episode_0034

“Frankia’s army?”

Sasha couldn’t help but be surprised when she heard the testimony of the resident of Valtigrask. This place was quite far from the border with Frankia, and it was not an easy route to come here, not only by land but also through the sea. If the navy of the Republic had properly carried out its assigned mission, the entire Gogang family would have been killed in this village.

However, the Frankian army, composed of mages, approached the port, slaughtered all the pursuit units, and safely rescued the Gogang family and escaped. Sasha was bewildered by this news.

“It’s getting more complicated than I thought.”

“What will you do?”

“Nothing has changed. Handle it as planned.”

She sent a subordinate to inquire about the future plans and sat on her horse lost in thought. After returning from the Delphine River to the Republic and trying her best to prevent the invasion that started in the Black Forest, half of the Imperial Guard Division is still fighting on the front line. When she went to Moscobi to report on the situation in the Kingdom of Frankia and the invasion of the Republic’s territory, the situation at the court was serious.

It had been barely a month since she left Moscobi. When she left, Ivan, the Grand Duke, was not particularly competent but was a diligent man. However, during her absence, he seemed to have completely changed.

In the end, things took a turn at the celebration welcoming back the return of the Imperial Guard Division. Ilya Gongja, the son of Grand Duke Ivan and his heir, made an unreasonable demand to Sasha, which led to an incident where she struck him with her whip. Although it was hushed up on the spot, this incident led to the nobles who supported Ivan’s younger brother approaching Sasha, resulting in a coup d’état.

Ivan’s younger brother was not a particularly good ruler, and Sasha knew that Ivan’s situation was also due to the treacherous nobles. However, as Sasha realized that her name had already been added to the list of those who had been reprimanded because of the incident at the celebration, she had no other choice. Once you mount a tiger, there’s no getting off until the end.

When an official letter arrived, stripping the Guard Corps of its command, a coup finally took place. The Guard Corps, which was essentially his private army, naturally followed Sasha’s orders, and the Ice Palace in Moscow was occupied without any significant resistance. However, they failed to capture the Grand Duke’s family, who escaped through a secret passage, and sent a pursuit force. That’s the whole story of the incident up to this point.

“…I don’t know if this is for the good of the country.”

The sycophants who had blinded the eyes of the cruel nobles and rulers during Ivan’s reign were all gone. At least around Moscow, the nobles were. If it had been this much, the eastern nobles wouldn’t make a fuss. They would also have to be wary of Sasha, who had become more powerful than before under the new ruler.

Sasha, looking out at the Northern Sea where Ivan had left, turned her head. She couldn’t afford to have any regrets about what had already slipped from her hands. Once the center was more organized, she would have to deal with the monsters that continued to emerge from the Black Forest.

Looking at her Guard Corps, which had almost returned to its original steel color from black, Sasha thought once again about Marianne. She was the one who had to catch Marianne before the magic power contained in the blade disappeared.

#

Even though the mission was successful, the atmosphere at the Royal Magic Division was not good. This was especially true for B and C Platoons, which had been close since their time in the Delphine Legion, when they were direct subordinates of the Magic Battalion.

“Did Marianne drink alone? I drank too. How could you fall asleep during the operation?”

“….”

“The first pursuit force following the Grand Duke was luckily just a regular cavalry unit, but what if it had been the Guard Corps?”

“I’m sorry. I was just so tired…”

“That’s enough! I don’t want to hear your excuses. We lost A Platoon today. Yesterday, there was a casualty in the newly arrived platoon. We’re doing something that could get us killed at any moment.”

Having said that, Claire took a deep breath. Glancing over, it wasn’t the angry face she had seen when she woke up. How much time had passed, softening it?

“Marianne. You can be proud of surviving battles with monsters. You have the right to carry the nickname ‘The Maiden of Delpine’ without feeling embarrassed. But that doesn’t mean you should let your guard down.”

“….”

“I’m saying this because I’m worried something might go wrong during the battle. Don’t just stand there like a limp noodle.”

I wondered if Claire had ever spoken to me so seriously before. Was she worried? Claire doesn’t know my secret. The secret that I don’t die even if I’m killed. In fact, because of this ability, I never really felt relaxed. Even when I was caught by Saint Marguerite or Sasha, I truly thought my life was in danger. But now, entering Granbier alone and facing the enemy fearlessly on the deck during naval battles, I felt somewhat relaxed.

“I’ll be more careful from now on, Lieutenant.”

“Alright, hmmm. Go in.”

Even though Galleon was a relatively large ship, there was no personal space. At best, there was only the captain’s cabin. And now, even that was occupied by the Grand Admiral, so it was as good as non-existent.

