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The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road Chapter 195

The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road Chapter 195.

Upon hearing the news of the undead soldiers’ invasion, I decided to hurry towards the mainland.

The captain, who had briefly dropped anchor, seemed eager to depart as well, giving me a look as if to ask if there was anything else I needed to do.

“I have no further business here, but…”

“For someone with no business, the atmosphere seems quite gloomy, doesn’t it?”

“Indeed, it does.”

For some reason, Elena and Bisketa’s demeanor had darkened since we passed through the barrier. Eo, who had lost her memories, was excited as if it was her first time on a ship, but the other two were not.

Sensing something off about their behavior, I asked Elena directly.

“Is there something bothering you?”

“No, it’s already over. Just… I’m worried.”

“About what?”

“It’s something you don’t need to know. There’s nothing good in knowing it either.”

“If that’s your reason for not telling me, just say it. It’ll be easier on your mind.”

“…”

Elena was silent for a moment before continuing.

“I was praying for Lord Cailum’s safety.”

“What do you mean…?”

But I think I knew. That this situation, which was too favorable for me, couldn’t come without a price.

There must be a reason why we could escape so easily from the elves’ island where entry and exit were strictly controlled.

“For the isolationists, it’s unthinkable for someone from inside to leave. Let alone Eo and Bisketa who came from outside, and you, an intruder, escaping. It’s clear what position Lord Cailum, who took these measures, will find himself in.”

“Are you saying he sacrificed himself for me?”

“Rather than sacrifice, he’s taken a gamble. He was tired of continued failures, to the point of doing something as awful as the engagement with Eo. To him, you were an interesting existence. He even went around questioning Bisketa about you.”

At that moment, the captain, judging there were no issues, raised the anchor and resumed the voyage.

The sea breeze suddenly slapped against my face.

“Until then, it was just interest, but after seeing what you did this time, he made up his mind. He thought it might be worth taking a gamble on this human.”

“Tch.”

As I clicked my tongue, feeling complicated, Elena continued, saying there was still time.

“Although he said it would be fine as long as you completed the task before you die, I hope you’ll handle it as quickly as possible. Even for a serious crime, it will take time for the sentence to be carried out. Especially since Lord Cailum held an important position.”

“Roughly how long?”

“I can’t give you a definite answer.”

What I thought was an easy request turned out to be unexpectedly troublesome.

A contradiction of being indefinite but needing to be handled as quickly as possible.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“That’s enough. Even if we can’t save Lord Cailum’s life, it’s fine as long as we fulfill his wishes. Don’t act too hastily.”

Elena reassured me in a calm voice.

She was a type of vassal I had never experienced before.

Assuming she doesn’t use magic, her martial arts skills were slightly above Master Ilya’s level, making her a formidable warrior, and she had a long career working for the state.

I’m not sure how much she could handle internal affairs, but I felt she could manage at least an average level.

You could call her a well-rounded talent.

‘I did have too many specialized talents around me.’

Rutger was somewhat well-rounded, but he had a weakness in his daughter Estelle, and his military power wasn’t particularly strong.

“Rather than worrying about that, please take good care of Eo now. She must be in a confused state at the moment.”

“Thank you. Yes, I’ll do that.”

After finishing my conversation with Elena, I approached Eo, who was out on the deck.

Sensing my presence, Eo tensed up without turning her head.

I heard she had forgotten all her martial arts knowledge. Despite that, her sensing abilities remained, allowing her to detect my presence even from afar.

As I approached closer, Eo’s body stiffened.

She seemed unsure of how to speak to me.

I felt the same way, but not wanting to keep my distance, I decided to be direct.

“Hey, can I touch your belly for a moment?”

“Huh…!?”

Eo was startled, apparently not expecting such a proposal.

“Th-that, well, um…”

“Is it not okay?”

“N-no, it’s not that. If it’s true that you’re the father, then, well… It’s not strange, I guess…”

“Then it’s fine, right?”

“Ah.”

I gently placed my hand on her belly while embracing her shoulder.

“Even so, twins… That’s just like you.”

“Like me? Why?”

“It’s a bit odd to say this, but Eo, you always came in second.”

“Second…? From what Bisketa told me, it seems I was an outstanding general. Is that true?”

“It’s complicated.”

“What!?”

“Rather than a general commanding soldiers, you were closer to a warrior, and even then, there were aspects that made it uneasy to fully entrust you with that role.”

“Ugh…”

“But you were exceptional. At least, I took you with me in every war.”

Strictly speaking, it was more like Eo insisted on following me somehow.

Not knowing this background, the current Eo blushed and fidgeted, seemingly pleased deep down.

Even without her memories, she was fundamentally still Eo.

