War-feat and a Reward

During the next three weeks of fighting, Nicholas and I decided to refrain from using the ambush tactic again.

In my opinion the threat of it would be enough to cause unrest to spread between their ranks and the more days passed without the ambush, the more they would grow restless with anticipation.

"I must say, this was a brilliant idea you came up with sir Hero." Nicholas was ecstatic.

In the past weeks, our side kept on coming out on top during the skirmishes. Those never lasted more than a day and very few people died on either side, but the ones retreating first had been Glursem's forces in the overwhelming majority of them.

"As long as it works. And to be honest I am very surprised they never considered using that same spot against us from the moment we stopped taking advantage of it."

Obviously I had a plan on the back burner in case they did but it was still concerning.

I cannot simply conclude they are this bad at strategizing and yet this feels way too one-sided somehow. Like punching a sandbag.

"I believe you have heard about the kinds of spells and circles our magic users can use, have you not ?"

"Yes, what of– " ahhh..

I see now, it's those traps they want to avoid.

Of all the perks that came with having mages whose speciality was defense, I had indeed learnt that one of them was their ability to setup traps.

Wearers of the fire attribute could place small magic circles which acted as mines when stepped on, with water and its sub-attribute ice, on contact the circle expanded and covered the ground with ice on a diameter of varied sizes; enough to trip a dozen men at once. With earth it created a pitfall, and with wind it manifested a strong upward gale making one lose their footing and fall backwards.

None of them were generally lethal, but considering our biggest asset was our marksmen, a short moment of chaos in their ranks could spell the end of several of their men.

In addition, once the circles were imbued with the dark element, they became concealed. Prakia being trained and proficient in all elements could do all of that alone, and the enemy must have realised it. Hence why they avoided the place were Prakia and his men had been stationed.

No wonder he was targeted and taken down before.

"Your expression tells me you understood what I was referring to I take it."

"Yes, our ability to setup traps right ?"

With a courteous bow, Nicholas smiled softly and returned his attention to the window. His whole demenor echoing that of a butler more than a seasoned warrior, or former in his case.

And with that, another week flew by. 

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"Hurry up and bring a healer !"

"Someone go fetch more arrows, we're running out !"

"Taiyo-sama this way !"

What's going on suddenly ?!

On the very first day of october, three weeks away from the break, Glursem's assault suddenly grew about ten times fiercer than it had been until then.

"Ah Nicholas, what's going on exactly ?!"

"Sir Hero ! The enemy has grown in number and they even brought out cannons, please move to a safer location for now ! I will join you shortly to discuss how to counter attack !"



The only magic user we have who's able to conjure earthen walls to defend against cannon balls is Prakia, but he's also our sole offensive mage. What can we do ?! 

I knew that in the event they succeded in claiming the upper hand I would probably be one of the firsts to be evacuated but, knowing my instructions and plans had let us to this state of affair, I was incredibly reluctant to just vacate the fort and flee to save my life.

Talk about a strategist, I didn't even bother asking about the kinds of armaments they used in times of war... nah scratch that, I don't even know whether they have discovered gunpowder or not !

"Nevermind that, they might even be using magic to power their cannons instead.."

As much as I hated that, my emotions were now easily getting in the way of my thinking. It was my first battlefield in real life sure, but I was supposed to be the one to keep a cool head, or nobody would.

If they are like smoothbore cannons, there must be a few men tasked with moving them around. So first of all, we want to aim our long range attacks at them. But since they have more soldiers too then we need to find another way to bring support to the infantry in the meantime... I hate to have to rely on him for this but there is no other choice, I can't play favourites in this situation.

"Guard, can you tell me where sir Richard is stationed at the moment ?"

"But–"

Sensing the confidence in my inquiry and perhaps the illusion of calm in my demenor, the guard in charge of safekeeping the door leading to my room spoke.

"I heard word of the commander heading to the left tower's vantage point not so long ago."

"Thank you. Can you give me your name ?"

