episode_0073

“That mercenary group was destroyed? When on earth?”

They said it was dawn yesterday.

The face of Maximilian Schmidt, the Governor of the Autonomous State of Likland, brightened for a moment after hearing the report. However, his happy expression did not last long.

“Did the Empire mobilize additional troops?”

“That’s… ….”

The senior officer in the blue uniform furrowed his brow as if he was a little troubled. His neatly grown gray beard, slightly curled at the ends, twitched. There seemed to be something uneasy about him.

But I didn’t think that the Imperial Army would have mobilized a large force and crossed the border. If that had been the case, Commander Lee’s face would have turned bright red the moment he entered here. The autonomous state was basically a ‘republic’, but that doesn’t mean that its aristocratic aspects had completely disappeared.

Strictly speaking, it was a country that looked like an empire with only the royal family excluded.

Of course, it was only the political form that was like that, but the territory was much smaller, and the military power was insignificant compared to the empire. If you think about the fact that the mercenary group that was supposed to be under the control of the autonomous state’s army took advantage of the chaos during the revolution to become a warlord, it is almost impossible to compare the military power with the empire.

So, while he had no choice but to ask the Empire for support, he ‘requested’ them not to send in more than a certain level of Imperial troops, out of fear of its military power. It wasn’t just Schmidt himself who thought the same thing, but the nobles within the autonomous nation as well, and the military, although they couldn’t openly oppose it because their pride was damaged, often showed their discontent on the outside.

… … In fact, even if the Imperial Army ignored the request, there was no way to stop it, but the Emperor was granting the request for now.

“There was one person.”

“… … one person?”

Schmidt thought for a moment and then said.

“Has General Winterfield returned?”

“No.”

“Then, is it possible that the daughter… … ?”

“… … I’m sorry, but that’s not it. She’s the same in that she’s a woman, but she’s much younger than General Winterfield’s daughter. There’s a story about her being a princess, but… … .”

“… … Princess? Are you saying that you sent the princess to the battlefield? That the princess was the key to victory? ”

Schmidt stared blankly at the ceiling for a moment, then looked down at the commander and spoke.

“Did the imperial army sacrifice themselves and attack the enemy to protect the princess because the princess was in the army? If so, a huge compensation would be needed.”

‘Protection’ isn’t free either. Even if the compensation for the damage isn’t explicitly paid in money, there must be a corresponding price paid. Otherwise, the guns of the Imperial Army might end up somewhere.

Right now, the border areas are full of warlords, but if the empire were to eliminate them one by one… … .

There was a reason for continuing to request that the Imperial Army not come in in numbers exceeding a certain level.

“No.”

But Schmidt’s words were denied by the commander.

“The Imperial Army is said to have suffered minimal damage. The warlord’s base was completely destroyed, including the bunker. This morning, someone from a nearby unit came. He even took some pictures, so take a look. ”

The commander gently placed the thin but elegant wooden board he was holding in his right hand on Schmidt’s desk.

“… … .”

Schmidt looked over the report, flipping through each page.

It was as the commander had said. The base that the autonomous nation’s army had been unable to penetrate had collapsed. Imperial troops were cheering from all directions, and the shabby-looking mercenaries were all kneeling on the ground, raising both hands above their heads.

In one of those many photos, there was a picture of a girl.

It wasn’t taken from close up. It was taken slightly farther away, hanging over a collapsed bunker, and it showed a short-haired girl wearing a coat that was almost the same as an Imperial Army officer’s coat, but a little different in style.

He had a blank expression and was turning his head away, so I could only see the side of his face, but he didn’t seem to be seriously injured.

“That girl is the princess.”

“… … So, what does this mean that the princess did? Even if they had sent just one princess, wouldn’t the battlefield have changed? Does this mean that she was sent in to gain experience as an officer? ”

“I don’t think so. There’s some confusion in the information, so I don’t know the exact details… … But from what I’ve heard, it seems like that girl played the biggest part in this battle.”

“… … .”

Schmidt bit his lip and looked down at the photo again.

The girl’s expression was hard, but there was no sign of any particular injury. The stains on her clothes were not clearly visible. The photo was blurry and in black and white, and the focus wasn’t quite right. So it was hard to tell exactly where she was hurt or what.

“According to the messenger sent by the Empire,”

The commander began to speak in a flat tone, as if trying to remove emotion from his voice and make it objective.

“The princess was thrown directly into the battlefield, and a few dozen minutes later, gunshots and explosions were heard from the enemy camp, followed by a large explosion. The imperial army also began to advance as if carrying out a diversionary operation at the sound of the battle taking place inside, and the defensive line centered around where the princess was collapsed, allowing the imperial army to enter the garrison. ”

“It must be propaganda.”

Schmidt said with a laugh, then closed the report and handed it back to the commander.

“… … Isn’t there also the case of the Winterfield Lady? If she has the blood of the Emperor—”

“Even if she is the Princess of Winterfield, she doesn’t have the ability to infiltrate the enemy camp alone across the no man’s land and detonate an ammunition depot. That’s beyond the scope of human behavior. Are you saying that the princess can even dodge bullets? ”

“… … .”

If you say that, the commander has nothing to say. In fact, the reason the commander lost his tone of voice while reporting was because he himself could not completely believe the story.

“But.”

Schmidt added as he ran his hand through his hair. His face, with his forehead exposed and his jet-black hair neatly slicked back, was the epitome of a gentleman to anyone who saw it. He looked a little young, but in reality, he was older than his appearance suggested.

“Even if it’s propaganda, there may be some truth in it. Like the case of Young Lady Winterfield that the Commander mentioned, it could have been of great help in battle.”

Even if the Imperial Army had made false reports in order to hide their losses as much as possible, it may be true that the girl in the photo had participated in the battle. The Governor-General thought that perhaps it would be necessary to send someone to find out the truth from the Imperial Army.

“… … Hmm.”

“… … Why are you like that?”

As Schmidt narrowed his eyes at the commander, the commander took a step back and asked back.

“Didn’t you say the Commander had a daughter?”

“… … There is, but.”

The governor said, looking at the commander who was speaking with an extremely suspicious expression.

“My daughter is still too young to enter the Imperial Academy.”

“… … .”

“If you wish to send your daughter to study abroad in the Empire, the autonomous country is willing to provide wholehearted support.”

“… … .”

The commander was silent for a moment.

“There is one condition though… …Well, if you don’t want to do it, that’s fine. There must be many girls in the autonomous country who want to study abroad in the empire. Or, you can also be fine.”

“I’ll consider it.”

As the commander spoke, Schmidt nodded and leaned back in his chair.

“If possible, I hope you can decide as quickly as possible. I want to send the students who have been dispatched on a foreign trip back home on that train.”

Of course, it would require a procedurally complex process, but Schmidt thought that the emperor of the system would be willing to accept his proposal.

Although Schmidt still didn’t know the Emperor exactly, he knew that the Emperor was interested in ‘fun things’.

“But what are you going to do with the information you got about the princess?”

“Well, once you have information in your hands, you’ll eventually find a use for it. If this princess’s power is truly useful… …we should think of a way to use it to help the autonomous nation. We don’t even know this princess’s personality yet.”

Schmidt shrugged his shoulders and said,

“Oh, but Commander, does your daughter like dating people?”

“Ah, that’s—”

Schmidt smiled bitterly as he watched the commander roll his eyes.

I see.