From then on, Thomasâ lessons moved to tactics and formations in battle.
Although I intend to leave some of the matters of warfare to my vassals, I listened to him properly and seriously because I want to know what I should do myself.
I guess in a way itâs only natural for me to listen seriously, butâŠ
âI see, you should use Sound Magic to give instructionsâŠâ (Lithia)
For some reason, Lithia was listening to Thomas seriously.
âUm⊠what does Lithia want to know about warfare?â (Ars)
âMmm⊠what do you mean! As the wife of the county mayor, I will have to give instructions to the soldiers when the time comes!â (Lithia)
When I asked Lithia, she replied with a slightly angry tone.
In case of emergency, but will there ever be such a situation? I questioned myself, I but kept my mouth shut because I was afraid she would get even angrier.
âOh, I see. Lithia is diligent and dependable.â (Ars)
âEhehe, I feel embarrassed when you say that.â (Lithia)
When I complimented her, her cheeks turned red, and she looked embarrassed. The most adorable expression in the world.
âIâve never been taught this kind of thing before, so itâs a good learning experience for me. Letâs study together again, shall we?â (Lithia)
âLetâs do that.â (Ars)
I nodded.
After a while, Thomasâs class ended.
âAlright, itâs over.â (Charlotte)
Charlotte stretching.
She had barely listened after all, but somehow she seemed to have done it all by herself.
Next to Charlotte, Musha was lying on the desk, probably because she had studied so hard. That girl is the type to struggle for things⊠Well, Charlotteâs personality doesnât seem to change, but she definitely needs someone to support her, so it canât be helped.
âShall we go for some training?â (Braham)
âYes.â (Zat)
Braham and Zat got up slowly and left the room.
Zat was listening seriously, but Bradham remained indolent in the end.
I could see from behind him that he was obviously listening while looking away.
Thomas, too, seemed to have given up, not really expecting Braham to listen properly.
Well, his Strategy is better than before, but as far as I can tell at this point, heâs still at 31.
His Command has also improved a little to 59, but it is still not a number that would allow him to command a large army.
His military prowess is as high as ever, so hopefully, he can improve on his shortcomings with studyingâŠ
Charlotte, who, like Braham, does not study much, has the power to change the war situation with her overwhelming magical ability, even without any knowledge, and she has charisma, so the mage soldiers will firmly follow her orders.
Braham does not have that kind of thing, and if he does not study tactics properly, he will not be able to develop his Command, which is his strongest point.
There is nothing I can do about this unless he is motivated to do so.
If I force him to do something and he is in a bad mood, it would not be surprising if he says he is going to go to another territory. It would be a shame to let a gem like Braham slip away.
I guess weâll just have to wait and see.
When I was about to leave the lecture room with Lithia, Thomas passed by.
Lithia said,
âYou made today very informative. I look forward to the next one.â (Lithia)
We greeted him.
âAre you going to come next time too⊠well, thatâs fineâ (Thomas)
Thomas replied in a tone showing a bit of surprise.
âWere we a nuisance?â (Ars)
âNo⊠it was a little hard to deal with, but you were not an annoyance. Rather, Charlotte and others came, so that was a big help.â (Thomas)
âIâm glad to hear that.â (Ars)
Even though Charlotte attended, she didnât seem to listen seriously.
Still better than not coming.
âI just wanted to ask you, how did Braham end up in Canale?â (Thomas)
âBraham? After winning the battle against Beltud, I appraised the captured enemy generals, and I promoted him because he was excellent among them. At first, I recommended him to Lord Clan as a vassal, but he wanted to come to Canale.â (Ars)
âIs he really good⊠Iâm sure heâs good at fighting⊠but I heard nothing but bad things about him when he was in Beltud.â (Thomas)
âDid you know about Braham before you came here?â (Ars)
âYeah.â (Thomas)
Thomas shook his head.
I thought Braham wasnât that well-known, at least not when he was in Beltud, since he didnât seem to have been assigned to such an important mission.
âHe was infamous in Beltud. He was an above-average fighter, but he was weak in the head, and his successes in battle were not smart. He sometimes achieved great results, and there were many soldiers who admired him, so he was allowed to lead his troops.â (Thomas)
âI see, you had a strange type of recognition.â (Ars)
âHe certainly isnât the idiot I thought he was, but⊠does he really have any talent?â (Thomas)
âThere is no doubt in my mind. Braham will eventually become a top-class commander in the Somerforce Empire.â (Ars)
Brahamâs Command potential is at 102.
