Chapter 78 - 7-4
Laicanel Thora is still within the prison windows.
Accused of an affair with the Queen by his father, Sedias Thora, he had been thrown into the dungeons of Malfa City.
Laicanel is a dandy. It would be fair to say that until now, there had not been a single night he did not spend with a woman.
For the first few days, sleeping alone on a hard bed took a toll on both his bones and his heart.
However, in just a few days, Laicanel grew accustomed to a bedroom without women. He accepted the filth and the stench. He stopped caring about his own grime-covered, dirty appearance. These lethargic and decadent days brought Laicanel a sense of ease he had felt for the first time in his life.
He no longer had to care about women. He no longer had to put on a good face for anyone.
Laicanel thought that idling away his time while scattering a sour body odor suited his nature better.
Despite that, what he thought about in prison were often women.
—How dare they. To do such a thing.
It was anger.
One day, after about half a year, Laicanel was ordered to leave the Malfa City jail.
He asked the guard if his father had finally decided to forgive him. That was not it. He thought perhaps the Queen had pulled some strings. That also seemed to be wrong.
—Lucy!
When that thought occurred to him, he nearly shed tears. However, he soon learned that Lucy also had no intention of saving Laicanel. He was simply transferred from the royal capital to the prison of Karnain City. That was all it was.
Laicanel was once again placed in a solitary cell on the top floor of the prison tower in Karnain City. It was spacious and clean, and not uncomfortable.
Because of that, he felt the reality of being completely abandoned. He could almost hear his father's words: I've arranged a nice cell for you, so be satisfied.
—I'd rather you just kill me.
It wasn't that Laicanel didn't resent his father. He did feel a sense of apology toward his father. He knew all too well what his father had dedicated his life to. Furthermore, Laicanel knew that one day his father would surely forgive him.
He could attribute the responsibility for this situation to his own misconduct. But that line of thinking was an escape. To be satisfied by blaming oneself is a lie. Half the responsibility—no, the vast majority of it—undoubtedly lay with the women.
Specifically, Laicanel should have harbored hatred for the Queen of Siddim, Yumeria. Laicanel had merely responded to the Queen's forceful invitation. Because of that, he was cast into prison. The Queen should have originally protected Laicanel no matter what. And yet, when pressed by his father, Sedias Thora, the Queen readily confessed to the affair with Laicanel.
Even though she had a child with Laicanel.
—However.
Laicanel simply could not hate the woman known as Yumeria Alish. She was that kind of woman. Indulgent toward herself, indulgent only toward herself, utterly cold to others, leaping only at things that were fun and forgetting the past.
To be honest, he didn't care about the Queen.
The one who tormented Laicanel was Lucy.
—Why did she abandon me?
That was the only thing he didn't understand.
The sincere love he had revealed to no one, Laicanel had given only to the princess. Even though this Laicanel Thora, the prodigy of the Thora house, had given everything.
—How dare she. To do such a thing.
Laicanel's once pure love had now decayed and begun to emit toxic emotions. Even so, Lucy never disappeared from within Laicanel's chest.
To such a Laicanel, a happy event occurred.
Ness di Syllabus was imprisoned in the neighboring cell.
Ness was a born warrior who had served as the right hand when Laicanel was the center of something called the Third Army in the royal capital. Having suddenly suffered a mental disturbance, Ness was supposed to have been recuperating at his family home in Karnain City.
Ness was brought in by Larisa Syllabus. She was Ness's younger sister. Though still plump as ever, she had become quite womanly.
Once the prison officer finished processing Ness's intake, Larisa stood before Laicanel's cell.
"Laicanel-sama. You haven't even visited—"
Seeing Laicanel's grime-covered face, Larisa looked away.
As expected, it seemed the supernatural power Laicanel possessed to attract women had vanished. Laicanel, instead, felt a sense of exhilaration at causing a woman discomfort.
"It's been a long time, Larisa. I've no need for visits, so please don't let it bother you. More importantly, the one who entered next door is—"
"Yes. My big brother."
According to Larisa, Ness's mental state had worsened, and now he apparently became meaninglessly violent whenever he drank alcohol.
"I see." Laicanel's heart was moved by the circumstances of the man who should have become his lifelong friend. "There is little I can do, but I will keep an eye on my elder brother's condition."
"I beg of you, Laicanel-sama."
Larisa visited her brother about once a week. Each time, she would have Ness let out of the cell to breathe the outside air. She was a commendable younger sister.
As for Ness, while drifting with the air of a vague, great figure, the things he said were incoherent. In the first place, he only vaguely remembered Laicanel. Even when he finally remembered, he would forget by the next morning.
