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Chapter 139: After the Battle… Work Never Ends
After witnessing the retreat of the Laramon army, we divided our unit into two groups. One group was assigned the task of collecting the confiscated food supplies, while the other group focused on capturing the injured Laramon soldiers who couldn’t move. I entrusted the capture of enemy soldiers to Layfence, and we headed towards the food supplies.
“There are so many…” I couldn’t help but let those words slip from my mouth. Indeed, there were an overwhelming number of wagons left unattended.
“Your Majesty, what should we do with these food supplies?” one of my subordinates asked. I frowned and replied, “Stop calling me ‘Your Majesty.’ Just call me Linos. Well, taking them back to the capital is not ideal. Let’s return the food to the people since it was taken from them by the Laramon forces.”
I wrote a note on a piece of paper that I had prepared in advance:
“To the unfortunate Agarta citizens who have been entrusted to me, Linos. It is regrettable that the Laramon army took your food supplies. Rest assured, we have successfully defeated the Laramon forces. Therefore, we are considering returning the confiscated food. If you wish to reclaim it, please come to the Daiworth Plains. However, we can only wait until sundown today. In case of rain, we will withdraw, so please come as soon as possible. We look forward to your visit and encourage you to invite your neighbors. Sincerely, Linos.”
I had my subordinates copy the note multiple times and had Sadakichi and the Fairy Dragons deliver them to the lords. To ensure the letters didn’t directly reach the enemy, I instructed them to scatter the letters around the vicinity of the lords’ mansions.
Meanwhile, Layfence and the others efficiently captured the fallen Laramon soldiers. It turned out that there were nearly 2,000 injured soldiers, with a significant number of them in critical condition. I myself was occupied with their healing. As for the casualties on the Laramon side, they slightly exceeded 1,000.
I instructed my soldiers to enclose the disarmed prisoners within a barrier and ordered them to dig a large hole in the grassland using earth magic to bury the dead. While they carried out those tasks, I told the soldiers to prepare a slightly delayed lunch.
Our lunch resembled a barbecue. We grilled the leftover grilled rice balls from breakfast along with meat and vegetables. The delicious aroma quickly spread around. I gave instructions for everyone to start eating as their hands became free. Suddenly, I noticed the prisoners clinging to the barrier, watching the barbecue. I approached them.
“What’s the matter? Are you hungry?”
The soldiers nodded eagerly.
“Hey, you guys! Make sure they get some food too!”
Under the clear blue sky that had cleared up after last night’s rain, a barbecue festival began.
After finishing our meal, we created a large barrier around our military camp and took a leisurely break. During that time, one of the lords whose food supplies had been taken arrived with several dozen men. Subsequently, other lords also came one after another to collect their food supplies.
The lords’ reactions varied. Some tried to forcibly take the supplies from us in a high-handed manner, some took the supplies indifferently, and the majority of them tried to flatter me while making excuses.
“Well, as expected of our king. We believed in you to defeat the Laramon army. We also wanted to contribute, but we thought we should leave the credit to the king. We intentionally overlooked them. I swear I didn’t hallucinate!”
I couldn’t help but laugh at that. There are always hopeless fools everywhere, but I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the people who served under such lords.
With a sense of exasperation towards the lords’ varied attitudes, I delivered the same message to all of them.
“First of all, you have no qualification to be a lord. You couldn’t protect your subjects, and that’s why you lost the food supplies. I don’t think you can protect your subjects in the future either. This incident has proven that you lack the power. Don’t come up with excuses like being careless or claiming it was a strategic move. It was just luck that my subordinates noticed and were able to provide reinforcements. Normally, you and your subjects would have starved. What’s most unfortunate is your subjects. As a mercy to your good-hearted subjects, I will return what was taken from them. Think carefully about your future actions… because there won’t be a next time.”
The lords all directed their eyes filled with hatred towards me and left with an abundance of food in their hands.
