After the guard unit on Horant’s side of the national border had been completely destroyed, the disposal of the corpses, which were scattered all over, was entrusted to the border guards of Orsongrande.
The person responsible for the guards hesitated to cross the border without permission.
“It’s alright since I’m giving you permission. Or rather, this is already territory of Orsongrande.” (Hifumi)
Making him yield with a few words and furthermore placing the condition that it was fine to do as they like with the goods in the enemy’s lodging house and the personal properties of the corpses, the soldiers surged into Horant’s side of the border striving to be first.
“… Good grief.” (Hifumi)
Murmuring how difficult it is to handle them, Hifumi goes ahead.
The weather is clear as usual, but there are almost no figures of merchants and travellers coming and going on the highway. Occasionally seeing farmers working on the fields is something he can only see in a distant place.
“There’s few people.” (Hifumi)
“I heard a story that they aren’t able to freely move too much within the country because of the previous adventurers originating from Horant. Besides, the population is quite concentrated on the capital.” (Origa)
Moreover, there seems to be quite a difference in treatment with the exception of magicians.
They have adopted an extreme doctrine of magic supremacy. If you develop new spells or magic tools, depending on the opinion of royalty, you will be appointed to a responsible post.
“Huuumph.” (Hifumi)
Although they are maintaining the highway quite a bit, compared to Orsongrande and Vichy, there are many points, with weeds and stones, that are in a state of not being repaired.
They advanced once again along the highway after having taken a carefree and ample breakfast. Just before noon they could see a city.
“It’s a city.” (Soldier)
“What will you do?” (Origa)
“Let’s buy food. It’s alright to kill the enemy soldiers if they come interfering.” (Hifumi)
“Roger.” (Origa)
The soldiers affix their swords on their hips while exchanging glances with faces of I wonder, if it’s really fine.
While lowering the speed of the wagons, they approached the city’s entrance with its gatekeepers standing guard.
The information of Hifumi’s invasion hasn’t yet reached the royal castle of Horant.
The king expected Hifumi’s group and Orsongrande’s military forces to invade the frontier district, however the royal grandson, Veldore, hadn’t predicted that. For that reason, the order insisting on him preparing the defences carried the meaning of “Behave yourself without doing anything unnecessary” for him.
“Shit! About now I should be preparing the coronation, but… those savages from Orsongrande! Besides…” (Veldore)
There wasn’t any need to put it into words, but his dissatisfaction with the king welled up from within his stomach up to his throat.
Without even outstanding progress in magic engineering for the last 10 years here, the king didn’t take any special measures either.
Veldore, who returned to his office and personal laboratory, sat down in his chair and made a sound as he gulped down the sake he poured into his cup from a porcelain jar.
With an age of about 30 years, he has a moustache, which is carefully put in order and wears a seemingly pompous tail coat.
“Veldore-sama.” (Yugu)
“… Yugu, huh?” (Veldore)
The man called Yugu poured sake into Veldore’s cup and prepared his own cup as well. Without even a single word of permission, Yugu does this as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Veldore doesn’t particularly say anything to that either. During the continuous years of associating with each other it had partly become a habit.
“Did something happen with the king, I wonder?” (Yugu)
“It’s of no concern… no, it’s simply my failure. Half of the soldiers, who used the new type of magic tool, were lost. The remaining were captured by Orsongrande.” (Veldore)
“My goodness…” (Yugu)
Yugu, tasting a sip of sake, laughed with a complacent smile due to its aroma.
“It’s an excellent sake. As expected of the royal grandson. No, it should be, as expected of the next king.” (Yugu)
“Don’t make fun of me. Besides, this failure also means the postponement of the crown.” (Veldore)
With a deep sigh he stares at the sake cup.
As result of his feelings of frustration, he doesn’t even sense the taste of what he’s drinking.
“Isn’t there a method to take the throne right away?” (Yugu)
“What foolish thing are you saying… Never! That’s too much of a prank even as joke!” (Veldore)
Yugu, who had Veldore’s glare pointed at him, shrugged his shoulders without being perturbed.
“It’s no joke or such. There aren’t few people who are desiring for you to sit on the throne as soon as possible. It’s fine because it’s the majority of those working in the castle. If you felt like it, I could gather as many cooperators as you wish.” (Yugu)
“But…” (Veldore)
“Don’t say such weak things. What will you do if you can’t surpass an ordeal of such level in order to ascent to the rank of emperor.” (Yugu)
Veldore was gradually drawn in by Yugu’s words of slow and simplified persuasion.
Being reminded of the character of his grandfather who is the king, the voice of Yugu resounds even more in the ears of Veldore, who groaned being at his wit’s end.
