CH 96

:|"Deanna, what I need you to do is to watch over 'Capella' and serve as 'chaperone' for Rid."

When we heard Father's words, we looked at each other and were stunned.

,Deanna   was first   who opened her mouth.

"Is this ...... Capella the one who just left the room?　I can sort of understand that, but what do you mean by being Master Rid's chaperone?"

"I'd like to ask that too. Father."

Father then gave me a detailed explanation.

First, he told me about Zack and his relationship and interactions , including the meaning of telling Deanna about Capella.

First of all, "the Riverton family," rather than "Zack," is a noble family that dominates the top of the intelligence organization in Renalute.

The current head of the family is "Zack Riverton," which means he is the head of the family.

Father has a partial working relationship with them, but he does not share all the information with them.

They seem to be hand in hand when their interests coincide with each other.

Although he does not tell Deanna, there is in fact a hierarchical relationship based on a secret agreement.

Bardia is probably in a superior position, but if he is not careful, he may be able to get caught in his own neck.

The father said with a slightly grim look on his face,

"Unfortunately, the Bardia family does not have an intelligence organization like the country has. If the Renalute were serious, they wouldn't be able to win through information warfare or assassinations. ......"

'......Are they that much of an organization?　With all due respect, the Knights of Bardia have a lot to study besides combat. I am aware that they are one of the strongest in intelligence warfare in the empire, but are they still totally unmatched?"

Deanna's reply probably came from her pride as a member of the Order of Bardia.

Father slowly shook his head at her words.

"Unfortunately, it will be impossible to win. Dark elves have a lot of "dark attribute characteristics" in their race. They can use their attribute magic to conduct espionage activities while blending in with the darkness. They gather information by using magic to hide in the shadows of their targets. I hear that they also use their own magic."

Deanna is listening with a slightly regretful look on her face.

I was surprised to learn that dark spells could be used in such a way.

In the game world, I only had an image of attack magic.

In the real world, however, there are various ways to use it, depending on your imagination.

Looking at our faces, Father continued his talk.

"In terms of combat power, we can probably win in a battle on a field where there is no cover. However, if we fight in a forest or a shady place, where dark elves are good at, we may be wiped out without realizing it. That is why their individual fighting ability can be so tricky".

" If there are so many skilled people, why didn't the dark elves win in the Barst Incident?"

I was listening to my father's talk and found myself asking questions.

"If the Dark Elves had that much fighting power and intelligence, wouldn't they have been able to prevail in the Barst Incident?"

Father answered my question with a sudden answer.

'...It has a lot to do with the birth rate of the Dark Elves."

"The birth rate?"

The word came out of my mouth.

Why would the issue of fertility come up in a war?　

To answer my question, Father resumed his explanation.

"They can overwhelm their opponents through intelligence warfare and assassinations, but they cannot fight frontal battles in the field and inflict heavy casualties,f the dark elves, whose population takes longer to recover than the population of the country."

"If the dark elves, whose population takes longer to recover than the human race, were to do so, they might win the war then, but they would lose the next war."

"In other words, they will not be able to recover their reduced population and strength. Is that what you are saying?"

Father nodded at my words and continued his explanation.

"The reason why the Dark Elves are prospering as a nation today is because they are located in a place where there are few invasions from other countries and they did not fight a war that would have caused a major decline in their population. If the Renalute had fought a large number of wars in which they invaded other countries, the Dark Elves would have died out as a race."

I see.

This is a reason that is not often thought of among human races.

The low birth rate is directly related to the lack of population growth.

If a war that causes a large number of casualties is fought, how many years will it take the Dark Elves to regain that reduced population?　

If calmly consider this point, they cannot fight an offensive war.

The dark elves cannot fight a war unless they can overwhelm their opponents and minimize the number of casualties.

Then I remembered.

'...... That's why Barsto didn't attack Renalute during the war, isn't it?"

"That's right. Even if the dark elves have excellent intelligence and combat skills, they cannot demonstrate their abilities if Barsto does not attack. Besides, if the assassination is known in advance, countermeasures can be taken. For Renalute, Barsto was a bad match."

Hearing father's explanation, I once again felt that I was in a difficult situation.

I felt that I somehow knew about war from my memories of my previous life.

However, it was frightening to hear about the actual war that took place in this world.

Barsto did not attack.

It means that they understood the racial problems of the dark elves.

In other words, Barsto probably repeatedly abducted dark elves with the calculation that theu could win even if it came to war.

In fact, if war broke out, Barsto would stopped the salt. delivery

In this way, it can be see how Barsto was cunningly waiting for Renalute to attack.

The abduction might have been one of Barsto's provocations.

I thought about it and muttered to myself.

.".....The conflict between countries is a terrible thing, isn't it?"

Hearing my words, my father coughed and changed the topic.

' ,......, I'm getting off topic. I wanted to say that Dark Elf intelligence operatives are that much better than the rest of us. And they are also the ones that the head of the intelligence organization, Zack, recognizes. He would not become a squire of Rid without meaning or purpose."

"So you want me to keep an eye on him?"

Deanna replied quietly to Father's words.

Father nodded at her words and kept talking.

"That's right, Capella, right? Keep an eye on him and report anything suspicious to me and Rid immediately. Fortunately, Rid made him swear an oath as a squire in my presence, so I have an excuse to get rid of him.:

Father looked at me and grinned.

I responded to his smile with a dry laugh, "Ahaha .......

Deanna, who was watching this from the side, nodded to my father and said emphatically.

'Dark elf agent. I know exactly how to keep an eye on Capella."

"It will be a more difficult job than that of a knight, but I will be in your debt."

Her strong reply was met with a look of trust from Father.

I made sure their exchange was over, then asked a dubious question with a suspicious look on my face.

'...... Father, what do you mean by Deanna being my chaperone?"

" About that ......."

The topic of conversation shifted to "chaperone".