Inside a tent at the Bestir Empire’s army headquarters, one man was yelling.

「You should have expected that the enemy’s attacks would be fierce from the beginning, idiots! Since you idiots failed the ambush, it is clear that Count Arius, their chief commander, would attack fiercely to make up for his blunder! For now, just focus on defence. The enemy’s attacks are intense, but they can’t maintain it for long. I will wait for them to exhaust themselves before I launch our counterattack. ……Theorem, if you really deserve the title of Flash, then show me your strength.」

An over 2m tall man in black half plate amour stood in the tent. Maybe he shaved it, he didn’t have a single hair on his head. Right now, a large number of blood vessels were visible on his head as his face was dyed red in anger and agitation.

He was in his fifties and could be considered old. However, no one would call him that after seeing his body, filled with muscles.

At the shouting of a man like that, Theorem just shook his head with a cool expression.

「General Kastom, as you said, Count Arius wants to make up for his blunder. With that in mind, I can’t leave this position.」

Saying that much, he turned to look at Kastom meaningfully before continuing.

「If I go to the front lines, the defence here will be weaker.」

Can you fight here with peace of mind if I’m not here? At those unspoken words, blood vessels appeared on Kastom’s head.

「Do I look like I won’t be able to survive if you don’t protect me!? My experience on the battlefield is not so little that a weakling like you needs to worry about me! You better head to the front lines and use that unmerited title of yours to raise morale!」

Although Kastom’s words were closer to insults than orders, Theorem’s expression didn’t change……no, he smiled and gave a small nod. Instead, it was Cyanus, standing next to him, who frowned her eyes unpleasantly.

「Well, since you’ve given the order, General Kastom, I will head for the front lines. As for the troops I’ll take, is it okay to use the Demon Soldiers?」

In response to that question, Kastom frowned unpleasantly as he replied.

「Let’s see. You are much better suited to lead such monsters than human soldiers. Do whatever you want. However, you are not permitted to do anything that will damage our army! Show me what you can do with that great title of yours. If you don’t get any achievements, Mercurio-sama won’t be able to save your reputation.」

「……That is right. Certainly, right now, I have not contributed any great achievements. It is true that I am too ashamed to meet with Mercurio-sama in this current situation.」

In this current situation. When he said those words, it was with more emphasis than usual. But, not noticing it, Kastom simply motioned with his chin to order Theorem to leave.

With that, Theorem gave a small bow before leaving the tent with Cyanus. And.

「Theorem-sama, why did you let someone like him speak to you like that? Is it because General Kastom is on the Second Prince’s side?」

As soon as they left the tent, Cyanus whispered in a voice that only Theorem could hear.

It was unusual for Cyanus, who rarely expressed her emotions, to show a resentful expression, red with indignation.

It was true that Theorem’s ambush had failed. However, he had still attacked the enemy’s chief commander with his unit, shocking the enemy. Thanks to his ambush, he had succeeded in pulling away the General Princess and the Griffon away from the front line. If it weren’t for that ambush, it was likely that their vanguard would have been unable to withstand the fire whirl and would have completely collapsed under the Mireana Kingdom’s attacks. Because of what the ambush had achieved, Kastom’s words were unacceptable to Cyanus.

However, Theorem just gave a small smile towards Cyanus.

「It’s true that my ambush failed. Even if they are Demon Soldiers, the shock factor was only so great because it was the first time we had used them. However, now that the Royalist army of the Mireana Kingdom knows about the Demon Soldiers, it won’t be possible to produce the same level of surprise any more. In addition, we used a lot of transition stones, a very expensive magic item and still didn’t manage to defeat Count Arius. General Kastom didn’t say anything wrong.」

「But even then, he didn’t have to despise Theorem-sama so much!」

「Calm down, Cyanus. The soldiers around us are looking.」

「……Pardon me.」

Recollecting herself at Theorem’s words, Cyanus bowed her head.

It was a rare sight for the usually calm Cyanus to be in such a rage. The guards at the tent entrance and the soldiers preparing for battle all looked at Cyanus with wide eyes.

Noticing that, Cyanus’ face went red for a reason different to her earlier indignation.

Looking at his aide with a small smile, after seeing that the gazes at them had left, Theorem whispered into Cyanus’ ears.

「As I said earlier, I’m in a bad position right now. You can tell that by looking at General Kastom’s attitude.」

Cyanus nodded at slightly at Theorem’s words and prompted him to continue.

「However, if it was reported to the Emperor that he had made an even greater blunder……do you think I would be blamed?」

「That’s……yes, if things happen as Theorem-sama says, but is there a possibility that such a thing would even happen?」

Theorem nodded with a smile towards the puzzled Cyanus.

「There’s is no doubt. After all, the Mireana Kingdom’s ambush unit will be approaching soon.」

「-!?」

Cyanus took a deep breath at those unexpected words and looked up at Theorem. Was he making things up? She suspected it was just a joke, but Theorem’s eyes were clear and had a thin smile on his face. In other words, it was Theorem’s usual expression.

「Why, why would you say that?」

「What, it’s not hard. One of the Demon Soliders that was on lookout nearby, just in case, seems to have disappeared. You know the strength of the Demon Soldiers, right? They’re not so weak as to be killed by ordinary soldiers.」

「How did you find that out?」

「I was told by Gilgos.」

Saying that, Theorem turned to look at the tent he had just come out of earlier.