“Isn’t it a method to prove your competency once again if you steal the crown with force?” (Yugo)
The discontent with the king, which was all jumbled together just a moment ago, is once again dominating Veldore’s mind.
“… What’s the method?” (Veldore)
Yugu laughed with a 「Magnificent resolution」 due to the question of Veldore, who raised his face.
“Yeees! Liiiine up in order!”
The former soldiers of Horant, who were once again gathered in the plaza of Münster, were given a good meal without suffering abuse. After having taken a rest at ease, all of them became very lively.
And now, in front of them is an even younger looking girl than the one, who gave them a preaching the other day, standing.
“I’m the military director of the Fokalore territorial army, Alyssa! Best regards!” (Alyssa)
“M-Military director… ?” (Soldier)
As someone let his feelings of disbelief show, the soldiers from Fokalore, lined up on both sides from Alyssa, glared at him.
“Hey! Your Excellency, the director, is talking!” (Soldier)
“I-I’m sorry.”
“Well then, I will explain what you wil-shall do from now on!” (Alyssa)
“At last the director is using polite language!”
“Director, go for it!”
Alyssa, confirming from time to time with a glance the memo in her hand while saying “Ummm,” gets earnestly cheered on by the soldiers in her neighbourhood.
The watching side can’t catch up with their comprehension.
“I will have all of you go to Fokalore together with my troops. Because Hifumi-san has given his approval, we will prepare a place in the city where everyone can stay at. You can be relieved since even work will be mediated for you if you have an aspiration. Since I will command the troops going to Horant, I won’t be able to go with you, but it’s okay because I will properly contact the officials from Fokalore.” (Alyssa)
“It’s regrettable that we can go together with director!”
“Well, it’s only natural for newcomers!”
The soldiers from Horant don’t know how they should react due to the high tension of the soldiers from Fokalore, but at any rate, they have barely understood that they will apparently head to Fokalore.
Once they enter Fokalore, their name and age will be registered. They will enter an inn temporarily. After that, those people with aspirations will be educated and introduced to a workplace.
The soldiers from Horant were baffled by the unfamiliar word they heard, education, but seeing Alyssa’s appearance, they are consulting among each other that it probably won’t be such bad treatment.
“If there are people who want to enter the army of Fokalore, apply to one of the civil officials once you arrived at the city. Our Fokalore territorial army will welcome any of you!” (Alyssa)
A cheer from the territorial soldiers resounds due to Alyssa finishing her explanation laughing with a smile.
“Thank you for your effort, director!”
“Beverage has been prepared!”
“You are probably worn out. Please get on my back!”
Alyssa, who gets down from the platform, is swarmed. Seeing several of the territorial soldiers expressing their appreciation and saying things they don’t quite understand, Horant’s soldiers decided to give only the entering of the territorial army a miss.
“… What’s this?” (Sabnak)
Sabnak, who saw the commotion by accident, mumbled while looking at the difference in enthusiasm between the two groups from far away.
“Wait, the strange vehicle over there… what’s this? What kind of business do you have with this city?” (Guard)
Seeing the approaching group of Hifumi, the two soldiers from Horant, seemingly the gatekeepers, grabbed their slender spears and asked for their identity.
“This is a vehicle I built. It has no particular name. We are only stopping by to purchase food on our way to the capital.” (Hifumi)
Without stopping, Hifumi answers their question while trying to enter the city quickly. The guards stopped them by projecting out their spears in a hurry.
“Wa-Wait! We haven’t yet finished our questioning!” (Guard)
“Stop! Show us an permission for you to travel within the country and something proving your social status!” (Guard)
“Travel permit? There’s still something like that in this country?”`(Hifumi)
“It seems so. The travelling within the country is probably being restricted.” (Origa)
The two are carefreely chatting in the back guessing whether to pity the soldiers or whether confirming the coming and going is difficult. This mood of having no tension at all is an unusual occurence in this country.
“Don’t you have a permit? Certainly you are not deserting, are you!?” (Guard)
Hifumi showed a coin, he took out from his pocket, due to the guards approaching even further with their spears.
“Do you know what this is?” (Hifumi)
Even as he asks, the guards don’t reply while only frowning.
“You don’t seem to know. Is it only circulating within my country?” (Hifumi)
“Well, then I will teach you,” Hifumi gathers their attention by rotating the coin with a flip.
“It’s something signifying my rank as noble of Orsongrande. I’m an Earl of your enemy’s nation called Hifumi. That’s me.” (Hifumi)
The guards, taken aback for an instant, seem to finally recognize the word called Orsongrande. One of them ran into the city in a hurry.
“Calling for reinforcements, huh?” (Hifumi)
What meaning did he pick up from Hifumi’s question? The remaining guard laughed scornfully.
