Ch.119Chapter 119. The Capital City of Einhart (1)

Einhart Castle.

It was the most prosperous territory in the northern central region, the capital of the former Empire and the current capital of Serpina’s army.

“Will I be working there?”

“Yes. It would be inconvenient if you weren’t by my side.”

“Inconvenient?”

When I asked why, she explained with the nuance that she wanted to test a few things about me for the time being.

The gist was that she wanted to see with her own eyes how much truth there was to the rumors about my ability to use magic, and whether I would be useful in actual combat despite seeming quite capable so far.

“May I ask one more thing? Will I be going there alone?”

Hearing this, Serpina raised her eyebrows and looked at me with amusement.

“You seem concerned about the women.”

Not wanting to lie and engage in a pointless battle of wills with her, I easily confirmed it.

“Yes. They are my companions.”

“You needn’t worry. When I asked Irene, she also expressed her wish to stay with you. I’m quite good at granting the wishes of my subordinates. Personally, I’d prefer you to fight on the front lines… but well, being in the capital doesn’t mean there won’t be opportunities to use your strength.”

The fact that she was good at granting her subordinates’ requests was something I’d easily learned while staying in the annex.

However, what concerned me was her comment that “being in the capital doesn’t mean there won’t be opportunities to use your strength”… I suppose I’ll find out what she means soon enough.

“Now I have a question for you.”

“Please ask.”

“What is Ginor’s daughter to you? Are you betrothed?”

“No, we are not.”

“Yet you travel together? She doesn’t seem accustomed to the battlefield, so is she truly a magician after all?”

There was no need to reveal to her that Reika was a magician.

For the sake of safely sending both Reika and Irene to the Lunarian army.

“As I said, how could there be such a thing as magic?”

“If that’s true, are you really traveling with such a young lady for no reason? A virgin at the prime age for bearing children.”

“……”

Seeing me remain silent, she smiled as if amused.

It was just a slight curl of her lips, but she was truly beautiful. In fact, since she entered this room, I had thought “she’s beautiful” more than three times to myself.

“Looking at your appearance, I thought as much, but your relationships with women seem complicated. I won’t interfere much, but you should refrain from foolish actions driven by women. Handsome men especially need to be more careful about their conduct.”

“Even if you flatter me like that, I have nothing to offer you.”

“Did that sound like flattery to you?”

She said this and shifted slightly, apparently finding it amusing.

Whenever she visited, we would exchange seemingly frivolous words like this and laugh together.

Strangely, despite not having spent a long time with her… I felt words came easily between us.

What does a long time matter anyway? Despite not having many encounters with her, there was something oddly comfortable about interacting with her.

After Serpina left the room.

I took out a map.

It was a detailed map of the northern continent that I had drawn while staying in the annex with nothing else to do.

Though it seemed quite some time had passed since my possession, I found it fascinating that I could still clearly remember the locations of castles, mountain ranges, and the courses of rivers.

Well, I suppose it’s natural after repeating this simple game for 10,000 hours.

‘Einhart Castle, huh.’

A castle built on an island surrounded by shallow rivers in the very center of the north.

Its background setting was that while it was once the most vibrant place during the Empire era, it had lost much of its former glory after being heavily damaged during the civil war between imperial family members.

I wonder how it will feel to visit it in person.

Actually, there was something else that concerned me more.

‘Is it okay to go this far north?’

Einhart Castle was located in the northern part of the continent. Though not the extreme north, it was still a considerable distance from the southern region where I had sent Lunarian off.

Until now, I had never doubted that I would be able to return to the Lunarian army.

But this time.

After being dragged to the heart of the north, would I still be able to safely return to her side?

‘Opportunity, huh.’

I recalled the words I had spoken to her when we parted.

Luna might appear fragile, but she was strong-willed inside and surprisingly stubborn.

From her perspective, fully utilizing someone like me—a complete newcomer whose abilities she couldn’t even properly assess and who just kept insisting—would be impossible without some stubbornness.

So she wouldn’t miss the decisive opportunity I had mentioned. If she were the type to miss opportunities, the prediction that she would “become the unifying monarch” wouldn’t have emerged in the first place.

So, I should be able to safely return to her side… right?

For some reason—

I felt an unease that I had never experienced while serving under other monarchs.

*

We traveled northward by carriage for several days.

Beyond Kelstein Castle, which originally belonged to the Brans army, and further up—

We finally arrived at Einhart Castle in the north.

Passing through the massive gates of the castle walls, built in a style distinctly different from the central continent.

‘Wow…’

A picturesque scene unfolded before my eyes.

Tall spires that seemed to invade the sky, standing between river streams that encircled the area like a fence.

