Chapter 87: War council

After Astina-denka left for Wendell’s assembly hall with a few guards, we gathered around the round table after receiving Raquel-san’s summon.

“I’m Grass Weed. Please excuse myself.”

Upon entering the room, all the captains are already gathered there ―the Attack Captains, Presha-san, Bridget-san and Chloe-san, also the Archer unit’s captain, Dite-san and Solfa-san. They didn’t wear their armors yet to preserve their physical strength before we head out. All of them are wearing the official clothes of the Knights Order instead.

We sit in the prepared seats ―there are nine people, including me, sitting at the round table.

“This time, Lendl and Noin will also participate in the operation as magicians. As for Grass, this time, he will also be treated as a force of the Knights Order not as a military doctor. Is there any objection?”

I thought Bridget-san would give out her opinion but she just glanced at us and didn’t say anything in particular. Instead, Chloe-san, sitting next to her, speaks out while looking at Noin.

“We haven’t been told about her or on how she came to this fortress. But, does that mean that she has the appropriate ability to participate in such an important operation like this?”

Raquel-san did not answer immediately but she glanced towards Noin instead. Noin stood up from her seat and then she revealed her identity without any deception.

“I’m Noin Flores, a Court Magician at the 73rd seat. Until the other day, I was an internal spy for Zirconia.”

“Uh!…. S-Such…Why is that kind of person in this fortress…!?”

“That means… You were contacted during the infiltration in Zirconia.”

Chloe-san usually speaks in a hard tone that is typical in a warrior, however, during the war council, she uses a formal wording ―which may be her sign of respect for Raquel-san.

“That’s right. With an order against her will, Noin-dono had infiltrated Zirconia. However, she no longer had to obey that. Not all court magicians would be like that, but there are those who are trying to undermine the kingdom…. That’s why Her Royal Highness made such decision.”

Attack Zirconia ―then eliminate the immediate threats at the Western Territory. To do so, it is not enough to win a small victory in this battle. We must break the spirit of General Alejandro ―the “White Crow” who is in command of the enemy army.

“I have already participated in the attack on this fortress once. I helped the Zirconia army.”

Noin confesses ―even if she’s rebuked in this place, it’s an unavoidable fact.

“If I had participated in the next operation, I would have caused more damage. If you think that I should be killed right here, I only think that it can’t be helped.”

“There is no need to bring up about how we should deal with Noin-dono because it has already been decided. Grass also proved that it was not done at Noin-dono’s will.”

Everyone pays attention to me right after Raquel-san mentioned my name ―Noin also looks at me, but her gaze seems to hold some kind of reverence and such thing made me feel restless.

“Grass-sensei…? Dite-onesama, what does that…”

“Solfa, being too relax may affect whether you live or die. You and I are of the same rank, so please refrain from calling me in such manner.”

“Uh… Ye-Yes, Onee-….Captain Dite.”

Solfa-san hurriedly straightens her back. Even though they are both archer captains, there seems to be a clear hierarchical relationship between them ―senior and junior in knight school or something like that.

“I was once on the Zirconia’s side and I know that I cannot be immediately trusted by contributing to the Knights Order… However, could you please evaluate me by looking at my future works?”

Noin bows deeply. Seeing that, Bridget-san and Chloe-san seemed to have listened to Noin’s words.

“Although I have not fully taken in the entire situation yet, I have no objection if it was Her Highness’ and the Knight Captain’s decision. Relying on magicians is different from the previous strategy of the Order so we need to ask the soldiers to understand that as well, but….”

“I have no objection to that. I think I also understand what it means by having magicians participate in this war council.”

This would be the first time in the Knights Order of Isle Rose to have magicians formally participate in a war council.

It’s very important that Noin, who can influence the result of the war by herself, has followed this side. Up until now, from this side, the canal was only an obstacle to go to Zirconia’s side. However, it could now be used in a completely different way with Noin being a water magician. In addition to that, we also acquired our own warship.

Dite-san spread out a map on the round table ―it was something she had brought with her when we had infiltrated Zirconia’s fort.

“We deactivated their fort and took their commander, Baile, as a prisoner of war. When we interrogated him, we found that Baile was about to send a messenger to their King to report that he was not to be blamed for the failed attack under General Alejandro’s command. It is likely that Alejandro sent Noin-dono to Baile in order to restrain him and for him to command over Baile’s forces more effectively.

“In summary…. Noin-dono had infiltrated till she made it to be beside the “White Crow”, is what you’re saying, right?”

“What made him think that sending Noin-dono to Baile is going to work? Baile isn’t the only one who knows about their defeat. If he thinks that they would win by buying time, then I’d have to say that it’s simply his imprudence.”

Bridget-san’s opinion was a correct one, to say the least. But Alejandro was confident. If he uses Noin’s magic better, he can make the Isle Rose Fortress fall.

How would Alejandro move once he learned that Noin was gone? When he sees that he no longer has an effective way to attack Isle Rose, will he retreat to the Capital?―

But, is it possible for a soldier who makes such judgment create a name for himself? As Bridget-san says, he may still be thinking about ways to win.

“This Eastern Camp… this is the base of attack for Zirconia to attack us. With Noin-dono’s water magic, their warships can be concealed and they can move it to the east, they have attacked us across the river from two points.”

As the attacked party, the effectiveness of such operation is best understood by Raquel-san. Sixty-two dead and several more were injured ―everyone’s expression darkens when they remember that day.

However, the Zirconia Army’s surprise attack was one that had been established by relying on Noin’s magic. If they were to attempt to invade again, it would take time to get into position.

“In that battle, we were able to repel the Zirconian army…… and the damage was far greater on the Zirconian side. If they still think they can make this fortress fall, all I have to say is that it’s only their pride working.”

