I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard Shuten’s report.
Was it a sensor malfunction? I’m sure it is.
“I’m sorry. Please say it again.”
“Oh, Johan is dead.”
I hadn’t misheard.
“Uh, um… Please explain in order.”
“After we finished preparing Yakou, we headed to the Size Tide. We snuck Yakou in and had him deliver the letter to Dels.”
“How did Yakou recognize this Dels person?
“It must be because of this body. I’m able to paint a much more accurate picture in my head.”
“That’s an excellent point. So?”
“I had a few interactions with Dels after I managed to meet him outside the city to ask him how the Size Tide was doing……”
It’s strange. My head hurts, even though my body is not supposed to have headaches.
Shuten’s story can be summed up like this.
Shuten took Yakou and a few Tiger Hunters to the Size Tide, and by sneaking Yakou in, he was able to make contact with the Dels.
Knowing that the Size Tide would eventually be defeated in an all-out war against us, and feeling indebted to Shuten, Dels readily agreed to cooperate and exchange information with Shuten in order to avoid conflict.
The first thing I want to know is what Jiro Yamada said about the movement of the size tide to our region.
Was it really Johan who sent Yakou? Doesn’t he intend to attack us after this?
However, Dels was originally a knight of the East Size.
Although he passed the knight exam and became a knight, his status was low due to his image as a defeated and weak knight and the mystical culture that existed in the past where cities looked down on the provinces.
The only information we were able to obtain was rumors mixed with complaints in the taverns and inn diners. No useful information could be obtained.
As he grew impatient with the lack of proper information, he received information that a black-cloaked, horned boy had been seen leaving Johan’s compound over a month ago.
Is it true what Jiro Yamada said? Just as I came to that conclusion, the armed group that seemed to be Yakou’s checkers returned.
After they entered the Johan residence and reported, the mansion was in an uproar and the details of the incident leaked out.
“Johan-sama has been killed by bandits! It must be the work of Yakou, the assassin of the City of Iron and Stone ! !”
Yes, wait a minute.
“Yakou?
“Dau?”
Yeah, he’s probably not guilty. There was no malice in his eyes as he looked at me curiously, gobbling up the Chinese cabbage in garlic soy sauce, which seemed to be his favorite food, and sipping his hot tea.
“How did that happen?”
“Unfortunately, I don’t understand it at all. However, as far as Dels has been able to find out, there is no doubt that someone assassinated him.”
“Ah, I’d like to think of a lot of things, but let’s get the facts first. So, what’s Size Tide’s move?”
“The city of iron and stone must be defeated.”
“I think they’re being too short-sighted.”
“I think so too. I can’t help but wonder what the assassins are, and how they did their research, the way they did it.”
Is there anyone out there who’s calm?
“So that’s why you’re attacking us? It’s still going to be an all-out war like Yamada said: ……”
Could this be a set-up? Am I thinking too much?
“It’s going to be difficult. For the first time in the history of the world, the Holy Land was confronted with the unprecedented act of putting hands on a saint before the fall of the Foot Handle. If you are a saint that everyone respects, you must avenge and destroy your enemies. That is what the current government and people’s will of the Holy Land are in agreement on.”
“That’s why they’re going to attack us? So it’s going to be an all-out war after all, just like Yamada said……”
Could this be a setup? Am I thinking too much?
“It’s no use. I guess I’ll have to refrain from going out again while watching my opponent’s moves. I don’t like the idea, but let’s just intercept the Knights when they arrive and call it a day…… It’s the Holy Land itself that’s the problem.”
If they come all at once and it’s an all-out war, a “Chudon” will end it, but if they are dispersed, I don’t know how long the attacks will last. I wonder how long this self-restraint will last. We have to do something before Suzuka gets sad.
“Regarding that, I’m not sure if you’re following his lead, but doesn’t Toki-dono want to rule the Size Tide?”
“Of course not.”
Absolutely.
No, that’s impossible. I just want to live here, goofing off and taking it easy every day.
