Hyakuren no Haou to Seiyaku no Valkyria - Volume 17 - Chapter 5

ACT 5

“Phew. Let’s call it a day here, yeah?”

Yuuto glanced up at the faintly visible moon that seemed to shimmer in the dusky sky like a distant mirage and stopped his horse. He wasn’t a good enough rider to continue riding in the darkness. Yuuto had been on horseback from dawn to dusk, and both he and his mount were at the limit of their endurance.

“Damn, my crotch hurts...” The moment he stepped off his horse, Yuuto furrowed his brow in pain. While he had oiled the saddle as a precaution against chafing, the length of the ride meant that even that wasn’t enough to prevent some damage to his thighs. It had been a necessary hardship to bear, however.

Yuuto had left the main body of the Steel Clan Army under Hveðrungr’s command and had ridden ahead with Felicia, Kristina, the Sword Clan’s Maidens of the Waves, and other elites of the army, making his way as quickly as possible toward the Holy Capital of Glaðsheimr.

The Flame Clan had started its grand advance. Yuuto had decided it would be better for the supreme commander of the Steel Clan’s forces to return as quickly as possible to Glaðsheimr. Compared to the importance of the task before him, a little chafing was a small price to pay.

“Oh crap... I can’t stay on my feet.” While it hadn’t quite hit him while he was still on horseback, the moment he felt the tension break, fatigue washed over him and Yuuto sprawled out in place. Many believed that horseback riding wasn’t particularly tiring, under the impression that it was the horse that was doing all of the work, but that wasn’t the case at all. Because horses were living animals, their backs were constantly in motion. That was particularly true when they were galloping. Staying atop a moving beast all day without losing one’s balance was quite labor-intensive.

“Hehe, but you’ve gotten much better at it.” Felicia sat down gently next to Yuuto as she said so and placed Yuuto’s head on her thighs. It was a smooth, practiced movement without a hint of hesitation.

“Of course, it’s a mixed blessing for me.” Felicia’s golden hair spilled from over her shoulder as she looked down at Yuuto with a teasing smile. She was probably referring to the vacation they had taken two years ago to the hot springs at Surtsey Volcano. At the time, Yuuto had been unable to ride a horse on his own and had no choice but to ride with Felicia on hers.

“It was lovely to take a journey in your embrace, Big Brother,” Felicia said, letting out a happy chuckle as she recalled the distant memory. She looked extremely happy and amused. Yuuto felt his cheeks flush. It wasn’t a bad feeling, though, as he could feel her love for him in her gaze.

“In that case... Let’s take a ride together once things have settled down,” Yuuto closed his eyes and said as nonchalantly as possible. He was a little too embarrassed to say it while maintaining direct eye contact with her. Still, the words had a great effect on Felicia.

“Oh my! You just promised! You can’t take it back now! Heh, I’m looking forward to it,” Felicia leaned forward and said in an excited tone. It seemed she really wanted to go riding.

“Sure, sure. Man, that sure brings back memories though. It’s already been two years since then, hasn’t it? When things have settled down, it’d be nice to go with everyone to the hot springs and...” Yuuto realized his mistake after the words had left his lips. He hesitantly opened his eyes and looked up at Felicia’s expression and saw that she had puffed out her cheeks in a pout.

“Oh, for the love of the gods! You really don’t understand women, Big Brother!”

“Ow ow ow! Sorry, my bad!”

Felicia pinched his cheek, and Yuuto immediately apologized profusely. Yuuto had realized Felicia had meant going on a trip alone, and he had stepped on a land mine by talking about going on a trip with everyone. That was a clear misread of the mood on his part.

“Heh, just kidding. I’m not actually angry.”

Felicia placed her hand over her mouth and laughed off Yuuto’s offense. She then gently brushed her fingers through Yuuto’s hair.

“But yes, you’re right. It would be nice to go there with everyone again.”

She then gazed up wistfully at the starlit sky. Even a simple thing like a vacation seemed as far away as the stars above. There was a pile of things that needed to be dealt with before they could consider doing something so frivolous. Even the future itself was uncertain at this moment in time.

“Once everything’s taken care of, let’s go again with everyone that went last time.”

