Chapter 5
"Hey, quit looking around."
I was on my way to Eren's village under the protection of Frain's unit, one detachment of the Tenth Knight Order.
"But it is quite a sight to see this many soldiers marching."
"What are you talking about? You're the one who told us to send out the entire Tenth Knight Order, all the troops we could mobilize at once," he said, exasperated, but even so, I hadn't expected it to become such a huge army.
"About how many people are in Frain's unit alone?"
"My unit has five hundred. Since we're on the subject, I'll tell you: a unit usually consists of three to five hundred soldiers, though in a major battle, commanders may lead a thousand or more. It depends partly on the battalion commander's ability, but ordinarily it's around three hundred. Still, for a unit commander in the Tenth Knight Order, five hundred is the standard." Frain-sama puffed his chest out a little.
"Oh, I see. As expected of you." When I chimed in, he looked a little pleased.
"Including Rays-sama's main force, about six thousand five hundred are taking part this time."
"Six thousand five hundred..." That was an astonishing number. This mobilization had been substantial enough that veteran unit commanders had initially objected, yet it still wasn't the entire Tenth Knight Order.
Ordinarily, given the size of our country, we would have fewer than ten knightly orders and a much smaller military. That was a testament to Rudek's wealth.
There were two reasons: mines and a port.
Rudek has long been home to many mines producing high-quality ore. The abandoned mine in Eren's village was one of them. High-quality ore was sought after by countries across the sea.
The port where merchants from across the sea gathered was Gederland. Nestled in a calm inlet and sheltered from the weather, it had flourished into one of the continent's leading ports thanks to its geographical advantages and Rudek's specialty goods.
In this relatively insular northern continent, Gederland's port was largely responsible for Rudek having so many foreign-born people and people of foreign ancestry.
Rudek boasted considerable military mobilization capacity for a country of its size thanks to its ample funds, but those very mines and that port were also why other countries coveted it.
Neither Golbel, with which we were at odds, nor the Empire possessed a port as good as Gederland's, whether because of ocean currents or location.
The Empire did have several powerful ports of its own, but they were no match in scale. As a result, merchants from the southern continent preferred to make Gederland their base: it was easier to reach and enter, and the risk of damage to their ships was lower.
They would settle in Gederland, do business in other countries, and return to Gederland once it was over before sailing back to their homeland.
Naturally, the city thrived, overflowing with people, goods, and information.
That was why Rudek could fight the Empire and Golbel, both of which had larger territories, on equal or better footing.
Of course, fighting the Empire, one of the continent's great powers, head-on would be difficult. Fortunately, steep mountains formed a wall along our border with the Empire, making it difficult for the Empire to attack.
The Empire to Rudek's east shared only a limited border with us, and lately it had been busy fighting another country.
Moreover, Rudek was allied with the Holy Nation of Lifrea to the north. For the time being, that allowed Rudek to focus its attention on Golbel's movements.
Even if we could spare troops to focus on Golbel to some extent, this expedition was absurdly overblown: our opponent numbered at most a mere hundred. They might have been fewer still.
Frankly, mobilizing this many troops against mere bandits was absurd. It was only natural that the experienced commanders had been reluctant.
"But you... Are you sure you'll be all right after making such a grand pronouncement? I don't intend to bail you out."
What Frain-sama was worried about was the expense.
Mobilizing a large number of soldiers meant preparing food for a large number of people. Many had objected: was it really worth mobilizing six thousand five hundred soldiers against a mere hundred?
My explanation was, "If there's really a new vein of ore, it'll more than pay for itself."
Naturally, people objected, "Are you going to waste soldiers based on nothing more than armchair theory?" But when I asked, "Then shall we just let Golbel mine it to their heart's content?" they fell silent.
We had been warring with Golbel for a long time. Older generals were especially determined to prevent Golbel from profiting, even if it meant taking a loss themselves.
There was one more thing: I already knew that an unexpected vein of ore would be found in this abandoned mine. I had seen that future once before, so confidence naturally infused my words.
Our hostility toward Golbel, combined with my strangely confident assertions despite having no apparent basis, somehow allowed me to push the matter through.
"But why am I the one stuck babysitting you...?"
It was a complaint I'd already heard more than five times on the way. Frain-sama had been opposed to my joining the expedition, and the simple reason he'd been assigned to protect me was that we were close in age.
Apparently, Frain-sama and I were around the same age. Anyone who was already one of the unit commanders of the Tenth Knight Order under Rays-sama at that age had to be exceptionally talented.
It must have been frustrating for such a promising young man to be assigned to guard a mere civil official of unknown background.
Frankly, I felt bad. But now that I had been entrusted to him, I needed him to do his job and protect me properly. I couldn't afford to die in a place like this.
The formation I had proposed had been approved. Now I had to confirm that it would actually be carried out. If we could win using the formation I'd suggested, that would prove history could be changed.
"Rays-sama entrusted you with guarding me because he trusts you, Frain-sama. You must live up to his expectations."
The older commander who admonished Frain-sama was named Bickhilt-san, and he had served as Frain-sama's tutor since childhood. In short, he was his old retainer.
"Bickhilt, I understand that without being told. I will carry out what I've been entrusted with. I swear it on the honor of House Delta."
House Delta... I felt like I'd heard that name before. If I remembered correctly, one of the generals entrusted with command during a skirmish with the Empire had been a man named Horald Delta.
Could Frain be related to him? Probably. Horald might even be Frain's father.
"Hey, this is no time to be spacing out. We're almost there."
Frain-sama pointed to where the road split in two.
The road to the position I'd designated looked like a fork in fate itself.