Wortenia Senki (LN) - Volume 26 - Chapter Pr

Prologue

Thick clouds covered the sky, blocking out the sun, making it the perfect example of an overcast day.

Although it was approaching midday, the land was dark. The occasional flash of lightning cut through the sky in the distance, followed by a roar of thunder that reverberated across the land—truly ominous weather.

A young woman looked out her window toward the east. Her room was located within the royal castle in the Xaroodian capital of Peripheria.

Her name was Lione.

Once a mercenary, she now served the Mikoshiba Grand Duchy as a knight. For someone who made her living from battle, she wasn’t especially large in stature, standing just over 170 centimeters. She would be considered bigger in build than most other women from Earth, but from a warrior’s point of view, she was on the smaller side.

However, within her lay a terrifying talent.

She had the agility of a feline and had a well-proportioned, muscular body fitting for someone with ample combat experience—her body exemplified functionality. Anyone on a battlefield would be able to take one glance at her and understand just how much power lurked inside her. In addition, Lione’s refined features, combined with her flaming red hair, caught the eye of many.

Her chest wasn’t particularly voluptuous; while some might see this as unfortunate, few would deny her beauty. Everyone had their own taste, but there was a universal standard for beauty. All that appeared on Lione’s beautiful, strong face today was doubt and grief.

Man... I don’t like the look of that sky. It’s makin’ me feel uneasy, thought Lione as she ran her hands through her fiery hair. This was a peculiar state of mind for the Crimson Lioness, an experienced mercenary who also played a major role in the Mikoshiba Grand Duchy.

Lione was usually bright, easygoing, and had a mature older sister aura about her, but she was also a calm, calculating commanding officer.

She was frequently criticized for not being very womanly and was often the target of jealous whispers, but she was a veteran mercenary commander. She was once even asked to serve as an officer due to her outstanding leadership abilities.

It was a rare occurrence for the experienced mercenary, Lione, to show such emotion—even if there was no one around her.

That said, Lione’s clouded expression wasn’t without good reason. If most people had heard the report she’d received from the Igasaki clan, they probably would have lost heart and fallen into a daze.

Did Lione’s reaction to the report stem from her realizing just how imposing the O’ltormea Empire was, or did it come from the betrayal of her faint expectations of the Kingdom of Xarooda?

Lione felt emptiness and fragility pass through her mind. Given the situation, I was somewhat prepared for this. I didn’t expect a country renowned for its military prowess to be like this.

The Kingdom of Xarooda controlled one of the westernmost territories in the eastern part of the continent. They had managed to develop a nation in the basin formed by several dangerous mountain ranges.

Xarooda has also acted as the last bastion against the conquerors from O’ltormea, who have their eyes on dominating the whole western continent.

Everyone living in the eastern part of the western continent was aware of this reality. It was also common knowledge that the knights and soldiers of the Kingdom of Xarooda’s army were powerful. However, Lione now knew of a crack in their seemingly strong defenses. This differed greatly from what she had heard from Ryoma Mikoshiba before they left for this expedition.

Well, we are at war. There’s bound to be matters we don’t expect... I guess...

No matter how well one prepared, even if one could predict various outcomes, reality often found a way to surpass expectations. In a way, to remain composed was a good quality for a commander to have because they would have the ability to prepare for any unexpected developments.

Regardless, everything had its limits.

It’s a historically significant nation, and yet...

The Kingdom of Xarooda had an extremely long history in comparison to the other nations in the continent.

Out of the twenty or more countries that made up the western continent, it had been around the third-longest. In a continent plagued by war, which had frequently caused the rise and fall of nations, Xarooda had managed to stand for close to five hundred years—a rare achievement.

Apart from the Kingdom of Helnesgoula in the northern part of the continent, which had a history spanning over a thousand years, the only other kingdom that could compare to Xarooda was the Kingdom of Rhoadseria to the east.

However, having equally long histories didn’t mean their armies were equally strong.

Even so, countries with long histories have certain advantages that put them above the rest.

