The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road Chapter 83
I, who decided to go to the battlefield alone, had to start with organizing the troops.
Initially, I planned to bring the private soldiers from our territory, but they were already carrying out restoration work in Ribel, our previous territory.
To begin with, we didn’t have 2,000 private soldiers, so we had to borrow soldiers from Rainpol, but the problem was that they were Crossing’s soldiers.
As someone from Calliper, I couldn’t bring Crossing’s private soldiers to lead the troops.
In this difficult situation, Olaf provided help.
“Here, Ars. I’ve finished the organization. You just need to take them with you.”
“This is…”
An army of 2,000 was already prepared.
“When did you prepare this?”
“After you brought it up. I quickly organized it with the help of Ms. Bisketa. We selected volunteers from the Kuravel soldiers and reorganized them as mercenaries. Of course, we agreed to pay them an appropriate wage.”
“Some of them don’t seem to be from Kuravel. Who are they?”
“You have a good eye. I have quite a few subordinates, you know. Especially mercenary subordinates.”
“Mercenaries?”
“How do you think I gathered a circus troupe while in seclusion?”
Then he introduced someone. “This is Dilas, who serves as the leader of the Four Seasons mercenary group. I hope for your kind cooperation.”
A burly middle-aged man bowed his head politely.
“Four Seasons…”
It referred to the circus troupe.
Olaf answered my question.
“Four Seasons was originally a mercenary group circus traveling troupe. Seeing their potential, I’ve been exclusively employing them for three years now. This guy is the leader of the mercenary side. He’s a trustworthy friend, so you can leave most of the troublesome tasks to him.”
It seems Olaf had made his own considerations.
The biggest problem in this war was leadership.
Because I’m too young, soldiers and officers might not follow well. That’s why I wanted to organize mainly with our territory’s private soldiers.
“Anyway, didn’t you hear Master Ilya’s words?”
“This much is fine, isn’t it? Besides, if you die, I’ll be in trouble too. Why do you think I turned my back on Europe and devoted myself to you?”
Dilas was an A-class mercenary, but his martial ability wasn’t particularly high. In game terms, his power level would be around 70 at best. As Olaf said, he’s just an officer who can handle annoying tasks.
“Thank you. Then I’ll leave Rainpol’s matters to you. If needed, you can ask Bisketa or Rutger for help.”
“Sure. Just please don’t die.”
“I’ll try my best.”
A war I ended up fighting alone. To be honest, I wasn’t really anxious.
I cleared my throat and shouted.
“Ars Infantry, we’re departing!”
And so, we headed towards Alphensard, the gathering point for the troops.
* * *
The support troops from Calliper this time were strong in their show-off nature, as evident from their scale and the opportunity given to cadets.
Setting the troop gathering point in the capital, Alphensard was also part of this.
Normally, it would have been appropriate to set the gathering point in a northwestern city adjacent to Beckavia, but the king deliberately set it in the capital, Alpenserd.
This was to host a party under the pretext of a departure ceremony.
So, after stationing the troops in Alphensard, I had to immediately start dolling up.
“Whew! It’s no joke when you start dressing up too.” Bannings, who was dressing up with me, whistled. “Be careful. You might end up struggling with after-party requests if you’re not careful.”
“Today’s party isn’t that kind of party, you know.”
“Well, it’s nominally a departure ceremony after all.”
“Besides, I’m just a supporting role anyway.”
Six cadets chosen as commanders.
Compared to the other five, my family’s power was overwhelmingly weak. No matter how much Rainpol had grown, it was no match for the great nobles.
Normally, I wouldn’t receive any attention at all.
Even in past parties, I had conversations with young ladies because of my appearance, but there were no instances of influential people coming to find me.
This time too, I was planning to kill time tucked away in a corner, but the situation had changed greatly from before.
Regardless of my family’s weak power, I had been chosen as one of the six golden generation members.
Duke Hellian came to my table inconspicuously to offer encouragement, General Ironheart, who was serving as an advisor in this expedition, and even Marquis Reinhardt, who knew my identity, came by.
Eventually, even that man came.
“Nice to see you, Elaine. I heard the festival in Rainpol ended well. I’m glad to hear that.” It was Gilbert Saleon. He came to where I was sitting, accompanied by his wife and Erina.
I immediately stood up and bowed to him. “It’s an honor to see you again, Lord Gilbert.”
“Huh, no need to be so formal. More importantly, I heard you were chosen as one of the six commanders this time?”
