awakened by an audible surprise, and in my sleepy stroll I found the deputy commander and called out to him.

'Heh!'

　The deputy commander was so distracted by what I had made that the moment I called out to him, he made a strange sound and was surprised.

''Oh, oh, it's not even close to being good!　If word gets out to the engineers that you made this in a few hours, you won't be able to sleep at night for fear you might lose your job!

　The excited deputy commander exclaimed in a swooping manner.

'So, how did you do this!

　With the momentum, the deputy commander was about to find out how I did it...

Lieutenant Commander!　That's enough!

　He was stopped by Rion, who was out of breath as he ran, and it was there that he seemed to notice for the first time that people were gathering around him.

I'm sure you'll be able to see that the top brass of the Howst Frontier Army are trying to rob an adventurer of his rights. At least, this is not the place to talk about it.

Besides, if Maria finds out about this, she'll have my head on a spike!

'Yes!　

　Behind Rion scolding the deputy commander, Cain, who had sneaked up on him, performed an impersonation of Rion. If I thought it was a noble thing for Rion to say, it was because of that kind of concern... well, I had noticed it dimly. Because, you know, it's Leon.

It's a good idea to go into the vice commander's tent for now. If you want to talk about this, I won't stop you, but since I don't know what you'll say, for the sake of reciprocity, I don't think it's a good idea to have this discussion here, do you?

　When Rion and Cain were making a fuss and the deputy commander was confused as to whether or not he should continue talking, the grandpa who had been chasing after them began to check the deputy commander beside me. Apparently, Grandpa seems to be a little angry with the vice commander.

''I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get carried away and I also want to formally apologize, so please come to my tent.

　When the deputy commander noticed Grandpa's anger, he bowed to me and Grandpa and apologized, and then tried to invite him to his own tent as an excuse for his apology. However, he doesn't seem to want me to use my veto, and as soon as he finishes, he grabs my arm firmly and tries to force me to escort him.

'Yes, I do. I have something I want to talk to you about as well, so I'm going to interrupt you.

　If you want to shake it off, you can easily shake it off, but if you do that here, there is a chance that people might think that the friendship you've built with the Frontier Countess (Rion) has broken down, and most importantly, since Rion told me about the deputy commander's character beforehand, I expected him to do this much. They were. So, I decided to take the deputy commander's suggestion.
　Hearing my reply, the vice commander smiled and walked away from me with my arm intact, smiling. It seems that he doesn't intend to let go of his arm until he enters the tent, even after hearing the words of approval.

'Good for you, Rion. We avoided the beheading.

"...shut up. Cain, you better hope your brother (Gary) doesn't do it too.

Ugh....

　Leon, who had been relieved to see me and the deputy commander, seemed annoyed by Cain's words and was fighting back with Gary. Cain was choking on his words with a face as if he had bitten down on a bitter bug at Rion's unexpected counterattack.
　Against the adventurers who were trying to approach us with such interest.

''This is a restricted area from here on out. Any deliberate attempt to get close to them can't be considered an attempt to harm a nobleman, you know!

'Master Temma is afraid of getting angry, so please don't go beyond this point~'
I'm really scared. You'll have to step back.
Gulp!

There!　Back!　If you get any closer, Temma will hit you with a single finger tip!　So back off!
'I have no idea what Amur is talking about, but pissing off Temma will definitely hurt you!　And by the way, if you don't want the Dukes of Sangha and the Marquis of Samons and the Counts of the Haust Frontier to stare at you, then don't go anywhere near it from here.

　And the other aspects of the group were kept away. It's not surprising that Albert, who can be recognized at a glance as a nobleman by Chris-san, who is wearing the armor of the Kingsguard, and Amour, who is a well-known name among adventurers, is naturally recognized as an aristocrat at a glance, and even against Jeanne and Aura, who are dressed as maids, the adventurers are unable to get close to me and the deputy commander because there is Shiroumaru, who is keeping an eye on them It was.
　As he did so, the knights gathered around and took over the task of keeping the adventurers away from Chris and the others.

''With the possibility of spies in the area, it's no wonder they're this strict.

I've got something to tell you about that, too.

