Volume 2, Chapter 2
Ⅱ
The Autonomous Cavalry Regiment headed north from Fort Galia, towards their first waypoint, Canary town. The weather was clear, and with the Est mountain in the distance, a large variety of flowers were blooming. A gentle breeze swept across the grass beneath the horses’ hooves, and Claudia could smell the fragrance in the air. In a fortnight, the flowers would be in full bloom.
“Major, please look to your right. It’s getting warmer around here, and the flowers are starting to bloom.”
“…………”
“Major, can you hear me?”
“…………”
No matter what Claudia said, Olivia didn’t respond, and just combed the mane of her black horse with a pout.
“Sigh… Major, it’s about time for you to stop throwing a tantrum. It will affect the morale of the troops.”
“… Can we stop by the capital on our way to Emreed?”
“Like I told you, no.”
Claudia rejected her, and Olivia turned her face away with puffed cheeks. For some reason, her dark horse was looking their way with grudging eyes too. Claudia felt so uncomfortable that she thought about moving away, which showed how hateful its eyes were.
“Olivia, I will make your favourite mustard jerky bread during our next break, so don’t be so angry, alright?”
Ashton rode forth and offered a high quality bait to please Olivia. Olivia’s body reacted a little, but her head was still facing the other way. Even the special mustard sauce couldn’t move her.
『— Can we stay in the capital for one night tomorrow? 』
On the way to the Fortress City Emreed, Olivia was excited because she had the chance to head to the capital. However, the one day visit to the capital was rejected, and Olivia showed her obvious displeasure for all to see.
There were two very different routes from Fort Galia to the Fortress City Emreed. One would take them pass the capital towards the west, the other would pass through Canary town and up through the desert before turning east.
The Autonomous Cavalry Regiment chose the latter. The reason was simple, because Hosmund’s Cavalry Regiment selected the former. Unlike the first wave that had the goal of reaching their destination as soon as possible, Olivia’s unit was focused on learning the movements of the Imperial forces, and naturally went with a different route.
Even though Olivia had more autonomy, she was still a soldier, and couldn’t divert from the planned route for personal reasons.
(We are in a rut right after setting off.)
Claudia sighed in her heart, and continued explaining in an attempt to convince Olivia:
“Major, even if we visit the capital, there won’t be time for you to take your time and investigate. Besides, it’s not that easy to visit the Royal Library.”
“… Why is it hard to visit the Royal Library?”
Olivia drew close with a frown. Claudia lift two fingers and said:
“Firstly, the paperwork to access the library would take two days. You will also need a recommendation from a credible person. This means an aristocrat, and a high ranking one at that. After all, the information inside the Royal Library is very important.”
“I wanted to go in too, but as a commoner, I don’t have any chance of doing so.”
Ashton who was beside them mutter enviously. He couldn’t hold a candle to Olivia, but he was still a book lover. The Royal Library was a special place for him. As for Olivia, Ashton’s moan didn’t move her at all.
“But I’m already an aristocrat, right? Why can’t I go in then?”
She protested with a pout.
“It’s regrettable, but no. Being a noble is just one of the requirements for visiting the library. Having a recommendation from someone credible is a must.”
In the end, Olivia’s origins was still a mystery.
When she asked Olivia about her hometown, Olivia said it was a shrine deep in a forest. With the help of a map, she figured out that the location was on the western end of the Dubedirica continent. It was commonly known to be a vast forest with a small number of settlements. From Olivia’s dark eyes and silver hair, she wasn’t a native of that place. According to Olivia, she was picked up and raised by a person named Z. As Olivia described her turbulent past with a smile, Claudia couldn’t help being speechless.
And that was a problem, since the Royal Library wouldn’t permit entry just because you were a noble. In the end, she would need the intangible trait of ‘credibility’, which wasn’t something that could be obtained in a short period of time.
No matter how grand her achievements might be, Olivia still lacks credibility. However, Claudia couldn’t bring herself to say it so bluntly.
But there was an exception. Ashton might not know about this, but if you spend enough money, you could visit the Royal Library. For better or for worse, the power of money could make up for the lack of social standings. However, Claudia felt only a handful of merchants could pull this off.
“Claudia, can’t you just give me a recommendation?”
Olivia looked at Claudia with eyes filled with expectations.
“Well, that is hard to tell. The Jung clan has a storied history, but I can’t be certain it will be approved.”
The Jung clan could be traced back to the reign of the First King, Julius Zu Farnesse, which shows how long its history was. In their 600 years of history, they produced many outstanding knights, and was a clan well known for their martial prowess. The Jung clan even taught the Royal family swordsmanship at their heights.
However, they were just one of the nobles in the borders now, and couldn’t even afford a villa in the capital. That was why Claudia couldn’t guarantee that it would work.
“Whose recommendation will be rock solid then?”
The expressionless Olivia leaned even closer as she asked. Claudia quickly racked her brains, and the first person that came to mind in terms of accomplishment, fame and lineage was Paul.
If Olivia asked him, Paul would gladly act as her guarantor. However, Paul was a General and commander of the Seventh Army, so it would be unwise for him to get involved in such private matters too much.