Even with everything going on, Yuuto couldn’t stop himself from making that promise.

“So we’ve somehow managed to win.”

Despite his words, Kuuga’s expression was sour. It was true that in the recent assault, the Flame Clan Army had taken most of Fort Gashina. They had also captured quite a few members of the enemy garrison. Looking solely at the results of the battle, it was a victory, but he couldn’t really celebrate. Kuuga sighed and looked up at the sky. The summer sky was cloudless and clear—in sharp contrast to the gloom that lingered in Kuuga’s heart.

“Yeesh. With this many losses, I doubt the Great Lord will forgive me,” he scratched at his head and said with a heavy sigh.

The Flame Clan Army had paid a steep price to conquer Fort Gashina. By the current counts, at least a thousand of his soldiers had died. As for the injured, there were at least three times that number. The casualties were so heavy that it was completely possible that his forces could have collapsed entirely. If he had fought along with Shiba as per his orders, he might have avoided the current situation he found himself in. The results weren’t nearly good enough to justify him disobeying his orders.

“They’ve really done a number on me.” Kuuga glared angrily at the Hliðskjálf at the center of the fort. The remaining members of the fort’s Steel Clan garrison were currently holed up in the Hliðskjálf. This particular structure was much smaller than the ones that often towered over the various cities across the continent, but it would still be a tough nut to crack. After all, the only way to attack it was through the stairs at the front. Taking down the last defenders in the Hliðskjálf, while perhaps easier than breaching the fortress walls, would be quite the task. After some thought, Kuuga turned to address his assembled commanders.

“How are the troops?”

He did not need to wait for their reply; their faces told him everything he needed to know.

“Honestly, they’re not doing well. I have many wounded, and the rest are exhausted from fighting through the night.”

“Same for us. They’re all completely worn out. They’re in no state to fight.”

“Likewise. They’re depleted both in terms of body and spirit. They’re no use as soldiers at the moment.”

His commanders all shook their heads ruefully. It reminded Kuuga of just how close he had come to losing this battle. If he hadn’t thought to use the explosives at the end, it would have been the Flame Clan Army that had collapsed. He had won the battle by the skin of his teeth.

“I see. We’ll hold off on assaulting the Hliðskjálf until the day after tomorrow. Allow the soldiers to rest in shifts until then,” Kuuga said with a resigned sigh, issuing the orders almost like an afterthought. In truth, he would have wanted to attack the Hliðskjálf right then and there, but since his forces didn’t have the strength left to do so, he had no choice but to wait. Since they had gotten through the fortress walls and conquered most of the fort, there was no need to hurry. It would be best to rest his soldiers for the next battle. He couldn’t afford to take any further losses.

“Hrmph. Guess I can give them time to say goodbye to this world.” Kuuga spat out the words and leaned his head against his hand when a messenger approached. “Lord Kuuga! There’s someone who wishes to have an audience with you!”

“Oh? A prisoner?!”

Upon hearing the messenger’s report, Kuuga leaned forward with interest. It wasn’t unusual for someone to sell out their side to save their own hide. Kuuga, who was at his wit’s end, was desperately looking for something to solve his problems.

“Sadly, no. The messenger claims to be a priest by the name of Alexis.”

“What?”

Upon hearing the unexpected name, Kuuga furrowed his brow in suspicion. He had heard the name before. Alexis had served as the previous þjóðann’s representative, working to tie together the clans of the Álfheimr and Vanaheimr regions with Chalice oaths. Using the information Kuuga had collected on his own, he had learned that Alexis was someone who had close ties to the late Hárbarth, patriarch of the Spear Clan and the Empire’s former high priest. Kuuga’s lips curled into a grin.

“Heh, interesting. Very well, let him pass. I’d very much like to hear what a man in his current position has to offer me.”

“The enemy has gathered their forces around the entrance but haven’t shown any sign of attacking. I think we can assume they’ve chosen to rest up for the time being.”

“Well, it was one intense fight after another. No doubt they, too, are a bit tired after that.”

Rasmus chuckled in response to Garve’s report, but there was no life behind that laughter. Given the circumstances, that was, perhaps, not all too surprising.

“Garve, we’ve got, what, a thousand or so troops left here in the Hliðskjálf?”