　When I responded to the vice commander's soliloquy, the vice commander looked surprised for a moment and immediately seemed to realize that the report was about spies, so he increased his walking speed a bit.
　Inside the tent, the five people from yesterday who heard the commotion are already waiting and have finished setting up their seats for the meeting.
　In addition, the people who will be inside the tent other than the deputy commander are me, my grandfather and the three idiots, Jeanne and Aura, because of their status as maids, Amour doesn't want to talk about anything formal, and Chris-san and Slarin and the others will wait outside as Jeanne and the others' guards and chaperones.

'I apologize for my excitement earlier. So, I'd like you to tell me about the wall(...) that surrounds our camp.

　As if the wall was really bothering him, the deputy commander broke off the conversation without so much as an apology.

''Vice Commander........''

'Leon, just go ahead but I can't tell you the details, can I?

I don't mind that!

　When I called out to Rion, who looked dumbfounded by the deputy commander's attitude, before replying, the deputy commander leaned forward and nodded as if he couldn't wait.

''The wall was built by applying the method we used in Kukri Village in the past. The important part is a secret, but to put it simply, we used magic to build a moat and then used the soil from that moat to build the wall.

　To my answer, the deputy commander said, "What's this guy talking about, of course? They look like that, but in fact, they embedded the nucleus of the golem in the ground, activated it at the same time to create what would become a moat, and then lined up the golems to make a wall, so a simple explanation would explain it like that. Incidentally, it was Slarin who embedded the golems, and it was Slarin who recovered the nuke from the wall. Thanks to Slarin's superior covert behavior, even if someone had witnessed the moment the wall was built, it would have looked like the earth suddenly rose up from the ground to form a wall.

''Well, it's not very strong, but that won't be a problem if we reinforce it later.

'Oh, yeah, sure, no problem. Even if it's fragile, it's still very much a matter of being able to make an impact on them that the wall has suddenly been built... so what's this report about spies?

　The deputy commander looked at me with a serious face this time, a change from the excitement he had shown earlier.

''First of all, I don't have the ability to determine whether someone is a spy or not just by looking at them.

　I cut off my words once and looked at the Vice Commander, and the Vice Commander nodded silently. Instead, my companions, including Rion, nodded their heads in unison.

''On top of that, we have taken the liberty of detaining those we deem to be spies. Of course, it's only those who have been acting as spies.

'I don't have a problem with detaining someone who has acted suspiciously in this situation. Most of all, if you have a good reason to convince me otherwise.

　The deputy commander glanced at Rion, then flashed a sharp look at me.

''That is most definitely true. First of all, please identify the person who detained you.''

　Saying that, I opened the mouth of the dimension bag that was capturing the restraints and told the deputy commander to check inside.

''Mm ... eh!

Lieutenant Commander, who the hell is in there... huh?

　No wonder the deputy commander and the man who was sitting next to him last time were surprised. At any rate, the people bound in the dimension bag were six adventurers and four men in the uniforms or armor of the Frontier Count Army.
　Although the two of them seemed to have expected that there would be a spy in the army, they were still surprised to find someone trapped inside the bag. That person was.....

Why did they put my commander in here?

　The first person to take a bite out of me was the man who was sitting next to the deputy commander. The man tried to crowd me, but the deputy commander held me by the shoulders and forced me to sit back in my chair.

'What reason did you have to determine that these men were spies?　From the look of Rion-sama's condition, there was enough reason for Rion-sama to be convinced, right?

''Yes, that's right. First of all, these adventurers, these ones were trying to contact the outside world as soon as the wall was built. First of all, this guy, this guy seems to be a tamer, he tied a letter to the leg of a small bird demon and released it in the direction of the enemy lines. As it flew away, my attendants caught the demon. Here is the letter. And the man beside him climbed up the wall and was trying to send some kind of signal to the direction of the enemy's camp using a mirror. These two men were interrogated in the presence of Rion and forced to confess.

　The other adventurers couldn't be interrogated due to time constraints, but they caught the other adventurers who were surprised by the appearance of the wall and were about to leave their positions in a hurry. Maybe they weren't spies, but they were acting in such a way that they could not help but be suspected. It's no wonder they were judged to be spies and caught.

