episode_0335

Episode 335

‘Are you at peace? Brother Tyr.

I’m sure you received the last letter well, right? Licia felt like she was losing her mind as she waited for a reply that never came.

I understand well what your brother means. This means that you can never give up on the invasion of Lustier.

However, there are things I cannot give up.

Once you capture Lustier, you can do whatever you want with all the other prisoners, but hand over Princess Sera to me.

Of course, your brother or anyone else shouldn’t touch you first. You must hand it over to me with a clean body.

However, this is not something you ask for for free. I will pass on to you the information I gained while staying here in Rusti.

I happened to learn about the deployment of Lustier’s main army, especially the recently changed movements of the army.

With this alone, you will be able to enter the capital city of Lustier bloodlessly. My brother’s dream is one step closer.

If you have any thoughts, please reply. I hope I’m not late this time.’

* * *

Unlike the first, Lisia’s second letter received a reply quickly.

The content was fairly concise.

– I will accept the deal. However, we cannot guarantee that Princess Sera will not die in battle. In that case, I’ll give you whatever else you want. Send information.

“I was really caught.”

“That’s right, the most desperate thing right now is Prince Tyr. Unless you conquer Lustier wonderfully and perfectly, showing off the dignity of a conquering monarch, you will have no chance of victory. Right now he must be feeling like grasping at straws.”

“The plan is to use this to push Prince Tyr’s forces into a direction that makes it easier to wipe them out, right? By spreading false information.”

“Basically, yes. However, what is being leaked is not fake, but real information. I will give you information exactly as our Lustier army is positioned.”

“…Is that okay?”

“Yes, I won’t fool you if it’s not real. These are the people who have been operating in Nordrie and Laurentia for a long time. We will move after thorough preliminary verification.”

Carmel looked like she didn’t understand. I said with a grin.

“Don’t worry, mother. Because I will definitely succeed.”

* * *

Lisia accurately and meticulously relayed the deployment status of the kingdom’s troops to Prince Tyr as planned.

The front line adjacent to the border with the empire is definitely Laurentia. In reality, most of the troops were concentrated there.

Some troops from the northern fortress, including Margrave Wihart, have also joined Laurentia and established a defensive line.

The Laurentian army and the Nortrier army are strong soldiers that can be said to be the most elite soldiers in the kingdom, excluding Lullier. Laurentia also has well-built defense facilities. Commanders Luna and Wihart are also formidable.

It is reasonable to conclude that it cannot be easily breached. In addition, Laurentia and Nortrier were places where there had been unrest due to the empire not long ago. There was also sufficient probability to strengthen defenses.

If Prince Tyr had made a rational decision, he would have thought of finding another route instead of wasting his troops pointlessly there.

All roads from the Empire to Lurie must pass through Laurentia. But there was one exception. It is none other than the road that passes through Seine.

Strictly speaking, San Seine is not a border area with the empire. Because there is Tordo, a neutral territory between the Empire and the Empire. However, the current Prince Tyr would not have been so desperate that he would even respect such helpless neutrality.

“Wait, wait a moment, princess.”

Fehat and the other ministers who were seated had similar faces. Fehat asked with a thoughtful look on his face.

“I may have misunderstood, but if so, how do you plan to destroy the imperial army that has flocked to Sanseine? Clearly, the majority of the kingdom’s army is focused on defending Laurentia, but no matter how many knights we gather, aren’t the numbers still insufficient?”

“Yes, that’s right, Your Majesty. I won’t use the Knights Templar. I have to leave it in the royal capital just in case. The one who destroys the imperial army led to San Francisco… is none other than me.”

“What? Well, what is that…”

War and the princess. It seems that it is not easy for me to imagine myself active in war, perhaps even in the royal palace. Of course, I have no intention of going to the battlefield and fighting in person.

“To talk about that, there are a lot of things that need to be said first. Um, can you take ‘him’ with me first, Gerard?”

Von Gerrard, who was sitting at the back of the conference room, stood up and stepped forward, holding a mirror. A small sapling was reflected in the mirror.

– Sarah Lustier!!!!!!!

My head is noisy. The king and other ministers all covered their ears. Even so, it’s useless.

