The Girl Who Bore the Flame Ring

Chapter 22: The Sly Fox and the Mischievous?Rabbit

The siege ladders rose into place just as Noel killed Hoslo, her allies flooding over the top. Barbas, at their head, cut a swath through the Baharan soldiers with his longsword. With the leader of the defence killed, the surrounding enemies lost much of their will to fight, and their numbers diminished as The White Ant Bloc swarmed over each man.

After cleaving the heads off some nearby Baharan soldiers, Noel took a short break to wipe off some of the blood on her bident and warhammer. Looking behind herself, she could see Riglette timidly mount one of the ladders. Having not participated in the charge herself, Riglette was now desperately sounding the assault on her bugle; not that anyone could hear it.

“You’re late, Riglette. I already got the enemy commander. Now all we have to do is raise our flag and give a victory cry to make the enemy collapse.”

“Hah, hah, th-then by all means! In the first place, nobody can even hear my bugle in this kind of melee!”

“Ahaha, your words are the same as always, but your face is as pale as a corpse. Hey, are you okay?”

“Silence! Like you’re helping!”

Riglette’s voice was shrill. Perhaps it was because she could see that she was standing near a pile of corpses. Even through all the flying blood, her face was a pale white. Thinking it would be pitiful if she had to wait too long, Noel took a deep breath, and released a thunderous roar that echoed across the entire battlefield.

“Commander of One Hundred Noel of the Coimbran army has killed the leader of the defence!! Strike down those who remain!!”

Catching the head that Noel tossed to him, Barbas climbed a nearby turret to display it from a height, “Did you hear that you bastards? Captain Noel’s taken the fine head o’ yer leader here! Here it is, give a cry of victory!”

At the sight of it, the Baharan soldiers’ morale dropped in an instant, and they fell into a state of confusion. Originally, it had been Hoslo’s leadership that had supported them, so as soon as that pillar was destroyed, they began to collapse. Their resolve to die was broken in an instant and their fatigue caught up with them all at once.

“Commander of One Hundred Noel has killed their leader! Don’t delay, finish the assault at once!”

The Coimbran morale skyrocketed in inverse proportion to the Baharan morale. Dirk encouraged his men, and their indecisive attitude evaporated as soldiers rushed to the gates to put their enemies to the sword. Already, the battle for fort Carness had been decided. After most of the remnants in the fort had been killed, Noel sat upon the corpse littered ramparts to bathe in the midsummer sun with the feeling that she couldn’t lose on a sunny day. She hadn’t received a single wound all day, meaning that, as expected, sunny days were a good thing.

But, I’m a bit worn out after the drawn out fight. It’s not easy to watch the enemy’s movements.

Noel could fight with explosive power, but there was something she knew suited herself better: seizing the initiative and taking the enemy’s head in a swift strike. Conversely, she was particularly weak in regards to wars of attrition. It was tiring to remain tense for long stretches of time, and her body would grow languid. When it came time to play, things were different, but she grew extremely tired when focusing on fighting.

“So it was a flop after all… but if I don’t keep at it…”

As Noel’s sigh was abating, Cynthia called out to her from behind, “What was a flop?”

Her sword was sheathed, though stained with blood.

“No, it’s nothing. More importantly: thanks for backing me up. You drew the attention of the enemy archers while I was approaching, right? There was just the tiniest gap, after all.”

“It’s no big deal. In fact, I’d say your spear throwing was much more effective. You completely stopped the enemy’s movement. Yes, it was a splendid strike.”

“Hehe, wasn’t it? I mean, it’s the curious bident after all. No, from their perspective, it’d be the fiendish spear, wouldn’t it?”

“Fiendish spear? What are you on about?”

“The leader of the defence called me a fiend. Demons are pretty strong, so it’s kinda cool. I’ve seen them in a picture book once before.”

