Chapter 511: Fort Life 10
The next day, Dianne and Laila returned.
“The situation was about as well as could be expected”
A debriefing was immediately held with everyone gathered in front of the dormitory.
“The Sword Saint group is now advancing in the direction of Fort Ghibli. The first king, Ulysses Ernesto, is said to be accompanying them. Also, the Ace Knight Squadron, led by the reverse head……Wrigley, has moved to the newly constructed Fort Squall”
“……Emm, I believe the captain of the Ace Knight Squadron was General Kingfisher”
“Kingfisher escorted Lucia-dono to Rennesto and has not yet returned to Catalina. He has already left with Lucia-dono in Rennesto, so he’s not particularly slacking off, but……it would be misleading to say that it was Kingfisher who was leading them in a matter that was decided and executed during that time”
“Ah……”
I mean, it really has become 10-man captain reverse hair, the commander of the ace knight squad. ……10-man captain is basically the lowest of the low as ace knights. How stupid are the rest of them?
“And……I heard that the Holy Warriors Alliance is also working to develop the demon territory”
“Even the Holy Warriors Alliance?”
“No, Naris-chan, we shouldn’t have let those people retreat. It’s strange that Trot, Celesta and other elf territories on the other side of the mountains are doing their best, but the locals are just sitting on the sidelines”
“No, that’s true, but I always have the image of them being shut up”
Naris and Tetes are whispering. Well, everyone can hear it completely and there’s nothing problematic about it. The Holy Warriors Alliance is a group of knights formed by the small states along the shores of Lake Valerie to help each other out. A certain number of elite warriors are selected from each nation to serve a three-year term and each time they are selected, they are replaced. In relation to the selection process, unlike the title system in the West, there is no hierarchy of rank. The reason for this is that each fighter is a representative of a nation and it is not good to tarnish the reputation of his country of origin by determining his strength or weakness at every step of the way. In fact, they rarely fight and are only recorded to have been dispatched to the Fire Dragon War a hundred years ago and to the occasional popular uprising. It is also a well-known fact that they are called a sword salon or a white-armor troupe because of this. However, it is not that the warriors are not capable, only that the management policy gives priority to the front of the organization. In a friendly match held a few years ago during a courtesy visit to Celesta, many of the fighters went toe-to-toe with master knights and it is clear that they are a group of fighters who are highly respected on the continent.
“I think it would be a situation that Renfangas would want to avoid if they also get on board”
“Is that so?”
“Too close is not good for us. Especially when it comes to territorial disputes like this one, you never know when having a country so close to you directly interfere could backfire”
“Haa……”
Especially in the case of Renfangus, once the monster problem is resolved, it will be nothing more than a small to medium-sized country with no resources and poor industrial power. Most of the national army and gauntlet knights that rely on it are mercenaries and their upkeep costs are not supported by the Valerie Alliance. It’s not something we can give away. ……If the development of the demon territory goes well, it will be a national crisis in its own right. In such a delicate situation, it would be terrible to give them a name to let their forces pass by so casually”
“Th, That’s true …….”
As someone who doesn’t know anything about politics, I think it’s only natural that we should cooperate if we’re close……but if we let the military of a neighboring country pass right through, we’re in a situation where we can just punch Renfangas down the throat.
“If it’s Celeste or Trot, the capital is far away, and we’ve created a system to maintain a defense line on this side of the mountain range, so it’s not worth it to destroy them……but the Valerie Alliance has the funds. It’s a parent organization that bears the burden of the burden. If we were to be able to do it ourselves, I don’t know what we would do”
“I’d like to think they wouldn’t spend three hundred years protecting the back of the country and then are useless……when it’s useless”
“That’s true in terms of humanity, but there are times when a country can’t be helped by humanity alone. From another perspective, it also means that Renfangas doesn’t have to direct its too strong military power towards the north. That would also be very frightening from the perspective of neighboring countries
Dianne says dryly. Renfangas are not only a strong military force, but they are also a threat to their neighbors.
“It’s alright, Master. As long as Lord Buster is around, Renfangas will not go down easily”
“Tetes”
Well, Tetes originally approached me and tried to use me to save Renfangas, didn’t she? ……In a situation like this, surely I would want the dragon’s protection, wouldn’t I?
“I’m also properly insured against any moves by the Holy Warriors Alliance, if the Lord Buster approves of them. All we have to do is move the frame forward. ……One way or another, we have to become a country that can stand on its own someday”
“……That’s true too”
Worrying about unnecessary things and us goofing off isn’t going to save anything. Almeida, who had remained silent, looked at me and said gruffly.
