The Girl Raised by the Death God Holds the Sword of Darkness in Her Arms - Volume 4 - Chapter 4.2

II

Leticia Castle in the Kingdom of Fernest

Around a month had gone by since the battle between the Winged Crusaders and the Stonian Army. The newly formed Eighth Legion was about to begin a war council.

“Okay, everyone, the war council’s starting. Time to sit down.” There wasn’t a hint of tension in the voice of Major General Olivia Valedstorm, fresh from her special five-rank promotion, as she called for the room to be seated.

The History of Fernest recorded her as both the youngest general in the history of the kingdom, and also the youngest to be made commander of a legion.

When she sat down at the head of the long table, the others newly appointed as commanding officers in the Eighth Legion sat down smartly to her right and left.

The following eight individuals were present at the council: Legion Commander Major General Olivia Valedstorm; her aide, Lieutenant Colonel Claudia Jung; Major Ashton Senefelder, tactician; Second Lieutenant Gauss Osmeyer; Warrant Officer Gile Marrion; Warrant Officer Ellis Crawford; Second Lieutenant Evanson Crawford; and Captain Luke Crawford.

The Eighth Legion was made up of thirty-five thousand soldiers, making it at present second only to the First Legion in the Royal Army. It was clear just how much hope Cornelius placed on Olivia.

“The Eighth Legion’s first mission,” Claudia began, “is the invasion of the empire.” She didn’t sound excited about it. It was a fine thing that they had liberated the south and north of the kingdom from the clutches of the imperial army, but they had sustained terrible losses in doing so. Claudia appreciated that they wouldn’t get an advantage simply by holding the line, but the reality was that the Royal Army had far less latitude than the imperials. They had a decent number of soldiers, but looking past the numbers revealed that far too many of them were fresh recruits. For that very reason, if their invasion were to fail, it would only be a matter of time before they faced a harsh counterattack. At worst, this plan carried the potential to bring about the downfall of Fernest.

Everyone in the room seemed to understand that. With only a few exceptions, their expressions were troubled. When Claudia announced that their final target was the imperial capital of Olsted, one of them, a large man with one eye, was unable to contain himself.

“No, no. No way,” burst out Second Lieutenant Gauss Osmeyer. “Come on, that’s too much. I don’t need to say it at this stage, but you know what, I’ll say it anyway. None but the famed Azure Knights are stationed in Olsted. We might not know just how strong they are, but I doubt they’re called the most elite in the empire for nothing. On top of that, we might’ve beaten them once, but the Crimson Knights and the Helios Knights are still alive and kicking, so we can count on them coming to resist our invasion too. Are they really telling the Eighth Legion to take all of them on? They might as well tell us to go straight to hell,” he finished with a bitter smile.

Ellis, who had served as Olivia’s body double against the Helios Knights, let out a sarcastic laugh. “Must be miserable when the only big thing about you is your body,” she sneered. “A real man would say, ‘Leave it to me.’ And did you forget who’s leading the Eighth Legion? My big sister, the most exalted beauty of beauties, Olivia. O-LI-VI-A! None of the empire’s knights come anywhere close to her—she wouldn’t break a sweat even if her opponent were the Goddess Strecia!”

Ellis, her hair now back to its natural brown, was pretty. Thus she gave, when she behaved herself, the impression of a shy maiden of good birth. Gentlemen could hardly fail to take notice of such a girl, but every man who approached her found himself so mercilessly lacerated by her sharp tongue that he ended crawling away on his hands and knees.

“The Goddess Strecia?” Gauss exclaimed back at her, but Ellis didn’t pay him any attention. She was gazing, besotted, at Olivia. Beside Olivia sat another man, nodding along to her every word. This was the former hunter, Gile.

He had been with Olivia on her very first mission and now commanded a great many soldiers, among whom he enjoyed a stellar reputation. He was also an unexpectedly sharp thinker and brave to boot, with a cheerful disposition that brightened any room. All in all, he was a capable soldier. Unfortunately, he also had a tendency to idolize Olivia to an excessive degree.