Demons were strong and fearsome. They could not be defeated alone, so the rabbit in the picture book gathered everyone up, came up with a plan, and exterminated the demon. Having destroyed it, the rabbit lived happily ever after with the people that he had helped. He didn’t reflect at all about the defeated demon. At a glance, it looked like the demon had experienced a tragic fate, but he had surely been happy before his extermination, having been true to himself the whole time. Pondering such things, Noel smiled happily, and Cynthia shook her head with an astonished expression.

“Is it the time to smile? An opponent calling you a demon is the worst kind of dehumanizing abuse. Well, you were probably formidable enough to warrant that though…”

“So it had that kind of meaning? Hmmm, how deep.”

“It isn’t deep. Listen, you should just hurry up and forget what your enemies say.”

“It’s fine, though. It’s a war where we have to kill lots of people. We did at least call for their surrender. They got killed ‘cause they didn’t accept.”

“That’s justified in war. It’s kill or be killed. You don’t need to worry about anything other than your enemy’s willpower.”

“Yup, that’s true.”

“More importantly, we have completely taken this fort. Prepare yourself, we’re going to report to the viceroy.”

Noel nodded at Cynthia’s words and stood, confirming that her appearance had become rather dreadful. Her proud red hair was clotted disturbingly with blood, and her face and hands had been caked in it too. Though her armour had not been damaged, if she didn’t properly clean and maintain it, there was a chance it would become useless. Her warhammer was a similar case. The curious bident on the other hand, could be rather conveniently cleansed whenever it burst into flame, which was nice.

“Hmmm, something’s bothering me. Hey, wouldn’t it be fine to bathe in the nearby river? I want to do some maintenance too.”

“It should be fine if you use the fort’s well instead of going all the way to the river.”

“No, that’s a bit much. I want an afternoon nap in the cool waters— I mean, I’ll engage in meditation. Consider the transient nature of human existence, oooor something… ahaha…”

It seemed as if she was on the verge of accidentally letting her real intentions slip. Noel had hastily attempted to smooth things over, but Cynthia had clearly heard exactly what she said, eyebrows tilted in displeasure. So it happened that the next thing to come was her fist. Taking the minimally pulled punch, Noel gave a few words of regret despite the fact that an afternoon nap in the cold waters on such a hot and sunny day would be an unparalleled joy. That was it: bobbing gently in the waters almost like a fish —or corpse— could make the world white, and bestow upon her a certain bliss. If she was to die, the waters would surely have felt good. Her body would bloat in the water and become rather grizzly, but if she was already dead, it wouldn’t matter.

Bodies, rubble and the like were being tidied up in a rush within the fort as a war council was held. The Coimbran scale was flying proud over the fort. The Baharan tri-sabre flags had all been torn down and incinerated with the bodies. Grohl sat upon his stool and nodded deeply with satisfaction.

“Gentlemen! I’d first like to congratulate you on your work. With this we can say that the start of the conquest of Bahar has been a success.”

Grohl had intended to push through the fort on day one with an all out assault, but had unexpectedly wasted three days. They had lost about 300 men, but killed around 1 000, which was a hard blow to their enemy. That aside, what was left of the defence was going to be a thin garrison around the nearby forts and roads. The fact that Coimbra had taken a famous stronghold was going to pressure the Baharan lords.

“Congratulations, Viceroy. Once our men have rested here, let us aim for Vesta as planned. The fall of Carness will show them what will come of resistance.”

Grohl gestured in agreement with Wilm’s council, and turned his gaze to Gaddis, “Hm, by the way, Gaddis, are you of the same opinion?”

“Y-yes, I completely think the same thing too.”

“I see. Even still, how you chose to fight this time was truly pitiful. Having seen your determination then, I don’t want to believe it. Listen well: do not betray my expectations again!”

Gaddis screwed up his face, and prostrated himself before Grohl, saying, “Yes sir. I understand, sir!”

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“Noel’s movements are even more splendid in comparison. She scaled the walls alone, and, more than that, took the head of their leader. She truly is worthy of being called a hero. I want to entrust the vanguard of the next battle to her.”

