Soon as I finished my report, the Chief of Staff who had gone out to check
came back.
It seems that the monsters attacking the other gates have started to retreat.
The situation has completely reversed, and the troops are now chasing the
fleeing enemy monsters.
I was relieved from the scene, with the reward for defeating the enemy
commander to be discussed at a later date.
As I left the commander's office, I took a breather, feeling as if a boulder
had finally been lifted from my shoulders.
"I totally didn't expect that not only I would meet the chief commander and
the chief of staff, but I would also meet the Marquis, the very ruler of the
land, as well. While it's great that I have been given a chance for them to
remember my face, I think I'm gonna pass next time. I don't want to
experience that pressure ever again."
I was under so much tension that I could almost feel a physical weight on
me, and to be honest, I wanted to plop myself on the bed already.
Of course, before I head back to the barracks to sleep, I have to stop by to
my unit first.
I went back the way I came and headed for the base near the south gate.
The alert is still in place, so the troops are still on standby and waiting for
orders, though the difference is we're not at our original base anymore.
Especially even more that the south gate had collapsed.
Soon, I found the old man giving instructions to the troops, so I reported to
him there.
"I'm back, sir, and I think I've reported well to the command headquarters."
"Oh, thank you. I hope this will help milady gain more achievements," he
spoke in turn while also checking some of the documents he received in his
hand.
"By the way, milady seems to have settled down now that her wounds have
been treated. Why don't you go and report to her personally?"
"Understood. I'll go check up on her."
Just like that, I left and went to the office where Lucy was, guided by
another retainer.
As for the non-combatants in the area, they have long been evacuated since
the alert was announced.
Lucy is lying on the large sofa in the cramped office.
Before coming here, I was told by the retainer that a bed in the infirmary
had actually been prepared for her, but Lucy turned adamant and told them
that she would not use it to save it for the more gravely injured instead.
"That's just like her."
She seemed to notice me as Lucy raised her body on the couch to look at
me as I approached.
"Yuushin? Ah sorry. I'm the commander, and yet I am here, taking a
break-"
"I don't mind. In the first place, it is the adjutant's duty to support the
commander to make her work easier."
I handed her the papers and reported what happened at the military
headquarters in my own words.
However, Lucy's expression gradually became distorted as she listened to
my narration.
By the time I had finished stating my entire report, she was staring at me
with a clearly unhappy expression on her face.
"What do you mean, my unit is the only one that was qualified for the
achievements of defeating the monster general!? That battle would not have
been a victory without the help of Miss Tilda's troops!"
As expected, Lucy didn't like the idea of her own troops taking all the
credit.
She is a person who had always looked up to her father, a good man, and as
such, she felt bad that this was akin to her hogging all the honor that should
not belong to her.
But she'll have to bear with me here this time.
I checked the surroundings again to ensure no one else was around and
spoke softly to her, trying to soothe her first.
"I know you won't like it, but it has already been decided. Also, you are
already the head of the Finlay House, and as such, you should already be
prepared to swallow the dark side of the nobility." If yo u a re a ble to rea d
th is mes s age, yo u are r eadi ng from an unau thor ized aggre ga te si te.
Rea d at my Wo rdPr ess at stab b ing wit h a syri nge. ho me . bl og to sup
port me and my trans latio ns.
"But this is just too…"
"Don't worry about the foreign legion. They will be given a separate
reward."
"R-really?"
Lucy, who was looking down, briskly looked up at those words.
It is not as if she was convinced, though, seeing she's still looking
suspicious of me.
However, I don't know if she will have any good feelings about the
headquarters once I tell her this.
One of the things I want to avoid is the deterioration of relations with the
upper management and us. Considering Lucy's righteous beliefs and way of
living, she may become a nuisance to them in the long run. To avoid that, I
decided to intervene a little. And that is by using the proposal I have
prepared on the spot.
"Lucy, I have a proposal."
"...what is it?"
"Tilda's troops are almost completely ruined, and at this point, they could
already be considered goners soon if we leave them like this. To prevent
that, how about we incorporate them into our units under your command?"
"You mean you want them to join my unit?"
Lucy stared wide-eyed in surprise.
"I mean, the other side has already suffered a devastating blow in their
ranks, and as such, they wouldn't be as capable as before. It is even possible
that they might choose themselves to die in the front lines on their next
foray."
This is very likely now seeing their performance and indomitable morale in
battle up close. There is also the fact that it would be a great waste if we left
Tilda and the rest of their group charging in every enemy they encounter
until they meet their end.
But the real reason is that we need their striking breakthrough capabilities
for us to be able to perform more on the battlefield.
To sum up, if we choose to incorporate them, they could become a
tremendous asset to our troops.
And that would also solve Lucy's troops' lack of firepower, at least for now.
"Just think about it, Lucy. Once we get their unit to join our ranks, not only
will our unit gain a formidable battle force, Tilda and her troops will get
rewarded as well, as they now belong to the troops in this city. They won't
be treated as a "foreign legion" anymore. Also-"
"It is for the Marquis and his army to avoid being criticized by the citizens
for not adhering the public sentiment, isn't it? At least, I know that
much...In that case, I'll have no choice but to agree."
