Chapter 115
The city of Gels was one of the largest cities on the southern front.
However, even so, it was only a medium-sized city by the standards of the Empire as a whole, with around five hundred knights. Even including the men capable of fighting, its total fighting force was only about a thousand.
Galbar was intimidating the city of Gels with an army of ten thousand.
"Hahahahaha! The weak southern knights must be trembling in fear by now!"
With that, Galbar surveyed Gels in high spirits.
It had fairly high walls and a reasonably sized gate. If a decent force had been assembled there, it would have made for a troublesome fortress city, but Galbar knew that Gels had a force of only around a thousand.
Once Gordon's plan began and the fighting started, Gels would almost certainly fall in less than a day.
"Colonel Letts. Have you heard anything from Prince Gordon?"
"No, nothing. I was only told to conduct a thorough reconnaissance."
"I see. So he's acting somewhere unrelated to us."
"Most likely. So for now, let's follow our orders. There's a hill farther ahead. From there, we'll be able to see the entire battlefield."
"Very well. Lead the way."
If Gordon became emperor, his close aides would be promoted as well. Only a very few of them would be granted the rank of marshal. To Galbar, Letts was one of his rivals for that position.
But for now, Letts was standing at his side. It meant that Gordon had clearly acknowledged Galbar as the superior of the two.
Galbar could already see himself attaining the rank of marshal. As he reveled in the image of his future self, Sonia, who was nearby, interrupted him.
"General. That hill is too close to Gels. We should observe the city from somewhere farther away."
"Hmph! So what if it's close? Do you think they'll attack us from there? Ridiculous."
"We would have no way to defend against a sniper. A commander should act cautiously."
"Even if it is close, it's still a fair distance from the city. If anyone in Gels were capable of sniping from there, I would have heard about them."
"The problem is that there might be someone capable of it."
"This is why half-elf girls are so troublesome... You're too cowardly to be worth talking to."
Rejecting Sonia's cautious advice, Galbar stomped his way up the hill.
Letts followed behind him.
Sonia sighed and followed as well. However, Letts, who had been walking ahead of her, slowed down for an instant. The guards around him adjusted their pace accordingly.
As a result, Galbar reached the summit before anyone else.
Then a distinctive whistling sound reached Sonia's ears.
It quickly changed into the sound of something piercing its target.
"Ah..."
At the top of the hill,
an arrow was lodged in the middle of Galbar's forehead.
Galbar collapsed with a thud and slowly slid down the hill.
Letts hurriedly caught him and checked whether Galbar was still alive.
"General!? General Galbar!?"
The arrow had pierced Galbar's head clean through. He was dead instantly.
After confirming this, Letts issued orders to everyone present.
"All troops, be on alert! The general has been shot! Gels intends to resist!"
Hearing that order, Sonia looked at Letts as though she couldn't believe her ears.
A smile spread across his face, as though the plan had gone perfectly.
"You had one of our own shoot him...?"
"The enemy fired the shot."
As he spoke, Letts briskly removed Galbar's corpse.
Then he declared,
"I will take command from this point onward. Military strategist Sonia, devise a plan to take Gels."
"You'd go this far... Do you really want a war!?"
"We never wanted this. They were the ones who attacked us. Moreover, they assassinated our general. This is an extraordinary situation. From this point on, I will act according to my judgment on the ground."
With that, Letts walked away without showing the slightest sign of grief.
His stride was so purposeful that it seemed everything had gone according to plan, strengthening Sonia's conviction.
Then she slowly turned her accusing gaze toward the city of Gels.
"What have they done...?"
Had they sent a sniper into Gels, or had someone in the city prepared one?
Either way, if Gels, the largest city on the front line, fell, all the other cities would immediately surrender. If that happened, there would unquestionably be a war.
Leo and the others at the enemy's stronghold would not escape unscathed, either.
If Gels fell, it would become a quagmire of war. To make matters worse, they already had enough forces to take the city even without any action from Sonia.
"What should I do...?"
When Sonia had outmaneuvered Al and the others in the Imperial Capital, she had enjoyed many advantages. She had Rebecca and the letters, and the initiative had been hers.
But things were different now.
Gordon held the initiative, while Sonia had almost no advantage at all.
And yet...
"I have to do something."
Sonia steeled herself with the thought that there had to be something she could do.
■■■
The Gels side that had carried out the shooting was equally confused.
"What does this mean, Uncle!?"
The lord who ruled Gels, Count Alois von Simmel, was a twelve-year-old boy. He had light brown hair and eyes of the same color. He was an ordinary boy who worried about being smaller than others his age.