It’s like seeing a pure version of her, having forgotten her upbringing. This is probably how she would have been if she hadn’t learned martial arts and become the captain of the royal guard.

I liked this side of her.

The previous Eo had blindly followed me from the start, serving me as her lord. I even thought her claim of loving me might have just been an extension of that.

Because of this, I felt a surge of desire to win the affection of her current self, who had no such memories.

“Don’t worry too much about not having memories. It doesn’t matter to me at all.”

“O-okay…!”

This seemed to comfort her, as Eo smiled with a relieved expression.

For a while after that, I stood with her, gazing at the horizon.

When I returned to the Southern Continent, I immediately headed towards the territory of Count Branford.

Although it usually took only a day to reach the Branford family located in the southwest of the Southern Continent, it was extremely difficult to find carriage transportation due to the chaos caused by the undead invasion.

It seemed that a mobilization order had been issued for horses in each city, as only the cries of foals searching for their mothers could be heard in the stables.

Since walking wasn’t an option either, I decided to travel by ship instead.

The territory of Count Branford wasn’t far from the coast, so after traveling by ship, I could arrive by walking for about a day.

“Whew, have we finally arrived?” Bisketa sighs, exhausted. She seems eager to rest soon, giving me a look that says we should enter the mansion quickly.

So we moved to the mansion without taking time to look around Killadern, the territory of the Branford family.

As expected of the main Branford family mansion, it was quite splendid. Although the mansion was about 3 stories tall, it covered an area the size of a soccer field including the garden, and there seemed to be quite a few employees.

As we approached the mansion, a man who looked like a butler came towards us.

“This is Count Branford’s mansion. Do you have business here? If not, please kindly turn back.”

“Please tell Anduha that Wade has returned.”

“Ah…!”

As if he had been notified in advance, the butler nodded and sent another employee into the mansion. Then he personally guided us to the reception room.

After waiting there for a while, Anduha appeared with a stern face.

“You’re back.”

“It’s been eventful, to say the least.”

“Did you… Find a vassal?”

Anduha narrowed his eyes, looking at the pregnant Eonia sitting blankly and Bisketa, who was visibly frail. He frowned, thinking I had made a poor judgment in bringing these two after he had provided support to find helpful people. But soon he stiffened upon seeing Elena standing behind.

He must have also sensed Elena’s unusual aura.

“I, I see you found one. Is that person your vassal? Im, impressive. To think she would have a stronger presence than even Gaspar.”

“Ah, well… She wasn’t originally my vassal. Though, I suppose she’s become something like one now.”

“I don’t know how you managed to take in such a skilled person as a vassal in such a short time, but the details don’t matter. We should be glad that our forces have increased.”

Anduha dismissed the employees who had brought in refreshments, saying we should get to the main point.

I asked before Anduha could bring up the main topic.

“Hah, looks like you’ve got quite a position? I thought you were just the head butler or something.”

“I’ll have you know I also have Branford blood in me. Though from a branch family, not the main line.”

“That’s unusual. Entrusting an important role in the main family to someone from a branch family. Well, it’s not exactly normal to have a girl like Rinoa sitting in the lord’s seat either.”

“I’d like to tell you not to concern yourself with our family matters… But I suppose I’ll have to explain some of it to clarify the current situation.”

Anduha stated the main point first.

“Wade, right now Miss Rinoa is being detained in the royal palace.”

“What’s that about…?”

I thought she might be under interrogation about the undead invasion that occurred in the Forest of Lament, but it seems that’s not the case.

“First, about that undead invasion. It seems a third party we were unaware of is involved.”

“A third party?”

“A force that’s neither the rebel faction nor the Savior Alliance, but purely a group that had been residing in the Lost Lands. Apparently, they sent an ultimatum to the kingdom before launching the invasion. They demanded that we never interfere with the Forest of Lament again. They said there would be no bloodshed if we complied. This is what I heard from Lady Lucretia.”

“The kingdom didn’t accept, I assume.”

For the Kingdom of Ellan, the Lost Lands, including the Forest of Lament, were their territory that they needed to reclaim someday.

So there was no way they would accept an order to stay away.

“So that’s why the invasion started.”

“Because of that, the young lady is no longer under suspicion regarding the Forest of Lament incident, but another problem has arisen.”

It was a revolt within the Branford branch family.

“The branch family has raised accusations that Miss Rinoa assassinated her parents and siblings to seize the title of Countess.”

“Accusations or not, isn’t that the truth?”

At my words, both Bisketa and Elena frowned simultaneously. Anduha heaved a deep sigh.

“Is that what the young lady told you?”

“Yes, she said she did it herself.”

