Chapter 119
Gerhart said he was in the middle of a meeting and led me to a large tent in the center of the camp.
"...First... here..."
"That's..."
Even before entering the tent, just hearing the shouts from inside, I could sense Gerhart's struggles.
"Count Steilberg. You should be able to accomplish what I couldn't."
"...What is it?"
In front of the tent, Gerhart stopped for a moment and spoke to me.
"Don't worry about cleaning up, just do whatever you need to do boldly."
"..."
At his sincere request, I nodded heavily.
"Well then, wait a moment."
"...Understood."
Gerhart, who shrugged his shoulders at me once, entered the tent first, opening the door.
I stood in front of the door and peeked inside through the gap.
"So now... Ah, you've come at a good time."
"Yeah! Come over here! Where on earth have you been!"
"Now, now. Calm down first."
In the middle of the tent, a dwarf with a bushy beard and an elf with long, pointed ears but otherwise similar to a human elder were gesticulating at each other.
Surprisingly, they were communicating with each other in the imperial language.
Gerhart walked between them.
"You should be able to understand a little better. These dwarf fellows, have they become moles or something, burying themselves in the ground and refusing to come out?"
"That's rich coming from you, who's busy gobbling up the information we give after losing all your scouts with your recklessness."
Apart from the two arguing, others in the tent were glaring at each other, but.
Gerhart didn't seem to particularly notice such gazes as he passed in front of them.
"...Enough. You lot just sleep there. What do the humans think? The turncoats move much faster, so if it were us, we could intercept them before they join with other enemies."
"Don't talk nonsense. Why would we go out to fight enemies who would swarm in even if we just defended?"
"...Haha."
Between the two engaging in a battle of nerves as representatives, Gerhart laughed softly.
"I'd like to express my opinion as well, but the person in charge sent by His Imperial Majesty has arrived."
He began with a good-natured smile.
"Person in charge?"
"Until now, I've been in charge temporarily, but from now on, the person who arrived today will command the imperial forces."
"Hmm...?"
They were surprised by the sudden announcement that he would hand over his authority to a newly arrived person, and,
"Huh."
I, who was listening, was also surprised and let out a small exclamation.
"Since everyone's gathered, it might be good to introduce him."
"Well... if that's how the empire's situation is."
"Is it a human like you?"
"Well... He's a capable officer, but not quite like me."
As Gerhart looked at me and nodded slightly, I opened the door and entered.
"...?"
As I entered, questioning gazes from those inside were directed at me.
"Isn't he too young?"
"Is that so? I can never tell human ages."
The dwarves gathered among themselves and muttered softly.
"..."
The elves just exchanged glances silently, but if they had the same abilities as the elves in the game, they would be discussing similar questions among themselves.
Although the transmission speed slows down in proportion to the distance, it's said that elves can communicate their thoughts to each other in some way.
"This way, please."
"...Hmm."
Gerhart, who had been waiting for me to approach, politely made way.
As I could guess his intention from the earlier conversation, I held my head high and stood where he had originally been standing.
"I am Viktor Steilberg, Her Imperial Majesty's proxy who has come to end the chaos in the south. From now on, I will control the forces of the Dragonian Empire, including the 7th Corps."
"..."
As I declared this while showing the sword of office, those who had come forward remained silent, showing signs of discomfort.
"Please introduce yourselves."
"...I am Blake Draven, commanding the eastern defense forces."
"Vittorio Ferro."
Only after Gerhart spoke as if making a request did their expressions soften slightly, and they revealed their names to me.
Neither name was unfamiliar, but they weren't capable enough to be dealt with significantly in the game.
"You were just talking about an operation plan."
"...Hah."
I extended my hand towards Vittorio.
As I maintained my overbearing attitude, Vittorio handed me the map with an irritated sigh.
"The enemy is moving in a nearly straight line from Malacho towards Rento. However, we've confirmed that the turncoats from the Labria Republic are moving quickly on their own, to the point of being separated from the main force."
"We confirmed it."
"Don't interrupt. Anyway, we expect them to be sufficiently far from the main force at Adige, so we're suggesting to go ahead and intercept them."
"Aren't the enemies moving as one cohesive unit! How can we..."
