Chapter 221 - Chapter 220: Prohibition on Movement Outside the Royal Capital
Month of the Second Earth, Week of the Fourth, Day of the Month.
Afternoon horseback riding class.
The horseback riding practice started after entering the middle school section, but it is the most difficult class for Mika.
That said, since it has been going on for nearly two years now, it is not that he cannot ride at all.
He is bad at it, but he can ride to a certain extent, given his level.
"............It's tiring."
It's not just mental fatigue; there is a tendency to tense up unnaturally, and the feeling that it is more exhausting than moving on one's own feet is surely not just in his head.
"Whoa."
Mika jumps down from the horse and hands the reins to the person in charge of the horse care without stopping.
For Mika, jumping on and jumping off are the basics.
Normally, one puts their feet in the stirrups to mount, but Mika cannot even reach the stirrups with his feet in the first place.
How am I supposed to mount by putting my feet in stirrups that are at the height of my neck?
It seems the height of the stirrups is determined based on the state when mounted.
Mika, who is just a little bit short, has no choice but to shorten the length of the stirrups.
It's not that my legs are short, it's just that they are proportionally so!
But if that's the case, it inevitably becomes high from the ground.
When getting off, it is also too high from the ground, so in the end, there is no choice but to jump down.
The horses prepared for the class are ridden by children, but they are ordinary horses without mercy.
There is no consideration whatsoever for children's practice horses.
The horses prepared on the battlefield are ordinary military horses, so the instruction is to get used to these.
When the issued clothes and boots did not fit, there were stories somewhere in the army about making the body fit the clothes, or maybe not.
Well, ignoring individual circumstances like that and saying "just get used to it" is the basic stance of this country.
Mika wipes the sweat from his forehead and walks over to where the other children in the class are gathered.
They are currently practicing jumping over obstacles, and once they finish one round, they take a break.
They repeat this: rest a little, then practice again.
"Mika has become quite skilled, hasn't he?"
Cleiria, who had returned earlier, noticed Mika and called out to him.
"Well, somehow. It's just barely enough to keep up with everyone..."
Mika answers with a tired face, and Cleiria gives a wry smile.
"It is said that when you enter the upper school section, horses will be used even in exercises."
"Eh, really!? I've never seen anything like that."
He had been allowed to participate in the upper school exercises, but he had never seen anything like that being done.
"It is said that such units are organized during large-scale exercises."
"Oh? Did those exist? But not everyone rides, right? Then I'll just be infantry."
He had participated in a large-scale exercise that used the entire training ground before.
But there was no memory of a cavalry team.
Was he not there at that time?
Speaking of which, what kind of classification would a mage be if they rode a horse?
Mage cavalry?
It sounds cool vaguely, but Mika will decline.
He doesn't think they would even allow him to decline.
As he watches the children practicing alongside Cleiria, a lecturer from the academy runs over.
The lecturers who were giving instruction tell the children to stop practicing for a moment and gather around the running lecturer.
"I wonder what's wrong? Something happened?"
"What could it be?"
All the children watch the lecturers gathering.
But soon they disperse, and the class resumes.
And after that, the class ends without any incident.
It ended a little earlier than usual, and the children were called to assemble.
Something feels a bit tense in the atmosphere of the lecturers?
In front of the lined-up children, the homeroom teacher Colina stands.
Beside her are several lecturers in charge of horseback riding.
"Today, instead of dismissing as is, you will return to the classroom once. There is no need to change clothes. Wait in the classroom as is. That is all. Trot!"
When told to trot, Mika starts running, and the children follow, running out of the training ground while still in formation.
By the way, the formation order is naturally decided, and as expected, Mika is at the front.
In other words, the children of the class cannot start running unless Mika runs.
(Rare. Is there something after the afternoon class?)
No one would not have a bad feeling from this.
(What is happening in the classroom...)
Thinking such things, Mika continued running towards the academy.
"I wonder what it is..."
When he sits in his usual seat in the classroom, Rimliche calls out to him with an anxious face.
Vaguely, the atmosphere in the classroom feels heavy.
As expected, everyone else must have a bad feeling too.
After a while, Colina enters the classroom, wearing an atmosphere stricter than usual.
Rarely, a lecturer in charge of instruction at the magic practice field comes along with her.
Colina stands in front of the podium, looking straight ahead with a serious expression.
"All students of the Magic Academy have been issued a 'Prohibition on Movement Outside the Royal Capital'. From this moment, you are prohibited from leaving the Royal Capital until further orders."
"............Huh?"
Told of an order that Colina had not expected, a murmur rose throughout the classroom.
Confused by the sudden order, the children look at each other.
"This is a formal order issued by the Ministry of Military Affairs. Do not try to break it lightly. I repeat. All students of the Magic Academy have been issued a 'Prohibition on Movement Outside the Royal Capital'. ————."
At Colina's cold voice, the children become half-panicked.
"Why!?"
"Suddenly, what!? What does this mean!?"
"What is this order!?"
Mika looks around and sees the children.
Rimliche's face turns pale, and she looks at Mika with a face like she is about to cry.
Cecilia and Charl are also turning blue.
Cleiria might be confused, but she is not losing her composure.
