What are you doing to me...
　I heard the report from Ron and held my head down.

　What the hell....

　I'm sorry...
　It's all right. It's not that I helped a fugitive, well, it's not very nice, but I think you did a good job as a person. Yeah, that much is good. But, you know what, why do you have to turn the tables!

　If I had just apologized in there, I could have still managed it...
　Now you're completely hostile!　

　It's been less than a week since the last refugee incident!

　Well, well, well, Alms. Relax. The enemy's goal was no doubt the salt mine. The fact that we were able to defend it at all does not mean that it was a fool's errand. The fact that we won by that much troops is significant.
　Tetra said that and covered for Ron.

　Well, I certainly can't help but think that way.
　I think we'll have to give up the rock salt mine for compensation.

　''By the way, how is Rigal-dono's cousin Gilberto-dono, whom you captured, doing?
　'He complained at first, but when I served him the spirit, he drank it and got drunk and went to bed.

　How can you drink a drink served by a hostile force? And you can sleep.
　Are you actually a big shot?

　But still, Rosward was a nice play. If he had killed him for this, he would definitely have claimed Ron, Rosward, and Sojourn's lives, and it would have been extremely difficult to refuse to do so.
　Getting caught would definitely be an ugly story.
　The Dibel family will want to rub it out.

　That would be a good card to play.

　"The way it was done it'll be more careful next time. Anyway, anyhow who's injured?
　I can feel myself getting a little nervous.

　It's warfare, so it's normal for people to die.
　But.....
　If possible, I don't want anyone from the same village to die.

　They all know each other's faces, names, and accuracy very well.

　"...ten dead. All recruited soldiers.
　Well.....
　I feel the palpitations in my chest subside.

　It may not be good for me as a leader but I hope you'll forgive me.

　'But....'
　Ron looks a little uncomfortable saying it.

　Seo-yeon stepped forward in Ron's place.
　'Three of them, one was injured on his right hand, another on his left leg, and another on his left hand, and the wound was infected and almost rotten, so it was my decision to amputate it.

　Well.....
　Well, at least he's not dead.

　Well, let's go see him as soon as possible.
　I got up.




　The three of us were already up.
　Under the influence of the blessing, the amputation surface would heal in no time.

　However, the missing limb will not return...

　The three of them looked at me and their faces clouded over.
　''I'm sorry...''
　"I'm afraid I'm not very good at...
　To think that I can't fight for Mr. Almus anymore...

　These guys.....
　Why are you so worried about that when you're so badly injured?

　I pat the three of them on the head, feeling happy, but also a little scared.

　'Fool!　We're short on talent right now, okay?　I'm not going to give you a break just because you're missing a leg or two. I need you guys to do the paperwork. It's worse than the battlefield. Brace yourselves.

　When I said that, the three of them lit up.

　It seems that it was not a wrong response.
　But still.........
　It's heavy.





　Bastards!　You little bastard!
　Rigal had been hitting things for a while now.
　More than ten pieces of furniture and figurines had already come to an end.

　Belmet sighed deeply inwardly as he looked at it.
　

　How could he lose, even though he was prepared to set it up for the ugliness?
　I would like to question him for an hour.
　After all, he was caught.

　If he dies now, our power relations will be cleaned up and we can claim a huge amount of compensation.

　This made it impossible to avoid the ugly news that Dibel's army was a bunch of weak soldiers.
　After all, they were defeated in tatters by twice the number of troops.

　Other than numbers - the quality of weapons, skill level, and commander, they had been defeated in everything else, so it's inevitable, if you ask me.

　The Dibel family's centripetal force would undoubtedly decline. It seems that some of the great families should be prepared to be saddled with the As family.
　However.........

　I can get the salt mine.
　You can secure the rock salt whether you originally lost or won.
　If you win, you have no problem with executive control, and if you lose, you can take it away as compensation.

　In this case, we'll claim it in the form of compensation.

　Because we are the victims.
　Well, the fact that Gilberto is in custody is a problem, but........

　It's going to be tough to take all the rock salt away from this. So then.....

　Vermette ponders his thoughts.
　We will work out the best plan here.

　A settlement settlement is preferable to a trial.
　I don't want the ugly news to spread.
　The other party would rather have a trial, so if you have to settle out of court, you'll have to put conditions in their favor, but it can't be helped.

　''Rigal-sama. I will head to the As territory. Please wait for a good outcome, Rigal-sama.
　Saying that, Vermette left Rigal behind and headed to the As territory alone.





　''I don't want the trouble to grow if possible. Let's just settle the matter.''
　The old man in front of me declared that.

　This old man is called Vermette, it seems.
　His body looks like a dead tree, but I can see the color of deep intelligence in his eyes.

　At least he doesn't seem to be a blurry old man.

　'A settlement?　As far as I'm concerned, I'd rather just make it official in court.
　And King Losey is a big fan of mine.
　I have the advantage of a trial. The louder I shout out the other man's injustice, the more the accusations against House Dibel will be, and the more the accusations against me will be relatively weak.

　'If this is a trial, we will be calling for the heads of those responsible for this one.
　You've hit a sore spot....
　You know how much I care about Ron and his friends.

　Although the trial would be favorable, there is no telling how much the sentence could be reduced.
　Ron and the others are not related to the royal family, nor are they a powerful family. They are commoners.

　It's not that there is no possibility of punishment. It's still safer to settle out of court, after all.

　Well, that's to be expected.

