第５１３堀：勇者呆れる (Part2)
"No, I am merely seeing you off. I shall use this time to shore up the defenses of Baide."
"That will not be necessary. Please, trust in me. I am well aware that Yuki-sama requires time to rest as well. Therefore, I ask that you do not act rashly."
So, this is the infamous "flower-patch" princess... She seems perfectly reasonable to me, though.
"And who are these gentlemen?"
"Ah, I have selected the finest knights for this task. I feared that being surrounded only by women might lead to us being underestimated, so please rely on them should the need arise."
"My, I am grateful for your consideration. As expected of a Hero. I look forward to working with you both."
"Yes, ma'am. Leave it to us," Ruth replied on behalf of the group.
"Then, let us be off."
With those words from the princess, we set out toward the reinforcements from Haiden that were approaching Baide.
That said, the journey itself was uneventful, and we reached the location of the Haiden reinforcements without any trouble.
"Oh! It truly is Princess Carrie!!"
"You are safe!!"
Such cries erupted from the reinforcement camp. From among them, a noticeably portly, suspicious-looking man stepped forward.
"T-this is... Princess, and Lady Catherine, I am relieved to see you are both unharmed."
"You have done well, Takram. I am pleased you brought such substantial reinforcements."
Takram, huh? Yikes. What is with that name? The man is acting so obviously suspicious—there is no doubt he is the mole we were warned about, right?
"Indeed!! But what of the Imperial Army? We heard they numbered in the tens of thousands and that Baide’s forces could not hold out for long... The reports from the scouts were confusing, mentioning a retreat, but I could not make sense of it."
"That is because the Her—"
"I shall explain it myself. The Princess was occupied with recovery magic in the rear, so she is unaware of the movements on the front lines."
*Wow.* No, this princess is hopeless. She claimed she would support Yuki-san, but she nearly spilled the beans just now! What is she thinking? Mentioning Yuki-san right now would be nothing but a ticking time bomb.
"Hmm. I suppose that is true. Then, Lady Catherine, what exactly happened? Why did the enemy descend upon Baide in the first place? What of the border defenses?! Leaving the Princess in such danger is a dereliction of duty!!"
He is truly transparent. If Yuki-san were here, he would be rolling on the floor laughing.
"To begin with, we have not been at war with the Findar Empire for over a decade, and we have enjoyed friendly relations as neighbors. Furthermore, the reduction of border security was an order from the Royal Palace, based on the idea that we should not provoke other nations. If I recall correctly, it was you, Takram-dono, who proposed that?"
"Ngh... T-that is a political matter. That does not absolve you of your negligence."
"Indeed. But now is not the time to discuss my punishment. Regarding the movements of the Findar Imperial Army: it seems they sensed your reinforcements, suddenly broke camp, and retreated. I suspect there may be a mole among us."
"S-such a thing is impossible!! Haiden is united under His Majesty!!"
What an idiot. Can he not even manage a poker face?
"Regardless, there is no time to hunt for moles now. The fact that reinforcements were lured here so blatantly suggests there is another objective. With the defenses of other regions likely thinned out due to this incident, they must be targeting elsewhere."
"Wha!? C-could it be?! Are you saying the enemy is marching on other locations!?"
"If not, there would be no reason for the enemy to withdraw from Baide. If they knew of the reinforcements, they would have brought even greater numbers."
As Catherine-san said this, the high-ranking officers of the reinforcements began to panic. Well, anyone would react that way if they heard other regions might be under attack.
"It has been six days since the Imperial Army retreated. The priority should be to return to the Royal Capital immediately and gather information. I shall send a fast horse to report the matter of the mole, so Takram-dono, please prepare the reinforcements to turn back..."
"N-no!! That is unnecessary!! I shall report the matter, including the mole, myself!! Lady Catherine, you should focus on stabilizing Baide!!"
Just like that, the reinforcements turned back with ease. I suppose Takram realized that if the matter of the mole were reported, he would be the primary suspect.
"Princess, it went well."
"Yes. You did very well. I shall use this precious time to finish my letter to His Majesty, and I will make Yuki-sama the hero of Haiden at any cost!!"
"...I look forward to it."
...Ah, I see. This princess is hopeless. She doesn't understand the situation at all.
My apologies, I forgot to schedule the post. I'm rushing to upload it now. Please forgive me.
Well then, the real show is about to begin. The cast is finally assembled.