I went back to my mother’s home in my military uniform and explained what had happened. This was the first time I explained to my mother about my relation with Anna, and she gave me a response I hadn’t expected.
“I knew it. It was the beginning of summer vacation, was it? you seemed more mature or softer, something like that. I don’t really want Allen to go to war, but the girl you like is a duchess. It can’t be helped.”
Mother then gave me a lonely and happy, complex look.
“Don’t worry about your mother, do your best to fulfil your promise with Anastasia. Never make a mistake in the order thinking ‘who’s important,’ okay?”
That said, she sent me on my way.
Don’t get the order wrong. Those words pierce my heart deeply.
After all, I can’t stop thinking about my mother.
But that’s why I couldn’t tell her. I couldn’t tell her that Anna had been kidnapped and was missing.
****
Then I came to the Valley of the Flying Dragon.
“Oh? Allen-san, you came again. What’s the matter? Hmm? What happened to your beloved girl today?” “Actually……”
I explained to Melissa-chan and Jerome what had happened.
“What the hell is that? I can’t forgive him! Then I should just kill that Crown Prince guy, right?” “No, no, no, Melissa-chan. We have to kill every single person in that place called Royal capital.” “No, you shouldn’t.”
The suggestion to slay the Crown Prince is slightly heartening, but not so much.
“Don’t do it because my family lives in the royal capital. And if you attack both the royal capital and the crown prince, there will be a bounty on your head, and I will have to fight you, so no! Instead, I want you to find Anna.” “Is that so? Well, I don’t like the idea of fighting you either. So we’ll just find your beloved girl, is it?” “Oh, please. I’m going straight to the war.”
When I said that, Melissa-chan said as if she was amazed.
“Good grief. Don’t people usually need our help in that war?” “T-Th-Tha-That’s what I like about you, Allen-san.”
“War should be done by us human beings who are stupid.”
I said this self-deprecatingly, but Melissa-chan and Jerome looked at me curiously.
“All right. Leave your beloved girl to us. I remember her smell. Come on, Jerry, let’s go, okay?” “Y-Yeah. A-Allen-san. Leave it to me. D-Don’t feel like you’re on a mud boat, okay.” (TL:- Here mud boat mean it’s made of mud. It’s a reference to the folk legend called Kachikachiyama.) “Oh, oh”
How goofy, I thought, but was it better to plunge into a large ship? (Tl:- Don’t know what he’s thinking.)
While I was thinking this, both Melissa and Jerome soared into the sky to fulfil their promise to me and soon disappeared from sight.
****
Then I flew at full speed to Bruseni. It’s a basin surrounded by mountains on all sides. Even though it is a basin, it is quite large and fertile, with lakes and rivers running through.
The Centraren Kingdom and the Est Empire have been fighting over this fertile land, and before this war began, they had been sharing it equally. However, while the Est Empire was well-prepared, our Centraren Kingdom was always on the back foot, so we’re unable to respond to the sudden declaration of war.
You might think, ‘What is the military doing guarding the borders of a war zone?’ But to be honest, I think it would be cruel to ask them to take responsibility for that.
In the first place, the enemy had taken their time to prepare, had increased their rations, weapons, and manpower, and then declared war.
On the other hand, Sebastian-san told me that the border patrol had repeatedly warned and requested reinforcements from the top brass.
Despite this, the leaders of the royal capital only warned the Est Empire and did not allow the troops to increase themselves or even renew their equipment.
In other words, they did not take it easy on the other party’s provocation but took a mature approach and resolved the issue through discussion.
Well, I thought, ‘That sounds like the Japan of the past,’ but history is full of examples of such responses leading to war.
Moreover, war is only one of the means of diplomacy. If it is in the best interest of your country to talk, you talk. If it is in the best interest of your country to go to war, you go to war.
It’s just that it’s fundamentally wrong to assume from the start that you won’t be attacked.
Huh? When I think about it, I’m not sure why I’m so obsessed with this country.
Well, well, for now, let’s do our best to fulfil my promise with Anna and end this war with victory, to prevent the destruction of the royal capital.
I landed near a fort with the flag of the Centraren Kingdom, then pulled Buitor by the rope to the front of the fort.
“The flag of the Duke of Ramslett? Who the hell are you!”
The soldier guarding the fort stops me.
“My name is Allen. I’m a B-rank adventurer under the protection of the Duke of Ramslett. And I have been ordered by the king to destroy the Est army here in Bruseni.”
In order to avoid being lambasted, I dared to speak roughly and showed him the order. The order contains all the words that I extracted from the king at that time, and of course, the Jade Seal is stamped on it.
“Th-This is His Majesty’s! And after all, the Duke of Ramslett hasn’t abandoned Centraren!” “It would be reassuring if the Duke of Ramslett would also fight for Centraren!”
It’s not that I’m here on the Duke’s orders, but it seems that they’re relieved to know that the Duke of Ramslett is on their side.
After all, the Duchy of Ramsaret is the largest wheat-producing region in the country, and naturally has a great influence on its distribution.
If the Duke of Ramslett turns his back on them in this situation, means that food will be much harder to come by.
Of course, the bigwigs in the capital can afford to pay high prices so they don’t starve, but it goes without saying that the poorer you are, the harder it gets.
If you think about it, that may be the reason why the royal capital was so easily attacked and overthrown in the game.
In short, what would have happened if the chaos caused by the idiots who tried to execute the Duke of Ramslett en masse and fish for their concessions, lead to the unsatisfactory supply of food to the military?
Doesn’t that explain a lot? (Tl:- probably the strategy of the Est Empire)
Well, it doesn’t matter now.
“Now, I’m going to boost the morale. Tell me where to clean off.”
When I said that, the man on guard shook his face.