Borders

I pass through the entrance hall on my return trip, ready to head up the staircase to where Feana likely is, when a commotion at the door catches my interest.
A young man, looking absolutely exhausted, is frantically trying to explain something to the staff, but no one is sure who he is or why he's to be trusted. I recognise him, though, I'm pretty sure.
"Excuse me", I approach the butler and the guard who are trying to deal with the situation and call out the exhausted invader's identity. "Aren't you the border guard who was on duty when the princess passed through?"
He looks at me like I'm an oasis in a desert. "Oh thank god! You have to warn the princess!"
The boy pushes past the other two men and scrambles over to me.

"Lann are going to attack us!"

◇ ◇ ◇

My catch-up chat with Feana ended up involving a third party. I've kinda forgotten why I even wanted to talk to her, to be honest.
"So I'm to believe you arrived here from the border...?" Feana questions the young man. "Yet I've heard no word of an army marching towards us."
The border guard tries his best to explain. "There was this man. Umm, he was your driver, I'm sure of it. Short and round."
That sounds like Sera's dad.

"He said something about a village. It had started preparing for a visit from their King."
"Just the king?"
"No, not- It's not a normal visit! He told me to beg you for provisions, because the village won't be able to feed an army, but-"
"An army?"
"Exactly! If an army is moving west, then there's only one direction it can go!"
"...okay. Thank you for this information. Ms. Tsa, will you- Oh..."

Seeing where this is going, I stand up out of my seat. "Here, I'll escort you to the entrance."
Feana gives me a thankful look.

◇ ◇ ◇

Upon my return, several other people have taken a seat around the table. I recall seeing some of them the last time a meeting was held here... Bad memories.
Suddenly, this room looks very formal. It's not like a meeting has started yet, but one is clearly being set up. It's not the kind of room where I can just casually take a random seat anymore.
"Uh, Feana. I wanted to say-" I approach her as soon as she's free to talk to. "I sprung something on Ms. Tsa, so she's helping with that. Should I go and tell her to come here?"
Feana exhales, not a sigh but a sign of exhaustion, then quietly motions for me to take a seat.

"You will be sufficient. I want to discuss something with you, anyway."
"Uh... okay. I'll be on guard, I guess."
"Considering how quickly that young border guard arrived, I believe I understand what has happened."
"Right. It took us, what, 3 days to get here from the village. From the border, two."
"Let me say, firstly, that Nia would never beg for my help in this fashion. She has too much pride."
"Sorry, who's Nia again?"
"The Village Elder of Shum. It's likely that Sera's father himself was the one asking for help."
"So he travelled back to the village, heard about this, and turned around?"
"He must've run into one of the villagers during his journey back. Do you remember the animals we ran into?"
"Of course."
"I suspect that Shum received word of Vio's march shortly after we left the village. Knowing Nia, she'll have sent her own villagers to go out hunting."
"So the animals were running away from the villagers?"
"If the animals were escaping to the south, the hunters will have followed, then met with Sera's father."

I try to plot a timeline for all this. It took me, I think, around a day to get to Lann from Shum, then it took one day to travel from Shum to the border.
A marching army is likely a lot slower than a mostly-uninterrupted carriage, so I'm gonna estimate that's around three days of travel. If Shum are looking for food, the Lann army will likely stop there for a night, so that's further time being wasted on their part.
It's also likely that the village got advance notice, so that they'd have time to prepare. Maybe four days then.
So if the border guard was notified of this when the hunt began, and it took him two days to get here, then... If we marched now, we'd meet them near the border... I think.

"It's a good thing the outskirts of Yve are so barren..."
"A decline in population results in fewer people who need defending. Perhaps that's one of His blessings?"
"That's a scary blessing."

As another person enters the room, everyone else grows quiet. It seems like a meeting is about to begin.
Naturally, Feana begins the talk. "In around two days, an army from Lann will pass through our borders."
Concerns likely fill the minds of those at the table, but they await their turn to speak.

"The march of the Yve army during today's ceremony will be changed. Our soldiers will no longer march in celebration, but as an act of defense."

Feana stands up and addresses each individual at the table by name, a hand placed over her heart.

"Today, I shall become your Queen. Tomorrow, I shall defend your lives."

The speech to follow is a mix of motivational encouragement towards the people in the room, as well as light strategic details. Before the day is over, Yve's army will have departed the capital.
Once that speech is done and a few discussions have been had, some of the people leave the room, making way for others. The meeting of politicians parts for a meeting of commanders, strategists and soldiers.

Feana comes prepared with an idea she's had in mind since our round table meeting in Shum.
Allowing Lann to pass into Yve's countryside will allow us to use the terrain to our benefit. As our main army slowly advances, a small detachment will seek a vantage point.
I, despite not being a soldier, will be part of that detachment.

I once again illustrate my abilities—or rather, the cube's abilities—to the room in the same way Feana and I had in Shum, albeit more intentionally than the accident that the previous routine happened to be. Also, Feana throws in a tidbit about the cube being my fairy, only usable by me. That's a good excuse for my lack of one, so I'll have to remember that.

With assurance that, so long as there are no walls to defend them, the entire Lann army will be subject to the cube's paralysing power, the room brims with a confidence you wouldn't expect to get from such hastily put together battle plans.
I have to remember that, to many in this world, the shape and abilities of the database of death are most likely reminiscent of a certain part of history, where a man from another world brought this planet to its knees.
It's not just that the database of death holds a power beyond the natural. It's a power that has proven to be legendary.

...In reality, I'm really doubtful that this device I've ended up with is something the previous Earthling had. If anyone had used it before me, I'd be able to see the deaths that they had witnessed, but the database was empty until I visited Lann.
This thing won't shatter a sky or conquer the world, but... telling everyone that would only lower their motivation, so let's leave them to enjoy the fantasy.

◇ ◇ ◇

Now that I'm a part of this operation, I've no time to waste. My army life begins in an instant.
I say that, but I'm not in a formal unit or anything. Feana has quickly put together a small group for me to be involved with.
There are five members other than me, all combatants. I vaguely recognise a few of them as guards who have been around Feana. Two of them helped her catch Flionel. One of them was guarding Feana during a meeting. I've probably seen all of them at least once, but we either didn't interact at all, or our interactions were so inconsequential, I don't remember them.

The three I do kinda recognise were performing duties similar to Ms. Tsa, so is it safe to assume they're almost equivalent to her? And there are five of them? That's a lot of Ms. Tsas!
We're not taking part in the Queen's coronation, and finding a good position on the battlefield is essential,so before I get any time to rest or process this change in lifestyle, I'm pushed out the gates and into another carriage. It's nothing like a merchant's carriage, though; it's got a lot of metal parts to it, and rather than sitting inside a coach with a solid roof, it's more like I'm sitting in a tent on wheels.

"Okay, shall we introduce ourselves?"

My sudden journey with the five begins.