“Astina-denka thought it was now or never….. We have no choice but to win a ceasefire with Zirconia and solidify our territory which would then give us the opportunity to confirm what is the intention of those in the Capital.”

Capital ―The headquarters of the Knights of the Kingdom of Lezenia. Bridget-san, who has a strong sense of fighting for the kingdom, was reluctant to ignore the orders and rebel against the kingdom.

However, after fulfilling the original mission of “protecting the Western Territory”, there are some basis for breaking the order, “don’t invade Zirconia”.

“…I’ve been thinking about this ever since the incident with Vaiseck-san. I’ve been wondering whether not doing anything against Zirconia in this situation is to encourage us to fight hard, or, it’s the Capital’s lack of interest in the Western Territory… I thought that there is no way that such a thing is possible. That there is no way that His Majesty, the King would give up on the Knights led by Astina-denka.”

Raquel-san’s remarks were in consideration of Bridget-san’s feelings. Perhaps sensing this, Bridget-san revealed her thoughts. She thought that she was just evading the “violation of the order from the Capital”, but that was not the case. After some thought, she had chosen to endure the situation as it was.

“His Majesty has not abandoned the people of the Western Territory or our Order. But if I want to find out his true intentions, I have to move. We have not fought to this day to wait for this fortress to fall.”

Bridget-san agreed to Raquel-san’s words ―the intentions of everyone who gathered here are unified.

“Bridget can be counted as a force along with us, right?”

“I must also prove to you that I am not just a decorative sword. Dite-dono, I want to make a full apology for what I said at that time. I am truly sorry.”

“No, I’m the one who has gone too far with my words.”

Bridget-san and Dite-san reconciled. I’m glad to see that they got rid of their ill feeling for each other before the battle.

“Now then, about the operation… When the main team goes to Zirconia, they will completely borrow Grass’ magical power. The scale will be completely different from last time, but Her Royal Highness can do it with the current Grass. That’s what she said.”

Last time, when we crossed the river, I summoned the “floating prickly water lily”. Previously, I just created a path where each of us could cross by. However, in theory, it is possible to form a bridge to let a large army pass. It would also be necessary to summon it when returning to the Isle Rose side ― not that it was impossible to retreat, but it would take time to re-summon them to form a retreat path.

Ideally, we have to get the enemy forces to surrender before their reinforcements arrive. Even though they will be shaken up by our infiltration operation, Alejandro won’t just sit and stay his hands forever.

“However, if we just go at them head-on, the damage will be great. Well, there is nothing to say if the main unit can siege the enemy camp after shaking the enemy up. I want to avoid being forced to go out into the plains and going into a field battle.”

A way to shake the enemy ―the key would be the warship.

Simply moving a warship closer to the enemy camp is not enough to attract the attention of the enemy. For that part, we got something useful. It was brought in by none other than Zirconia.

“Knight Captain, may I speak?”

Noin was allowed to speak so she stands again. She pointed to a map on the round table, pointing to the point where the enemy camp and the canal were closest.

“Up to this point, I can use my magic to conceal and move the warship. If we appear in a position where the lookouts can see us, we can effectively shake them up.”

“Hmm… But when it comes to shaking them up, it may be difficult to do it with just a single warship.”

“If it’s on the water, I can protect the ship. However, my magic isn’t enough to attack enemies on land.”

It is possible to attack with a bow from the ship, but Zirconia’s fort is surrounded by high towers and walls so they cannot be hit effectively. And because of the expected rainfall, we can’t use gunpowder weapons like the usual ―this also means that neither the enemy can use their guns and cannons either.

I asked Raquel-san for permission to speak and proposed my opinion for the first time during a war council.

“If we can load the warship with cannon and fire it even in the rain, we can greatly shake the enemy.”

“Cannon… well, there’s one brought in by the enemy’s craftsmen. It’s a good idea to load it on a warship, but what about the weather? With the gunpowder moistened, we won’t be able to use it.”

“My magic can solve that problem. It’s not difficult to keep the gunpowder dry and protect it.”

Leslie guessed it without me saying anything. If she protects the cannon with the magic of air, we can shoot the cannon even in the rain, and the enemy side won’t be able to protect their gunpowder since they are not prepared for the rain.

“…Everyone is talking on the premise that it will rain. Did you expect it to rain in this sunny day?”

“If that’s what Her Highness has said, there’s no doubt about it. There has never been a time when her weather prediction has been off.”

“If it will surely rain… there is another way to shake the enemy army.”

Noin seemed to think that it wasn’t enough for her to play only one role in this battle. That was probably what Her Highness had in mind as well. A perplexing strategy in the rain that could only be done because of Noin’s presence ―it must be a nightmare for Zirconia.

“Raquel-nee, I’m not in the main corps, am I?”

Presha-san, who just listened quietly all this time, said that while smiling. Raquel-san somewhat opens her eyes wide.

“It’s a race against time. However, me and my horse can do it. It doesn’t matter even in the rain.”

There is a flame in her eyes as she said that―not of anger or hatred, but a flame of pride and fighting spirit as a knight.

Bridget-san and her colleagues were also amazed at the changes in Presha-san. Then they look at me ―they started asking me for a reason as soon as something happens…

“Noin, Presha, can you explain it so that everyone can understand it?”

When Raquel-san asked them, the two complied. Gasps are raised as they are amazed as to how magic can do that much.

As twofold and threefold measures piled up, the road to victory is being built. I gaze at Leslie sitting next to me―she was surprisingly calm even though she’s going to play an important role aboard the warship.

(―Grass-nii, I’m sure it will be okay.)

Using the spirit of the air, Leslie speaks to me in a voice that only I can hear. I was the one who wanted to reassure her, but Leslie smiled to me as if she could see it all coming.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.

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