Episode 172: The imperial army has arrived
Five days after I arrived at the fort, the imperial army arrived.
Although I tried to exaggerate the word "army", at first glance the number of people on the other side was around 100. In a normal country, this would be considered a small number.
However, there are only 50 regular soldiers of the Nonette country in the fort, and the enemy is an imperial army that can take down a small country with one unit, so considering the difference in strength between us and ours, the other side can be described as an army. It can't be wrong either.
When the imperial troops arrived at the fort, they seemed to notice that the door was firmly closed, so they stopped a short distance away.
Then, a man of around 40 years old, wearing fine armor and a helmet that seemed to be the representative, stepped forward accompanied by several young bodyguards.
"This is the 3rd unit of the Imperial Army's Mendacium regional governance unit, its commander, Lieutenant Carreriala! In accordance with your country's request, we have arrived for a joint military exercise! Open the door to the fort!"
After receiving a loud and clear call, I decided to have the two people I had prepared――Gut and Kanei take the brunt.
“Wait, are we really going to do this?!”
“Isn’t this where Milimos comes in?”
When the two of them got here, I gave them an explanation that I don't know how many times I had to do it.
"Those two are close to the marshal. They're qualified to be in charge of this fort. On the other hand, I'm the lord of another region. I'm unfit to be in charge of this fort."
“Although it might be true in theory.”
"Actually, you're the one in charge, aren't you?"
"It's okay. If you proceed as planned, I'll take over the rest."
I pushed Gut and Kanei's backs and helped them climb onto the outside wall.
Seeing the Imperial Army below them, Gut and Kanei seemed to have finally made up their minds and spoke with their voices shaking a little.
"Thank you to all the members of the Imperial Army for their hard work. This is Gut, who is in charge of this fort, and my name is Kanei."
"We are Marshal Sarcasimo's aides. Please remember that and respond accordingly."
Following the script written by me and Sentis, Lieutenant Caleriara of the Imperial Army also responded.
"We have come here in accordance with your country's marshal's request. Why are you keeping the door to the fort closed? We request you to let us through immediately!"
At this point, Gut and Kanei take the attitude of being extremely disappointed. I can clearly see that it's an act because I'm watching it up close, but the Imperial Army wouldn't be able to tell because they were watching from a distance.
"Currently, Marshal-sama is suspended from his duties on suspicion of rebellion against the royal family."
"Therefore, the written orders are also temporarily no longer valid."
Lieutenant Carreria is furious after hearing the two's explanations.
“Are you going to ask us, the honorable Imperial Army, to go home immediately after you’ve caused our honorable Imperial Army to waste their time!”
Gut and Kanei looked down at the outline of the script written on a small piece of paper the size of a memo pad, and spun the corresponding words.
"I understand that the Imperial Army is angry. We don't want to do anything that will incur the Empire's wrath."
"So, you. Do you have the request letter that Marshal Sarcasimo sent to the Empire?"
“Of course I have it with me! Like this!”
What Lieutenant Caleriara took out from his pocket was a rolled up piece of animal vellum. There is some broken sealing wax left on the string.
Gut and Kanei see this and proceed with the script.
"In that case, let's check to see if the order is legitimate, and if it's true, we'll take your troops into the fort."
"However, if it turns out to be a fake, we can never let it in here."
"What! Are you trying to say that we are plotting this?"
The imperial army roared and hostility filled.
Gut and Kanei turned pale and turned towards me.
"It's okay. Come on, just move on."
When I gave them the nod, the two of them turned a little pale and spoke their lines according to the script in slightly trembling voices.
"Ha, ha ha. If that request is correct, then what is there to be angry about?"
"I-I see. Getting angry means something bad happened. Now, the paper in your hand is fake..."
"If you're going to say that much, why don't you check it out! Come on, come on!"
At the sound of Lieutenant Caleriala's angry voice, Gut and Kanei turn to look at them with tears on their faces.
I shrug my shoulders and start walking forward. Then he reached the top of the outer wall and threw himself off the railing. Amidst the sound of my clothes flapping as I fell due to gravity, I activated my sacred technique and eventually landed. After making a heavy thud, he approached Lieutenant Caleriara as if nothing had happened.
"Request form. May I see it?"
Lieutenant Caleria's eyes narrowed as he heard my question in a princely tone.
"He's so young and moves like a soldier from a knightly kingdom. Now, you're Prince Milimos, the last prince of Nonette Country, aren't you?"
"I admire your wisdom. Yes, I am Milimos Nonette."
When I replied in a princely tone, Lieutenant Carreria's attitude changed to one that was more cautious.
"You must be the lord of the Rocha region. Why are you staying here?"
