She looked at Tasel’s body…….She looked at that body which had the characteristics of a woman.
“I am a woman, but I don’t mind having you as a man. I am in love with you………Do you…….Do you hate me as a woman?”
“………………No way!”
“It doesn’t matter to me that you’re a man. I love you!”
“……………………..”
“Media-sama, I really like you.”
Tasel approached slowly and hugged Media closely.
“Please tell me………Do you hate me as a woman?”
Media cried for a long time, as Tasel embraced her and continued to ask that question over and over again.
It was the first time……It was the first time someone knew about her circumstances, but still acted like this. Tasel still claimed he loved her.
He told her that he’ll accept her even as a man. And he was embracing her closely.
It was the first time.
The first time she felt that she didn’t want to ever part from him.
Two people entered the fortress’ office, which was recently transformed into Duke Zest’s room.
“How comes you two are getting along now?”
Zest was wearing the same calm and gentle smile as ever.
They were holding their hands and they both wanted to convey to Zest the same thing.
“ “We are getting married!” “
They said and lowered their heads. That’s when the words which exceeded their expectations got to their ears.
“Congrats. I’m happy for you. And don’t worry, I’ll take care of the fine details. Since I’ll be the mediator, I won’t let anyone complain about this………You just concentrate on becoming happy together!”
While watching Zest declare that to them then start laughing, they both decided.
That they’ll forever follow Duke Zest………That they’ll become his sword and shield.
* * *
Translation: Nana
Proofreading: Carmina
DA BEST (among the worst): Mockii
Chapter 70: To the Battlefield, Once Again
Yoo! Nana-chan says she’s really, really sorry for skipping an update, and that she’ll make up to you tomorrow (she’s dead tired now…)!
*some random person eating cookies*
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Chapter 70: To the Battlefield, Once Again
“Hoho, you came already, grandson-in-law-dono. Bea too, it’s been a long time. How have you been? Good, I hope.”
“Of course. What about you, grandfather? How is your health?”
(Toto is here too, grandpa.)
The Frontier Count showed the two of them a kind smile, one that he would never show me, as he welcomed us.
How comes Toto isn’t afraid to sit on the Count’s shoulder? She sure is amazing…….
I gathered my soldiers and we were going towards the fortress, but I decided to first stop by at the Frontier Count’s castle and give Bea into his custody.
It was because the frontier Count wasn’t a part of the current strategy.
Obviously, my master and my foster father would take part in it, but they wouldn’t be able to leave the skies above the Frontier Count’s domain; they were supposed to protect the border, after all.
And so, the Lord had to remain inside his castle.
Still, he kept on bragging about stuff like how boring the house-watching role was or how he wasn’t ready to lose to the young ones just yet.
Even so…………..
(Grandpa, this is delicious!)
“Is that so? I have a lot of that left!”
He narrowed his eyes and brushed Toto’s hair……..He was extremely indulgent towards Toto, maybe because she looked like a little Bea.
“Listen, Toto-chan, if you eat too much now, you won’t be able to eat the dinner later. Be moderate, okay?”
“Hoho, it’s all right! Come now, drink some fruit juice.”
(Thank you, grandpa!)
He transformed into a foolish old geezer who loved to pamper his granddaughter………But, I certainly could leave them in his care without any worries.
This castle, in which Bea and Toto would live for a while, would be held by the Frontier Count.
Only by imagining it chills ran down my spine………A foolishly looking old geezer trampling down the enemies, while smiling towards his granddaughter.
“I leave them in your care then. Bea, Toto, I’ll be on my way now.”
“Yes, take care. I wish you good fortune!”
(Dad, take care.)
As I embraced Bea, Toto followed along as well.
She used her entire small body to stubbornly cling to my head and hug me.
“Yeah. I’ll definitely come back. To wherever you are, Bea……”
I kissed Bea, who was completely flushed then I left the room.
Right at that moment, I decided inside my heart that I would finish this business as quickly as possible.
“Albert, we’re leaving.”
“Yes sir! Everyone, begin marching!”
We were advancing on the road that led to the fortress.
First, we had to meet with the Empire’s Main Army.
After 4 days of marching, we arrived at the fortress.
It was because I brought along infantrymen as well……….Our speed was rather slow.
However, this time we were waging a war of occupation, so the number of soldiers did count. It couldn’t be helped.
“Your Excellency, Duke Zest, it’s been a long time. I’m Raiza.”