“I couldn’t agree more with Ellis,” he said now. “There’s no obstacle Captain Olivia can’t break through—she’s our valkyrie, after all. The strongest in Duvedirica. You could even call her an angel come down to the mortal plane. Against this I shall hear no argument.”

Ellis gave him a voluptuous look after this impassioned speech.

“Hmm, Gile, was it?” she said with interest. “There must be more to you than meets the eye for you to understand my big sister so well. I like you.”

“You’re more than I expected too, Ellis,” Gile replied, and the pair grinned at each other before exchanging a handshake. Ellis’s older brother Luke watched them despairingly, while her younger brother Evanson had his head in his hands.

Well, that’s an annoying pair to see hit it off, Claudia thought with a sigh. This is off to a bad start. She observed Gauss heave a similar sigh. Perhaps he was more of a worrier than his face suggested.

And what was Olivia, the person at the center of all this, doing?

“Soo, is it ready yet? How about now?” She rocked back and forth in her chair like a pendulum, her eyes sparkling as they fixed on a wheeled cart.

“I think it’s about time, yes. Today we have a Leygrantz tea.”

“I know that one. It’s a black tea from Mekia, right?”

“Very impressive, my lady,” replied Marietty Contenue with a demure expression. She was the steward, presiding over the behind-the-scenes workings at Leticia Castle. She was seventy years old, but thanks to her impeccably straight posture, she looked younger even than Claudia’s grandmother, Patra Jung, who was only sixty. Her white hair was tidily arranged and there wasn’t a single wrinkle in her long gown of deep blue, from which her fastidious character was readily apparent. Anyone who saw the steely glint in her eyes, visible even behind her silver-rimmed spectacles, would understand why even Otto, the Man in the Iron Mask himself, held her in high esteem.

Marietty picked up the pale blue porcelain teapot with perfect elegance and from it poured a liquid the color of persimmons into the neat row of teacups. They steamed delicately and a pleasant aroma filled the meeting chamber. Olivia let out a gasp of anticipation.

“Leygrantz tea leaves take on depth and complexity of flavor the longer they are steeped. I recommend adding milk with your second cup for a little extra something,” Marietty said, placing a silver milk jug down beside the teacups while Olivia stared, captivated.

Based on this, Claudia guessed not only had Olivia not heard what Gile and Ellis had said, she hadn’t heard a word at all from the start. She stared at Olivia with more than a little exasperation until Luke cleared his throat a few times and said, “Lieutenant Colonel Claudia. As soldiers, we have no objection to fighting in and of itself. But do you think you could give us something a little more concrete? For my part, I find Second Lieutenant Gauss’s concerns to be eminently reasonable.”

Claudia nodded. “You’ll forgive me, my explanation was lacking. I’ll go through the details now, so I hope you’ll all listen closely.” The interruption from Ellis and Gile had thrown the discussion off track. The Royal Army, which up until now had taken a purely defensive position, was to invade imperial territory—the imperial capital of Olsted itself. The Eighth Legion would not be alone, of course. The First, Second, and Seventh Legions would join them for a force of one hundred and twenty thousand to mount a great counteroffensive. Including the logistical forces, who made up the army’s lifeline, they would be mobilizing around eighty percent of their entire force.

In the first stage of the plan, the First and Seventh Legions would advance on Kier Fortress. The empire would, of course, do anything to defend the fortress and so meet them with a force centered around the Helios Knights. The Royal Army, however, would have no intention of taking Kier Fortress. Their only aim would be to make a show of the battle—in other words, it would be a diversion on a massive scale. While the attention of the imperial army was focused on Kier Fortress, the plan would move to its second stage with the Second and Eighth Legions—the real stars of the show—marching on Fort Astora. The Second Legion’s primary objective would be to lead away the enemies who blocked their path so that the Eighth Legion might make it to Olsted while sustaining as few losses as possible.

Then came the final stage. The Eighth Legion would face off against the Azure Knights, who defended the imperial capital. If they could break through to secure Listelein Castle, the seat of the emperor, their mission would be complete. It had been decided that the Sixth Legion, which would not be participating in the counteroffensive, would instead remain behind to defend the royal capital.

