CH 350

King Harold was visiting the camp of the Carruthers Army today as well, feeling anxious the whole while.

“Lord Flora! Is it okay to leave this place like this? And what about the fort?!”

“I can hear you even if you don’t speak so loudly, King Harold,” Flora answered without raising her head from the paperwork on her desk.

She doesn’t get mad at Harold for being disrespectful. First, Harold intends to hand over his throne to Flora. Rather, he’s already in the process of giving it away. On the other hand, it was her insistence that Flora had not yet received Harold’s blessing or been crowned.

So they settled by calling each other “Lord Flora” and “King Harold”. No more other titles or honorifics. That was the maximum concession that could be made to each other.

In the beginning, Flora would stop and deal with Harold when he came to visit, but now that he was approaching her like this on a daily basis, there wasn’t much of a difference in how she treated Harold versus her other subordinates.

“Is there something wrong with this position?” Flora asked. “I think things are going very smoothly, but if you have an objection…”

“I have a very strong objection!” Harold shouted back. “Why are you covering it with a cloth, spreading sand on that cloth, and covering it with branches and leaves!? It won’t stand out that way!”

For Harold, it was important to make castles and forts look splendid. It doesn’t mean that he’s just pretending to be a luxurious king. Castles and fortresses intimidate and scare off opponents with their mere existence. The enemy flinched when faced with a castle that looked splendid and robust. No one would want to risk their lives to attack such a castle.

War begins even before swords clash, and even if the inside is simple and unsuitable for defense, the outside is splendidly dressed up and intimidating to the enemy. To that end, they have to actively show the external flashiness and robustness of their defenses.

And yet, what about the defensive positions that Flora and her men are making? Soberly so, the moat is set up so that it cannot be seen, sand is piled up, and the fences are placed so that they cannot be seen, either. The black cylinders that the Carruthers Army unloaded from the ships are covered with cloth, and you can’t usually find it unless you know it’s there.

The facilities and installations here and there are also covered with cloth, and sand, branches, and leaves are attached to the cloth. Seeing that shabby figure somehow made even Harold feel pathetic.

“The camouflage has advanced enough,” Flora said. “The trenches and artillery positions have been built… so where is the problem?”

“That is the problem!” Harold replied. “In order to intimidate the enemy and make them hesitate to attack, you’ll have to make it look like a more flashy and solid position! Rather than hiding like this, it’s safer to go out to sea on a ship!”

How many times will this discussion be repeated? No matter how much Harold gave her advice, Flora would not listen. Was that heroic figure that saved them when they were first trapped in the castle an illusion? In her current form, she doesn’t look like a hero who quickly drove back thousands of enemies.

Amazing things have happened since then. When he thought that one of the ships that left had returned while towing another ship, it was a transport ship from Frasia. This happened twice in quick succession.

The Frasian transports had been captured and were full of supplies. For Harold and the others, just getting two ships’ worth of supplies was a big deal. If that’s all there is to it, they won’t be in trouble with food for the time being.

In addition, they decided to consult with Harold’s Faction about the prisoners of war. If the prisoners of war on the transport ship were also Frasian soldiers, it would be a matter of course. Originally, there was no need to consult with Harold and the others because the Carruthers Army had captured them. But the situation is a little muddied.

Nominally, it will be a civil war in the Kingdom of Wessek between Harold and Guillaume, who are both claiming the right to inherit the throne. However, in reality, Guillaume was an aggressor from Frasia, and… Flora and the others were nothing more than outside forces that suddenly came to help Harold for no reason at all.

If this was a war between Flora and the Kingdom of Frasia, Flora and the others would not have consulted them about the treatment of prisoners of war. However, the main subject of the current war was supposed to be Harold, albeit nominally. That’s why Flora consulted Harold about how these POWs were to be dealt with.

Even more troublesome is that the captives are not Guillaume’s subordinates, the units besieging Wessek. Guillaume and the Kingdom of Frasia are supposed to be separate powers, even though the latter is providing support. If they were to attack and capture a trading ship from the Kingdom of Frasia which was just trading in the coastal area, it could develop into a big problem.

Such things are nominal, and in reality, they are allies of the same power, let alone Guillaume who is a vassal and subordinate of the Kingdom of Frasia. He’s only coming as the spearhead of the invasion. But even knowing that the names and designations of things are important, and if they unilaterally sink or seize a trading ship from the Kingdom of Frasia, it could become an international problem.

In the end, Harold’s retainers didn’t want to be held accountable and settled down by saying that Flora and the others had all to do with the captive Frasians and the captured ships, no fault with Wessek. In other words, this problem was between Flora’s army and the Kingdom of Frasia, who were participating in the war on their accord, and Harold’s faction was able to get away with it.

Hearing that, when Flora and the others simply withdrew from the discussion… Harold’s retainers were relieved… but Harold saw it. Without a doubt, Flora was smiling at that time. And now he knows why…

The vassals insisted that what Flora and the others did was done on their own and that they had nothing to do with it. However… it also means that they acknowledged that Flora’s achievements and everything else they did was all due to Flora’s army.

What the vassals thought was “to escape being held accountable by Frasia when we lose,” but what Flora and the others thought was “to clarify where the achievements were won by us.” Looking at the vassals who were innocently happy, Harold learned a part of Flora’s terror… or that was supposed to be the case.

However……, looking at the girl who was secretly doing paperwork in a hidden position like this, he can’t believe it’s the same person that fought like a flash of lightning, captured the transport ships outside, and played Harold’s Vassals for fools.

