Fun Territory Defense by the Optimistic Lord (Novel) - Chapter 101 - A Third Hand
Chapter 101 – A Third Hand
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Translated by Sylph
Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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When I returned to Seat Village, there were traces of a fair amount of fighting.
But nothing major.
“Welcome home.”
Led by Espada, the maids and soldiers bowed their heads as they welcomed us back.
Dee, meanwhile, smiled happily and nodded several times.
“I’m back!
We took Scudetto back, so I came home ahead of everyone else!”
When I answered that, even Espada opened his eyes slightly.
“Already, sir. As expected of Van-sama. When I heard that even that ironclad fortress had been taken, I assumed the siege to retake it would take months… no, that was shallow of me.”
As he said that, Espada glanced at the armored wagons behind me and reached his own conclusion. Dee laughed at that, then suddenly noticed our numbers were small.
“What happened to Captain Bora and the others?”
“Ah, Bora-san and the others got folded into Viscount Panamera’s knight order once, so I think it’ll be quite a while before they get back.”
“Hmm. That should be a good experience for them. Our knight order has become far too lax in both discipline and atmosphere compared to anything else. It would do them good to learn such things from another order.”
Saying that, Dee threw back his head and laughed heartily, while the members of the knight order gave wry smiles.
Well, even if the discipline and atmosphere were loose, the actual training was hellish enough. If the atmosphere grew tense too, everyone might just burst into tears.
And with that sort of laughter around us, I returned to the village that was my domain, then went back to the lord’s residence.
“Wait, Brother Unimog got captured? Then this place is… the frontier village at the edge of Marquis Fertio’s territory?”
Once we reached the lord’s residence, I had Freitliner brought down from the wagon and gave him a light explanation so we could draw out more information, but he looked around at the village scenery with a puzzled face.
“That’s right. Seat Village, which is my territory now.”
“H-heh. So this is that ultra-poor village everyone said even Brother Unimog could easily conquer… no, no, no, no, no! That’s definitely a lie! I only saw a little of it, but it had walls that looked more elaborate than Scudetto’s! And all the buildings use architectural styles I’ve never seen before, and there’s even an amazing tower!”
Freitliner shouted that with his eyes wide. Soldiers stood on either side of him with swords drawn, but he wasn’t even aware of them.
“Those are nice, right? I built tall towers on both sides and made sure we can watch the surroundings properly. The walls are probably sturdier than the capital’s, and the defensive equipment has already proven itself by taking down a dragon. They’re some of the village’s proudest features.”
“That’s incredible!? No, wait, no, no! It’s way too incredible, but what part of this is a village!? The information we had is so far from reality it’s making me dizzy!?”
Freitliner clutched his head in both hands and made a huge fuss.
Mm. That was a pretty good reaction. Exactly Van-kun’s kind of thing. I wonder if there was anything else here that would surprise him.
Thinking that, I went into the lord’s residence, answered everyone’s welcome, and headed for the office.
The moment he was taken into the office, Freitliner was tied to a chair. Arb and Row stood on either side of him, while Dee stood behind him like a guardian statue. Facing him, Arte and I sat on the sofa, with Till and Kamushin standing to either side of us.
Completely surrounded, Freitliner sat there trembling with a pale face.
“…Now then, Freitliner-kun. I assume you understand already, but it will be for your own good if you tell us everything you know. If you don’t, you’ll come to regret ever having been born…”
“Y-yes! I’ll tell you anything! Please don’t kill me!”
At that instant answer, I shook my head from side to side.
“…I see. A stubborn one, then. Admirable spirit for a prince, but in this room there’s no word for it but foolishness. We’ll begin with your fingernails as a warm-up. Then the teeth, the ears… shall we save the eyes for last?”
“W-w-wait, wait, wait!? Hold on! I’ll talk! No, forget royalty, I swear my heartfelt loyalty to you, Van-sama!”
“Heh heh heh… I wonder how long that bravado will last. This should be fun.”
“Listen to me!? I’m not bluffing! I’m surrendering with all my might here!?”
Mm, excellent. Wasn’t this a promising prospect?
As I enjoyed the reactions of this new talent full of promise, Till and Arte looked at me with their brows slanted in discomfort.
Maybe I had bullied him a little too much.
“All right. Fine. Regrettable though it is, let’s save the torture for another occasion.”
“So you’re going to torture me eventually!?”
Freitliner shook hard enough to register like a magnitude seven quake, and I answered him with a bitter smile.
“I was joking. Anyway, from now on, you’ll be on my side, so just answer whatever you’re asked.”
“Y-yes!”
Freitliner gave the best reply he had managed so far and straightened his back.
And then, for about an hour, I guess, he talked with truly impressive fluency.
Now we were all reviewing the contents together.
“…In other words, the Kingdom of Yerinetta planned to attack from three directions, and from the developments so far, both Seat Village here and the Scudetto offensive have failed.”
When Espada, who had joined us, said that, Dee flashed his teeth in a grin.
“The Kingdom of Yerinetta certainly devised a grand strategy, yet their prized wyverns and black spheres were all blocked and they suffered a crushing defeat. All of that is thanks to Van-sama.”
As Dee laughed and said that, Kamushin nodded happily as well.
But Espada and Arte were different. Arte in particular had a grave look on her face and her shoulders were trembling. Espada glanced at her and let out a low groan.
“…Van-sama’s weapons were present at both of those battlefields, but there are none at the last remaining target, Count Ferdinand’s territory. Their main force seems to have been directed toward Scudetto, but even so, I expect the fighting there is severe.”
When Espada said that, everyone looked at Arte. Arte On Ferdinand, the youngest daughter of Count Ferdinand’s house.
Even if she had been neglected, surely she was worried.
That was what I thought, but then Arte turned toward me with a face filled with resolve. With her eyes slightly moist, yet her expression composed, she spoke.
“…Van-sama. Even if the Kingdom of Yerinetta’s army there is second only in scale to the force sent against Scudetto, I believe Count Ferdinand’s territory should be able to endure for several months. If so, then we can wait for Panamera-sama and Bora-san to return and…”
As Arte spoke rapidly, I raised one hand to cut her off.
“Let’s start preparing reinforcements immediately. We can’t leave at once because I have to make new mobile ballistas and catapults, but I’ll go save them as quickly as I can.”
At that answer, tears welled up in Arte’s eyes. I deliberately looked away from the face she was trying to keep composed and turned to Espada.
“Can we prepare the materials? And I want manpower too. How many from the knight order can I take?”
When I asked that, Espada lowered his chin in thought and fell silent for a few seconds.
“…Let us see. For a time we shall merge the two knight orders, and from that combined force we will select twenty men. On top of that, we can hire about thirty adventurers. The numbers are small, but if the plan is long-range support using Van-sama’s weapons, that should be entirely feasible. Judging from Freitliner’s information, the army moving toward Count Ferdinand’s territory still does not know of the failure here. If we scrape together the materials, we should be able to depart in two days.”
As he answered that and stood, Dee and the others rose with him.
“It’s Arte’s hometown, after all. We’ll definitely save it ourselves.”
Saying that, I too stood up. But then Arte stopped me.
“…No, Van-sama. We cannot simply rely on you to save Count Ferdinand’s territory as well. If you will give me the puppet, then I and the adventurers will go.”