"Until I realized that our country was in danger due to the Empire's plans. Isn't that surprising?"
I stick out my hand and ask them to submit a request.
I thought it would be awkward if the request form turned out to be a fake, so I thought Lieutenant Carreria would refuse it, but he handed it over without any hesitation.
"You are the one who married the princess of a knightly kingdom. I don't want to lie in a situation like this."
Even if I was trusted like that, I'm not a person of good morals, so it would be a problem.
Also, after seeing Lieutenant Caleriara's attitude, I was half convinced.
It seems that Lieutenant Carreria himself does not know that this request form is a fake created in a power struggle among the upper echelons of the empire.
Feeling sad for the middle managers who had not been informed, I decided to examine the request form.
The sealing wax remaining on the animal vellum belongs to the marshal of the Nonette country.
If you open it and look inside, you will notice that the writing and the quirks of the sentences are very similar to Sarcasimo's, and the quirks on the signature at the end represent Sarcasimo's characteristics.
There is no sign that it has been rewritten or tampered with.
I see, it would be difficult for an average person to see through such a perfect imitation.
That's why there's a high chance of being fooled unless you're someone who knows the position of marshal of Nonette Country through experience.
However, as someone who worked as a field marshal, I knew that this request was a fake.
"I'm sorry, but this letter is a fake."
“What a strange thing!”
While restraining Lieutenant Carreria, who was surprised, I pointed out one by one the evidence that the letter was not written by Salcasimo.
"This wax seal is definitely used by our country's marshals. There is no doubt about that."
"I guess so, if that's the case-"
"However, I don't understand the quirks of this sentence."
“Do you want me to tell you that it does not belong to Prince Sarcasimo?”
"No. This writing style is from older brother Sarcasimo. No doubt about it."
“Then why!”
“The fact that there are quirks in the writing itself is a problem.”
If it's something that's going to be passed around within the military or sent only within the country, it's important to note that letters sent to other countries, especially the Empire, must be written in correct sentences. Of course there should be proofreading. At the proofreading stage, the writer's writing quirks must be removed.
Despite this, this letter leaves the rest in its entirety.
"That means it's not an officially issued letter."
“Then what? Are you going to say that this is a fake created by our empire?”
"One possibility is. Another possibility is that Brother Sarcasimo secretly sent a letter to the Empire. However, in that case, he would have done it without telling the royal family. In any case, the effectiveness of the letter is doubtful.''
In response to my smiling answer, Lieutenant Caleriara's face showed anger.
"We are here because we were ordered to conduct military exercises with your country. Will we be able to go home happily without fulfilling our mission?"
"No matter what they say, we can't let them enter the fort first...?"
As I was trying to think of a way to persuade him, I noticed that the guard near Lieutenant Carreriara was acting suspiciously. At the same time, a magic spell was heard.
"A spark becomes a spark. A spark becomes a flame. Warm fire, appear. Pal Nis."
I immediately took a precautionary stance using sacred magic, but I was relieved when I heard the full details of the spell. It was because he sensed that it was a weak spell used to set things on fire.
Then, a twisted piece of paper on fire falls from the hand of the imperial guard who cast the spell. The paper quickly turned black and fell apart.
Seeing his actions, Lieutenant Carreria becomes furious.
“What did you just do?”
Lieutenant Caleriara screamed angrily as he grabbed his chest, and the bodyguard who had acted suspiciously began to explain himself in a breathless manner.
"We were ordered to burn it if we couldn't get inside Nonette Country."
“I was told what would happen if I had put it in!”
"I will hand it over to the Lieutenant-dono. Next order."
“Who gave it to you!”
"I can't say that..."
The face of the guard being interrogated turned dark brown and looked like he was about to burst into bubbles.
Deciding that this wasn't right, I stepped in and made Lieutenant Carreria let go of his hand.
"Soldiers cannot disobey orders. Lieutenant Carreriala should be blamed for the one who gave the orders, not him."
"...That's right. Soldiers are arms and legs. The one who should be responsible should be the superior."
Lieutenant Carreria closes his eyes and then opens them.
"I'll check with the rear. I'll have to tell them the current situation and ask if the order will be lifted or not."
"Please feel free to do so. However, I would like to avoid a war."
"I have no intention of invading without a valid reason. I'm sure the Knights are looking out for this somewhere."
After giving an imperial salute, Lieutenant Caleriara returned to the army with his escort.
I also had no reason to continue standing in front of the fort, so I decided to go back inside. Let's say you use your physical abilities strengthened by divine magic to run up the wall of the fort and return home.
The reason why the lieutenant didn't know about the plan is to think about which region he was the captain of a unit in, and who was behind the plan when that region was a country.
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