Since it was a hassle, Laicanel decided to always state his name in the morning.
"Ness di Syllabus-dono, are you there?"
Every morning, Ness would shout in surprise. "Who is it! Is someone there!"
"Laicanel Thora, eldest son of the Thora house. A knight of the King of Siddim."
"Umu. I am from a marquess house of the Holy City—Laika? I have met you somewhere."
"I also feel as though I have met Ness-dono somewhere."
"More importantly, there is someone calling me from inside the crows."
"What? If you tell me which one, I'll rip it open for you."
"No, that one doesn't speak ill of you."
Ness was not a madman who spoke incessantly. Rather, he was taciturn, and unless Laicanel spoke to him, he remained silent. Rather than being mad, he likely had a problem with cognition. When he was silent, there was a sense that he was performing some kind of exercise. Occasionally he would talk to himself. The content was always either "I'm hungry" or something about a boy named Alf.
As a greeting before sleep, though it was embarrassing, Laicanel said the following, hoping it would have a positive effect on Ness's brain.
"I miss the you from some time ago. Ness."
Replies from Ness were rare. A few times, there were complicated answers.
"That some time ago will surely come. Wait for the some time ago of that some time ago to come someday."
Talking with Ness calmed Laicanel's feelings. It wasn't a matter of helping Ness. Laicanel was being helped by Ness.
One morning, that Ness called out to Laicanel of his own accord.
"Laika, wake up. Laicanel."
"What is it?" Laicanel raised his body from the bed and stood up sluggishly.
"Look outside the window."
"The crows?"
"Just look."
Approaching the prison window, he looked outside while yawning. Laicanel's sleepiness vanished.
The prison tower where Laicanel and others were housed was in the central plaza of Karnain. It was a tower that soared as part of the church buildings. From the window, one could overlook the plaza, the radial streets, and the townscape. If one looked far away, the hills outside the town could also be seen.
Those hills were covered this morning in a silver shimmer.
Jagged lumps of metal were reflecting the morning sun while shaking finely.
That shimmer entered the town, filling the streets in an orderly fashion and packing the plaza tightly. It was the reflection of the helmets worn by the soldiers. Columns of soldiers were marching through the center of the town, pushing their flags forward.
The citizens of Karnain surrounding them were also overflowing into the roads.
Everyone was raising voices that sounded like pained screams. They were cheers.
Laicanel felt a burnt smell in the back of his nose. He was moved. Something within his chest was trembling and blazing.
"It's Father's army!" Laicanel shouted. "Look, Ness. Our army is heading east!"
"It is tremendous to see in person." Ness was not as excited as Laicanel. "I like the number of infantry. Though, I cannot judge from this level."
"Ness, don't you understand? There is something we spent our youth aiming for!"
"No, Laika. It is similar but different from what we aim for. I am not impressed."
"Why?"
"First, the most important thing is the shape of the shoulder guards on the breastplate. I don't like it. What is that strange curve? With that, if an arrow hits the shoulder, the arrow will slide and pierce the neck."
"No, Ness, that is—"
"I know. It's to receive a sword, right? That's wrong. Laika, for Kosa people, it's arrows first. That has absolutely not changed since the time of Aframa. They suppress with arrows, and in most cases, they charge with spears. Even if they use a sword, it's a curved, sharp barbarian blade. Those shoulder guards are meaningless."
Laicanel finally felt a sense of incongruity. "Ness, you..."
"But nevertheless, the power of the Thora house is something. I admit that. This abundance of infantry shows that someone other than me has studied the records of Aframa's invasion. If Siddim is to win against the barbarians of the grasslands, there is only one way: whether they can gather a large number of high-quality infantry. Rejoice, Laika. It seems your father has a man attached to him who studies Kosa people."
"Ness, you—"
"Ah, what is that. This is a loss."
"We can win, what are you talking about?"
Below them, a column of cavalry was passing by.
"Look, they're licking the horses."
Ness's phrase, "licking the horses," was an archaic term. Laicanel knew it meant lining up the horses.
"What's wrong with lining up the horses? They're just showing them to the citizens."
"Horses, you see, have a sequence that is comfortable for them. Lining up horses in a horizontal row like that is definitely for using cavalry in an ambush."
According to Ness, hiding cavalry to ambush the enemy was, if anything, a poor strategy.
Cavalry, he said,
"Are meant to be run. Cavalry exists to take a wide detour and strike the enemy's rear. A horse's job is to run. A horse trained to be in a horizontal row is a horse that has learned to stop when told. You can't expect much from that. Horses are not made to wait for the enemy to come."