This also meant there were also a similar amount of downsides. Lione couldn’t help but question if the Kingdom of Xarooda possessed military prowess proportional to its long history. After all, the Holy Qwiltantia Empire, one of the three strongest nations vying for hegemony over the continent, had emerged only after the Church of Meneos was established. That was only three hundred years of history. And Lionel Eisenheit, the current emperor, had established the O’ltormea Empire just about ten years ago.

In other words, having a long history didn’t necessarily guarantee military strength.

Not that I would ever refer to Xarooda as weak, but... Comparin’ them to those other nations is probably unfair...

Compared to the three big nations—which included the domination-hungry O’ltormea Empire—Xarooda was much smaller.

Even then, the Kingdom of Xarooda boasted a substantial territory covering a third of the eastern part of the continent. It only looked small compared to the other great powers, which occupied a larger part of the western continent. When viewed alongside the southern kingdoms, Xarooda was rather big.

As a country on Earth, it was still a relatively strong nation. The problem was that countries boasting greater national power than Xarooda resided on the very same western continent, and they were Xarooda’s enemies.

If someone were to ask me if the country’s national power matched its size, I’d find it hard to answer, even if I tried to consider the question thoughtfully.

Because the Kingdom of Xarooda was in a mountainous region, it was also filled with trees and hills. The only issue was that it lacked wide-open plains suited for agriculture, owing to its mountainous terrain. Of course, most of its land consisting of mountains wasn’t entirely bad.

Mountains can act as a shield against enemy attacks, and they have a lot of natural water sources. So it’s really not a bad thing at all...

The mountains of Xarooda hid many valuable mines. In addition to gold, silver, and copper, Xarooda was one of the only nations on the western continent with iron mines. This resource was vital for forging armaments, and thus a huge advantage for a country like the Kingdom of Xarooda.

It was difficult to overlook the fact that they not only were able to mine such metals, but they also possessed most of the iron ore on the continent. They had become incredibly skilled at forging armor using their ample supply of iron. Gathering the metals needed was practically painless, so there was no better environment for an artisan to hone their trade.

As a result, people often claimed that the Kingdom of Xarooda produced some of the highest-quality equipment on the western continent.

Knights and soldiers have long used weapons and armor from the Kingdom of Xarooda and always treated them as high-quality equipment.

Even if they were mass-produced items, they would already have fetched a higher price than equipment made in other countries. Because Xarooda’s goods were not merely ready-made but rather crafted by renowned artisans, it wasn’t unusual for their prices to soar.

To those who made a living in combat, it was safe to say equipment from Xarooda was often a subject of envy. That was made evident by the fact that whenever a shipment of goods came from the trading city Pherzaad, a large share of the items were equipment made in the Kingdom of Xarooda.

Recently, Xarooda expanded their trade routes to the northern city of Sirius.

Xarooda was desperately securing a constant flow of funds. Smithing and sales were two main industries within the nation. And the backbone of that industry was the vast amounts of natural ore deposits that lay in the mountains. The ore deposits were the lifeblood of the kingdom.

But therein lies another problem. Such treasure attracts enemies who want it for themselves...

It was the way of the world: if one country excelled at something, another would lag behind. One couldn’t gain anything without losing something else. This truth applied to people and nations. The price the Kingdom of Xarooda paid for its success with mining and metallurgy was a lack of self-sufficiency regarding food.

Since Xarooda is so mountainous, where those many metal deposits lie, it lacks empty plains suitable for farming. Previous monarchs tried and failed to change that.

Politicians fully aware of their limited agricultural power would not simply disregard that weakness. In fact, past monarchs in Xarooda had taken great pains to improve the nation’s agriculture. But the level of technology available to those on Earth had its limits. Even with their best efforts, Xarooda could barely keep its citizens from starving. Or more accurately, they were one bad harvest away from a famine.

It was a horrifying reality.

This situation made the neighboring Kingdom of Rhoadseria—with its ample amounts of irrigated agricultural fields—look like a tempting place to live. Centuries ago, Rhoadseria and Xarooda had frequently clashed swords due to the former Xaroodian rulers coveting Rhoadseria’s land. It was a prime country for food production.

However, living in such demanding conditions isn’t always a bad thing.

Due to living in such a mountainous region, the people of Xarooda were built rather sturdy. Moreover, they held a strong sense of loyalty and duty toward their nation—a great boon indeed.

