Volume 5 - CH 15

Chapter 15 – Installation of the Fortress and the Marquis of Lucca

Alessia-san and Dorothea-san have returned after their meeting, so I go to the port to pick them up. I wonder if it is the knight from the morning who is a little further away? What’s going on?

As I greeted Alessia-san and Dorothea-san, the knight approached me.

“May I accompany them?”

Eh? I don’t want to, even now, I’m cramped up from all the acting, and you want me to let the surveillance ride along? I look at Alessia-san, and she has an unpleasant look on her face.

I shake my head and pull the Lutto away from the port.

“I’m sorry, Mage-sama. I refused them to accompany us, but I guess they hadn’t given up yet.”

“Oh, I see. He was not particularly persistent, so it’s fine.”

“Thank you.”

“And how did the negotiations go?”

“Yes, I received 120 platinum coins, a list of supplies, and payment for them. The supplies will be purchased in Aarhus, a port town in the neighboring Kingdom of Thessaloniki. They also asked us to bring a crew aboard to greet the lord of Aarhus, but we declined. They asked us to deliver the letter first, so we will deliver it.”

“I understand. We will summon the Fortress a short distance away this evening, disguise it, and come aboard. How long will it take to get to Aarhus?”

“Yes, please. Aarhus is four days by magic boat. I think we passed near there on the way to Lucca, but I don’t exactly know which one.”

“Ah, I see. We passed by all of them on our way to Lucca. All right, let’s just go there and see what we can find out.”

“Yes. Thank you very much.”

“Leave it to me. By the way, Alessia-san, Dorothea-san, are you going back to Lucca for the night?”

“No, I plan to return to Lucca tomorrow morning.”

“I see. Then let’s have dinner.”

“”””Yes.””””

While eating dinner, I asked Alessia-san and Dorothea-san about what happened at the castle, and we discussed about the future. It’s not the end of the story if we just deal with Lucca; the trouble is, I can’t wait to get back to my carefree life without acting.

I take a shower and a light nap.

“Master, Master, it’s about time.”

“Hmm? Oh, that’s right. Thank you.”

“No problem.”

Even in the middle of the night, I went to the living room after doing my daily routine with Ness and Shea.

“Alessia-san, Dorothea-san, you could have stayed in bed.”

“You work so hard for Lucca; let me at least see you off.”

“Haha, thank you very much. I’ll see you later.”

“”See you later.””

I summoned the Galette and headed for the open sea.

“I think we’ll be all right here. I’ll summon the Fortress.”

“”Yes.””

I summon the Fortress and jump onto the magic circle. Oh, by the way, I have to take down the ramp and boarding gate to get in when I rent it. I’ll have to remember that.

I enter the ship and start disguising the ship. First, I seal off the wheelhouse and the places where things don’t belong in this world and the room that we and Girasole are using.

“Oh, what should we do about the windows? We’ve turned off the lights, and it’ll be pitch black if we use wood…”

“Well, even with the daily life magic, you still need some windows, and I think if we replace about two-thirds of the windows with wood and reduce the number of windows, it will be a little less surprising.”

“Well then, let’s do that.”

I proceeded with the disguise, debating with myself about what to do and what not to do. It took quite a while, but Ness said that it somehow turned out to be a common ship. Except for the size…

We headed to Lucca on autopilot. I lifted the blockade only in my room and had a good time with Ness, Shea, and Rimu.

“Rimu, I’m sorry. You must be bored because you can’t go outside.”

“Rimu, having fun.”

“Really? What’s fun?”

“Hmm, it’s fun to be with everyone.”

“I see. So it’s fun to be with everyone, is it?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m glad you’re having fun.”

“I’m happy.”

Good. I didn’t even put him on the deck because people can see him from outside, but he doesn’t seem to be stressed. But we’ll have lots of fun together outside when we go shopping.

Arriving at the Fortress’s docking place, I sealed off my room again, and with the ramp and boarding ramp down, I summoned the Galette to return to the Lutto.

“Welcome back. Thank you for your hard work.”

“Alessia-san, Dorothea-san, I’m back. I parked the Fortress in that position, but before I go shopping, please let me know so I can move it.”

“Yes, when will you be going shopping?”

“Well, it would be troublesome if a military ship from the empire arrived, so it would be better to leave early.”