“It’s simple. If you want to worry, take the first spear. If you want to be a leader in the army, there is no better way to do it than with military prowess”
“……That’s just like you”
“What do you mean?”
The reason why she can think in such a simple way is because she is a knight from the marrow up. But now the situation is a competition. If you take the initiative to search for the demon territory, you will get the 「Building」 which has a great meaning between countries. That will be the bill to obtain the desired result. So Almeida is right.
“We too will move forward aggressively. We will immediately start a full-scale flight search tomorrow. That’s all”
『Understood!』
Everyone gives their respective salutes.
“Well, I should do something soldierly once in a while”
Keiron rattles around and prepares a crossbow set.
“What are you going to do?”
“I thought I’d give it a shot. I haven’t strung a crossbow in a long time”
“Test firing……you can hit a target with a random shot, so you don’t need that kind of thing, do you?”
“It’s true that there are times when that happens, but luck alone is no match for poor maintenance”
“If you look at it as a grouper, it looks like you might win”
Keiron climbs up from the dormitory to the top of the wall, carrying his crossbow and arrow casing. I was following him somehow.
“I hope there are some demons or animals that we can eat”
“It won’t work out that way……”
Animals don’t come easily to man-made structures and the terrain is basically inhospitable to demons. It makes no sense to build a fort here if demons are always around. On the wall, Boyd was also preparing his crossbow.
“Boyd, are you test-firing too?”
“Ah, it’s not that I’m test-firing, it’s just that……I’ve been practicing a lot of fighting recently, so I thought it would be a good idea to practice”
“Because. Hey, someone who’s been doing a lot of dick training lately, you should get yourself in gear too”
“Shut up. I’m not talking to the fox that’s sleeping without training”
After making some lighthearted remarks, the two of them silently started aiming at something and I fell silent as well. I don’t bother to disrupt their concentration. And then Keiron spotted something where he squinted.
“Hey, Boyd. We’re having a race to see who can take it down”
“What’s that?”
“That’s that nut right there”
I think that’s how things get across and it seems like it did. Keiron’s crossbow releases an arrow with a clanking sound.
“……Chiee”
He missed.
“I’m next”
Boyd, too, curled his large body into a circle, took aim and shot.
“……No good”
He missed. Keiron shot twice. Boyd shot once. Neither of them seemed to be happy and neither of them seemed to be able to hit the target.
“You guys are too slow. If it comes to a real battle, there is no excuse for aiming at a target that is too far or too small”
“I thought I was going to hit it”
“I knew it was a bad idea……”
“I mean, I’ve been listening to Keiron’s crossbow for a while now and it’s making this weird firing sound. I think something might be loose”
“……Eh, really?”
“Give me that”
I took the crossbow from Keiron, pushed and pulled each part, wound up just the strings and shot blanks. ……Ah, I knew it.
“The frame is a little crooked. I can’t get a precise shot with it”
“Gee……the whole frame is bent!?”
“I wonder if it’s the temperature……maybe it got under something while we were carrying it”
“Wait, wait, there’s no way you can just turn around and get away with it. What are we going to do from tomorrow?”
The main frame of the crossbow is made of iron. I can think of having ogre like Boyd or Goto fix it by force, but I can’t do such a sloppy thing to parts that require precision. ……No.
“There’s an easier way. Wait a minute”
“?”
I take the crest engraving pen from my inside pocket. And with a flick, flick, flick, I make an imprint on the side of the frame.
“Okay. Now……hoo”
“Uoo!?”
The iron frame bent like bread dough when I applied a little force.
“With this, you can easily shape it
“Th, That’s amazing……but won’t it harden if it’s that soft?”
“If you write a reverse stroke on it, it will come back after a while”
“I, I wonder if you could take a look at mine?”
“Okay, but……it’s not that bad, is it? I’m going to shoot with it”
I’m going to try shooting with Boyd’s crossbow. The grip and trigger are for ogres, so it was a little difficult, but I had Maia in the watchtower make an ice ball with her hand and shoot it and I hit it.
I guess you lack practice
“I’m impressed. It seems like 10-man captain Smithson is really good at what he does!”
“Right!? What’s wrong with you!?”
“No, it’s just that you guys aren’t good enough!? I mean, I feel like I’m being taken advantage of!?”
Crossbow maintenance has always been my specialty and I’ve been shooting crossbows for many times longer than Boyd! ……I´m starting to feel sad. I’m not just talking about the girls, but even the guys are beginning to think I’m a creature with only a dick.