Chapter 94

"..."

"Are you okay? Vel?"

I, Blantark, and Katariina, the three of us, had cast a large-scale Area Stun on the ten-thousand-strong Broya Margrave Army, and then fainted from the depletion of our magic power. I remember that much, but after that, my memory is blank.

The enemy had attacked at night, but now the sunlight was blinding, indicating that I had been unconscious for quite some time.

"The Broya Army?"

"They were all wiped out."

Ina, who was looking at me with concern, explained what had happened after we fainted.

"The large-scale Area Stun was successful."

We had divided the work among the three of us and used dozens of magic crystals, which seemed to have paid off. However, the magic crystals Ina showed me were all drained of their magic power.

"Blantark and Katariina are also unconscious due to magic depletion."

"I see. But why is Elise using the Light of Miracle?"

"There are many injured. The Broya Army is almost entirely unable to fight, so the Breihlaita Margrave requested that she prioritize treating the injured."

We had only fainted from magic depletion, so we were left to rest.

"Was the damage that severe?"

"There are nearly a hundred dead alone..."

I began to recall the events of last night. We had lured the Broya Army to cast the Area Stun, but before that, the Broya Army had released many arrows.

"Some of our people were hit in bad spots, and we lost three lives."

Our side also fired arrows in response, and it seems that the Broya Army suffered many casualties as well. In fact, because we were prepared and fired a large number of arrows, the Broya Army had more casualties from arrows.

"Most of the casualties were among the knights."

"Yes."

We had paralyzed the horses and caused them to fall, which naturally increased the number of casualties.

In the Sengoku and Edo periods of Japan, many samurai and lords died from falling off horses, so it was natural that the number of deaths would increase when someone fell off a horse with the momentum of a galloping horse.

"Elise is very busy with the treatment."

If the Broya Army had still been able to fight, they would have used the Light of Miracle to restore our magic power, but fortunately, the Broya Army was almost entirely unable to fight after one use.

Last night, we captured and rescued the paralyzed Broya Army soldiers. There were also a few hundred enemy soldiers who had escaped the Area Stun, and we captured them as well. Most of them surrendered without resistance after seeing their allies almost completely wiped out.

The occupation of the Broya Army's main camp was also carried out. However, only about a hundred soldiers were left to guard supplies, and they immediately surrendered upon hearing that the main army had been wiped out.

"El has successfully occupied the main camp."

"That guy. He's been working hard."

While we were capturing and treating the Broya Army soldiers, it was almost morning. By then, soldiers had arrived in small magic flying ships and other emergency transports in response to the urgent call last night.

They helped our side and occupied over a dozen food supply points behind the main camp.

"The few guards at those points mostly surrendered without resistance or fled."

"It's a great victory, then."

For some reason, the Broya Army, driven by the idea of breaking through and winning, launched a full-scale attack, which backfired and resulted in many casualties and prisoners on our side.

The number of casualties and prisoners exceeded ten thousand. There were also about ten nobles in the main army, and the Broya Margrave's daughter, though only a figurehead, was among the Broya Army's officers. The ransom alone would significantly increase the burden on the Broya Margrave's family.

"Lord Breihlaita Margrave has something to discuss with you about this."

"Understood."

It was almost noon, they said. I had been asleep for a long time, so my magic power had fully recovered, and I even felt that I had a bit more magic power. However, I was also extremely hungry and felt a bit dizzy. I took a piece of chocolate from my magic bag and put it in my mouth, then, with Ina's help, got up from the makeshift bed.

"Are you okay?"

"It's the same as after the Dragon Golem battle. I'll recover quickly."

After a while, it seemed that the sugar had reached my brain, and I felt much clearer. Now I could finally go to Lord Breihlaita Margrave.

"Do you need support?"

"I'm fine, but please support me for a while."

When I stood up, I didn't feel dizzy, but Ina smelled good, so I pretended to feel a bit unwell.

"Where's Katariina?"

"She's the same as you. I think she's still sleeping."

When I moved to the makeshift bed where Katariina was sleeping a short distance away, she seemed to be awake.

"My stomach is empty... But I must endure here."

"Are you on a diet?"

"Just to be safe, there's a possibility that I might have gained weight..."

"Just to be safe..."

She didn't look like she had gained weight, but what was the reality? I didn't care, but it might be a serious issue for her.

"I see. But more importantly, Lord Breihlaita Margrave is calling us. Lady Honorary Baroness."

"That's right."

She was also a noble, so she had been called, but after using all her magic power and sleeping for half a day, her brain seemed to lack sugar. She couldn't stand up properly and was sitting on the makeshift bed, shaking her head.