“That’s slightly different from the truth. It’s true that the young lady conveyed the plot to the kingdom and received orders and poison, but I was the one who actually carried it out.”

“That doesn’t change anything, does it? Even if you executed it, the fact is that Rinoa committed the act. There’s no use covering up that part.”

“Sigh! Yes, you’re right…”

“I never intended to make an issue of that part anyway, so let’s move on to the next topic. Well, I can guess that the branch family, knowing this fact, protested for Rinoa to receive severe punishment.”

“If it were just that, there wouldn’t be a problem. The king had tacitly approved of that incident, and there’s no evidence. That’s why the branch family couldn’t raise issues until now. But then Prince Joseph got involved.”

“…!”

Prince Joseph had recently learned about the Branford family’s affairs. He then declared that he would not forgive the treasonous Branford family, or Rinoa.

His actions were aimed at using the branch family to oust Rinoa.

“Don’t you think you’re partly responsible for how things turned out?”

“Tch, that prince. What a trashy thing to do…”

It was clear that his resentment towards Erina and me was one of the causes of this situation.

The troublesome point was that objective justice was on their side. It was all true – the Branford family’s plot for treason, and Rinoa’s unfilial conduct.

“This has become quite a headache.”

This would lead to complicated political strife.

And I lacked experience in such political conflicts.

Previously in the Central Continent, I had the weapon of being the mercenary Wade, and the backing of the Crossing Republic, which allowed me to engage in favorable political battles even against a duke of a kingdom. But now, I don’t have such weapons here.

“We’ll have to ask Princess Rosa for help on that front. You should know what other connections we can use.”

“I’ve been inquiring about people who owe the Branford family, but with the undead invasion happening right now… We haven’t been able to gather much support.”

“Hmm, let’s go back to Baien and think it over again. I also want to let Erina and mother know that I’ve returned safely.”

“I thought you might say that, so I’ve prepared a carriage and ship. Let’s move right away.”

Still, given the fatigue from coming this far, we decided to stay for a day before moving.

* * *

The situation had become quite complicated. Both regarding Rinoa and other matters.

I was also worried about Gaspar and Gunther, who we left behind in the Forest of Lament.

At least the Western Continent was less chaotic due to the undead invasion. Still, the inspections had become quite strict, likely due to some influence from the events.

Because of this, it took a whole day to reach Baien, which should have only taken half a day.

Arriving in the city at dawn, we fought off sleep and returned to the mansion.

“Ars!”

“Sir Ars!”

Noticing our return, mother, Erina, and Meissen came down in their nightwear. I had been worried that it might be dangerous with just the three of them, with Rinoa and Anduha gone, but it seems Lucretia had been staying at the mansion with them.

Erina brightened upon seeing the people around me.

“You found them after all! I’m glad to see you again, Eonia… Ma’am!?”

Erina was shocked to see Eo’s swollen belly. Mother was equally surprised.

They soon turned their gaze to me.

“Well… Yes, it’s my child. Twins, actually.”

A wave of astonishment passed through for a while.

Mother seemed happy but her expression clouded, perhaps remembering Yumir. Erina looked at Eo enviously and for some reason placed a hand on her own stomach.

Seeing that gesture, I couldn’t help but ask reflexively.

“E-Erina? It’s not…?”

“No… Unfortunately not.”

Erina pouted her lips.

At that moment, Eo, who had been observing the situation, grabbed my sleeve with a desperate look.

“Ars, who is that woman? Why are you exchanging such intimate glances with her…?”

“Ah.”

Come to think of it, I hadn’t explained that part yet.

I indirectly conveyed that I was also in a relationship with Erina. The previous Eo already knew this fact and didn’t seem to mind, but it seems that’s not the case now.

“How could this be…”

Eo looked truly hurt, on the verge of tears.

“No, that’s, I mean…”

I was greatly flustered and had to console Eo. Here, Bisketa helped. She shot me a reproachful look before calming Eo down.

Mother and Erina, watching this scene, were puzzled, not understanding what was going on.

“It’s a bit complicated.”

After hearing the situation, both were at a loss for words. Still, they breathed a sigh of relief at the possibility of Eo regaining her memories.

“Whew!”

After the eventful reunion finally ended, I sighed without realizing it.

And then Lucretia appeared, frowning sleepily as if she had just woken up.

“What’s all this commotion at this hour… If you have something to discuss, do it after dawn… Yawn…”

Lucretia, half-asleep, returned to her room. Thanks to her easing the tension, we too were able to rest comfortably for now.


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The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road

The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road

Score 9.2
Status: Completed Type: Author: Released: 2022 Native Language: Korean
I ended up possessing Ars Elaine, a supporting character in the game. Struggling to prevent my death, I pave my way.

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