“Then please let me know when you will leave. I will gather everyone together.”

“Hmm? The Girasole members can wait here. We can do the shopping.”

“No, if you are going as Mage-sama, the empire must have confirmed your appearance as such. There is no telling what will happen. So we will go with you.”

Oh, I see. I, in mage form, am an enemy of the empire… Ah, I want to go home.

“I understand. But we can’t all go together. We need to connect with the Marquis, and we also need to protect Alessia-san and the other family members in case something happens to the city. Our departure will be after noon tomorrow, so please make your arrangements by then.”

“Yes.”

“Ah, I will issue about 500 tickets for the Fortress, unnamed, for now. If there are not enough, I will issue additional tickets. Please let them know.”

“I understand.”

Let’s see, no name, no room assignment, only for the Fortress, and the deadline is… for an indefinite period, right? I’ll erase the ticket when they return it. I’ll have to remember to do that. Five hundred tickets, that’s fine. Ticket issued.

Five hundred tickets appear with the light. That’s a lot of tickets.

“Alessia-san, here are the tickets. Please explain to the Marquis how to use them and give them to him.”

“Yes.”

“After that, here are 30 tickets for boarding the Fortress and the Galette in case of an emergency. Please evacuate with your family in the event of an emergency.”

“Yes, thank you very much.”

Now that I have done most of what I need to do, I’m going to rest once more. Good night.

~Justin de Lucca’s POV~

I got the information that the Empire was going to attack. I thought it would be an extension of the skirmishes as before, but it seems that the Empire is gathering more troops than usual.

However, it should be difficult to overtake Fort Lughorn, which has been blocking the Empire’s invasion for many years. There is some uneasiness as to why they have mobilized so many soldiers now, but the supporting nobles have arrived, and the national army has also gathered. It should be all right.

However, it is also true that I feel uncomfortable with the unusual behavior of the Empire. Should I issue instructions to maintain strict vigilance at sea?

Fort Lughorn has fallen. At the same time as the unbelievable news, we spotted an imperial warship coming toward Lucca. We immediately take up an intercept position and, at the same time, send a request for reinforcements to the neighboring nobles.

The city of Lucca is shifted to a wartime state. Merchant ships and fishing boats are evacuated from Lucca. We gather military vessels and set up a position to prevent them from entering the bay.

“Dumun, can we hold off the Imperial Navy?”

“We are at a great disadvantage. The Imperial Navy has one large magic ship, two medium magic ships, twelve small magic ships, and many other warships. It is impossible for Lucca to fight them off alone, and it is difficult for us to even buy time.

“Hmm… the kingdom is in chaos after Fort Lughorn was overtaken. Do you think reinforcements from the Royal Navy will arrive soon?”

“No, to begin with, there is a Royal Navy base between the Empire and Lucca. The fact that the Imperial Army was able to come to Lucca should lead us to believe that something is going on in the Royal Navy as well.”

“…Well, then there is no chance of victory in a naval battle, is there?”

“Yes. The difference in strength is too great.”

“Why doesn’t the Imperial Navy attack? They know the difference in strength, don’t they?”

“The reason is that Lucca’s transition to a wartime regime was much quicker than expected. Even if there are a lot of magic ships, it is not enough to get past the walls of Lucca, which is well-prepared for war. It might have been dangerous if we had surprised them and caused chaos in the port.”

“Hmm, the fact that we had strengthened our maritime vigilance prevented the worst of the situation… But there is nothing we can do about it if things continue as they are. …Can we gather the soldiers on the port side of the walls, withdraw the ships, and retrieve the soldiers and the magic ship?”

“Retreat the ships? It is possible to retrieve the soldiers if they can return to the port. However, the retrieval of the magic ship, above all, if we take retreat action, there is a possibility that the Imperial Navy will attack us all at once.”

“I see; it hurts to lose valuable troops and magic ships in an unwinnable naval battle. Can’t you do something about it?”

“…We shall transfer the soldiers to another ship during the night and empty half of the ships. We bring the empty ships forward, tie them together with ropes, spread oil on them, and prepare to burn them at any time. After that, we can retreat en masse, and if the Imperial Navy moves in, we can go around lighting fires with the small magic boats, which will give us time to retrieve the soldiers, but I don’t know if we can retrieve the magic ships.”

