Chapter 206 - Shirone, Part Two

Aisha's Perspective:

The day after the audience.

I met with Ginger again.

She was in full armor, standing by at my door.

Mm... she looked happy, though I had no idea why.

"Lady Aisha, are you ready?"

"Yes, let's go."

"Yes!"

We left right away. Pax had originally assigned us a small knight order, but I turned them down.

Honestly, I didn't think those soldiers would be of any use. Bringing them meant taking carriages, and carriages meant slowing down.

I don't want that.

Karon Fortress is currently garrisoned by Zanoba, and Zanoba is the most critical person for this mission.

Mounted up, I asked.

"Ginger, what exactly is the situation at Karon Fortress?"

"Currently, at Karon Fortress to the north, Lord Zanoba is leading an army of over a thousand men in defense against the invasion."

"Enemy numbers?"

"Over five thousand."

"...Impressive he's held out."

"Karon Fortress is easy to defend and hard to attack. Even so, they're nearly at their limit."

"Then we need to pick up the pace."

Over five thousand, huh.

If they're all just small fry, a few high-tier spells should be plenty. Zanoba's held on this long, so there probably aren't any real powerhouses on the other side.

If it were Lord Rudeus, one spell would settle it.

Wait, no. I have Lord Rudeus's token! Show it to them and they should understand immediately.

Though come to think of it, I don't even know which country the attacking side is.

Either way, first priority: hold Karon Fortress in the north. That gives Pax time to get the military in order, and the enemy nation might think twice about pushing further. Give it a little more time after that, and the country can stabilize.

Then it becomes work for the King Dragon Kingdom and Pax.

------

2 days later, we arrived at the rendezvous point with Zanoba, which was also a fortress.

After we entered, Ginger explained my origins and purpose to the guards. It wasn't long before I was standing in front of Zanoba himself.

He didn't resemble his brother in the slightest.

Tall and thin, with a pair of glasses that made him look a little dopey, standing perfectly straight.

The moment he saw me, he bowed. No princely air about him at all.

"Miss Aisha! Thank you for coming. I have heard of Lord Rudeus's deeds more times than I can count. When you passed through the royal capital Latakia, did you happen to see a statue of Lord Rudeus? I carved it!"

He said it with genuine pride, and pushed his glasses up.

I threw cold water on it immediately.

"You carved that? It doesn't look like Lord Rudeus at all. If you had ever seen Lord Rudeus in person, you'd disown your own work."

"You are right... I only saw Lord Rudeus a handful of times during my academy days." He paused. "Still, I have crafted several figurines of Lord Rudeus, and they are currently available on the market—"

"Alright, alright. Let's get to business."

I cut him off. The atmosphere shifted.

Zanoba's expression went flat, and he spoke.

"Of the thousand men I brought, just over 400 remain. Most of them have lost their ability to fight."

"I see."

"The enemy hasn't launched a full assault yet because they're not certain how many defenders are left inside. They want to take the fortress with minimum losses."

"Understood. Take me to the battlefield."

------

5 days later, we arrived.

Karon Fortress was far more magnificent than I had imagined.

From a distance, it looked like a small stone castle. The kind of thing you'd expect to see anywhere, my first impression was that it seemed a bit unreliable.

But the location was excellent.

It sat at a river confluence, the waterways spreading out like a delta. The famous Sunomata One-Night Castle of old was probably built somewhere just like this.

And directly in front of the river stretched a vast forest. Passing through it alone was effortless enough, but leading an army through was a different matter entirely. The forest had monsters. When an enemy force got bogged down fighting them, you could race ahead to the forest's exit and execute a pincer, hitting them from the front while the monsters closed in from behind.

A textbook strategic stronghold.

Up close, it was even more imposing. Watchtowers and catapults lined the walls. Given that only 400 or so soldiers remained, I'd expected something smaller and more run-down. It was, in fact, a remarkably solid fortification.

The problem was the soldiers themselves.

There weren't many moving around, and the ones I could see wore grim expressions. They had heard the enemy's numbers. Morale was low, and it showed.