“Yes, that’s about it.”

“So we’ve lost about half of our men.”

Rasmus’s expression was clouded with pain. It was his fault. His lack of ability had cost his soldiers their lives. While he was well aware that winning and losing battles was a part of war and that it was nearly impossible to win every single battle, he couldn’t help but feel responsible for those losses.

“You lot, thank you for sticking with me to this point,” Rasmus said with a deflated expression. Almost all of those currently assembled in the hörgr of the Hliðskjálf were Rasmus’s direct children. They were all idiots who had refused the opportunity to swear a direct Chalice with Linnea and instead had chosen to remain at his side.

“We probably won’t be able to hold off the next attack.”

Neither Garve nor the other children disputed his conclusion. They all knew this. The Hliðskjálf wasn’t designed as a particularly defensible location, after all. Its only advantages were the fact that it had a single entrance and that it was located on high ground. They also knew that with the sheer gulf in numbers, they wouldn’t be able to hold out against the enemy for much longer.

“While I intend to fulfill the duty the princess has given me to protect this fortress to the very end, you don’t have to follow me in that. All of you, go surrender. There’s no need to throw away your lives for nothing. Tell the same to the troops outside.”

“Very well. I’ll tell them, Father.”

“Yes, I’m sorry to leave that task to you. I’ve grown old, it seems. I can’t stand up right now,” Rasmus said with a dry, self-deprecating laugh. Even if he was an Einherjar, Rasmus was an elderly man of well over fifty years of age. He had commanded the troops defending the walls through the entire day, then defended the fortress throughout the night against the Flame Clan assault, and also fought as they’d retreated into the Hliðskjálf. It would have been stranger if Rasmus hadn’t been worn out by all that activity.

“So, I suppose it’s time for me to sleep. Goodbye. I was proud to be your Chalice father. We’ll see each other again in Val...halla...” Rasmus dozed off before he could finish, his body being well past its limit. He let go of his consciousness and drifted off into the darkness.

...

......

“Mm...mrrph?” Rasmus slowly opened his eyes to the sound of amused conversation. His hazy mind still thought it was daytime, but a glance outside told him the sun had set while he slept. The short nap had turned into full-fledged sleep. That wasn’t the issue, however.

“What are you lot doing here?”

His children were still in the hörgr, drinking wine as they chatted. When they noticed that Rasmus had awoken, they smiled triumphantly and almost impishly in response to his confusion. Garve, as their representative, spoke up with a sheepish grin. “What are we doing? Well, obviously, we’re waiting to fight at your side, Father.”

“Whaaat?! I told you not to do that!”

“Oh c’mon, Father! What a sad thing to say. The whole point of the Chalice is to swear an oath to a man you’re happy to give your life for, right? We wouldn’t be able to live with ourselves if we just left our sworn father here alone.” Garve’s lips quirked into a wider grin, and the other children spoke up in agreement.

“Tch!”

Rasmus felt his eyes sting at the sudden flood of emotions and quickly covered his face. He tried desperately to stop the tears from flowing, but it seemed he had been too late.

“Why are you crying, Father?”

“Because he’s moved by the fact he’s got such loyal sons, of course!”

“Yep, yep. Got a good story to take with me to Valhalla.”

“Pretty rare to see Father cry.”

“Sh-Shut up, you damned insensitive brats! You’re wasting all of my efforts!” Rasmus shouted at his children as they teasingly quipped at his tears. However, there was a tremor in his voice and his shout had none of the usual force or authority behind it. It did nothing to silence his children. If anything, it only made them smirk in satisfaction.

“Ah, dammit! This is total madness. I’m done. If you’re going to insist, then you’re all coming with me to Valhalla!” Rasmus shouted with exasperation. Of course, that exasperation was an act. His lips had already twisted up into a faint smile.

“Heh, you should’ve asked us to do that from the start.”

“We’ve got Father’s permission! Huzzah!”

“We can fight in peace now!”

The children let out cries of happiness and encouraged one another. They all had the expressions of men who had steeled themselves for whatever would come next. Rasmus sincerely felt that they were far better children than he deserved, but there was no need to voice that now.

“Right then, you lot! Let’s show those Flame Clan bastards how the men of the Horn Clan fight!”

