Let’s rewind the time a little bit.
It was when Elsa left Sandoria as a messenger of peace to see Nobuhide.
The militiamen who lost the war gradually arrived at the southern territory.
“Aah... We’ve finally arrived here...” One of them said while gasping for breath.
It was a long, long journey. The deaths of the soldiers who were dispatched together with them had already been drilled into their minds, and the heat in addition to the unsatisfying meals had already eroded their strength.
Both their minds and bodies of have already been worn out. But, they still walked without stopping because there was someone waiting for them at home.
“Hey, just a little bit more.” The encouragement came from the person walking beside him.
The militiamen encouraged each other as they walked the remaining distance. Eventually, the group was divided into several, smaller groups and returned back to their respective villages.
Thus, what echoed in the villages were only the sorrowful cries of the villagers who were told about the death of their loved ones.
Meanwhile, in Count Sarah Bona’s mansion...
Count Sarah Bona was the lord of the southwestern territory who had contributed 2,000 militiamen for the Southern Conquest this time. Probably because of overeating, there was a lot of fat on his body. You could tell that his character was similar to his big body - a slow witted person.
Count Sarah Bona was about to have his fourth of his usual six meals that day when the door of dining room were slammed open, and the head butler came in with a pale expression.
“This is terrible! The soldiers who headed to the Beastman Town have just returned! The kingdom’s army was defeated!”
Listening to it, Count Sarah Bona only grumbled at the weakness of the kingdom’s army, and continued to eat.
The army has already been defeated once. Thus, it was not strange for them to be defeated the second time. Count Sarah Bona assumed that only the Commander had been killed, and they ran away again, so there was no need to pay attention to it in particular.
“Alright, ask Versas to come here.” He ordered nonchalantly.
Versas was the leader of the militiamen of this territory, and was directly under the command of Count Sarah Bona.
“Ab-About that, Versas and his subordinates were killed in battle...” The head butler sweat nervously.
“Wh... What!?” Count Sarah Bona was truly astonished this time, and dropped the knife and fork in his hands. “Is... Is that true?”
“Y-Yes. The kingdom’s army has been annihilated. In fact, there are less than 500 people who managed to safely return here.”
“No... No way...” The count slumped in his seat.
It was different from the previous retreat that was due to the death of the commander. This means that 5,000 soldiers had been annihilated head on.
Because of this astonishing fact, Count Sarah Bona could not continue eating anymore.
After that, Count Sarah Bona immediately interviewed the militiamen who came to report. Then, he sent scouts to investigate the movement of the beastman town, as well as a messenger to the royal palace.
At the same time, a messenger from the royal palace arrived. Count Sarah Bona met with the messenger from the royal palace in the audience room. After the messenger bowed to the count, he took out the King’s letter from his chest pocket, and read it aloud.
“We truly appreciate Count Sarah Bona’s great contribution to the South Conquest this time. However, the fight with the beastmen was not fruitful even after our army’s strenuous efforts, and resulted with the defeat of the army. Therefore ――”
What was stated was the defeat of the kingdom’s troops. In addition, it was said that peace negotiations with the beastman town was currently underway. Also, along with the defeat this time, he was told that they would receive tax exemptions for one year.
“―― that is all.” The messenger finished conveying the King’s words.
Count Sarah Bona, who had been listening to it with closed eyes, opened his eyes and said.
“...Understood. Messenger-dono must be tired. You should stay at my house for tonight.”
With those words, the messenger bowed and retreated from the audience room. Count Sarah Bona looked at the messenger leave the audience room with a calm expression.
But, as soon as the messenger was no longer present in the audience room, his blood vessels began to throb visibly from anger.
“Just what does the kingdom think of my territory?!” His meaty cheeks trembled as he cried out. “Tax exemptions for one year? I don’t need such compensation! Is the king making light of me?!”
For a lord, the death of more than a thousand farmers was not something that could be ignored. It wasn’t because of the numbers too. Farmers in their prime had responded to the drafts, and they were lost under the king’s orders.
Certainly, even though each lord was obligated to send soldiers during wartime, the royal palace was not obliged to compensate for any damages.
But, the country was not being invaded, and it lost the war that the royal palace started, so compensation of only giving tax exemptions was too outrageous.
“Don’t underestimate..! Don’t underestimate me..!” Count Sara Bona breathed heavily, hatred and anger clear in his beady eyes.
His territory was located in the south. Count Sarah Bona thought that the cause for this slight was because his territory was in the innermost region without any other allies to depend on. If he betrayed the country, he would only be a mouse that’s trapped in a bag.
Nonetheless, the aggressive attitude of the kingdom was not because of his territory’s position. At first glance, they seemed to have slighted Count Sarah Bona, but on the contrary, what would happen if they compensated Count Sarah Bona heavily for the loss?
For the king to inquire one lord about his or her well being was an act that a king can't take as it may inform other lords how risky the current situation was.
