The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road Chapter 207.
Despite his nonchalant expression, Gaspar perked up his ears at the mention of important news.
“Haha, if I’ve made you expect something, I might disappoint you. It is about Yumir, but I haven’t found out her whereabouts.”
“Then what is it? You’re making me curious, so speak quickly.”
I told him about the blood stone.
“So you’re saying that if we make a blood stone with my blood and cast a tracking spell on it, we might be able to find where Yumir is?”
“That’s right.”
“Are you joking? The blood stone story is one thing, but we can’t even trust this tracking spell or whatever it is in the first place.”
“Don’t worry about that. It’s already been verified. You might not know, but we found and brought Eonia back using that tracking spell. She was confined on an island not marked on any map. The fact that we found that location proves the effectiveness of the tracking spell is beyond doubt.”
“Oho…”
“Don’t you think it’s worth a try?”
“It’s better than not trying at all. But where do we find this blood mage?”
“Do you know about the force called Article?”
“Aren’t they the ones who caused the recent uproar? Well, I don’t know much about them either. They’re the type to keep to themselves. I was a bit surprised when they conquered the Forest of Lament in one go. Polarian died then too.”
“What? That old man died?”
“Yeah. Not accepting Article’s request for cooperation became his downfall. Someone called Cuthbert or something came and turned the village into a wasteland.”
“You…”
“I don’t fight reckless battles with no chance of winning. That Cuthbert guy seemed unexpectedly strong. The difference in power was enormous. Polarian tried to use Gunther to face him, but it was obvious Gunther would die if he did. So I killed Polarian first.”
“I see…”
“Why? Weren’t you the one who told me to do this in such situations?”
“No, it was a good decision. But wouldn’t Gunther have been affected when the dark mage who was controlling him died?”
“That’s right. He’s like a doll now. I tried finding dark mages to find a solution, but they all disappeared because of those Article guys.”
“About that Article…”
Gaspar laughed heartily when I mentioned that Master Ilya and Estelle were with the Article.
“Kuhahaha! So it was right under our noses. Well, anyway, that’s good. We can leave both Gunther’s issue and the blood stone matter to Rutger’s daughter.”
“That’s the plan.”
“Then we should bring Gunther here quickly too. Looks like I’ll be busy again.”
“Ah, and there’s one more thing I want to consult about.”
“Hm?”
I asked for Gaspar’s opinion on Dorofei’s proposal to build a mansion in the Northern Continent.
“Gunther is a criminal within the Ellan Kingdom. Moreover, there’s a high chance that Master Ilya and Estelle will be branded as criminals too.”
“So they won’t be able to move around within the kingdom?”
“They could move around, but there would be a risk. Besides, I think we need a base in the Northern Continent to find Aggert, who was sold as a slave to the Alliance. You have connections in the Northern Continent, don’t you? Can you take on this task?”
“My connections are just controlling some thieves. If we’re going to make a base there anyway, it would be better to build a new force and establish an alliance rather than using thieves.”
“An alliance…? I heard the conditions for establishing one are quite strict.”
“That’s for ordinary folks. But for skilled people like me or Ilya Anfei, it’s not that difficult. Of course, at first, we won’t have any territory or anything, so it’ll be just a shell of an organization.”
Creating our own alliance. In terms of building my own independent force, it wasn’t a bad idea.
“Then will you prepare it that way?”
“Leave it to me. What about the initial members? Is it just Ilya, Gunther, and Rutger’s daughter?”
“I’ll tell Dorofei to help too.”
“Dorofei? Ah, that weakling. How can someone like that be of any help?”
“He’s one of the smartest people I know. And he’s a promising mage who will be able to use teleportation skills in the future.”
“Wow.”
Even Gaspar was startled at the mention of a teleportation mage.
“He was an amazing guy!”
“Right?”
That was the status of a teleportation mage. Even Erina, a lightning mage, and Estelle, with her banshee characteristics, would have to concede two steps to Dorofei.
“Alright, with that, we’ve secured at least minimal force.”
“I’ll send some newly found vassals there too. However, Yumir will be with me. If you want to see your grandchild, you should come to Baien.”
“Kuhaha! Let’s talk about that after we find the child first.”
Gaspar seemed to be in a good mood and offered me a drink.
“The war is over, let’s drink heavily!”
“I’ll pass. Drink by yourself.”
“You’re no fun. I miss Olaf. If it were him, he would have joined me without hesitation.”
“If things go well, we might be able to find Olaf this time too. There’s a possibility we can track my sister, who is likely to be with him, using the blood stone.”
“That’s great! Find him quickly! I’ve been lonely without a drinking buddy.”
“Hahaha.”
We were able to wrap up the conversation with laughter.
I felt that the search for the missing persons, which had seemed hopeless, had taken a positive turn.
* * *
Prince Landis, who had regained consciousness, quickly sorted out the situation.
Judging that it would be difficult to chase after the enemy who had retreated across the sea, he stationed 5,000 defensive troops in Iswakan and issued an order to disband the army.
Regarding the prince assassination attempt, he also released Rinoa, who had been under investigation for any suspicions.
Thanks to that, the returning carriage could be full.
Rinoa, seemingly tired, was dozing off in her seat.
Erina gently tilted Rinoa’s body, letting her head rest on her shoulder.
Anduha watched this silently and then spoke to me.
“You said you found more vassals?”
“Yes, two who were in the Forest of Lament.”
“How skilled are they?”
It seems that above all else, Anduha prioritizes Rinoa’s safety as the most important thing.
