—Evening, 1st Day, 10th Month, 1,546th Year, Continental Calendar — Near
Altomura.
The Amidonian army had agreed to break their siege at the request of the lord of
the castle, Weist Garreau, but when noon came, there was no sign of Altomura's
gates opening.
The sovereign prince of Amidonia, impatient with the current state of affairs,
ordered that the siege be resumed. Then, once the encirclement was complete, he
gave the order for an all-out attack. However, having broken the siege of the city, it
took a considerable amount of time to encircle the city once again. It had grown
close to evening by the time the task was complete.
"Curse you..." Gaius swore. "To think I'd be played for a fool by a petty man of no
significance like Weist."
Sitting on a stool in Amidonia's main camp, Gaius tapped his foot impatiently.
When they saw him like this, it put all of the officers and men standing at his side on
edge. They knew if they did anything to set off his short temper now, it might cost
them their heads. That naturally caused a heavy air to fall over the camp.
In the middle of it all, the crown prince, Julius, did his best to pacify Gaius.
"That just means a petty nuisance did as petty nuisances do," he said. "He's
making a futile attempt to buy time. We'll just have to ensure that we crush him this
time. What is there to be so irritated about?"
"...Hmph," Gaius said. "Yes, his struggle certainly has been in vain."
He seemed mollified by Julius' words, but continued:
"It's too late for them to beg for their lives now. I'll destroy that country town by
the time the sun goes down. When that time comes, Weist, I'll hang your head from
the castle gates, but not before I torture you until you beg for death!"
"...I believe that would be appropriate," Julius said.
Unlike Gaius, who had let the blood rise to his head, Julius wore an icy
expression. Still, uncertainty was beginning to take root in his mind. He sensed a
suspicious presence on the other side of those walls. Had Weist truly just been
buying time with no hope of winning?
As he was contemplating that, a single Amidonian soldier rushed into the main
camp. "I-I have a report! A woman has been spotted on the walls of Altomura!"
"A woman?" Julius asked.
As he listened to the soldier who bowed low as he gave his report, Gaius raised
an eyebrow. "Just who is she?"
"Well... according to one commander who recognized her, she is Excel Walter,
Admiral of the Elfrieden Navy," the soldier said.
"Did you say Excel Walter?!" Gaius doubted his own ears. "You say that one of the
three dukes was inside that castle?!"
It was hard to believe. The King of Elfrieden, Souma, had issued his ultimatum to
the three dukes only a few days ago. Certainly, Admiral Excel Walter had sworn
loyalty to him there, but by the time the spies had delivered that information to
them, the armies of the Principality had already besieged Altomura.
Her base of operations was Lagoon City on the northeast edge of the Kingdom,
while Altomura was close to the southwest edge. No matter how quickly she
traveled, it should have taken three or four days to travel that distance. If Excel had
been in Lagoon City when the ultimatum was issued, she couldn't possibly have
gotten inside Altomura.
"Why?! Why is Excel there?!" Gaius screamed.
Unlike the bewildered Gaius, Julius looked as if things suddenly made sense to
him. "...Most likely, Excel was in communication with Souma prior to the ultimatum."
The identity of that sensation which he hadn't been able to put a name to... the
one that he had been feeling from Altomura. Had it been Excel's shadow?
The moment he realized it, Julius figured out the enemy's ploy and turned pale. If
Excel and Souma had been secretly in contact, it was possible the other two dukes
had been, as well.
If that ultimatum was a farce...!
That was where Julius finally realized the enemy's true aim.
"Father, prepare to withdraw posthaste! We've been lured here!" he shouted.
Julius took a knee before his father, regretfully offering that advice. Gaius blinked
at the sudden suggestion of retreat. "Lured here? What do you mean?"
"Most likely, Excel was in Altomura when she took part in the meeting where that
ultimatum was issued," Julius said. "We have a Jewel Voice Broadcast jewel in our
country, just like they do, and it certainly wouldn't be impossible to transport one."
"Why would she need to do that?" Gaius asked.
"To keep us pinned down at this city, I'm sure," Julius said bitterly. "The enemy's
target is..."
"This is an announcement which concerns all citizens of Elfrieden."
Cutting Julius off mid-sentence, a voice loud enough for all the Amidonian
soldiers encircling Altomura to hear it echoed through the area. When they turned to
look, there was a giant silhouette standing on the walls of Altomura.
It must have been around 20 meters tall. If that were the man himself, he would
truly be a giant, but the scenery behind him was see-through. It had to be an illusion
of some sort.
That silhouette was the provisional King of Elfrieden, Souma Kazuya.
Today, he wasn't wearing the casual attire he usually did; he was dressed in a
proper military uniform. They say the clothes make the man, and he did look much
more intimidating than usual.
Gaius and Julius looked hatefully at Souma.
◇ ◇ ◇
"I repeat. This is an announcement which concerns all citizens of Elfrieden. I am
the provisional King of Elfrieden, Souma Kazuya."
Meanwhile, up on the castle walls, Excel was looking up at the giant image of
Souma in military uniform with a complicated expression on her face.