“It happened despite my unworthiness.”
“Unworthy? Who else could take on such an important role if not you?”
I was unknowingly building a reputation. Despite trying to stay as quiet as possible, I was already being evaluated as a promising talent within the top 10 of the military.
‘Is it because I didn’t adjust my academy grades?’
I didn’t particularly want to do that, and above all, it hurt my pride to get such low-level problems wrong.
Gilbert didn’t just exchange greetings and leave, but continued to bring up topics. Because of this, the attention of the party was gradually focusing on me.
Looking at Duke Hellian from afar, he had an expression as if he had eaten something sour, and that guy Casper was scowling fiercely.
“It’s indeed enjoyable to talk with a young person who will shoulder the future of the kingdom.”
Gilbert smiled with satisfaction. He soon made an exaggerated gesture and said, “Oh my, was I being too selfish? It must be more enjoyable to talk with peers than with an old man like me. Well then, enjoy the party.”
Saying that, he left, leaving Erina behind.
Left alone with me, Erina spoke as if troubled. “I’m sorry. It seems Father has been thinking a lot lately…”
“About what?”
“Well…. It’s a bit awkward to say this… But… It seems he’s seriously considering a marriage proposal between you and me. Today too, he said… If the mood is right, we should dance together. To dance together at a place like this… Well, it means that.”
“Gasp.”
Even I hadn’t thought of that. The Duke’s family proposing marriage first? And to the fourth son of a baron’s family?
I whispered softly. “Did you tell him about my identity?”
“No! Absolutely not!”
“But without that…”
“I think Father believes you’ll become a general in the military in the future. If you achieve military merits in this war, a marriage proposal might come right away.”
“Phew, you know I’ll refuse, right?”
“Ugh…!”
Putting aside getting involved with Erina, when families get entangled, various troublesome issues arise. I didn’t want our family to suffer because of my marriage issues.
However, even if I refuse, problems will occur.
If a baron’s family refuses a marriage proposal that a duke’s family graciously sent first, it would greatly scratch their pride.
“So, try to avoid that topic coming up as much as possible.”
“Hmph, I know.”
Erina was just fidgeting with her fan, her lips protruding.
Seeing that sight, I couldn’t help but smile. “But if we’ve been given permission to dance… Shall we dance to one song?”
“What? You don’t do such things at parties.”
“For some reason, I feel like it today. But it would be awkward to do it in the ballroom, I saw a nice spot in the garden earlier. There’s a place with a nice view and no people. I’ll tell you the location, so when the dance starts, sneak over there.”
“Uh… I’ll come.”
After sneaking out like that, I led Erina to the soft music coming from the party hall.
“Your body is stiff.”
“Did you have to say that out loud?” Erina, primly hid her red face and soon whispered in a crawling voice.
“You’re unusually proactive today. Did you have some change of heart?”
“Think of it as a service for buying a lot of my books last time.”
“Ah! If that’s the case, this isn’t enough. I spent most of my allowance then, you know.”
“That’s why you shouldn’t have put on unnecessary airs.”
A moment of silence passed. The music seemed to be ending as the tempo slowed.
At that moment, Erina spoke to me as if she had made some decision. “Um, I think I can get along well with Estelle. She has a cute side. I might even say I want to make her my little sister. So don’t worry.”
It would be foolish to ask what I shouldn’t worry about.
“As far as I know, Estelle is a year older than us…”
“Really? But why were you at the same academy as her?”
“There’s a bit of a twist due to an illness.” But when I bring this up, her eyes become piercing.
“Ah, that’s scary.”
As one song ended, I gently let go of her waist. Erina glanced wistfully towards the party area and then fumbled to take something out. “Take this.”
“What is it?”
It was a small piece.
“I made it hoping for your safe return. Didn’t Estelle give you something too?”
“Yes, she gave me a dagger.”
She gave me what’s called a survival knife. Even here, the difference in their personalities was apparent.
While Erina prays for survival, Estelle gives something that actually helps with survival.
‘When Estelle pulled that out, I thought I was going to have a heart attack.’
When she suddenly pulled out a knife, at first I thought Julia’s concerns were becoming reality.
“Anyway, thank you. I’ll attach it to my military bag.”
“Yes, please come back safely.”
The music started playing again. We rode that flow and subtly returned to the party area.
* * *
The official departure ceremony began the next morning.
Six of us, the officer cadets, including myself, kneeled at a distance, and General Delbadova, who was appointed as our commander-in-chief, approached the king on our behalf.