The Kosa army is an army of cavalry. It might be possible to stall them with infantry, but they cannot be defeated with infantry alone. For striking power, the operation of cavalry is necessary.
"It's no problem, Ness. They're warhorses. You have to train them. Once on the battlefield, even Father won't line up horses like that. More importantly, you've returned, haven't you? Do you realize it yourself?"
There was no answer. He called out several times, raising his voice. Still, there was no answer.
Just as he was about to call the guard, a booming voice echoed.
"Who is it! Is someone there!"
"It's me, Laika."
"I don't know you! Who is it!"
"It's Laika, Ness, don't you understand?"
It didn't seem like he was teasing Laicanel.
Sighing, Laicanel said, "Laicanel Thora, eldest son of the Thora house. A knight of the King of Siddim."
"Umu. I am—"
Laicanel listened to Ness's introduction with loneliness.
However, Ness had regained his sanity for a brief moment. It couldn't have been a mistake.
The real Ness might simply be sleeping somewhere in his brain. He hadn't vanished.
There must have been a trigger to wake him. Laicanel thought that it was probably something related to war.
Ringing the daily bells at Euryas Convent is the job of the third-year students.
Normally, first-year and second-year students are not permitted to enter the bell tower.
Into that bell tower, Lucy and Chloe entered while mindful of others' eyes.
The first time they were invited, it was late at night, and Lucy and Chloe had been terrified. Even the creaking of the stairs was scary.
Now they were completely familiar with the layout. Once they climbed the stairs to the end, they were at the top of the bell tower. It was a space with the bell above their heads. A rope for ringing the bell hung in the center, and in the recessed area, there were two water clocks.
They measured the time by pouring water into these water clocks. The amount of water poured was not constant. It changed depending on the date. To become a nun in charge of the bell tower, one had to be able to perform "clepsydra calculation," which is the adjustment of that water volume.
That day's meeting took place after noon.
Greeting Lucy and Chloe as they climbed to the top of the bell tower were two nuns.
Robin, the third-year Representative, and Isaberia, the second-year Representative.
Euryas Convent strictly prohibited lower-class and upper-class students from conversing. If it were peacetime, a meeting between Representatives like this would have been unthinkable.
However, war was beginning in the Kingdom of Siddim.
'To overcome this situation, it is necessary for all the nuns of Euryas to join forces.'
To this call from the third-year Representative Robin, Lucy, Chloe, and the second-year Representative Isaberia had all responded.
"You're a little late," Robin said, sitting in a chair brought into the bell tower. "Were you fighting again and delayed?"
"We weren't, and we hurried," Lucy said.
"Lucy was the one who dawdled," Chloe also said.
Robin was a nun with steel-like gray eyes. Although she was a beautiful person, at first glance she seemed stiff and devoid of interest. Once one began to understand her attentive wit and slight sense of humor, the charm of the person called Robin could finally be understood.
The second-year Representative Isaberia was a kind-looking person with reddish hair. She had drooping eyes and a sweet expression, with a smile always at the corners of her mouth. Isaberia, however, occasionally voiced sharp opinions.
Though usually, Isaberia was a carefree person.
"Since it's a good opportunity, I'll propose this: wouldn't it be lovely if we could drink tea here? I think the reason waiting for someone is painful is because there are no drinks."
Lucy was drawn to that opinion. However, Robin moved to the main topic, saying, "More importantly."
There was only one thing Euryas had to do: increase production. The buildings of Euryas Convent acted as walls, taking a defensive posture for the time being. It was designed so that they could hole up when war broke out. If the Kosa army attacked this far, they might have to accommodate the women, children, and elderly of Fibril Village.
Large amounts of water and food would be necessary.
The season had reached the time for plowing. This year, it seemed they would have to work diligently to increase food production.
Isaberia proposed expanding the medicinal herb garden on the convent grounds three times.
"Medicinal herbs will be necessary, and I think we can grow vegetables too."
"That should be done. Please proceed with the second-years," Robin said. "Lucy, Chloe, do you have anything?"
Chloe proposed that they convert supplies like candles, which Euryas had stockpiled, into money now and buy up wheat.
"A good idea. But can you handle the inventory checks and usage calculations?"
"Leave it to me," Chloe nodded.
What Lucy proposed were weapons. Euryas Convent was located in a hilly area past a forest path, and even if an enemy army came, it was not in a position where they would go out of their way to detour. A convent should have no meaning for an enemy to attack. That said, there was no guarantee that enemy soldiers would overlook the hundred or so maidens.
