Chapter 4
"Was this what Rudek had been waiting for...?"
"This? A poor harvest? There's no way they could have made that happen. Does Rudek have a demon working for them?"
"Whatever Rudek may have, that's not the issue now. More importantly, we have no provisions."
"Can't we get aid from another country?"
"Impossible. Apparently, Lubral's diplomat scoffed at him. 'There is no need to explain that there is no food.' Connul... That disgrace to Lifrea!"
"If... if Rudek continues to besiege us like this..."
With those words, the Holy Knights, which had been enveloped in uproar moments before, fell silent.
Scholz had been thinking the same thing. At the same time, it was something he had been trying not to think about. The faces of his wife and children flashed through his mind.
——This is no time for battle. The country will starve.——
It was already common knowledge within the Holy Knights that Rudek had secured a large quantity of food. Indeed, after checking the situation in their own country in response to information that Rudek had likely leaked deliberately, Lifrea had ended up in the embarrassing position of discovering that it had no food.
An unpleasant atmosphere spread through the room.
"To begin with, why did we betray Rudek...?"
Someone's mutter from among the soldiers echoed strangely. Though it was too late for such a question, no one could contain their dissatisfaction with the higher-ups anymore.
"Perhaps we should just surrender to Rudek...?"
At those words, Eldward finally took action. He seized the soldier who had spoken by the collar and slowly spoke in a low voice.
"If you are an honorable member of the Holy Knights who cares about His Holiness and our country, do not utter such words, no matter what!"
The soldier whose collar Eldward had seized immediately took back what he had said, claiming it had merely been a slip of the tongue, but Scholz sensed trouble.
Not because of the soldier who had let the words slip. It was because so few of the soldiers seemed angered by the exchange they had just witnessed.
He could not read everything from their expressions alone, but he felt that nearly half the soldiers present were watching Eldward's reprimand with cold eyes.
The clear decline in morale filled Scholz with a sense of crisis. What could they possibly do in a situation like this? No, they had to do something. Otherwise, his wife and children would starve.
The door suddenly opened, quite literally changing the air in the stagnant room.
Sakri entered.
"Hmm... Judging by the look of things, I take it you're despairing over our country being starved to death...?"
Having surveyed the scene and apparently reached his own conclusion, Sakri continued under everyone's gaze.
"Be at ease. Rudek has made its move. We need only meet them at Femas as planned. Once we defeat Rudek at Femas, we will surge straight into Rudek territory. You already know that Rudek has stockpiled food, yes? If we seize it, there will be no problem."
Sakri spoke with such confidence, as though victory were already assured, that even Scholz felt as if Sakri had seen the future.
At the same time, Scholz calmly surveyed those around him. As expected, a fair number still seemed skeptical of Sakri's words.
"Now, we have no time to dawdle. This battle will determine Lifrea's fate. Gather as many troops here as possible. I pray for your success."
After saying only that, Sakri promptly left, and Scholz naturally followed him.
"Sakri-dono."
As Sakri walked down the corridor, he furrowed his brow slightly and glanced back at Scholz.
"What is the matter?"
Scholz hesitated for a moment, but then steeled himself and opened his mouth.
"Have you already decided how to deploy the soldiers, Strategist-dono?"
At Scholz's question, Sakri tilted his head slightly, an unusual gesture for him.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
The smiles of his children flashed through Scholz's mind once more. He could not afford to lose. Whatever the reason, losing this battle would directly condemn those he loved to starvation.
"It must not come to this, but morale is uneven among the soldiers. What do you think of sending those with low morale into the fray first, then using our elite troops to smash through the enemy after both sides have been worn down?"
He would use his comrades as decoys, as sacrificial pawns. Even he knew it was a cruel choice. But this was no time to worry about appearances. As a member of the Holy Knights, he had to protect His Holiness, the people, and... those he loved.
Sakri looked somewhat intrigued by Scholz's words.
"I see... I see... I must attend the proceedings where Connul-dono will explain himself. Could you wait in my room afterward so that we can discuss this in detail?"
"...Then let us do that. Until later."
"Yes. Until later."
After seeing Sakri off, Scholz headed to Sakri's room. When he entered, an unexpected visitor was waiting there.
There were two people in the room. One was Hinof, the new commander of the former First Knight Order. To be honest, Scholz did not particularly like Hinof. Deliberately pretending not to notice Scholz's grim expression, Hinof welcomed him with both hands raised.
"Well, well, Scholz-dono, one of our five illustrious Knight Commanders. What brings you here?"
"...Sakri-dono told me to wait here. By the way, who might you be?"
Scholz broke eye contact with Hinof and looked at the other man, who was dressed in rough clothes.
"Bootst. Former general of Golbel."
The man introduced himself gruffly.
"Bootst? If you're talking about Bootst of Golbel, wasn't he one of the Four Generals?"
At Scholz's words, Bootst gave a self-deprecating laugh.
"...I was called that once."
"Why are you in Lifrea?"
"Who knows? I'd like to know myself. If you want to know, ask Sakri."
His unhelpful reply left Scholz at a loss for words.
A strange silence passed, with no one saying a word, until Sakri finally returned.
"What happened?"
Before Sakri even had a chance to sit down, Hinof pressed him for an answer.
"With our entire army, we will settle this at Femas."
Sakri replied as though it were all going according to plan.
"At this point, that's our only option, I suppose," Scholz said.
Finally, Bootst said, "When we win, you will keep your promise."
Hearing this, Sakri gave a dark smile. "Of course. If we win here, all of Golbel will be yours."
After that, he began explaining his strategy for the battle at Femas to Scholz and the others.