Chapter 15
KABOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!
The flames were visible even from the distant Ryan territory.
A prickling mana reaction that could be sensed by anyone capable of manipulating mana.
Then came the boom, the heat wave, and the visible mushroom-shaped cloud.
Wearing the sunglasses Noah had given him, Lagos watched the scene in calm astonishment.
‘(Hmm…Should I prepare to run?)’
Lagos considered himself fairly strong.
He had fought and defeated mages before, and he believed that no matter how powerful a mage was, they could be defeated if one responded appropriately.
But that was on an entirely different level.
Humans could never defeat a typhoon, the sun, or a drought.
That was the level this was on.
‘(But I’ve already been paid too much to run…What should I do?)’
Lagos had no such thing as a knight’s honor, but he prided himself on his credibility as a mercenary.
Considering that, he had received far too much money from House Ryan to run away.
‘(Hmm…What should I do?)’
Generally speaking, large-scale area-of-effect magic of that magnitude was almost never used in war.
Mages were human too, so they felt a moral burden, and the moment magic was permitted, a hellscape would begin, with large-scale slaughter spells raining down on one another’s territories.
But there were always exceptions.
For example, if some mad lord invaded another’s territory without cause to plunder and massacre its people, the Mage Towers and other lords tolerated a magical response to some extent.
Lagos knew all too well that his own lord was included among such targets, and part of him was grateful to still be alive.
The brat of Kron…No, Lord Calix could have sent his knights to fight the monsters and sent that mage against them.
But he had not.
He had chosen the course that would minimize the number of deaths as much as possible, and thanks to that, Lagos was still alive.
After seeing those flames, many of House Ryan’s knights had probably shared his thoughts.
As Lagos wondered what his lord would do in this situation and how he himself should act, a booming voice came from behind him.
“Everyone withdraws!!!!!”
Hadem shouted so that everyone in the camp could hear him.
He calmly mounted his horse and said:
“The brat of Kron—no, Lord Calix seems to have dealt with the monsters properly, so we’re returning to our territory.”
“Are you sure that’s all right, my lord?”
Lagos approached Lord Hadem and asked.
From Hadem’s perspective, retreating like this was a tremendous humiliation.
Yet, unexpectedly, Lord Hadem spoke to his adjutant without a hint of concern.
“A wise lion knows when it is time to fight. Let’s go!!”
At his words, the knights of House Ryan let out sighs of relief and began preparing to return.
While most of them were simply relieved that they had not been slaughtered by those flames, Lagos was thinking about something else.
He thought about his lord’s words.
Lord Hadem never admitted defeat to anyone he had not acknowledged.
In the best sense, his words meant that he had acknowledged Calix; in the worst sense, they were a declaration that he would regard Calix as a proper adversary.
‘(Lord Calix, I wish you good fortune.)’
Hadem was brutal and believed in the law of might, but he was by no means a fool.
He possessed the strategic insight needed to run a territory and lead his house to victory in countless battles.
Lagos could only offer his deepest sympathies to Lord Calix for having been acknowledged as an opponent by such a person.
* * *
After Sharen’s magic wiped out the Deep Rock monsters, the cleanup proceeded quickly.
The remaining Deep Rock monsters were hunted down by the knights, and House Ryan withdrew immediately, apparently terrified by Sharen’s magic.
After resolving every problem and returning to the territory, I immediately had Noah make the preparations.
Once everything had been resolved, naturally, it was time to do it.
That was…a festival.
“Good work, everyone!!! To Kron!”
[ “”To Kron!!!!!”” ]
At my words, everyone raised their glasses and shouted along with me, and the festival began.
The city, which had been gripped by fear until yesterday, was now filled with the laughter of smiling subjects and delicious food, as though nothing had ever happened.
That was one of the reasons I held this festival.
After experiencing fear, people needed a little emotional indulgence.
And this festival was the best way to provide it.
It certainly wasn’t because I wanted to hold one.
“Good work, everyone. Have a drink.”
“Thank you, my lord!”
I went around pouring drinks for everyone.
I poured drinks for everyone who had worked hard, including the knights, the scribes who had evacuated the people, and everyone else involved.
It was also a performance intended to show that, as their lord, I cared about everyone and knew how hard they had worked.
It certainly wasn’t because I had enjoyed company dinners in my previous life.
