When we accepted the alliance between General Balthazar and the prince
　General Clieu must have guessed this.

　Both Romalia and Roselle were ready for war.
　However, it did not mean that war would start immediately.

　Tensions are only continuing.

　Neither country wants to be the first to fire the first shot.


　'Your Majesty the King, two hundred naval ships are ready to sail. They are ready to launch at any time.

　Alexios reported this to me.
　The Roselle Kingdom is an army country, so naturally the main battlefield of this war will be on land.

　However, I have no intention of turning the navy into a mere waste of time and money.

　''Your Majesty, the formation of the cavalry is complete.

　It was Rosward who reported that.
　I've gathered all the cavalry to fight the Roselle Kingdom with all my might.

　First, eight thousand Arva cavalry from the Kingdom of Arva, on which I have always relied.
　Then four thousand Germanic cavalrymen from the island of Trisichelia.
　Three thousand Gallic cavalry from tribes that were in hostile relations with the Kingdom of Roselle and gathered with the help of General Balthazar's messenger.
　Three thousand Nudia cavalry, gathered after the Pofenian War by secret negotiations.
　Finally, 12,000 Adelnian cavalry gathered from our kinsmen and from the entire Romalian Federation.

　A total of 30,000.

　We were able to gather quite a bit of cavalry thanks to the fact that the countries that originally had a good amount of cavalry, such as Domorgal, Fardham and Gilbet, were within the Romarian Federation.
　Well, to be honest, it's hard to say we're on good terms with Fardham and Gilbet...

　Their opponent is the Roselle Kingdom.
　The three northern countries have a long, long history of struggle with the Roselle Kingdom, so they are quite cooperative only this time.

　Finally, we can make up for our long years of losses........
　It's like.

　Well, from their point of view, they'll hate Romalia enough, too.
　For once, I think we'll get along.

　'The infantry formation is complete, Your Majesty.

　Finally, Bartolo reported.
　Infantry, that is, the main force of our country.

　Forty thousand from the Kingdom of Romalia.
　Eighty thousand from the entire Federation.

　A total of 120,000.

　Infantry and cavalry, a total of 150,000.　
　Plus the navy, two hundred ships.

　That's all the forces our country can currently send out of the country.

　Well, if you include the Balthazar's Gauls and Adelunian volunteers, the number will grow a little more.......
　I'm not stupid enough to count such uncertain things.

　Furthermore, thanks to the civil war, we know what kind of troops General Krywurst can bring with him.

　They were divided into two factions, the Crew and Balthazar, and both gave their all.
　In other words, the troops brought out by General Clue in the civil war, and the rest, including the neutrals who were there for a little while, are the enemy's maximum strength.

　150,000 infantry and 50,000 cavalry.
　A total of two hundred thousand.

　That's all the troops General Clue could bring out.

　A fifty-thousand manpower difference against General Lieutenant Liu was hard to take, but........
　In fact, it would be impossible to hit us with all 200,000.

　We can't have the logistics to do it.

　And we're going to split our forces in two.

　The only good general in the Rozel Kingdom is General Clue.
　On the other hand, we have two of them, Bartolo and Alexios.

　And although they're not as good as the two of them we also have Ron, Rosward and Gram.
　...I'd actually like to count them.

　Yeah, well it's better than nothing.


　'Alms, I've finished producing the explosive spear.
　Yeah, thanks.

　With all the sorcerers mobilized, Tetra was producing the explosive spear.
　To be precise, though, it was the production of the magic formation of ignition, which is the root of the explosive spear.

　It used to help neutralize the cavalry, but now it's useless in that direction.
　It's because countermeasures are taken with spellcraft.
　Nevertheless, as a siege weapon ... and pure blindness, the power of the explosion is still sufficient.

　It has decreased in importance, but it is still a powerful weapon, no doubt.


　Other than that, Yulia keeps the spellcasters together, and Ial hangs out with the Adelnians and Gauls inside the Roselle Kingdom.
　Raimondo is giving me a glare at Pofenia.

　All that's left is for them to catch fire.