And so, the history and climate of this country nurtured a warlike spirit among its people.

The Kingdom of Xarooda had been able to protect its borders due to the sturdy and incredibly patriotic people who lived there. This was a fine example of how advantages and disadvantages could change someone’s outlook or the situation. But Xarooda’s geopolitical position had changed dramatically once the O’ltormea Empire established itself in the central part of the western continent and made known its desire to dominate.

Meanwhile, the Kingdom of Rhoadseria to the east relied on Xarooda as an important defense to avoid an invasion from O’ltormea.

A new era had recently dawned for the three eastern kingdoms, as Ryoma Mikoshiba orchestrated the establishment of a four-country alliance headed by the Kingdom of Helnesgoula. But a new, foreboding cloud had settled over Xarooda.

An incredibly lethal one, at that...

Lione let out a deep sigh. After all, the Kingdom of Xarooda would lose one of its few advantages in the coming war. Despite how dauntless she usually was, keeping her composure in such a situation was challenging. An ordinary commander would find themselves in a state of despair, their mind going blank. Lione’s instinct to first analyze the situation and her tenacity to face reality were what made her a cut above the rest as a commander.

I know I said that the people of this country were loyal, but that isn’t necessarily the case for the nobles.

There was a difference between the commoners—who had no involvement or responsibility in politics—and the nobles, who did.

A cold smile appeared on Lione’s beautiful face.

Was she ridiculing the wavering nobles?

Or was she grieving the idiocy of humans?

We’re in a bit of a bind... Judging from O’ltormea’s movements, they are hell-bent on destroying Xarooda. But Xarooda is in a state of confusion and has yet to unite against the invaders... Everyone has their own ideas on what to do. We need someone who can coordinate all that and decide on a direction for the nation.

The royal family, bureaucrats, nobles, and common folk were all involved in the war effort. It was a rather dangerous situation because all the groups that made up Xarooda had yet to unite and face the national crisis before their eyes. The discord among the nobles was terrible; their arguments often went in circles as they bickered over what to do at the royal court. Some intended to fight until the very end, but others shouted about negotiating for their survival. Those who prioritized the safety of the citizenry suggested the unconditional surrender of Xarooda to the O’ltormea Empire.

That said, it’s a little difficult to just dismiss the nobles’ methods as a mere attempt at self-preservation.

The nobles were patriotic; the same could be said for the seemingly cowardly ones who proposed an unconditional surrender for the good of the people. Of course, those who advocated this could have been influenced by the O’ltormea Empire. Considering the situation in Xarooda, surrender wasn’t an unrealistic choice to consider.

Still, one should consider that there was a sense of self-preservation and greed that also factored into that decision. No matter how much a noble loved their country, it didn’t mean that they would prioritize the prosperity and longevity of the Kingdom of Xarooda. They couldn’t always quietly go along with what the country as a whole needed because they were focused on protecting their own individual territories. An even greater problem was that the nobles lacked the power to act decisively.

The barriers of social status on Earth were absolute, although that did not determine all recklessness. A certain Rhoadserian monarch came to Lione’s mind.

If the barriers of social status were absolute, then a certain queen wouldn’t have struggled so much with the Kingdom of Rhoadseria’s politics.

Many nations adhered to rules of social standing a lot more closely, with the monarch holding most of the power, but there were some exceptions. Even if the gods instructed someone to act, it was ultimately that person’s responsibility to act on those instructions. Aside from the institutional issues, the nobles had an even bigger problem: the poison known as paranoia.

The nobles doubted that Xarooda could win against the mighty O’ltormea Empire. As a result of them not having any confidence in victory, they could not give solid commands to their subordinates.

It’s understandable when their monarch—the pillar of the kingdom—is unable to command the army himself, thought Lione, considering how Julianus I being unable to command was a deadly problem. He could use his position as ruler to forcefully send people to the battlefield, but that’s one step above being a powerless figurehead.

People needed a strong desire to fight and kill their enemies. If the soldiers didn’t have that, they would do nothing but get in the way. Sending one soldier to the battlefield meant paying for their equipment. Until that soldier died or the war was over, they would need to be supplied with provisions every day, and those weren’t cheap.