"C-Cyril, sir !"

"I'll remember it, Cyril. Now I want you to inform Nicholas of my destination and tell him to wait for me in this room, I left a note for him on the tea table by the window."

With a stiff salute, Cyril wished me luck and moved to stand even more upright than he already did before the room I ordered him to guard. it seemed that any intruder would have to walk over his corpse before they could set foot any further now.

I'll leave it in your hands man, because the whole strategy I came up with is written down on that piece of paper.

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There he is.

"Richard !"

"Who– oh it's you ? Bold of you to step outside in this chaos of your own volition !"

"Nevermind that, I came up with an idea for those cannons can you come down for a second ? I'd rather not shout it out you see."

"Where's Nicholas ?!"

"Busy !"

Looking like he swallowed a cockroach, Richard came down to meet me in the corridor under the bridge.

"Make it quick lad, my hands are full as you can see."

Yeah, that makes two of us.

"I want you to order your archers to support the soliders on foot."

"Hah ?! And why would I take orders from you when not even Nicholas is allowed to ? Huh ?"

"And I want you alone to target the soldiers in charge of moving their cannons around. Meanwhile..."

Electing to straight up ignore any and all rebukes he directed at me, I made sure to convey the most important parts of the plan to him. You wanted me to make it quick, that's perfect. Because I'm also in a hurry.

"I can't force you to go along with this strategy but in the event you choose to follow it, have one of your men relay the information to Cyril. It's the soldier assigned to guard my room."

Without waiting for his reply I dashed off in the direction I came from. Next I needed to see Prakia.


"Sir Hero !"

"Prakia ! Good you seem fine, how are the mages holding ? Do they have enough mana potions to keep going ?"

"Yes, on that front there is no need to worry for now. Unless they breach the basement, we have enough supplies to last for a week of continuous fighting."

That's more than I need.

"Okay, then I'll explain my plan..."

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"Ah Taiyo-sama ! You are safe, thank goodness." It was Cyril, faithfully keeping the position I instructed him to.

"I'm back Cyril, is Nicholas inside ?"

"Yes sir. But–" The unnaturally soft yet hurried tone of his voice made me curious, but I had no time to waste inquiring about it, so I cut him short.

"Good job, you can go ahead and lend a hand to your comra–"

"Sir ! –Ah, sorry for grabbing your arm out of the blue, but I must tell you something before you enter this room."

What's wrong with him ? Is Nicholas injured or something ? 

I could not have been more wrong.

What Cyril told me after that legitimately made my blood run cold.


"Oh sir Hero, you are back, I was worried sick !"

"It's fine Nicholas, more importantly, did you read the note I left you ?"

"I am afraid I could not comprehend what it said, sir. The language from your world is not something we often see around here unfortunately. So I decided to rip it to shreds. This way there would be no risk of an enemy trying to decipher its content in the event they reached this place before your return. "

"..."

'Often' huh, so he was right after all..

What Cyril had desperately wanted to tell me earlier was neither to be careful with Nicholas because he had been injured, nor to tell me that the room had become unsafe or anything, no, what Cyril was afraid of was of Nicholas himself. That he might be a traitor.

Earlier when I left to meet Richard, apparently Nicholas had appeared almost instantly thereafter. And, insisting that there were a lot of casualties on our side, he assured Cyril that he was fine and almost pressured him to go give a hand to the soldiers in charge of bringing medical supplies from the basement below.

Cyril however insisted to stay at least until the hero, I, would be back. To make sure Nicholas stayed absolutely safe. But with little regards to his consideration, Nicholas had almost yelled at him to go. Following that, Cyril had begun to walk away as instructed.

About midway on his way down though, he made a u-turn. Electing that disobeying his orders to ensure the safety of his strategist, that is to say the brain of their army, was a violation worth making, he went back to guard the door, albeit furtively. And that's when he overheard...

"That damned brat, coming up with such an effective strategy in this situation and with the pressure of both the enemies's approach as well as his army's expectations on top, tsk !"

