Chapter 111: The Front Line
After preparing some souvenirs for my grandfather, who was working hard to build a castle, I set out with my army for the westernmost part of the Quardenze territory.
Departing from the city of Nambonan, we proceeded westward over uneven terrain for a day and a half, until we came to the base where the Kuordentse army flag was displayed.
Looking northeast, the highest peak on the continent, Mount Erechtheion, rose above us, supported by the Keebolf Mountains.
Beyond the Keevolf Mountains lies the misty lands of the northern part of the continent.
The soil there is polluted by the endless number of mature magical beasts, and the land is barren, inhabited only by a few ethnic groups.
The central part of the continent is protected from the mature monsters in the north by a natural curtain of mountains and rivers.
Construction seems to be progressing well.
Although it had not been very long since the construction began, the walls and fortifications were being built, albeit only in parts.
Here and there, buildings resembling chess rook pieces were being erected, and it was clear that soldiers were packing them in.
The color of the surrounding soil was strangely noticeable, probably due to the clearing of the land.Since my grandfather has the magical power of an aristocrat, and his unit has many soldiers with magical power, he is very fast at preparing the ground. .
There are people here and there engaged in earth-moving work, not to be outdone by the speed of the land preparation. Although they did not have whips, I could see that the soldiers nearby were overworking them.
Most of the workers here are former mercenaries who surrendered to the Quardentse allied forces during the Battle of Nambonan City and were deprived of their freedom.
Although their lives were spared, they were forced to engage in harsh civil engineering work as slaves, and they were staring at us with resentful eyes.
I left the unit I had led from Nambonan with the captain at the base and got off the carriage.
I shrug my shoulders in the biting cold wind, and Tesh pulls a thick cloak over me.
This time, Tesch and Odie are with me. They had come all the way here to take care of my grandfather as servants.
We were led by the soldier who greeted us to a wooden structure that looked like a prefab hut and a log house divided by two.
The soldier began to explain the situation with his back to us as he led the way.
General Gulfis is currently out in the surrounding villages.
Despite its exterior, the building was spacious inside and seemed to have several rooms.
He was taken to one of the rooms and told to wait here.
He asks, “How soon will you be back?”
I'm sorry, I don't know the details. I only know that they left early this morning.
Judging from the soldier's attire, he did not seem to be in a position to talk to my grandfather or me. He was probably the head of a small unit.
Perhaps he was just ordered to show me to this room in case the senior military officer was not available at the time of my arrival.
There was no point in asking him too many questions, and it would probably make him feel uncomfortable.
I see. Then I will have to wait a little. Well, when the senior officer returns, let him know I've arrived.
“Ha!
The soldier replied without trying to hide his relief, and quickly walked out of the room.
In the cool room, there was a simple mobile fireplace and firewood was ready nearby.
Tesch and Odie quickly began to set up the environment of the room.
The fireplace was lit and the room was warming up when another soldier entered the room.
He was a military officer in my grandfather's unit, and I had talked to him several times.
He said, “General, you are scheduled to spend the night in a nearby village. He will be back tomorrow around noon.
It seemed that he and my grandfather had been mistakenly separated.
This was inevitable, since there was no civilized means of communication such as the telephone. A letter can only give an approximate arrival time.
“You are going on a visit?
Yes, sir. To find out who the traitors are.
This area had only recently come under the control of the Quardenze family. Before that, the area had been ruled by Imperial nobles.
As a matter of course, they may kill enemy nobles and knights, but they do not slaughter all the inhabitants there.
The inhabitants of villages, towns, and cities continued to live under the rule of the newly-arrived rulers, the Quardenzes, and their knightly cousins.
However, there are those who are opposed to the rule of the Quardenzes.
These people want to continue their vested interests or support guerrilla activities by sheltering people from the former lords' side.
Therefore, it is necessary to make an inspection once in a while to smoke out such people and execute them.
In some cases, tributes are prepared to make a good impression on the new lords.
Perhaps the cute village girls could have been held as many times as they wanted. I regretted that my grandfather and I had been mistaken for each other when I thought of that.
I was so sorry that I had lost my grandfather.
It was still early in the evening, and it would not look good for the soldiers to start sleeping so soon after arriving.
I'd like to take a look around this base.
“Yes! I will show you around.
The brass can make the soldiers feel better just by walking around.
I had Tesch and Odie help me change my clothes and get dressed as a soldier.
After finishing my inspection of the base, I had dinner with the soldiers.
If we neglected the soldiers just because we looked like big shots as nobles, their morale would not rise when it came time to fight.
The soldiers were very pleased when I offered them a pile of sake barrels that I had dragged all the way from Nambonan City. As expected, it was a hard task to carry sake all the way here, so they could not seem to drink much.
After dinner, I returned to the building that had been prepared for my stay, and found Tesch and Odie in a meeting.
The two servants were staying at home in this building because they were going to inspect military facilities.
What are you doing?
We were having a little meeting about personnel matters after we returned to New Nellie Castle.
Tesch approached me as he said this and took off my jacket.
'You're changing people?'
I was not sure who was going to be changed, and I wondered who was going to be changed.
I wonder who is going to be changed, and before Tesch can answer, I give my answer.
I wonder who it will be, and before Tesch can answer, I say, “Oh, is it Oddie? I've heard that he's going to be my exclusive servant.”
Oddie is often on business trips, but he won't have any business in King's Landing until next spring.
I think there is a very good chance that Odie will be my personal assistant for a while.
That's one thing, but there's also the matter of Minute.
It was Odie who answered.
The unexpected mention of a name must have brought out the question marks on my face her, so she quickly added, “There's a letter from the head maid that says that Minute will be my exclusive maid for a while.
In the letter from the head maid, it was written that Minit might not be able to work. So I was talking with Mr. Tesch about who we could add to our staff after Minute's departure.
The head maid, who is the big boss of the female servants at New Nellie Castle, is also Oddie's mother.
I knew that there was a letter from the head maid to Odie in the bundle of letters that arrived in Nambonan City the other day, but I thought it was a father-son correspondence.
'I can't read your story, why is Minute unable to work?
'Apparently, there is a delay.
I was about to ask what was delayed, when I understood what Oddie meant.
She nodded.
You guessed it.
According to Oddie, Minute was apparently marked by the head maid.
Minit is without a doubt the woman who has been held the most times in New Nellie City. If anyone is going to conceive first, it will most likely be Minit.
Every morning when Minit comes to work, she is greeted by the head maid with a “Good morning, are you menstruating? I hear that the head maid checks her pregnancy in a “Good morning, did you get your period? I feel a little sorry for her.
But she's young, so she really might just be late.”
Minit is a sprightly 16-year-old. Odie told me not to get my hopes up too high, as it is quite possible that she has irregular periods.
'Oh well. Minute is……'
If I were to start gambling right now to guess either pregnancy or menstrual irregularities, I would definitely bet on pregnancy.
I believe in live tadpoles manufactured by a healthy 12-year-old.
Yes, I would be delighted if it were true.
Her smile, which she turned toward me, seemed to be that of a kind older sister who is happy for her little brother's growth.
But I wonder if it's my imagination that there's a shadow in that smile.
“Oddie.”
Yes? Yes, sir?”
At my words, Odie instantly returns to his servant's face and straightens his posture.
I need to talk to Tesh alone. Would you excuse us for a moment?
I will, sir.
Oddie does not ask back, but he silently backs away and quietly opens and closes the door to go out of the room.
I turned to Tesh and said what I had been meaning to ask him.
