Day 175 of summoning other worlds [decisive battle] Part 2:

"Sudo please lend me your wisdom...

In a room in Iraklion's castle, reddened by the sunset, Duke Gerhardt bowed to a man who covered his face with a hood.

''My lord, please look up. A man like me is not bowing to someone as noble as you.

A polite response comes from behind the hood.
The man's tone could be described as condescending, though.

'Please! I have no one else to turn to but the Lord!

It was an unbelievably low profile from the usual Gerhardt.
But Sudow had a sneer on his face hidden behind his hood.
Because he knew why Gerhardt was so low profile.

The conversation returned to the morning of this day.


'Well then! You want me to give you the full authority of the army! Hodram!

'Of course. When you command, what you can win will not win. Don't you understand that? His Excellency Duke Gerhardt.

You! What's the big deal when you've fallen behind!

The meeting that was supposed to decide the future course of action had now become a battle for control between Gerhard and Hodram.

''But if I'm in charge, we'll win for sure, won't we? With all due respect, Lord Gerhardt doesn't seem to have anyone who can lead. If that's the case, wouldn't it be better if I was in charge, despite my lack of talent?

At first, Gerhardt thought he could make good use of this by giving part of the command authority to Hodram.
However, in the eyes of Hodram, there is no need to make a person without experience in battle as the head.
It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you want to do.
The meeting is in turmoil because Hodram kicked out Gerhardt's proposal early in the meeting.

'What are you being told! Lord Gerhardt has many brave men under his command! I don't need to leave Lord Hodram in charge!

What? I've never heard of such a strong man... what did you say, a knight who was defeated with four times as many men as he had and yes, I've heard of a knight named Cale.

A look of contempt appeared on Hodram's face.
The second-in-command, who had talked back to Hodram, was at a loss for a response after hearing Hodram's words.
This is because Gerhardt doesn't have a better commander than Cale as a matter of fact.

''d*mn it, that's...''

'First! I believe that the fact that you have appointed a man with no such competence to command the army also represents your own competence, doesn't it, Herr Duke Gerhardt?

Na!

Rude!

Hearing what could be called Hodram's sidelong remarks, Gerhard's lieutenants colored.

'Ho? It's a vessel to express your anger at the facts, isn't it? Duke Gerhardt, my lord!

Hodram's tone of voice completely mocks Gerhardt.
Condescension?
No, it was a situation that could only be described as completely rude.

''You........what are you thinking.......?

Gerhardt asked Hodram.
(Why?) How can you be so bullheaded? He's got 2,000 knights under his command.
It was true that the situation was not good because of Mikoshiba Ryoma, but Gerhardt couldn't understand the reason why Hodram was taking such a hardline stance.

''I am hoping to win this battle. I am merely arguing for what it takes to win.''

I understand that, but that's not all!
In fairness, Hodrum's argument is correct.
If you look at it only from the standpoint of commanding ability, you won't find anyone who can compare to Hodrum.
But.........

'I agree with General Hodram!

Gerhardt's conflict is broken by one man in the corner of the room.

""Na!"

All eyes in the room turned to the man in question.

Didn't you hear me? Then I'll say it again! I said that I should delegate all command to General Hodrum!

The meeting was silent as if it had struck water.
No one was able to make a single sound for too long.

''What do you mean...? You're going to betray me? Cale!

Gerhardt's voice goes low and cold.
Cale, who had given Hodram an excuse to come by more than once, showed his approval.
It is impossible to ask him to control his anger with this.

''What do you mean! Sir! I am only doing my best to do my duty, sir!

What...?

Gerhardt's words, which could be taken as a reluctance, left him speechless.

''In the first place, the reason I'm serving Gerhardt-sama is because he expects me to have military talent! I owe it to Master Gerhardt to do my best to help him win this war!

At this point, Cale broke off and looked around at the nobles in the conference room.

''Therefore, the only way to beat an opponent that even I can't beat is to have a commander with more experience than me give you full authority and command!

K...Cale...you!