She is just looking at Colina with a strict expression.
Polnard and Messerite are not losing their composure either, but they have pained expressions.
Murt is silent with a serious expression.
When Mika faces forward, Colina has very cold eyes.
And he notices her taking a deep breath.
(Ah, don't come at me, this is it.)
Mika secretly activates "Big Ear".
"QUIET!!!"
At Colina's thunder, the classroom went silent in an instant.
But faint sniffles and sobbing sounds could be heard.
It seems some children have started crying.
"Do not panic over every single order! When is the 'Prohibition on Movement Outside the Royal Capital' applied? Mika!"
"Yes!"
Suddenly called upon, Mika stands up sharply despite being startled.
Orders issued to academy students were taught in class.
The orders taught are not that many.
There are orders assuming quite severe situations, such as dormitory students waiting in the dorms, or preparing lodging for non-dormitory students to wait there, but...
"It is purely a precautionary measure, and is judged to be possible to be summoned temporarily. Also, not limited to temporary summons, it can be issued as necessary."
"Very well."
When Mika sits down with a sigh of relief, Colina explains simply.
"It is an order issued assuming the worst-case scenario. You cannot judge anything from just this one order. It will be lifted once the matter is resolved. Behave yourself until then."
But no one can feel relieved with just such an explanation.
Above all, this is the timing of the order.
The rumors of "war with the Gronoir Empire" that existed before float in his mind.
(Did we receive a declaration of war? ...No, if we received a declaration of war, I don't think they would stop with such a half-hearted order.)
Above all, it is impossible not to inform the citizens of the start of war.
It should be widely issued to the citizens first and foremost.
Because everything about the citizens' lives changes between peacetime and wartime.
Mika glances at Stellan.
Stellan is particularly no different from usual.
He is looking at Colina with a serious face.
(Is he calm because he knew something from the beginning? Or did he always expect something like this?)
With a somewhat gloomy feeling, the day was dismissed.
The classroom after Colina and the others left.
But most of the children remained in the classroom.
And the Leventein Group, Cleiria, and Stellan gathered around Mika's desk.
Furthermore, several classmates gathered around them.
"So, neither of you has any special information."
The topic was naturally the "Prohibition on Movement Outside the Royal Capital" from earlier.
He thought Cleiria or Stellan might have heard something, but neither of them had heard anything special.
"Even if there is some movement at the border, they won't tell us, the academy students, right? The same goes for Lady Cleiria of the Leventein family."
At Stellan's opinion, Cleiria nods.
"However, some information must have reached the higher-ups. The only one with the authority to issue such an order to academy students is the Minister of Military Affairs. Did His Majesty order the Minister of Military Affairs, or was it a request from another source? I don't know if it was a judgment on their own."
Hearing Stellan's words, Mika crosses his arms and rests his chin on his hand, pondering.
The Magic Academy is an organization directly under the Ministry of Military Affairs.
The Minister of Military Affairs can severely restrict the actions of academy students as needed, and can also mobilize them.
(...That said, the response is so half-hearted that I have no idea what's going on.)
But thanks to that half-heartedness, there is one certain thing.
(War is not happening. If we were currently at war, they wouldn't make such a half-hearted response.)
It probably wasn't declared war either.
So, why are they responding like this?
(Thanks to this, it seems I won't be able to go home this year.)
Well, he hasn't even reserved souvenirs yet, so he isn't particularly troubled.
(Kistil and Nerisfeene will be disappointed.)
Especially Kistil will be sad.
Even if they couldn't spend time as a family, he must have wanted to see his mother and younger brother.
If anything happens, Horatio is supposed to inform them via letter, so Kistil and the Scobata family are not exchanging letters.
While silence is golden, it must be lonely after all.
(Should I send just the two of them to Rish Village? Arrange for adventurer escorts... wait, isn't it enough to go and return in one day? I could go too.)
He immediately starts planning to ignore the order and can't help but give a wry smile.
As always, I have no intention of following these kinds of rules.
But at that moment, something flashed in his mind.
(I see. The meaning of this order is...)
He doesn't know the reason.
He doesn't know the reason, but...
"They don't want us to go home."
When Mika mutters softly, Rimliche tilts her head.
"In the end, the higher-ups don't know how the situation will turn out. Even so, next month we will enter the long vacation. If all the academy students scatter throughout the country for a whole month, they disliked that."
The situation one month from now cannot be read.
There might be something concerning about the movements inside the Gronoir Empire.
Finally, the country is strengthening its sense of crisis?
(...That said, this is also a matter of timing.)
If it were not the time when the Second Earth month was about to end in the late part, would they not have issued such an order?
It just so happens that next month is the time for academy students to return home, so they stopped them.
If it were the Water month or Fire month now, there would be no need to stop them even with an order.
Without saying anything, everyone would not leave the Royal Capital.
(Above all, it is now mid-winter. It is not a time for the army to move.)
In such times.
War is done outside of winter.
Ideally, they want to avoid the sowing and harvesting seasons as well.
So, the war season is summer.
But if it is not winter, it could happen anytime.
Since there are quite a few professional soldiers, there is no need to worry so much about farming work.