His father had died the previous year, and he had become lord with the support of his mother and uncle.
Standing before Alois was his uncle, with guards in tow.
"What do you mean?"
"Don't pretend you don't know! The attack on the enemy must have been your order, Uncle!"
"I don't know anything about that."
"Uncle! Explain your intentions!"
"My intentions? You still don't understand? How foolish, Alois. I have sided with the Imperial Army."
"Sided with the Imperial Army...? Then why did you have them fire on the general!?"
Alois could not understand what his uncle was saying.
Most of the southern nobles had relatives being held hostage by Kruger. Alois's mother was one of those hostages as well.
For that reason, they could not surrender, but neither did they want to actively provoke a conflict. They knew they were certain to lose.
If Kruger came with his entire army, they might have a chance of winning, but the resistance of a single city was insignificant.
That was why a cautious response was necessary. Yet his uncle claimed to have sided with the Imperial Army while having the Imperial Army's general shot.
Alois seriously began to suspect that his uncle had gone mad.
"The purpose is to start a war. Prince Gordon, the supreme commander of the Imperial Army, wants a war. By having the general shot, we created a pretext. Driven by anger, they will take this city. Then it will grow into a great civil war."
"That's ridiculous... What could possibly be the point of doing something like that!?"
"Prince Gordon will distinguish himself and ascend to the throne with the army under his control. Afterward, I will probably be appointed lord of some territory. That will be far better than my current position."
Alois's uncle laughed as he said this.
Seeing that ambitious smile, Alois realized that there was no point in saying anything to him.
There was no going back now.
"The Imperial Army will attack sooner or later. Until then, Alois, do nothing."
"Do nothing...? This land has been passed down by our ancestors, and there are people here whom we have protected!"
"They aren't my people."
Seeing his uncle say that so decisively, Alois hung his head powerlessly.
Resistance was impossible.
What could a child possibly do?
Even as he mocked himself for thinking that way, Alois happened to notice the sword mounted beside the lord's chair.
It was the sword his father had entrusted to him in his final moments. It was still too large for Alois, and he had never drawn it even once.
Even so, the sight filled Alois with resolve.
Then Alois drew the sword.
"What are you doing?"
"I am Count Simmel, the lord of this land... I have a duty to protect its people!"
"What are you talking about when you're in open rebellion against the Emperor? Your duty vanished the moment you did that!"
"Even so... I have the pride passed down to me! Don't think everything will go exactly as you wish!"
Holding the large sword as best he could, Alois stared down his uncle.
The resolve in the boy's eyes intimidated his uncle, who ordered the guards,
"Tch... Seize him!"
But the guards did not respond.
Finding this suspicious, his uncle turned around.
The guards were asleep where they stood.
As he wondered how that could possibly be, drowsiness overcame his uncle as well, and his eyelids grew heavy.
"Is this... magic...?"
"Precisely. You should sleep for a while. I have business with the young lord over there."
With that, Alois's uncle crouched down and fell asleep on the spot.
Then only one man remained standing before Alois.
"Who are you...?"
"I am Silver, an SS-rank adventurer. If you have the will to do something about this situation, I will lend you a hand."
"Silver!? Why is the Guardian of the Imperial Capital here...?"
"As an adventurer, I don't want a pointless war to stir up monsters and worsen public safety. Some people may say that means more work for them, but more work also means more casualties. When all is said and done, peace is best."
As he spoke, Silver slowly approached Alois.
Then Silver's appearance changed in an instant.
He became a mysterious figure wearing a gray robe pulled over his head. The face beneath the hood was hidden, and he looked suspicious in every way.
"That said, Silver the adventurer cannot openly involve himself in an internal matter of the Empire. I will have to conceal my identity, but if you are willing to accept that, I will serve as your vassal until we get through this situation."
"...Are you serious? Why would someone as great as you go that far?"
"The emperor's envoy is currently heading to Duke Kruger. The plan is to ambush the duke and end this matter with minimal casualties. One reason the Imperial Army wants to start a war is to prevent that operation. Some people want to stop them, while others want to protect the operation."
"So you were hired by someone who wants to protect it...?"
"You could say that. So? Will you accept my help, or not?"
Faced with that simple choice, Alois hesitated for a moment.
But he quickly made up his mind.
"I would be grateful for your assistance."
"Very well. Then let us hold a strategy meeting. I am... a wandering military strategist. Introduce me that way. As for my name... Why don't you call me \"Grau\"?"
"Grau? That's rather literal."
"A name is better kept simple."
And so, Silver became Grau and entered Alois's service as his vassal.