「……Huh? What did you just say?」
Inside the magic tent at the center of the rebel camp, Widele exclaimed in shock.
No, shock wasn’t enough to describe it, she turned to look at Rei, who was also inside the tent, with suspicion.
Normally, some nobles would have told her off for being rude, but fortunately or unfortunately, those nobles understood Widele’s feelings and nobody blamed her for it.
In fact, some even looked sympathetic, knowing why she reacted the way she did.
「I meant it literally. The night before yesterday, Crimson and the guerrilla force launched a night attack on the punitive force and succeeded in almost completely destroying it.」
Although Widele had been told that already, she still found it hard to believe.
What was hard to believe was how they had managed to launch a night attack on the punitive force while it was still within their sphere of influence and inflict such devastating damage against the 6,000 strong army.
The latter was the most shocking to her. Widele and the other members of the White Rose Knights had been on guard duty since joining the rebel army, so they knew the size of Rei’s force.
How had they managed it with so few people……
The fire tornado that was used on the Selemus Plains flashed through Widele’s mind, but even considering that, it was unimaginable to inflict such devastation.
It was only natural as she didn’t know that Rei was now able to move the fire tornado around inside the camp.
That said……the report was also a heavy blow for Widele.
She knew that Frizione, her master, was worried about the fighting between brothers.
Widele guessed that was Frizione wanted to side with the rebels, in order to create a stalemate, ending the civil war through some form of negotiations while both sides were still standing.
Widele understood what their goal was, but she didn’t think Frizione’s proposal would be accepted so easily, considering she had been one of the people who had helped to keep Mercurio under house arrest.
What stood out the most to her was the strength possessed by Kabajid and Shurus.
If they were to fight the two princes head on, they would be a disadvantage in terms of numbers, so she planned to use that reasoning as for why the rebel army should accept Frizione’s proposal.
Of course, the strength of the First Princess’ faction was inferior to that of Kabajid and Shurus. But even so, they had enough strength to stand as their own faction, so the rebel army had no reason to decline them.
However……recent events had overturned that premise. The premise that the rebel army lacked fighting strength.
If Rei held the power of a faction on his own, it meant that the rebels effectively had the strength of two factions.
There was no doubt that the night attack was only successful because the guerrilla forces were waiting at the camp exits. However, even without them, the punitive force was already close to destruction due to Rei’s magic, so the guerrilla force was nothing more than a bonus.
Thinking that far, Widele once again tried to come up with a way to break the current situation.
(Currently, the five factions in the civil war are Prince Kabajid, Prince Shurus, Prince Mercurio, Crimson, and Princess Frizione. The Emperor is watching from the sidelines and most of the Imperial Army is holding the borders in case the neighbouring countries or the Mireana Kingdom make any strange moves.)
Glancing at Rei, Widele let her thought run wild again.
(In other words, Prince Kabajid and Prince Shurus are currently teaming up against Prince Mercurio and Crimson. However, in terms of pure military strength, the former still has the advantage. If that’s the case……we can still proceed. No, it’s precisely because of this situation that Princess Frizione’s power can be used as a trump card. Princess Frizione won’t be pleased, but her safety is our top priority.)
For Widele, Frizione’s safety was her top priority.
Given the circumstances, it was impossible for her to abandon her plans to cooperate with the rebels, who held an overwhelming advantage in the state of the war despite being disadvantage in terms of military strength.
The existence of someone like Rei, who had enough power to go toe to toe against an army own his own, greatly disrupted Widele and Frizione’s calculations and predictions.
Are we even necessary! Widele really wanted to shout that out.
(The question is, what are they thinking? They seemed to be quite friendly when the matter was brought up before, but what if this incident changes their mind……)
As she thought that, she suddenly noticed Mercurio turning his gaze towards her with a smile.
「-!?」
Had he seen through what she had been thinking? That was what she thought for a moment. But, the next moment, she thought defiantly, ‘so what?’.
She was a knight, not a politician. There was no way she could compete with Mercurio, who had been educated as a prince, and hide her intentions.
「So, Your Highness Mercurio. I was called here today to learn about the matter of repelling the punitive force?」
「That is part of the reason. However, it has been a few days since you arrived at the rebel camp, right? I thought it was about time to let you know how I plan to respond to sister’s, Frizione’s, offer.」
It’s finally come.
That was what Widele thought as Mercurio spoke.
She was here to hear his answer. And, now that the punitive force had been repelled, it was unlikely that the rebel army would accept Frizione’s proposal.
She needed to persuade him somehow and get him to change his mind.
That was what Widele thought, but Mercurio’s response was completely unexpected.
「Yes, I will gratefully accept Frizione’s proposal.」
「……Eh?」
Widele couldn’t comprehend what Mercurio had just said.
No, she understood, but she had no idea why he had made that decision.
The rebel army had already defeated the punitive forces twice, so why would they go out of their way to accept Frizione, who would only add unnecessary troubles?
