Side: Yuki
Having been given a room inside the fortress, I was leisurely working through paperwork.
Naturally, Ria was beside me, helping by sorting documents by priority and handling whatever she could process herself.
Even though we had come to the new continent, since I was the leader of this mercenary group, I still had to handle the actual management. I also needed to deal with military-related matters for Weed.
There were also reports coming in from Weed members scattered across various locations.
"Still, while there's been progress on our side with the fortress capture, the other areas aren't seeing much action."
"It can't be helped. The investigations in the Jilva Empire are proceeding properly, and data is being sent back. The experiments in the dungeon—well, the demi-human village—are also producing results. Slowly but surely, progress is being made."
"Yeah, but after all the nonstop events we've had lately, I keep hoping something will just move forward in one big leap."
I voiced my hopeful opinion.
It had been almost a year since Weed's founding declaration. My wives were due to give birth in about a month. It had been a whirlwind of a year for me.
We didn't even have time to celebrate the one-year anniversary since coming to this world.
"That's true. The births are approaching, and once things settle down here, we can calmly be with everyone for the deliveries."
Leah also seemed worried about everyone and wanted to spend peaceful time with the family.
I picked up my tea and took a sip.
"Ahh... There are still ongoing events, though."
"Yes. Three days after capturing the fortress, just as Light-san and the captured fortress commander said, the encircling army arrived."
Ria said that and passed me a document.
"Regarding the integration of the surrounding cities... huh... Why are they sending this to us?"
"Who knows? Maybe they're expecting your skill, Yuki-san?"
"They've already pledged submission, haven't they? Asking an outsider like me for input seems questionable."
The contents made the situation clear.
The encirclement force dispatched from the two nearby cities had surrendered surprisingly quickly after hearing of the fortress's fall and the defeat of the Holy Sword wielder.
In reality, since there was almost no actual battle at the fortress, the representatives of the confused encircling army approached, only to be surrounded themselves and forced to retreat.
There hadn't even been signs of a proper battle.
The gate had been blown apart, and a small section of the wall had collapsed.
That was it.
Moreover, it was only in one spot, not from all directions, so the encircling army was bewildered. Normally, attacking a fortress would leave the ground and walls in ruins, but this time everything ended with the first barrage of tank cannons and mortars.
As a result, the encirclement force scattered almost immediately. The commanders leading it were captured, convincing the enemy that the force which had taken the fortress was something monstrous.
Because of that, the next two target towns surrendered exactly as we'd hoped. After all, if a fortress could fall in a single day and even a Holy Sword wielder could be defeated, what chance did cities with weaker defenses have?
Therefore, the lords said they would submit as long as we didn't commit atrocities against their people. For us, it was a great relief since we didn't have to waste troops or time.
"It seems they're short on manpower. Although the two towns have submitted, there are still more castles and fortresses deeper in Enaria territory. If reinforcements come from there, defending will be difficult."
Ria was right.
The document in my hands detailed exactly that problem.
Capturing one fortress and two towns in just one week is a great achievement, but it's meaningless if we can't maintain it.
So, the three Magic Sword wielder princesses – it's a pain to call each one by name, so I'll call them that – the three princesses' idea is to send occupation forces to the two towns other than the fortress, as proof that they are now our territory.
Naturally. Nobody would believe a surrendered enemy town was truly under control if no occupying force was present.
The problem was numbers... the force we used to take the fortress was only about 25,000 men. As you can tell from the number, we can't afford to split our troops and weaken the fortress garrison. We've already sent fast horses to request backup troops, but that will take at least two months to get here.
Unfortunately, the enemy's castles and fortresses are way closer than our reinforcements, so if they make a quick move to take the cities back, we'll have to defend them with a tiny number of troops.
The current plan is to place 2,500 men in each town, but that's obviously cutting it close. 20,000 for the fortress and 2,500 for each town—that's the absolute best we can do with our current numbers. We could hire mercenaries, but most of them around here were our enemies just a few days ago, so they're hard to trust. They'll only use them if things get truly desperate.
"Anyway, the one who wrote this proposal is definitely Mist."
"Agreed. Marley-san and Olive-san really aren't the administrative type."
"You can totally see why Mist was begging for an adjutant like Jessica or Hivia now. Poor girl."
"Talented personnel are important."
"Capable people are hard to find, after all."
"In that sense, Marley really does have a good eye for people."
"Jessica-san, Hivia-san, and then you and me... Yes, she has a good eye."
Though in my and Ria's case, we weren't exactly the type of people she could ever hope to control.
As we chatted, I looked over the documents for countermeasures regarding the towns that had submitted.
It was a very solid, Mist-like approach.
In a world still dominated by outdated armies marching in formation with little communication, she was desperately pursuing what was probably the best possible solution.
Even without her Magic Sword, I think Mist could have become one of the continent's great generals. Marley and Olive were too specialized in combat — at best, they were suited to lead invasion forces like this one.
"Ah, I see. So that's where she wants to use us."
Seeing the final line, I finally understood why Mist had sent the document to me.
"Mist-san truly is clever. She wants us to serve as messengers and communications personnel."
Since we've been working together for a while, she probably realized we have a way to send information instantly across long distances. It's pretty bold of her to immediately try and use that asset for her own operations.
"Should we take this as a sign that she completely trusts us?"
