Fun Territory Defense by the Optimistic Lord (Novel) - Chapter 90 - Preparing Rear Support

Chapter 90 – Preparing Rear Support

===================

Translated by Sylph

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

===================

The Yerinetta Kingdom army that invaded the fortress city of Scudetto won an overwhelming victory through tactics the Kingdom of Scuderia had never seen before.

After Scudetto fell, the Yerinetta Kingdom army then moved to pursue the retreating Scuderia Kingdom border forces and the knight order of Marquis Fertio’s house.

But then something happened, and they called off the pursuit.

The defeated army was now being reorganized in a distant town under the leadership of the Royal Capital Knight Order, which had joined them there.

Meanwhile, the Yerinetta Kingdom army was working to repair the Scudetto it had acquired and strengthen its defenses.

Having received that report, Panamera, who had arrived two days later than the Royal Capital Knight Order, narrowed his eyes.

“…Defeated in a siege, defeated in open battle, and then a retreat.
If not for Baron Van’s assistance along the way, you might well have been annihilated, yes?”

At Panamera’s crisp conclusion, Jalpa was left speechless.

But because the king was present, he did not voice any objection and merely clenched his fist in silence.

The king, glancing sideways at Jalpa, then addressed Panamera.

“…You also judge that it was Baron Van who lent assistance, Viscount?”

At that, Panamera smiled and answered.

“There is almost no doubt.
There is no one else in this country capable of such a thing besides the Baron.”

At Panamera’s flat declaration, Jalpa looked at him with a face that said he could not understand.
Panamera only shrugged, then spoke to the king again.

“…Your Majesty has seen it with his own eyes as well, but he possesses astonishing power in every respect.
And knowing that, he is more cautious than anyone.
Most likely, he has already retreated back to his territory and is developing a new weapon to counter the Kingdom of Yerinetta’s strength.”

When he said that, the king gave a light nod of agreement.

“Hmm, I see.
As expected of you, Viscount.
You know him well, being in an Equal-Footing Alliance with Baron Van.
And so, before long we must move again to retake Scudetto, but as for assistance at that time…”

The king began speaking of what lay ahead, and Panamera offered his opinion once more.

Jalpa watched the two of them exchange words with a complicated expression.

Meanwhile, Van was enjoying his home for the first time in quite a while.

After spending plenty of time rolling around on his bed, he had some fine, richly fragrant tea poured for him, then finished a late breakfast of freshly baked bread, steamed potatoes, and crisp-fried bacon.

“That was delicious!
Thanks for the meal!”

“Yes, thank you very much.”

When he said that cheerfully, Till smiled and carried away the dishes, now neatly empty.

“Van-sama, what will you do today?”

When Kamushin asked that with a serious face, Van hummed without losing his laid-back air.

“Hmm… what should I do? I did participate in the war, after all. I think I fulfilled a noble’s duty, at least.”

At Van’s obviously unmotivated expression, Arte opened her mouth.

“…I saw war with my own eyes for the first time, and it felt like a terrifying place where people died so easily. If possible, I do not want Van-sama to go there again.”

Arte said that sadly, but because she herself had very obviously achieved the greatest military results in the previous battle, everyone gave wry smiles.

Rather unexpectedly, Arte did not seem especially bothered by the fact that she had scattered a troop of soldiers or cut off wyverns’ heads. By the time she had decided to take part in the war, she had already steeled herself for both dying and taking lives. The one thing she hated, apparently, was people close to her dying.

Van had responded with, “What are you, a samurai?” but Till and Kamushin felt much the same way, so he gave up and accepted it as a difference in common sense.

“…That said, Panamera-san, our alliance partner, will probably be taking part too. I guess I have to help out somehow.”

After muttering that, Van sighed and got up from his seat.

“All right, let’s develop a new weapon. If I deliver that, it’ll count as having provided enough support. We already learned that the ballistas of mine Panamera-san currently has are strong enough to deal with wyverns. I think if we just have a weapon with a little more flexibility against enemies in the air, we’ll manage somehow.”

Murmuring that almost as though talking to himself, Van left the lord’s residence.

“Hm!? Van-sama! Are we marching out again!?”

“If we’re going, I’ll get ready right away!”

When Van walked through the village, the members of the knight order who were also villagers called out one spirited line after another as soon as they saw him. On the other hand, the adventurers and others who had actual battle experience only nodded with wry smiles.

“After an overwhelmingly one-sided win, people get like that, huh.”

“No, didn’t we retreat last time? Doesn’t that make it a losing battle?”

“The actual content of it was basically a complete victory, though.”

Snatches of conversation like that could be heard here and there, and Van moved on with a slightly annoyed look.

Before long they reached the outer edge of Seat Village, and Dee, Arb, and Row, who noticed Van, raised their faces.

“Oh, Van-sama. Did you manage to restore your spirits?”

“Eh, don’t tell me we’re already preparing?”

“I want to take it easy a little longer.”

Hearing those three very different voices, Van lightly shook his head from side to side.

“I don’t think we can say we’ll definitely win if we take part in the war again as we are now. So I’m going to develop a weapon that can serve as a decisive blow.”

When he answered that way, the three blinked, looked at one another, then turned back to Van.

“…A new weapon, still?”

“…Even more than this?”

“…Is this bullying?”

At that response, Van gave them an innocent smile.

“Higher odds of winning are better, right?”

When Van said only that, Dee burst into laughter, and Arb and Row answered with bitter smiles.

Waving one hand to the three in farewell, Van and the others approached Bell and Rango, who were unloading cargo from their wagons.

“Welcome back!”

When he called out, Bell, Rango, and the slaves now employed by the merchant company turned around.

“Ah, Van-sama!”

“It’s been a while.”

“As expected of you, first battle and first victory.”

Smiling at the Bell-Rango Company’s cheerful welcome, Van responded with words of denial.

“No, no, it was a clean defeat. I just stuck my nose in and ran away, that’s all.”

At that, Bell gave him a knowing smile and dipped his chin.

“Was it, though? The timing of your participation, and the merit of successfully enabling the withdrawal of the knight order that formed the heart of the defense… it seemed to me that it was the best possible flow for Van-sama to achieve maximum results without taking a scratch.”

Asked that with a laugh, Bell and Rango exchanged looks, then produced the item with doubtful expressions.

“This is it, right? It certainly matches the characteristics you described, but I really have to wonder if this is truly what you wanted…”

As Rango said that and set the item before Van, question marks practically appeared above everyone’s heads.

It was a model that looked like triangles made from wooden sticks. The triangles stood lined up side by side, joined at the top and bottom to form a three-dimensional shape.

At the center of the triangles was a long stick, and it looked rather like a child’s toy.

At the sight of it, nine-year-old Van’s eyes sparkled.

“It’s exactly a trebuchet! So something like this really did exist here!”

Watching Van gleefully place a small stone on the miniature catapult and launch it, everyone blinked.

Only Till and Kamushin, however, looked on with wry smiles and eyes that somehow held trust.