It sounded simple enough in words, but it wasn’t hard to imagine the plethora of potential difficulties that lay in store for them. As the officers listened to Claudia’s outline of this unparalleled strategy, their mouths set in hard lines.

“We will also be carrying out this plan in cooperation with the Holy Land of Mekia,” Claudia said at last. At this, a stir went through the room. In fact, the tea that Olivia was now sipping with a dreamy look in her eyes had originally been sent by Mekia as a symbol of friendship. Until now, many nations had turned against Fernest, but not one had stood as their ally. Of course, in Claudia’s opinion, there was nothing surprising in that.

At the end of the warlord period, the then king of Fernest, Raphael sem Galmond, had sought to dominate the whole of the continent just as the empire did now, and so dispatched his armies to all the different lands in a great display of force that served as the backdrop to an invasion. Half a century later, the ravages of that period of history were still starkly visible, and when the Asvelt Empire had made its declaration of unification and invaded Fernest, some nations had even volunteered their support.

For that reason, Claudia understood the others’ reactions.

“The Holy Land of Mekia? The homeland of the Holy Illuminatus Church? Are you sure?” asked Evanson, looking thoroughly disbelieving. Claudia replied with a small nod.

“Did Fernest petition them for aid?”

“No, apparently it was the Mekians who proposed the coalition. I’m afraid I wasn’t privy to the details of how it came to be...”

At Claudia’s frank disclosure, complicated expressions clouded the faces of not only Evanson, but all the others at the table too. As he had expressed, Mekia was generally seen less as a nation than as the holy land and the home of the Artemiana Cathedral. Its location far to the west also contributed to the paucity of information. Claudia herself only knew that Mekian-made ore and ornaments sold for toweringly high prices, and she expected the same went for the others present.

As she thought this, Claudia was struck by a hateful recollection of flaxen hair and handsome features. She remembered the man who had lied about his name and his rank to successfully sneak into the victory banquet to get close to Olivia. When Olivia had told her later that he was from the Holy Land of Mekia, she had simply felt surprised. But now that they had made official overtures, she perceived that his actions had been one part of a reconnaissance operation.

Oh, I hate this, Claudia thought, downing her tea in a single gulp.

“Given that we’re stretched thin with both soldiers and resources compared to the imperial army, I don’t begrudge the Holy Land of Mekia’s support, I just... I only...” As Luke trailed off mumbling, Ellis picked up where he left off.

“I think what my brother’s trying to say,” she said with a glance his way, “is that we don’t see how the army of some tiny nation can be of much help. Trying to integrate another army’s forces could cause our coordination to break down. My brother’s unbearably serious, so it’s just like him,” she added with a sarcastic smile. Luke opened and closed his mouth like he wanted to make some retort, but in the end he nodded grudgingly.

Ellis’s point was correct in its generalities but, as Claudia now expressed, in this case such concern was groundless.

Luke immediately demanded, “What do you mean by groundless?”

“That’s what I’m about to tell you. But first, if you could all look over the report you are about to receive.” At a look from Claudia, an underling standing at the ready quickly began to pass out the papers in question. Claudia confirmed that everyone had received a copy, then, holding her own in one hand, said, “Approximately one month ago, our neighbor, the Principality of Stonia, invaded the Holy Land of Mekia.”

“Stonia? The Empire’s vassal state invaded Mekia?” Gauss said, stroking his chin as he read the report. “That smells mighty fishy.”

“I agree,” Claudia said. “Even simply considering the distance, there’s no way those two countries had anything to do with each other. I think it’s safe to assume that the empire was at work behind the scenes, though I can’t say what they hoped to achieve.”

“Yeah, I’d say there’s no doubt of that.”

“But that isn’t the problem.”

“Meaning what, exactly?” Ellis asked quickly before Gauss could open his mouth.

“The problem,” Claudia replied, “is the Winged Crusaders—that’s what the Mekians call their army. They fought off the Stonian Army with a force scarcely half that of the invaders, and it only took them half a day.”

What this meant, in short, was that the Holy Land of Mekia, though small, had a superbly powerful army. The room fell into stunned silence as Claudia stated this, everyone preoccupied by their own thoughts.