First priority: no-stress & freedom. Second priority: Suzuka and pets. The third priority is, well, maybe residences.
“If that’s the case, is it safe to assume that someone who is not an enemy of Toki-dono can rule without permission?”
“Hmm? Yeah, well, that’s fine, but what do you mean?”
“Regarding the current situation, for example, if the city you live in is destroyed, it would be fundamentally difficult for you to become a refugee or immigrant.”
“Well, as a fortified city, there’s a limit to the number of sites you can live on. If we accepted people without limit, we would probably end up saturated.”
“Um. In the past, when the Foothandle was destroyed, the Foothandle was a new territory that did not yet have a satellite city, and there were fewer people than in other territories, so other cities took in refugees.”
Oh, so that’s what happened.
“You get the idea. The amount of refugees that were dispersed and accepted, even the refugees from the Foothandle territories, the existing territories didn’t have room for them anymore. No, it didn’t exist when the settlement was there in the first place. Some of the people who drifted in as refugees may have better talents, and I guess it’s correct to say that they’re still being accepted even though they displaced the current inhabitants of the territory.”
“So you’re saying that if the Size Tide is destroyed, those who overflowed will be left on the street?”
“Um, the territory of Size Tide is still a large territory, with two satellite towns, and the satellite towns have settlements around them. Naturally, it has a large number of inhabitants.”
“So if we don’t let the current residents live in Size Tide, there will be a hellscape unfolding at the end of the horizon.”
“Yeah, losing the knights means losing the defenses that protect the city, which means the city will be destroyed. And it was common knowledge that if the city was destroyed, the people living there now would not be able to survive.”
“Was that so?”
“It’s not the Knights we need. This city has taught us that it is only a defensive force.”
“I think of it as a house, though. Oh, well. You’re right, we don’t have any knights.”
“Yes, we do. I mean, if we can support a defensive force to replace the knights, we can maintain that city even if the knights are gone.”
“Well, that’s true. Because the surrounding villages should have extra manpower to fill the vacancies.”
“Exactly. Besides, I’ve learned some new armaments from the tiger skin people.”
“?”
“Crossbow, Rend, Balista, was it? There are many more. I heard that they were given by Toki-dono.”
The correct answer is that they learned what they saw in the video and made it on their own. I think that’s what intelligence is all about.
If you like something, you can do it well. People only learn what they are interested in and what they need.
By the way, crossbows are still used by helpless tiger cubs. Ogre was happy to be able to hone his hunting instincts while he was helpless.
I would like you to have a heated discussion with Suzuka about education.
I’ll be watching it from the side, picking my nose.
“If we can support them in size tide, I think we can protect the territory. The wall is there. The beasts of the earth will not enter the city unless you sit back and watch them repeatedly batter it until it falls. We can shoot down the beasts in the sky. It takes a while to learn how to use a sword or spear, or draw a bow though…”
“I know what you mean, but who will rule? And who will support it?”
“The city will be ruled by Dels. When the knights make their expedition here, he intends to gather the inhabitants of East Size and the surrounding villages and take over the city. They have been treated very poorly. As for support, Ogre-dono says he will send out some of his men.”
“Hmm, if that’s not possible, why didn’t they just live in East Size in the first place? The town itself was safer, you know.”
“Size Tide would not have been happy about this. Now that the lord is dead, it’s time to do something about it.”
So that’s what it is.
Well, be that as it may, for Shuten, it’s someone from the city he originally served. I can understand why he would want to care. The best thing is that I don’t have to be there.
I don’t like Yamada, but given that he has been right so far, I want to continue with my policy of letting him swim.
Even if it fails, there is no element of concern in my opinion. It’s a good compromise, don’t you think?
“All right. Do what you want.”
“I’m grateful.”
“Right, we need to annihilate the knights instead of repelling them? Wouldn’t it be a problem if they came back while we were preparing?”
“It’s the same as it always is. When the time comes, the time will be right. I won’t burden Toki-dono with it.”