All one can expect from an untrained soldier is that they’ll hightail it out of there once they get a whiff of the battlefield.

Worse still, soldiers who saw deserters flee would also lose their spirit for battle.

There aren’t many people who will stand and fight while others around them are retreating.

There were exceptions, of course. Just like in the songs of bards, some soldiers fought to the bitter end with zero regard for their own well-being. Lione had seen it with her own eyes—warriors fighting until the very end. They died noble deaths striving to protect their leaders, comrades, and homes. They all fought fiercely with no regard for themselves.

However, that was only true in specific situations. Since exceptions existed, it wouldn’t become the topic of bards’ songs. At the very least, it’s reckless putting together a plan based on the assumption that the soldiers will be ready to battle.

In most situations, it was common for soldiers swept up by those around them to attempt to escape the battlefield. When the enemy saw the fleeing soldiers, they would be quick to press their advantage.

In fact, it’s actually rather uncommon for soldiers to die fighting on the battlefield.

Enemies could attack from anywhere, and stray arrows were also a threat. Countless hazards could lead to death on the battlefield, but soldiers were accustomed to those hazards and usually aware of their surroundings. They could ready their weapons to fight, fend off the enemy, and protect themselves with shields and armor. Breaking through such defenses head-on required an overwhelming difference in battle strength. Thus, there were fewer casualties in situations where the fighting was constant and soldiers could grow into veterans.

If one were to ask when the most casualties occur, that would be when soldiers broke ranks, turned their backs on the foe, and tried to flee the battlefield.

Almost all soldiers turn their backs to the foe when fleeing.

Humans who felt they were in danger would naturally try to distance themselves from it, choosing to run in the opposite direction.

That was human nature, after all.

However, it wasn’t the best means of escape. When running away, the person could no longer see the danger, leaving them defenseless.

That just increases the morale of the enemy while decreasing it for others on the deserters’ side, thought Lione.

Nothing was more encouraging than being able to wipe out one’s enemies. Nor was there nothing more demoralizing than seeing your allies being eliminated.

And once your morale takes a hit like that, there’s no bringing it back. At least not for me.

It was a domino effect. When that happened, the unit would lose all cohesion and could not recover—it was hopeless. That wasn’t due to a failing of Lione, though. Not even the famed Helena Steiner could change the outcome of such a disaster.

All that was left was to be hunted down by the enemy.

It’s like giving food to a starved wolf.

Given the dismal prospects, no ruler could dare to conscript more soldiers, not with the threat of the great country of O’ltormea ever approaching. If they were to conscript people, the commoners wouldn’t remain silent for long.

Worst-case scenario, they might riot.

Even when considering how patriotic the people of Xarooda were, there was a small chance that they might riot if conscripted. Although no one could say that would definitely be the case, the nobles understood there was still that possibility. Thus, they found it difficult to impose their will onto others. At the very least, the nobles would have to provide some benefits to convince their civilians and vassals of the merits of military service.

Patriotism... Well, it is definitely one of the ways to inspire people to act. But we can’t keep dreamin’ for ideal outcomes.

Naturally, wanting to protect the country one was born and raised in was always a noble purpose worth putting your life on the line for. Many people were prepared to give their lives marching onto battlefields for that very cause. But it was undeniable that there were often other reasons to fight.

For example, one reason could be peer pressure, and another that one’s remaining family members had something to gain from one’s service. Based on Lione’s many years working in the mercenary business, few people gave their lives for their countries based on simple, honest patriotism, even if that was the perception they wanted to cultivate.

As expected, the loss of Arios Belares, hailed as their guardian deity in a previous war, resulted in weaker control over their army. This, along with their king’s illness, has proved quite fateful.

That didn’t mean Xarooda had no generals capable of leading troops.

Grahart Henschel, the Captain of the Royal Guard, and Orson Greed, the Captain of the Xaroodian Monarch’s Guard, were among the kingdom’s finest knights and capable commanders who could lead an army. Moreover, some nobles were skilled in military strategy.

While there might have been generals to lead the troops, there was no one to coordinate the generals, which was a major issue.

