Episode 114: Fire in the royal capital of Ferocony
Arrived at the capital of Ferokony.
A flat castle is located in the center of the forest, and around it is a castle town lined with wooden statue houses. The appearance of the area, with waterways running around it in place of water moats, looked like a recreation of a townscape from the Edo period.
"It would have been perfect if we had rice paddies and rice, but it's a forest area, not a wetland."
Even though I feel like I lack the skill to draw, I work with General Durva to come up with a plan to attack that royal capital.
“Maybe we should march using the bridge over the waterway.”
"If we use the bridge, the enemy will be waiting at key points. Also, the residents won't forgive us for threatening their homes, and there is a possibility that they will attack us."
"However, it's also difficult to ignore the directions. That royal capital is a maze of wooden forts on the border, and a giant version of that is the same."
“Here, we need to get the cooperation of the residents and ask them to guide us to the royal castle.”
"It's a good idea, but we're the same as the invaders. Is there anyone who will cooperate with such an opponent?"
Should I still follow the directions and make sacrifices?
While I was thinking like that, I saw black smoke rising from the royal capital of Ferocony Kingdom.
As I was paying attention to what was going on, a hand of fire suddenly went up. Black smoke was starting to rise from about ten places, not just in one place, but scattered throughout the area.
“That’s not my work, right?”
"We haven't done anything. If we had given instructions to set that town on fire, we wouldn't have thought about getting the cooperation of the residents."
I'm convinced that's the case, but I still have doubts.
"The fire started as if it was waiting for us to arrive. It can't have been an accident."
"A rebellion by the people of Ferokony. A riot by mercenaries who have been laid off. A brutal act by the desperate Ferokony royal family. I can think of many things."
I understand what General Durva is trying to say.
"A fire in a wooden city is nothing short of a disaster. This is no time for a war. We need to guide the evacuation of the people of Ferocony."
"...Prince Milimos, are you serious?"
"Eh? Isn't it natural to rescue the people?"
When I tilted my head, General Durva glanced at the direction where the Family and Princess Parbella were, and nodded back with a knowing look on his face.
"I don't think there's any need to act like a 'good girl' just because there's a knightly nation monitoring it. Even the knightly nation wouldn't be so unreasonable as to save the people of an enemy country."
When I couldn't understand what General Durva was saying, he told me in a whisper in my ear.
"The people and soldiers of Ferokony will become tired and unable to fight after the fire is put out. We can just wait here until the fire is extinguished."
“Imitate yourself like that fire thief.”
"Taking advantage of that fire to attack the enemy's castle would be strategically overkill. However, stopping the invasion until the fire has subsided is a sign of mercy towards the people of the enemy country. At least, the Knights' Nation I'm sure it will be well received."
I can't understand what you're saying, but I can understand it.
If we don't do something like this, the people and soldiers of Ferokony will be exhausted from fighting the fires. After that, if we invade, we will be able to easily advance to the royal castle.
On the other hand, our assistance in extinguishing fires and guiding evacuations will be a burden to the soldiers of Rocha. Even though you've been walking so far, it's probably best to refrain from doing anything that will make you feel extra tired.
Even if we wait and see how the fire unfolds, if we don't hear any complaints from the knightly kingdom's supervisors, then there's really no reason to help the enemy's city.
"I can understand that, but..."
Perhaps because of the extensive evacuation drills he was forced to perform during his student life in his previous life, he has a strong aversion to fires rather than focusing on his own merits.
If there's a fire, I want to put it out, and if I can evacuate, I want to help.
However, I am in charge of the lives of Rocha's soldiers. We can't just send them out into danger.
I'm looking for a compromise between my mood and my strategy against Ferocony.
"Okay. We're going to advance to the outer periphery of the royal capital of Ferokony. Our goal is the nearest fire site. We'll demolish the burning houses and extinguish the fire by pouring water from the irrigation canal."
"Prince Milimos--no, I can't help it."
General Durva gave an expression resembling a wry smile and then issued an order to the soldiers.
"Even though they are citizens of an enemy country, they are pitiful people who were hit by a fire. Let's go rescue them! Demolish the burning houses with weapons! We'll also guide the residents to evacuate!"
