第１６７掘：いま忙しいの (Part1)
**Dig 167: I’m Busy Right Now**
**Side: Olive Melt, Zilba Empire Military: Flame Princess Knight**
"Mist, we received permission from His Majesty, but what do you actually think?"
After the audience, I am consulting about our future course of action at our sisters' residence in the royal capital.
"Regarding which matter, Sister? The truth about Lady Marly, or our future developments?"
"Both, of course. But what I want to ask about right now is our future developments."
Mist, much like me, possesses magnificent orange hair, and her beauty rivals my own. She wields a magic sword just as I do; the only difference is that she uses her head more than I do. Therefore, I try to base my plans on Mist’s situational analysis, after which she makes the fine adjustments and we put them into action.
"As for the future... Yes, as you said, Sister, we will eventually have to address both. Your intuition is truly wonderful as always."
"That is only thanks to you being here, Mist. So, what do you think?"
"Well, regarding the incident that caused this—the claim that Lady Marly’s aide, Jessica, was defeated by an orc—I believe it is a lie."
"I see, so you think so too, Mist?"
"Yes. There is no way that Lady Marly’s aide, Jessica, would be caught off guard by a mere orc."
"Indeed. Even when we use the power of our magic swords, she was a woman capable of fighting on equal footing. Even if she were caught off guard, there is no way she would be defeated by an orc."
"Honestly, if she weren't Lady Marly’s subordinate, she is the type of person I would have scouted myself. But, setting aside the evaluation of Jessica, I believe the information we gathered from the soldiers is the truth."
"So you have reached the same conclusion, Mist."
"As have you, Sister. It was an absurd story, but I believe it is true that Lady Marly was defeated and captured by a mercenary group of about 150."
Yes, we had intercepted this information beforehand, which is why we interrupted Marly’s audience. We had heard it from the soldiers, but the report of Marly’s defeat was something we simply couldn't accept. However, having provoked her during the audience, something felt off. Her response was perfectly standard, yet I felt a sense of incongruity regarding her report. If Jessica had truly died in battle, there should have been more of an emotional reaction. Even for a noble and a magic sword user who goes to war, one cannot remain emotionless at the death of a comrade.
Moreover, her life was taken due to a lack of vigilance—a failure of the commander, Marly. Yet, she didn't ask to be used for defense, let alone for orc subjugation. She should have been furious that her subordinate’s life and her own reputation were trampled by orcs. That is why we arrived at the possibility that she was defeated by a mercenary group, as the soldiers claimed. Mist will handle the finer details.
"The details are unclear, but perhaps as a condition of her release from captivity, Lady Marly was forbidden from contacting the mercenary group? If so, I think I understand why she wouldn't speak the truth."
"Why would that be?"
"Well, have you ever heard of a mercenary group capable of defeating Lady Marly, Sister?"
"No, I have not."
"Neither have I. Therefore, perhaps the mercenary group didn't want to be hostile toward us, so they swore her to secrecy and released her. Or perhaps the mercenary group doesn't actually exist, and she was defeated by demi-humans..."
"Hmm, I don't think it’s the latter. There is no reason to hide that. If she had been captured, she would have been decapitated."
"That is true. Then it means there really is a mercenary group that drove Lady Marly back."
"Should we engage with that mercenary group?"
"No, judging by the fact that they let Lady Marly go, I don't think they want to be hostile. Therefore, if we draw them in skillfully, I think we will gain a valuable fighting force. Even in the unlikely event of a battle..."
"We are aware of the enemy’s potential for surprise attacks, and our numbers are nearly double what Marly had. We can crush them in one stroke."
"Yes, Sister."
"Then, rather than negotiating, let us attack them once and incorporate the surviving mercenaries into our ranks. If we try to negotiate from the start, they might take us for fools."
"Indeed. If we make the power dynamic clear, they should listen to us obediently. You are brilliant, Sister!"
"That is only thanks to you always thinking things through, Mist."
"Then, I shall begin preparations for the expedition immediately. However, there is one thing that bothers me..."
"What is it?"
"Yes, the information we gathered from the soldiers mentioned that the 150 members of that mercenary group were composed mostly of goblins, and that Lady Marly was defeated by goblins."
"That is impossible. According to the soldiers' information, the cause of the defeat was the fall of the main camp, so that must be misinformation. Even with goblins, every mercenary group keeps a few to a few dozen as fodder. Since she lost, perhaps the image of the goblin decoys is just burned into their memories?"
"That... must be it. As a fellow magic sword user, I cannot imagine how Lady Marly could lose a fight against goblins."
"Speaking of goblins, I did consider the possibility of the Blood Battle Mercenary Corps."
"That is impossible. There is information that that mercenary group is being employed by a country even further beyond the enemy nation."
"Yes, I thought so too, which is why I dismissed the information about the large number of goblins as false."
"Thank you, Sister. That eases my worries. We just need to be careful of surprise attacks and defeat the enemy. It is the same as always."
"Yes, in battle, the basics are what matter most. Now, let us conquer this battle and climb even higher."
"Yes, let us become even greater and provide a better life for the people of our territory."
I reaffirmed our goals with Mist and set about preparing for the expedition.
***
**Side: Yuki**
I was researching magic with Zargis as usual, but that day, a different report came in.
"Yuki-san, there has been movement from the Zilba Empire."
Ria was organizing documents as she always does, when she suddenly said that.
"What is it? ...Actually, I’ve been hearing rumors about that too."
We have been sending scouts—or rather, Doppelgangers—to the city of Fail, which we visited before, to gather information. Among those reports, there were rumors that the Zilba Empire had moved its army toward the demi-humans.
"Yes, the rumors have been around for a while, but this time, we have confirmation."
"Oh? From where?"
"From Marly-san."
"Huh, she went out of her way to tell us?"
"She likely had other business. There was a letter for Jessica-san, and it seems Marly-san’s army was passing through Fail to return to the war in the Holy Kingdom, so it was during that time."
"What, the Princess stopped by the city? She didn't even give us a greeting."
In this day and age, there is so much military traffic in cities near the front lines that I suppose I didn't notice she had come. As for Fail, which we took from the Holy Kingdom, there is a mountain of soldiers coming and going for supply transport, troop replenishment, and evacuations.
"Well, Yuki-san is usually gathering information from the shadows, so perhaps that is why you didn't have a chance to encounter Marly-san?"
"Indeed, Yuki was focusing on the taverns. There was no opportunity for the Princess to encounter Yuki. Besides, she couldn't afford to have a careless conversation. Officially, the Princess is credited with successfully subjugating the orcs, so if it were seen that she was meeting with Yuki and being pressured by him, it would be problematic."
Jessica chimed in from the side. For the past month, Jessica has been working as my aide, much like Ria. Her guidance on the geography of this continent and the old—no, the way battles are fought on this continent—has been invaluable. I am very grateful for her firsthand experience.