Comparing young Joshua to his father, who was known as the guardian deity, is hard, but he lacks the weight of character Arios Belares had.

Joshua Belares had become known as the Hawk, but had yet to surpass his father Arios. Despite his great ability, he had a staggering lack of experience and real results. At least, that was how everyone viewed Joshua.

To be honest, this situation is more than I can handle.

However, Lione simply couldn’t abandon the situation. If she were to do so, the O’ltormea Empire would annex the Kingdom of Xarooda. The empire would then face their swords toward the Kingdom of Rhoadseria, and there was no doubt that their main target would be the Mikoshiba Grand Duchy, which controlled the Wortenia Peninsula.

The boy has some kind of tie to the O’ltormea Empire... I guess it’d be too difficult to try and strike a deal now, though.

Even if Ryoma Mikoshiba were to suggest peace or submission, the chances of the O’ltormea Empire accepting were close to none. Ryoma Mikoshiba had killed the empire’s main court thaumaturgist, Gaius Valkland, and on top of that, he was also the main obstacle from obstructing their invasion of Xarooda. From Ryoma’s point of view, he was simply protecting himself from his kidnappers.

Although Ryoma had slain Gaius, he felt no regret. Choosing to put himself in danger to protect his kidnappers was illogical; Ryoma felt as if he had simply stomped on a worthless insect.

But the O’ltormea Empire viewed it differently. From their point of view, Ryoma had mercilessly murdered one of their country’s most important figures, making him their sworn enemy, and then he had continued to meddle with O’ltormea’s schemes at every opportunity, posing as an obstacle that needed to be removed.

The two parties had vastly different viewpoints. It was hard to imagine either their perspectives on the situation changing or them reaching any sort of agreement. After all, both sides viewed themselves as being in the right.

Considering the relationship between the two... Even if the O’ltormea Empire opted for peace with the boy, it’d probably just be a way to buy more time.

Or maybe O’ltormea would just pretend to make peace while hoping to catch Ryoma off guard?

It was obvious that once they had the opportunity, they would either assassinate Ryoma or invade the Mikoshiba Grand Duchy. As long as that was a possibility, peace or negotiation would never be an option. Of course, this only applied to the man named Ryoma Mikoshiba. Lione and Boltz had more options to choose from.

But Lione wouldn’t choose another option.

Dammit. I can’t do anything since it’s the boy’s orders, but I sure got the short end of the stick. All because I got a damn soft spot for him.

She let out another deep sigh to mask her hidden feelings of glee. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

“Who’s that? It’s open! You can see yourself in!” Her voice had a sharp tone, either hiding her embarrassment or the result of her irritation regarding the situation.

However, Lione’s visitor seemed unfazed.

“Oops... Is this a bad time?” A giant man stood at the door. Lione could sense the aura of war around him, the mark of a brave man who had witnessed many battlefields. The man had a rather intellectual look and kind features on his face, which starkly contrasted with his burly build.

Lione awkwardly scratched her head and said, “Oh, just as I was wonderin’ who it was. Sorry ’bout that, Signus.”

But the man calmly shook his head in response to Lione’s apology. He smiled and replied, “Please, no need to worry about that. I’m sure you’re rather exhausted, Lady Lione. Should I come back later?”

Signus Galveria and his partner Robert Bertrand were known as the Twin Blades of the Mikoshiba Grand Duchy. Both were considered key figures in the duchy’s military. Signus was also vice captain of the reinforcements sent to the Kingdom of Xarooda, serving as Lione’s assistant.

Based on his position as the head of the Galveria family, it was more accurate to describe their working relationship as two colleagues rather than boss and assistant.

“Ah, it’s all right. I just finished reading the report from the Igasaki clan. So, what can I do for you?”

“I see. In that case...” said Signus as he handed the documents he was holding to Lione.

Lione took them and hastily looked over them before nodding deeply. She felt a sense of relief, and her smile was a stark contrast to her gloomy expression earlier. The documents Signus handed to Lione contained what could be described as a glimmer of hope in this hopeless situation.

“I’d expect nothing less from Robert... Not only did he hold the front line against O’ltormea’s great army, but he also managed to push them back,” said Lione, to which Signus nodded deeply.

