NOVEL NEXT Volume 9, Chapter 3 – Every Speculation, Part 6
Volume 9, Chapter 3 - Every Speculation, Part 6
The new royal capital of Felzen was set at Sandinal in the southwest.
Although the Six Kingdoms forcibly promoted the transfer of the capital, no one objected to it as most of the Felzen nobles and royalty had been killed in battle or were missing in action.
Although there was a Felzen remnant army, they could not resist with their own strength, and the former royal capital of Scheue had long been in ruins, so the people’s support was biased toward the Six Kingdoms.
Sandinal was rapidly developing, partly because of its proximity to Azel, the entrance to the Six Kingdoms. Compared to the devastation in the east, the area around Sandinal flourished like a different country. Its lord’s mansion still saw many visitors to this day, and the town’s atmosphere was so cheerful that it was hard to believe that it was still wartime.
Today, Sandinal was ruled by Queen Lucia of Anguis, one of the Six Kingdoms. She was in her room, wrestling with a stack of reports piled up on her office desk.
One of her aides, standing nearby, was twitching at the piles of parchments that were being brought in one after another.
“……Where did Nameless go, forcing people to do the work for him?”
“I believe he went to see what was going on in the north?”
“Yes, and I haven’t heard from him since. Does he not understand the situation?”
Lucia said dismissively, then threw down her quill and leaned back in her chair.
“We have to concentrate on the fight against the Grantz now.”
With a wry smile, the aide quickly prepared a cup of tea and placed it in front of Lucia. Lucia sipped her tea quietly and looked at the aide who had begun to clean up the desk.
She observed that a sheet of letterhead was tucked into the stack of finished reports.
“Good, I will leave that to you, Seleucus.”
Lucia turned her eyes to the wall. A man is sipping a cup of tea elegantly―Seleucus, a longtime member of the Anguis royal family. He was a man who always smiled and looked frivolous, but he was a man of great ability and should be considered Lucia’s right-hand man.
“Seleucus, why don’t you work for me once in a while instead of just leaving things to others?”
Seleucus sighed a little, shrugging his shoulders as Lucia instructed him with her chin. Shaking his head, he moved away from the wall and tapped on the shoulder of the aide familiarly as he approached.
“…You rest and leave the rest to me.”
“B-but I shouldn’t bother you, Seleucus-sama…”
“Sometimes I have to work too, or Lucia-sama will demote me.”
After holding the bundle of parchment in both hands as if he was half-grabbing it, Seleucus looked at Lucia once and then headed for the door. However, there was no way he could open the door with his hands full.
As he reached for the handle in an impossible position, the bundle of parchment fell out of his hands like an avalanche to the floor. In contrast to Seleucus, who calmly watched, the aide hurriedly began to pick up the reports.
Seleucus smiled at the earnest man.
“I’m sorry, but it doesn’t seem efficient for one person to carry this amount. Can you help me?”
“Certainly, sir.”
While picking up the parchment with the aide, Seleucus quickly put a piece of letterhead in his pocket.
Then he stood up and opened the door with a nonchalant look on his face.
“Then, Lucia-sama, we will leave for a little while, but if you need anything else, please call the soldiers at the entrance.”
Seleucus bowed with the aide and closed the door.
In the quiet room, Lucia, having finished her tea, stood up from her chair.
She was about to approach the window when――,
“How’s the situation?”
“――!?”
Lucia turned around in surprise to find Nameless standing in front of the windowless wall.
He was drinking tea with a saucer in his hand.
“You use good leaves, don’t you?”
Nameless smiled at her, and Lucia recovered herself from her confusion and spread out her fan to cover the lower half of her face.
“…You always appear so suddenly. It’s bad for my heart. Will you stop?”
“I can’t stop now; it’s in my nature. Above all, this girl likes to surprise people, and if I don’t entertain her regularly, she’ll get bored with me.”
Nameless patted the staff in his hand. Lucia expressed her disgust at this.
“That’s why I don’t like your ‘Rashomon.'”
“If it is a ‘Mandala,’ even if it catches an opening, it will not be fatal.”
“Even if a fatal wound is averted, if caught by surprise, even me would be injured.”
It’s not even a gut feeling. The two were not even trying to get to know each other. There was something empty about their exchange.
Perhaps thinking he was wasting his time, Nameless shook his head several times and put the plate on the table.
“So, how’s the situation?”
“Come here.”
Lucia left her desk and went to a long desk near the window.
On it was a map of Felzen. There were several different colored pieces, mostly concentrated in the center and west of Felzen.
“The Grantz is attacking from two directions. The first and second Grantz Armies, on the northern flank, will be unstoppable. With the main army in the rear, we are at a complete disadvantage.”
Nameless, who was listening to the explanation, turned his gaze to the south.
