Chapter 53

"Damn it... What are you doing..."

I listened to Ron's report and held my head.

What the hell is going on...

"I-I'm sorry..."

"It's fine. Helping the fugitives... Well, it was a bad move, but I think you did the right thing as a human. Yeah, that's fine. But why did you have to turn it into a massacre?!"

If you had apologized there, it might have been salvageable...

Now we've completely become enemies!!

It hasn't even been a week since the refugee incident!!

"Well, well, Almus. Calm down. The enemy's goal was clearly the rock salt mine. We managed to protect it, so... it's not the worst outcome. Winning with such a disadvantage in numbers is a significant achievement."

Tetra said this, defending Ron.

Well, I can't deny that.

But I think we'll have to give up the rock salt mine as compensation.

"By the way, how is Lord Gilbert, the cousin of Lord Rigar?"

"At first, he was complaining, but when we offered him distilled alcohol, he drank it, got drunk, and fell asleep."

You really can drink the enemy's alcohol and fall asleep. Is he a big catch?

Still, Rozward played it well. If he had killed them, we would have definitely been asked for the lives of Ron, Rozward, and Soyon, and refusing would have been extremely difficult.

Being captured is undoubtedly a scandal.

The Dibel family will want to cover it up.

It could be a good card to play.

"There's nothing we can do... Be more careful from now on. By the way... any casualties?"

I felt a bit nervous.

In a battle, deaths are common.

But...

I don't want anyone from the same village to die.

I know everyone's faces and names so well.

"...Ten dead. All recruited soldiers."

I see...

I feel my heart rate slowing down.

Maybe it's not good as a leader... but I hope you can forgive me.

"But..."

Ron looked a bit hesitant.

Soyon stepped forward instead of Ron.

"Three people. One lost his right hand, another his left leg, and another his left hand. The wounds were infected and rotting, so I decided to amputate them."

I see...

Well, it's better than dying, I guess.

"Let's go visit them right away."

I stood up.

The three were already awake.

Thanks to the blessing, the amputated areas healed quickly.

However, the missing limbs won't grow back...

The three looked at my face and their expressions darkened.

"I'm sorry..."

"I failed..."

"Thinking I can't fight for Almus anymore..."

You guys...

Why are you worrying about such things when you're so badly injured?

I felt happy but also a bit scared as I patted their heads.

"Idiots!! We're short on manpower, you know? Losing a leg or two isn't going to make you take a break. You'll handle paperwork. It's tougher than the battlefield. Be prepared."

When I said that, the three looked radiant.

It seems my approach was correct.

Still...

Heavy...

"Damn it!! You brat!!"

Rigar had been smashing things for a while.

More than ten pieces of furniture and ornaments were already destroyed.

Belmet sighed deeply inside as he watched.

Rigar seemed angry at Almus, but Belmet was angry at Gilbert.

Why did he lose despite all the preparations, even at the risk of a scandal?

He wanted to question him for an hour.

In the end, he was captured.

If he had died, it would have cleaned up the power dynamics and allowed for a huge compensation claim...

Now the Dibel army's weakness is undeniable.

After all, they were crushed with a two-to-one numerical advantage.

It's not their fault in terms of weapons, training, or leadership, but it's still a loss.

The Dibel family's influence will undoubtedly decline. Some nobles should consider switching their allegiance to the As family.

Still...

"The rock salt mine is secure, though."

Win or lose, securing rock salt was always possible.

If we win, we can manage it directly. If we lose, we can take it as compensation.

This time, we'll claim it as compensation.

We are the victims, after all.

Though Gilbert's capture is a problem...

It seems we can't take all the rock salt. So...

Belmet pondered.

He needed to come up with the best strategy here.

A settlement is preferable to a trial.

We don't want the scandal to spread.

The other side would have an advantage in a trial, so if we settle, we'll have to offer favorable terms, but it can't be helped.

"Lord Rigar, I'm going to the As territory. Please wait for a good outcome."

Saying this, Belmet left Rigar and headed to the As territory alone.

"I'd rather not make a big fuss. Let's settle this out of court."

The old man in front of me declared.

This old man is called Belmet.

His body is like a withered tree, but his eyes show deep intelligence.

He's not a senile old man, at least.

"Settlement? I'd prefer to settle it in court."

The King of Rosais favors me.

A trial would be more advantageous. By loudly condemning the other side's wrongdoing, the criticism of the Dibel family would increase, and the criticism of me would decrease relatively.

"If it goes to court, we will demand the head of the person responsible for this."

He hit a sore spot...

He knows I care about Ron and the others?

While a trial might be advantageous, it's unclear how much leniency we can get.

Ron and the others aren't of royal blood or nobles. They are commoners.

There's a possibility of some punishment. A settlement would be safer. It's as expected.

"Understood. My territory is short on manpower. A head would be bad. Fine, let's settle it out of court, depending on the conditions."

When I said that, Belmet took out parchment and a pen.

He can write. This old man.

"First, we want an apology from you. This happened because you failed to discipline your soldiers properly."

"I understand. This is due to my lack of virtue."

I apologized and had Tetra bring me paper.

Settlement Conditions

- Almus As acknowledges the wrongdoing in this incident and apologizes.

One line done.

Next is the money talk.

"Speaking of settlement conditions... we demand all the rights to the rock salt mine."

"That's too much. One-third."

The talks are at an impasse.

But this is where we need to hold our ground.

