Ch 98: The war of egos

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'"Where is the recon group located?"'

'"It is near the rear army." The knight pointed his finger.'

'Over there, almost 10 kilometers away, a new army comes into view. This one far outnumbers the number of soldiers that are in the vanguard army.'

'Apparently, they divided the army into two vanguards and rearguard. The vanguard is the one closest to the river, while the rearguard is far away from the river and has the most members.'

'After walking for several minutes, I got there.'

'And then I realized something extremely important... Can people hire horses to travel between armies? Because I see everyone riding horses around me!'

'Haa, well, whatever. Now that I'm here, I can cast Space Travel on the sly and travel between armies with no one noticing.'

'"Where is the recon group?"'

'By asking the knights for directions, I found the whereabouts of the famous recon group. I say famous because... There's only one tent in front of me! All the other squads possess dozens of tents while the recon group only possesses one!'

'If it wasn't because Dorian seems to be a good person, I wouldn't come here.'

'[Cael] [Shadow Lvl 21]'

'Cael is a man who is neither handsome nor ugly. He looks 41 years old and has slight wrinkles on his face and a piercing on his nose. His hair is black, and he also has an extension of hair made of feathers of different colors reaching his knees. Despite this strange accessory, he possesses a huge aura that prevents him from being despised‌.'

'Since the tent is open, I entered it and walked towards him.'

'"You are Emir, aren't you? I am the commander of the recon group. Have a seat."'

'"Yes... commander"'

'I'm not used to military salutes, so I almost forgot to mention the 'commander' at the end of the sentence.'

'"Haa... Let's see, let's see... What do I do with you?"' Cael sighed.'

'"Mm?"'

'"What do you know about the war? Do you only know the basic thing about the situation, or do you know some secrets? Which one?"'

'"Eh... The basics concepts?"'

'Cael: "..."'

'- This guy… someone wants to kill him!'

'The commander rubbed his face with his hand as if wanting to release some stress. After relaxing a bit, he looked at me again.'

'"Hand me that presentation you showed that alcoholic."'

'"Yes, here you go."'

'Alcoholic? Do you mean Dorian?'

'He only spent a few seconds reading the scroll when he suddenly froze.'

'- Does this guy have the backing of a Saint? What did you come to war for, damn it, to show off? Get the hell out of here!!!'

'Mn, I feel a big deja vu here.'

'And I'm not doing anything.'

'- If this guy dies, most likely Temple Solus will make a fuss just to show off in front of this Saint named Delia. We can't afford to make an enemy of a Saint since if we do that… The other Saints will most likely support her and this army will stop receiving their miraculous healings! And, with that, the war will go to hell!!!!'

'Unlike Dorian, being in front of Cael is not comfortable. Especially when he repeatedly stares at the scroll and then looks at me. All this while a complete silence reigns.'

'Taking in his hands the same form Dorian filled out, he read it.'

'- Haa... Who was the malicious one who sent this guy here... ... This letter... That damn alcoholic is causing trouble on purpose to expect his retirement!'

'Very exasperated, he handed me back the parchment as his breathing became chaotic. Only after calming down, did he speak again.'

'"Well, well. I'll fill you on everything concerning this war of egos..."'

"'To begin with, this war is in name only.'"

"'In my eyes, this thing is nothing more than a military exercise in which the two kingdoms are taking part. Fighting over the Lucia River? Hahaha! This military exercise will cause more deaths than if the Lucia River dries up!'''

'"The important thing to note is that the people who will die are those who have received training for years, those who have been raised with great care to be what they are today... They seek the death of talented people!"'

'"Both kingdoms have not been at war for over 150 years since, in the last one, tens of thousands of soldiers died. The result was equally catastrophic for both kingdoms. After 150 years, comes the most important question... Will the balance have tipped to either side?'"

"'Do you want to call this thing 'war'? Fine, let's call it a war, but a war of egos!'"