“It’s too late to even get cold feet now. How come you are calling yourself something like a noble of an enemy nation, even if it is a fraud? You will repent about this plenty in the jail.” (Guard)
“Aren’t you misunderstanding something? If you are calling for reinforcements, call many of them. It would be boring if it ended right way.” (Hifumi)
The guard, who was completely taken for a fool, approached with his spearhead in front of Hifumi’s eyes.
“Shut up your lukewarm prattling! Even if you irresponsibly bluff…” (Guard)
Suddenly Hifumi brings his face close without hesitation.
When it seemed as if the spearhead is touching his left eye, the guard withdrew the spear reflexively.
“You pulled back the spear.” (Hifumi)
“U…” (Guard)
“Bluffing or whatever, if you decide to do something, don’t stop in the middle of it.” (Hifumi)
At the time the guard turned his sight away due to Hifumi’s gaze being fixed on him straightforwardly, around 10 soldiers from Horant could be seen running over here.
“T-They came! With this…” (Guard)
In the moment he was relieved due to the arrival of the reinforcements, a katana protruded from within the guard’s chest.
“If you avert your sight from the enemy in front, at least avoid this without looking.” (Hifumi)
The guard complained with his eyes “What an unbelievable thing did you do” and then died as it is.
“Wh… bastard!” (Guard)
The complexion of the soldiers, who saw their companion getting killed in front of their eyes, changes and they come rushing.
Storing away the katana while waiting for their arrival, he substitutes it with the kusarigama.
“Origa and you lot, don’t make a move.” (Hifumi)
“As you wish.” (Origa)
Hifumi, who looked at Origa’s group standing silently at a distance, suddenly begins to rotate the counterweights.
“Well then, it seems that magicians are mixed in this time.” (Hifumi)
In the rear of the group, the figures of three magicians, who seem to be late or have inferior stamina, in plain robes are approaching entering Hifumi’s sight.
One of the counterweights smashed the face of a man, who was the vanguard. Receiving damage up until his cervical vertebrae due to the impact, the man was forced into a somersault while scattering his teeth.
Hifumi, who smiled at the enemy who came close, deeply cut the artery of the thigh with the sickle.
Hifumi, noticing some presence come flying at the place, where he decided to aim at the third person, quickly moved a part of his body aside.
A rock of a size of around an armful passed by and fell in front of Origa’s group standing in the back.
“Hifumi-sama! There is someone using earth magic! Please be careful!” (Origa)
“Rather than earth magic, it is rock magic.” (Hifumi)
Somehow it seems the three magicians use the same attribute. Another two rocks come flying.
Did they believe in their victory? If you look at the magicians, their mouths, which peek out from under the hood, are smiling.
“Well, there “is” such a way of doing things as well, I think?” (Hifumi)
With these words the darkness storage expands in front of his eyes.
The rocks are soundlessly and completely swallowed by the dark, expanded storage and then it closed itself as if there wasn’t anything to begin with.
“Hmm. The user-friendliness is great.” (Hifumi)
The enemy magicians are dumbfounded due to Hifumi’s lone consent.
The soldiers stopped their feet as Hifumi cast magic without as much as a wand or dagger.
“Oi oi, we aren’t done yet!” (Hifumi)
As the launched counterweight howls, it once again delivers a hard blow to the temporal region of a soldier killing him in the process.
Another soldier was beheaded by the sickle before he could return to the soldiers.
“T-emporary retreat! Stay in order!”
The panicking soldiers are falling back temporarily and put the file and ranks of the group in order.
Hifumi yawns while waiting for the soldiers to line up slowly.
“Are you done? It’s fine if you use your head in combat, but practise moving slightly faster. If it were the soldiers from my place, they would be able to change formations without taking several seconds.” (Hifumi)
Fokalore’s territorial soldiers are proudly nodding due to Hifumi’s words.
“Get him!”
Once someone among the soldiers shouted that, all of them came dashing simultaneously. And once again three rocks came flying from the rear.
Like that, he ends up standing in front of the soldier at the end of the line.
“Eh?” (Soldier)
The soldier wasn’t able to comprehend why the enemy was standing in front of him. Hifumi grabbed him under the arms on both sides as if holding a child.
He gave off an unpleasant sound of crushing tinged with dampness.
Hifumi, throwing away the corpse, rushes over to the magicians and turns them into rust on his katana successively.
“I think it would be better if you thought a bit more about how to use your magic.” (Hifumi)
Hifumi annihilated the magicians, but once he turned his look towards the surviving soldiers, they already hadn’t a single speck of fighting spirit left.
However, without Hifumi intending to let a single one of them live, the result followed in accordance to that.