"I'd say so."
Knock, knock.
A knock on the door cut off our conversation.
"It's Jessica."
"Hm? You could've just come in."
At my response, Jessica entered with Mist following behind her.
"Excuse us."
"Ah, Mist. I just finished reading your proposal. You want us to act as messengers and couriers?"
"Since you've already read it, that makes things easier. I would like you to assist me as escorts and communication personnel when visiting the two cities, and also station yourselves in one of them."
"What about the other town?"
"If possible, I'd like assistance there too. Is that possible?"
"Nope. I'll have to decline."
"I thought so. If only there were one more human officer available, perhaps they would accept it..."
The senior members accompanying our invasion force were: Me, Ria, Riel, Tori, Kaya, Sheila, Aslin, Labyris, and Filia.
Of those, Tori, Riel, and Kaya were demi-humans. I doubted they'd be treated as equals during negotiations.
Sheila, Labyrinth, and Fielia were also demi-humans. Aslin was human, but looked like a child.
Separating me and Ria was impossible; all my wives opposed that idea.
We could use Jessica, but on this New Continent, she's our best cultural mediator. We can't afford to send her away. Plus, on paper, Jessica's official role for the Jilva Empire is to act as the liaison to negotiate with me, so she has to stay by my side.
Long story short, we have no spare pieces to move.
"Therefore, I would like to handle one town myself and entrust the other to you."
"...Yeah. That's probably the only way."
"Marley-sama and Olive-oneesama are unmatched in battle, but hopeless at this sort of thing. Sending Hivia was considered, but considering military strength, reputation, and status, it is more practical for me to go."
"Even so, leaving an entire town to us seems questionable."
"I think the chances of your unit getting wiped out are practically zero. Besides, according to what I heard from Jessica, having a base in that town should make it very convenient for you to gather the local information you're looking for, right?"
"So you factored that in too. Fine, you get a passing grade. Since you put so much thought into this, I'll let you take about 50 of my goblin squads with you. Britt will be commanding them, so it'll be super easy to keep a communication line open with us."
"R-Really!? That is incredibly reassuring!"
Goblins alone wouldn't gather information very effectively for us. But serving as Mist's retainers would allow them to collect all sorts of intelligence from her town.
And as a combat power, they were absurdly strong. Even one of Britt's goblin subordinates wouldn't lose in a one-on-one against a Magic Sword wielder. If firearms and magic were allowed, they could probably handle three at once. More accurately, the enemy wouldn't even get close enough to fight.
Assassination attempts were still possible, but the fact that someone would need to assassinate a goblin in the first place meant things had already gone terribly wrong. They wouldn't be caught off guard easily. As bodyguards, they were more than sufficient.
"But will the lords and nobles of that town accept us mercenaries?"
"We'll notify them beforehand. Officially, your group serves directly under King Jilva. To be honest, the authority entrusted to you exceeds ours. We've been told that if any problems arise, you may handle them however you see fit."
"However we see fit, huh..."
That King is pretty sly. He's totally trying to see how well we handle civil administration.
Mist brought this whole plan to us, but I bet the King laid down this exact trajectory from the very start.
"Fine. We'll prepare as well. When do we depart?"
"I'd like to leave in two days if possible."
"Works for me. Make a list of any supplies you'll need. We'll be leaving this fortress, after all."
"Ah, yes! Right away!"
Mist immediately rushed off to list the supplies that would cause an uproar if they ran out.
"So, if I understand correctly, you used supply logistics as an excuse to send Mist-sama away."
Jessica had noticed that I had intentionally sent Mist out of the room.
Just like Jessica said, we have Marauders—vehicles that move way faster than any horse—and with my limitless Item Box capacity, running a full resupply for this fortress is a total breeze that we can do at a moment's notice.
To be exact, if I used a Marauder, I could easily do two round trips connecting the Jilva capital, our demi-human village base, and this fortress in a single afternoon. Well, factoring in the time to drop off cargo and talk, one round trip a day is the practical limit.
"You heard the discussion earlier. She's saying she wants to entrust an entire town to us."
"Yes. That's an extraordinary privilege."
"As expected of Yuki-san."
Both Jessica and Ria acted as if this were the most natural thing in the world.
"I need to discuss the adjustments for that. Are we planning to turn the entrusted town into something on par with Weed?"
"We need to discuss the implications. If we're given a town, are we supposed to turn it into another Weed?"
""Ah.""
Both of them immediately understood.
If we did that, the town would instantly attract attention from Jilva, Enaria, and every other nation around.
And naturally, attention would focus on us as well.
More importantly...
"I don't want to waste time dealing with that kind of headache!"
My wives were about to give birth.
Weed's first anniversary was approaching.
Those things mattered far more to me.
"Yeah. The births are coming up, and Weed's anniversary too."
Ria immediately agreed.
"...You two aren't worried about the offensive from the Enaria Holy Kingdom?"
""Eh? Why would that be a problem?""
We answered in unison.
Even with the Holy Sword user, she was only at that level. There might be assassination attempts with underhanded methods, but since we use doppels, that's not an issue.
The fundamentals are simply too different — it's not even worth considering.
If an army comes, we'll just mercilessly annihilate them from long range.
We won't hold back.
"...I truly have left Marley-sama's world behind and stepped into a realm beyond common sense."