A knight said to me, as he got out of the fortress.
He was a big man wearing an imposing armor and helmet……..His hair was blue……Ah! It’s that man with blue hair!
“Long time no see, Count Raiza. Or, it might be better to say, the General Commander of the Empire’s Main Army.”
He was the supreme commander of the Emperor’s forces, an army of 20.000 soldiers.
The blue-haired Count Raiza looked like a man in his 40s.
He became famous in his youth as a great military man, therefore, the Emperor acknowledged him. He was a viscount, but his Majesty conferred him the count title and entrusted him with leading the Empire’s Army. Count Raiza was such an excellent man.
Also, he was the Emperor’s right hand.
“Your Excellency, just call me Raiza. For now, you should rest inside the fortress.”
“No. We’ll have a meeting first. If we take our time, the Tarminal Kingdom might make a comeback, and that would be troublesome.”
Raiza bowed his head in assent and silently led us inside the fortress.
We went straight to the meeting room, since I wanted to make our move as quickly as possible.
What was decided during the meeting was that ‘In the invasion of the Tarminal Kingdom, the Supreme Commander Raiza would lead the Empire’s Main Army to attack, as I provide the rear guard, as I follow after him’.
They wanted this fight to be the Main Army’s turn to shine, so I was supposed to obediently follow; after all, it was I who went all out protecting the fortress not long ago.
The Tarminal Kingdom’s main forces were recently defeated, so it was supposed to be an easy victory.
It seemed it was safe even without me providing the rear guard………
But well, since his Majesty asked me in person, I decided to follow them for now.
We stayed in the fortress for the night and began marching the following morning.
The border with the Tarminal Kingdom was very close, but it would take us 10 days to reach the royal capital.
We would be on the road for a while……..
Just as we expected, we didn’t encounter any enemy during the first 3 days.
But as we passed by a few more villages and towns, we still didn’t find any enemy soldiers.
We asked the residents about this, and were told that no soldiers were seen around after that time a few days ago
when a number of worn out soldiers ran past them.
Deserters?
Did we really force the kingdom into a corner to such an extent?
We sent a few more scouts ahead and increased the speed of our march.
Even so, the enemy soldiers weren’t showing up……..It felt a bit weird.
No matter how you looked at it, it was strange…….Did something happen?
We found out the answer once we arrived at the royal capital.
“I have a message for your Excellency, Duke Zest! The royal capital will raise the white flag, but its gates will remain shut and its cannons ready to fire back! However, we want to capitulate, so we’ll send out a messenger!”
Isn’t this a trap?…….
I wasn’t the only one who thought about that.
However, the next words I heard threw me into an unnecessary chaos.
“The messenger will be a kemonobito man, the current representative of the royal capital! In order for us to capitulate, he asks to be allowed to do so in the presence of Lord Albert!”
“………….A coup d’etat?”
“………Yeah, most likely.”
Instead of making them fall, I had now to participate in a truly bothersome discussion……..
Dear me!
* * *
Translation: Nana
Proofreading: Carmina
DA BEST (among the worst): Mockii
Chapter 71: Talks with the Rebel Army
Enjoy! ^^
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Chapter 71: Talks with the Rebel Army
“Your Excellency, Duke Zest, thank you very much for the trouble of meeting me here.”
Inside the Main Army’s tent, a too serious man was lowering his head.
“Lord Raiza, don’t worry about it……..Well now, you say you are the messenger?”
He rushed here right after the announcement……..
If you don’t act fast during a rebellion, things could get really troublesome.
“I’m very pleased to meet you. I am Herman, the current representative of the capital.”
He informed and raised his head. He was indeed a kemonobito.
His ears resembled Albert’s, and he looked like a tall, slender, but fearless dog kemonobito.
First, I silently cast my observation magic……..He looked like the type to show some kind of reaction when lying.
“The current representative?…….So it was a rebellion after all?”
“Yes. Tarminal Kingdom’s royal lineage has died out.”
As I thought…….
However, it’s not excluded that the royal family might have escaped without this man noticing.
I really must get a grasp of the situation here……..
“Albert, call Tasel here.”
“Yes sir.”
“Sorry, you can continue.”
He followed Albert with his vision as he left the room then continued talking.
“As you might already know…………”
And so, he opened up.
The situation here was worse than I had previously thought…….
First, the Tarminal Kingdom had a doctrine that preached the supremacy of the human race.
