Ch.41Deployment

“Tsk. I wanted to go with them.”

I said this while gazing at the tail end of the procession that had yet to pass through the city gates.

The end of the line kept getting shorter, and before long, even the last of the procession would exit through the west gate, disappearing from my sight.

“Please don’t say that. What if demons were to invade…”

“That’s why I’m working here with you now, isn’t it?”

A lord doesn’t necessarily die when leaving the range of the Core, but a Core without its controller will soon cease to function. When that happens, demons and monsters that had been unaware of the towns and villages protected by the Core would suddenly rush in and flatten Amurtat in an instant.

For this reason, lords basically had to stay within the range of their Core, and messengers had to handle diplomacy and goodwill between lords.

“I hope we can make Francesca a fragment of the Core soon. I’d like to visit the Western Forest at least once.”

I’ve decided that once I obtain a Core fragment, I’ll extend the Core’s range to include the Western Forest.

The reason for securing the Western Forest first is that while the north and south are difficult to access due to geographical issues, the Western Forest, despite being a forest, has roads that could allow large military forces to enter. If we establish villages surrounded by palisades at suitable locations in the Western Forest, we’ll have a perfect early warning system.

“Isn’t it too hasty to plan this when victory isn’t even guaranteed yet?”

Just as I was dreaming of a rosy future, my aide spoke while refilling a dried-up ink bottle.

“Are you suggesting our army might lose?”

“No… that’s not what I meant…”

The aide quickly found an escape route.

“We have 30,000 troops. That’s 10% of Elisia’s entire population. They can’t withstand that.”

“If it becomes a prolonged war, we’ll have to accept considerable losses too. Even with financial resources, money alone is meaningless. It only becomes power when you can buy things with it.”

“That’s why I sent them with plenty of money. I don’t intend for this to be a long war anyway.”

My aide had one bad habit: always imagining the worst.

Of course, I don’t mind planning second and third contingencies based on worst-case scenarios, but it’s quite tiresome to rely on someone who constantly says, “Will it really be that easy? There’s no guarantee it will work out that way.”

It’s fortunate that I have decisiveness and ability. If I were a lord with only moderate conviction, I might have fallen victim to the aide’s gaslighting-like behavior, causing serious disruptions in governance.

“Stay out of matters concerning the war. War is the domain of knights, and I trust Lord Ignatz.”

“Understood.”

“…”

I don’t blame my aide. Typically, very young people in their mid to late teens are appointed as aides because they need to serve for a long time.

The fact that he is this old means that the country he once served, regardless of the process, ultimately perished.

I don’t know the details since I never asked, but from his occasional complaints, it seemed certain that he had served in more than two or three countries.

“Aide!”

“Yes, Your Majesty?”

I called out to my aide.

“Go see Michaela and get some blood.”

“…Understood.”

This is what I want to let him know.

That he no longer needs to run away. That he can work to his heart’s content until he dies.

*

It’s been over a week since we dispatched troops to Elisia.

Normally, communication would be very difficult with Elisia, which takes just over a month to reach one-way, but we must not forget that this is a fantasy world.

The time has come to use this communication orb that the Adventurers’ Guild sent as a small gift for the war, along with their gratitude for my “generous decision.”

“I’m sure they said it could be used for one hour of conversation and needed to be recharged for a week after use…”

Having let it rest for a week, it should be ready to use now.

I made sure to tell Ignatz to keep it close by, so there shouldn’t be any problem with the communication reaching him.

“…”

“Why… are you just sitting there?”

However, despite my aide’s urging, I held the communication orb without using it.

“I don’t know how to use it…”

I didn’t know how to operate it.

“What?!”

My aide looked at me in disbelief, but it’s not like he knew how to use the communication orb either.

In the end, we had to face the ridiculous situation of having to call in an employee from the Adventurers’ Guild to use the gift we received from them.

*

“I’m sure I gave you the instructions?”

“I’ve never seen them.”