Grohl praised Noel in high spirits, causing the gazes of all the surrounding officers to converge on her location. Wilm’s glare was filled with hatred, but Noel pretended not to notice. As far as she was concerned, she had no idea why he disliked her so. After a brief pause, Noel’s superior officer, Commander of One Thousand, Dirk, stepped forth.

“Viceroy, I fear there is something I must say.”

“Dirk? What is it you have to be so formal about?”

“Viceroy, it is true that Commander of One Hundred Noel’s prowess in battle is terrific. There is no doubt that her exploits in this battle were first class; however, she defied orders, ignoring the flow of the battle. It seems to me that she went ahead, having already intended to steal a march on us when she mounted the ladder. I do not think we should set too much of a precedent of ignoring orders in search of merit. If there are too many who attempt to mimic her actions, military order will fall apart.”

Dirk had wanted to avoid making the same mistakes as Gaddis, and had been aiming at a full assault on the fort, but Noel had gotten on the ladder no sooner than the attack had been signaled. It was good that she had succeeded, but on the off chance she failed, it could have affected the morale. Incidentally, Dirk was a man who had kept up with Barbas’ White Ant Bloc’s diversion as they fought. He was a noble who was also from the north, but he was very helpful, and also rather poor, so he was rather popular with his men. His weaknesses were his obstinance, and lack of ability with finance. He was pleased with Noel’s actions this time, but he felt the need to issue a warning.

“What you say it quite right, but we have been able to splendidly take this fort. Is not anything that got us here more or less acceptable? Conversely, this is something I want to praise.”

“Viceroy, our protocols are the chains by which we regulate our soldiers. We must not allow anyone to violate them. If we are loose with them, the men will all compete for merit, and stop following orders. That would make us no different from bandits.”

“Hmmm, yes, there is truth to what you say, but…”

“Viceroy, what Commander of One Thousand Dirk is saying is correct.”

At Wilm’s agreement, Grohl knit his eyebrows.

“You think so too? It’s true that strict punishment and reward are written of as the foundation of the military, but… Commander of One Hundred Noel, would you come here?”

Rubbing his chin, Grohl beckoned to Noel. Glasses on, she stepped out with an air of composure, saluted, and knelt.

“My humble apologies. Please forgive my overextension.”

“I think that your actions this time have been worthy of praise. To the point that I would have liked to give you a medal of promotion; however, I do believe that what Dirk says is true. Is there anything you wish to say on this matter?”

“…”

“Noel, if you remain silent, we won’t know.”

“Yes, I believe that the issue of this battle was time. For this reason, I went ahead knowing full well it was against regulations.”

“That makes sense, I understand the circumstances, but what is this about time being so important? Will it not take three more months for the main Baharan force to return? I don’t think that a little delay here will be fatal,” Grohl asked, puzzled.

After a quick glance at Wilm, Noel began to explain her thoughts, “I fear that the Baharan administration might not yet be in the capital.”

“Well, now should be about the time that they receive the declaration.”

“Is that correct?”

“It is a report from my spies in the capital. Isn’t that right, Wilm?”

“Yes. Three days ago it was reported that the Baharan administration was in the process of setting up for the ceremony of the rising sun in the capital. They should have received the declaration of war already, but no matter how much they rush, it ought to take them three months to arrive. Even if they were to rush, their exhausted forces would be nothing to fear.”

“…”

Grohl was slightly irritated as Noel was pondering over how to make her point, and told her, “Noel, if you have something to say, it’s fine to just say it. Try saying what you think without any falsification.”

“Yes, then I will state my thoughts. I think that we should ignore the surrounding forts and roads, and head east with all our force along the highway with the capital Vesta as our target.”

Upon hearing Noel’s opinion, the surrounding officers burst into an uproar. A mere commander of one hundred had suggested changing the entire army’s plan.

“It is a truly daring idea, but why do you think so?”

