Chapter 31 - 31 The Ravages of War
Steve, summoned by Aurora, was in her office as usual. What was unusual was that Aurora made no effort to hide her displeasure, and Brian was there with her. The atmosphere surrounding Aurora made Steve's lower right eyelid twitch.
"I have arrived as requested."
"Have you heard the news?"
"No, I was only told that I was being summoned for a confidential matter."
"I see."
Aurora clicked her tongue, having forgotten her own instructions. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.
"There has been an invasion from the Kingdom of Forest. By the time the message reached you, the border fort had already fallen."
"What? The fort!?"
Steve and Brian were shocked by the information Aurora provided.
As a result of diverting military strength to deal with the nobles of the former Viscount Karsh faction, the fort had fallen into enemy hands due to a lack of manpower. Furthermore, Margrave Bradle commanded a large number of mages, indicating the seriousness of this invasion.
Even the provision of troops to Viscount Karsh and his associates was a stratagem made possible by the judgment of the King of Forest. It was an invasion so large-scale and well-planned that it seemed too much for a single Margrave to orchestrate.
"They attacked right when they saw we had diverted our forces to deal with Viscount Karsh's invasion of the neighboring territory. To prevent the national army from heading this way, they stationed soldiers along the routes to obstruct reinforcements. Currently, the next fort has also been captured, and we are defending Solenoid Town behind it. I want House Archibalt to participate in the defense there."
At Aurora's request, Steve looked at Brian. The authority to participate in a war belonged to the head of the house, Brian.
Brian deliberately ignored his son's gaze.
"Our territorial army consists of myself, my retainer Cody, and the commoners we will conscript in an emergency. However, I cannot send out those who are still minors. Is that acceptable?"
"Conscripting only adults from the commoners should be fine."
Aurora replied to Brian's question. In other words, she was telling him to send Steve.
"As a parent, I would like to avoid putting my underage son on the battlefield."
"Indeed. If the boy were not a mage, I wouldn't have said this. But as long as he is born into a noble house and is a mage, he cannot be treated as an ordinary child. Especially not in the current crisis. Furthermore, if Solenoid falls, the enemy will enter the surrounding territories. That would be a problem for your land as well."
Steve interjected into the exchange between the two adults.
"I will go."
Steve appreciated Brian's feelings for his son, but he was an adult on the inside and possessed the strength to fight. He felt that if an enemy country was attacking, he had to fight. Although he was born and raised in peaceful Japan and only knew of war through history textbooks or from behind a monitor, he felt this way because of his grandfather's experiences in his previous life.
Steve's grandfather in his previous life had lost an older brother in the war. He had burned to death in a US air raid shortly after being born. While it might be a soldier's job to wage war, his grandfather had always told him about the misery of those who were not—especially small children—getting caught in the war and dying.
Whenever a religious solicitor came by, his grandfather would bring up the story of his brother's death and say:
"If there is a God, he is incompetent and not worth worshipping. If there isn't, there's no point in worshipping anyway."
And with that, he would turn the believers away.
For that reason, Steve intended to participate not for the purpose of killing the enemy, but for the purpose of ending the war quickly.
Brian grit his teeth hard at his son's offer and looked straight at Steve.
"Do you understand what this means?"
"Yes."
"If it means you have to go to the battlefield, I wish I had been the mage instead."
Brian confirmed Steve's resolve and let out a heavy sigh.
"I've also only just gotten the factory management on track, so I'd rather focus on that. Even with agriculture, I want to see the results of the selective breeding and soil improvement."
"Well, the fact that I'm making a child do those things makes me a failure as a father."
"I'm quite envious that you have such an accomplished son."
Aurora joined the father-son conversation. Since Steve had agreed to participate in the war, her mood had improved slightly.
Having decided to go, Steve requested a map from Aurora.
"Your Excellency, could I have a map to Solenoid? Since it's a town I've heard of for the first time, I won't know where to head even if I rush there with reinforcements."
"Yes, I understand. Maps are naturally military secrets, so make sure not to show it to anyone else."
"I am aware."
In this world without satellites, maps were extremely labor-intensive items to produce. Furthermore, it was impossible to conduct surveys in an enemy country, so they were something an invading side wanted at all costs. Even among the nobles of the Kingdom of Cascade, creating or seizing a map of someone else's territory could lead to conflict.
Steve requested it knowing full well. To rush there immediately, the quickest way was to confirm the direction and use Teleportation magic.
With his current abilities, Steve could teleport to a location seen through the eyes of a bird with which he shared his senses. Therefore, if he moved instantly to the limit of the vision of a bird of prey with excellent eyesight, like a hawk, and repeated the process, he would arrive at his destination in no time.
"Even so, I have no reward to give you. You don't need money anymore, do you?"
"No, no, that's not the case. Even with the products I'm selling now, if rival companies appear, I'll have to cut profits and engage in price competition. Agricultural production is still in a negative state relative to the population, so without the profits from selling goods, we would starve. That's why cash as savings is necessary. It's not like having it causes any trouble."
"Hey now, I'm the one having trouble finding a place to put it."
When Brian said that to Steve, Steve smiled brightly.
"In that case, shall we open an account at the bank Her Excellency is about to start and deposit the surplus money there? It'll earn interest, too."
"That would be a great help. It's quite a task just to prepare the physical cash, after all."
"Ah, that 'bank' thing Steve was talking about the other day? Certainly, if I have to worry about thieves by keeping it at home, it's better to leave it with Her Excellency. It'll be safer than our place."