“Hell yeah!”

Upon hearing Rasmus’s call, the children held up their fists and cheered. Unfortunately, despite their determination, the Hliðskjálf fell to the Flame Clan a mere two days later thanks to the schemes of a new advisor who had joined Kuuga’s ranks...

“Yo, Brother. Seems you’ve had a difficult time here.”

“Hrmph, of course that’s how you’d greet me.”

Kuuga glared at Shiba, making his dislike evident. It had been two days since the conquest of Fort Gashina. While Kuuga had been occupied with the post-conquest work of treating the wounded, burying the dead, and reorganizing his forces, his blood brother, the man he detested more than anyone in the world, had appeared. Of course he would be in a bad mood.

“I imagine you’re going to say it would’ve gone smoother if I’d waited for you, mm?”

“No, I wasn’t trying to say anything of the sort. Don’t read too much into it.” Shiba shrugged his shoulders with a dry chuckle.

Every little thing Shiba did just added to Kuuga’s irritation. Shiba had clear certainty in his own ability, a sort of smugness from being one of the strong. It was something that Kuuga wanted more than anything in the world, but could never attain for himself.

“The Steel Clan’s a completely different beast compared to any of the enemies we’ve fought to date. They got one over on me too. I understand why even you’d struggle, Brother.”

“Hrmph. So you want to say that because they’re an enemy that’s even beaten you, there’s no way someone like me could fight them without struggling, is that it?”

“Come on, please stop reading malice where there isn’t any. That’s not my intention.”

Shiba’s smile twitched ever so slightly at Kuuga’s remark. Kuuga himself understood that his accusations had no merit. But this wasn’t about reason. It was about the fact that he just couldn’t stand the man standing in front of him.

“If anything, I’m impressed. I only caught a glimpse of it, but that thing’s one of the giant catapults the Steel Clan used at Blíkjanda-Böl, right? Being able to recreate it without even seeing the real thing is pretty damned impressive.”

“It’s not my accomplishment. It’s all thanks to the efforts of the engineers in Bilskírnir.”

“Now hold on. You’re the one who told them to make it, right, Brother? That’s your insight, not theirs.”

“Hrmph. If I had anything resembling good insight, I wouldn’t be in the place I’m in now!” Kuuga spat out bitterly, his face flushed with anger. While Shiba was his younger brother by blood, in terms of the Chalice, Shiba outranked him. Kuuga was being disrespectful, but he didn’t care. “I don’t need your consolation. I ignored the Great Lord’s orders and took huge losses to take down a single fortress. I’m sure my demotion’s already assured.”

“S-Surely it’s not a certainty just yet. The Great Lord knows that the Steel Clan’s a powerful foe.”

“Hrmph, then all the more reason. I can already see him yelling at me for not waiting for you to arrive,” Kuuga said and snorted derisively.

He understood that rationally speaking, if he had waited for Shiba, things wouldn’t have turned out as badly as they had. At the very least, if he’d had the strength of Shiba’s Second Division when assaulting the fortress, then their losses would have been far less severe. Kuuga’s empty pride—his vanity, his envy—had created the losses they’d suffered. There was nothing more to it. Nobunaga would certainly judge him harshly.

“Well, that might be true, but the war’s not over yet. You’ve still got plenty of opportunities to get good enough results to turn it around if you put some effort into it.”

“Effort, eh? You make it sound so easy.” Kuuga couldn’t help but click his tongue in annoyance. True, his talented brother might be able to easily turn things around if he put a little effort into it, but Kuuga had no confidence that he could do it. He had made a complete mess of taking down a single fortress. No doubt the strategic centers like Gimlé and Fólkvangr were going to be even more heavily defended. It didn’t even bear mentioning that his talented brother was going to be next to him when he attacked those cities, so how exactly was he supposed to show results that would be enough to erase his mistakes while also trying to find some way of overshadowing his brother’s accomplishments? That sounded next to impossible.

“Seems like I can’t do anything but annoy you, Brother.”

“If you know that, then hurry up and get out of my sight.”

“Fine then, I’m going,” Shiba said with a dry laugh and turned around as though in surrender. His laugh that suggested a sort of exasperation with Kuuga’s attitude did nothing but further anger Kuuga.

