by Ryota Hori
“Yes, reporting it to Meltina would be wisest...” Concluding as such, Helena headed for the wharf, where the second wave of reinforcements, led by Meltina, was to arrive.
“Aaaaah...” A mixture of a sigh and a moan of lamentation escaped Meltina’s lips.
“Like I said, this wasn’t Ryoma’s mistake in particular.”
“No, I understand that much... It’s just...”
“Just what?” Helena’s tone became stronger upon repeating Meltina’s vague response.
“Sir Mikhail had been Her Majesty’s escort and bodyguard since she was a child... Truth be told, Her Majesty’s bond with him runs deeper than my bond with her...”
Helena went pale at Meltina’s words. This was exactly what Ryoma had feared.
“Do you think she’ll suspect Ryoma after all?”
“No, I don’t think that would be the case...” Meltina denied Helena’s concerns. “If you explain the situation clearly, no matter how saddened she may be, her anger won’t turn to Sir Mikoshiba...”
Meltina didn’t want for Princess Lupis to grow suspicious of Ryoma at this point, either. The princess’s faction owed all its superiority to his plots, after all.
“Then could you handle reporting it to Her Highness instead of me?”
“Yes, I’ll handle giving her the report.” Meltina nodded.
Come nightfall, the 23,000 troops led by Princess Lupis had crossed the Thebes. Tents were added to the camp at Ryoma’s command to accommodate the newcomers. And in one of those newly erected tents was Princess Lupis.
“Mikhail...”
Sitting on her bed, too modest for royalty to sleep in, she spoke Mikhail’s name.
“Mikhail... Did you not say you’d always protect me...?”
Having heard from Meltina that his fate was unknown, Princess Lupis thought back to the days she spent with the knight in her youth. Pearl-like tears slid down her cheeks.
Upon hearing the report from Meltina, Princess Lupis had to suppress the anger that overcame her. Her responsibility as a princess forbade her from blaming Ryoma.
As a ruler, she had to judge things fairly, in which case, there was no fault with Ryoma’s command. The one at fault was Mikhail, who had defied orders and cost five hundred men their lives.
She understood that much. At least, her mind did. But as a person, her heart denied that rational judgment.
As a result, Princess Lupis retreated to her tent after a quick dinner, where she shut herself away. She was aware that if she stayed there, she might have found fault with Ryoma.
“Aaah, Mikhail... Once upon a time, you said you’d make me your bride...”
A royal like Princess Lupis couldn’t wed a simple knight, and she didn’t truly wish for that. It was nothing more than a whimsical verbal promise made when she was a child. But memories like this one, which were usually banished to the back of one’s mind and out of recollection’s reach, seemed to rise to the surface one after another now.
“You said you would always keep me safe...”
For Princess Lupis, Mikhail was her most loyal retainer, with only Meltina being able to match him on that front. It was he who advised her to oppose General Albrecht’s tyranny. If Meltina, a fellow woman, was a sister to her, Mikhail was akin to a brother or father to her.
The sorrow of losing him was even deeper than what she’d felt when her actual father, Pharst the Second, passed away. While they weren’t estranged, they were king and princess of the country before they were father and daughter, and so they could never quite build up that sort of affection.
“Oh,” a man’s voice suddenly spoke up behind Princess Lupis. “I see you’re as grief-stricken as I thought you would be, Your Highness.”
“Who are you?! An assassin...?!” Princess Lupis made the split-second decision to scream. “Someone! Come quickly!”
She didn’t know how this intruder had entered her tent, but there were knights standing guard nearby. Her scream should have made them come at once.
But wait though she did, not a single knight entered her tent.
“You’re wasting your breath, Your Highness. My thaumaturgy has put them to sleep for a while.”
The man’s words made the situation clear to her. She drew the sword leaning against the bed.
“You’re no assassin... What are you here for?”
Her words and actions felt a bit mismatched and awkward, but Princess Lupis was serious. No assassin would speak up like that, but that wasn’t to say he didn’t mean her any harm. She had no intention of letting down her guard until the man’s objective became clear.
“What am I here for, you ask... Right, fair enough. We’re short on time, so I’ll cut right to the heart of the matter. I’ve come to offer you a deal.”
The princess relaxed slightly at his answer.
“What do you mean? To start with, who are you? How did you get here?”
To answer Princess Lupis’s question, the man revealed his face from under the hood.
“I apologize for not introducing myself sooner. The name is Sudou. Akitake Sudou.”
Sudou bowed his head, in a gesture of non-hostility.
Epilogue
As the civil war in Rhoadseria approached its climax, the Empire of O’ltormea, sovereign of the center of the western continent, was preparing for its invasion of the kingdom of Xarooda. Both the government and the citizens were caught in a period of turbulence as they made their preparations for the upcoming invasion.
There’s been quite a few unpredictable developments, starting with Gaius Valkland’s death, but the invasion of Xarooda looks like it’ll go as planned...
A small firm sat in the imperial capital’s main street. As a place managed directly by the guild, it boasted enough influence that few people in the capital didn’t know of it.
Looking down on the people passing by from his office on the third floor of the establishment, Kikukawa’s heart was filled with inexplicable annoyance.
They just silently go about their daily lives, unaware of anything... The fools. They simply allow the system governing this world to exploit them...
Most of the people summoned to this other world died deeply despising it. The common masses never learned of that hatred, instead just living their daily lives. Never knowing the fury and malice of those who had their families and loved ones, their very lives, stolen from them.
Those who survived had to carry on their vengeance, no matter what they had to sacrifice to do it. But that wasn’t to say Kikukawa didn’t feel the slightest bit of anxiety for the organization’s acts.
