Side: Yuki
『—san. Nii-san. Can you hear me?』
"Yeah?"
Right now, I'm running headfirst into an ultra-class problem: somehow I need to make Lia fall for me and take things further with her.
The problem is, I can't feel any clear response from her at all. Nothing is harder to deal with than that.
Dungeon management, town administration, battles — all of those could be guided naturally through preparation and momentum. As long as the groundwork was perfect, the desired result would follow, regardless of what the other party thought.
But with Ria, it wouldn't work unless both of us — especially Ria herself — truly wanted it.
Figuring out someone's heart? Finding a way to make her genuinely fall in love, not out of obligation? There was no manual for that!!
『Hey, you!! My Kiyu's talking to you, so stop ignoring him!!』
"Whoa!?"
Coville's voice snapped me back to reality.
『You sent my boyfriend off to the battlefield and now you're not even paying attention to his report!? That's pissing me off!!』
『Now, now, calm down, Coville.』
『Kiyu, you can't be soft on him! You need to scold that brother of yours properly!!』
『It can't be helped. Nii-san is currently handling strategy and command across multiple fronts, plus there's the Ria situation.』
『But still—!!』
At some point, my little brother Kiyu ended up getting together with Coville.
I found out when I was sending Kiyu out to intercept Rankus. Coville got furious and attacked me. Since I had no intention of killing her, I lightly knocked her down. That's when I learned about their relationship.
When Kiyu grabbed—well, hugged her—she immediately calmed down.
I could understand how she felt, and since she had trained hard in the dungeon, I assigned her as Kiyu's adjutant and sent her along with the troops.
Even though he's a doppelganger, he has his own ego and can fall in love. I had no intention of denying that. In fact, I was happy for him.
Of course, since he's now well-known for his rampage in Rithea, he can't really serve as my body double anymore. I'll have to use other Doppels for that.
『It's okay, Coville. I won't die from something like this. I'll definitely come back to you.』
『Really?』
『Yeah. I've decided I'm going to spend the rest of my life with you.』
『I can't think of anyone but you either, Kiyu!!』
Anyway, they're annoying.
Is there anything more irritating than watching people flirt? Well, normal flirting is one thing, but can they stop talking like they're acting in a stage play?
"Yeah yeah. I get that you two are getting along great, now give me the report."
『Mooouuu!! Mouuuu!! We were having a good moment and you ruined the mood, Yuki!!』
I interrupted precisely because I read the mood, though... Given Coville's personality, arguing would just make this take longer, so I held my tongue.
By the way, they've apparently already done the deed. I thought the size difference would be an issue, but the fairy race is mostly composed of magical power, so they're surprisingly sturdy. Of course, reproduction with humans is possible. So Kiyu is fine too.
Though it does mean the pregnancy period will be different from humans, but that's not relevant right now.
『Coville, we'll continue properly later. So please be patient.』
『Fine. But tonight you're not getting any sleep!!』
I was starting to want to hang up.
Here I was worrying about how to make someone fall in love, while they were like this.
『Sorry, Nii-san. I'll give the report again.』
"Yeah, go ahead."
As planned, we deployed our Weed forces at the Roshuru border and waited for Rankus' troops. We finished deployment about an hour earlier than scheduled, just as I reported before.』
"I heard that. So, how's the coordination with Taiki-kun going?"
『Yes. Through calls, Taiki-san informed us that only the Hero faction advanced ahead of the main force, leaving the Royal faction behind. Our target is around 4,000 troops.』
Hmm, as expected, Taiki-kun didn't want to drag his allies into the artillery barrage. Good call separating friend from foe.
『Movement was confirmed at 06:00 today. Once the enemy entered the kill zone, we engaged and successfully annihilated them.』
"Well, that was expected. If they were scattered it might be different, but a concentrated group of 4,000 is just a big target."
『Exactly. Even tanks can now predict routes and strike pinpoint. A mass of 4,000 was nothing but a sitting duck. We used 132 mortar rounds in a saturation attack. There were no survivors.』
"132 rounds? 10 rounds should've been enough to finish them."
『In terms of results yes, but we had 30 mortars firing at once in a battalion. So each only fired about 4 rounds.』
"Ah, right."
Of course. No single mortar would fire 132 rounds.
Since the goal was total annihilation, being thorough was necessary.
『So, as planned, we will now push into Rankus together with Taiki-san.』
"Be careful. Irregularities can happen anywhere."
『Leave it to me!! I won't let a single finger touch Kiyu!!』
"Yeah, Coville, I'm counting on you. Kiyu is stubborn, so if you think it's dangerous, drag him back even if you have to. And of course, come back safely yourself. I don't want my brother's wife dying in battle."
『Got it. Ehehe, "wife"... Big brother officially approves!!』
You only call me big brother at times like this...
"Don't forget to link up with Prince Teak of Gartz when you pass through. He's the guarantor of our just cause."
