/
Information Gathering
In a corner of the opulent castle, a small bird perches on a branch next to a tree that stands by the window.
There are 3 people in the room: a Noble, a Knight, and a butler. When the Knight notices the little bird and opens the window, the little bird slips in.
“Viscount Granvelle, excuse me.”
Then it greets the Noble inside.
This little bird is my G-rank Bird summon. I could have gone with the F-rank Bird, but I wanted to be as unobtrusive as possible, so I went with the smaller G-rank.
“Mmm… sorry about that. It took me a while to get an audience.”
“What? No problem about that. Did you find out anything?”
On the same day that I received the request from the Principal to join the war, I reported the situation to Viscount Granvelle using my summon that I always stationed back at the Viscount’s mansion.
Viscount Granvelle had not been told at all about the order for me and the others to go to the battlefield.
He immediately headed to the Royal Capital and asked the Royal Family for an explanation.
However, he didn’t get an audience with the King that day.
The King was ‘busy’ so he had to wait.
(He got an audience today, probably because the King heard that we boarded the Magic Ship.)
“Well, first of all, as for the status of the war, it seems that the Demon King’s army marched into Rosenheim about a month ago.”
I asked the Viscount to confirm many things about this war.
It seems that the Generals and other Noble who hold important positions in the military looked into it while he was waiting for the audience. They all seem to be very supportive of Viscount Granvelle.
First, let’s look at how the war came about and what caused it.
A month ago, they say, a fortress defending the northern part of Rosenheim was brought down by an army of 3 million.
It is said to be a racial trait, but elves are especially good at Support and Recovery Magic. Elves tend to have high mana pools as well. They are also excellent archers, so if you think about it from a military perspective, they are a race that specializes in defending themselves on castle walls.
However, the Demon King’s army attacked with a force that exceeded their defenses. The huge fortress in the northern part of Rosenheim, which had been defended for decades, was conquered within a few days.
The Demon King’s army made a major move to invade Rosenheim this time.
Until now, the Demon King’s army has attacked all 3 of its targets: the Central Continent, the Baukis Empire, and Rosenheim simultaneously. However, among them, the one that has been attacked the most is the Central Continent.
If you ask me why, it’s because the Central Continent was the weakest. For a long time, the Demon King’s army had put the most effort into invading the Central Continent, which was the easiest to attack. That’s why, unlike the other continents, only the Central Continent has the territory of the Demon King army.
Besides, the Baukis Empire had Golem soldiers, and Rosenheim had the blessings of the Spirit King.
But then a Hero came along and upset this balance of strength between the 3.
The weakest has been replaced by Rosenheim. Although it has the blessings of the Spirit King, Rosenheim is said to have far fewer soldiers than the other two continents.
Elves are said to have long-lives but low fertility rate.
And the elves do not like other races to come to Rosenheim. The exclusive management of the state was a disaster, and by the time they sent an urgent request to the Kingdom through the Five Continents Alliance, the enemy was already at their capital. By the time the Kingdom responded, their capital had already fallen.
Since the Kingdom could not contact the capital of Rosenheim, it replied to Nest, one of the key points in the southern part of Rosenheim, “We will deploy Allen and his party by Royal Order to respond to your request.”
“The current situation in Rosenheim is pretty grim. It seems they’re still operating in delay at some of the key locations in the south.”
It took the Demon King’s army a reasonable number of days to bring down the capital of Rosenheim, which resulted in the evacuation of the elves. He also said that they were able to buy enough time for people to gather in several key locations in the south.
I don’t know how deep the Demon King’s army has invaded now, but it seems that the elves are fighting in the southern fortress.
“Thank you for all your research.”
“Of course not. So, the King…”
He tells me about the audience that just ended.
“This is an unprecedented crisis of national survival. Our Kingdom must cooperate with the Five Continents Alliance.
Our Kingdom has made the decision to request Allen to rescue Rosenheim, although it is a great regret for our valuable forces.
We also thought that Allen would be able to demonstrate his abilities better if the people he was working with were also allowed to work with him.”
In the audience room, the King said so apparently.
