It was the ninth day since they left the royal capital.
　The Royal Army, which had finished its march, was camping for the next day's decisive battle.

　The arrival of the Royal Army would be known to the opponents by the scouts.
　The same is true for the opponents, who are taking a last minute rest while keeping an eye out for a night attack.

　There are fires here and there to keep them warm.
　You can find men and women who are clearly dressed as mercenaries around the campfire.
　The four people surrounding the fire are Ted, Norris, Orphelia and the other members of the 'Myoujo of the Midnight Sun', and Ardis.

''I heard it from the soldiers on the scouting mission.

　As he sticks his portable food into a small branch and burns it, Norris breaks off the conversation in a small-talking tone.

'As usual, I don't know how you managed to get it out of me: ......

　Orphelia murmured with a doubtful expression.

　As she said, the information obtained by scouts is usually not conveyed to a mere mercenary.
　They would not be taken seriously if they foolishly and honestly said, "Tell me".
　I don't know what Norris usually does, but he has a great deal of unpredictability, and often comes across unexpected information.

I'm not sure if they're using any other means, but he's got a lot of unexpected information. I'm sure you'll find that the only thing they can do is hastily build a fence and an empty moat.

I don't know which one of us is the aggressor in this situation.

　Ted sighs.

'I don't understand. We won the first game, we expected them to attack the capital directly. Why do we have to invade their position?　It was the Empire that asked for the war, wasn't it?

'Normally, Ted would be right. Since the army of King's Landing was destroyed in the first battle, I think the theory is that they should use their momentum to march in. It's just that the imperial capital is so far away. It seems that the empire has suffered from supply in the past, and they didn't want to make the same mistake, did they?

　The land of the Ermenian Empire is long from east to west.
　And the imperial capital, as Norris had said, was located far east of the border.
　The fact that it was far from the border meant that it was also far from this battlefield.

　Of course, there are other large towns in the empire besides the imperial capital.
　Three days' walk southeast of the border was the second largest city in the empire.
　However, the supply required by an army formed with the full force of the country was no mean feat.
　Supply from the imperial capital was essential to maintaining the entire army.

　In the history of war, there are many stories of imperial troops winning battles but retreating due to lack of supplies.
　One of the reasons for this is undoubtedly the fact that the Empire's ban on plundering within the kingdom, under the banner of the recovery of lost land, was one of the reasons for this.

　In reality, there may not be any raids by end soldiers, but to the extent that they are carried out without the eyes of the upper echelons, they can't even obtain enough supplies to support a large army.
　Moreover, there are no notable food-producing areas in the southeast of the kingdom, and even if we tried to seize them, we couldn't get the food we needed.

It's not a good idea to wait for the kingdom's army to arrive. What did they plan to do if the kingdom didn't send an army against them and instead focused on defense?

I don't know. But since the kingdom has actually come to a decisive battle, it's just what the Empire wanted after all.

'Well, there's no point in telling us what to do about it, is there? We mercenaries just fight in the environment we're given.

But aren't we mercenaries the ones who get to charge the most dangerous places?　I don't want to charge head-on into a well-defended position, though.

"I knew we were at a disadvantage to begin with and joined the kingdom, so there's no point in complaining about it now.

Of course you do. ......

　Ted gives him a disgruntled look when Norris points out that he's being unconcerned.

'Let's just hope the guy conducting it is a decent man, at least.

'I don't know.　Rumor has it that he's the one who's been nicknamed 'The Thirty-Three Year Old'.

What's that?　......, the most unsettling nickname of all: ......

What kind of person are you?

　Hearing the nickname Norris had uttered, Aldis, who hadn't joined the conversation before, suddenly interrupted from the side.

'Huh?　It's very unusual for Aldis to show interest.

　It is rare for Aldis to interfere in people's gossip.
　But Aldis is as curious as anyone when she hears a particular expression that sounds familiar.
　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're talking about when it comes to people you've met.

'I've met someone with a slightly similar nickname,'

Wow. It's not too shabby of me to be remembered as one of the "Three Great Goma Defeaters".

　Aldis responds to the voice that comes back from an unexpected direction, only moving her head.

'You are .......'

　There was a man dressed in the official military uniform of the kingdom.
　A balanced, muscular body with a leisurely appearance.

　Aldis recognized that face.

　Four years ago, Ardis had been asked to investigate a creature that had inhabited the island after the defeat of "Yonmai Spring".
　In order to prove that the creature - that is to say, Lupus - was not dangerous, the military officer who accompanied him as a witness in the name of an investigation team, was the man in front of him.

　He was called 'Captain' at the time, but four years have passed since then.
　His face had an air of age about it, as his nickname 'Twenty-nine' had been changed to 'Thirty-three'.

'We met four years ago, didn't we?

'Yeah, yeah. Didn't we meet when we investigated the island where Four Feathers lived?

　Aldis's memory is confirmed by his words.

'Why are you here?　No, you're here to tell me that you're not.

　As soon as the question was out of his mouth, Aldis arrived at the answer himself.