Beautiful buildings that looked like they belonged in a storybook, spread out around those spires.

And fluttering atop the spire, Serpina’s symbol—a bright golden yellow flag…

Even the massive shield-shaped emblem of the former Empire hanging on the castle walls—everything that made up this territory proclaimed that this was indeed the capital of the continent.

“Amazing. It’s an incredibly developed place.”

“It really is… I didn’t know such a castle existed.”

“That’s not all. If one were to set up defenses here, it would be extremely difficult to breach.”

“Is that so? I don’t really understand such things… but if Irene says so, then it must be true.”

Irene and Reika were also letting out exclamations of admiration, overwhelmed by the scenery.

This place was far superior to Anel Castle, which had been the best among all the castles I had seen so far.

If this was considered “destroyed and faded from its past glory,” how magnificent must it have been originally?

The interior of the castle was as peaceful as Anel Castle.

Perhaps because it hadn’t suffered much damage after the civil war between the imperial princes, the faces of the territory’s residents showed no signs of worry.

At that moment.

The carriage carrying us came to a stop.

A soldier opened the carriage door.

“Lord Swen?”

“Yes.”

“We’ve arrived. Please come out.”

I exchanged a glance with Irene and Reika.

“Then I’ll go ahead.”

“Swen…”

Irene looked at me with lingering regret.

Yes.

We, who had been living together all this time, were finally parting ways.

According to Serpina, there was a building similar to a dormitory where new generals from distant origins stayed together.

Until vacant houses became available, we would be living communally there.

I heard that Reika was the first non-general to be allowed in that place. It was Serpina’s own form of consideration.

As we were also new generals, we would all be staying there, but naturally, it was segregated by gender—

And that’s why we had to say goodbye like this now.

“According to Serpina, they’re continuously building houses for generals to live in, so let’s just manage until then.”

“…Alright. I’ll… I’ll be waiting, okay?”

“……”

Reika observed the atmosphere flowing between Irene and me, then looked at the soldier and hastily tried to smooth over the situation.

It seems the soldier’s gaze upon us was somewhat peculiar.

“Um… I’ll contact you! So, um… see you again!”

After parting with them and getting out of the carriage.

Another soldier approached me.

Judging by the armor clearly marked with the royal family’s emblem, he seemed to be a soldier dispatched on Serpina’s orders to guide me.

“Are you Lord Swen?”

“I am.”

“Please follow me.”

The tree-lined path we walked along had an indescribably dreamlike fragrance.

What kind of flower could this be?

And so, we arrived at a four-story building not far from the royal castle.

“This is the place. Lord Swen, you will be using room 303. Your roommate will inform you about the basic living rules.”

“Roommate?”

“Yes.”

Indeed, I recall hearing about two people sharing one room.

Due to the vastness of the country and the large number of generals under command, I had heard that even this arrangement was available to only a few.

“I understand.”

“Then I’ll take my leave.”

The soldier, who had given a light salute and was turning to leave, suddenly stopped and looked at me.

“By the way.”

“?”

“Welcome to Serpina’s army.”

He said this, bowed his head slightly, and then left.

Soldiers are different from generals. They could freely change allegiances at any time, and it was a stark reality that few soldiers felt a sense of belonging as they were merely working for wages.

But here, even a single soldier exuded a sense of belonging to Serpina’s army and the pride that came with it.

Even the soldier who had intimidated me before could only have treated me, a general who was technically an envoy from an enemy country, that way because of that pride.

Could this tight organizational control be the reason for her continued success?

Just by arriving at Einhart Castle, I already felt like I had discovered several more strengths of Serpina’s army.

And yet, the destiny to become the unifying monarch belongs to Lunarian, not her?

‘Well now.’

I’d like to make a prediction, but since I hadn’t received any questions after changing my allegiance, that was also difficult.

Should I subtly have Irene ask, or should I try to catch a natural timing when Serpina might ask… With such idle thoughts, I moved towards room 303.

Arriving at the door.

After knocking a few times, a voice came from inside.

“Come in.”

‘Huh?’

The voice was… somewhat peculiar.

It sounded like a male voice, but it was somewhat… androgynous, you might say.

Well, everyone has their own unique voice, I thought as I opened the door.

And then—

I was greeted by a man who looked like some kind of male courtesan, with not just his voice but his appearance being ambiguous.

“Are you the new general?”

“I am.”

“I heard from our lord that a new recruit would be coming. We probably won’t be living together for long, but I hope we get along while we do.”

Saying this, he extended his hand to me.

I took his hand and said:

“I’m Swen.”

“Jenis Al Caskie. Nice to meet you.”