(Hmm… he wants me to die on the battlefield but did he really have to include my friends?)
“I’m sorry about that. I think I gave the King a bad impression.”
I remember the exchange I had with the then Crown Prince at the ceremony after the Academy Martial Arts Tournament.
As a result, Cecile, Viscount Granvelle’s daughter, has also been involved.
“… No, it’s okay. But I want you to make sure that Cecile returns home safely.”
The Viscount was at a loss for words for a moment, but he requested one thing from me.
“I promise you that.”
I promised the Viscount, though he had no reason to believe my words.
“So, what’s this all about?”
Dogora asks me in the Magic Ship.
We are all gathered in one private room, just as we were at the base. It is to share what the Viscount has told me with my friends.
“…”
Sophie is quite depressed after hearing about the events leading up to the fall of the capital.
“But the elves aren’t giving up, they’re still fighting. If they haven’t given up, we can’t give up on them.”
“… Master Allen.”
My words of hope seem to have reached Sophie. She seems to have regained a little of the sparkle in her eyes.
“But this is my fault. I didn’t expect the King to be so blatant.”
(Yeah. That was predictable. He had originally talked about sending Kiel and Kurena to the most dangerous places at the first dinner party. His target changed to me, though.)
“Oh, what? Don’t apologize to us. We’re doing this for your friends.”
Dogora gave me a look that said, “What are you talking about?” Everyone nodded their heads in agreement with Dogora.
“Yes, I do. You can do whatever you want, Allen.”
“Yes, it does. This is going to speed up my becoming a Noble too.”
Kurena agreed, and Kiel said that he had no problem with my actions because this war would shorten the time it would take him to become a Noble.
“Okay, Allen? We’re all ready.”
Cecile says that everyone is ready to go to war.
Yes, Cecile has been ready ever since her brother Mihai died in the battle against the Demon King’s army.
I think I’m just getting an early start on my entry next spring.
(We have to go through the ordeal. I wish we could have gone into the war with at least Orichalcum-class equipment. No, I have to do what I can now. I heard that there will be S-rank magical beasts on the battlefield.)
Everyone’s participation in the war is fine, even mine. If there’s one thing I regret, it’s that I’ve been collecting information in the Academy City, but I haven’t been able to get any information about the Level cap increasing.
This may be almost hopeless, as the Hero Helmios and the Master Swordsman Doberg are still in Normal Mode.
I wanted everyone to equip themselves with equipment we would find after conquering the S-class dungeon of the Baukis Empire.
“By the way, Allen, what is our goal?”
Cecile checks on the situation. It’s been 3 whole days since we boarded the Magic Ship.
We’ve been talking about organization and such, but I haven’t told everyone my goal.
“No, I heard that they’re usually heading south to a city called Nest. I’m thinking of heading north from there to wipe out the Demon King’s army.”
Right now, this high-speed Magic Ship is heading for the Nest City on the southern edge of Rosenheim.
It is said to be the key point south of Rosenheim. It is also the Nest City that the Kingdom contacted.
“”…””
What was the point of saying “I caused you trouble” just a moment ago, my friends thought. I was determined to wipe out the Demon King’s army.
“Well, you’re talking about destroying 3 million of the Demon King’s army, aren’t you? Master Allen.”
“No, Sophie. If possible, I’d like to destroy 7 million, including the 5 million in the reserves.”
4 million reserves is said to be waiting at sea in the northern part of the Central Continent.
If the war situation changes, I’m sure they will start moving.
“”…””
Maybe this is what it means to be speechless.
“Well, this time we got a request and we responded to it, so we don’t know in what form we’ll be participating in the war though.”
So far, we haven’t even been told what to do. We have only been asked for help.
I don’t know if we’re going to be integrated into some unit, a ranger unit, or what.
“You don’t have to worry about that.”
“Huh?”
“I will allow you to fight freely in my authority as a Princess. Isn’t that right, Formar?”
“Yes, Lady Sophiarone.”
Sophie is well aware that our fighting style cannot be incorporated into an elven unit. She believes that her position as a Princess will allow us to act independently.
With a number of worries, Allen and his friends were about to arrive in the Nest City the next day.