Claudia decided to not tell Olivia about the option of asking Paul.
(In that case, we have to find someone we can ask without any worries, and have the calibre to be a guarantor. How can there be someone so convenient… Wait, there really is one such person.)
The person on Claudia’s mind was a man with light blonde hair like her. When Claudia was young, she admired his swordsmanship too.
“Neinhart-nii— Ahem, Brigadier General Neinhart will be a good choice. He is well connected, and the two days of paperwork might even be waived.”
“Brigadier General Neinhart?”
Seeing Olivia tilt her head in confusion, Claudia smiled awkwardly. The two of them had met several times, but Olivia couldn’t remember him. Ashton knew Olivia had a great memory, but that was only towards things she was interested in.
“Don’t you remember? He visited you to offer his thanks to you for killing Violent Thrust Samuel.”
“Violent Thrust Samuel?”
Olivia crossed her arms, unable to recall this person. Claudia started describing Neinhart’s appearance in detail, and Olivia finally opened her eyes wide:
“Oh, I remember now! It’s that human who is terrible at mimicking a fish!”
“Pfft!”
Olivia’s unexpected answer made Claudia laugh. Even though he was her cousin, she felt Neinhart was really handsome. Olivia evaluation about him being terrible at mimicking a fish was a riot. Women who favors Neinhart might even faint on the spot.
That only applies to women who likes him though.
(Really now, if I get the chance, I will let Neinhart-nii know about this.)
Claudia smiled deviously in her heart at the thought of that. In the meantime, Olivia muttered: “Now that you mentioned it, he did give me a fruit called peaches”.
(He wanted to avenge Florence personally… In any case, Neinhart-nii is really grateful for what the Major did.)
Claudia understood how much Neinhart values his relationships. If Olivia asked him for a favor, he would not hesitate to agree.
Claudia thought about Florence’s gentle smile, and for the sake of making Olivia focus on the mission, she said in a serious tone:
“Major, if you want to ask Brigadier General Neinhart for a favor, then you need to complete this mission properly. If not, he won’t accede to your request.”
“Yes, you are right, Claudia! I will work hard!!”
Olivia nodded with clenched fists. From the way she was acting olivia’s mood had gotten better. As expected, being gloomy didn’t suit Olivia. The soldiers around them probably felt the same, and all heaved a sigh of relief.
(We can finally focus on carrying out the mission now.)
Claudia sighed in relief, and Ashton complemented Claudia for a job well done, which made her a little happy.
— Two days later.
The Autonomous Cavalry Regiment reached the Canary town.
Ⅲ
“This… is really a terrible sight.”
Claudia’s comment described the current state of Canary town adequately. The wooden walls around the town were mostly destroyed. Strong and able bodied men carrying lumber were focused on repairs, but progress was slow.
After going over the bridge and destroyed gates with melancholic feelings, what they saw was even more terrible. Debris and broken windows were all over the place, and it was difficult to even find an intact building. There was blood everywhere, which showed what happened to the town back then.
The recaptured Canary town was filled with gloom.
“Ugh, this smell…”
Claudia’s face cramped. The corpses had probably not been dealt with, and there was a stench of rot in the air. She had gotten used to this on the battlefield, but it was definitely not a good thing. Ashton covered his nose with his sleeve and frowned.
On the other hand, Olivia didn’t seem to mind, and watch the town curiously. The citizens of Canary had already gotten used to this stench, as they looked at the Autonomous Cavalry Regiment with tired faces.
“— It seems the progress of the restoration works is different from the reports.”
Ashton muttered in a bitter tone.
“Yes, it appears so.”
Canary town that was built along the river was known for its beautiful sights in the south of the Kingdom. However, that was gone now. Claudia couldn’t imagine how long it would take Canary town to recover from this set back.
When they reached the base in the center of the town, Ashton’s group dismounted and greeted the local Platoon Commander. The children who had been observing quietly then gathered around Olivia before they realized it. There was a boy and a girl about 6 or 7 years old, and a 10 years old boy.
The children were looking at Olivia with sparkling eyes. Olivia, the exceptional beauty, had drawn the attention of these kids.
“Onee-san, you look as cute as my doll.”
The girl showed her torn up doll to Olivia proudly.
“Really—? I’m not too interested in how I look though.”
Olivia touched her face as if to ascertain that. A few young boys sniffed at Olivia.
“Do you smell something?”
“Yes, something smells good.”
“Oh, it must be this.”
Olivia smiled brilliantly, and took out a cookie from her bags proudly. The eyes of the children started to shine.
“Uwah! Onee-san, this is a snack, right!?”
“Yes, it is— Have you tried this before?”
The boy was taken aback by Olivia’s question, and shook his head with his eyes wide open:
“There is no way I could have eaten that before. Only the nobles can eat it, right? That’s what my mother tells me.”
“Is that so?”
Olivia looked at Ashton quizzingly.
“Well, it’s more common in the capital, but it is still considered a luxury. Commoners won’t be able to eat it.”
“But aren’t you a commoner, Ashton? And you had cake in the past. I remember on the way to Fort Lamburg, you told me that you know what cakes are, and have eaten it before.”