“He’s always looking down on me...!” Kuuga spat both figuratively and literally at Shiba’s back as he disappeared into the distance. He understood that Shiba wasn’t trying to look down on him. Kuuga knew better than anyone. He also understood that Shiba didn’t regard him as any sort of threat, either to his position or to his rank. That was why Kuuga found him so irritating. The hatred, the loathing... It was enough to rekindle the flames of ambition in Kuuga’s heart that had threatened to fizzle out after the battle.

“Just you watch, Shiba...! I won’t let my journey end at a place like this. I can’t let it end here. I’m going to make you bow down in front of me someday! I swear it!”

“I see... So Fort Gashina’s fallen...” Linnea, dealing with the work of governing the Steel Clan in Gimlé, said with a heavy sigh as she heard the report, before falling back into her chair and leaning heavily against it. She showed no sign of panic, and it was clear from her demeanor that she had already expected and prepared herself for this particular outcome. Still, it looked like the news came as a shock to her. She stared up at the ceiling for a long moment. After about thirty seconds of gazing up listlessly, she turned her attention back to the subordinate in front of her.

“Sorry about that. So, what actually happened to the garrison at Fort Gashina?”

“My lady, they all fought hard but were overwhelmed by the enemy’s sheer numbers in the end, and nearly half of them were slain in battle as a result. Additionally, many of our men were taken prisoner.”

Her subordinate, Grer, furrowed his brow and struggled to continue his report. He was one of the Brísingamen, the four great Einherjar of the Horn Clan, and Fort Gashina had originally been under his command. No doubt he knew many of the soldiers who had fought and died there. It was easy enough to imagine what he was feeling.

“I see...” Linnea looked down with a pained expression.

Death was a constant companion in war, and as a ruler, she knew she needed to be able to accept any losses, but she couldn’t help but feel a pang in her heart over the news she’d just received.

“We’ll set up negotiations for a prisoner exchange later.”

Even during war, prisoner exchanges were a common occurrence. Clans would either exchange prisoners for other prisoners, or at times, prisoners for silver. Prisoners of war were loyal soldiers who had fought hard for their clan. Many of them had families waiting for them at home. Certainly, a good amount of it was dependent on the opponent’s demands, but she wanted to do whatever she could to free them.

“A-And what of Rasmus...?” Linnea tried to maintain a facade of calm, but she had clearly failed in the effort. Even she could hear the tremor in her voice.

“A-As for Lord Rasmus...” Grer trailed off, but quickly steeled himself into continuing, aware that the news was important.

“From the soldiers who somehow made it out of the fortress, even after the Flame Clan forces had breached the walls, Lord Rasmus had retreated to the Hliðskjálf and made preparations to fight to the end.”

“...I see.” Linnea had struggled to even say those words. Grer’s report meant there was basically no chance that Rasmus had been able to escape the fortress and retreat. There was a possibility he had been taken prisoner, but it was more likely that he had been killed in battle.

“D-Dang it. I thought I’d prepared myself for this when I sent him out...”

Linnea’s teeth began to chatter as her body trembled. She was afraid. She was so frightened she could barely manage to speak. While in terms of their Chalice oaths, Rasmus was Linnea’s little brother, he had effectively been her caretaker and was someone who had been at her side since she was but a baby. She now had to consider the thought that she might never see him again, that she’d never see his face or hear his voice ever again. The anxiety and fear threatened to tear her heart out of her chest.

“Princess, I understand your feelings, but...”

“I-I know... I know!” Linnea gritted her teeth, stopping the tears that threatened to flood out along with her heartbreak, and eked out a strong tone of voice. She was the patriarch of the Horn Clan and the Second of the Steel Clan. She carried the burden of hundreds of thousands of lives upon her slender shoulders. She could lose herself in her grief some other time. Right now, she had something more important to do.

“Rasmus has fulfilled his duty. He’s put the finishing touches on the process. He did it as perfectly as anyone could have asked of him. Now it’s up to me to carry things on from here,” Linnea gripped her hands into fists and swore to herself. She did so with the belief that this would be the best way to repay all that she owed to a man who had been like a second father to her.