Chapter 43 - 4-7
They are Kosa people.
Yugis Necrat had only just begun to realize the magnitude of the situation.
Day and night, he thought of the Kosa people.
The city of Malfa had a theological school and a library. There remained records of the Kosa people written by a monk two hundred years ago. It was a record of someone who had personally witnessed the onslaught of Great King Aframa's army. It was not a particularly long entry. Yugis read it so thoroughly that he memorized nearly the entire text.
"Kosa people" was not the name of a specific ethnic group—at least, not back then. It was a collective term for all people who participated in the community known as the Kosa State; it was said there were southerners, easterners, and even northerners.
Even the people of conquered lands, once incorporated into the Kosa State, apparently devoted their absolute loyalty to the community of Kosa. Participating in the enterprise known as Kosa must have been a matter of pride.
As Yugis read the records, he trembled with anticipation. When he thought of the scale of the empire fashioned by a king named Aframa, he felt almost dizzy.
'They build an empire upon horseback.'
The monk from two hundred years ago had written this.
The plains horses of Kosa had longer legs and more elegant necks compared to the horses of Siddim.
He had heard that Kosa cavalry were poor in forests and could not move in large numbers through wooded areas, but as far as the records showed, that was a lie. Kosa horses moved through forests at considerable speed. However, this apparently referred to the coniferous forests of the northern limit, not the forests of Siddim with their thick underbrush.
Furthermore, they crossed rivers. It was even written that they crossed snowy mountains on horseback.
Formidable. If this were true, the geographical advantages of Siddim seemed negligible.
While thinking this, he could not stop his heart from racing. What courage, what spirit.
If such valiant cavalry existed, he could understand why one would dream of the world.
As long as there was ground, their horses would likely continue running forever.
Yugis's fifteenth year ended with two things: reading and hunting.
He had gone hunting with his companions.
Funding for this came from various sources.
Yugis was bewildered by the existence of people who were merely waiting for the right moment to spend large sums of money. People who wanted to lend him money.
The money donated to the Fourth Army by merchants and monasteries, who feared Kosa and hoped for Siddim's self-strengthening, was something he should have accepted without hesitation.
The problem was the kind of money that demanded a return. The prime example of this was the loan from the Dravar family. The lord of Saranti, the widow Helderica Dravar, had inherited vast territories in her own right from both her grandfather and her husband's family. Eventually, her only son, Raslaf Dravar, would inherit them.
That widow offered to lend nearly fifty million Gilan in gold coins. It seemed it could be paid back at any time without interest. In exchange, the request was for her son, Raslaf. She would not interfere with the organization, but she hoped that, eventually, he might become a battalion commander.
The one who brought the proposal was Raslaf's attendant, a twenty-seven-year-old man named Arnoush Dracy.
"The young master is not yet aware of this loan," Arnoush said. Raslaf did not know of his mother's actions.
"I see."
Yugis and the twenty-seven-year-old attendant were having their discussion in the dining room of Yugis's boarding house, the "Black Feather Manor." The landlady's niece and Yugis's attendant, Dash, were in the middle of preparing dinner in the kitchen.
He wanted those fifty million Gilan so badly he could taste them.
However, it was a difficult proposal to accept.
Raslaf Dravar was no fool. He was clever, honest, and above all, a hard worker. Though his physique was frail, he clung to his martial arts training with tenacity. That attitude had a positive influence on his companions.
But could he become a general of an army? Yugis tilted his head.
Raslaf was timid. He lacked confidence in himself. Whether he could serve as a general depended on the steadiness of his own resolve.
He could not say that to Arnoush. This man was a loyal subject. He devoted himself fervently to the Dravar family. It was evident in his demeanor.
"I will speak plainly, so please do not hesitate if I am mistaken,"
Yugis prefaced his words and began to explain his excuse for refusing the loan.
"Forgive me, but Raslaf's mother is mistaken."
First and foremost, no matter how much money a noble has, they must not waste it. If they waste it, the people of the territory will never overlook it. After all, it was originally the taxes they paid. A lord should be stingy, so stingy that they should not even light a lamp while the stars are still out. The only exception is when a return can certainly be expected. In such cases, one need not listen to the resentment of the people. One should move large sums of money boldly.