Olivia showed her outstanding memory once again.
“Because my family runs quite a big business.”
“—What do you mean?”
“It means my family is relatively rich… Simply put, we have more money.”
Olivia lacked common sense. She said she grew up in the forest, but Ashton was still surprised when he heard that she didn’t even know what money was before joining the army.
“Hmm~ that’s why Ashton gets to eat cakes…”
Olivia inspected the cookie in her hand, then turned to the children:
“Want to try one?”
When they heard that, the children all blinked, and weren’t sure what to do. They were hesitant to accept this offer.
“C-Can we? We don’t have money?”
A young boy turned out his pockets, which only had dirt and scraps.
“Ehh~ I don’t need your money. The books says that your jaw will drop from how sweet it is, but that won’t actually happen. So you can relax and eat it.”
With that, Olivia gave each of the three children one cookie. After the children took the cookies, they looked at each other, and bit it with big smiles.
“Onee-san, this taste great!”
“It’s yummy!”
“Uwah! It’s so good! So good!”
The children shouted their praise. Olivia crossed her arms smugly at the sight of that. The dumbstruck Ashton then said:
“Really now, I was wondering why you had that on you. So, how many do you have left?”
“Hmm, let me see… about ten?”
Olivia answered after looking into the bag. When Ashton heard that, he looked to the building with a red roof to the west, where some children were watching timidly.
“Two, four, six… Oh, the numbers are just right. Then share your cookies with these kids too, alright?”
“Ehh...!? B-But… I won’t get to eat any…”
Olivia’s face turned into absolute despair. She then lashed out at Ashton like a kid, calling him a demon. Seeing her desperate resistance, Ashton couldn’t help smiling.
“Calling me a demon or whatever is fine, but if you give these kids cookies, but don’t give any to those children, won’t you find that pitiful?”
“But if all the cookies are gone, won’t I become pitiful?”
Ashton patted the shoulder of Olivia who was puffing her cheeks angrily, and said:
“I will treat you to cake next time. And not just your average cake too— Hehe.”
“W-What kind of cake?”
Olivia forgot about her anger and gulped.
“Actually, there is a cake shop in the capital that only the regulars know about. They say that once you eat there, other cakes won’t satisfy you again.”
“Once you eat there, other cakes won’t satisfy you again…”
Olivia repeated with a mesmerized face. Ashton used this chance to go for the kill:
“That’s right. What this means is— it’s incredibly delicious.”
—But it was just rumours though.
“R-Really!? You will bring me to that cakeshop!?”
“I swear in the name of Ashton Senefelder.”
Ashton placed his left hand on his chest, and bowed sincerely.
“No take backs!”
Olivia who took the bait leaned in close. Ashton laughed in his heart, and then waved to the children. The children gathered around timidly.
“Alright, this lady will now distribute delicious cookies to everyone. It’s free, if you understand, then form a line in front of her—”
Before Ashton even finished, the children lined up like well trained soldiers. Ashton smiled wryly at this scene, and gestured to Olivia with his eyes. Olivia handed out cookies to the children with a cramped smile.
After she gave out the last piece, her hands seemed to be shaking. Ashton decided that he was just seeing things.
“You are really gentle.”
As Ashton watched the interaction between Olivia and the children, he suddenly heard a clear voice from behind. He turned, and saw Claudia whose smile was as warm as the sun during spring.
The bashful Ashton scratched his nose.
“Well, this is all we can do for them right now. We can only pray that Canary town will recover soon.”
“—That’s true.”
Claudia answered curtly.
The two of them looked to the front, where Olivia was smiling innocently as the children surrounded her.
— The next morning.
Olivia and company was dining in their temporary quarters, when the local platoon commander visited with a sour face.
“What’s the matter? We plan to set off after having breakfast.”
When he heard Claudia said that, the platoon commander scratched his cheeks troublingly:
“Pardon me for disturbing your meal. Actually—”
“Please! Please, please save Lieutenant General Sara!”
A man suddenly dashed out from behind the platoon commander and pleaded with his arms on Olivia’s legs. He was covered in dust, but the emblem of six purple stars were still visible on his shoulders. He seemed to be a messenger from the Sixth Army.
“Why is a messenger from the Sixth Army here… I remember that the Sixth Army is garrisoning Fort Peshita.”
In response to Ashton’s question, the man nodded repeatedly.
After the Sixth Army lost to the Full Metal Knights in the Southern warfront, they managed to escape the fate of being wiped out. Right now, they should be assigned to Fort Peshita and tasked with the defence of the western part of the central zone.
“You are Berhard, right? Let go of the Major’s legs. We will talk after that.”
Claudia slowly got up from her seat, and applied pressure to Berherd with her gaze from above.
“P-Pardon me.”
Berhard let go of Olivia’s legs in a panic, and prostrated with his forehead to the ground. Claudia sat back down with a grunt. Olivia wasn’t bothered at all, and asked even manneredly:
“So, what happened? I heard you asking us to save Lieutenant General Sara or something.”
“Y-Yes Mdm! Our forces have been surrounded by the Swaran Army! Please save us!”