“Then the other one comes from the south…?”
“Yes, the Third Army of Grantz and the small country of Baum. The speed of the invasion here is still slow, thanks to the efforts of the country of Azel.
If the position defended by the Azel were breached, it would be a straight road to Sandinal.
If the Six Kingdoms lose to Sandinal, Felzen would once again be in the hands of the Grantz. If that were to happen, the neighboring Azel would be in trouble. That was why they were fighting so hard, but the difference in strength cannot be easily reversed. It was clear that eventually, even Sandinal would have to retreat.
“But we can buy time. I’m going to ask Azel to hang on a little longer.”
“I see… Then, the problem at hand is the northern front. What are the other countries doing?”
“Tigris is still on the run, and Scorpius is keeping a low profile. They probably don’t want to see any damage to themselves. The walls of Urpeth, which holds the former royal capital, are meaningless if they are confined in such a city. They might escape in the near future.”
It was only natural that they would be defeated even if they took on the Grantz individually. Even if the soldiers had the same level of training, their experience was too different. The other side was an ever-victorious nation―an allied force that couldn’t coordinate, was no match for them.
“I see, that’s not good. Let me tell them something.”
Nameless, who showed a light reaction, showed no signs of impatience. It was as if he had known this would happen.
“…I’d appreciate it if you’d do that for me.”
Lucia, staring at Nameless with a suspicious look in her eyes, hid her mouth with a fan.
“So, as for our future plans, we have decided that if the Grantz seize the former royal capital, the Six Kingdoms will be thoroughly confined to their borders.”
“You are deliberately giving up the east side of the country?”
“The Six Kingdoms are now thoroughly confined to the interior. Then let us divide Felzen between the west and the east.”
The invasion of Grantz three years ago and its defeat still lingers in the air. The number of troops was not enough to occupy the territory of Felzen. If Luca had not taken nearly half of them with her, she might still have been able to keep them, but there was no point in talking about “what if.” The fact was that there were not enough soldiers, so a compromise would have to be reached.
“The east side was certainly the nuisance above our eyes. If we surrender it to the Grantz, at least the burden on the Six Kingdoms will be reduced.”
Nameless, who was looking at the map, nodded his head repeatedly in agreement.
Lucia’s eyes narrowed at the sight, and her shoulders gave a slight shake.
“That’s why we are inciting the people in the west to reject the Grantz.”
“But it seems things aren’t perfect yet, are they?”
“You are very good at reading people’s minds, don’t you think? But you are right.”
Lucia dropped a number of pieces on the map.
“The wall of the people has not been built yet. The remnants of Felzen’s army have been desperately trying to get the people to accept the Grantz. Even so, the results don’t look good, and thanks to them, we’re not making the progress we want to make.”
Both sides were agitating. The people of Felzen must be fed up.
They had been exposed to warfare for a long time, and their hearts were broken. If they were pushed too hard, they would rebel, and fire would erupt from everywhere. The current situation was that it was becoming more and more difficult to control the situation. But if things continued to go unchecked, the fangs of the Grantz would dig in as far west as they could.
“Then, let me buy you some time.”
“What?”
“I’ve finished training the watchdog, and I’m going to throw him against the First Army of Grantz.”
“…How many do you need?”
“No, I’ll move Tigris, Scorpius, and the soldiers of Urpeth. Queen Lucia, you will stay where you are and accomplish your objective.”
Lucia frowned at Nameless, who lifted the edge of his mouth confidently.
“…When I see your modest attitude, I get goosebumps. What are you up to?”
“It’s all for the sake of the unified king.”
“…Stop using such whitewashed words.”
She never trusted Nameless’ words. This was because he had never worked for the Six Kingdoms, not even once. The actions of Nameless―all lead to the prosperity of the Vanir three kingdoms. That’s why it’s so eerie that Nameless is making his own move this time.
“I wonder, what happened to the girl I told you about?”
“I got tired of her, so I dumped her. She was fun at first, but she resisted.”
“Where is she now?”
It is unusual for Nameless to be interested in another person. And if it was an enemy spy, it was even worse. Lucia was more than a little surprised at the reaction of the long-eared race, who do not see human beings as people. However, she never showed it in her facial expression but rather probed into the matter.
“What are you concerned about?”
“I thought she might know something important about the Grantz.”
“I see. But she is a stubborn woman. She never gave me any information.”
“I see… That’s unfortunate.”
Perhaps believing Lucia’s words, he backed off rather easily.
Nameless then left the map, looked around, and said,
“I don’t have much time, so I’ll leave you to it.”
With these words, he disappeared without a shadow of a trace, just as he had appeared.
Lucia closes her fan as she stares at the spot where Nameless was standing.
“It’s really… creepy.”