The messenger from the Adventurers’ Guild gave me a sharp look.

It was a look of disbelief.

“No, really, I’ve never seen them!”

“I definitely put them in the basket.”

“Yes.”

“Didn’t you see the paper underneath the orb?”

“Oh… that? I threw it away. I thought it was just padding to prevent breakage.”

“Haaa…”

The guild messenger sighed deeply, took out a user manual from his pocket, opened it, and read it to me word by word.

“Hold the communication orb with both hands.”

At those words, I grasped the communication orb with both hands.

Its round shape made it somewhat awkward to hold, but strangely, whether because it was an artifact or had been specially treated, it didn’t feel slippery at all.

“What’s next?”

“First, you need to look directly at the orb with both eyes.”

“And then?”

“You need to recite an incantation. ‘Path of light that crosses a thousand and ten thousand miles, convey my will.’ Try saying it.”

“Path of light that crosses a thousand and ten thousand miles, convey my will.”

Fwooosh!

“Ohhh!”

“Then I’ll take my leave.”

Having confirmed that the communication orb was working, the guild messenger disappeared outside, and I held the glowing white orb, waiting to see when the communication would connect.

Click.

“Huh? What’s this? Why did it go dark?”

When the light faded, the orb darkened again, but it didn’t seem like the communication had been cut off.

The shade of black was different, and I could hear the fluttering of horses and the rattling of carriages.

[What was that just now?]

“Ignatz? Can you hear my voice?”

[Oh?! Your Majesty?!]

After Ignatz’s surprised voice, light returned to the communication orb, and I could clearly see Ignatz’s face.

He must have kept the orb in a bag or sack until just now.

“Ignatz. Can you see and hear my face and voice clearly?”

[Yes, Your Majesty. I can see you clearly.]

“Good. Report on the current situation.”

Having confirmed that the communication was working smoothly, I ordered Ignatz to report on the situation.

[Yes. We’re currently about three weeks away from Elisia. Honestly, we could get there faster if we went in a straight line, but we’re avoiding monster habitats and breeding grounds, and also…]

Clunk! Clunk!

[Ugh!… As you can hear, the road conditions aren’t very good either.]

“Well, I can tell just from hearing that.”

Was this on speaker mode…?

I confirmed that this artifact wasn’t suitable for exchanging confidential information, which was also important to know.

“Anyway, is the condition of the troops alright?”

[Yes. There are a few injured, but no casualties.]

“What about the adventurers? Are they following orders well?”

[Yes. They’re quite disciplined. They seem to be mostly older adventurers, so I think the guild put considerable effort into selecting them.]

“Hmm…”

Older individuals would indeed be easier to control.

In this world where information transfer is difficult, being older means having accumulated experience proportional to the time one has lived.

“Oh, I should tell you this. Do you know that this communication orb can only be used once a week?”

[Of course. Didn’t Your Majesty inform me of that?]

“Right. Now I’ll tell you the exact usage method, so listen carefully.”

[Yes.]

“First, hold the orb with both hands, look at it with both eyes, and recite the incantation ‘Path of light that crosses a thousand and ten thousand miles, convey my will.’ Then the orb will light up and activate.”

[Path of light that crosses a thousand and ten thousand miles, convey my will… I understand. By the way, how long does it stay active?]

“One hour, they said.”

[Ah… then since we still have some time left, I’ll tell you more about what’s happened and the consumption of supplies.]

“I’d appreciate that.”

For an hour, Ignatz and I exchanged information about supply consumption, remaining supplies, treatment of injured soldiers and elimination of causes, and the fact that they hadn’t encountered any hostile entities so far.

Honestly, it was information I didn’t necessarily need to hear, but when it comes to information, the more the better.

“The communication will end soon. Contact me again when you reach Elisia.”

[Understood, Your Majesty.]

Shortly after, the light of the communication orb faded and the communication ended. I put the orb back in its box.

Of course, I didn’t forget to place the instruction manual underneath it.