Chapter 9

Thanks to Airi's efforts, the supplies were finally arranged, so Yerker had the mercenaries' campsite prepared and the supplies transported there.

They were coming all the way from the distant border region to the capital side, so Yerker made sure to prepare a comfortable campsite, warm meals, and alcohol to give them a break, even if it was just for one night.

The servants of Yerker, Airi, and Stina's households prepared the food. Since it would be unfair to have the servants deal with the rough mercenaries, they decided to serve the food themselves.

Airi was the one who spent the most time and effort on these preparations.

She gave orders to the servants of other households as if it were the most natural thing in the world and used the people from the marshal's office who had brought the supplies to place them exactly as she had decided, without the slightest deviation.

She meticulously checked the supplies, down to the last detail, and if there was even the slightest discrepancy, she immediately had it corrected. She checked so thoroughly that the people who had brought the supplies were exasperated, and by the time she was done, they were so worn out that they didn't even have the energy to resist, and she made them help with the campsite preparations.

When Yerker came to see how Airl was doing in the evening, he asked Stina, who had come with him, in a low voice.

"Is Airl good at organizing things like this?"

"She's also good at bossing people around. Her servants really have it tough."

Airi, who had noticed them, waved at them.

"Oh, the two of you. What brings you here?"

Yerker and Stina showed their bags to Airl.

Yerker held two full bento boxes in his hands, and Stina held various documents and maps in both of her hands.

"We heard you're staying here tonight. We thought we'd join you."

"You can't make any progress in the strategy talks without you. His Highness doesn't seem to have any intention of complaining about camping out at this late stage."

Airi's face bloomed with joy, as if the sound effect "pa" could be heard.

"You two, coming all the way out here, really, I don't know what to do with you. I can't do anything without you."

When Stina reached Airl, she threw her bags carelessly on the ground and nudged Airl with her elbow.

"You're happy, so just say it."

"S-Such a thing, n-no one said anything!"

"You're not being honest, and that's not cute at all. I'll make you cute, so take off your clothes and lie down there."

"What are you saying, you fiend!"

Yerker turned away, looking uncomfortable, as the two of them started a mysterious scuffle.

"I wonder if it will be sunny tomorrow."

Airl's scream could be heard from behind.

"Your Highness, help!"

"Idiot! I don't have the nerve to look at you in front of His Highness!"

Yerker, still looking away and gazing at the sky, said,

"Stina, that's the right answer. Ah, it's already time to see the stars. Shall we start a fire?"

"Fire, aah!"

In the end, Airl's purity was apparently preserved.

The day the mercenaries arrived.

Until this day, Yerker had not been able to get the necessary information from the marshal's office.

The number of enemies, the size and deployment date of the follow-up forces, the enemy's reinforcement plans and food supplies, and the future supply plans were all obtained by the three of them running around, and the marshal's office did not provide any information at all.

The most critical issue was that the order content could not be confirmed. The vague order to "go to the Sarnare border region as the vanguard and show the might of the Carelian royal army" meant they had to face six times their number.

The three of them had already agreed to avoid overly aggressive combat, using the vague order as an excuse.

From the other side of the hill, the gleam of metal could be seen.

Bathed in the sunlight, the armor and spears they wore reflected dully. There were five hundred of them, marching in waves along the ridge. Yerker and the others welcomed them at the campsite.

Without horses, all of them held spears, and almost all of them had the worst possible appearance.

The man at the front of the line, standing in front of Yerker, ordered the march to stop.

"I'm Ansger, the leader of the Batts Mercenary Company."

Yerker's refined and handsome appearance made it easy for the other party to recognize him as a noble in such situations.

"I am Prince Yerker, the 15th Prince, and these are Knights Airl Forsius and Stina Almgreen. I look forward to working with you."

The eyes of the mercenaries changed when they saw the two female knights, but at least Ansger did not show it.

"This is my first time fighting under a prince, so I might make some mistakes, but please bear with me."

"No, I look forward to learning from you. We have food and alcohol prepared for you, so please relax tonight after setting up camp."

Furrowing his brow, Ansger asked in return.

"What? Food and alcohol?"

"Yes, you must be tired after a long journey. We depart tomorrow, so I want you to rest as much as possible tonight."

A mercenary standing next to Ansger ran to the place where the food and alcohol were prepared and jumped in surprise with wide eyes.

"Wow! It's really there! Hey, everyone! The prince has prepared alcohol for us!"