Naturally, the place where I received Claire’s worried nagging was also an open area. It was the front part of the ship where fewer people came and attracted less attention.

Claire seemed to be about to do something, but then she patted my shoulder and told me to go in. Was there a lot of dust on my shoulder? I shook my head and slowly walked onto the deck. The sailors on the deck were staring at me as if it was amazing to see an army officer scolded so severely. It wasn’t really such a big deal, to be honest.

I met Emma’s eyes as I leaned against the mast. Had she been watching me from the beginning? I heard the sound of the authority of a platoon leader crumbling. Were the sailors drawn to Emma’s carefree military fashion?

“Platoon Leader! What’s your relationship with the Lieutenant?”

“What?”

“No~, did you see the way Grand Admiral Claire looked at the Platoon Leader?”

Gaze? I couldn’t care less about my boots when I’m in trouble. Even though it’s a culture to look straight into someone’s eyes, it was too much for me.

“How was the gaze? Don’t exaggerate. I heard everything.”

At first glance, it was just a worried face. In reality, I was so angry that I might have only managed my expression when I saw it.

“It was just dripping with honey. Hmm. I thought the lieutenant was quiet, but she’s more mischievous than she looks.”

“Mischievous?”

“How did you manage to charm the young lady of the Montuar family? I saw it again.”

“…It’s not like that, don’t misunderstand, Sergeant Emma.”

I’ve been with Clerang since her first appointment, so we’ve spent a long time together. After the Battle of Saint Marg, when we met again after a short separation, I was so happy to see her that it seemed excessive. Somehow, there were times when the thought of protecting Clera occupied my mind. But I didn’t have any special relationship with her. There was an embarrassing incident during the magic inspection, but that was an accident.

“If the lieutenant says so, then that’s probably it. Yes, sir.”

She’s being sarcastic to the end. Surely, her authority as a lieutenant has been completely destroyed. Watching Emma leave, I turned and struck once behind her back. No matter what, I probably shouldn’t really hit her. With my feeble fist without magic, it might just be a massage.

Unconsciously, I turned to look at the rear part mentioned by Emma. Clera, who was avoiding me and pretending to be lost in thought, was visible. She’s avoiding me. If she really had other thoughts about me, she wouldn’t avoid my gaze. Well, what I see may be different from what Emma sees.

Raising my head, I saw Captain Jorju personally commanding the helm. He was already a nobleman who rarely entered the captain’s cabin, and now with the presence of the senior officers, he probably didn’t want to go in even more. I raised my hat and asked in an exaggerated manner. Since drinking heavily the night before, my sense of distance had decreased significantly.

“Captain of La Francia! Can this ship go all the way to Saint Marg?”

Marianne, lieutenant. What’s that supposed to mean, not fitting in? If you want an answer, I can’t go.

As expected, do we need to make repairs in the middle?

Haha. If you’re on board, you should experience emergency repairs like this at least once. It’s good to get good lumber near the Black Forest, so let’s do it around there.

With a warm smile, he spoke cheerfully, making even emergency repairs feel like nothing much. In reality, it was a serious matter that needed urgent attention. But near the Black Forest? There are cursed chests not only in Saint Marguerite but also in the Black Forest. Feeling uneasy, I asked again.

“You do know that there are cursed chests in the Black Forest as well, right?”

“We have our reliable Royal Madodeu. What’s the worry?”

Seeing my expression crumple, Captain Jorjoo hurriedly continued.

“Don’t worry, don’t worry. Do you really think we’d be cutting wood for ship repairs? We’ll anchor and use pre-prepared repair materials. We’ll only do enough to hold out until we can properly enter a dock and make repairs, so it should be fine.”

Ah, is that so? I really thought they were going to cut down deciduous trees in the Black Forest and replace parts. Still, the fact remained that the Madodeu had to guard during repairs. I nodded with a wry smile. This was the captain of this ship. Isn’t it a soldier’s job to question things?

After the conversation with Captain Jorjoo ended, I looked back again. Cler. Why do you keep staring at me? I wanted to go ask her directly, but I didn’t have the nerve after the recent heated discussion. Leaning against the railing – the waves didn’t hit today – I just glanced at her. If I keep doing this, she’ll probably speak first.

I must have been doing that for about 30 minutes. Cler stopped stealing glances at me and dashed into the cabin. Did I make her uncomfortable by staring at her? I scratched my cheek. From a distance, Emma shook her head while sticking out her tongue. Thinking again, it’s clear that I’m not being treated as a platoon leader.