We have the right to do this. The right to exact revenge on this world. But... Is it truly just to involve these people in it?
The organization had but one goal— to bring this barbaric, filthy hell of a world under the control of those who came from Earth and forge a paradise for themselves here. That was the only way they had in this rotten world to reclaim what had been stolen from them.
He did believe it to be a lofty goal. Lofty enough to gamble his life on, both figuratively and literally.
But on the other hand, the organization would have to spill much blood to make that vision a reality. The blood of friends, foes, and those uninvolved in the fighting.
“Director, may I have a moment?”
Kikukawa’s consciousness was jolted out of the sea of his foolish thoughts by a knock on the door.
“Yes, go ahead. What is it?”
As his words echoed through the rooms, Kikukawa’s secretary, one Reiko Asano, entered the room with a pile of paperwork supported under her opulent bosom.
“I’m sorry to interrupt your break, but we’ve received a report for our Rhoadseria agent, and I’ve brought it over,” Asano said, handing the documents over to Kikukawa.
“The Kingdom of Rhoadseria... You mean Sudou?”
He didn’t think it possible, and asked to confirm. Asano shook her head.
“No, it’s from my younger brother, though
it was Sudou who ordered him to write the report.”
“Oh, figures. My condolences to your younger brother,” Kikukawa regarded Asano’s response with a bitter smile.
Normally, the one in charge, which would be Sudou in this case, was the one to file the reports, but the man in question greatly disliked doing paperwork. The job thus fell to Sudou’s aide in Rhoadseria, who was also Asano’s younger brother.
Sudou was one of the oldest members of the organization, and had known the president for the longest time, so he had a bad habit of not caring much about what those around him thought.
A troublesome man... Though he does get the job done.
Putting aside his penchant for cynicism and occasional negligence, Akitake Sudou was a skilled man.
“The problem is the contents of the report.”
Judging from Sudou’s personality, this report was either of utmost importance or complete and total balderdash. The look in Asano’s eyes made it clear it wasn’t the latter, though.
“It’s... something of a concerning matter...” Asano said, pointing at a certain line in the document in Kikukawa’s hands.
“Hmm... Well, I’ll be damned...”
Her white fingers pointed at the name of a certain person.
“It seems he’s working under Lupis Rhoadserians.”
The name of a man they thought they would never have to deal with again.
“Ryoma Mikoshiba. Why did he have to turn up again...?”
But Kikukawa’s wishes were in vain, and the organization once again became involved with him.
Sudou...
Kikukawa prayed for Sudou, who was now facing this unexpected obstacle far away under Rhoadseria’s skies. But he knew that prayer was for nothing but peace of mind.
Afterword
I doubt there are many newcomers left at his point, but hello to all first-time readers. And welcome back to those who’ve read volumes 1 and 2. This is Ryota Hori, the author.
So once again, for the sake of those who start reading from the afterword, let’s go over the contents of volume 3, and my rationale behind writing it.
First, the somewhat well-established main concept—the fundamental question of how one can win against an enemy with a major numerical advantage, within a tight timeframe.
Most strategy books, including but not limited to The Art of War, will tell you that having greater numbers than the enemy is the first step to victory.
There is strength in numbers. This can be called a universal truth that applies everywhere in the world.
But every now and then, fiction will show us that the opposite result can be much more interesting. For example, Japanese history gives us the Battle of Okehazama.
The Oda clan’s army of several thousand clashed against the tens of thousands led by the Imagawa clan, a battle which still grips the hearts of the Japanese people to this day. Another example is the battle of Thermopylae, held between the forces of ancient Greece and the Persians, which became the inspiration for the movie 300, which still rouses the emotions of those interested in history.
I’m sure any of you who are aware of these stories know that while the Oda clan defeated the armies of Imagawa and went on to become a powerful force, the latter story ended with the Spartans being wiped out.
Both stories had conflicting endings, but in my eyes, both stand as proof to how the image of an underdog facing overwhelming odds has a way of exciting our hearts. As is often the case with history, it’s hard to draw the line between what is fact and what is fiction...
And so, volume 3’s concept stresses the struggle of the underdog against a stronger opponent.
But, perhaps contrary to this author’s feelings, our young protagonist isn’t one to show any signs of distress or crisis, staying composed at all times... Still, I think it wouldn’t be all that interesting to write the same things other people have, so you can certainly see that part as this series’ distinctive flavor, if you will.
Now, the other selling point volume 3 has to offer is the introduction of ninjas, at long last. When you say Japan, you naturally think of ninjas. But for how major of a feature they tend to be, they’re also something of a dangerous element to feature, as they become quite hackneyed if done poorly.
The question of how to implement them in an otherworld story without generating a strong negative reaction is where an author’s skills are put to the test.
Finally, I would like to extend my thanks to all the people who have helped bring this book to completion, and to all of you, the readers who have picked it up.
I’ve finally managed to match the number of books I released through my previous publisher, and I believe I’ve even gone a bit beyond where I got there in terms of the story.
For a time, I thought this work might end up going unfinished, but we’re regularly publishing new volumes. The credit for that goes not only to me as the author, but to you the readers, for refusing to abandon this work.
I will do my utmost to make sure volume 4 is delivered to you as soon as possible, so please continue to support Record of Wortenia War!
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Copyright
Record of Wortenia War: Volume 3
by Ryota Hori
Translated by ZackZeal
Edited by Nathan Redmond
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2016 Ryota Hori
Illustrations Copyright © 2016 bob
Cover illustration by bob
All rights reserved.
Original Japanese edition published in 2016 by Hobby Japan
This English edition is published by arrangement with Hobby Japan, Tokyo
English translation © 2019 J-Novel Club LLC
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property.
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Ebook edition 1.0: November 2019