Torn Asunder by War, A Sword Saint for Tomorrow X The Knight Wizards!! – Chapter 108

Chapter 108: Walls Have Ears, and Shoji Screens Have Mary?
  It seems that the faction also plans to put a collar on the troublesome White Fox, increase the strength of the Imperial Army, and promote the liberation of the northeastern region of the former Francia Kingdom. However, the old man from the Imperial Faction concludes skeptically that it won’t be a simple task.
  
  “We can’t ignore the distrust the people of the three western territories have for us, who only send funds and supplies without actively deploying anti-Aberration forces to the front lines.”
  
  “That’s quite an irresponsible thing to say, Lord Aldabert.”
  
  “Unlike you all, I already have one foot in the grave. Politics should be left to those who are still young, like you.”
  
  The old man, implying that old soldiers should just fade away, brushed off Raizes’s doubts. He sipped the last of his herbal tea and moved the conversation to the likely conclusion of the internal conflict, viewed from an objective standpoint.
  
  “How about this scenario, Knight King? Your country’s military intervention is offset by mediating negotiations and acting as a witness. The inquisition to investigate the White Fox’s treachery is rendered null and void due to Lord Heisel’s rash actions and flawed evidence. He will be held accountable accordingly.”
  
  “…It’s not a bad idea, but I don’t usually make immediate decisions.”
  “That’s that. We’ll excuse ourselves for today.”
  
  Xenos, who had been silently observing our exchange from a distance, saw the opportune moment and interjected. The old man nodded, agreed on the minimum necessary means of communication, and slowly rose from his seat.
  
  We saw off the envoy as he left the meeting tent, which had been intentionally set up on the edge of the encampment, and disappeared into the darkness to rejoin his escorts for their return journey. I let out a small sigh.
  
  The reason for this was that the identity of the mediator, who had been secretly revealed to me, was, shall we say, appropriate? It was two soldiers belonging to the Zephyrus Domain army’s light infantry unit.
  
  “Is our expeditionary force going to be alright?”
  “I don’t know the details. I’ve left everything to the reliable Vice-Captain!”
  
  “That’s called passing the buck, you careless fool…”
  
  Raizes sighed after me and scratched his graying hair. According to his observations, this time, the unit was composed entirely of family members and close associates of the knights and mages. While the possibility of spies couldn’t be ruled out, it was likely low.
  
  Unlike our Knight Kingdom, which specializes in covert operations in foreign lands with small elite units, Zephyrus’s case, where they moved a regiment-sized territorial army for base capture, would have more vulnerabilities to exploit.
  
  Naturally, Lady White Fox was also using the instructor she sent here as a spy, so it was safe to assume she had also infiltrated the Rigsia territorial army and the Imperial Faction’s surroundings with her agents.
  
  “Is it better to report and communicate early rather than trying to hide contact poorly?”
  “First, we need to decide on our course of action, King Claude.”
  
  “We’ll leave the general direction to the cautious Vice-Captain who ‘looks before he leaps,’ as they say.”
  “Ugh, that’s called passing the buck…”
  
  “Haha, enjoy it while the young ones still rely on you.”
  
  Xenos slapped his old friend’s shoulder without hesitation, telling him not to get hung up on the details, and laughed it off as Raizes tried to retort after being burdened with the troublesome task.
  
  Raizes frowned at the slap from his muscular friend and grumbled a bit, but Xenos skillfully brushed it aside.
  
  ‘…As always, they’re needlessly close.’
  
  Including Revia’s father, the Chief Magician, the three musketeers, despite their vastly different temperaments, supported the nation by complementing each other.
  
  While feeling grateful that he could serve as king thanks to them, Claude decided to return to the tent and discuss the details with his retainers.
  
  Incidentally, as a consequence of staying up late, he ended up having to travel the next day along the edge of the forest in a slightly sleepy state, and it couldn’t be helped that Revia, who was riding with him, lightly scolded him for it.
  
  Other than that, there were no particular problems, and they reached their next destination without incident. As Claude watched the transport corps and maintenance crew members preparing for camp from the shade of a tree, a familiar Japanese girl approached him gracefully.
  
  “Excuse me, Mr. Bushido.”
  
  He wasn’t used to the name, which he had reluctantly accepted after she pleaded with him during their first meeting, saying she loved “period novels,” which were extremely niche in the Empire. He bowed to the attendant of Lady White Fox, who claimed her great-grandfather was a lieutenant in the former Imperial Japanese Navy.
  
  The girl, who had promised to show him the Type Zero Carrier Fighter, commonly known as the “Zero,” which was carefully preserved by fellow Rare Humans in the foreign quarter of the central city of Winzard after the incident, handed him an official Zephyrus Domain envelope with a polite gesture.
  
  Of course, the casually written signature belonged to the cunning Nina Valer, who had captured the hearts of the territory’s Japanese community by restoring a certain reciprocating engine aircraft to flight-worthy condition.
  
  ‘If the knowledge she gained from the dimensional gap had included the Haber-Bosch process, or if this wasn’t a parallel world with extremely scarce saltpeter and crude oil, fighter planes might have become the main fighting force…’
  
  It was a small mercy that there were almost no large, flying Aberrations in the Hour of Ruin, and even medium-sized Griffons and Wyverns were rare. As he thought about this, he opened the envelope and checked the contents.
  
  The pulp paper, seemingly written during breaks from maintaining the giant knights and airships, was soaked in machine oil. Its contents were an invitation to a secret meeting… Revia, who had stealthily approached and peeked at the letter from the side, immediately became aware of it.
  
  “Isn’t it rude to peek at my Lord’s letter?”
  “Ah, I’m sorry. But this means it’s just the two of us, right?”
  
  “I am not aware of the details. Please infer from the context.”
  “Well, it’s written that way.”
  
  Although she pointed it out with a slightly dissatisfied tone, it wasn’t a major problem since he would have his escorts wait outside. Also, since any action that harmed their allies would only bring disadvantages, minimal vigilance would suffice.
  
  When he conveyed this, the red-haired mage puffed out her cheeks like a cute squirrel.