What Lucy thought of were hooked poles to knock down ladders placed against the walls by enemy soldiers, and long poles with semi-circular plates at the tips to stab and drop enemies who climbed up.
"This semi-circular plate hits the enemy broadly and has a shape that is difficult for the enemy to grasp."
Lucy explained while showing a diagram she had drawn herself.
"Not bad. I like it. It's good that they can be produced by hand. Isaberia."
Robin looked at Isaberia.
Isaberia was thinking, holding her fist near her nose. "Wouldn't a triangle be fine for this tip? Rounding a plate is surprisingly tedious, you know?"
Lucy, while flustered, thought that Isaberia was indeed sharp. "Of course that would be the case, but my concern is that Headmaster Dagsaw might not permit the possession of weapons, so if it's semi-circular, we can make the excuse that it's a tool for shoveling snow in an emergency."
"Two people operate it, right? Isn't the handle too short?"
"That's fine. They can be properly exchanged for longer ones. One person aims at the enemy, and then the two stab together. If we train—"
"Um, everyone."
Chloe raised a trembling voice.
"I see, I'm starting to understand too." Isaberia was staring at the diagram Lucy drew. "Weight seems like it will be an issue."
"Yes, that's right."
"Um, everyone!"
At Chloe's loud voice, Isaberia looked up.
Robin also stared at Chloe's frozen face.
Lucy also looked at Chloe's face, and then let her gaze run to where Chloe was looking.
From the east-facing window Chloe was staring at, Fibril Village was visible.
The village was filled with shimmer.
The four nuns present kicked back their seats and leaped to the east window.
It was a writhing shimmer. It was the movement of people. They were soldiers. The helmets worn by the soldiers were reflecting the sunlight.
Just like the horns of waves standing in the sea or river, the mass of helmets rose and fell, reflecting the rays of the sun. The columns of soldiers overflowed inside and outside Fibril Village, swallowing the village.
The flow was moving. It was a flow that continued endlessly. Because of their discipline, the soldiers did not seem like a crowd of people. They were heading east like a liquid.
Would it be Lucy's delusion to say that the determination of each and every one of them reached this bell tower? She didn't think so. An unbroken procession wrapped in a stinging tension, a silent crowd of people filled with a sense of mission, was simply heading east.
Lucy covered her mouth so as not to let out a sound.
The other three also placed their hands on their chests, cheeks, or near their noses. It was terrifying, but it was a sight that struck the heart. They did not even make a gesture of looking back.
For a considerable amount of time, the four maidens gazed outside, likely with a feeling of prayer.
"Lucy," Robin spoke. "We will fight too. Hurry the production of weapons."
A similar sight was seen in Malfa City.
Gilma Rigardie, who usually shut himself in a corner of the great hall of the Lord of Malfa Castle, climbed to the roof of the main building while out of breath, overlooking the superb view of Malfa City that the security guards had monopolized. Countless helmets reflected the light and shimmered, moving in a flow. They were the soldiers who had finished the military review. The soldiers inside the castle were solemnly heading outside, and the soldiers outside the castle were forming columns and aiming for the east.
The voices of the citizens cheering them on were now like a scream emitted by the city itself, yet from Gilma's position, it sounded like a low vibration settling into the ground.
—The training is thorough.
That was what impressed Gilma.
As expected of Sedias Thora. First, the posture of each and every soldier is good. Everyone has their backs straight in the same way. It means they were trained from the bone. Even their physical bodies have been remodeled exactly as Sedias said. They will undoubtedly move exactly as Sedias Thora commands. He is a man who is a target of criticism for various things, but Sedias has certainly built up this much. One must say, long live the royal army.
Suddenly noticing, that Sedias Thora was standing next to him, watching the movement of the soldiers just as Gilma was. Gilma was startled inwardly.
"As I thought, I felt I should say a word of thanks to you." Sedias's voice was somber. "It is thanks to you that I could move this many soldiers. Thank you."
"No, this was my job as well."
What Sedias was referring to were the Five Northern Nations. The Kingdom of Eber, the Kingdom of Pushan, the Kingdom of Gyua, and the Kingdom of Skesia, which surround Siddim. An agreement had been reached in all countries to oppose the Kosa nation.
Pushan and Eber would actually provide troops, and Gyua and Skesia would secure the inner sea to not allow Kosa to come by sea.
With this, Siddim could leave its rear thin and turn its full strength toward the east.
It was Gilma who visited each country to form the agreement. He had been active long ago to create this system. He had been proceeding little by little from the moment the Kosa people began suspicious movements.
