Chapter 72

The matter was settled rather quickly. I don't know the exact time, but since it was just before the sun rose, I think it hadn't been six hours yet.

"Lord Rain, it was settled quite quickly."

Libert spoke to me.

"Ah, yes. That's right. Things went according to plan, so it was only natural..."

"Indeed. As expected of the next head of the Orion family. Well done."

"Thank you."

"You don't seem very happy, though. Is everything alright?"

Not happy? I am happy. I'm filled with relief and joy that the plan worked perfectly. But maybe it's a Japanese thing. It feels wrong to openly show happiness when people have died.

"I'm fine. There are still things to consider, so I can't just be happy."

I said that.

"Oh! That's right! As expected, you're already looking ahead to the next step the moment you win."

Yeah, thanks for the deep reading.

"Thank you."

What to do about the third wave? They split their forces into three, which was unexpected.

Unexpected. How many troops do they have? To gather an army equal to the total forces of Pornezia so easily...

"200 transport ships... right. Yes, 200 transport ships would carry at most 30,000 troops. Sigh, while numbers are the basics of war, the phrase 'numbers are violence' really hits home."

"I completely agree... What will we do from here? We haven't taken much damage, so should we repel them the same way? Honestly, I don't recommend it..."

Without electronic communication, the third wave wouldn't know our tactics. But using the same strategy repeatedly still makes me hesitate.

"No, it's impossible to fight any further. We have a lot of prisoners, and it's standard to retreat when unexpected enemies appear."

"That's true. I'll inform Kou that the operation was successful and we're retreating."

Even if I were told to face the third wave, that would be the end of it...

Of course, my father wouldn't say such a thing, and the response was just permission to return.

"We're to return, it seems."

"Of course. We've gained several siege engines and prisoners, and there's no benefit to fighting unexpected enemies."

"That's right. I'm no longer needed, so I'll stay in my room. Lord Libert, thank you for your hard work."

"No, Lord Rain, thank you for your hard work."

I said and returned to my room. There was nothing left to do.

On the way back, we didn't hide in the fog. We moved during the day and at night, depending on the weather and the height of the waves. It didn't matter if the first wave of the empire knew our movements. If they chased us, we'd just run. Besides, they wouldn't just attack us on sight.

Finding us in the vast sea would be difficult, and we had the Winged People monitoring from the sky. We would definitely know the enemy's position first.

Then I returned to my room.

"Phew, what a relief."

Kou, who had returned with me, spoke.

"Kou, thank you. You also worked hard."

"No, I didn't do anything."

I patted Kou's shoulder, and said, "I really appreciate having you around."

Kou froze, surprised.

"What's wrong?"

"Ah, no, Lord Rain suddenly seemed older, so I was surprised."

(He is older, though.)

"How old did I seem?"

"Uh... 10... 6...?"

"16? Hahaha!"

I burst out laughing. "Ah, no, I'm sorry!"

"No, no, I'm not angry. Still, 16? I looked 16? That's impressive, Kou."

I ruffled Kou's hair.

"Thank you."

"Yeah, yeah."

14.

The year I was betrayed by a close friend in my previous life.

The year I first realized my mistake.

The year I stopped moving forward.

"16... 16?"

That means I've grown 2 years in these 6 years. It's enough. I know it's by Kou's standards, but it still makes me happy.

Then, avoiding what seemed to be the empire's patrol ships, we returned to the port we had departed from without incident three days later, around noon. The port was guarded by a knight captain and his unit, apparently replacing the captain who had gone north. Rain boarded the carriage without meeting the knights, leaving the management of prisoners and other matters to the knights and the navy, and hurried to the castle.

After a day and a half of travel by carriage, we arrived at the capital's castle as the sun rose, and got out of the carriage at the carriage stand. The captain of the knights was there.

"Lord Rain, Lord Libert, I've been waiting for you."

"Ah? The captain? Why are you here?"

The captain was supposed to be waiting on the northern coast in case of an emergency.

"Yes, I received the report and retreated."

"You're back quite early..."

"I just returned yesterday. Come, the king is waiting. This way."

The captain led us straight to the throne room.

"Kou, wait here. Your Majesty, we kept you waiting. Lord Libert, Lord Rain."

He opened the door. Since we came secretly, we entered quietly.

"Ah! I've been waiting, Libert! Rain!"

The king called from his throne.

Then Libert and Rain knelt.

"Ha! We kept you waiting, Your Majesty! This Libert and Lord Rain have completed the mission successfully."

"Good, good! You've worked hard. I received the report from the air troops. You did a great job!!"

He showed his joy.

"Thank you."

"Indeed. You've worked hard. This will allow us to send reinforcements to Lymion. The preparations are already in place, so we can send them out immediately upon your order."

At that moment,

"Lord Rondo has arrived!"

A knight at the door called out.

"Ah! Perfect timing! Bring him in!"

"Hai!"

The door opened, and there stood Rondo in his armor.

"Father!"

Rain called out to Rondo without thinking.

"Ah! Rain! Are you safe!!"

Rondo ran to Rain and embraced him.

"Father, you're safe, that's a relief!"

"Absolutely no problem. We didn't even fight. It's all thanks to your plan! Ha ha ha!"

They rejoiced in each other's safety. Rain's plan was to repel the empire's second wave, and if there was no contact for 2-3 days, the empire would notice something was wrong and intensify their search. Rondo would spread the news of the second wave's defeat by Pornezia's hidden forces two days after the success report. Rain and his team returned in broad daylight, unlike when they left. The news would quickly be confirmed as true. The empire would realize that the Pornezia navy was a decoy, but Rondo had already retreated. A land battle would be meaningless, and a naval blockade was not recommended. If the empire blockaded the sea, merchant ships wouldn't sail, and the empire would suffer significant losses. The king and the soldiers knew that rumors spread far and wide.

The plan was for the empire to retreat from the waters near Pornezia.

However,

"Ahem, Rondo, I understand your joy, but let's move on."

The king seemed to be concerned.

"Forgive me. I was just so happy..."

"No, it's fine. Now, the report."

"Understood. As planned, we retreated immediately after, and they also retreated. I sent a fast ship to track them, and it seems they are truly retreating, so I returned."

He reported. Rondo glanced at the king. Rondo hadn't heard the details about the third wave. If the third wave had transport ships, the empire could still fight, and the first wave might not retreat. The king noticed Rondo's gaze.

"About the third wave?"

"Yes. From the second wave, I thought the first wave might go to meet the third wave and join forces..."

"Hmm. I have a matter to discuss with everyone. Let's move to the conference room."

The king stood up and walked to the door.

(Why didn't he call us to the conference room in the first place?)

Rain wondered.

He followed his father out of the throne room. There, Kou and Mei were waiting.

"Mei, it's been a while."

"Yes, it has!"

"Have you been well on the ship?"

"Yes, nothing much happened. How about you, Lord Rain?"

"Well, I've been... okay, I guess."

"Anyway, this might take a while, so you should go home. You must be tired."

"No! I'll wait."

Mei, who said this energetically, looked sleepy.

"No, your enthusiasm is enough. Both of you have worked hard."

"Thank you."

Rain turned to follow Rondo.

Then, in the conference room, once everyone was seated, the king began.

"Ahem, now that everyone is here, let's discuss the third wave. Captain, please."

"Understood."

The captain stood up. Everyone listened intently as he said,

"Three days ago, the empire's third wave somehow bypassed Lymion's naval defense and attacked a port in the northeast of the Lymion Kingdom."

"What?!"

Rondo shouted.

"And they are advancing south, having captured the city."

"Wha?!"

Rain, Rondo, and Libert's voices overlapped.