We followed Zanoba as he searched for the unit commander in charge of the stronghold.

We found him in what appeared to be the war council room, hunched over a map with several vice-captains.

"Who's there?"

"Third Prince of Shirone Kingdom, Zanoba Shirone. I have returned, and I have brought reinforcements."

"...! Welcome back, Your Highness!"

Their eyes had been unfocused when they looked up, but the moment Zanoba announced his name they dropped to their knees.

They also kept sneaking glances at me.

Zanoba introduced me.

"This is Lord Rudeus's trusted aide — the reinforcement Lord Rudeus dispatched to support us. Lady Aisha."

Murmuring broke out among the soldiers.

Things like:

Why would Lord Rudeus send reinforcements?

Why only one person?

Never heard of anyone named Aisha... though she does look a lot like Lady Aisha...

The voices layered over each other.

I wasn't particularly interested in convincing them of anything. This war wasn't going to continue. All I had to do was unleash a magical threat in front of their commander and present Lord Rudeus's token, and it would be over.

Unless that country was so uncivilized it didn't even know what that token meant.

Zanoba spoke again before the murmuring grew any louder.

"From now on, I will serve as commander of this fortress. Is that acceptable?"

"Yes!"

"That said, it has been a long time since I have seen active warfare. At most, I will serve in an advisory capacity. Actual command will remain with Lord Garrick. Is that acceptable?"

"Yes!"

"Then, though the timing is rushed, I want to raise morale. Lord Garrick, please assemble all the soldiers within the stronghold."

"As you command!"

On Zanoba's orders, we were to show ourselves to the remaining garrison.

About an hour later.

On a platform prepared outside the stronghold, nearly 400 soldiers in full armor stood in formation. 50 more remained inside to watch the enemy. Another 50 were out on reconnaissance or guarding the supply lines.

Every face in that formation was strong. Determined. Hardened.

Far more battle-ready and striking than I had expected. 400 sounded like a small number, but standing before them, I didn't feel that at all.

"I am the Third Prince of Shirone Kingdom, Zanoba Shirone."

"Your Highness Zanoba! We are all honored to fight at your side!"

"Mm!"

Zanoba nodded firmly and looked out over the soldiers.

"First, a situation report!"

"Yes! Small-scale skirmishes with the enemy are ongoing. Based on intelligence from prisoners, a major offensive is expected soon."

"I see. Then there is no time to lose."

Zanoba nodded in understanding.

Several soldiers showed faint unease across their faces. The kind that said: does he really get it?

Zanoba puffed out his chest and spoke loudly.

"First, allow me to introduce the reinforcements to you all."

At the word reinforcements, a flicker of life crossed the soldiers' faces. Morale ticking up, you could see it clearly.

I stepped forward.

Most of the soldiers furrowed their brows and started stirring.

My name isn't famous. But my face looks very much like Lady Aisha's. That's why they were shocked.

Amid the murmuring, Zanoba spoke.

"Everyone!

The enemy is many. We are few.

We know their major offensive is almost upon us.

You are all uneasy. I know that.

But this time — Lord Rudeus saw that Shirone Kingdom had only just begun to recover, and he could not stand by while it suffered this. So he sent his own trusted aide to our side. Lady Aisha!"

I let the corner of my mouth pull up and spoke.

"Hello, everyone."

Cheers erupted from the formation.

Well, I understood. I am Lord Rudeus's trusted aide, after all.

Trusted aide... hehe.

The soldiers had no idea what I was actually capable of. But just knowing I stood in that role was enough to put them at ease.

Seeing the atmosphere was right, Zanoba drove his fist forward and made his declaration like a battle cry.

"That's right, you can already start cheering for victory! Lord Rudeus's will stands with us, which means justice stands with us!"

The soldiers erupted again, fists raised high.

"OOOOOOOOH!"

Morale was surging.

That was actually a good speech.

Zanoba, for all that he looked a bit dim, unexpectedly had the qualities of a leader.

Still. Looking at those soldiers and all that surging energy, I couldn't shake my earlier thought.

The war will most likely stop before any of this matters.

➤ Next: Shirone, Part 3