　And..........
　It came abruptly.


　'His Majesty the King!　A water dispute seems to have broken out in a village near the border between the Kingdom of Roselle and King Fardham's country!　King Fardham is calling for reinforcements, sir!

　I see.

　I exhaled quietly.
　I don't know which one of us fired the first shot.

　But.....
　All that was certain was that it had begun.

　'All troops ... ready to go!　It's working as planned!
　" " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " "



　And so....
　The Third Adelian Liberation War, as it is called in the world, had begun.








　'Alexios, you've come a long way.
　Excuse me, what's the story?

　Bartolo called Alexios before he went out.
　The two men faced each other and shared a drink.

　'Well, I'll have a drink first.'
　Ha, ha...

　Keeping Bartolo company, Alexios took a sip of his drink.
　Bartolo drinks it deliciously, and Alexios drinks it down, looking a little spicy.

　Bartolo prefers to drink brandy.
　The reason for this is because he is a strong drinker.
　The first thing that matters to Bartolo, an alcoholic, is how much alcohol is in it.

　Alexios is not a weak drinker by any means, but....
　I'm not even strong enough to drink with Bartolo.

　Well, there isn't anyone in this world who can have a decent drink with Bartolo.

　''Well I'd like you to get down to business with that...''
　Well, it's early days, but why don't we get married?
　...Married?

　Alexios nodded his head.

　'I hate to say it, but I have a wife, and as a matter of fact, before that, men are... no, there was definitely a time when I claimed to be homos*xual at one point, but that was to avoid marriage, never really being homos*xual...' ...
　It's not you and me. I have a wife. My daughter and your son.
　I know, I was just kidding.

　Alexios smiled.

　''Could it be that........you were talking about, during the war with Pophenia.......''
　Yeah, I'm talking about this. There was a lot of stuff going on after that, like Sandal Island and Corus Island, and we never got to talk after that.

　Well, it's true that there was a lot of messing around.　
　And even after that, I was busy training my troops and reorganizing.

　''But this is so sudden, may I ask you to tell me your true intentions?''
　Ummm, where do I start...

　Bartolo was drinking and .....
　He said, a little embarrassed.

　'I didn't like you much. I've been the best general in Romalia so far, you know. So when you showed up out of the blue I didn't have very favorable feelings for you.
　Well I can understand that. I'm a stranger, you know. It's only natural.


　Originally, Alexios himself was not a very well-liked personality.
　He was used to being disliked.......and he knew that Bartolo didn't have any favorable feelings towards him.

　

　'But ... the war in Trisichellia changed my mind. You're a brilliant man. You have more talent than I do. Well, in terms of experience, of course I am.
　Ha ha.....

　Alexios smiles bitterly.
　He's not going to concede the point that he's the best in Romalia.

　'You're younger than me. Eventually you will surpass me and I will die before you. As for me, I can count on you.

　By approaching Alexios, who will eventually be in a position to lead the entire Romarian army, he will stabilize the Pompeian family's position after his death.
　That's Bartolo's goal.

　''And ... well ... you're right. You still have many enemies. There will be those who will try to drag you down with their trivialities. From now on, once Roselle is defeated, there will be peace and there will be more and more of them. It'll be a nice distraction. And if you are related to me, it will be to your advantage. Don't you think?

　I see...

　Alexios pondered for a moment.
　He had no intention of losing to anyone when it came to war, but when it came to politics, he was not an expert.

　If Bartolo could help me in such a situation it might be reassuring.

　'Also ... on a personal note ...'
　Yes?
　Don't you wonder how good a general me and your grandson will be?
　Haha that's what you really think, isn't it?
　Well, yeah.

　Bartolo and Alexios laughed at each other.
　How good a general would the child of two of the best bloods in the Romarian kingdom, the first and second, become.......

　That's what I was most interested in.

　'Interesting, good. Let's get engaged.
　Thank you.

　Bartolo and Alexios shook hands with each other.





　The two grandsons would later defeat some Pophenian demon....
　No one knows that yet.