"Here, put something sweet in your mouth. It will help."

"Something sweet..."

"You learned that from Blantark. Come on! There's no need for a diet!"

When it came to this, I had to force it into her mouth. However, if I used my hands, she might block it, so I had to take a different approach. I put a piece of chocolate in my mouth and kissed Katariina, pushing the chocolate into her mouth with my tongue. I had fed her the chocolate mouth-to-mouth.

"!"

My unexpected action made Katariina's head boil again. Her face turned red, and she was in a daze, but she was chewing the chocolate I had pushed into her mouth.

"Let's feed you a bit more."

I fed her pieces of chocolate three more times mouth-to-mouth. Katariina, whose head was still boiling, ate and swallowed the chocolate without any resistance.

"It worked."

"Vel. The first one was fine, but did you really need to do it mouth-to-mouth for the others?"

"Let's say it was necessary. Oh, right!"

To avoid any unfairness, I put another piece of chocolate in my mouth and kissed Ina, pushing the chocolate into her mouth with my tongue.

"Hey! Ugh..."

At first, she resisted out of embarrassment, but it quickly weakened. She accepted the chocolate I pushed into her mouth with my tongue, licked it for a while, and then swallowed it.

"I don't need to eat chocolate!"

Ina, her face red, started to complain to me.

"Let's be fair."

"Now is not the time! We need to go to Lord Breihlaita Margrave quickly."

"That's right. Hey, Katariina."

"Vel did something so sudden to Katariina!"

When I looked at the makeshift bed where Katariina had been sleeping, she was still in a daze with a red face. It seemed that the stimulation was too strong, and she hadn't returned to reality yet.

"Hey, Katariina."

"Even the most serious Iina turned red and recovered quickly, but Katariina is like this after just a kiss. Indeed, people with a big gap between their appearance and personality are interesting to watch."

"This isn't the time to be impressed. We need to take Katariina with us quickly."

"I almost forgot."

"Don't forget!"

"That's right. Lord Breihlaita Margrave sent me to fetch you, but when I came, I saw something that made me blush."

Blantark was standing beside us, and it seemed he had seen everything.

"Vel!"

"I think being young is wonderful, but we have something to discuss now."

Out of embarrassment?

Iina, her face red again, raised her voice in protest.

"By the way, when will Lady Katariina come to her senses?"

"I don't know. It's the first time I've tried this."

While the three of us were talking, Katariina continued to sit on the makeshift bed, her face red and in a daze.

"Baron Bauwmaister, has your magic power recovered?"

"Yes."

We managed to wake Katariina and hurried to the main camp of Lord Breihlaita Margrave's main army. There, Lord Breihlaita Margrave, a few retainers, about ten nobles who had formed the lords' army, and their retainers were gathered, and we were the last to arrive.

I brought Iina as my guard, and Katariina, though not part of the lords' army, attended as a noble due to her honorary baron title.

When we sat down, a young soldier served us tea. It wasn't as good as the tea Elise made, but she was busy healing the many injured from yesterday's battle, so we had to make do.

"Well, we were unexpectedly caught up in a 'war' yesterday, which was quite a challenge."

Lord Breihlaita Margrave emphasized the word 'war.' This was to distinguish it from the conflicts that had occurred among nobles in the past.

Nobles would send troops to fight over rights and interests, trying to avoid casualties as much as possible. Some people called it a war out of convenience, but from the kingdom's perspective, it was a 'dispute.' According to the kingdom's government, there had been no war since the ceasefire with the Arkart Holy Empire.

This was a minor conflict among friendly nobles, so it was called a 'dispute.'

However, it was difficult to call yesterday's event a 'dispute.' There were nearly a hundred deaths, and unlike the accidental clashes of a few decades ago, the Broya Army had clearly initiated combat.

They had called in reinforcements from the rear and attacked with a total of ten thousand troops, switching from training weapons to real ones, and led by mounted knights, they aimed to crush and annihilate Lord Breihlaita Margrave's main army.

If they had succeeded, the casualties on Lord Breihlaita Margrave's side would have easily reached the thousands.

"In any case, it's a troublesome situation."

After we cast the Area Stun and fainted, Lord Breihlaita Margrave had worked tirelessly on the aftermath without any sleep.

He disarmed and captured all the paralyzed Broya Army soldiers and had the injured treated by Elise and other priests with healing magic. As more reinforcements arrived in small flying ships, the number of prisoners increased, making management difficult. Normally, crossing borders during such disputes was prohibited, but there was no time for that.