As the sun began to set, the Count of Saracenian, who possessed the innermost territory of the Agarta domain, arrived.
“Is it already time… Linos, the king?”
“No, just call me Linos. Thanks for coming, Count Saracenian. The food supplies that were taken are over there. Take them back with you.”
Count Saracenian stared intently at the wagons filled with food supplies. Then, he let out a heavy sigh.
“I… almost let my people starve.”
“Yes, that’s true.”
“I fell for the enemy’s deceptive words… King, no, Lord Linos, I must express my gratitude for this incident.”
“There’s no need for gratitude. However, there won’t be a next time. Take some time to reconsider your course of action. A lord who can’t feed his subjects is of no use and only brings harm.”
Count Saracenian looked at me for a while, then he and his subordinates left with the food supplies to return to their territory.
As I bid farewell to the count, Layfence approached me.
“Lord Linos, would it be alright for you to return to the mansion around this time?”
“But, General…”
“We’ll camp here tonight. With your barrier, Lord Linos, we’ll be fine. The barrier stones carried by the soldiers will last for two more days. There won’t be any problems until tomorrow morning when we return to the capital with the prisoners. Perhaps Lady Rico is feeling lonely?”
The old general winked at me.
“However, there are a lot of prisoners, you know? Are you sure it’ll be alright?”
“Don’t worry. We have enough food to feed the prisoners. Besides, it’ll be good training for the soldiers. It’s a rare opportunity to escort more prisoners than our own troops.”
The old general spoke with a delighted expression as he looked at the soldiers.
“Understood. In that case… Please make sure not to push the soldiers too hard.”
“I understand!”
I mounted Illymo and called out to the soldiers.
“You guys! I’ll return to the capital ahead of you. Follow General Layfence’s instructions. Your performance today was splendid! Let’s meet again in the capital!”
Saying that, I urged Illymo to run.
I rode until the soldiers were no longer in sight and then dismounted from Illymo. I set up a teleportation barrier that led to the mansion in the imperial capital. When I arrived in the backyard of the mansion through the teleportation, there was Rico.
“Linos!”
As soon as she saw me, she threw herself into my chest. Sensing her condition, Illymo walked alone towards the stable.
“What’s wrong, Rico?”
“I… had a scary dream.”
“A dream?”
As I gently stroked Rico’s back, she trembled with small shivers.
“In the midst of the battle… your barrier was broken… and I saw you being killed in my dream.”
I nodded. “I see. That was a scary dream. Don’t worry, I’m alive and well. Just as promised, I came back alive, Rico.”
Rico lifted her face from my chest and stared directly into my eyes.
“Is it really you, Linos? It’s really you, right?”
As she touched my face and body, Rico murmured, “You have your legs… Does it have something to do with it?… It really is Linos.”
She let out a small smile. Oh no, she’s incredibly cute.
I entered the mansion with Rico. The dining room was set up with dinner, featuring Peyris’ special fish dishes.
“Welcome back, my lord!”
“Welcome back! My lord!”
“Master! Welcome back!”
Everyone greeted me one after another. And just as we entered, Mei appeared from behind us.
“Welcome back, my lord.”
“I’m back, Mei.”
“Since morning, Lady Rico has been restless, pacing around the rooms even in Agarta. And even after returning to the mansion, she kept going back and forth between the backyard and the house, worried about you. I’m truly relieved that you’ve returned safely.”
“Oh, I caused you to worry. …Rico, you look pale. Are you okay?”
“Well… I had such a scary dream, so…”
“I see. Since we’re finally back, let’s eat. Wow, it looks delicious! As expected of Peyris! Let’s eat before it gets cold!”
After confirming that everyone was seated, I spoke up.
“We were able to win this battle with almost zero casualties. It’s thanks to all of you as well. I’m grateful. Now then… let’s dig in!”
“I-ta-da-ki-ma-su!” everyone chimed in.
We all enjoyed the meal together, with lively conversations. The familiar scene of our usual dinner was right there.