(This story's timeline is when Lucy has just been promoted to a Viscount.)
It has been a while since Lucy became a viscount, and we've finally gotten
used to moving an army that had grown from 200 to 300 soldiers.
As per usual, I was going to Lucy's office to assist her as her adjutant.
"This is Sanada. I'm coming in."
When I knocked on the door and entered, I found Lucy and the chief vassal
old man with hard looks on their faces.
They seemed to be looking at a piece of paper in their hands.
"Is there a problem? The soldiers caused a commotion… or something like
that?"
When I asked her that, Lucy finally turned her head.
"No, not at all," she replied. "It's a new mission order."
"A new mission order? Then, based on your expressions, is it something we
haven't done before?"
"Yes. It's to escort a convoy to the western fortress. This time it is a bit
bigger, and my unit, which now has a large number of men, has been
assigned to guard it."
It seems I was right.
We have plenty of experience in thinning monster hordes and head-to-head
combat, but we've never been assigned to escort a convoy before.
"Certainly, milady has a large force for a viscount."
I think as I nod.
Basically, a novice civilian commander, baron, or viscount would have at
least a hundred troops and at most two hundred men.
On the other hand, a count can have more than 500 men.
The commanders must have likely assigned Lucy's troops, which had a
large number of soldiers yet of a lower rank, to perform a simple but
important task that was difficult to entrust to high-ranking aristocrats.
Senior nobles are basically proud, and their first priority is to defeat the
enemy and gain battle results.
"However, if you include the transport units, the total number of people will
exceed five hundred. There is a high possibility of being attacked by
monsters."
"The more people we have, the more aggressive they will become. Let's
make our soldiers prepare themselves well."
Beside her, the chief vassal old man also nodded his head.
If he, who is in charge of tightening up the troops as our second-incommand, is going to accompany Lucy, there will be no need to worry. If y
ou ar e ab le to r e ad this mes sa ge, yo u are re ad ing from a n unaut hor
ized ag grega te si te. Re ad at my W ordPr ess at stab bi ng wi th a syri nge.
ho m e. b log to sup p ort me and my tran sla ti ons.
In fact, if you ask any newcomer, ten out of ten of them will say that this
old man is dozens of times scarier than an ogre.
"That's why, Yuushin, please follow me after this. We'll need to replenish
supplies and check up with the transport unit."
"Understood, Commander Finlay."
I opened the door to the room as she stood up.
"I'll leave the rest to you."
"Yes. I'll make sure the soldiers are taken care of."
Lucy nodded in satisfaction at her chief vassal's words, and just like that,
she left the room with me.
Then, just as she said, we headed for the stockpile warehouse.
After arranging the necessary supplies for the unit's operation, she turned
her feet to the Transport Unit with which we would be working with.
The barracks where the Transport Unit is staying is a little different from an
ordinary barracks.
Their barracks where the soldiers live and sleep are on one floor above, and
the entire ground floor is a garage where wagons and carts are parked.
"Their barracks are very unusual," I said as I observed the area. "It's
spacious."
The training area was also quite spacious, probably because they had to
drive the wagons for training.
"Let's go see the Unit Commander and introduce ourselves first. Then we
can start with the matters we need to discuss."
Lucy urged me to go to the place of command of the Transport Unit.
Compared to the outside, the inside was no different from our barracks, and
we were soon taken to a room.
Waiting for us is a slender woman who looked like she would snap if I
pushed her.
She is probably a little older than me. About in her late twenties?
Looking at her insignia, she is not an aristocrat. Nevertheless, she's already
with the bearing of a veteran commander.
"Sorry to disturb you. I'm Viscount Lucy Finlay."
"Oh, how very kind of you. I am Allison, commander of the transport unit."
Then Lucy and I discussed things with Allison to make sure we would be
working well together.
Well, though I said it was a discussion, everything was simplified. As this
will be our first job guarding a convoy, we cannot do anything complicated
out of the blue.
"…So if we are attacked by the enemy, I will basically leave everything to
you. My men are trained, but you can't rely on them in combat."
