第４９３堀：どこからでも出てくるな (Part1)
**Chapter 493: Stop Popping Out of Nowhere**
**Side: Yuki**
Well, now I understand why talking to the princess was a lost cause.
She’s basically being treated like a piece of furniture or something similar.
If they treated the late Emperor’s legacy poorly, it would invite backlash, but if she were too competent, that would be a nuisance too.
So, they raised her to be a ditz so they could use her however they pleased.
They intentionally turned her into that flower-brained girl, huh.
...In that case, rather than just talking, the war won't end unless we remove the current royal family and their high-ranking retainers.
However, even if we do remove them, if we don't handle the aftermath, other countries will come to snatch up Baide's territory, and the fighting will just continue.
Personally, I want this over as soon as possible, but when I think about the assault and the subsequent care required, it just means more work for me.
Well, whatever, that’s for later. The gate to Weed hasn't been opened yet, and our top priority is protecting ourselves.
"We don't intend to leave the residents in distress, so we'll manage the invasions from other countries into Baide. Please, rest easy. Though, I do apologize for unilaterally occupying your land for the sake of personal safety."
"No. The cause was our own kidnapping-like actions to begin with. Personally, I felt this incident was a good opportunity to leave the country. Either way, I would have ended up as a corpse if things had continued as they were. Yuki-sama, the fact that you and the people of Weed came here... to me, you are the heroes from the fairy tales, a recreation of legend."
"I don't think this will turn into a Baide fairy tale, though..."
Should I say they called the executioner themselves? Or that they were unlucky? Or that their self-destruction was just accelerated?
"It is enough to simply write a new fairy tale. Please, I leave it in your hands."
While I was thinking about that, Catherine ended up becoming a vassal of Weed.
Or rather, since there’s no official position for "vassal," she’ll be the Lord of the territory of Baide, which is now owned by Weed.
Sort of like Horst.
In short, my workload just increased again.
*Sigh*... am I cursed or something?
Well, at least the silver lining is that while the land to manage increases, the competent people stay on board.
If there had been no one left, it would have been a disaster.
"The pleasure is mine. I’m not well-versed in the local customs here, so I expect I’ll be relying on you for a lot of help, Catherine-dono."
"Yuki-sama. I am now a subordinate of Weed and of you. Please, drop the honorifics and just call me Catherine."
Hmm, I guess she’s a proper noble after all; she’s very clear about the hierarchy.
I hate that kind of thing because it just makes people resent me.
I understand the merits, but for me, the demerits are much larger.
"We’ll get to that eventually. For now, the residents still think this is Hyden territory, so let's hold off on that. Rushing it will only invite backlash. You should let it permeate slowly, Catherine-dono. We’ll call it Weed territory once that process is complete."
"Understood."
I can't go wandering around Baide in secret anymore, then.
"Now, let's grasp the current situation. What’s the damage to Baide from this battle? You’ve been looking into it, right?"
"Yes. Thank you for giving me the time. Thanks to that, I have a general grasp of it. I’ll have the documents compiled by tomorrow, so would a verbal report suffice for now?"
"That's fine."
Expecting to know all the damage the day after it happened would be superhuman. A rough estimate is expected.
"Basically, there is no damage to the city itself. We held off the Imperial army's invasion at the ramparts. The main reason we could destroy their siege weapons was, fortunately, thanks to the presence of the Magic Student Corps. However, the garrison troops from the Baide royal capital were almost wiped out in the first battle. After that, with Princess Carrie as the commander and Kamishiro-sama as her assistant, we maintained the front lines through excessive use of magic. As a result, there are about 500 dead, 2,500 seriously injured, and almost everyone else has minor injuries. Fortunately, we hadn't conscripted the city residents yet, so there are no civilian casualties, but dissatisfaction is mounting due to the supply shortages."
So, out of the 5,000 they mentioned, 3,000 are out of commission.
That’s beyond half-destroyed. It really was a hopeless situation.
"What about the bodies?"
"We’ve only gathered them and left them for now. There are the enemy corpses outside as well, and I would like to clear them away immediately, but we are prioritizing the treatment of the seriously injured. The death toll will likely rise. Princess Carrie’s magic is depleted, and since this is already Weed territory, we cannot rely on Hyden's aid."
"I see. Alright, we’ll take care of the seriously injured."
I don't want the body count to rise any further, and rotting corpses are a source of plague. It’s better to cremate them quickly.
Burying that many in the ground is a bad idea.
"Huh? 'Take care of'?"
"Hm? Oh, I’ll just use some recovery magic to patch them up..."
"You can use recovery magic!?"
Ah, right. She knows my position, but she doesn't know my personal capabilities.
"Yeah, something like that. If they're still alive, it should work out. As for the supply shortage, the Imperial army has offered to help, so let's make use of them."
"The Imperial army?"
"Yep. Georgin-dono, come on in."
"?"
While Catherine looked at me with a puzzled expression as I spoke to the wall, the door opened.
"Catherine-dono. If it is aid in supplies you require, please leave it to me."
"Err... who might you be?"
"My apologies for the lack of introduction. I am Georgin, assistant to the commander of the Findall Imperial Army that invaded Baide."
"Georgin... the 'Great Eagle' of the Empire!? Why is such a brave general here!?"
"What's that about? And why don't you know the general of the enemy that was attacking you, Catherine-dono?"
"That is because I didn't announce it until just before we were about to take the city, to crush their morale and seize Baide smoothly. If I had said it before fighting, there was a chance they would have retreated. Well, even an eagle can't do anything if the sky is sealed, hahahaha!!"
This old man is a big shot, alright.
He doesn't care at all about being defeated.
"You probably know this, but we were the ones who locked the Imperial army underground, so we were listening to various things there. I couldn't just judge based on Hyden's side of the story alone."
"That may be, but... why is Georgin-dono here? And why would the Imperial army provide supply aid?"
I was about to answer, but Georgin stepped forward and announced with a smile:
"Well, we have decided to form an alliance with Yuki-sama and the people of Weed. If our ally Baide is in trouble, it is only natural to provide aid."
"Hah..."
"You're still skeptical. I think Catherine-dono understands as well—you don't win by picking a fight with Weed. That reason should be easier to accept, right?"
"Ah, that is true."
"Well, we never intended to lay a hand on the people of Baide to begin with, and we had prepared supplies so that they could recover quickly, so there is no particular problem."
"Then why did you invade Baide?"
"The goal was to secure Princess Carrie and Kamishiro-dono. Furthermore, Baide was a good location as a frontline city for future negotiations with Hyden."
"...Negotiations?"
"Indeed. However, after hearing Catherine-dono's story, I am somewhat convinced. The center of Hyden has become that foolish, has it?"
"...Yes."
"I apologize for the trouble caused to Baide by this invasion, but I suspect it would have collapsed somewhere else eventually."
"I think so too."
Just as I was thinking this conversation was going to drag on, Aslin and the others appeared with cookies.
"Sorry to keep you waiting! Here are the refills!"
"Refills, it is!"
The kids appeared right in the middle of a serious conversation, and both Georgin and Catherine stopped talking, their eyes fixed on the cookies the little ones were holding.
"Oh, Grandpa Georgin. Want some?"
"Oh, I shall gladly accept! Aslin-dono!!"
"Do you want some too, Catherine?"