The human race…….Like back in Japan, where people think that humans are the most superior species and all the other ones with which they interact are considered inferior races.
This kingdom oppressed the kemonobito, the dwarves, the elves, and turned them into slaves.
Were they to oppose the humans, people from their races and families would die executed. So they stopped defying humans.
As he was telling this story, the man started to cry……..
Still, even in such circumstances, they didn’t start a war.
The reason for which Tarminal Kingdom resorted to such a policy was the shortage of food they were confronting with.
Their territories contained many wetlands and large rivers.
Thinking about it, their soil should have been really productive.
However, in reality, it was disastrous……
Due to a despotic administration, the people didn’t have enough food.
What was to be done? The solution was to throw away the children and the old.
But if they were to continue that, the number of workers would have decreased and the harvest would have dropped.
Furthermore, the food supply wasn’t sufficient to feed the population.
Therefore……..
“The Kingdom sacrificed its royal mages to summon someone from a different world.”
………….So it was this country?
………I see. It was this country!
I desperately tried to restrain my magical power from revealing my disturbance.
……..It was useless. It leaked out considerably.
Herman’s face turned dead pale in an instant, and he tried to open his mouth to speak, but no sound was coming out.
“Your Excellency, I have brought Tasel.”
Albert returned with the best timing possible.
“Thank you. Come closer, Tasel.”
He approached and I gave him instructions in a low voice.
‘Your top priority is to be alert of the surroundings as you conduct an investigation about the situation here. You can use the knights as well. Go now.’
“Certainly! Excuse me.”
I gave Taser the orders then returned to our conversation.
“I’ve kept you waiting. What happened to that person……..who came from another world?”
“…….Y…yes.”
He told me in brief.
The summoning itself was a success, but the aimed location…….In short, that person never showed up inside the magical formation set up somewhere in the Tarminal Kingdom.
What convinced them that the summoning was a success was the way the magical formation was shining, as well as the state of the casters’ bodies. Everything was like in the books.
They were so foolish…….
After that, Tarminal Kingdom ended up being in a position without its summoned stranger and with all its royal mages annihilated.
It was the worst situation for them.
The administration became more and more despotic…….That was the time when someone from the Grun Empire achieved spiritification.
Yeah, that was me.
Once they investigated the incident, they discovered I was the summoned stranger……..However, they didn’t have any proof that I was indeed the person they tried to summon.
The Kingdom was driven to a wall…………….
“So they decided……… to start a war?………….”
The tent turned as silent as a grave.
He wasn’t lying…….I exchanged looks with Raiza and signaled him that this man was telling the truth. Raiza nodded in response.
“So, why does your surrender come with a condition?”
Herman’s face looked depressed as he was hanging his head, but my words woke him from his trance, and he straightened himself.
“Despite being a kemonobito, Albert-sama is the Knights Commander in the army of Duke Zest, the Empire’s Blade! He is what all kemonobito aspire to be! He is hope! If it is for that person, we thought that we won’t be mistreated………”
Huh? The Empire’s Blade? Who’s the idiot who named me that……..?
My head hurts. This second name is truly embarrassing……..How dare they?……..
Still, I understood the situation…….These guys were treated very poorly here.
They seemed traumatized by humans.
But it was no good.
“I understand……But it’s no good. You are in no position to add conditions to your surrender, are you? I shouldn’t be mistaken, otherwise why would the one in charge come here in person?”
I sighed.
Herman’s body was trembling and his face was bitter, but I continued nonetheless.
“I will not allow you to add conditions
to your surrender. However, if you do surrender, I will appoint Albert as our correspondent, and I vow on the name of my Grum Empire that you won’t ever be treated poorly by us.”
The Empire would never accept a rebel army to add conditions to their surrender.
Once it did that, it would become a laughing matter; an Empire with an army that couldn’t win against some rebels.
However, in case it accepts the Kingdom’s pitiful people, the Empire might as well be seen as tolerant.
It’s sophistry, but it can’t be helped…….It’s all for the nobles and their countries’ honor.
Herman lowered his head, finally understanding my words.
“Please, please, look after us! We’ll be in your care!”
“Herman, don’t worry about it. I swear on my pride as a kemonobito that his Excellency is a person that can be trusted. Besides, his Excellency is a stranger who came from a different world…….He doesn’t think poorly of us, kemonobito. Isn’t that right, your Excellency?”
Stranger's Handbook - WN Chapter 01-76 Page 34