“So, when will the recovery of our homeland begin?”
The moment the man sat down on the sofa, those were the first words out of the older man seated across from him.
“...Your Majesty, even if you are in a hurry, matters can only proceed according to schedule.”
The man, a Belerforesti diplomat in charge of Piata Empire affairs, answered with a sigh.
“But still...”
The man opposite him was the Piata Empire’s imperial younger brother. The younger brother of the missing emperor, now styling himself emperor within the Piata Empire’s government-in-exile.
The Piata emperor had commanded from the front lines until the very end at the imperial capital’s defensive line, and contact had been lost with him there.
The cleric army of the Prava Divine Kingdom that opposed him was rumored to slaughter nobles and royals almost without exception, so the emperor was likely no longer alive.
“I believe I have already told you that sending out an army blindly will not recover your territory, Your Majesty. Now is the time to lie low and endure. Even for our nation, an external campaign requires time to prepare. If we send a half-ready army, securing even a portion of the land will be the limit.”
“You say that, but half a year has already passed since we came here. I am no military expert, but I was told preparations for an external campaign could be completed in three months. Is this not taking far too long?”
That was probably referring to the mobilization of peasant soldiers in the Piata Empire. It was likely supposed to be classified information, but in this situation, it was essentially meaningless.
The diplomat nodded without pointing that out.
“If we were going to war with another nation, then of course. Our country would also be able to prepare swiftly.”
“Then...!”
“However, at present, our own territory has not been violated. I believe you understand this, but if we mobilize the peasantry, grain harvests will plummet that year, and the next as well. Especially now, during the busy farming season. Naturally, we will assist in the recovery of your territory, but we cannot allow our own finances to collapse.”
“...Hrmm. Then when can we set out on the campaign? How long must I wait?”
This imperial younger brother’s personality was not so terrible in itself, but his ability was the problem. He made no move on his own and did nothing but rely on others.
And when the Piata Empire’s border was breached, he had been the first to flee all the way to Belerforesti. Cowardly, in other words. Perhaps one could say his only talent was running away.
The nobles who had followed such a coward were likewise nothing but incompetents.
Since this was not their homeland, they had not caused any major incidents, but they appeared to be taking out their frustrations on their subordinates to a considerable degree.
By now, half of those subordinates had fled to Belerforesti under the name of asylum, and were in the process of naturalizing one after another.
Because of that, the government-in-exile had become a paper tiger, with only the imperial younger brother’s legitimate bloodline remaining.
“We are currently training professional soldiers and gathering mercenaries. Please wait a little longer, Your Majesty. Once preparations are complete, we shall dispatch a punitive army with Your Majesty as its grand commander. As the rightful Piata emperor, you shall surely be able to take the whole of your territory back into your hands.”
“Hrmm... Very well. I leave it to you.”
“Please leave it to our nation. I will come again to report.”
Having placated the imperial younger brother with that vague answer, the diplomat bowed with exaggerated courtesy and left the room.
“...Good grief. His Majesty is a troublesome one.”
Some time after boarding his carriage, the diplomat muttered those words.
“Is the army not being dispatched very soon?”
Asked that by his attendant, the diplomat nodded.
“Yes. The homeland recovery army will depart in a matter of days. It is support from that hateful Kingdom of Lepuitari, but supplies are abundant. Troop strength is no problem either. And as you saw, the cause is ready as well. Of course, our country will command the army. It is our army, after all. There is nothing more disastrous than an organization led by a fool.”
“I-I see...”
Belerforesti was preparing to advance its army into the Piata Empire on the grounds that the Piata Empire’s government-in-exile existed within its borders.
Officially, the Piata Empire itself was in a state where roughly two-thirds of its territory had been occupied by the Prava Divine Kingdom, but it still remained as a nation.
Belerforesti intended to annex it under the justification of rule by the government-in-exile.
The Piata Empire’s imperial younger brother had been an inoffensive man as long as he remained in the position of imperial younger brother. He had no power, but he could advise the emperor as a counselor, and his life was guaranteed by the imperial household.
But the imperial household had already collapsed, and now he was under Belerforesti’s protection.
Even so, if the imperial younger brother had acted proactively, perhaps a different history might have been woven.
In reality, he was simply an incompetent man who waited for someone else to do something for him.
The nobles who had followed him were the same.
They were people who had done nothing but skim the sweet cream. They had taken no concrete action whatsoever to recover their homeland, foolish men who misunderstood and thought everything would be arranged by the people around them.
That was why Belerforesti had skillfully drawn out the absolution of full authority from them, and was now greedily aiming for their territory.
“If they had gathered information from the people around them even a little, they would know at once that the homeland recovery army is ready. They have neglected even that and swallow my reports whole. It is ridiculous.”
There was a thorn in the diplomat’s words, but he was in fact entirely correct.
Simply sending people to the market to gather price information on goods and local # Nоvеlight # gossip would be enough to infer that the large-scale deployment of troops to the border was already complete.
Because the government-in-exile of the Piata Empire could not even manage that, they were looked down upon as a band of incompetents.
They could not even realize that they were being kept alive solely for the sake of a cause.
They had become birds shut in a cage. They were nothing but exhibits on display. And yet, for some reason, they believed everything would go well exactly as they imagined.
Fools, all of them.
◇◇◇◇
“Oh... That face. There is no mistaking it...”
“Your Highness Niata, thank goodness you are safe...!”
This was a certain fortress in the Piata Empire.
The person who appeared as the fortress’s commander was the Piata emperor’s elder sister, Princess Niata.
“And you are...?”
“Yes, ma’am. Forgive our late introduction. We are the Luata Defense Force, attached to the Second Army. Shameful as it is to say, when Luata fell, we escaped with the lord’s family and somehow managed to retreat all the way here. At present, we are under the care of the Kingdom of Lepuitari’s support force here.”
The group that had come from the front was an oddly mismatched collection.
There were men who looked unmistakably like soldiers. It would not have felt strange at all if they had been introduced as troops dispatched by the Kingdom of Lepuitari.
But there was another group.
They were clearly set apart from those soldiers.
They wore glossy black helmets that covered their heads and the areas around their eyes. The armor covering their bodies combined soft material with plating, and here and there, it emitted a faint, mysterious glow.
More than anything, their physiques were clearly those of girls.
Even so, the eerie helmets and the large firearms they carried were deeply intimidating. No one would be able to underestimate them simply because they were small girls.
“I am Baluda Grandis, representative of the Third Army of the Kingdom of Lepuitari’s Piata Empire Support Force, as just introduced. I am truly glad we were able to join up with members of the imperial household. If you will permit it, we would like to join you here and assist in the recovery of your homeland.”
“Yes, yes... Truly... However, I am terribly sorry, but this fortress may not be able to offer even the bare minimum of hospitality. We lack buildings, manpower, food—everything.”
Princess Niata’s face went pale, but she still said it firmly.
She had a clear grasp of the current situation, and she could also predict what problems an increase in soldiers would bring.
She seemed to be an exceptionally capable woman.
“You need not worry.”
And the one who answered those words was a girl soldier standing nearby.
“We have prepared our own food, cooking facilities, and quarters. As long as you can provide us with a square, there will be no problem. Would that be acceptable?”