He has a higher Command than Ritsu and Mireille. I have appraised many people in the past, but I have yet to see anyone higher than Braham.
If he grows well, he may become the strongest general in the world.
âHuh, so he can become a great commander⊠Does he have that level of talent? Well, weâll find out when we get there.â (Thomas)
Thomas didnât seem to believe it at all.
It might be unreasonable to look at that Brahamâs idiotic presence and tell Thomas to believe that he will become a great commander.
In fact, looking at the current Braham, I canât even assert that he will definitely become one.
âSee you later.â (Ars)
Lithia and I left Thomas and went back to our room together.
~3rd Person Perspective~
After listening to Thomasâ lecture, Braham and his second-in-command, Zat, were on their way to the training grounds.
Braham, who liked to train his body, trained in his spare time, and Zat was always along with him.
âHmm.â (Braham)
Braham was walking and thinking about something.
Zat saw him and gave him a suspicious look.
Bradham is not the type of man who worries or thinks.
He is the type of man who lives by his guts.
Even though he was studying just a few minutes ago, it was still surprising to see him thinking.
âHey, Zat, whatâs the point of studying tactics? The best way to get stronger is to train.â (Braham)
Braham asked Zat as they walked.
Zat listened to the question and then answered the question with a dumbfounded look on his face.
âWell, thatâs necessary. If you learn tactics, you will win battles more easily.â (Zat)
âTactics⊠it is all about beating the enemy using cowardly means to win, isnât it? It doesnât make me happy if I win that way. The best way to win is to fight fair and square!â (Braham)
ââŠHaa, but if you lose in a situation where you could have won if you had proper tactics, thereâs no point, is there?â (Zat)
âAs long as you donât lose!â (Braham)
Bradham asserted confidently.
âWell, thatâs fine as long as you donât loseâŠâ (Zat)
âWhat do you mean, Iâve lost before?â (Braham)
âDidnât you say yourself that youâve lost to Sir Ritsu?â (Zat)
âUh⊠Well, I certainly lost to Master Ritsu⊠but that was a one-on-one fight! Iâm talking about battles!â (Braham)
âItâs been a short time since you became a vassal of the Louvent family, so you havenât been defeated yet⊠but as I recall, the captain came to serve the Louvent family after you were defeated and captured, right?â (Zat)
âGuuuâŠâŠâ (Braham)
There was no way to deny it because it was completely true.
Braham recalls the battle at Beltud before he served the Louvent family.
The first thing that comes to mind is his own spectacular success.
Although he had less than half of the enemyâs force, he led his men into a straight line into the enemyâs army and quickly took the enemy generalâs head. Then, the enemy army was broken up, and he was rewarded with a great victory.
Recalling the situation at that time, Braham smiled softly. Seeing that, Zat drew back slightly.
Then he thought of how he had been active in several battles.
âUhuh! Iâm not a loser! Iâve done a lot of good! I didnât lose the battle against Lord Clanâs Army!â (Braham)
âDonât you remember only the convenient scenariosâŠ? You seem to have blundered just as much as I have.â (Zat)
âThatâs rude! Thatâs not true!â (Braham)
Braham raises his voice and denies it.
If youâve been Bradham up to now, he remembers. He would have stopped remembering at this point and would have ended up believing that he had only played an active role, but he had grown up a little since he came to Canale, and he was different.
He thought about it a little longer and looked back at his blunders.
As he did so, he recalled them one after another.
The first thing that comes to his mind is the memory of the various things he has done, such as falling into a trap and becoming the cause of his armyâs defeat, or ignoring orders and charging in at his own discretion, causing his allies to lose their footing.
âtskâŠâŠâ (Braham)
Brahamâs face paled as one possibility occurred to him.
âHey, Zat, Iâm probably wrong⊠but can I ask?â (Braham)
âSure.â (Zat)
âIs it possible that the reason I was treated coldly at Beltud was that I was an idiot?â (Braham)
âPossibly.â (Zat)
Zat answered Brahamâs question immediately with a look that said, âWhy are you asking me something obvious?â
Brahamâs mouth dropped open and he looked dumbfounded.
âyouâre kidding, right?â (Braham)
âNo. I donât know much about your situation in Beltud, but I canât think of any other reason.â (Zat)
ââŠâŠâ (Braham)
Braham ponders, sweat crawling down his spine.
ââŠZat. âŠIâm going to review what I was taught, so why donât you help me?â (Braham)
âI understand.â (Zat)
Zat nodded with an exasperated look like Braham finally realized it.