The sky was full of stars.
　In the middle of the sky, the moon is drawing a perfect circle, illuminating the area in a twinkling light.
　It was truly the best view.
　It is a view that makes you feel the longing for the infinite possibilities of the universe. It is rich in mystery and artistry, and gives people a sense of peace.
　However, the human beings who were stirring underneath this place now had no time to enjoy such a scene.
　Yes, both the Mikoshiba Army and Count Salzberg's camp, after the battle that took place during the day, both sides....

Oh, excuse me. I just wanted to check in with you.

　At those words, Ryoma stopped the pen in his hand.
　The documents he was processing now were all high priority items that needed to be checked by himself, but there was no more long-awaited news than Laura's report for him to take now.

'Laura or ... come in.'

　Following the voice, the entrance to the tent was opened just a bit.
　A lone goddess emerged from between them, smiling with her wavy golden hair shimmering.
　The moment he saw the smile floating on her face, it brought peace to Ryojin's mind as he poured his nerves into battle.

''From the look on your face, it looks like the damage was largely calculated.

Yes, sir. The death toll is thirteen so far. The number of injured is twenty-two, including the seriously injured alone. However, the seriously wounded have been treated with secret medicines and grammatical techniques, so their lives are not in danger. They are expected to return to the original squadron within two to three days as they wait for their strength to recover. Also, reports are coming in that most of the casualties were caused by the two men in question.

Well....

　At Laura's report, Ryoma let out a deep sigh and laid his body deep into the back of the chair he sat in.
　What kind of thoughts filled his mind?
　People die by their own lives.
　It is not an accident or force majeure, but an order to fight and die on the battlefield from the beginning.
　Even though it is a natural responsibility of a soldier as a profession, that order is so heavy that an ordinary human being can't carry it.
(I can't get used to it.......well, people who can't get used to this thought are less than scum.......right?
　It would be a contradictory thought.
　In the past, Liangzhen had ordered them to come and die.
　It's not that the lives of the soldiers were not in danger when they were taking down the monsters that roamed the peninsula, or when they were ordered to take out the secret agents sent by the surrounding nobles.
　Of course, it is true that Liangzhen had a variety of plans and provided his soldiers with the best possible armor he could give them.
　But no matter how well he planned, no matter how expensive the armor he gave them, deaths occurred.
　Each time I feel the filth and necessity of my actions.
　In the end, the world is the same whether it is on Earth or in another world.
　There is no achievement without sacrifice, and those who are on top sacrifice others to move forward.
　That is a terribly cruel and heartless thing to do.
　If you think about it from the perspective of the victims, you can understand why it is unacceptable.
　But not even God could create a world where no one is sacrificed.
　It's not something that a non-godly person can hope for.
　Then there is only one path that Mikoshiba Ryo can truly take. I'm not going to be able to tell you what to do.

This proves that those two are real monsters and that my army is more elite than the armies of the surrounding lords and ladies.

''Yes. ''Yes, the performance of the armor you have purchased through Master Nelsios is astonishing. After all, it is an item that in any other country would be considered a trifle more than ten gold coins.

Well, it's as good as it gets.

　The thing that Ryoma put his heart and soul into during this battle was how to protect his soldiers' lives. He wondered how to protect the lives of his soldiers.
　The population of the Woltenia Peninsula was originally zero. There are settlements where sub-humans live, but there is a unique situation on the peninsula that we can't collect taxes and walls from these people who see humans as enemies.
　Considering the future growth of the territory, expansion of the territory is a necessity no matter what, but in order to do so, it is necessary to fight against other countries, and for that purpose, an army is necessary.
　However, it is difficult to conscript and outnumber the people of a territory like other countries.
　It's a contradictory situation indeed.
　Ultimately, they managed to compose an army by buying and educating slaves, but when you think about it from a cost perspective, slave soldiers are very expensive.
　There was no way they could operate their army in such a way that they would be able to crush the common people like the ruling class of other countries.
　The only thing left to do then is to improve the quality of each and every one of the soldiers.
　Of course, it would be a great loss to wastefully kill soldiers who had been trained after spending so much time and effort.
　That's why Ryoushin turned his attention to the sub-humans, especially the elves' granting techniques.
　This is because even now, in various parts of the Western Continent, armaments that are said to have been created by sub-humans in the past are still in existence and are traded at a high price due to their performance.

''Lightening and hardening are both common granting effects, but I think that kind of efficiency would be quite difficult to replicate in a human species.

''The consumption of prana has a huge impact on the victory or defeat on the battlefield. I knew it was the right decision to make a deal with Nersios-san........

　The performance of the armor is mostly based on the material and thickness of the armor.
　It should be hard and sticky, as thick as possible, and as light as possible at the same time.
　The technology of the sub-humans who are able to combine these contradictory elements is a coveted skill for those who fight.
(For now, we can't ever leak this information to the outside world... shall we order the Igazakis to increase their vigilance?
　Wearing the armor purchased from Nelsios will greatly improve the soldiers' abilities and enable them to overrun other countries. But that's just the difference in the performance of the tools.
　Tools do not discriminate between friend and foe.
　Of course, even if someone steals your armor, they won't be able to duplicate the technology so easily, but it's best to nip this anxiety in the bud.
(But with this, the future policy is fixed...)
　Several plans had already been made in Ryojin's mind.
　The only thing left to do was to choose the best possible plan from the current situation.
(If we stick to our defense, there is little chance of being defeated at the front line even with this troop strength difference. The question is what to do with the two examples).
　Signis and Roberto. These two men are capable of influencing the war situation with a single rider.
　The fact that Ryoma was able to break through an enclosure of soldiers he had carefully trained is proof of that.
　The most certain thing is to order the Igazakis to assassinate him. You may be able to get Count Salzberg to kill them, but Ryoma has no intention of doing either of those things.
　It's really a fearsome opponent if it's an enemy. If they came after Ryojin's head without regard for his own life and death, God knows what would happen.
(But........there is no one more dependable on them as an ally.)
　Ryoma's desire was not to rule northern Roselia. To make his dream come true, he needed a lot of excellent people. For that, even if they were his enemies, he had the wherewithal to make them his allies.
(We'll have to compete.)

"I'll take the 500 men I left at the fort and march south with them.

　Laura's shapely eyebrows twitched the moment she heard those words.

''Silently. So I'm in charge of the front line then?''

Oh, I'll leave you to it, Laura. You'll have Miss Lyonne assist you.

　Laura just nodded quietly at Ryoma's words as she made up her mind. Because she understood all of Ryoma's aims........
　The first day of the war, which could be described as a minor investigation, came to a close in this way, amidst a variety of conflicting ideas.