When he thought that he was just being manipulated to great terror, he was also shown a figure that he thought was strangely out of her mind, and when he thought that she was giving off a chilling cold gaze, now she was just an innocent child like a girl of her age, smiling. Harold didn’t recognize her anymore. How should he evaluate this girl…?

“Miss Flora, I think it’s time for you to take a break,” Flora’s maid said.

“Very well… Shall we have some tea? Would you like to join us, King Harold?” Flora said.

“Uh, muh… Indeed. Let us partake of it.”

Suddenly pulled back to reality in the middle of his thoughts, Harold hesitated a little at Flora’s words and nodded. He wanted to say if they could be doing more if they had time to do this, but he wanted to drink the delicious tea that Flora has which he’d never had before.

Flora’s tea, which he had been treated to many times, is very delicious. Everyone happily drinks it when they come to visit like this, or when it is served at a joint meeting between the Harold’s Faction and the Carruthers Army. So far no one has said that they don’t like that tea, what Flora called “black tea.” Everyone praised it very highly.

“Flora, what snack will we be having today?”

“It’s just cookies.”

Zoro, zoro, and beautiful girls come when it’s time for tea. Only Harold knows this. Harold’s retainers had no way of knowing that something like this was happening around Flora.

“Huh~? Cookies again? Give me something else once in a while.”

The foulest-mouthed girl speaks like that. For Harold, the cookies that were served for tea seemed to be wonderful enough. He had never eaten snacks with such a sweet taste and crunchy texture. He wonders how luxurious it would be to ask for something else because you got tired of this. Normally, it would be a place to receive antipathy and great frustration.

“There, there, this is a battlefield and it’s wartime now, so it can’t be helped. If you don’t want it Mikoto, I’ll take your share, as well.”

“I-I didn’t say I didn’t want it anymore!”

“””Fufu”””

The other girls laughed at the interaction with the person dressed as a knight. It’s a very funny sight. If he had seen such a scene in peaceful times, he would have felt very happy. He could see the future when he gets carried away and try to make these girls his mistresses and gets killed by Flora, instead…

Surrounded by beautiful girls, drinking the best tea you’ve ever had, and eating the sweetest sweets you’ve ever had. What a happy time! Perhaps Harold frequented here every day just to see this spectacle.

“Excuse me! Lord Flora.”

“…………”

However, there are many times when he is suddenly pulled back to reality. Flora often receives messengers like now. If she nods or signals with a hand, the messenger will go to Flora and report something quietly in her ear. After a few words of instruction, the messenger leaves again. It’s always a repetition of that.

Harold had no way of knowing what the Carruthers Army was doing. The only thing he knows is that when she listens to the messenger and gives instructions, Flora unmistakably doesn’t look like a girl of her age. At that moment, Harold again remembered his fear of this young woman.

There was no counterattack from the enemy which they thought was coming soon, not even a reconnaissance unit. There was no way the enemy could have been annihilated in that battle alone. Guillaume and the others are now gathering soldiers around them and concentrating their forces. This next battle is what matters. In the first match-up, they were caught off guard by magic attacks from that huge ship and were able to win brilliantly, but they don’t think the opponents would let it happen twice.

Also, the number of giant ships is less than half of what it was originally. There are about ten ships stationed here. There are other ships that come here regularly to unload large amounts of supplies, but they also leave when they’re done unloading. Can they really protect themselves in this situation? Harold’s anxiety returned again.

Many times he thinks that everything will be fine, and he became anxious, and he thinks that it will be fine even if he did become anxious. Even if he decided to bet everything on this girl and made up his mind, he would waver again and again.

“Assuming that Guillaume’s army will be annihilated in the next battle… Shall you and I make a triumphant return to the south, King Harold? The local Feudal Lords will probably also flutter over here. The northern and western regions will stand with our House in between…”

“Hold, please hold a moment!”

“Yes?”

The beautiful girl tilts her head curiously. But it was Harold who wanted to tilt his head in confusion.

“It’s like I don’t even know what you’re talking about!”

“Ah… Currently, Guillaume seems to be gathering all his strength and gathering at the southwestern fort from here. If you strike that consolidated strength, Guillaume’s soldiers will be almost gone. So in the next battle, Guillaume’s military might will be utterly ruined. And after destroying that army…”

“Yes, yes. That’s right, I know that. I know that there’s a fort southwest of here, and I know from the last defeat that Guillaume will be coming here with all his strength next time.”

If that’s all you know, what do you not know? The girl made a blank face. She had a beautiful face, but Harold couldn’t help but be amazed.

“Guillaume still has nearly 10,000 soldiers! Perhaps reinforcements have arrived from the Kingdom of Frasia! From now on, we’ll have to deal with an opponent of that size with only this much military strength, let alone surviving, it’s going to be difficult to win, won’t it?”

“There are no reinforcements from the Kingdom of Frasia. All of them have become like seaweed in the Blish Strait. It would be troublesome if the enemy escaped, but if there are 6,000 or 7,000 enemies, it will be fine.”

To the girl who smiled and said so……, Harold lowered his raised hips back to his chair and sipped his tea. At the point where there is no question about 6,000 or 7,000, the conversation is no longer within his understanding. He wanted to count how many this army had and then continue the conversation there.

“Haa…… as always, this tea is delicious……”

“I’m glad to hear you enjoy it.”

After drinking that same tea, Harold decided to stop thinking about Flora as she responded with another smile.