The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road Chapter 196.
People facing each other again as day breaks.
Lucretia was staring at the new figures with a solemn gaze, as if her careless appearance in the morning had been a lie.
“So, Wade. This is the vassal you were talking about. A skilled martial artist who can teach me the spear.”
“Yes… That’s right, but there’s a bit of a problem.”
“You said she lost their memory?”
“That’s correct. Because of that, it seems she has forgotten all her martial arts. The foundation is still there, though.”
“Indeed, I can sense the aura of a strong person. And that one over there too…”
Lucretia swallows hard while looking at Elena. She’s so excited that she even stumbles over her words.
“W-who is that person over there?”
“This is Eonia’s master. She’s agreed to cooperate with me from now on.”
At the word ‘cooperate’, Elena smirked and then lent me her support.
“I am Elena, who has become a vassal of Lord Elaine.”
As Elena formally declared herself a vassal, Lucretia stared at me as if seeing me anew.
“So, you really do have more outstanding vassals following you.”
Elena wasn’t actually part of the vassals I had mentioned before, but I decided to keep quiet about that. What’s good is good.
Lucretia, seemingly having developed a new interest, probes further.
“How does Elena rank among your vassals?”
“Well, if we’re just talking about martial arts, maybe third?”
“Third! You mean there are two more above her!”
Lucretia exclaims in shock.
Elena’s expression also twitched.
“… Elaine. I can’t let that comment slide. You’re placing people you haven’t even fought against above me?”
To this, Eo also timidly provides supporting fire.
“Th-that’s right! There’s no way anyone could be stronger than Lady Elena!”
“But I beat that Elena, you know?”
“What!?”
“Think about it. How else could I have gotten to the room where you were?”
At this, Elena flares up.
“That time, I was caught off guard…”
“There’s no such thing as being caught off guard in a duel. It’s just an excuse.”
“Grrr!”
Elena, her competitive spirit rising, lightly gritted her teeth.
“Fine. If I defeat the two you claim are stronger than me, you’ll acknowledge it, right? Who are they? These ones are supposedly stronger than me.”
“My master Ilya Anfei and her husband Anton Quinter.”
Strictly speaking, Master Ilya might be slightly behind Elena, but I decided to give her bonus points for being my master.
Moreover, I had never seen Master Ilya fight seriously. Given the high unpredictability and practical strength characteristic of Chester-types, if it came to a life-or-death duel, it’s entirely possible that my master could subdue Elena.
Of course, if magic were used, Elena would have the advantage.
“Ilya Anfei and Anton Quinter, is it? Very well. I’ll prove myself by defeating them someday.”
“For your reference, Eonia couldn’t handle those two.”
“That’s only natural. They’d have to be at least that strong to be a match for me.”
Lucretia was gazing at Elena with admiration in her eyes.
Then she jabbed me in the side.
“Wade, you haven’t forgotten your promise, have you?”
The promise to bring in a martial arts instructor in exchange for her cooperation.
“It’s a bit complicated, you see.”
“Are you thinking of not keeping your promise?”
“I said it’s complicated, didn’t I?”
Originally, I had planned to just have Eo do it. Since Eo wouldn’t refuse my request, I felt comfortable making that promise.
However, Eo is in that state right now.
“Besides, doesn’t it look unseemly to rely too much on others? If you really want it, why don’t you ask directly yourself?”
“Uh, well. That’s true.”
Lucretia, seeming to agree, hesitated for a moment before earnestly asking Elena to instruct her in martial arts. Elena, surprised by this bold proposal from someone she just met, opened her eyes wide and glanced at me.
I nodded, indicating that she should do it.
“Hmm, alright. Teaching people is something I’ve been doing all along. So… Lucretia, was it?”
“Please, call me Luc!”
“Hehe, it’s a pleasure to teach someone so enthusiastic. Well then, Luc. Tell me when you’re free. Let’s try to match our schedules.”
“Yes, Lady Elena!”
Calling her Luc suddenly reminded me of my seven vassals.
Luke, the master craftsman who died before meeting me, caught up in the Great Massacre of the West.
It felt somewhat fateful that Lucretia called herself Luc. Well, their roles are completely different, and she’s not my vassal yet.
“That matter aside. Luc, how are things going in the royal palace?”
At my question, Lucretia furrowed her brow.
“I never told you to call me Luc.”
“Isn’t it better to go with the flow?”