“Well, Robert is incredibly skilled at landing strong attacks even when outnumbered,” added Signus, his voice filled with a deep understanding of Robert Bertrand.

“Not to mention, Xarooda’s general skillfully assisted Robert... I guess you could say this sort of outcome was expected,” said Lione, knowing Robert Bertrand was among the strongest warriors in the entire Kingdom of Rhoadseria.

Some even went so far as to compare his abilities to those of Helena Steiner. It seemed the general from Xarooda had done well to support such an exemplary warrior.

“Captain Greed, huh... I wouldn’t expect anything less from him. He is the captain of the Xaroodian Monarch’s Guard, after all,” remarked Lione.

“Orson Greed is highly regarded within the Kingdom of Xarooda, more or less on the same level as Grahart Henschel. Not only that, he’s also currently fighting in a defensive battle within his own territory. He knows more about the terrain and its tactical potential than the O’ltormea Empire, so it makes total sense that with good leadership, they turned the odds in their favor.”

“Taking advantage of the location.”

“You could say that’s all they can do,” said Signus, shrugging.

Ultimately, it would have been unreasonable to expect any more in this situation. Xarooda simply lacked the time and internal unity necessary to mount a more vigorous defense.

“Well, it’s better than nothin’. All we’ve got is problem after problem over here.” Lione handed the report from the Igasaki clan over to Signus.

He hurriedly scanned it, sighed deeply, and commented, “I see... Xarooda’s situation is worse than I thought. The king falling ill has had a greater effect than we imagined.”

“Everyone’s fightin’ to stay alive.”

“It is the duty of a noble to ensure the continuation of their family. Even so, it’s more or less thanks to Joshua’s skill that the front line is still standing, right?”

Lione snorted and responded, “I’d personally like for him to put in more work.” She had spent a lot of time working on managing everything as the commander of the expeditionary forces. So she wasn’t joking when she said she wanted the Xaroodians to do more.

No matter how strong their alliance with the other countries was, the Kingdom of Xarooda’s defensive forces had to take the initiative and spend their own blood, sweat, and tears to protect their civilians.

At issue was the question of who exactly would take command of the situation. It would be out of line for Lione and the others, who were there to help as reinforcements, to take the lead of the country’s defense.

Well, I know they’ve got a lot going on. Even so, Joshua’s response to the situation was a li’l sloppy.

Currently, Joshua Belares was the sole person within Xarooda tasked with protecting it, for better or worse. Other than Joshua, who was regarded as the successor to Xarooda’s guardian deity, no one else in the kingdom had the strength of will to persevere in the face of this difficult struggle.

Lione was confident Joshua, the rising star, would act decisively. Leading a country was challenging, and Julianus’s illness had suddenly thrust Joshua into the role. It went without saying that Joshua Belares, who was just past thirty, lacked experience. No matter how talented he was, experience was always more important. Expecting the young man to perform his role perfectly was unfair, considering that he had no time to prepare.

His ability to establish and sustain a defensive front line despite everything going against him was impressive. At the very least, it was enough for a passing grade. However, that wasn’t enough. Lione didn’t care for mere displays of effort or pitiful whining; she wanted results. If possible, she wanted to see Joshua turn the impossible situation around.

However, Signus shook his head in response to Lione.

“Lord Joshua is blessed with incredible martial talent. Still, conducting negotiations and navigating conflicts of interest is a little beyond him. I think he’s doing well, considering it’s not the sort of work he’s used to. I can understand why you have your complaints, but it’s rare to find someone good at both military and political affairs.”

“You sayin’ I’m askin’ for too much?” asked Lione, pouting and frowning. While she understood what Signus meant, she was far from agreeing with him.

Signus smirked and said, “Yes. To be quite honest, I think you are... That said, we work for a man who is just that gifted. With him as your standard it makes sense that you would judge Lord Joshua harshly.”

Lione seemed shocked, not expecting Signus to make such an observation. But she knew deep down that he was correct.

She took some time to organize the maelstrom of feelings within her and sighed deeply as she nodded. “The boy’s set an incredible precedent, and I’ve expected the same of Joshua. Yeah, I get it... That could very well be the case.”