The mist this supersized image of Souma was being projected on had been
produced by Excel's magic.
With the magical power Excel held as a descendant of sea serpents, it was easy
for her to imitate one of the mist-dispersing receivers used for the Jewel Voice
Broadcast. Right now, Excel was using that power to show the Amidonian army
Souma's Jewel Voice Broadcast.
Souma began by giving a straightforward explanation of the sequence of events
that had led to the current situation.
How the General of the Army, Georg, had been sheltering corrupt nobles, and so
the Forbidden Army and the Army had come into conflict.
How the General of the Air Force, Castor, had rebelled against him, ready to
martyr himself for his friendship with Georg.
And how, of the three dukes, only the Admiral of the Navy, Excel, had expressed
her intention to serve him loyally from the beginning.
Of course, he was just laying out the facts one after another, not delving into the
details, but details mattered little to these people. What they wanted to hear was
whether they were going to be caught up in the fighting or not.
"A lot has happened to bring us to this point, but at present the Forbidden Army,
Army, Navy, and Air Force are all under my command," Souma announced. "As such,
I hereby proclaim the civil war to be at an end."
The conflict between the king and the three dukes was over.
For the citizens, just knowing that was enough. However, Excel wore a pained
look on her face.
It had been only two days since the ultimatum. This announcement meant that, in
that time, Souma had defeated both Castor Vargas's Air Force and Georg Carmine's
Army.
She could understand Castor. He had only rebelled with his personal troops, and
Excel had shared her knowledge of routes that could be used to invade Red Dragon
City in order to aid in his capture.
However, she sensed something contrived in the way that Georg had
surrendered so easily.
The amount of time I was asked to buy was so short, I thought there might be
something up, but... I never expected they were working together from the very
beginning, she thought. It looks like Castor, myself, and even His Majesty may have all
been dancing in the palm of Georg Carmine's hand.
Despite her youthful appearance, Excel wondered if this was what it was like to
grow old. As she began to comprehend Georg's plan, she gazed off into the distance
with a sigh.
If this was how it was going to be, I should have pressed harder to make Castor
stop. ...If I risk this old neck of mine, is there some way I can save their two lives?
That was what Excel thought as she looked up at the image of Souma.
Souma's speech was rising towards its climax.
◇ ◇ ◇
"The civil war has come to an end. Yet it is too soon for us to sheathe our blades!
The armies of the Principality of Amidonia have crossed the border and invaded our
country! At this very moment, Amidonian forces have besieged the southwestern
city of Altomura!"
When the king suddenly revealed the Amidonian invasion, roughly half of the
population grew tense, while half reacted with shock. The ones who grew tense
were those in the west who had already received information of the Amidonian
incursion, while the ones who were shocked were those in the east of the country
where the news had yet to spread.
Not many days had passed since the Principality of Amidonia had launched their
invasion, so the information hadn't fully spread yet.
The people of the east reacted to this sudden news with panic. However...
"But fear not," Souma declared. "I had anticipated this might happen, and so I
sent Duchess Excel to Altomura. Thus far, the enemy has been unable to capture
Altomura."
When the people heard these words from Souma, it helped calm them a little. He
continued.
"I already have the Forbidden Army, Army, Navy, and Air Force under my
command. The invading force from the principality numbers 30,000. With the
Forbidden Army, Army, and Air Force combined, we can mobilize roughly 55,000
troops. If we marched on Altomura now, it would be a simple task to drive these
barbaric invaders back."
When they heard those words, an air of relief fell over the people. However, the
next moment...
"But, my people. Is that alone enough?!" Souma shouted.
That air of relief was blown away as the king raised his voice.
"The Principality of Amidonia has always been targeting this country's lands,"
Souma continued. "For generations, their princes have called for the return of their
lost lands, expanded their military, and kept the border in a constant state of
tension. The current prince, Gaius VIII, is no different. He fanned the flames of
conflict between the three dukes and myself, acting behind the scenes to further his
own aims! Then, when the clash between myself and Georg became a thing of
certainty, he raised his armies and trampled lands belonging to our country
underfoot!"
Yes, Souma had done some maneuvering behind the scenes, issuing a quest to the
adventurers' guild in order to have them evacuate the towns and villages in the path
of the armies of the Principality. However, that didn't mean there had been no
losses. There had been villages deliberately put to the torch. There had likely been
plundering, too. If any people had had the misfortune of running into enemy scouts
as they'd fled, there may have been lives lost, as well.
Putting his anger at all of that into his words, Souma continued.
"I ask you once more! Are you satisfied to merely chase them off?! In this era,
when all mankind is trying to unite under the Gran Chaos Empire against the armies
of the Demon Lord, can such backwards and barbaric behavior be tolerated?! Nay! It
most certainly can not! As such, while it is unnecessary for our country to say this,
having already been subject to a surprise attack, I will say it nonetheless."
Here Souma paused for a moment, taking a deep breath, then made a clear
proclamation.
"The Elfrieden Kingdom hereby declares war on the Principality of Amidonia!"
It was a declaration of war. The people tensed when they heard those words.
These were words they had never heard in the time of the former king, Albert.