"...I must tell them posthaste..otherwise my lack of involvement in this conflict will seem suspicious to them and they might send someone after me."

Following that, Cyril heard a whistle, and shortly after the flapping of wings, which seemed to indicate Nicholas had called upon a carrier bird. As for the message he expected to transmit, odds were high that it was the note I left him.

Which means that there is somebody other than him out there who can read and write japanese. Most likely an enemy I would assume.

Nika had told me about my language being one those used in this world as well, but I'd written it off as a coincidence. As for why I'd chosen to write my note in japanese, it was simple. I was in a hurry and had not been confident in my ability to write in their language correctly, so I'd prayed he was versed in japanese, or the equivalent from this world at least. Which had been both the right and the wrong call as it turned out.

"I see, sorry Nicholas that's my bad. Then I'll tell you my plan right now."


In order to further confirm my doubts, I decided to relay my strategy once again to him. Albeit with a few twists. 

Here were the major elements from my plan:
-first, have Richard target the soldiers in charge of the smoothbore cannons to minimize damage on the fort;
-then, have the mages focus on protecting and healing the infantry rather than having some of them protecting the structure;
-and lastly, have Prakia erect the thickest earthen wall he could manage to protect the front gate while he helped the foot soldiers from the backline.

And, up until that point, what I told Nicholas had been consistent with what was written on the note. But then I added a few things that only him would ever hear.

"...Then with out defenses bolstered, I ordered Cyril, the guard you met at the door, to take ten of of the men providing supplies to the front and conduct a sneak attack by the road we previously used for the ambush."

At the mention of this added bit and what could translate to a lethal blow to the opposing army,
I saw the colour completely drain from the old strategist's face. Which confirmed our fears.

However, and in order to land a definitive blow to his cover, I went even further.

"That being said, I do have one worrying piece if info to share with you..."

"W-what could it be ?" What more are you going to subject me to ? His face seemed to suggest, behind his forced smile.

"It's from Richard. He told me to look out for any potential traitor amongst our ranks."

                                  
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At the same time in the king's office back at the castle, the king himself, Neil, trade sector accountant Veritas, and three other men similarly past their prime, to say the least, were sitting at the large table used for war councils.

"I heard your informant came back with some good pieces of news at last, is that true Ferot ?"

"Absolutely Your Majesty."

The fellow going by the name of 'Ferot', Christian Ferot, was the head of House Ferot the most prominent family supporting the first princess, my sister. But also the infamous leader of the human supremacist faction within the kingdom.

"Come have a seat, Nika. I will have you write a few things down from this meeting."

"...Yes father."


"Onto our next order of business, the state of the proceedings at Fort Brighton. Ferot, if you would."

At the mention of Fort Brighton, my ears perked up. It was the battlefield where our hero's first deployment was taking place.

"From what my informant gathered, the situation should have fallen into a stalemate right about now."

"I take it our forces has had the upper hand until now."

"Of course. And just as planned, the delivery of our newly engineered cannons went through without issue. They should have made their debut today, at dawn."

"Right on schedule then, wonderful. What of the hero then ? How does he fare ?"

My attention was now at its peak.

"It would appear that Nicholas was able to leave the reins in his hands for the most part. The success of the first month of fighting could be awarded to his prowess without a doubt, I hear."

"I see... We might have to do something about him sooner rather than later then."

"?!"

"What is it Nika ?"

"H-hm, what exactly do you mean by 'do something about him' ? Isn't his success cause for celebration ?"

At my words, the three men facing the king turned to look at him. My father however, only lifted a hand in response, as if asking them to refrain from saying anything.

"Actually, this is the reason I have you attend this meeting for the first time, Nika."

"What do you mean ?"

At my question, Father got up from his seat and walked towards the large windows overseeing the back gardens at the back of the room.

And, once he came to a stop, facing outside as if to escape from my gaze, or maybe in a way to tell me to look at the bigger picture, he answered.