“Delbadova, don’t get too excited about this long-awaited expedition. If you encounter the enemy, think about preserving your life first. Strictly speaking, this is not our war, but Beckavia’s war.”
“What are you saying? If we encounter the enemy, we should naturally crush them.”
“Hah, that’s just like you, but that’s why I’m worried. If you die, who will this old man have to talk to?”
“Don’t worry. Whatever the outcome, I’ll bring back results that will please Your Majesty.”
“Hmm, I’ll trust you.”
As the king bestowed a precious sword, Delbadova unsheathed it and shouted.
“All troops, march! We head for Beckavia!”
The prepared army of 20,000 left the city with the citizens’ blessings and headed towards Beckavia.
Six officer cadets each commanded 2,000, totaling 12,000. The remaining 8,000 were to be commanded by Delbadova and his direct officers.
The distance to the targeted front line was about 280km. The expected travel time for the march was 6 days.
Since there were many difficult terrains including mountainous areas along the march route, most horses were used as pack animals, and even commanders like me had to walk alongside the soldiers.
“Huff! Huff!”
On the fifth day of the march, Dorofei’s face turned pale as he gasped for breath. It was his first time doing a long-distance march with full military gear, so he was overexerting himself.
“Dorofei, are you okay?”
“I’m, I’m fine. Don’t worry about me and keep going.”
“I can’t do that. Give me your pack. I’ll carry it for you.”
“No! I’m a commander… I need to set an example…”
It seems he’s pushing himself due to an obsessive mindset.
The old officer from House of Grimwood who was assisting Dorofei was fidgeting nervously, looking at me imploringly. He wouldn’t listen to him, so he wanted me to persuade him.
“Geez. Collapsing would be more troublesome. Hey!”
I called out to my officers.
“If there’s someone with plenty of strength, could you bring them here?”
Then Dilas gestured to someone.
The one who came running at his gesture had a somewhat familiar face.
“Uncle Dilas! You called?”
“Yes, Aggert. It’s a summons from the captain.”
“Oh, are you finally going to make good use of me! Of course! It’s impossible to keep someone like me as a mere soldier!”
The boy who came running, puffing out his nose, frowned when he saw my face.
“Huh? What are you? You look like a girl.”
Aggert, frowning and threatening me.
Dilas urgently shouted. “You fool! This person is our unit’s captain! Watch your mouth!”
“Eh? This pretty boy?”
“Quickly bow your head, you brat.” Dilas forcibly grabbed the back of the guy’s head and made him bow. “If you have something to assign, please give it to this guy. He’s good in terms of strength and spirit.”
“Haha, he’s an interesting fellow.”
It seems that people from the circus world are scattered throughout the unit.
‘Come to think of it, he did say he was from the Aggert Mercenary Group.’
Apparently, he seems to do any kind of work to earn money.
‘Seeing such a young guy doing that kind of work…’
He was clearly a slave from Crossing.
“You said your name is Aggert, right? What’s your full name?”
“I don’t have one! Ouch! Stop hitting my head, Uncle Dilas, you damn old man! Tch! I don’t have a full name!”
“Then Aggert. Can you carry this load here?”
I took off Dorofei’s military pack and handed it to Aggert. The pack weighed about 20kg.
The guy easily took it with one hand and muttered with interest. “This weight would be good for training in my spare time.”
As Aggert started using the pack for weight training, Dorofei sighed in disbelief.
“Hmm, you certainly seem to have strength to spare.”
“Of course! This is nothing to me! … Sir!”
“Anyway, that’s good. You carry that and follow Dorofei for now.”
When Dorofei expressed his gratitude to Aggert, feeling ashamed, Aggert replied. “This much is no problem. But you’re weak, aren’t you? Why did you come to war?”
Thud! Dilas’s fist came down without fail.
“That person is also a unit captain. Watch your words.”
“Ugh! I get it. But is this unit really okay? All the so-called captains seem to be weaklings.”
“I told you to watch your mouth.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
We, who had fallen behind due to Dorofei, picked up speed to catch up.
By the time we caught up completely, the night of the fifth day of the march was falling.
As the soldiers were setting up tents and preparing for camp, a unit officer came to find me.
“Ars Elaine. There will be a general military meeting before tomorrow. Come to the main tent.”
It was a summons from Commander-in-Chief General Delbadova.
I left the camp preparations to Dilas and headed to the main tent.
TL NOTE:
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