Gerhardt could read Cale's aim.
Oh, my God! ...he should not have been allowed to attend this meeting!
Cale, realizing that Gerhardt's credibility had been lost in his earlier defeat, was self-protective.
To say that he was careless would be an understatement.
Gerhard had decided to cut off Cale when he received the report of his defeat from Cale.
However, it never occurred to him that Cale was aware of this.
Gerhardt's greed to use as much as possible had given Cale the opportunity to turn the tables on him.
(Dang! (Why did you call Cale here?!
Gerhardt's gaze pierces the deputy sitting next to him.
But this is Gerhardt's fault.
He has withheld his punishment when his deputy advised him to punish Cale, saying he would do it later.
But he has not issued an order to freeze Cale's authority here.
So what happens then?
Cale will be treated the same as before, albeit with the assumption that he will be punished.
If that is the case, there is no way we can keep Cale out of the important meeting with General Hodram to discuss future policies.

"Ho! You are Lord Cale? ...No, rumors are unreliable! I had no idea you were such a good judge of the situation!

I'm delighted to hear your unqualified praise.

The mouth that was supposed to be cursing at Kale earlier now says the exact opposite.
Cale also doesn't seem to care even though he must have heard Hodram cursing at him just now.

''I see.......If you say so, Kale-sama, then I have no choice but to agree with you!

Na!

Nonsense. Count Alderheid! What do you mean by that?

Another person on Gerhardt's side showed his approval.
His second-in-command's face turned blue.
That was no surprise.
The second of the aristocracy faction.
In other words, the right-hand man who had supported Gerhardt for many years agreed with Hodram's opinion.

''I'm sorry. Lord Gerhardt. Please don't take this the wrong way, Lord Gerhardt. We are responsible for our own vassals and we cannot just sit here and wait for them to die.

The tone of voice said that he had made a hard choice, but Gerhard was not fooled.
He had preyed on the Roserian kingdom for many years.
A vassal?
Gerhard sees that it is impossible for him to have such an auspicious heart.
However, if you have a look of apology on your face, the people around you will be fooled by it.
(This is........not good enough........)

While hostility and anger dominated his mind, Gerhardt's brain was coldly aware of the current situation.
If the second most powerful member of the aristocracy, Count Adelheid, agreed with Hodram, then Gerhardt's opinion would be as trash as it was.
The aristocrats, as if they were cutting off the facts, showed their support for Hodram's opinion one by one.

''Well then! I will command the entire army!

With these words from Hodram, the meeting ended.
Leaving the Duke of Gerhardt the only person sitting in a chair stunned.


''Please! Sudo! He is the only one I can trust! ...please!

Sudow watched Duke Gerhardt's plea with cold eyes.
Gerhardt clung desperately to Sudow, who silenced his own plea.
Cale or Hodram?
Although I don't know which of the two schemes are the best, it is clear only that Duke Gerhardt has been hijacked by his own faction as a result of the morning's meeting.
As far as Gerhardt is concerned, he is in dire straits as he is aware that Princess Lupis' reinforcements are imminent.


A thought of contempt for Gerhardt flashed through Sudow's mind.
(Even though he's a man of power, if he falls from his position of power, he's just a man... well, that's what politicians are like too.)
But I can't abandon Gerhardt in order to accomplish Sudo's mission.
At least for now.
(According to the order from the home country, six months... well, at worst, if we keep this guy alive, there's room for another plan...)

Rest assured, Lord Gerhardt. I can help you, Lord Gerhardt.

Sudow gently wrapped Gerhardt's hand around his robe as he gripped it.

'Oh!' Are you sure? Are you sure you're going to help us? ...but in my situation...

There's not a trace of his usual high-handedness.
He's so sneaky that he could really lick your shoes if you ordered him to lick them.

"That's okay. I have a plan.

What! You think you can get out of this situation!

But Gerhardt's tone instantly returns to the source.
After all, the fact that he played up his sneer and didn't have a high-handed attitude was just an act.
But Sudow didn't care about Gerhardt's attitude.

''Well, even so, His Excellency will have to bear a reasonable burden as well, right?

Gerhardt's face clouded over at Sudow's words.