It was easy enough to say, but actually defeating an enemy force twice as great as one’s own was anything but easy. To do so in half a day was terrifying, Claudia thought. Anyone familiar with battle would feel the same way.

“Well, that’s very reassuring, but Mekia wouldn’t offer their strength to us unless they were getting something out of it. What can you tell us about that?” When Ashton, who had thus far stayed silent, asked his question, all eyes turned to look at him. Ashton, whom Paul had praised in private as a peerless tactical mind, was making a name for himself within the Royal Army after so many plans of his devising had contributed to their victories.

Claudia regarded him. It wasn’t uncommon these days to catch sight of female soldiers giving him burning looks, and some even made explicit advances. Claudia drove them off, knowing that many men were turned soft by romantic liaisons.

Whether or not Ashton could be spoken of as soft, only the gods knew, but he was already twenty years old. When it came to men of his age, one couldn’t be too careful.

But the man himself seems well and truly confounded by the situation, Claudia thought.

Feeling Ashton’s eyes boring into hers, she cleared her throat before answering.

“I’m sure they’ll have made some demand, of course. But it can’t have been anything too excessive, seeing as we are to form a united front. Does not knowing what it was bother you?”

“I suppose...” Ashton replied slowly. “I’d be lying if I said it didn’t. Why did they choose now to ally themselves with Fernest? What do you think, Olivia?”

Olivia, who had been just as quiet as Ashton—or rather, absorbed in drinking her tea—put down her teacup and said matter-of-factly, “Of course they’ll have some other motive. Reaching out now is just a little unnatural.”

“So you think so too, then?”

“Yeah. Whatever they asked for could easily be a cover itself.”

“The demand itself a cover...” Ashton repeated, narrowing his eyes as he stared into the distance. “You’re right. That’s very plausible.”

“Yeah, because they don’t want us to pick up on their true objective. It’s a common tactical play,” Olivia said breezily as she leaned her whole chair backwards. At such an extreme angle, the chair ought to have gone toppling over, but she kept it perfectly balanced. It was a trick that required no small amount of core strength to pull off.

“Any ideas as to what this true objective might be?” Ashton asked.

Everyone looked at Olivia. She scratched her cheek, looking a little sheepish, and replied, “Beats me, I’m afraid.”

“Here I was convinced that for you, some animal instinct would’ve given you the answer.”

“That’s not very nice,” Olivia commented, then added with a conclusive air, “Still, whatever happens, we ought to keep an eye on them.” Ashton nodded without another word.

Here, Marietty spoke. “My lady, I can’t say whether this is related to the matter at hand, but there is to be a great dinner party at Leticia Castle soon. They—”

“And?” Olivia said, butting in right in the middle with her head tilted at a perplexed angle. “They literally just threw that victory banquet. It’s not like it’s unusual.”

“Please, allow me to finish. They say that King Alfonse has invited the ruler of Mekia as a guest of honor.”

“Hmm,” Olivia said disinterestedly, tapping her finger on the rim of her teacup. She didn’t seem to think this information was worth her attention.

“They say the ruler...” Marietty paused. “She dearly wishes for the general here to attend.”

“Olivia?” Ashton exclaimed at once, his face darkening. Ellis, meanwhile, leapt from her chair with an ecstatic expression the exact opposite of Ashton’s.

“Olivia’s reputation has spread as far as this tiny country in the west? That’s so amazing! Don’t you think, Gile?”

“But of course,” Gile replied. “It’s only a matter of time before everyone on the continent knows the name of our Captain Olivia.”

Shaking her head at Ellis and Gile’s silliness, Claudia mulled over Ashton and Olivia’s exchange.

If we assume the general’s hunch is correct, I wouldn’t be surprised if this Mekian ruler wishing her to attend the dinner party means what they’re really after is the general herself. In fact, it makes perfect sense when you think about what Johann was up to... A golden glint appeared in Claudia’s eyes. Looks like I’ll have to keep a very close eye on the general.

The rest of the council went on without incident, as each of them applied themselves to remembering their respective duties. When Claudia brought things to a close, they all departed with determination in their eyes.