She didn’t know how, but Theorem had received the news from Gilgos while he was in the tent. That was why he just let it go even though Kastom had insulted him so much. Understanding that, Cyanus quietly looked at Theorem before turning to look at the tent as well.

「General Kastom is one of the most powerful backers of the Second Prince in terms of strength. If he was unfortunately defeated in this war, the Second Prince’s influence would shrink.」

「No way, were you aiming for that from the beginning?」

「That’s impossible. Of course, I intended to take out Count Arius. In fact, if we managed to gain access to the sea, it would be impossible for General Kastom to hide my achievements no matter how hard he tries. That would increase the influence of Mercurio-dono. If I had achieved that, I would have no complaints……but unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. So, I just decided to make the next best move.」

「You mean, to eliminate General Kastom from the Second Prince’s faction?」

Theorem nodded at that question in confirmation.

「Currently, there are four people aiming for the position of emperor. The First Prince, the Second Prince, the First Princess and the Third Prince, Mercurio-dono, whom we have pledged allegiance to.」

「Of course I know. The largest faction is the First Prince’s, and on the contrary, the Third Prince’s faction is the smallest.」

「That’s right. Only the Second Princess’ faction would be smaller if she was interested in the throne.」

Theorem thought of the Second Princess with a bitter smile.

She was a unique beauty who was said to surpass even the First Princess in terms of beauty alone. However, her personality wasn’t very graceful and could only be best described as a battle maniac. Because of that, she couldn’t stand the cramped life inside the castle and left the Bestir Empire about 2 years ago. Of course, the Emperor ordered his guards, knights, the army and even nobles to search for her. But in the end, she disappeared and they never found her. Because of that, although the Second Princesses’ faction had existed at one point in time, it was basically non-existent now.

「The story has gone off topic. Anyway, the Second Prince’s faction is above us in power. Unfortunately for them, General Kastom, an important figure in the Second Prince’s faction, will be sent off here. A person who is both fierce and strong is only an obstacle for Mercurio-sama.」

「……I understand. In that case, there are no problems. So, we will not be held accountable because we were on the front lines when General Kastom was defeated?」

「That’s right. We went to the front lines on General Kastom’s direct orders. Others in the area will take the blame for failing to protect the General.」

「That all said, I feel like we will still be blamed for the failure of the ambush, will it really be okay? The Second Prince might argue that General Kastom was only defeated because of Theorem-sama’s failed ambush.」

「As for that, it can’t be helped. It was a fact that the ambush failed. However, it will be impossible for me to take responsibility for those who couldn’t directly protect the General. If I weren’t part of Mercurio-sama’s faction though, it might be possible for something that unreasonable to happen.」

「Is that so? Then, let’s head to the front lines before the ambush happens. I’ll gather the Demon Soldiers immediately.」

AS Cyanus replied to Theorem, she suddenly noticed the gazes of people in the surroundings were gathered on them……to be exact, they were gathered on her.

「Hey, isn’t that Cyanus-sama and General Theoerem?」

「You can tell just by looking, right? They’re too busy flirting on the battlefield.」

「……Theorem-sama, Cyanus isn’t worthy of you. Look at me.」

「Please stop. You can’t beat Cyanus-sama.」

Cyanus’ face quickly turned red when she heard the whispers of her rumoured relationship with Theorem. It wasn’t redness from resentment like when she had left the tent, nor shyness from being seen by the soldiers around her. It was the redness of shame.

「For me, when I hear rumours that Cyanus is with me, it gives me a sense of superiority over others.」

She sent a strong glare towards Theorem, who had made fun of her, before leaving to give instructions to the Demon Soldiers.

Seeing her leave, Theorem turned to look towards the other side. Some people were curious and tried to see what he was looking at, but all they could see was the Selemous Plains with nothing of particular interest.

However, if there was someone here with extraordinary eyesight, with eyes as good as Set……they would have been able to see the Mireana Kingdom’s ambush force at the end of Theorem’s line of sight. Of course, Theorem’s five senses were only those of an ordinary human, so he was unable to see the ambush unit with his own eyes. However, he had a reliable subordinate. A report from his subordinate had told him that the Demon Soldier that had been on lookout duty in the direction he was looking had died.

In other words, the ambush unit was already in their immediate vicinity.

(Because they were chosen to be part of the ambush unit, they are probably the most elite of the Mireana Kingdom’s army. In that case, I can roughly predict who it will be. The General Princess, Elena Kerebel. And……the person feared by the vanguard, who they called Crimson. There are also rumours that Elk from Axe of the Thunder God is participating in this war. In that case, even with Dragon Knights, how long can General Kastom resist against such extraordinary opponents.)

「Theorem-sama, the Mireana Kingdom’s assault is getting more intense on front lines. Immediately head over to reinforce them.」

「I see, let us go then. For our goals.」

Giving a small nod towards Cyanus, who was readying the Demon Soldiers to sortie, Theorem left the headquarters.

In his mind, he prayed that the ambush unit from the Mireana Kingdom would succeed in their mission.

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