"I said don't interrupt."
"If you dislike interruptions so much, go fight alone!"
As they started bickering again with Blake as soon as I gave them a moment while reading the operation plan,
"...Not bad."
"So... What?"
I uttered a word, drawing their attention back to me.
I had roughly finished grasping what kind of people they were.
To make good use of them, it was necessary to appropriately accommodate their demands.
"I said it's not bad."
"...Haha. Seems we can communicate."
Vittorio, who was grinning at first,
"However, the detailed tactics should be discussed between me and Blake."
"...Oh. If those fellows move as we want, we won't fall behind either."
"You? Haha!"
After hearing my next proposal, he approached with a sneer.
I waved off Gerhart, who was trying to approach.
"You can't keep up with our speed, can't communicate continuously like us, and yet you want to devise tactics?"
He showed contempt towards me and the dwarf, his face reddening in a typically elven manner, and,
"If you want our cooperation, you should show that much sincerity."
"This one's words are right. Did we say we wouldn't listen to you?"
I stood my ground, receiving support fire from Blake.
"..."
Vittorio, who had been glaring at me as if wanting to have a staring contest,
"Tsk. Fine. I should understand, what else can I do."
Clicked his tongue and took a step back.
"We don't have time, so have it ready by tomorrow morning. If you put together something terrible and call it a plan..."
"Tomorrow morning? We'll send it by the end of today."
"..."
He clicked his tongue again and left the tent with the other elves.
"Now that those insufferable fellows are gone, we can talk properly."
"Hmm."
I designed the Adige interception operation with Blake, who remained.
"...This position seems difficult. Here. This looks good."
"Then let's do it like this."
"Hmm... Good."
As I drafted the operation in a form satisfactory to the dwarves, Blake was pleased, and.
"...Let's do it like this."
"..."
Vittorio, who received the operation plan completed much earlier than expected, glared alternately at the plan and me before leaving.
After wrapping up the situation appropriately and returning to my tent,
"Grand Marshal?"
"Hmm. I had some questions, so I came."
Gerhart was waiting in my tent.
I briefly sent Anna out and had a separate conversation with him.
"It's the first time I've seen those fellows retreat first. Well..."
"Was I too harsh?"
"No. Feel free to oppress them as much as you want. It was very good."
"..."
He mentioned the earlier meeting and explained the internal circumstances and structure of the unit, then,
"I've seen the operation plan well. If everyone plays their role well, we should be able to chip away at the enemy elves' forces without much damage. But..."
He mentioned the operation plan I had drafted with the dwarves, which was probably the main point.
"Can you trust them? Is that what you came to ask?"
"...Yes."
To Gerhart, who seemed to have accumulated a lot of distrust towards those reckless allies,
"Of course, I don't trust them either."
I answered promptly and confidently.
"...?"
"The dwarves will stop hundreds of meters behind the agreed point, and the elves will move arbitrarily from completely unpredictable positions."
I know well that these aren't reliable allies, but,
"...Hmm."
"Don't worry. This operation plan is just an excuse."
The dwarves were slow, so once the battle starts, it's difficult for them to retreat.
The elves pretend to be strong, but as long as they're fighting within Este Kingdom territory, they ultimately need to produce results.
I can confidently say that I'm better than anyone at making good use of such people in a situation where no one moves according to the plan.
"Since they'll violate the operation plan first, we won't be criticized for not moving according to it."
"So the operation plan is just a facade."
"Yes. They may snort at it now, but later they'll be begging us to follow the operation plan."
I think Gerhart struggled because he tried to control them somehow.
For me, who can check their movements in real-time, there was no need to control them forcibly.
"..."
Gerhart, who was lost in thought for a moment,
"...You did well in Esperia, so I believe you'll do well here too."
He showed his trust in me once again and stood up.
"I'll leave now. I should explain to the 7th Corps officers that you'll be in command, shouldn't I?"
"That's right. Ah, you don't need to act in front of our allies."
"Hmm... Well, it's not difficult."
"I feel a bit awkward."
"Awkward? I couldn't tell at all. Wouldn't it be better to get used to it?"
"...Haha."
After finishing our conversation, I headed towards the tent where the 7th Corps officers were gathered, along with him.