Chapter 115
"Wouldn't it be nice to stay a little longer? Opa-san, you agree, right?"
Cecilia said this as we finished preparing to leave at the very start of the new year. Personally, I thought Wickhart, at least, should stay and take it easy a little longer.
Wickhart had originally been heading to Riese Fortress to apologize to and thank the Seventh Knight Order, which had filled the gap left by the Sixth Knight Order's sudden departure.
Though it had only been by chance, he had already met and spoken with General Thor the other day, so it could be said that he had already accomplished his objective.
"Still, I'm worried about Drew's condition." In response to my suggestion that he could come later, Wickhart offered to accompany us.
I secretly resolved to do everything I could to make sure Wickhart got to take a decent stretch of time off.
...Depending on the circumstances, this might even be my final farewell to Opa-san.
Of course, I intended to do everything I could to make sure that didn't happen.
"From now on, I'll come back a little more often," Wickhart replied, sounding just a little put out. It looked like nothing more than an attempt to hide his embarrassment.
"Roa-dono." Lord Hogbeck came over to me and extended his hand. When I took it, he said with a serious expression, "I entrust Wickhart—my son—to you."
"...Yes."
Though I was usually the one being helped by him.
And so, we left Wickhart's family home.
〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜
Riese Fortress was closer than Haksha. We arrived before long without encountering any trouble along the way.
When we told the sentry that we had arrived, they were already expecting us, so they let us in without even checking our pass tokens.
Riese Fortress was quiet and deserted when we returned after such a long absence. Most of the soldiers had probably returned home.
That would normally be unthinkable, but at this time of year the enemy absolutely would not attack, so every fortress was probably like this.
No one wages war at the turn of the year. This is an unwritten rule on the Northern Continent. It could also be called a warning to each nation's rulers.
Once upon a time, a remarkable man was born in a small country in the northwestern part of the Northern Continent.
The man's name was Gransweul. He was said to be such a remarkable man that, if he had shown even a little consideration for other people's feelings, he might have unified the Northern Continent.
But Gransweul died halfway to his goal. He and his entire family and retinue were wiped out. Gransweul was not killed by an enemy commander. He was killed by his own people and his own soldiers.
Gransweul was a formidable warrior and displayed extraordinary talent in domestic affairs. Unusually for his time, he employed capable people regardless of their social status and rapidly elevated his small country into a great power. But his decisiveness—his refusal to hesitate when pursuing his goals—made life miserable for the common people.
He launched wars without caring whether it was the end or beginning of the year. At first, the people rejoiced in his victories, but once the country had grown to a certain size, they began to demand rest. Gransweul would not allow it.
And then a major rebellion broke out.
Ironically, the rebellion began on the final day of that year. On the very day the people wanted to rest, pillars of fire rose throughout the country.
To make matters worse, Gransweul's entire clan was holding a celebratory feast that day, so perhaps the rebellion was inevitable.
The rebellion succeeded. Gransweul's head was put on display, and the country plunged into civil war.
In addition to those who had led the rebellion, blood relatives of kings from countries Gransweul had destroyed also rose up, and a long struggle followed.
It was fortunate that the neighboring countries did not invade during the civil war, but the chaos was apparently so terrible that even they had no desire to interfere.
And that was how the Sixteen Despotates came into being.
The Sixteen Despotates maintain an alliance to oppose other countries, but as the current situation shows, they cannot fully unite as a single nation because of their tangled vested interests and agendas.
At some point, a proverb arose across the continent.
"If you don't want to destroy your country, never wage war at the turn of the year."
Even the emperor of the most powerful empire on the continent follows this proverb, so the events that led to the formation of the Sixteen Despotates may have been even more brutal than I realize.
That is why every fortress on the Northern Continent, not just Riese Fortress, is like this. The soldiers who remain are taking things easy as well, and the atmosphere of the season has settled over everything.
"Ah, there you are."
Lapilia-sama came to meet us partway there.
"Lapilia-sama, how is Drew doing?"
"Apparently, Drew spent nearly the entire time since arriving making something without sleeping a wink, but just now they fell asleep as if a thread had snapped."
There were faint dark circles beneath Lapilia-sama's eyes as she said this. I was sure she hadn't stayed awake the entire time, but she seemed to have spent a great deal of time watching over Drew.
She was surprisingly good at looking after others.
"Drew won't be waking up for a while, so let's go see Thor-sama first."
I was concerned about Drew too, but for now, we followed Lapilia-sama's lead and made our way toward the building at the center of the fortress.