　I see. Our territory is short on human resources, you know. It's not a good idea to keep your head. Very well. We can try to settle this out of court on your terms.
　As I said this, Velmet took out a piece of parchment and a pen.
　Can you write? 'You old man,' he said.

　'First of all, I want an apology from you on the first condition. That was because of your failure to discipline your soldiers properly.
　'I know. This time it's my fault."]

　　I apologize and then have Tetra bring me a piece of paper.

　Settlement terms.

　Alms Ass admits to wrongdoing in this case and apologizes

　For now, the line is complete.

　Next up was the money.
　'Well, the terms of the settlement we claim all the concessions of the rock salt mine.
　That's too many. It's a third of the total.

　The conversation is parallel.
　Nevertheless, this is the time to hold on.

　'Then here's what we'll do. We will give you two-thirds of our interest in the rock salt. In exchange, we will release the prisoners, including Gilberto-dono, free of charge.
　Well, I guess that's the drop in the bucket.
　A ransom charge is a quandary...

　Besides, a third wouldn't be enough to convince them.

　'The prisoners must be released. Besides, you need to make up for your equipment. We've lost a lot of men for nothing because of you.
　I understand. Then we'll also pay for the wheat as compensation for the equipment and compensation. In return, one third of the rock salt concessions belong to us. Also, we will dispose of the fugitives who have escaped here.

　It's a win-win situation for us, and it's a win-win situation for them.
　What do you think?

　There's enough wheat to go around. We can return the equipment as it is.

　''........Fine. Granted.


　The terms of the settlement.

　Armes as cedes two-thirds of the rock salt concessions in his domain.
　_
　The alms-as pays in wheat for the equipment and restitution.

　That'll do for now.
　Well, I guess we're good.


　Hmm, so that settles it. You take your case to court, and I'll give you the win?
　'If I owe you any more than I already owe you, I'm afraid I'll have to force you to accept the throne.

　King Rosais snickered as I replied, "You've caused a territorial dispute and now your position is in jeopardy?

　You've caused a territorial dispute and now what?　It's not just your position. It's also family and men. It has always been common for the winning side in war to take the wife of the losing side as a concubine.

　Don't be a prick...
　You know what he is.

　I know what he is. I know that much.
　But this is not an issue that you can jump to in a million years.

　Once you make a decision, there's no going back. So you're upset.

　I don't want to be king.
　But I want to marry Julia.

　I don't really know what I want to do with myself, you know?

　That's all right. "That's all right," he said, "think it through. I don't want you to regret it. Now, don't take this personally, but I heard you scored a big win in the war. We've been talking about it. The 300 of Dibel's army was defeated by the 160 of Ass's army.
　It's not like I won. It was my men Ron and his team that won.
　'The credit goes to the master for his subordinates. There are people who have excellent subordinates but can't use them to their full potential. There are people who have excellent subordinates but can't use them to their fullest potential, but there are people who aren't that good at it who can arrange the situation so that they can use it to their fullest potential. I value you and your subordinates as well.

　King Rosais said and then coughed.
　It looks like the disease is progressing in earnest.

　Raimondo-san said he didn't know if he'd last a year....

　'How did you win, by the way?　Tell me about it.
　'Good. That's all I've heard...

　I speak of Ron and his men's warfare tactics - their skillful use of cavalry and terrain.
　To be honest, I'm surprised.

　When did they learn these tactics?
　Now that I think about it, those guys used to talk to Bartolo a lot so I guess they learned it from there.

　Well, even if you're not a heavy infantryman, it doesn't matter what branch of service you're in, you're vulnerable behind, and it's easy to predict that your formation will collapse if you suddenly change direction in the river.

　It was probably fortunate that the enemy forces were in the hundreds.
　If it was in tens of thousands, it would take a long time for the cavalry to get around.

　It's a tactic that works because it's a small number versus a small number.

　Hmm, it's pretty simple. I was wondering what kind of bizarre strategy they used since I heard that they killed twice as many enemies...
　It's not always easy to succeed with a strange plan. I think a simple strategy is more reliable and less likely to fail.

　I've heard that a true great general is one who prepares a large army to defeat the enemy from the beginning rather than a small army to defeat them. This time our numbers were smaller, but we were superior in everything else.

　It's my job to make sure that we don't get into a dire situation where we have to use a surprise move.

　'Yes, that's right. There is one thing I must say.
　What is it?
　"King Domorgar's country and Gilbet's country have signed a truce. Apparently, it's to counteract the kingdom of Roselle and to promote a policy of descent southward. There will be warfare in the near future.

　King Domorgal's country I hear that the total military strength of that country is about ten thousand.
　If we mobilize them to the limit, 30,000 is possible.

　Can ten thousand come?
　Probably. That country can mobilize 30,000. At least 15,000 of them. The more people there are, the longer it will take to mobilize them. That country is as powerful as our country. If it becomes a large-scale invasion, they will have to make adjustments. We will have six months to make adjustments. And by then, we'll be ready to counterattack. The Ferrum kid was a surprise, but this time we'll know for sure. We can mobilize seven thousand of them.

　Well, with the exception of the great families, the number that the Rosais royal family can move alone is about four thousand.

　
　But I guess that part depends on diplomacy.
　I don't like the sound of that.

　"Hurry up with the construction of the fort. We need to stop it there.
　'I know. Ismea is working hard on the renovations now.

　We need to ramp up production of black powder.
　We're going to need a lot of it.