“Sigh…”
Luc tacitly agreed with a light sigh and continued speaking.
“If it’s about Rinoa, there’s no need to worry too much. The suspicions cast on her are no small matter, but there are even bigger issues right now.”
“Just for reference, do you know the full story about Rinoa?”
“…Yes. If you mean about her poisoning her parents and siblings who were plotting rebellion.”
“That’s not all, is it?”
If it were just plotting rebellion, Rinoa probably wouldn’t have committed such an unfilial act. The problem is that their method involved attacking the magic stone warehouse in the royal palace to release the sealed dungeons.
Luc gave a bitter smile.
“If you’re asking whether Rinoa’s actions were heroic, I’m not sure. But I think I understand how much she must have agonized, how difficult a choice it must have been for her. And how she, as an individual, was sacrificed for the dirty work of the state. So if possible, I’d like to help her too.”
Luc’s words seemed to relieve Anduha’s tension.
“However, as I said earlier, the undead invasion from the Southern Continent is a bigger problem right now. As for Miss Rinoa’s situation, His Majesty the King is making arrangements. Princess Rosa, who knows the circumstances, is also visiting Rinoa frequently to keep her from worrying.”
To me, Princess Rosa had only left the impression of a childish person blinded by love, but considering Erina’s case as well, her basic character seems to be excellent.
“So now we need to think about the undead invasion.”
“Is there anything decided yet?”
“I’ll talk about that in four days. New guidelines are expected to come down around that time.”
Right now, mid and low-level combatants, including academy students, haven’t been mobilized, but if the situation gets more serious, a summons will be issued regardless.
Luc wrapped up the conversation, suggesting we wait for that.
* * *
Lucretia left the mansion before noon, saying she had business at the royal palace.
Anduha also headed to the palace, presumably to visit Rinoa.
So only family and close acquaintances were left to have lunch, and during this time, the topic we had been trying to avoid came up.
“Ars, dear. Isn’t it about time you found a mansion of your own?”
It was mother’s words.
“Continuing to stay here would be disrespectful to Rinoa. I know she’s away now, but I think it would be good to seriously consider it after she returns.”
The mansion was already at full capacity.
When Erina, mother, and Meissen moved in, the rooms in the mansion became scarce.
Now Bisketa, Eo, and Elena have newly joined. For now, I’ve told these three to share a room, but there’s a need for personal space in the long run. Moreover, there’s a high possibility that other vassals will join additionally.
“I’ve been thinking about it too, but the house prices here in Baien are incredibly expensive.”
I was serious. Perhaps because this location is equivalent to Gangnam in Seoul, the house prices were jaw-dropping.
Moreover, I had no spare funds as I had invested a lot of money in searching for missing persons.
“Maybe it would be possible if I borrowed money from Rinoa…”
If I asked to borrow money, Rinoa would probably offer to move out herself and empty this mansion for us. That would be putting the cart before the horse.
“Besides, I’m not sure if one mansion would be enough.”
There were too many vassals. There were also couples, so we needed to be mindful of the arrangements.
“I think we might need about three houses. To buy three houses in Baien, we’d need 2 million rilangs.”
That’s equivalent to 2 billion won in our currency.
Silence fell as the specific amount was mentioned.
At that moment, Meissen cautiously raised her hand.
“May I say something?”
“Ah, yes. Please go ahead.”
“I agree with the need for a mansion. But I think it might be too much of a burden to leave all the preparations to one person.”
From my perspective, since these were people following me, I naturally thought I should prepare everything, but Meissen’s thoughts were different.
“I think everyone should work and contribute. Isn’t that what being a vassal is about? I… I haven’t been here long enough to say such things, but…”
Everyone nodded at her words.
Bisketa seized the moment and said, “Elaine, about the mansion, how about we build it ourselves?”
“That would save a lot, but the land prices here are expensive too.”
“Let’s choose a cheaper site in the suburbs. It will be a bit farther, but can’t we endure that much?”
“Hmm.”
Certainly, if we build outside the city center, the price would drop significantly.
“Leave the architectural design and on-site supervision to me. It seems better to be active than just staying in the mansion.”
Meissen nodded her head repeatedly like a chick at this. She had been staying in the mansion for safety reasons, but it seems she wasn’t comfortable with that situation. It looks like she spoke up earlier because she wanted to be of some help.
“Alright… Then. Shall we go in that direction for now?”