Cheers rose from the ranks. The mercenaries were so happy that Yerker and the others were taken aback.

Ansger's stern face broke into a smile.

"This is very kind of you. Can we start eating right away?"

"Of course, that's what we prepared it for. There are no servants, so you'll have to serve yourselves. Also, I'd like to discuss the mission with you and your main people in that tent."

"Understood. You guys! After setting up camp, it's time to drink! The third squad, prepare the food and alcohol!"

To Airl, Ansger's instructions seemed too casual, but the mercenaries all moved quickly and efficiently, and Airl was impressed.

In the only tent that had already been set up, Yerker and the others, along with the mercenary leader Ansger and his two subordinates, were gathered.

Yerker sat in the center of the tent, and Ansger sat opposite him.

Their subordinates stood behind them, but there was still plenty of room in the tent.

"First, the situation is very bad. The enemy is three thousand, and you are the only five hundred mercenaries on our side."

Yerker explained the vague orders, the late arrival of the follow-up forces, the enemy's defensive preparations, and the need to engage in battle.

Ansger's expression did not change, but the two men behind him looked clearly worried.

"So, this is the worst possible situation. I've prepared maps of the border region and the battlefield, so I'd like to discuss any good ideas you might have."

Ansger smiled slyly.

"I see, so the alcohol is bait, huh?"

"Whether there is bait or not, we can't run away anymore. I naturally hope you will do your best, but I have no ulterior motives."

"Haha, indeed. But it's a tough situation, and there's no easy way to win and run away against six times our number."

Yerker spread out a map between them.

"Before you arrived, I came up with three plans. They all have unreasonable demands, so I hope you'll listen to them with a grain of salt, but is there anything that might work?"

In fact, the three of them had come up with dozens of plans, but they had narrowed it down to these three.

As Yerker explained, Ansger occasionally interrupted to ask for more details. Yerker had said it was okay to do so, and even when he was interrupted, he did not show any displeasure and answered the questions.

So, Ansger also took the strategy discussion seriously, modified the plans Yerker and the others had brought, and brought them to a practical level.

Airl and Stina, standing behind Yerker, listened intently to Ansger's talk, which made him feel both ticklish and uncomfortable, and he scratched his head.

"Really, what a waste."

"Hey."

"Yes."

In the office, Prince Ansulmi was with his aide, Vario.

"Hey!"

"Yes!"

In front of Ansulmi was a document detailing the formation of the Sarnare expeditionary force.

"What is this one, the Yerker mercenary force, that stands out so clearly?"

"They were ordered to be the honorable vanguard of this battle."

"There's only honor! They are so far from the follow-up forces that even if they fight to the death, it won't affect the battle at all!"

"Their purpose is to confirm the battlefield."

"That's a scout's job! A first-time commander's unit pretending to be a scout won't go well!"

"Their orders are quite amusing. Do you want to hear them?"

"...Go on."

"Show the might of the Carelian royal army, they say. Even with mercenaries, it must be difficult for Yerker to show the might of the royal army."

"That's not the problem! The marshal shows no sign of remorse... What should we do?"

Vario remained calm.

"With only five hundred, they can't move anyway, and that prince will likely hold his ground and wait for the main force. If there's anything the Chancellor can do, it will be after the battle."

"Hmm, your evaluation is higher than I thought. If he is accused of disobeying orders after the battle, I will protect him. This is going too far, and it should be a warning to others as well. I will have a strong word with the marshal."

After that, all that remains is to wait for the end of the battle. However, Vario had one concern.

According to the information he had received, Yerker had made enemies of the Duke of Baltsar and the Viscount of Kenneth.

They would never leave the enemy as is, let alone during a battle, which is a perfect opportunity. Would they let it pass?

Yerker, Stina, and Airl, all three of them, did not wear the metal armor that is said to be the hallmark of knights, but rather leather armor. They disliked the restriction of movement that metal armor imposed, regardless of its weight.

They held spears in their hands and swords at their waists. That was all their equipment.

The three of them led the troops.

There was no sign of battle on the way, and the peaceful rural scenery stretched on endlessly.

The farmers watched the three of them riding at the head of the long column with interest. They did not have the nerve to approach, but a few of them could be seen gathering and talking.

Without helmets, it was immediately clear that two of the three were women. This must have seemed strange to them, Yerker thought.

Looking at them, Yerker thought of the people in his own territory.