'A burden ... money? Power? You don't mean my head, do you?

(This guy ... after all this time, he still can't get rid of his greed?)
Sudow shook his head, inwardly dismayed at the filth and greed of the race of nobility.

I'm sure your head will be fine. But there is nothing else you can do than to give up your money and power.

'Nonsense! .........That doesn't make any sense!

'No, no, no. Just because I give up doesn't mean I can't deal with it.

Duke Gerhardt's face changed at Sudow's words.

''What do you mean?''

'At present, there are not many moves Duke Gerhardt can make. General Hodram has taken away his command of the army.

You don't have to know everything!

Gerhardt raised his voice at Sudow's words.
'I guess it's like having salt imprinted on the wound.

'But that is, in a way, fortunate.

What? What do you mean by that? How lucky we are that Hodram has taken over command of the ship!

"To be honest, the enemy commander is quite a smart man. Frankly, I don't think we have a chance in hell.

'What? You!

Gerhardt turns his glare to Sudo for too many words from Sudo.

''Please listen,''

Sudow's voice remains the same.
But the atmosphere clearly changes.
A cold, sharp, pummeling killing spirit.
Slammed towards Gerhardt, it brings his mind back to normal.

''S........sorry.......''

An apology escaped Gerhardt's mouth.

''Then let me continue my explanation. I was skeptical, but the water attack that defeated Cale is quite impressive. The subsequent manipulation of information is also accurate.

"Information manipulation? ...You mean that rumor you heard about?

Yes. I'm sure it was the enemy commander's idea.

I knew it.........

Gerhardt seemed to understand.

'Do you think General Hodram can beat someone who can plan so meticulously? ........I'm guessing that the enemy still has a lot of depth to work with, don't you think?

Really?

Yeah. I wouldn't let you off the hook in the least.

Gerhardt felt as if the face hidden by Sadow's hood smiled.

'Then what do we do! You're going to give Hodram some advice!

Gerhardt made a suggestion that anyone would be able to come up with.
If you think about it calmly, you would realize that such a thing would not make Gerhardt's position better, but it seems that you couldn't think that far ahead.
I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this.

'That doesn't make sense. It's more about taking advantage of it.

Use? What are you going to do?

'I will not say anything to Hodram and let Princess Lupis's forces defeat us.

'Nonsense! That would be the end of everything!

Even though it has the great name of retaining Princess Ladine, from the point of view of Princess Lupis, this war is nothing more than a rebellion.
Gerhard was the ringleader of it.
If he loses the battle with Lupis, he will certainly be held accountable.
But Sudo shook his head again.

''That's fine. We'll put all the blame on Hodram.''

What?

'We've just lost the initiative. Let's make the most of this situation.

Gerhardt felt as if a cruel smile had appeared on Sudow's face.

'But ... how is that possible? Putting the blame on them in the first place doesn't change the fact that I'm the one who woke up the army...

Yes. But that responsibility can be mitigated successfully. Princess Lupis must execute someone as the leader of the rebellion. Normally, that would be Gerhardt.

'Right! Now we have Hodram!

'That is correct. If there are two people we can execute as ringleaders, we can save one's life by negotiating.

But what bargaining chip would make Princess Lupis willing to spare my life?

There are not many things that can aid the mastermind of a rebellion.
Even if Gerhardt captured Hodram and presented him to Princess Lupis, it probably wouldn't be possible.
But, despite Gerhardt's anguish, Sudo said simply.

''There is, isn't there? In the dungeon.

'The dungeon? .... dungeons ... dungeons ... dungeons!

Sadow's words reminded Gerhardt of a human being.

'But ... is that thing worth that much?

Certainly the bargaining tool Sudo mentioned came to mind.
But Gerhardt couldn't possibly believe it was worth it enough to save his life.

'Hey. Don't worry.

He could hear Sudow's chuckle from behind the hood.
Gerhardt had no other way to do it than to nod with a vague sense of unease.
Because he is now on the brink of desperation.

The day of the decisive battle is getting closer and closer by the minute.
There is no one to know how it will end.