""Ueeeee!?""
There was a voice of confusion from the soldiers, but General Durva did not say anything.
"I have given the order! Show me your duty as a soldier!"
""...Ha! Understood!""
The soldiers begin to move reluctantly, refusing to follow orders despite their arguments.
I felt sorry for issuing such an unreasonable order. However, I believe that rescue is necessary.
Well, the soldiers didn't seem to be convinced, but once they moved, they pushed forward to carry out the orders.
The 4,000 soldiers were automatically reorganized into groups of about a dozen people and scattered into the outer periphery of the royal capital of the Kingdom of Ferocony. The fire seemed to be starting to spread, and there seemed to be a lot of black smoke rising.
The soldiers I will be accompanying arrive at the first fire scene.
"Hey, you. Is this your house?"
"Ah, ah. It's burning, it's burning. I'm drawing water from the nearby river now."
"We won't make it in time! Is there anyone in there?"
"No, they're not there. Everyone has escaped properly."
"In that case, I'm sorry, but I'll have to demolish it to stop the fire from spreading!"
"That's it! Wait!"
"Don't wait! Everyone, do it!"
"'Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!'"
The sledgehammer that was used to break down the large door of the fort roars and hits the burning house from the outside.
It seemed like the house had been struck in a very good spot, and the house immediately tilted and collapsed.
Another Roccia soldier came there, carrying a barrel filled with water from the irrigation canal.
"The collapsed house will be left behind! To prevent the fire from spreading, first spray water on the surrounding houses! Bring the Janjan water! Also, Prince Milimos can use magic! So don't stand around in a daze and quickly spray water! Do it! Make the whole house damp!”
"I-I know."
Even though I was under pressure, I used magic to create water and spray it out.
After the houses near the fire had been soaked, water was then rained down on the collapsed burning houses.
The soldier who was giving instructions to stop the fire grabbed the chest of the owner of the house, who was sitting dumbfounded after his house was destroyed, and forced him to stand up.
"Hey, we're going to the next scene. You're on vigil, and you're going to watch all day and night to see if there's any fire from this rubble! If you have time, get some water and keep pouring it on!"
"W-why do you have to do that?"
"Are you an idiot? No matter how much you extinguish the fire, there will always be some embers left behind! If there's another fire, you'll be back to the original Mokami!"
The owner of the house, who was yelled at at close range and whose house was destroyed, nodded, his face turning pale.
When the soldier was satisfied with that attitude, he grabbed my shoulder and started running to the next fire scene.
"He gave me such a troublesome order. I'm going to make Prince Milimos work so hard that I hate him!"
"As long as you're using magic to bring out water, leave it to me. By the way, you're pretty good at putting out fires, aren't you?"
"Huh. Roccia was a country of forges. In the history of a country that dealt with fire on a daily basis, it has accumulated a lot of knowledge about fires. I just know how to do it.''
"Hmm. There was no such report, so I didn't know."
"Are you an idiot? There's no need to go out of your way to report something so obvious."
While we were having this conversation, we had already arrived at the next scene.
Here, unlike before, nearby residents had brought ropes with hooks attached to the ends of the burning houses and were struggling to pull them down.
"The residents here are quick to make decisions and are helpful. Come on, I'll help you pull it out! Prince Milimos too!"
"I know. I guess you just have to pull as hard as you can."
I grabbed a nearby rope and pulled it using my sacred magic.
The rope became taut and made a sound just before it burst, and then the house collapsed like building blocks.
……Yeah. It seems like he used too much force.
The soldiers who were directing the firefighting efforts were also stunned, and then, as if they had stopped thinking, they repeated their instructions.
"Oh, hey, anyway, the house has collapsed. Sprinkle some water! Can I leave the rest to you?"
"Okay. We, the local residents, will take care of this scene. Please go to another location."
After being seen off by the residents, Roccia's soldiers run to the next fire scene.
I looked back at the people of Ferocony country who were waving to me, and I had a slightly mixed feeling that they probably didn't realize that we were soldiers from an enemy country.
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