“Speak quietly, Tree of Knowledge. We already agreed.”

-Who said it was okay to show me in front of these people!!!!!! Do you have no such thing as delicacy?!!!!! Oh my, this shabby appearance!!!!!!!! Gerard!!!!! Be prepared too!!!!!!

“Se, sera, stand, no way, that tiny tree branch…”

“Yes, that’s right. That is the Tree of Knowledge that the Gerard family serves. He is a great being who has been with this country from its beginning.”

The king and his ministers all looked at the Tree of Knowledge in the mirror with eyes full of awe. The Tree of Knowledge seemed a little satisfied then. It’s like a snobbish tree.

– Ugh, hmm. great. As the guardian of this country, I cannot just sit back and watch the crisis that has come, so I have decided to lend my strength to you. Be extremely grateful.

“Tree of Knowledge? What kind of secret plan…?”

– To be precise, I should say that they gave me permission to use a part of myself. To Sarah Lustier, who is standing there cockily.

Everyone’s eyes are on me again. I stretched my right hand forward and summoned the Book of Enekra.

“Hell, grimoire…?”

“Princess Sera uses magic… no way…?”

“Yes, that’s right. I’ve kept it hidden until now, but I am a mage who inherited the power of Enekra, a witch from the distant past. I plan to defeat the imperial army the way she did.”

It may not be visible to others, but I smiled as my mana spread like a dark cloud.

* * *

Basement of the royal palace.

The floor is painted with several complex patterns overlapping each other. Even to an outsider’s eyes, these are patterns for witchcraft.

Originally, this was a sacred place to commemorate the old king. The royal monument stands majestically as if to protect its piety. However, now that I know the true nature of that monument, there is nothing particularly reverent about this place.

The entrance to the royal tomb is decorated with the sword of Luke the Great. Of course, it is a replica made at a later date.

Moreover, there was a significant difference in detail from what I actually saw in his tomb. Well, it can’t be helped since it was probably created based on literature.

Aila completed the pattern on the floor with a mixture of ash and blood and then wiped her forehead.

“Whoa, it’s done, mother!”

The pattern completed on the floor was exactly the same as the one seen in the Katari ruins. Since it is a spell created by Eila, it is natural that it is the same.

There, Eila attempted to access the terminal of the Tree of Knowledge without permission. What I’m trying to do is the same thing. Although there is a big difference in that permission has been obtained.

Also, if you are connected to the roots of the Tree of Knowledge in the Seville region, you can know in detail what is happening there. The problem of accurately determining the timing of the imperial army’s invasion is also solved.

“Good job, Aila.”

Aila put the broom-sized brush aside and lunged at me. I patted Aila’s head.

“Remember this carefully, Ayla. If I make a mistake while defeating the imperial army… Aela, you must take over this spell and take my place.”

Aela would be able to use this spell better than me. This was not simply insurance against an emergency.

It is certain that Iscarade is on Prince Tyr’s side. And Escalade has a contract of nullification that suspends all my powers.

The problem is that we do not know exactly about the efficacy of the contract. Are there any distance limitations on the performance of the contract? If so, how much? Also, what exactly does cessation of power mean?

It may simply be to prevent the use of magic. If that’s the case, that’s fortunate, but it could also be fatal in a situation where you’re dealing with the imperial army.

Perhaps even giving orders or conveying intentions will become impossible. If so, it was an even bigger problem.

That was the most lethal part of this operation. Aila must be here for that to happen. If we were not careful, we would have let a truly enormous number of imperial troops into the kingdom without any defenses.

“But please avoid songs that kill them all or turn them into monsters. It’s enough to make them lose their will to fight or run away. Got it?”

If Aela’s magic is amplified, it is possible to kill them all. Or even turning it into a caterpillar or an animal. However, no matter how aggressive a war is, such a one-sided massacre will only breed resentment.

“I understand. But mother, what is wrong…? What could possibly be going on in the palace?”

“Hehe, just in case. The fate of the kingdom depends on this operation.”

Ayla buried her face in my chest and rubbed it profusely. I stroked the back of Aila’s head several times again.