“It’s incredible. She’s strong enough to easily subdue Elena over there.”
“That’s just boasting.”
“It’s not boasting, it actually happened.”
Seeing the anger revealed in Elena’s expression, Anduha sighs in disbelief, realizing my words weren’t a joke.
“Can such a monster really exist?”
“And her husband is even stronger. Elena is strong too, but among my vassals, well, she’s about third.”
Whoosh! The corner of the book Elena was reading scorched and burned from the heat.
“Elaine! Come out! I’ll face you!”
“Why me!?”
“I-I’ll check if you have the appropriate skills as Melian’s nephew!”
“What does that have to do with anything…?”
I decided to stop teasing Elena here, as I felt I might really be dragged into a back alley someday.
* * *
Our first destination was the Branford family mansion in the Southern Continent. Eonia and mother were waiting for us there.
I had called Eo here regarding memory issues, and mother for matters related to the blood stone.
From here, I planned to change direction again and go to Iswakan to meet Master Ilya and Estelle.
Erina also wanted to go together to see Estelle, but she had separate business to attend to, so she decided to return to the academy with Rinoa, who agreed to cover for my absence.
Me, Eonia, mother, and Elena. The four of us headed towards Iswakan once again.
“Hm-hmm~”
Eo hummed, apparently thinking this was a vacation. Quickly bored with looking at the scenery outside the window, she asked me about the progress of this war.
“Ars, is it true that a dragon appeared?”
“Yeah…”
“So dragons really do exist! I’d like to see one.”
“Hey, are you really okay?”
I was restless. Every time the carriage bumped, my heart sank.
Eo, pregnant with twins, had a belly that was already close to full term. I was worried that the carriage journey might be too much for her.
“I’m fine, I tell you. Bisketa said it’s okay too.”
Even though she said she was fine, I was concerned every time the carriage shook, so I decided to sit next to Eo and hold her to keep her from shaking.
Eo turned her gaze to the window with a flushed face, seemingly embarrassed by this.
“Hehe, Ars. You don’t need to worry so much.”
“But even you, mother, had a hard time when you gave birth to the twins.”
“That’s because I was of advanced maternal age. Eonia is healthy, so she’ll be fine. More importantly… Are you sure about the clue to finding Yumir and Julia?”
“I’m not certain. But there’s no other place that comes to mind. It’s the only way in the current situation.”
“I see… I hope it goes well.”
Upon arriving in Iswakan, we stayed there waiting for Gaspar.
Gaspar was supposed to bring a ship that could carry Gunther across the sea.
So until Gaspar arrived, I decided to spend time with Eo, who was full of vacation spirit.
* * *
Iswakan had regained its vitality due to the returned citizens.
The market was bustling with people, as if a large amount of daily necessities had been brought in under state leadership.
Eo busily wandered here and there like a child at an amusement park. It was an amount of activity that made me wonder if it was okay for a pregnant woman.
Then her steps stopped at a clothing store.
It seemed to be a store targeting nobles, with quite flashy clothes on display.
“Shall we take a look for a moment?”
“…Is that okay?”
“Why wouldn’t it be?”
I was even more enthusiastic.
If it had been her in the past, she would have looked at me nervously and said anything I recommended was fine, but now it was different. I decided to take this opportunity to check her preferences by recommending clothes.
“This looks nice. Want to try it on?”
“Purple isn’t really… I don’t think it would match my hair color. Um, how does this look, Ars?”
Something felt heartwarming just watching.
Well, in the end, since she was pregnant, there were no fitting clothes, so we only bought baby clothes.
Still, Eo seemed happy, humming a tune.
By the time we were heading back as the sun was setting, she was also tired and we were sitting together resting.
I carefully asked.
“Eo, aren’t you scared about finding your memories?”
“I’m not scared. I did think that way until recently. But Bisketa said that if I find my memories, I’ll surely become happier. So I’m rather looking forward to it.”
“That sounds like something Bisketa would say.”
“But she also said I’d be extremely embarrassed. I wonder why that is?”
“Who knows.”
When she regains her memories, she’ll surely be embarrassed thinking of her current self. That’s probably what Bisketa meant.
“More importantly, Ars, Claire said that it’s good to decide on baby names in advance. She said it’s good for prenatal care!”
“Do you have anything in mind?”
“How about Ernie? The twins Ernie and Chernie.”
“Isn’t a name starting with ‘E’ a bit common?”
“Huh?”
“Just, it seems like there are a lot around me.”
Around me, there’s Erina, Estelle, Eonia. There’s also Ash and Aggert with similar sounds.
“Why? What’s wrong with it being common? Ernie and Chernie. Isn’t it nice?”
“But why are they both girl names? They could be boys, you know.”
“I’ve thought about that too! If they’re boys, how about Ed and Ched? Bisketa did recommend Edward and Hayward though… Ah! Claire suggested Josephine and Yulpine if they’re girls. But I didn’t hear about if they’re boys. Let’s ask when we get back.”
“Haha…”
“A-ahem!”
As I was looking at her fondly, Eo seemed to belatedly realize she had gotten excited on her own and cleared her throat awkwardly.
It was then, as I was savoring this modest happiness with her.
“As I thought…!”
A man’s voice from beside us.
I couldn’t help but be startled when I turned my gaze to the owner of the voice.
“I heard there was an annoying blond guy cuddling with a beauty, and sure enough, it’s you, Ars!”
“Ash!?”
Another missing person I unexpectedly encountered.
Ash Peyton had appeared before me, dressed in a unique outfit.
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