She murmured to herself in confusion.
However, Mercurio just smiled back as he spoke.
「Maybe, did you think that I wouldn’t accept Frizione’s offer?」
「No! But, well……」
Widele’s hesitation revealed her thoughts.
「Well, I can understand your feelings. But, just because we won this time doesn’t mean we will win again, right? Of course, we’ll come up with various strategies to win, but even as we do that, it would be better to have more forces. In addition……」
Mercurio gave a wry smile.
That smile seemed to appear naturally, compared to his previous smile from a few seconds ago.
「Because of her character, Frizione has the support of the people. If someone like her wants to join us, I have no objections. However, there are naturally also problems with accepting her.」
「……Such as?」
「First and foremost is the issue of the right to the throne. If she wishes to join me, that means she will be under my command, if you will permit me to say that. If I say that much, you understand what I mean, right?」
「That’s……I’m sorry, but I can’t answer that question on my own.」
Even Widele didn’t think that Frizione was aiming for the position of Empress.
However, she couldn’t answer questions that could potentially Frizione’s future and could only postpone her reply.
Of course, Mercurio knew that Widele would give that answer when he asked the question.
That was why he was able to move onto his next words.
「In that case, I’ll have to ask you to return to Frizione and inform her of the matter. I don’t think my brothers will make any moves now, so it won’t be difficult for you to return to the capital. However……」
Widele froze for a moment at his words. She wondered what conditions Mercurio would attach.
「If Frizione does want to join me, we will need to send guards from our side. It will take time for both Shurus and Kabajid to organise another large scale punitive force, but I don’t think they would let us just waltz right up to their main base.」
「That’s……certainly true.」
Unable to deny Mercurio’s words, she could only nod back.
「But, you know we can’t send a large army, right? It’s within my brothers’ sphere of influence. The main reason why Rei only led the guerrilla force for the night attack was to avoid being found.」
「So, that means……」
「Yes. I’m thinking of sending Rei and Set with you. Rei’s personal combat power is unmatched. ……Well, as you can see from the night attack, he’s good at wiping out large numbers of enemies with magic, but as a magic warrior, he’s also good at close quarters combat.」
「That……I know. Even though I look like this, I was allowed to watch the arena as Princess Frizione’s guard.」
「……Huh. That’s unusual for her, who doesn’t like fighting.」
「She had to watch the finals as part of the duty of the royal family. But……you know, Rei’s face is well known in the Imperial Capital from the arena. If it had been some time since, it would have been different, but right now, his fierce fight with Noiz left a strong impression on the people in the Imperial Capital.」
So, is Rei really suitable for this? In response to Widele’s unspoken question, it was Vihera who spoke up.
「Rei is certainly well known, but to make it inside the Imperial Capital without being found requires good personal fighting skills. If we’re going to welcome Frizione, it would be better if I were to go, as her sister……」
Vihera stopped at that point.
That was only natural. Rei might have become famous in the Imperial Capital as a result of the fighting tournament, but Vihera’s face was even more well known.
Of course, there were others who excelled in personal combat strength. For example, Gurgast and Theorem.
Leaving Theorem aside, Gurgast might be fairly well known among the nobles of the Bestir Empire, but the average person knew little about his face, let alone his name.
The main reason Rei was chosen was because of Set, who could fly.
It would take two days to get from the rebel camp to the Imperial Capital. If you rode on horseback, it would be shorter, but it would still take more than a day.
However……with Set, it was only a few hours.
That overwhelming mobility was the main reason why Rei was chosen.
Furthemore, Rei was the only one who could fly while riding Set.
At Vihera’s explanation, Widele could only agree.
「……I understand. So, when exactly will we be returning to the Imperial Capital?」
「We’re still investigating the situation there, so I can’t say for sure, but it will definitely be soon. So, Widele, you and the White Rose Knights should be prepared to leave at any time.」
Widele nodded at Vihera’s words.
After resting and regaining his strength, Bratta immediately began training.
He must have been extremely frustrated that he had been unable to rescue Sobble due to his own lacking strength. He swung his long sword with a terrifying expression that was clear to those around him.
The blow shattered the tree he was using as a target.
「Haa-, haa-, haa-.」
How many hours had he been training for? He was breathing heavily and sweat was pouring down his face.
Shouldn’t the soldiers of the First Prince’s faction have stopped him? That was what he thought, but no one present wanted to call out to Bratta right now and many had simply moved to other training ground to avoid getting involved.
In such a situation……
「Bratta-!」
「Hah, hah. Rhodes? What’s the matter? I’m busy right now. If you have something you want, ask it later.」
Bratta spat out those words and was about to resume his training, but Rhodes’ next words made him stop involuntarily.
「Is it true that Rei appeared!!?」
「……That guy, I’ll take him down with my own hands!」
With that murderous remark, Bratta swung his long sword again, destroying a tree that had been next to the one he had just destroyed.