12:00 PM update. Scheduled to update again at 12:00 AM.
Since it's my birthday, I'm updating twice today, hehe.
I had a lot of ideas, but this was the easiest, so please bear with me <m(__)m>
Why am I the one giving the present on my birthday!?! Σ（・□・；）
The author's reflection after writing it... (´・ω・｀)
"What happened to Jurgen!?"
When Sister Lise returned to the mansion, she immediately asked this.
Because Jurgen, who should have been there, was not.
"The Duke has already set out with the knights."
"Set out!?"
It was a commendable speed.
But it was too fast.
Even if he took only the knights who could move, it wouldn't amount to much.
"Recall him immediately! We don't even know the situation in the south! Why did you let him go!?"
"Of course, I tried to stop him... but the Duke said he was going to clear the way for the Prince..."
"Clear the way!? What exactly is Jurgen going to do!?"
"The Duke went to slay the monsters on the route..."
I see.
That makes sense.
But it's still dangerous, and getting to the south from here is quite difficult.
There's the distance, and the south is mostly forest. The roads aren't paved, and there are usually monsters in the forest.
"Sister, what about the troops in training?"
"The new recruits are no good. We'll have to take the cavalry regiment that came for the exercise."
The regiment consists of five squadrons. One squadron is about two hundred men, so the cavalry regiment is about a thousand men. Well, there are probably some injured or missing, but it's roughly a thousand.
"Just one regiment... that's not enough."
"If we hurry, more would be better... but even if we get there, there's not much we can do."
The purple signal flare is a major event for the nation.
It was probably Leo who raised it. The only people with the authority to raise a purple signal flare in the south now are the general at the southern border or the inspector, Leo.
That alone shows how significant the purple signal flare is.
I'm not sure if I should be relieved, but the signal wouldn't be raised just because Leo died.
The fact that it was raised means it's that serious.
"It's probably just a reconnaissance in force."
"Still, it's necessary to understand the situation. Depending on the situation, we might have to move the southern army. We need to get to the scene."
Sister looked full of determination.
She was Sister, the Imperial Marshal.
Now, what should I do?
It's easy to teleport to the south, and it's easy to take Sister with me. However, precise teleportation is impossible. We don't know where the problem is in the south. Is it in Linfia's village, or in some town? Or is it somewhere without a landmark?
In the worst case, I might have to reveal my identity as Silver and transport Sister and the cavalry regiment to the south. It's that kind of situation.
But transporting a thousand people to the south would consume a lot of magic power. It's different from moving individuals.
If I'm going to make a teleportation gate, I want to use it at a more effective point.
"For now, we can only wait for the regiment to arrive."
"Yes..."
Sister's expression was worried as she replied.
■■■
"Sir, the Seventh Cavalry Regiment has responded to the summons."
"Thank you, Colonel."
Sister saluted back to the middle-aged colonel who saluted by placing his hand on his forehead.
Seeing this, I felt the reality of the military.
"What about the new recruits?"
"They are waiting at the training ground. I've sent a messenger to the eastern border, but reinforcements will probably be sent before the messenger arrives, so we should hurry to the scene."
The Imperial Army basically concentrates its forces on the borders.
Of course, there are forces in the center, but each territory has its lord's knights, and the capital has the Imperial Guard.
So the Imperial Army is basically prepared for external threats.
The eastern and western borders are elite forces commanded by marshals with full authority to defend the borders. They have the capacity to send reinforcements if there are abnormalities in other borders. They must have practiced this many times.
Once, the Crown Prince was involved in a battle during an inspection of the northern front and died while commanding. Sister regretted not being there to help.
The quick response from the eastern border is a lesson learned from that.
However,
"It's this time of day. We can't move fast."
"There's nothing we can do. We have to do our best with what we can."
It was already getting dark outside.
It would get darker from here.
Night marches are dangerous. If we try to take a shortcut, we'll have to go through the forest, where many monsters are active at night.
We could take a detour, but that would take more time.
I thought for a moment.
Should I reveal myself as Silver and teleport?
But if we fly to a southern town, we'll have to explain to the lord there, and if we're far from the scene, we'll end up marching at night anyway.
As I was hesitating, the Duke's butler came running, out of breath.
"Is something wrong?"
"N-no... huff huff... I came to inform you that the preparations are complete..."
"Preparations? For what?"
"Didn't you know...?"
The butler looked surprised and stared at Sister.
Sister looked puzzled, but the butler quickly regained his composure.
"Very much like the Duke... this way."
The butler led us to the upper floor of the mansion.
And there was an incredible sight.
"Is this... a road?"
A glowing road stretched to the south.
It continued far, far into the distance.
"This is the 'Light Road' that the Duke has been building with the cooperation of the surrounding lords for the past three years. It's not yet complete, but it's planned to connect the south and north directly to the border."
"Why would he build something like this...?"
"Officially, it's to secure a transportation route for merchants..."
"The true purpose is to allow Sister to reach the south and north quickly, isn't it..."
The butler nodded quietly.
Three years ago, that day.
If there had been such a road. Jurgen must have thought so.
That's why he built it so that Sister wouldn't regret it again if the same thing happened.
"He's quite a person..."
"Sir! With this, we can head to the south as quickly as possible!"
"Yes... prepare immediately."
Sister gave the order, and the colonel ran off. The butler also quietly left the scene.
After staring at the light road for a while, Sister murmured.
"What a fool... don't you think, Al?"
"Yes. The Rhenfeldt Duchy is already quite prosperous. Once this road is completed, the surrounding lords will benefit the most."
Of course, the Rhenfeldt Duchy will also benefit. But considering the scale of this project, it will probably be a significant loss.
How many years will it take to recover?
The surrounding lords are not that large. Most of the construction costs must have been borne by Jurgen.
"Why... would he do this much?"
"Who knows? I don't know. You'd have to ask him."
That was a lie.
I had a pretty good idea.
"I love you." The Duke built this road to be true to that.
To help the person his loved one wants to help. So she wouldn't regret it again.
Jurgen might have sensed the changes in Sister that started three years ago. No, he might have been the one who sensed them the most.
"...Al"
"What is it?"
"What should I do...?"
"I don't know. But Sister should just be herself. If you agree to a marriage out of guilt, the Duke will probably be disappointed. He didn't fall in love with someone like that."
"He's a troublesome person..."
"Yes, I think he's one of the most troublesome people in the Empire. What's troublesome is that he hasn't said a word to Sister despite doing all this. It would be easier if he said, 'Marry me because I did all this.'"
Getting married because you did something. That's not his thinking. He's not doing it to be liked.
For someone else, not for himself.
When he said he wanted to be true to love, I thought it was heavy. But now I see.
At this point, I almost want to praise him.
He's a person with an incredibly straight line.
"Instead of feeling sorry, if you think this is the person you want to marry, then that's when you should say yes, right?"
"That's not happening. Jurgen will always be a good friend."
"I see. Well, it's up to Sister. But..."
"But?"
I turned around and remained silent for a while.
The cavalry regiment's preparations were almost complete.
Sister followed me when she saw this.
"But what?"
"Are you curious?"
"Of course. Speak up."
"Well... if you're going to call him your brother-in-law, I think someone like him would be good. I won't recognize anyone less than him as my brother-in-law."
"Haha... I see."
Sister laughed lightly and started walking briskly, her blue cloak fluttering.
She looked dignified and full of determination.
It was the familiar sight of Sister.
"Let's go. To Leo."
"Yes."
And so, Sister Lise and I set off straight for the south.