"That is what I was taught by old man Gilmond."
"I understand perfectly," Arnoush showed his white teeth.
"If lent money returns increased, there is no better use for funds. However, Helderica-sama says she requires no interest of any kind. Does that not mean that rather than a loan to the Fourth Army, this is an investment in Raslaf? It is as a mother pleases to invest in her son. They could do that as parent and child. But for the Fourth Army to repay that investment amount is a strange arrangement."
"That is mere sophistry," Arnoush did not hold back. "You want the gold coins in full, but you're absolutely opposed to paying them back, is that it?"
To be frank, that was exactly it. "No. However..."
"To be clear, we do not expect repayment," Arnoush stated firmly. "Furthermore, Helderica-sama has a prospect for a return."
Arnoush said that what the Countess of Saranti, Helderica Dravar, feared was not the Kosa people.
"The Kosa are scary. But they are not the immediate problem. What Helderica-sama fears are her own countrymen. The people of Siddim. More specifically, Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Army, Sedias Thora."
I see, Yugis understood.
If war with Kosa were to break out, she feared her assets might be seized under the special logic of wartime. That was it. Sedias Thora was certainly the type to do such a thing. However, if Raslaf were in a position to lead an army within the Fourth Army, it would be difficult even for Sedias to lay a hand on him. It could trigger a military clash between countrymen.
Once he understood the opponent's objective, there was nothing to fear.
"Let us accept the loan," Yugis smiled. "However, regarding Raslaf's matter, it shall be after he inherits the Dravar family and becomes the head of Saranti Castle."
If it were to be taken by the Thora family, he would rather seize Saranti—that accumulation of wealth—with the Fourth Army.
That was Yugis's true intention.
If Raslaf became the head, Yugis's hand could reach the Dravar family vaults.
He could reach them, but what would happen if Yugis actually stuck his hand into those vaults?
—He would gain a terrible reputation.
Without the money of Saranti, a war with Kosa would be utterly impossible.
He knew that.
At this time, Yugis still had hesitations.
Regardless, he now had a surplus of funds. Yugis wanted to see a battlefield.
If he wanted to understand terrain and conduct field training, hunting was by far the best. He proposed this to his companions and received favorable agreement.
Yugis visited the estate of Marquis Laiel Gilmond daily to request cooperation.
Old man Gilmond, of course, was beaming at the founding of the Fourth Army.
"Hurry and give it a shape. Gather soldiers and turn it into an army,"
he urged repeatedly.
In Yugis's opinion, it was too early. That should happen after finishing the Royal School.
The old man gave a tentative expression of approval regarding the hunting trip. However, it was not as enthusiastic an approval as Yugis had imagined.
"It is possible they will not come."
"Not come? The Kosa army?"
Previously, old man Gilmond had shown a tendency to want to believe that there would be no Kosa invasion. This was illogical.
The Fourth Army had been founded on the premise that the Kosa would come. If it were known they wouldn't, the army might be disbanded. When he pointed this out, the old Marquis looked away with a sour expression.
"If they don't come, all the better!"
"Of course."
"I am telling you to quickly organize the army's form so that it cannot be disbanded. Besides—"
Your father is currently moving to avoid war, Laiel Gilmond said.
Even if he was "moving," his father was merely a local lord. What could he possibly do? Overall, the reactions of old man Gilmond and his father, Urgil Necrat, were strange.
—They're hiding something.
He had that impression, but he had no time to investigate.
Yugis decided to distance himself from his maternal grandfather, Laiel Gilmond.
The catalyst was the Royal School's practical instructor, Norbert Kabert.
Yugis had long wanted Instructor Kabert to accompany them on the hunt and provide guidance. When he went to ask,
"You idiot!" he was shouted at. "You understand nothing!"
The man yelled at him with his hair practically standing on end.
Yugis was flustered. He didn't know what was wrong. He thought he might just say he was sorry.
"Necrat, I hear you've been frequenting the estate of His Excellency Marquis Kraff."
"Is that not allowed?"