“If we can’t win a naval battle at this point, then we will retrieve the soldiers at least. Dumun, hold a military meeting to further discuss and execute the current plan.”

“Yes.”

The situation is bad. It would be encouraging if reinforcements could be gathered, but the best that can be gathered are the nobles in the vicinity.

At midnight, the retreat operation was carried out. The Imperial Navy was slow to move, and the soldiers and magic ships were safely recovered.

I am concerned about the slow movement of the Imperial Navy. I don’t know what the imperial purpose is. I am also concerned about the royal capital, but there is no way to move there with the presence of the Imperial Navy.

As the standoff with the Imperial Navy continued, a few days passed, and only a few reinforcements increased, but nothing changed. It was only after a few more days that change came.

A unit on a reconnaissance mission spotted the oncoming Imperial Army. Unable to challenge the Imperial Army with a large force in the field, they opted for a siege.

While we could do nothing but cower, the Imperial Army built a position and completely surrounded Lucca. They are probably thinking of a complete military siege, with only skirmishes occurring.

We just endure and wait for the situation to improve. Considering the fact that the Imperial Army has chosen to attack with rations to spare, there is no hope for us.

I push my anxiety to sleep, but then… “Marquis-sama, Marquis-sama.”

“Hmm? What happened? Did the Imperial Army attack?”

“No, someone is fighting the Imperial Navy. According to the report from the soldiers on guard. They have sunk one large magic ship, two medium-sized magic ships, and several small magic ships of the Imperial Navy and are currently sinking Imperial Navy warships one after another.”

“Really? I’ll be right there.”

“No, you can’t. We do not know what will happen. Please wait here for the next report.”

“…I understand.”

They sank that big magic ship… A change has occurred in the days that we just keep on enduring. I hope it is a change that will give us hope for the future.

The reports of destruction coming in one after another lifted my spirits. The last report was good news that the Imperial Navy was almost destroyed, and several surrendered ships were secured, which made me want to scream.

The gatekeeper informed us that Girasole, a party of adventurers from this city, had heard of the crisis in Lucca and had rushed to the city to ask for help from a mage. It seems as if I might be overcome with emotion, but a nobleman should not show his emotions. I feel that this kind of teaching is now severely disturbing me.　　

The mage is going to visit Lucca again in the early morning, but he has no intention of revealing his identity. I ordered to welcome him, but I was opposed to the idea.

We can’t just casually welcome a mage who won’t reveal his identity in the middle of a war. It is true, but it is also a problem not to welcome a person who has achieved great things. I agreed to keep a close watch on him and to talk to Girasole first.

There was still time before morning. I tried to get some sleep, but I could not. However, I was glad that I could not sleep because of excitement, not depressive insomnia I had been experiencing.

I managed to get some sleep, and then the situation changed, so we held a military meeting. On the way in, Girasole, the ones who have done the meritorious work this time, comes in. The mage doesn’t like being monitored, so he waits on the ship.

I was afraid that it would upset the mage, but I was told that there would be no problem. After asking a few more questions, we learned some things, but not much about the mage. Apparently, he wanted to hide his identity thoroughly.

Even after Girasole left, the military discussions continued. First, we decided to take a ship out of the liberated port and investigate the situation in the Kingdom of Brescia.

After the military meeting was over, Girasole came to visit me again while I was in my office, struggling with some documents. I took them to my office and asked them about the situation. They said they would be able to purchase food without any problem.

The only problem is that they offer to install a huge ship at the entrance/exit of the bay for 120 platinum coins. Unable to make a decision on my own, I call Dumun.

When I tell him what it is, he expresses surprise at the 120 platinum coins. I envy Dumun a little for his honesty in expressing his feelings.

Since we can’t expect any help if we stay cooped up like this, we decide to bet on the mage. Girasole also seems to trust the mage. They wouldn’t go to the trouble of risking their lives to deceive us in the face of a crisis in their hometown. With that kind of power, they could have made a lot of money by straightforward methods.

The day after we handed over the platinum coins, I received a report that a huge ship was anchored at the entrance to the bay. I couldn’t believe it and went to take a look, only to find a huge ship anchored there, the size of which could be seen from a distance.

It was the moment when a light shone on an uncontrollable reality.