“Our master is an outlier. Thanks to our master’s talents, serving him is shockingly easy... Not only is he exceptionally talented, he is also fantastic at reading situations and making informed decisions,” said Signus, flashing a confident smile.

Was it a smile born from the delight of serving a master who fully utilized Signus’s abilities? A sword was only as good as the person holding it. Even if an elite soldier wielded the sword, a hint of doubt in their mind would prevent the sword from reaching its full potential. The soldier chose the sword, but the sword also chose the soldier.

With that in mind, the man known as Ryoma Mikoshiba had the utmost trust of the Twin Blades, Signus and Robert. He was a genius skilled in politics and military affairs and had the mental fortitude to match those abilities.

Calling him a beast who had surpassed average human intelligence would have been perfectly accurate.

Lione smiled wryly as she shrugged her shoulders. “I’ll be honest, I get a li’l creeped out when talkin’ to that boy. Just how far ahead has he planned, you know?”

“True... That man does not know doubt. It’s almost like he always sees how everything will play out. His abilities are almost superhuman, but even so, I highly doubt he can actually see the future.” While Signus slightly exaggerated his compliments, he believed in them.

Lione knew that as well.

“You’re right. That boy’s either a messenger from a god or a pawn of the devil himself,” noted Lione, laughing as if she’d just heard a perfectly timed joke. Even though she was laughing on the outside, her words conveyed something else.

Ryoma did indeed possess extraordinary abilities, and it was true that they both felt his abilities were beyond human understanding. That much they couldn’t deny. But Lione also knew that what they talked about was mere fantasy. Then again, she couldn’t deny that Ryoma was a man of action—he excelled in his decision-making. His ability to always know what to do could be credited to his personality and ability.

At the very least, his ability to respond to each situation is just pure talent.

However, Lione felt like “talent” wasn’t enough to explain everything about Ryoma Mikoshiba. After all, he was hardly the only person blessed with talent. He had traits surpassing those passed down from his parents. Simply put, he had an insight that let him predict the outcome of a situation based on past examples of similar situations.

After all, two plus two equals four.

It was an extremely rudimentary math problem, and no Japanese person who had completed compulsory education would struggle to come up with the answer. One would understand the concept of math problems. Past proof of the correctness of the solution to a problem left little room for doubt in the present day. Though, people who devoted their lives to advanced mathematics might have questioned such assumptions.

That same logic could account for Ryoma Mikoshiba’s unerring certainty. Of course, it was one thing to always be sure and another to always have the right answer. At a minimum, Ryoma had read many books on strategy and learned a lot about Japanese history in his life in modern Japan. Furthermore, he had been exposed to the happenings of the wider world via the internet, TV, and newspapers.

He had absorbed an enormous amount of information.

While the quality and the accuracy of specific information could be called into question, the sheer amount of information available to Ryoma meant that Earth’s kings and prime ministers couldn’t hold a candle to him. Nonetheless, he was still an amateur in the arts of war and statecraft.

He wouldn’t be able to give a professional answer on most topics, but he had enough knowledge to know what direction to take. The people of Earth saw Ryoma’s knowledge and talent as otherworldly, as if he had exceeded what was normal for a human.

Putting aside how Ryoma Mikoshiba might evaluate himself, it made sense why Lione and Signus held him in such high regard.

He really is good at predicting what’ll happen... I wouldn’t call them premonitions, but they’re scarily close to it. It wouldn’t be so bad if it happened just once or twice, but it gets you thinkin’ when he’s doin’ it all the time... Even if Signus was half joking, I don’t think he was too far off.

Regardless of how well he seized the opportunities presented to him as a mercenary, it was impressive that he managed to acquire territory equivalent to a small country and make it a virtually independent nation with his skills and strategies. It was a brilliant accomplishment; he was the only one to achieve such a feat in the history of the western continent.

Many would consider it absurd to compare such a unique, almost otherworldly figure to Joshua, who although regarded as a hero of the Kingdom of Xarooda, was still confined to the ranks of ordinary humans.

“And we have to live up to such expectations of such a formidable man,” said Lione, sighing deeply again. She turned her gaze toward the window, as if imagining her master at war far to the east.