"Do you intend to hand the Fourth Army over to the Marquis? The Marquis cannot win against the Kosa. I am the same. Guidance? Did you say? What will I guide? Do you think I have fought the Kosa?"
"No."
"Correct. No one knows how to defeat the Kosa. Not just the people of Siddim, but no one in this world. Start being aware of that. You must find the way yourself. If I accompany you, your companions will follow me. They will look to me and listen to what I say. That is no good. You must be the one they follow. You must create an army that will do anything with a single command. Do you understand!"
"Yes."
"Suspicious. And what is this about hunting in the east? Did you assume the eastern part of Siddim would become the battlefield? That is already strange. Does that not mean the enemy has already stepped inside?"
"But..."
"What!"
Yugis spoke timidly. "But, if we leave Siddim and fight in the plains nations, it will inevitably become a pitched battle of cavalry, which favors the enemy."
"Did you compare that danger with the danger of letting the enemy into the territory?"
"I did. I will drag the enemy into Siddim, where there are forests, valleys, and mountains."
Instructor Kabert let a faint smile appear.
"Do as you please. I cannot give you the correct answer anyway."
Even when it was time to lie down on his bed after returning to the boarding house, the instructor's words would not leave his head.
If the Royal Guard and the Garrison of Malfa Castle, directly under His Majesty the King, were counted as the First Army, the Royal Army was the Second Army. This became the Siddim Central Army. The Third Army, organized under the command of Laicanel Thora, was the Western Regional Army, and the Fourth Army was the Eastern Regional Army, hastily created from conscripts.
The Second, Third, and Fourth Armies all fell under the command of Commander-in-Chief Sedias Thora.
Yugis had thought simply of this point.
He thought that when war actually broke out, if the eastern soldiers alone were not enough, Sedias Thora would provide soldiers from the Royal Army or the Third Army. After all, it was a crisis for Siddim.
Thinking about it now, it was an outrageous thing. Placing soldiers of one's own people under the subordination of a lord of another territory concerned the survival of the eastern order.
Borrowing the strength of the western soldiers was also risky. He should not trust the Thora family that much.
Besides, they could not win with Sedias Thora as the generalissimo. Though he had never put it into words, this had become a shared understanding between Instructor Kabert and Yugis. Norbert Kabert had reached that conclusion by evaluating Sedias Thora's "until now." Since they could not win that way, they had no choice but to hope for Yugis's "from now on."
—The instructor is right.
There is a principle that the orders of the field commander take top priority in an army.
Yugis had no choice but to use this as a shield and behave as if he were an independent force.
He would devise his own strategies, not rely on the Thora family, and win. He had to win.
"Young Master."
His attendant, Dash, always slept on the bed beyond the partition. He seemed to have felt Yugis's presence.
"Can't ye sleep?"
"Dash, do you know about the Kosa messengers?"
"I know not. Shall I bring ye a warm drink?"
"The Kosa messengers, you see. They keep running, taking small amounts of sleep while on horseback. However, it's said that if they are shaken too much in the saddle, their internal organs scatter, and they end up vomiting their organs from their mouths. That's why those fellows tie their bellies tight with cloth to hold the organs in place so they don't flip over. Also, by doing that, the stomach is flattened and they don't feel hunger. Those guys serve as messengers without eating, drinking only water, and without sleeping. By the time they reach their destination, they're like skeletons and can't dismount on their own. Ain't that interesting?"
"...How grueling."
"Ain't it interesting?"
"No, not particularly."
"I can't imagine it's normal. I want to know what those fellows are thinking. I'm looking forward to it, Dash. If even a mere messenger is such a powerhouse, there must be absurd monsters scattered about. I wonder what kind of man leads them."
"Perhaps a Demon King?"
"True. Surely a Demon King."
A Demon King, huh.
He wanted to meet one.
—If I met one, I'm sure I'd be shaking in my boots.
Thinking that, laughter welled up inside him.
His future policy was also decided. Mixed into the laughter welling up was that joy.
—I'll aim for it too, to be a Demon King.
If he didn't become that, he couldn't win. Even Yugis understood that much.