Sarma again looks at me strangely when I ask him. He looks a little troubled and opens his mouth.
"Normally, those who are dispatched by the king's order carry a letter from the king. ......"
"It was an urgent matter. ......"
Escalina opens her mouth from behind me. Sarma looks in her direction with a smile on his face.
"I was ordered to leave immediately, so I came here without any further ado."
After all these years, Escalina's voice is beautiful. It's kind of heartwarming. Sarma seemed to feel it, too, as his smile disappeared from his face, replaced by a serious expression.
"Indeed ....... This is not a normal time. I am very sorry."
With that, he bent at the waist and bowed.
"Well then, let me show you to the Commander-in-Chief.
With that, he began to walk away.
◆◆◆
Soon after, the camp curtain came into view. This must be the main camp. Sarma entered the camp without hesitation. The inside of the camp was surprisingly complicated, and we had to go around and around several times. I don't mind, but I am afraid that we might lose time if an urgent messenger comes, but, well, I will say nothing here.
A messenger from Agartha has arrived.
Suddenly, we found ourselves in what appeared to be a large open space. There were three men sitting in a mountainous formation. The one at the far end was probably the commander-in-chief.
Sarma walked up to the man sitting in the back and knelt down on one knee.
"A messenger from Agartha?"
The man has a dubious look on his face. At first glance, the man looks cold. He looks somewhat like Sarma. Could it be his father?
"Yes. I have a letter from Agartha offering wisdom. The wisdom has arrived.
"So, the joke of a letter was from Agartha. ......"
"Father ......"
He said, "Father. I knew it was my father. I wondered if this boyish commander would become like that in the future. Then the commander-in-chief stood up and came over to us with a big step.
"What is your name?"
"My name is Kenshin."
"Kenshin? That's a funny name."
Are you kidding me? No, I was being serious. It's a pity you can't understand it.
I notice that the Commander-in-Chief is looking at Siddee and Escalina, who are standing behind me, as if to lick them.
"Oh, this is Siddee, and this is Estalia.
After my introduction, both of them slowly bow their heads.
"Are these ...... women?"
"Yes, sir."
Why don't you show me your face? Why don't you show your face?
"No, it's ...... a matter of circumstance."
"Circumstances? I don't know what your reasons are, but I am the commander-in-chief of this army. It is impolite to greet you with your face hidden. Or is such rudeness a common practice in Agartha?"
"Well, it's a country that doesn't care about details."
"Humph, this is a country where a man from slavery is the master. They know nothing of courtesy.
"Well, the king is, but his wife is the daughter of the previous emperor of the Heedata Empire and the sister of the current emperor. She is beautiful, graceful, and well versed in all the rituals. As long as she is around, I don't think they will do anything too bad. ...... Hmm? What?"
Sadie's behind me, tugging at my hem. You want me to say something about myself, not just about Rico?
A blue streak appeared on the Commander-in-Chief's brow. What the hell are you talking about? .......
"We are here at the behest of the king of Agartha, and we cannot tolerate such disrespectful behavior. To speak out against us is the same as speaking out against Agartha. We take it as the word of the Seyfant Empire. We must immediately turn around and inform the King of Agartha and the Emperor of the Heedata Empire. Perhaps Agartha, Heedata, Niza, Lamaron, Hladime, Sandanj......, and the Church of Crimiana will also turn against the Seyfant Empire."
"...... wait and see."
The Commander-in-Chief's face is contorted. He has been hit where it hurts. It was Matkal who said that a commander should not show his emotions as much as possible, but it was fortunate for him that she was not here. If she had been there, he would have been lectured to the point where he could not stand.
"No, I was too harsh. I take back what I said before."
With a look of bitterness on his face, the Commander-in-Chief sat back in his chair. As if he had been waiting for this, a man standing by his side stood up and gave instructions to the soldiers with a hand gesture. Immediately, soldiers appeared with chairs and urged us to sit on them.
No, welcome to our meeting. I am Ruwand, chief of staff of the Seyfund Imperial Army. You are right to be suspicious of me, Commander-in-Chief. We had estimated that it would take at least two more weeks for reinforcements and emissaries from Agartha to arrive. We had not expected them to arrive so soon. ......"
"If it takes that long, the battle will be over."
When I lowered my voice a little, it seemed to have a surprisingly positive effect. The man who called himself Ruwando looked clearly frightened, and with a wry smile, he sat down in the chair he had been sitting in.
"So, you say your name is Mister Kenshin?"
Suddenly, the commander-in-chief opens his mouth. He strokes his beard with his right hand and looks at me as if he is trying to gauge my worth.
"King Agartha said that you would lend us your wisdom, but what kind of wisdom exactly can you lend us?
Well, we'll have to wait and see.
"I see. If you have any questions, you may ask me. Well, there are some things I can't tell you, but I will tell you what I know. I look forward to hearing your wisdom.
"Father ......"
Sarma interrupts, unable to see. The Commander-in-Chief glanced at him, but quickly returned his gaze to me.
"Well, there's one thing I'm not sure about, and I'd appreciate it if you could tell me what it is. ......"
"Well, whatever you say."
"Would you be so kind as to tell us your name?"
"......"
The Commander-in-Chief's brow wrinkled. At that moment, the curtain behind the Commander-in-Chief sprang up, and a soldier came running toward him at full speed.
"Sir!"
"What?"
"Elsmo's army is on the move!"
"What?"
The commander-in-chief stands up and opens his mouth to the soldiers who are waiting for him, breathing on his shoulders and lying prone on the spot.
"What is the position of the army of El Salvador?"
"They will probably arrive here in about half a day."
"Half a day?
"We thought that they would probably enter Lien, the capital of NONO, because of the size and slow speed of their army, but they suddenly increased their speed before Lien. Now 20,000 of Elsmo are rushing toward the castle of Khaza."
"That's not good. So the NONOs surrounding Castle Khaza are going to attack us more ......?"
The commander-in-chief looked like he was thinking about something, but then quickly turned his attention back to me.
"If that's where you're coming from, what do you say?"