"Then how about this? We'll give you two-thirds of the rock salt rights. In return, we'll release the captives, including Lord Gilbert, for free."

This seems like a reasonable compromise.

Asking for ransom is a bit much...

And one-third wouldn't satisfy the other side.

"Releasing the captives is a given. We also need compensation for equipment. Your actions have unnecessarily reduced our troops."

"Understood. We'll also pay compensation in wheat. In return, one-third of the rock salt rights will be ours. And we will handle the fugitives who fled to us."

This way, we save face, and the other side gets practical benefits.

How about it?

Fortunately, we have plenty of wheat. We can return the equipment as is.

"...Fine. I accept."

Settlement Conditions

- Almus As will give two-thirds of the rock salt rights in the territory.

- Almus As will release the captives for free.

- Almus As will pay compensation for equipment and damages in wheat.

For now, this is the end.

Let's call it a day.

"Hmm, so you settled out of court. I could have made you win in court?"

"If I owe you any more, I might be forced to recognize your claim to the throne."

When I said that, the King of Rosais laughed through his nose.

"What are you thinking... If this guy becomes king, your position will be in danger. Not just your position, but your family and subordinates as well. It's common for the winning side in a war to take the losing side's wives as concubines."

You're saying some unpleasant things...

This guy.

I know, of course.

But this isn't a problem that can be easily resolved.

Once decided, there's no going back. That's why I'm struggling.

I don't particularly want to be king.

But I want to marry Yuria.

I don't even know what I want.

"Alright. Think it over. I don't want you to regret it. By the way, I hear you won a great victory. It's a hot topic. Three hundred Dibel troops lost to one hundred and sixty As troops."

"It wasn't me who won. It was my subordinates, Ron and the others."

"A subordinate's achievement is the master's achievement. Some people have excellent subordinates but can't use them effectively. Others can make even mediocre subordinates perform at their best. I evaluate you, including your subordinates."

The King of Rosais coughed after saying this.

His illness seems to be progressing.

Raymond said he might not last a year...

"By the way, how did you win? Tell me."

"Sure. Based on what I heard..."

I explained Ron's tactics—using cavalry and terrain effectively.

Honestly, I'm surprised.

When did they learn tactics?

Looking back, they often talked with Bartholomew... They probably learned from him.

Well, any unit has a weak point in the rear, and a sudden change of direction in a river would disrupt the formation. This is easy to predict.

Probably the enemy's numbers in the hundreds helped.

If it were in the thousands, it would take longer for the cavalry to encircle them.

This tactic worked because it was a small-scale battle.

"Hmm, quite simple. I thought you used some clever strategy since you defeated double the enemy."

"A clever strategy rarely succeeds. I think a simple plan is less likely to fail and more reliable."

I've heard that a true great general prepares a large army to defeat the enemy, rather than relying on a small force. This time, we had fewer numbers, but we were superior in every other aspect.

My job is to avoid situations where I need to use clever strategies.

"Right. There's something I need to tell you."

"What is it?"

"King Dorgal and King Gilbert have signed a ceasefire agreement. It seems they want to oppose the Rozel Kingdom and advance south. A war will likely break out soon."

King Dorgal's country... I hear their total military strength is around ten thousand.

They can mobilize up to thirty thousand if pushed to the limit.

"Will ten thousand come?"

"Probably not. They can mobilize up to thirty thousand. They will likely bring at least fifteen thousand. The more troops, the longer it takes to mobilize. Their nobles are as powerful as ours. Large-scale invasions require coordination. We probably have about six months. By then, we can prepare a counterattack. It was sudden with the boy from Verm, but this time we know in advance. We can mobilize seven thousand."

Excluding the nobles, the Rosais royal family can mobilize about four thousand on their own.

Considering we need to secure other borders... we can probably prepare about six thousand?

But that depends on diplomacy.

It looks tough.

"Hurry with the fort construction. We must stop them there at all costs."

"I understand. Ismea is working hard on the renovations now."

We need to increase the production of black powder.

We'll need a lot.

In a few chapters, the story will V-recover.

This is the turning point. Almus finally shows his determination.

I just thought of it, so let me talk about the advantages and disadvantages of hawk mail and fast horses.

In flat terrain, the delivery speed of hawk mail and fast horses is almost the same. However, hawks can fly in a straight line, ignoring rivers, forests, and mountains, so hawk mail is faster. However, hawks can't travel long distances, so for longer distances, relay systems using fast horses are more advantageous.

In the Rosais Kingdom, hawk mail is more convenient.

Fast horses can't travel through enemy territory, but hawks can. Hawks are less likely to be detected by enemy sorcerers than horses. Sorcerers aren't always on high alert, so they don't constantly watch the sky.

Therefore, hawk mail is suitable for secret operations and recruiting enemy generals.

Incidentally, there is also owl mail, so information can be delivered at night.

Currently, we use wild hawks, but with continued breeding, they could become faster in the future. In the long term, hawk mail and other bird-based communication methods might be more advantageous.

Pigeons can reportedly travel over a hundred kilometers.

In terms of comparing pigeons and hawk mail, pigeons can only travel from A to B, while hawk mail can travel from A to B and B to C. Hawk mail can also deliver information to moving allied troops, making it more versatile. Since hawks are controlled by humans, they are more reliable than pigeons.

However, if hawks are attacked, the sorcerer dies, so pigeons are cheaper.

I'll explain this here since it might not be explained in the story.