Torn Asunder by War, A Sword Saint for Tomorrow X The Knight Wizards!! – Chapter 111

Chapter 111: The Next Stage, To The Core City Leipzig
  “Nn, fa… It’s bright……”
  
  After rolling up and securing the blackout curtain hung at the entrance of the tent as a substitute for an alarm clock, perhaps due to photophobia, the red-haired “caterpillar” nestled in the sleeping bag struggled to avoid the sunlight.
  
  Considering letting her sleep a little longer with her slightly hungover head, I picked up and put on the military uniform jacket, sword belt, and other items that had been carelessly thrown off. Then, Revia, half asleep, crawled out of her sleeping bag wearing only a shirt over her underwear.
  
  ‘…Although female military personnel are not concerned with trivial matters, I personally feel uncomfortable.’
  
  While watching her rub her eyes with one hand, I adjusted the position of the curtain so that it wouldn’t be too dark, narrowing the visible range from the outside. Then, in the dimly lit tent, I sat down with my knapsack as a backrest and recalled last night’s events.
  
  Even though Nina had taken the initiative to ask about the Imperial Faction’s movements, I was a little disgusted with myself for not having received consent for the negotiation mediation, as the conversation had gone off-topic midway through the drinking party.
  
  “Should I leave the later adjustments to Raizes?……”
  “We don’t have time, right? We need to iron out the details today.”
  
  Revia’s point, made while sitting down and stretching her back comfortably with a sound like “Nn～”, is valid, despite her creating a relaxed atmosphere that contradicts her words. So, leaving my partner who has yet to fully awaken, I headed to the Vice-Captain’s tent.
  
  However, before I could reach it, I encountered a knight with a mix of white hair, his toned, slender upper body exposed to a family of deer watching from a distance, silently practicing sword swings with his military sword.
  
  “Training from morning even in a battlefield? It reminds me of our bear-like old man.”
  “As you get older, your muscles decline faster. I can’t afford to slack off, King Claude.”
  
  Raizes, whose arms wielding the black iron blade did not stop, glanced at me while responding to my casual remark, his gaze prompting me for the reason I had come all the way here.
  
  Since he dislikes roundabout talk, I decided to get straight to the point.
  
  “I want you to quickly work out the details so that Nina Valer can have a meeting with the Imperial Faction in the core city of Leipzig. Her true nature is that of a scholar; she won’t refuse a place for discussion.”
  
  “Hmm, we were only asked to mediate the negotiations. Let’s accept it without being overzealous.”
  
  He implicitly suggests that he doesn’t care what happens if the negotiations go south… but considering last night’s situation, even if there is a desire to end the feud at this opportunity, the kind Lady White Fox, who doesn’t want to make any more sacrifices, has a fundamental aversion to war.
  
  “I don’t think it’s impossible that we might find a smooth landing point.”
  “She’s just a young female lord who isn’t a warrior, you mean she doesn’t have the resolve to let her enemies or allies die?”
  
  Perhaps remembering the scene from the other day when I mentioned the casualties on both sides while persuading the Rigsia officer riding the four-armed Clawsolas “Nightshade Rasetsu”, the veteran knight stopped his training and questioned me.
  
  Probably, it seems like words directed not only at the lord’s daughter, with whom we have a friendly relationship, but also at me, who is in a similar situation.
  
  “…Just because you have resolve doesn’t mean you should condone needless sacrifices, and I don’t easily dismiss hesitation as a weakness of spirit.”
  
  “That’s also true. If you’re too harsh, people’s hearts won’t follow. I won’t complain if you can cut off your emotions when necessary.”
  
  The man who would have inexperienced youngsters execute death row inmates at any opportunity grinned, sheathed his drawn black blade, and grabbed the towel he had hung on a nearby branch along with his jacket.
  “Then, I’ll ask you to get their consent.”
  “Let’s get it done before we leave this camp.”
  
  Thanks to Vice-Captain Raizes, who hates putting things off, he immediately started to get dressed… and after filling my stomach with baked bread and beef stew ‘canned food’ for breakfast, by the time we started preparing for the march, the meeting in question had already gained the young lady’s understanding.
  
  Furthermore, taking advantage of the busyness before departure, I quickly brought the spies under Aldabert, who were lurking in her army, into the camp and informed them that they would be mediating the negotiations at our destination.
  
  Then, one of the two nondescript light infantrymen said he wanted to rush to the old man staying at Marquis Heisel of Rigsia’s castle, so I exchanged a dozen or so gold coins and a warhorse for him.
  
  When the remaining one turned on his heel and tried to return pretending to be unconcerned, I considered the necessity of detaining him, but decided against it, judging that Nina would also be protected by those with reliable backgrounds.
  
  Besides, there’s a high possibility that other spies of the Imperial Faction have infiltrated as low-ranking soldiers, and since it’s not realistic to eliminate them all, I want to avoid incurring the animosity of the shrewd old man.
  
  『……There are a lot of troublesome things, huh.』
  『It’ll be over soon, and it looks like we won’t have to use Bel-chan’s new armament.♪』
  
  When Revia in the back seat muttered happily as if she wanted to avoid getting hurt, a voice came from the external loudspeaker of the Guardia, which was in a mounted posture among the trees ahead.
  
  『There might be another incident, don’t let your guard down too much.』
  『If you mention it carelessly, it’ll become reality, Dino-kun.』
  
  『It’s the phenomenon that the Rare Humans sometimes talk about, “raising a flag”, right?』
  『As expected, Onii-sama. I’m impressed by the depth of your knowledge.』
  
  Since the blue-haired knight and Lise, who had their usual exchange, were acting as scouts, we started our Clawsolas in response to them moving forward, and the close-knit silver-haired, blue-eyed siblings also activated their dual-sword Begalta and followed.
  
  Followed by the taciturn Zacks and the tomboyish Rain piloting the Svel F-type, we also walked our black-silver giant knight alongside the Captain’s Clawsolas in the middle of the formation.
  
  The rear was guarded by several apprentice knights who had gained captured Clawsolas through battlefield promotions, forming a column escorting the transport corps with Gladius units that had been partially repainted for enemy/ally identification. The Lizel Knight Kingdom’s expeditionary force proceeded towards the core city, which would be the next stage, following the scout cavalry that had departed earlier.
  
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