Everyone working to buy a house. Doing this much makes it feel like a kind of family.
The front lines were quickly decided.
Bisketa would take charge of coordinating everyone’s schedules, managing funds, and spearheading the mansion construction.
Elena said she would be a martial arts instructor while guiding Lucretia, and Eo decided to assist Elena while trying to regain her basic martial arts knowledge.
Meissen said she would start the flower shop business she had been thinking about. It seemed she had talked with mother about it, as mother was also involved.
“I feel sorry that it’s just me.”
Erina, who found it difficult to work due to her status as an academy student, frowned.
“What are you talking about? The same goes for me.”
I said it intending to encourage her, but Erina pouted, saying it was a different story for me.
“Sir Ars, you’re doing various things. Plus, you have additional income from books. Just me…”
“Don’t be hasty. You’re being plenty helpful.”
As I was comforting Erina, Eo stared at me with a blank expression. I cleared my throat and summarized the conversation.
“Then please start working from your respective positions.”
Bisketa suggested having these meetings regularly, so this meeting was named the 1st Regular Meeting.
We decided to inform Dorofei, who’s in the Savior Alliance, about the conclusions of this meeting by letter.
***
The base city of the southern continent, Iswakan.
This place, where a route to the Forest of Lament had been pioneered, was now fallen to undead soldiers.
The city’s residents had all evacuated, and those who couldn’t escape were either dead or taken prisoner.
Proportionally, most were taken prisoner, but there were certainly innocent people who died as well.
“Mommy─! Waaaaaah!”
A child wailing, hugging a corpse.
A man wearing a gray robe sneered as he drew a dagger behind the child’s back.
He judged that keeping the child alive would only be a burden that consumed food.
However, the dagger he was about to thrust stopped just before the child’s skin.
“Stop that.”
A voice heavy with gravitas.
The man turned his head with a creak.
There stood a woman wearing jet-black grand magic armor.
Her build was unfeminine and burly, and a large scar ran diagonally across her face, making the man feel a chill.
The man swallowed hard and spoke as if about to lunge.
“Miss Ilya. This is necessary. We don’t have much food left.”
“I won’t say it three times. Go.”
“Tch.”
The man withdrew his dagger and left.
Ilya tried to calm the wailing child, but as the child became more frightened and cried out louder, she had to call someone.
“You called, Miss Ilya?”
“Estelle. Please take care of this child.”
Estelle makes a worried expression.
“You don’t need to feel too guilty. Isn’t this sort of thing familiar to you, Miss Ilya, who’s been through many battlefields?”
“Even so, I never thought I’d end up leading the dead. Estelle, aren’t you too influenced by them? Even if you’re indebted to them.”
“….”
Estelle was wearing a robe. It was identical to the one the man from earlier was wearing.
“I… Think this was inevitable. History tells us how unfairly and cruelly dark mages were treated. It’s only natural for them to resist when their hard-earned sanctuary is invaded. I think this is an explosion of pent-up resentment.”
“That might be part of it. But to wage war by mocking the dead…. Besides, our goal is to find Ars. We’re cooperating in this for that purpose. Don’t forget the essence.”
In fact, they were in a position where they didn’t have to participate in this.
However, if they didn’t participate, there was no way to get out. The place was controlled by black mages and a dragon called Mepatra that inhabits the Forest of Lament.
‘It seems there were some who forcibly broke through recently….’
Ilya shook her head, thinking she should have tried to break the barrier if there was a way.
Once she accepted the request, she intended to cooperate in this matter. That was her philosophy as the mercenary Ilya.
However, since that alone was dangerous, she set a few conditions when making the contract.
When they find the person they’re looking for, they’ll end the contract and leave. And they’ll be given the authority to prevent meaningless killing. These were the two conditions.
But even with such authority, she couldn’t stop everything. Lives continued to disappear in places beyond Ilya’s sight.
Estelle had told her not to feel guilty about these inevitable parts.
“Haha, at this rate, we might get subjugated by Ars.”
Ilya smiled bitterly.
Soon, a piece of news reaches their camp.
Hearing this, Ilya gritted her teeth, saying it was bound to happen.
It was a strong measure by the kingdom to stop the undead invasion. Having reassessed the seriousness of the situation after seeing Iswakan fall, the Ellan Kingdom issued a large-scale mobilization order to subjugate them.
Now, the situation has become no different from a real war.
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