(Even so, war will not break out in winter.)
Mika predicts this.
In winter, just marching causes soldiers to fall one after another from frostbite.
Well, there were plenty of kings and generals who fought without caring about such things.
(There is a certain Great King who campaigned for ten years.)
Whether the season is this or that is ultimately the thinking of a commoner.
If possible, let's hope the enemy is also a commoner.
When Mika raised his face, everyone was watching him.
"...What?"
"What... you were muttering something."
Messerite looks at Mika with a suspicious expression.
"Ah... just thinking about something."
"What were you thinking about?"
Murt asked with a difficult face.
"It's not a big deal. Just wondering if it will be difficult to return home this year or something. That kind of thing."
"Oh, well, that's probably it."
Murt and Messerite are not returning home, but Cleiria, Cecilia, and Charl return home every year.
Hearing Mika's words, they felt a little down, saying "Yeah..."
Um, sorry?
Anyway, for Mika and the others right now, it is a situation that cannot be helped.
The conclusion was that they just have to obey quietly.
When he returns home, Yaroibarov is standing in the dining room drinking tea.
Kistil and Nerisfeene are in the kitchen preparing dinner.
"Oh, you're back."
"What's wrong, Yaroibarov-san? Standing like that."
As he tries to offer a chair, Mika's hand stops abruptly.
He compares the chair he intended to offer with Yaroibarov's big hips.
Yeah, you can't sit.
The chairs in Mika's house are ordinary wooden chairs.
Probably, it would be difficult to support Yaroibarov's weight.
Did Yaroibarov understand what Mika was thinking? He gives a wry smile.
Well, he must have reached the same conclusion and decided to stand.
Mika, while hiding his hand that had nowhere to go, asks Yaroibarov.
"So, what's wrong?"
"Oh, I'm going to leave the Royal Capital for a bit. I thought I'd let you know."
"Leave? Are you going somewhere?"
With this way of speaking, it doesn't feel like going somewhere for a day or two.
"Recently, it's been feeling a bit suspicious, hasn't it? War might break out, you know."
"Yes."
"I'll just go around the shop and review emergency procedures with the kids."
Saying that, Yaroibarov finishes his tea and puts the cup on the table.
Yaroibarov operates three dining halls and three inns.
And the main employees there are basically children.
Of course, he doesn't leave the shop to children, but even that is just children he originally hired as employees growing up.
"I've told them to close the shop and evacuate if something happens."
Apparently, there are people in the adventurer parties staying at the inn who ask for protection in emergencies.
He says he will check the arrangements with those adventurers whom Yaroibarov trusts.
Mika's face becomes a little serious.
"Did you catch something, Yaroibarov-san?"
Why now?
There had been rumors of war before, and Yaroibarov had not moved particularly until then.
But on the day Mika received the order of "Prohibition on Movement Outside the Royal Capital" from the academy, he suddenly takes action.
Thinking that something must have happened is not overthinking it.
"Oh, did something happen?"
Mika's expression changes to a serious one, and Yaroibarov asks in return.
Mika tells him about the order he received from the academy today.
"I see..."
Hearing the story, Yaroibarov crosses his arms.
Then he thinks for a moment and points outside the room with his chin.
Following Yaroibarov, they go outside.
The cold wind makes his body tremble a little.
"The information I heard is not that great either."
Yaroibarov says while stroking his chin.
"Since the rumors started spreading. Be careful about the situation in Gronoir."
"Situation...?"
"Yes. Originally, that country seems to be a crazy country where eighty percent of the citizens are pro-war. With Ektrem. The current emperor was holding that back. I think he is a wise emperor. Though he doesn't seem popular."
Mika is surprised and loses his voice.
Even with an oracle, to support war that much...
He probably doesn't even consider the misery of war.
No, he might even think that is proof of faith to the gods.
"I don't know what method they use to gather it, but the Information Broker Guild has some of that information. I bought it."
At Yaroibarov's words, Mika nods.
"That's why I was worried about what I heard today. I thought I should be a little careful."
"Today's talk, you say?"
"It seems they have started preparations for an invasion. That kind of talk."
Saying that, Yaroibarov makes a difficult face.
"I don't know specifically what kind of preparations or that kind of thing. But while you might hear such rumors in the streets, it was the first time the Information Broker Guild said it. It seems the guild itself does not have high-confidence information, but that's the feeling they gave me."
"So you decided to prepare for it."
When Mika asks that, Yaroibarov nods.
"Well, I'll just go around the country to check on preparations. It will take about two weeks."
"Huh?"
Normally, even a round trip to Sarbengeal by shared carriage would be impossible in two weeks?
I heard from Chirensta before that he has a quite fast movement speed.
(I don't know where Yaroibarov-san's restaurants or inns are outside Sarbengeal, but normally it would be a journey that takes several months.)
Mika looks up at Yaroibarov with a somewhat stunned face.
Still, the ability to take immediate action if he thinks it is necessary is, as expected of Yaroibarov.
Mika wants to emulate him.
"I understand. Be careful."
"Yes."
At Mika's words, Yaroibarov nods.
Yaroibarov extended his fist, so Mika bumped fists with him.