He sent small units to occupy the Broya Army's main camp and food supply points. The main camp had about a hundred soldiers, and each food supply point had twenty to thirty soldiers, most of whom surrendered, adding to the management burden.

There was also the possibility that another unit might attack to rescue the prisoners, so reconnaissance was essential. With a shortage of manpower, Moritz, Thomas, El, and Louise each led about ten soldiers to explore the surrounding area.

"Fortunately, we have Viscount Knappstein, the special envoy, here, don't we?"

This would serve as proof that the 'war' was initiated by the Broya family, so at least we wouldn't be blamed unilaterally.

There was a possibility that they might betray us at the last moment and plot something, but that couldn't be ruled out.

"Since I am from the royal court, some of you may have concerns, but the fact that this 'war' was initiated by the Broya family is undeniable."

Viscount Knappstein stated that it was unacceptable for the Broya family to launch a 'war' to break the current disadvantageous situation after rejecting the fair ruling proposal according to custom.

His expression was as usual, but he seemed personally angry. He had stayed with us last night, so there was a possibility that he could have been killed in the worst-case scenario.

"However, there is one big problem."

The issue was how to resolve this messy situation. We had captured and handed over to the local lords on the friendly side the Broya family's nobles and soldiers, and the number of prisoners currently managed by the Breihlaita Margrave's side was nearly twenty thousand.

Even if we charged for the costs later, it was a significant burden.

Moreover, we had already advanced into the Broya family's territory. We had occupied the main camp, over ten food supply points, and captured the entire supply convoy that arrived early in the morning.

"Because of the large number of people, frequent food transportation was necessary."

However, if the supply convoy didn't return, the Broya family would become suspicious. By then, news of the defeat would have spread, and it was unlikely that no one had escaped. The information would reach the Broya family in a few days.

"For the time being, we will feed them with the seized supplies, and since we are in a 'war' state, we are also conducting additional conscription."

"What is the problem?"

"Who will we negotiate with from now on?"

In response to a question from a young noble, Lord Breihlaita Margrave answered with a dry smile.

"Viscount Knappstein asked who would sign the ruling agreement, and they attacked us."

The person currently driving the Broya family is unknown. The Broya Margrave is likely alive but in no condition to give orders.

Normally, the heir would act as the lord's representative to manage the territory. However, the Broya family is in the midst of a succession dispute, which is why the eldest son, Philip, was made the heir, and the lords' army was sent out, only to be defeated.

"We captured all the officers who led that army. High-ranking officials would not be on the front lines in full armor."

No one died from the Area Stun or falling from horses. If at least one person had died on the front lines, it would have been more sympathetic, but the fact that they were captured without injury made me feel nauseous at their irresponsibility.

"What about the princess?"

"She is in the main camp. Elvin managed to make her surrender."

He thought she would resist, but she surrendered immediately.

"We are treating her with respect. Bringing a woman to the battlefield is troublesome, but if anything happens to her, it would be a disgrace to Lord Breihlaita Margrave."

So, she is being kept in isolation with respect.

"That princess has no authority. She's just a figurehead. The problem is..."

"Who will come to negotiate when we resume the ruling process?"

Whether it's the eldest son or the second son, as long as the heir is not designated, the terms can be negotiated, but there is no one to sign the agreement.

"What about the Broya Margrave himself?"

"If he could come, this wouldn't have become such a mess."

Indeed, if he had the leadership, he wouldn't have sent his daughter as the acting commander.

"The Broya Margrave might be dead, and his surroundings are hiding it. Or, he might be in a state where he can't give orders, unconscious and close to death, so Philip, who has strong support from the military, ordered the officers to achieve merit in the conflict. The princess might have been placed at the top as a figurehead because it was decided that a family member should be at the top."

"Exactly as Baron Bauwmaister imagined."

If the Broya Margrave dies while Philip is away on the battlefield, the second son might claim to be the heir and send a messenger to the royal family.

Therefore, both sides are likely staying at the manor.

"An intimate advisor could have come to the front lines."

"The seal keeper's whereabouts are unknown."

The head of a noble family signs documents to make them effective. Unlike in Japan, there are no seals, but the noble family is given a gold-embossed seal by the royal family as proof of the head's identity. This seal is pressed into wax to prove the authenticity of a letter.

The person who holds this seal is the head of the family, but in the case of a major noble, there is a retainer called a seal keeper who manages it.

"This is a very humble position, but major nobles treat the seal keeper well."

Before anything else, a person who is honest and loyal to their lord is chosen. Often, they are the only one who secretly knows the name of the successor. If the