"'The Lucia river is nothing more than an excuse to find out if either of the kingdoms has been weakened, and if so, the actual war will start! A war to conquer the weaker kingdom!!!'"

'"As long as both kingdoms have the same strength, this thing will remain as a military exercise because neither side wants to suffer the same losses as in the previous war," Cael ended with those words.'

'I see. While they check each other's strengths, they will ‌assassinate each other's talents. This brings to mind Delia, who lost her legendary Holy class when they interrupted her pilgrimage ritual.'

'And so, without knowing it, at some point the conversation went awry.'

'"You look skinny. Do you even eat anything?"'

'Emir: "..."'

'"You don't seem strong enough to kill a chicken." He shook his head.'

'Emir: "..."'

'"Are you sure you're a man? Do you have something under your pants?"'

'Emir: "..."'

'The abuse of power is present! At what point did the conversation go awry?'

'I'm itching to use the sword in my inventory to slash him!'

'"Haa... You're a waste of time. The first order I will give you is to collect 10 remnants of the Drial Cenit kingdom knights. You have one day to drop them on my desk. Now get the hell out of here, I'm busy." He waved his hand arrogantly to push me away like shooing away a stray dog.'

'It itches me. I'm very itchy to respond to his insults'

'Calm down, calm down, calm down.'

'"Y- Y- Y- Y- Y- Yes, commander."'

'From today onwards, I hate military formalities! Since I have to answer even when I'm treated badly!'

'"You're hopeless." He sighed and then said, "I'll cross you off the list. People like you die every day. Even if you're never seen again, no one will miss you..."'

'Huh? Wait a bit.'

'That means...'

'"I can act on my account..."'

'"Stop babbling bullshit. Now go and die."'

'"Yes, commander!"'

'- hmm... He can take insults pretty well. He's got the courage, but... does he have the talent? Well, it doesn't matter. It's none of my business,' Cael thought as he tore the form written by Dorian Aranis to shreds.'

'With this, I can perform missions freely, since he implicitly gave me the privilege to leave whenever I want. After all, he crossed me off the list of the men under his command. Announcing that I am already dead.'

'Future reprisals? Impossible. The names of the dead are not recorded, dead are simply counted as a number to make future strategies. Only war heroes have the honor of having their name enshrined and remembered.'

'And all these thanks to being under the protection of the adorable Saint Delia.'

'It is already early morning. Our descent from the mountain took a few hours. And the travel all the way here with all the formalities included made it so long ago the sun went down.'

'Should I go warm Delia's or Alessia's bed?'

'These questions keep me awake at night...'

'Today I was interrupted by those knights fighting on the mountain, but my original plan was to make love to a half-asleep Delia... So, I will go to her. In the morning I will go back to my parents' house and tell them I was caught up in this war.'

'One good thing about the location of this battlefield is the extensive forest that surrounds us. It's thanks to it ‌I can use the Space Travel magic without being discovered by anyone.'

'"... Space Travel" After reciting the spell, the illusory door appeared in front of me.'

'Passing through it, I appeared in front of the Solitary Temple. Only now that there is no one watching me is that I unequipped the mask and stored it in the inventory.'

'It is the battlefield. I must hide my identity as much as possible.'

'I carefully entered, producing no sound. It's not the first time I've been to the temple. So, even when it's completely dark, I know the places where things are.'

'Then I opened the door to Delia's room.'

'Under the blankets, and slightly uncovered, lies a beautiful 3-tailed fox girl with no underwear covering her at all. Since the religious seek to rid themselves of earthly desires, Delia possesses almost no belongings. And that includes sleeping clothes.'

'I'm liking this logic of thought more and more. At some point, will she shed all her clothes and walk naked through life?'

'Probably not.'

'No, no... Wait a bit. It's too early to take it for granted. After all... Will the bikini armor help her get rid of earthly desires?'

'After all, angel sculptures have little clothing, don't they?'