Lucy nodded her head in agreement with my words.
This was the best I could do at the moment, but I am thankful that my idea
has satisfied her.
Anyway, Lucy has a similar thought that the citizens had the same dislike
for immigrants as the Marquis. I wonder if she felt that way because she is
looking at it from a nobleman's point of view?
"But that still leaves us with two problems. The first is whether or not
Command will allow us to incorporate them-"
"About that part, I already reported it. The Chief commander already knows
about what happened here, as well as the situation concerning Tilda's
troops. He also agreed that he wanted to keep them under the control of the
nobles rather than leaving them to fight until they die."
After all, what we're talking about here is a unit that even though they only
have a hundred men, they possessed incredible courage to charge without
fear onto the enemy force that is ten times larger than them and
breakthrough all the way to the enemy general to take its head.
No commander would not want to lay their hands on such high-quality
troops.
But the deciding point why they agreed to make the pagan warriors transfer
to Lucy's unit is that Lucy is the niece of Marquis Krall – a direct relative.
Lucy is a safe bet compared to other aristocrats greedy for power as the
management would be centralized on the Marquis' relatives. Not only that,
Lucy's background is excellent, as her father was a trusted subordinate of
the Marquis.
"Also, there's the fact that you and Tilda had the experience to cooperate in
that last battle. As for Tilda's and her troops' opinions of this matter, that
can wait until things have settled down a bit."
"I see. You're right. For now, why don't you take a break first? You look
exhausted."
"Y-yeah. Thanks."
Finally, I am glad I could make Lucy agree with me.
Feeling my fatigue catching up, I sat down next to her.
"Either way, this is quite a tough day."
"Since we have talked up to this point, have you met with the Chief
Commander again?"
I nodded my head.
"Not only the chief commander but also the chief of staff and his men were
there. I even met Marquis Krall, who had come to the command center for
an inspection in person." Th is cha pter trans l ation is m ade poss ib le by
stab bin g wit h a sy ri nge trans latio ns. che ck only up -to -dat e tran
slation s on my Wor dpre ss si te.
"What!? You've met uncle!?"
Lucy seemed quite surprised at the fact that the Marquis was in the military
command center.
"He doesn't usually come out of his castle at the center of the city...but
that makes sense considering the situation we are in now."
"What do you mean?"
I tilted my head towards Lucy, but she just gave me a pained look.
"Despite accepting them, my uncle doesn't like immigrants who are of
different ethnicities or pagan believers. I don't know why, but I believe that
something must have happened to him in the past for him to become this
way."
"Can you tell me more about that?!"
Lucy nodded and began to talk about Marquis Krall.
"He is not a very outspoken person, but he does show his displeasure when
it comes to non-citizens of his territory. Also, the idea of immigrants and
refugees being given separate quarters from the original citizens was
brought from him. This is because he thought that the citizens would feel
uneasy if they suddenly had unfamiliar neighbors in their lands."
If you put it that way, the decision to separate the residential areas sounds
reasonable.
As far as the nobles and the town's inhabitants are concerned, it seems that
Krasland was originally a nation of a single ethnicity, a single culture.
But now, they are a multitude of different nationalities and ethnicities, and
these differences are causing disputes as a whole.
Well, I couldn't blame the Marquis on this, as even I would feel very
uncomfortable if many immigrants suddenly started living in my
hometown.
Come to think of it, Lucy has introduced me as a distant relative that came
from a faraway place. Maybe that's the reason why the Marquis isn't wary
of me? Wait a minute....
"Is the Marquis perhaps planning to make use of their abundant number of
relatives to centralize their power to themselves against these refugees?
Considering it is not only commoners but also aristocrats and people of
power are flooding this place."
Based on what I can recall, the royal capital of the country to which
Krasland belonged was wiped out when it was surrounded and attacked by
three hundred thousand strong monsters.
Because of this, all the cities and other territories that once belonged to this
country were now left on their own devices, without a king for them to rule
over and unite them.
Either way, it produced a wide variety of refugees to the surviving
territories, from commoners to surviving members of the royal court.
"I don't know much, but perhaps, it is indeed the case. Though that can also
be served as an explanation to my other relatives suddenly being given
important positions by my uncle, even though they weren't that relevant to
him before."
Lucy had a complicated look on her face as she spoke this.
"He was indeed a good lord, my uncle. And this is definitely a good move
to keep the power to his relatives, including me. But because of that, I'm a
little disappointed...and guilty of myself...It is also one of the reasons
why I am being skeptical of inheriting the title even though father has long
passed away."
"I'm sorry. I asked too much. But don't worry about it anymore. For now,
let's just be happy that we were able to protect Krasland for another day."
I held Lucy by the shoulders and stroked them reassuringly.
The other side leaned her head to me as a response, so I stayed with her
until she fell asleep again – a thing which had already become our usual
routine at times like this.
(However, if Marquis Krall doesn't like immigrants gaining power, then
incorporating Tilda's troops into our unit might have been a bit of a bad
move. I have to take measures fast.)
However, I had already made this decision; it is too late to change it
anymore.
For now, I also rested on the sofa, thinking about how I should visit Tilda
tomorrow and inform her about my plans.