Sedias Thora seemed to have appreciated Gilma's work relatively well.
"I pray for your success in battle, Sedias."
"I leave various things to you, Gilma. I beg you, take care of His Majesty."
Sedias Thora's profile was calm.
Eyes narrowed to look far away, a sharp nose like carved wood, and wrinkles on his cheeks that suggested maturity. His mouth was tightly closed.
Sedias fluttered his cloak and walked toward the stairs.
Gilma watched his departing figure. He felt as if he had glimpsed a scene from an ancient epic.
The flow of people with shimmering helmets continued for many days after that.
It was a sight reminiscent of a great migration of a people. It was truly a great event that would decide the fate of a race. That man called Sedias Thora had pulled off this much. One cannot help but recognize that man's ability, and one cannot help but cooperate. Gilma thought so bitterly.
What separates the grassland regions where nomadic people run their horses freely and the north where the agricultural Siddim people diligently till their fields is a chain of mountains. Soaring on the eastern edge of Siddim is the Dwarf Mountain Range; this name is based on the small god Kolaiko who tormented the giant god Gyua.
What separates the west from the grasslands is called the Takanosu Mountain Range. This is likely a naming based on the giant bird god Udowa. If this Dwarf Mountain Range and Takanosu Mountain Range were one continuous chain, the problem would not have been so great. They would have been one giant wall repelling the nomadic people.
In reality, there is a gap between the Dwarf Mountain Range and the Takanosu Mountain Range.
It is a place where low mountains covered in forests spread extensively.
It was called the "Dark Forest."
About two hundred years ago, Great King Aframa invaded Siddim by passing through the interval between these two mountain walls. There are no clear records, but at that time, it might have still been possible to push through a great army of cavalry.
It is different now. Trees so tall they look monstrous grow thickly.
It has become a completely deep forest.
The southern end of this forest is already plain. The Plain Nations jointly own the southern edge of the forest and have designated it as a forbidden area. Although logging is occasionally carried out according to regulations, people generally do not enter.
The people of the Plain Nations also called this forest the "Dark Forest" and regarded it as sacred.
The rulers of the Plain Nations know that this vast forest is related to the water sources of the rivers flowing through the plains. They understand the possibility that if they did as they pleased with this forest, the surroundings of the Plain Nations might turn into desert. For people living in city-states surrounded by walls, securing water is a matter of life and death.
In Siddim as well, the Dark Forest is a taboo.
The Dark Forest is the private property of His Majesty the King of Siddim, so to speak, a direct territory.
What differs from the Plain Nations is that in Siddim's case, people live here.
The Siddim people allowed to set foot here are limited to ten clans. They are descendants of the hunters who served as guides for the first King of Siddim in the ancient days of Siddim's founding. Their achievements were praised, and they were granted permission to live in the Dark Forest for generations.
They hardly ever come out of the Dark Forest. While moving through the forest, they build huts here and there and live by hunting. Even in civilized Siddim, there are people who fulfill such a primitive way of life.
Even to such people, the news of Siddim's crisis reached.
Rather, among all the citizens of Siddim, those who felt the crisis most keenly on their skin were them. This was because the clans had been ordered by the eastern lords to search for the enemy in the forest.
Among them, a young brother and sister of the Il clan experienced the front line of that crisis.
This brother and sister stepped into the depths of the forest, where even the clans rarely entered.
While hiding in the mountain groves, the two saw that there were people there.
—Woodcutters from the Plain Nations? This far north.
The younger sister, wearing a bear's skull and draped in a bear's black pelt, whispered.
—No, that's different. Those are the Canine Clan.
The older brother, also draped in a black pelt, said. He wore an amulet carved with a snake god around his neck.
The Canine Clan are hunters whose territory is the coniferous forest zone north of the Kandasyata Plateau.
—Those Canine Clan? Being used by the Kosa people?
The sister shuddered.
—I don't know.
—What do we do?
—Let's tell everyone.
Below the brother and sister, there was a town. A town made of huts constructed from tree branches and grass. Appearing one after another from the huts were rugged men, men holding axes. They wore tiger skulls and were draped in reindeer pelts.
From this makeshift town, a road had been made heading toward the plains.
They had cut a path and come this far.
If one thought of making a road to Siddim, it would be a massive project that would take who knows how many years. However, it was not a very wide road.
If it was a path of that size, there might not be that many trees to cut.
If they worked with this many people, they might approach surprisingly quickly.
The brother and sister left the place without making a sound.
The report delivered by this boy and girl of the Il clan reached the royal capital with astonishing speed, resulting in the movement of Sedias Thora and the royal army.