"Lord Archibalt, that's not true. No thief would be safe entering a house where the strongest person in the country resides. Even if I sent in the Royal Guard Knights Order, I don't feel like they could succeed in a theft. I'd like such reliable soldiers in my house too. In fact, there are thieves who have barged in with their boots on right now."
"Then, I shall go and deal with those thieves."
No explicit promise regarding a reward was made here. For Steve, this was an action driven by the determination to end the war rather than for a reward, so he didn't care about such things.
As soon as he received the map, he teleported back to the House Archibalt estate, explained the situation to Cody, and prepared for departure. Brian gave Cody instructions for the conscription.
"We'll take ten people from the Main Village. Send out the call for conscription immediately and gather this month's duty roster."
"Understood. But we'll end up showing the Wakasama's Teleportation magic; is that alright?"
"It's an emergency, and it's a bit late for that anyway."
"That's true. I'll get right on it."
An hour later, twelve commoners gathered at the lord's manor.
Looking at the gathered members, Brian and Steve made sour faces.
"Hey, Cody."
"Yes, My Lord?"
"I know that when you adopt such a polite tone, you know you're about to be asked something difficult to answer."
"Well, yeah."
"Why are Abel and Bella here?"
At Brian's question, Cody scratched the back of his head vigorously.
"They wouldn't listen when I told 'em they couldn't come."
"If Steve is going to war, take me with you!"
Bella pleaded. However, Brian did not nod in agreement.
"No. I can't take children to war. This isn't like keeping watch for a bandit raid like the other day."
"I fought back then too!"
"That was a fight you didn't have to participate in. Once you spotted the enemy and raised the signal fire, you could have just stayed hidden. But this time, it won't be like that."
"I've been acting as a guard for the migrants too!"
With Bella refusing to back down, Brian found himself unable to argue back. It was a fact that he had used Bella, a child, due to the labor shortage. Her skill with a gun was certain, and since she had already experienced killing enemies, she wouldn't hesitate when facing an opponent on the battlefield. Moreover, she herself wished to participate.
Brian gave up on persuading Bella and questioned Abel.
"What about you, Abel?"
"I'm just following if Steve and Bella are going to war. I can't let just the two of them face danger. But if Bella doesn't go, I won't say I'm going either."
"I see. But Bella probably won't give up on going."
"Of course not!"
"So it seems. What do you think?"
Brian gave up on persuading Bella and asked for Steve's opinion.
"I will use Body Enhancement Magic on everyone to increase their physical abilities threefold. They won't be defeated by ordinary enemies. I also have healing magic, so as long as it's not instant death, I can save them."
"I see. Then Steve, you take responsibility for giving Abel and Bella their orders."
"Understood. That being the case, you two, follow my instructions and do not act on your own."
"Got it."
Abel and Bella nodded at Steve's words.
Now that the departing members were decided, they each chose weapons suited to their build.
Brian and Cody, who had finished putting on their armor and preparing earlier, were checking the effects of Steve's threefold Body Enhancement Magic.
"My body feels light. It's as if I'm not even wearing armor. My movements are better than when I was young."
"If the Wakasama had this magic back then, we wouldn't have had to feel like we were gonna die."
"True. I probably would have achieved even greater military feats."
Brian and Cody had such a conversation while engaging in mock combat.
Meanwhile, the women of House Archibalt watched the men anxiously. Christina, in particular, had tears in her eyes.
"Lord Steve, please return safely."
"I promise."
Steve gently pulled Christina into an embrace.
"If it gets dangerous, use Cody as a shield."
"Ane-ue, that's a bit much..."
"Exactly. That's cold, Sherry-sama."
Cody booed at Sherry's suggestion, but Sherry didn't seem to mind.
"I will protect Lord Steve even at the cost of my life."
"Bella, we're all coming back together. I mean, we're coming back here every time it's time for a meal anyway."
Steve gave a wry smile at Bella, who was prepared to sacrifice herself. Since he knew Bella was serious, he thought that if he didn't keep a tight rein on her, she really would throw her life away.
As Steve said, the plan was to teleport back to the Archibalt estate for meals and sleep. Since showing an opening on the battlefield was dangerous, they decided on that. It was a strategy possible only for Steve, who had magic power to spare.
While they were having such conversations, the commoners' preparations were also completed, and he used the Teleportation magic.
"Well then, here we go."
Steve teleported everyone to Sowell Land. From there, he used the hawk to perform consecutive teleports in the direction of Solenoid Town.
Those unaccustomed to Teleportation magic became motion sick from the scenery, but Cody, who was gradually getting used to it, had enough composure to converse with Steve.
"This is convenient. No fatigue from marching. I wonder how many people the Wakasama can carry at once?"
"I've never tried, but if the distance is short, I feel like I could manage about ten thousand."
"That's great. When the war is over, let's do work as a substitute for carriages."
"I'd be hated by the businesses that would go out of business, and if I die, there's no replacement. It would be too late to start raising carriage horses then."
"As expected of you to think that far ahead. I can't see past what's right in front of me."
While they were talking, they arrived outside Solenoid Town. They could see smoke rising from within the town over the outer walls.
Steve used the hawk to scout the town from above. Steve's expression clouded at the sight of civilians being killed by enemy soldiers, more so than the combat seen in various places.
"Combat is taking place everywhere. Also massacres and looting. It seems the Margrave Sowell's army is unable to conduct organized combat. There's a large army waiting on the opposite side of the town from here. The walls are broken, but they don't seem to be entering."
"We have no choice but to be careful of friendly fire and crush them one by one. Since the enemy's main force won't be able to enter the town immediately, let's wipe out the enemies inside and repair the walls with Steve's magic."
When Brian gave the order, they teleported into the town using Steve's magic.