"Yes, it's much easier that way. In the first place, we won't be worthy as
escorts if we cannot do that."
They both settled the agreements, and the discussion ended just like that.
Though anti-climactic, the discussion with the Transport Unit went fairly
well.
Then, Lucy and I went to the training area to check our troops' situation.
"Thanks to our training, we can handle a large number of troops now."
"Yeah. I think we'll fair well for tomorrow's mission."
Lucy nodded at my words.
And just like that, our unit is all set for tomorrow.
◆ ◆
The next day, Lucy's three hundred troops and Allison's two hundred
transport troops gathered in the western part of the city.
We had already been briefed on the mission, so all we have to do is depart.
Allison's transport team consisted of only two hundred men, but if the
number of wagons and ordinary carriages are included, our total number
will be close to five hundred.
It will be quite a task to escort them all.
"Now then, let's depart. Advance Party, you go ahead."
At Lucy's words, a platoon of about 30 men moved forward.
They are the first to check for any irregularities on the planned route.
After a short delay, we, the main group, began to advance.
We are formed in columns taking the front and rear of the convoy, with a
number of people on the flanks to keep an eye on anything.
In the front of the line are Lucy, myself, and Anastasia.
In the rear are Tilda and the chief vassal old man.
It has been four hours since we left Krasland, so we are almost halfway
through this day's target.
However, it would still take us a total of four days to reach our destination,
so in a way, we are still at the beginning of our journey.
As I rode my horse, I spoke to Allison, who is marching nearby.
"This luggage seems to be more than usual. Did something happen at the
fort?"
The fort to the west, where we are actually headed, was originally intended
to guard the border against a neighboring country.
However, that neighboring country has now been destroyed, and the fort has
been turned into an anti-monster fort. Th is ch apt er tran sla t ion i s ma de
poss ibl e by sta bbi ng with a s yr in ge tran slat io ns. Che ck onl y up-t oda te tran sl ati ons on my Wor dp ress si te.
The number of soldiers deployed there is about 1,000, which is quite a large
number.
If the fort's defensive weapons are utilized, it is said that even against 3,000
monsters, they can still put up a good fight.
"All I know is that the commander in charge of the fort requested these
goods and that these goods also include recreational items."
"I see. Well, it's important to keep morale up, especially in an isolated place
like a fort far away from civilization."
The fort is an important base for keeping an eye on the western part of
Krasland, but due to the threats of the monsters, there is not a single village
around it.
The soldiers in such a situation must be very stressed.
I can understand what the commander is thinking.
"Yuushin, how long are you going to talk? We are still on duty."
In the meantime, Lucy called and reprimanded me.
"Apologies, commander. It's just that things are going too well that it made
me laze a bit."
I look around while saying this.
I was able to see far into the distance in the grasslands, but even then, I
found nothing suspicious.
There were no other than the regular calls from the Advance Team moving
ahead of us.
It is understandable that I get a little relaxed.
"You may be right, but don't let your guard down too much, or you'll lose
footing in an instant. Here, this way."
Lucy pulled my arm and led me toward the line.
"Ow ow ow. You're pulling my arm too hard!"
Lucy has slender arms but possesses more magic power than an ordinary
person.
Since they also use it to enhance their physical abilities, her actual strength
is many times greater than what she appears to be.
If she grabs my arm too hard, it'll break if she isn't careful enough.
"I can't help it. It's because you're talking to the commander in an overly
friendly way."
Her eyes looking at me were tinged with a slight jealousy.
I felt it would be a bad move to argue with hee in this situation, so I just
raised the towel.
"I understand. Next time, I will keep our conversation as brief as possible."
She finally nursed my hands when I said that.
…
...
"It's tough dealing with her, isn't it?"
When Lucy was once again concentrating on commanding the troops,
Anastasia spoke to me.
"You, stop it. She just got angry a while ago."
"But I'm so bored. But oh well, it's still a long way ahead of us…"
I became a little worried by Anastasia's words, but I shifted my eyes to the
road ahead and kept the horse moving.