『Understood. The three countries suppressed by Gartz and Rankus will declare support for Taiki-san and publicly acknowledge Rankus' atrocities.』
"Yeah. Otherwise Taiki-kun will be labeled as a rebel, and the Lanks royal family will get time to escape."
『We'll crush them properly.』
"Speaking of Taiki-kun, do not tell him about our situation. With his personality, he'll definitely try to send support."
『Right. We'll keep it strictly confidential as instructed and only tell him after it's over. If we say anything now, we'd probably have to turn back.』
"Coville, especially you — be careful not to slip up."
『What the heck—』
"—If you talk, I'll postpone your marriage to Kiyu indefinitely."
『I absolutely won't say anything!!』
Looks like things are fine on Taiki-kun's side.
"Kiyu, as planned, reduce Taiki-kun's enemies in Lanks as much as possible. But don't overdo it."
『Understood.』
"Alright, I'm counting on you both."
『Roger.』
『Roooger!』
With that, the report from Kiyu ended and the call disconnected.
"Now, the next problem is Roumel..."
I opened the footage from the reconnaissance familiars.
In front of me was the Demon King's army, still struggling to advance.
They were being held back by Roumel's mixed force of 30,000 volunteers and regular soldiers.
It must be galling for the Demon King's army to be stalled by a force one-tenth their size. They haven't achieved a single result in two weeks, and their casualties have reached 100,000 out of 300,000. In modern warfare, losing 30% of your forces usually means total annihilation.
But in this era, the concept of military strength is different, so they can't easily retreat.
Well, most of the casualties are monsters. Only a tiny fraction are the demons actually controlling them. They probably don't care about losing 100,000 vanguards. They still outnumber the Roumel army, after all.
But the tank force is small. They don't seem to have been destroyed... Hmm, it must be someone's skill. At any rate, the fact that they haven't been annihilated yet suggests their strength is limited. If so, the demon army won't be wiped out immediately. For now, we don't need to speed up our own advance.
"Next, from Tori and Riel's police force..."
The document reported demon intruders other than Liliana. Three were confirmed and all three were captured. They are maintaining 24-hour surveillance in case others are hiding. The three captured will be interrogated by us, then confirmed by Liliana-san. No problems there.
"Public response..."
The report from Milly and Kaya said there was no particular chaos. They've increased police patrols, and the Adventurer's Guild is strictly warning members against starting trouble. Since Mobu, Orvick, and the others are involved, even the rougher adventurers are staying quiet—or rather, they're cooperating with security.
"Notifications to other nations..."
This was probably the biggest issue.
I had left it to Rurua, Elju, and Sheila, but Rurua had been unable to move for several days, and Elju was currently the supreme commander of the allied forces.
Currently, Sheila and Rurua are handling all communications with the nations.
For now, Rithea and Roshure have raised their border vigilance to the maximum.
Makes sense, since an enemy is marching on Roumel. Gartz is busy supporting Taiki, investigating Rankus, and handling internal affairs. It's tough for any nation to move, but being able to communicate easily is a godsend. Things are normal for now.
"As for the standby team remaining in the government building..."
That would be Eris, Derieu, Labyris, and Ratz.
Goods in Ratz's shop are moving slower than expected—likely because the residents didn't panic. I have to thank Milly and Kaya's management.
But there was another problem: a mountain of petitions from neighboring countries asking for gates to be connected or for land-based trade to begin.
This is where the Rankus problem is showing its face. For now, we're responding that we can't move because we're being attacked by Rankus. Because of that, the area around Rankus is becoming surrounded by enemies. They really love digging their own graves, don't they?
"Finally, preparations for the march..."
Officially, Elju is in command.
But since she's an amateur in military matters, I left it to Seraria, Lowelle, Crack, Ares, and the representatives from each nation.
Looks like Narjia-san and the fairy race's enchanted equipment has been distributed properly... Preparations for the supply corps are complete too... At this rate, departure should be possible in exactly one day.
"And finally, the biggest problem for me..."
Operation: Make Lia Fall Madly in Love and Get All Lovey-Dovey.
Proposed by Labrys and Ratts.
...Yep. Impossible.
No matter how I thought about it, I had no idea how to guide her feelings toward love.
Five days to become lovebirds? The more I think about it, the more impossible it sounds.
While thinking that, I looked outside and saw Ria training with Seraria again.
She's been working incredibly hard lately. She power-leveled all the way to 120 in one go.
What was driving her so hard...? The one thing I know is that the motivator isn't me. I know that much. Because all I've shown her so far is my pathetic side. And nothing but sleazy plans.
"Ah, Seraria dropped her sword. That's rare. Or rather, I should see it as Ria doing a great job."
Rather than saying Seraria made a mistake, it was more accurate to praise Ria for creating that opening.
At this rate, maybe it would be okay to bring her to the front lines?
While thinking about that, I continued reading documents and signing them. Before I knew it, Seraria and Ria had finished training and gone somewhere.
"Honestly, at this rate, it feels like the probability of her falling for one of the girls is higher than for me."
Saying that, I leaned deeper into my chair and took a sip of tea.