''That's what I mean. It's me, Moore Greysta, the 'Eternal Kid', who will be in charge of the mercenary corps this time, haha!

　Come to think of it, four years ago, a civilian officer under him had mentioned such a nickname as well, Aldis recalled.
　At the same time, he felt strange, as if it were someone else's business. It's not something to be proud of, she thought.

　The officer who called himself "Moore" was sitting next to me while Aldis was distracted by something completely unrelated.

But I've been told that my age doesn't show on my face for the most part: ......

　Looking closely at Aldis' face, Moore makes a strange face.

"You haven't changed much since four years ago. Could it be that you're not human?

　The first thing you can do is to have a look of amusement at Moore's misguided words.
　Seeing that, Norris, who was peeking at the situation from the side, blurted out.

Pfft. It's true that Ardis is very inhuman, you know. I'm sure it would be more convincing if they said it wasn't a human being. Ha-ha-ha.

Hey, Norris.

　Aldis's face grew even more sullen.

'I'm sorry, sorry, Aldis. But it was just fine.

What?

No, I'm not saying that Aldis is inhuman or anything. I just wanted to ask you something since you're right in front of me, the person in charge of the unit.

Hmm?　For me?

'Yes, sir. Squad leader.

　Even though it's temporary, Norris's words become more polite because the other party is a superior officer.

You don't need to use that kind of formal language. Just speak normally and normally as usual. Most of the other mercenaries are like that.

Yeah?　Then I'll do it.

　Norris easily returns to his tone, taking advantage of Moore's generosity.

'So?　What's the question you want to ask me?

'I just overheard you say that the Imperial Army is pretty well entrenched, right?

Where did you hear that information from? I don't know what the intelligence officer in the main camp is doing, like he's even in the ear of the mercenaries.

　Now, before the battle, it was unwelcome that information that was detrimental to their own army was flowing among the soldiers.
　He felt that the information that should be kept under wraps was being passed on to a single mercenary, and he felt that there was a problem with the information management system. Moore made an expression that seemed to be a mixture of astonishment and dissatisfaction on his face.

''Well, let's put that aside for now.

　Ignoring Moore's concerns, Norris continued on with his story.

We're outnumbered, and it's as if we're attacking the opponent's defensive position, isn't it?　If you think about it in a normal way, I think this is a losing battle. Do the higher-ups have some kind of clever plan to reverse the situation?

I don't know. I mean, how could I tell you if I did?　I do have my place in the world, after all.

　Although his manner and tone gave the impression that he was a very frank person, he didn't seem to be able to slip up that easily.
　In fact, if this is the case, the fact that he speaks out of confidentiality so easily is a cause for concern.

''Well, that's true, isn't it?''

　Norris's blunt tone was replaced by Norris's honest pull, and now Ted asked a question.

"So we won't know where we're going to be placed until tomorrow?

''Yes. ....... Aren't the chiefs of staff frantically planning their positions right now?　But, well, you can pretty much imagine where we're going to be placed.

Where is it?

"where it's most dangerous and most likely to cause damage.

　Moore's answer, which didn't make much sense, poisoned Ted.

'd*mn. That's not what I'm asking. "You're a useless commander.

"Ha ha ha. "Ha-ha, ha-ha. I don't know where I'll be deployed. Even though I'm a battalion commander, my superiors don't like me very much. The orders will probably reach me right before the war begins. I'm sure you'll be able to find out where we're going to be deployed a little sooner.

　Moore laughed, showing no sign of being offended.

'd*mn, that's easy for you to say. Do mercenaries have to run out of steam?

But that's what being a mercenary is all about, isn't it?　First of all, they're not so auspicious as to be used up in silence.

　For a change, Moore turns his challenging gaze to Ted.

'You know exactly what I'm talking about.

I used to be a mercenary myself.

　Aldis gave him a look of satisfaction at his words.

'I see. No wonder you're not a military man.'

That's why you're in charge of a mercenary army, aren't you? That's why you're in charge of a mercenary army like this.

　Apparently, Moore was given command of the mercenary army because of his background as a mercenary, or rather because of his career.

So he was drawn out of a racket.

　Taking into account Moore's words that the top doesn't like him, Aldis guessed the situation.

　Moore affirmed it unspoken by shrugging his shoulders.

'Though I'm not the only one who's been poor.

What do you mean?

　Ardis asked, not knowing the meaning of the phrase "it's not just me".

I've got another lottery this time. I'm sure you have as much trouble as I do.

　From the way Moore said it and the word 'that way', Aldis understood that the other poorly written one was referring to some troop.

'And by another one, you mean some troop?

Cadet Force. These are the children of the warrior and sorcerer programs in the academy in King's Landing.

　Aldis frowned slightly when he heard the answer.
　Because that's where the person who would be the reason Aldis had joined this battle was there.

''Just leading a picnic is a lot of work, but commanding students on the battlefield or ....... I'd rather be a commander of a mercenary unit still. The commander over there is a little boy I don't like, but for once I feel sorry for him.

　It was Kirill who was treated as poorly as Aldis.