''And these are the soldiers over here - the ones whose names came from the mouths of the adventurers we interrogated. We can't say for sure that they are spies, but we captured them just in case. We asked them to accompany us voluntarily, but they all refused, so we have tied them up like this.

　I can't dismiss the possibility that the captured adventurer just mentioned a name he knew at random, but he refused the request of Leon, the next frontier count, which is more than enough reason to suspect him of being a spy.

''And there's another person named as a spy from the troop leader's mouth... I'm talking about you, secretary (...),''

'What are you talking about!　How can this girl be a spy.... hey, hey!

　The deputy commander denied my words, but lost his momentum when he saw Leon's somber face and finally looked at his own son, his secretary. And he seemed to understand that what I was saying was true.

'Why....'

'Deputy Commander, I have my doubts, but first we have to take the man into custody.　

　When I approached the man with those words from Leon, he was surprisingly caught quietly. I was expecting resistance, so I was a little disappointed, but I decided to think about it after capturing the man first.
　The fact that my son was a spy, Rion's decision to place him under house arrest until the vice-captain's innocence is proven, and the Frontier Army was left without a commander for a time, taking care not to let the matter leak out to the outside world, ostensibly because the vice-captain was unwell, Rion would be the temporary commander until he recovered. I'm going to announce that I'm taking office.

'I think we've accomplished most of our request now but, while we're at it, let's change the terrain. Rion, there might be a bit of a disruption, so you'll have to deal with it.

What?

　As soon as the house arrest of the deputy commander is decided, it is also decided that the activities of the remaining sons will be restricted, and Rion is discussing with Albert, Cain and the others about the excuses for this and how to divide up the duties (it has been decided that the two will be hired by the frontier count army on a temporary basis. The title is the representative of the duke and marquis troops that will be arriving in reinforcements. (In addition, Chris and Grandpa will also be joining as temporary advisors.

He didn't understand what I said. "I've done the preparations beforehand.

As I built an earthen wall, and at the same time I applied a certain trick to the other side of the wall, I thought I'd go and finish my business in a haphazard manner. The more you stop them, the more time Leon and the others will have, so it's my way of protecting them.

"Wait a minute, I'm going with you!　It's not good to have someone do something terrible in a place you don't know about, you know!

'Yes, that's true. From now on, the blame for what Tenma did will fall directly on Leon, and maybe even on us.

　Hearing Cain's words, Albert hurriedly got up from his seat as well and followed me with Rion and the others following close behind.

'You can come, but it's going to be over really soon.

　Grandpa and Chris didn't seem to have any intention of coming, and they were drinking tea and munching on the sweets I served while keeping an eye on the other four. Some of the sweets were mixed in with what looked like crackers, so in a little while Amur and Shiroumaru would notice the sound and smell and charge at me.
　With that in mind, I moved to the top of the wall with the three of them in tow. The adventurers had gathered near the wall, but since the knights were keeping a strict watch on them, there was no one trying to climb the wall. Well, it's probably related to the fact that they announced at the beginning that anyone who did so would be arrested.
　So when I first tried to jump up the wall with my magic, I was almost caught by a nearby knight. Because of this, the three of them (especially Rion) teased me with a big smile as if it was the usual payback, so I decided that I would definitely pay this debt back in the near future.

'So what's Temma going to do here?　And I apologize, so please don't get even with anyone but me. You can add my share of payback to those two.

　Cain asked me what the purpose of the move to the wall was. In addition, he had sold the other two on the other two, with a sneaky apology so that they wouldn't hear him. Cain is talking to me in a small voice as a reminder, but the other two are in the middle of being fished up the fence in turn by Slarin, so they can't afford to care if they see me and Cain talking to each other.

''No, it's the three of us together when it comes to payback. In my mind, it's the three of us together that are the three idiots. That's not the point, I think it's going to be pretty shaky (...), so you three should hold on tightly to Slarin.

Hey!　The three of us together ... are we going to rock?

　Cain's reaction was delayed because he didn't seem to understand what I meant for a moment, perhaps because he was trying to protest that selling out his friends wouldn't save him, but the other two instantly clung to Slarin and made a clenched fist and pointed it at me as if they were ready.

''Well then, let's go!''

Wait a minute!　I'm not ready yet!

　I heard Cain's screams as I began to mentally focus on changing the terrain.