“You will see..!” But, Count Sarah Bona did not notice the real intentions of the king, and his heart was filled with rage.
After a few days passed, the story of the failed Southern Conquest started to spread in the Kingdom of Sandra. The same also happened in the capital, Sandoria. The defeat of the army spread from mouth to mouth in the blink of an eye.
“The Knight Orders... Were defeated..? You’re kidding, right..?” The residents of the castle town treated the rumour with skepticism.
It was natural. The opponents were merely beastmen, so it was impossible to imagine that the humans lost.
“No, it doesn’t seem like a lie. The farmers drafted from the south territory were reduced from the initial number of 4,000 to nearly 1,000, and it seems like they’ve barely escaped with their lives.” One of them gossiped.
“Fool. They were only beastmen. There is no way we could lose.” Another argued.
“Think carefully about the failure of the Southern conquest over a year ago. Was it really because of plague? What if Commander Garland did not fall because of illness, but because he was killed by the beastmen?” Yet another guessed.
“Based on what..?” One curious person cut in.
“The rumour came from the people from the southern territories. Those people were the ones who experienced it. The villagers who have lost their families are still grieving.” Someone stated knowingly.
The defeat of the kingdom’s army already went beyond the level of rumour-mongering. The unshakeable information had been spread since the earlier stages by Count Sarah Bona, who deliberately circulated that information. By doing so, he thought that it would increase the momentum of rebellion against the King.
But, the royal palace had already started to cope with it. The King started drafting from the villages under his direct control, and announced that a drill would be held soon using the drafted soldiers. The scale exceed ten thousand easily in order to show his authority to each lord, and that he had a powerful force to restrain those with treasonous thoughts and behaviour.
◆
In the Imperial Capital of Sandoria, the Polo firm had expanded into a large firm in the recent years. A large mansion was built, there the few employees in the past had already grown in number by several times.
“I’m home!”
It was in the early afternoon when Elsa returned to the Polo Firm where she served as the head of the firm.
It had been around 20 days since she left Sandoria. She had already reported to the castle, and the reward was already in her hands.
“Welcome home, Elssan.” When Elsa opened the door to the office, Ryle who was doing paperwork, greeted her.
“How was the wheat?” Elsa asked.
“Everything is proceeding smoothly.” Ryle replied.
When she heard that, she smiled. The real reward that Elsa received from the royal palace was not insignificant silver coins in her hands. It was information.
Elsa, who knew of the defeat of the kingdom’s army earlier than anyone else amongst the commercial firms, had foreseen an upcoming war, and ordered Ryle to buy wheat.
“Right, here. A souvenir.” Elsa took out distorted metal pieces that were connected tightly from her chest pocket.
“This is?” It was something unfamiliar to Ryle.
“It’s a puzzle ring that I got it from Fujiwarsan. If you fiddle with it skilfully, you can disconnect the link. It is quite difficult.” She explained.
“Huh.” Ryle took it and examined it closely.
By the way, although all five puzzle rings she got were complicated, Elsa was able to solve all of them.
“Well, It’s unclear whether this would sell or not even if we mass produced them. I think it would be enough to make them individually and distribute them to our customers.” Elsa mused before her eyes sharpened. “More than that. How is the situation in the north?”
“The Kingdom of Robutas is preparing their army. There is noticeable movement of wheat, salt, and weapons, and mercenaries are also starting to gather. On the other hand, there is no movement from the Shugurin Dukedom.” Ryle reported dutifully.
“Will the Kingdom of Robutas come to attack after all? ...What is the exact situation here?” Elsa questioned.
“The farmers that have been drafted and are performing a military drill. It’s said that the scale is around 20,000 to 30,000 people.” He stated.
“The king really took a drastic measure. Are they trying to empty the castle’s vaults?” She frowned.
To recruit tens of thousands of farmers wasn’t cheap at all since after this, they needed to harvest the spring wheat (wheat sowed in spring). If tens of thousands of labor disappeared, profit will inevitably decrease. It was something that the royal palace would need to bear.
“But well, with this our country shouldn’t be defeated. Alright, let’s sell the wheat earlier. Don’t mind if it’s being requisitioned. In the unlikely event of excessive fund disbursement, we should buy a governmental bond as well.” Elsa instructed.
“Understood.” Ryle nodded.
The Polo Firm under Elsa’s command had started to move along as a whole towards the upcoming war.
One week later, in the northern territory under the king’s direct control, a drill of nearly 30,000 militiamen was held. This caused the country to consume a lot of goods, and each lord, who had looked down on the King, was not able to gauge the limit of king’s strength, and revised their evaluation.
But still, the Kingdom of Robutas was still preparing for war. Mercenary groups from all over the continent came one after another to the Kingdom of Robutas, and gathered close to the border of the Kingdom of Sandra.
Meanwhile, the Kingdom of Sandra had successfully made peace with the Beastman Town. By doing this, the Kingdom of Sandra would not need to worry about the south, and would be able to concentrate its whole power to the north.