“My lord, pour me one too!”
“You worked hard too, Noah. Thanks to you, the Deep Rock monsters were able to gather in the valley.”
“Hehe, thank you.”
Noah had led the treasurers and the merchant guild in preparing everything needed for the plan, including the wild boars.
I poured Noah her favorite white wine.
After pouring drinks for everyone, I went to find the most important person.
The greatest contributor to the plan—and a walking nuclear bomb.
After searching for Sharen, I found her alone on a hill, quietly watching the festival.
“So this is where you were, Sharen.”
“My lord…”
Her red hair fluttered in the wind as she watched the festival with a slightly dazed expression.
Only when I spoke to her did she look at me.
Once again amazed that such a delicate woman had used such an incredible spell, I sat down beside her.
“Would you mind if I poured you a drink?”
“Of course, my lord. I would be honored to drink it.”
I poured her some wine.
She accepted it politely, took a sip, and continued watching the festival.
“It’s beautiful…”
“You think so?”
In my eyes, she looked even more beautiful in the moonlight.
With her red hair fluttering in the wind, she truly looked like a goddess of flame.
“Yes. Of all the places I’ve visited, Kron is the most beautiful.”
“That’s too much praise. There are many territories more prosperous than Kron.”
Calix was a native of Kron, born and raised there.
But based on what I knew from my previous life, there were many territories wealthier and more splendid than Kron.
There was the Imperial Capital, and House Blackrose was famous for being wealthy and extravagant.
But as though she were denying what I had said, she shook her head and said:
“Those places are splendid. But they aren’t beautiful…”
She gazed at the territory.
Watching the joyous festival overflowing with laughter, she smiled too and said:
“People are smiling and holding hope for the future, while the spirits watching over them smile down upon them…That is what I believe true beauty is.”
I had heard that elves had very different sensibilities from ours.
They were said to see and feel many things that humans could not through their conversations with spirits.
Even so, I understood what she meant by calling this sight beautiful.
And I agreed with her.
“If that’s the kind of beauty you mean, Kron has some confidence in that regard.”
“Yes, Kron truly is the most beautiful.”
After silently watching the festival with Sharen for a while, I spoke to her.
In truth, this was also why I had gone looking for Sharen.
“Sharen, is there anything you wish for?”
“Something I wish for?”
This was about Sharen’s reward.
Our territory had no reward money suitable for a mage of Sharen’s caliber.
More precisely, we used to have enough, but I had spent it all reinvesting in the subjects.
So I had been thinking of giving her a reward other than money.
“Yes. Rewarding a vassal who has distinguished herself is the duty of the person in charge. You have distinguished yourself. Although we have so many expenses in the territory that I cannot give you much, I would like to grant whatever wish of yours falls within my ability.”
“What I wish for…”
Sharen thought about Calix’s words.
What did she wish for?
Until recently, the only thing Sharen had wanted was to help people wholeheartedly.
But after coming here, Sharen felt as though she had discovered what she truly wanted.
Sharen did not merely want to do good deeds.
She…
“I…wish you would make every territory in the Empire like Kron.”
“Every…every territory in the Empire?”
“Yes…”
When she was very young, she had grown up in a village where elves and humans coexisted.
It was a small village founded by human and elven refugees, and she had been born there to an elven mother and a human father.
It was an unremarkable village made up of huts, but it was also a peaceful and happy place where everyone helped one another and worked hard together.
Just like Kron.
After coming here and recalling those memories, she had finally found what she truly wanted.
She had not wanted merely to help people.
She had wanted to 『create that place』.
“If you would grant my wish…if you would turn the Empire into a paradise like this…”
Sharen stood and approached Calix.
Then she knelt before him and kissed his hand.
It was the kiss a vassal gave to the liege lord they served.
“The flame of Sharen, the Red Mage, will burn for you forever, my lord.”
Sharen’s eyes burned more intensely than ever, as though she truly meant every word.
So this was the kind of character Sharen was!?
Her unexpected sincerity flustered me so much that I thought my poker face was about to crack.
No, anyone would be surprised if a pure-looking half-elf mage suddenly told them to unify the world.
I said the safest thing I could to get through the situation for now.
“I…I understand. I’ll try my best.”
“Yes…Thank you.”
The night of Kron’s festival deepened.
And so did my worries.