"By the way, neither Stina nor Airl have territories, right?"

Airl, who had to shorten the stirrups to the limit to reach the ground when mounting, answered first.

"Before the civil war, I did. I grew up there, not in the capital."

"Airl, you must have studied estate management, right?"

"Yes. Thanks to that, I learned that it's more efficient to have others do the work than to do it myself... but when it comes to battle, I can't bring myself to send people I've raised to the front. If I'm going to raise them, I'd rather have them learn administrative and supervisory skills."

"That's surprising. I thought Airl would prioritize battle in estate management."

"I will do the fighting. The others should think about making the estate more prosperous."

Yerker was impressed. When he looked at Stina, who had not joined the conversation, she was looking away, giving off the vibe that she didn't want to be part of it.

"...Is Stina bad at estate management?"

Stina looked as if she had been caught.

"N-No, I'm not bad at it. It's just that I had a big failure in the past..."

"What did you do?"

"Well, I, um, just, just a little bit, I fiddled with the taxes and used the money to run away from home."

Airl couldn't hold back her laughter.

"Just a little bit! Hahaha! You must have taken all the increased revenue from a bountiful harvest! And you said something ridiculous like, 'Since the increased revenue has nothing to do with the capital, the tax to the capital should be the same as last year'! That was quite a famous incident, you know."

"Hey, Airl! Don't say unnecessary things!"

Yerker couldn't help but comment.

"That's not a failure. It's just a criminal act."

"And then, with that money, she even went to a neighboring country, beat up the lord of a border region, and ran back. Really, it's such a terrible story, I don't know what to say."

"Ch, that's not true! That pig lord was making a fuss, inviting me to a banquet because he found out who I was, so I had no choice but to go. Then, that scum touched my foot! Of course, I hit him! And when he got angry and sent soldiers after me, I had to run!"

Yerker couldn't laugh.

"You managed to escape. Didn't that cause a diplomatic issue?"

"Well, I was cautious even back then! I always kept several horses ready and checked the escape routes casually! And before it became a diplomatic issue, the civil war broke out, so it all became hazy!"

Yerker sighed. Stina immediately retaliated.

"Airl has one too! The Nodvick Mountain bandit burning incident!"

Now it was Airl's turn to panic.

"What! T-That's different! It's a misunderstanding! The rumors circulating in society are far from the truth, as I said before!"

"What's a misunderstanding? You begged to join the troops sent to subdue the bandits and then, being too honest, set fire to the bandit stronghold where they were gathered."

"But I didn't do it on my own! It was just a miscommunication... I didn't think I would be told that burning them out was not allowed..."

"Of course not! You can't burn them out when you have ten times the number of troops to capture them alive! And to pull off a successful burning on your own, how efficient are you?"

"...Just between us, I had already investigated the construction of the stronghold and prepared all the necessary materials. I didn't want the soldiers to get hurt in such a foolish plan."

Yerker summarized for them.

"Un, there are limits to everything. You two should start by learning that."

The two of them puffed out their cheeks.

Stina looked up at Yerker with a resentful expression.

"Does Your Highness not have any such stories? Of course, you do. Your composed demeanor must be the result of a spectacular failure somewhere."

Airl nodded in agreement.

"Indeed, Your Highness should confess. Come on, no need to be shy. We are fully prepared to laugh without any hesitation."

"Such a setup, I can't say! Besides, I don't have a story that can match yours..."

His words paused for a moment.

"Actually, I don't have any, I guess."

The two of them did not let it go.

"R-Really? Huh? Could it be that Your Highness is hiding something?"

"That's not good! It's really not good! Your Highness, to stand alone in the safe zone and look down on others is an unforgivable act!"

Yerker waved his hands.

"No, that's not it. It's not a story that can match your shocking ones. In fact, it's so embarrassing to tell after those two stories..."

Stina and Airl said in unison.

"Then, let's hear it."

"You two really are in sync when it comes to this!"

In the end, he was forced to tell the story.

"Right after I entered the knight school. Not knowing much about the other nobles, I took at face value the boasts of the children of the great nobles around me. They talked about things like having killed people, having received military training, and having combat experience. At that time, I didn't think there was much difference in sword skills compared to others, so..."

Yerker looked embarrassed.

"I said, 'I'd like to try,' and challenged one of them to a duel. Well, he couldn't even last one round. Then, I got carried away and started challenging all the ones who boasted. I thought there must be at least one who had really been through a battle. I