"In reality, our country is not at war."

"N-not at war ? That can't be, then wh–" Before I could proceed with my question however, I stopped in my tracks. Because of his gaze. Those eyes, they betrayed many complicated feelings at once, and it seemed like he had a lot he wanted to tell me but simply could not. So in the end he said nothing in response for a while.

"...Now now my daughter, stay calm and hear me out."

Before I knew it I had gotten halfway up from my seat and had been clenching my fists hard on the table. So after releasing the tension from my limbs and presenting my apologies to the gentlemen before me, I quietly sat back down.

After waiting a few more seconds for me to settle down, Father explained the situation to me. 

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We made it back somehow...

After the grueling second half of Glursem's assault, it was finally over. For the remainder of the break at least.

Once the issue of those unexpected weapons had been dealt with thanks to Richard's incredible marksmanship, as much as it pains me to admit it, we were able to push back their assault for that day.

From that point on, and because they had suffered more casualties than they must have anticipated after mobilizing so much soldiers, the following days had been mostly uneventful.

As for Nicholas, I decided to keep my investigation to myself in the end. I had threatened him under the veil of there being rumors amongst the platoon hoping he would think twice before trying to stab our backs again, and it seemed it had worked. So then to ensure nothing would happen to me during downtime, I had Cyril  –the guard who had overheard Nicholas' scheming– stationed in front of my room at all times when I was inside.

Thank goodness he had some trusted friends to take over occasionally though. I hate to say it but I was ready to have him go without sleep if necessary. I simply cannot risk dying before I bring light over Nicholas' case.

Once I got back to the castle, it seemed our success had preceeded our return, as we went through another parade followed by an audience with the king.

The ones in attendance had been Richard, Nicholas, and me.

During the audience Nicholas had kept on singing my praises which had, obviously, sounded hypocritical in my ears, since I suspected him of treason. Richard for his part only had a few words to share, most of them delivered matter-of-factly. That being said, he also, while looking reluctant the whole time, had a few good words to say about me. Upon learning that, the king promised me a reward for my efforts.

Now those praises did certainly feel good for a fact.

Now, having had my share of crowds, noise, and business, I was enjoying some peace and quiet in my usual spot at the back of the castle's library.

"Hey."

"Oh, hello." 

She looks tired.

"You look unusually tired, has work gotten busier while we were away ?"

"You could say that.."

"Shouldn't you be resting in your room then ?"

Right now Nika was sitting hunched over on the neighboring desk with her head in her arms. Her glasses resting sloppily atop her wrists.

"...Two of my assistants are currently working in there, and they will not let me rest if I go back now, so I'm simply taking a small break..."

I know I teased her a few times saying her work didn't seem to amount to much in a roundabout way but, seeing her like this I can tell how unbecoming of me it had been.

"How about I lend you my room for a nap then ?"

At my proposition, her face burst out of its hide with renewed energy and she looked at me with widened eyes, her discheveled hair standing weakly above her forehead.

"You would ?!"

As I grabbed her glasses on reflex before they fell from her arms, using the momentum of my movement to supress my laughter, I answered.

"Of course, if you don't mind the sound of a pencil."

With that, we sneakily made our way to my room.


"Alright, the bed is all yours so make yourself at home. I'm going to write in my diary over there for a while, I'll wake you up once I'm done."

"T-thank you."

Being spotted by Shimka on our way to my room must have jolted her out of her state of exhaustion momentarily because she had regained enough presence of mind to realize the awkwardness of her situation.

So cute...

She was now wearing the tracksuit I had stored away since my second morning in this world, and she blushed furiously as she held the bed sheets to her narrowed eyes.

"Come on, you can go ahead and rest. I won't lay a hand on you, you know ? Or do you think I have the guts to pull it off even knowing who you are ?"

Probably convinced with my argument but still a little conflicted about her own carelessness, she nevertheless shifted sightways and laid her head onto the cushion.

"Good night."