“Viceroy, there is no need to hear more of that sort of thing! It would be unthinkable to change the plan now!”

“Calm down Wilm. Is it not fine to simply hear her out?”

“The plan is to advance on the capital whilst combatting the local lords.”

“That is exactly it.”

“But that way will take too much time. If we can assault Vesta now, the enemy will never be able to reinforce it. Knowing that, the capital is still under Baharan protection. They won’t abandon it, so they’ll have to rush back. That is where the most important battle will take place. If we can force the enemy to rush, we’ll be able to fight in an advantageous position, and right now that’s more important than being slow and methodical.”

Noel had cut straight to the point, and Wilm, chastising her, began clearly frowning as the last thing that Amil wanted was for the war to bog down. Wilm was attempting to further that objective as to gain a glorious future. The main Baharan force would turn around en-route and the time it would take them to arrive was the greatest weakness of the plan.

“Hm.”

Wilm strongly stated that, “I think that you don’t need to listen to this at all, Viceroy,” and after clapping his hands together, looking down on Noel, he fired, “Have you any proof that the enemy force is already on its way back, Noel? We have received identical reports from Gaddis’ spies. If you have evidence about the accuracy of our information, do let us know!”

“I have none.”

“Ha, that’s what I thought! Listen well, Noel. The fundamentals of warfare are to minimise allied casualties whilst thinking of how to strike the enemy. First, like tightening a noose, we should work with the nobles surrounding Vesta, perhaps capturing them, so that we might be able to take the well fortified city without expending much effort. A great number of secret messages have already come through.”

“…”

Grohl listened, and Noel’s expression didn’t waver.

Kneeling too, Wilm vehemently denounced Noel’s plan, “With the strong measures you suggest, our men would have to be surrounded by the enemy without fighting. We would lose more men than at Carness. In summary, there is no need to rush to battle. If you understand that, hold in your opinions from here on!”

The other officers nodded strongly as if in agreement with his words. Grohl also agreed. Noel’s rapid advance plan seemed to have high risks, and low rewards. If they could conclude their negotiations with the surrounding lords, they would fight on the Coimbran side. It was highly likely that they could surround and take Vesta with a large enough army. In any case, her plan would turn their potential allies into definite enemies which would damage morale. Their foe’s strength wasn’t even in Bahar to begin with, and not only had Wilm’s spies reported it, but so too had Gaddis’. If Noel was right, they still posed a threat, but that was highly unlikely. In war, one could not become afraid of a merely theoretical enemy.

“Noel, I think that Wilm is correct. Our spies have provided us undeniable evidence. Even if we follow your advice and ignore the enemy to march on Vesta, on the off chance of us happening to be delayed, it would spell our end. Vesta is heavily fortified, so no matter how much valour you have, it won’t fall easily. Furthermore, our supply lines would stretch, and we can’t afford to become surrounded.”

“But Vesta is the key to Bahar, and now is our best chance. If we take it, something will surely happen. If the entire army is too much, please at least send my corps ahead.”

“Hmmmm…”

“Know your place! A commander of one hundred can not just move alone! In the first place, is it not obvious that the capital is the key!”

“Do you not know of the black and white game, Lord Wilm? I’m quite good at it. In the game, the corners are the key.”

“W-what are you talking about all of a sudden?”

Wilm started at her abrupt change in topic, and the surrounding men were taken aback.

Completely ignoring the mood, Noel continued on disinterestedly with her point, “You won’t necessarily win if you take the corners, but you’ll never win if you ignore them. No matter how much you control, it will be overturned. So…”

Adjusting her glasses, Noel began to proceed, but was interrupted. An officer was laughing in scorn, or perhaps bemusement, at Noel’s use of a children’s game as an example. Thinking that it was fine now that Noel had said her piece, he left without saying anything in particular. Riglette attempted to do the same with a tut, but Cynthia stopped her, irritated. Noel learned something: this too was the time for a tut.

Initially, she had wanted to be more concise, but she had unfortunately lacked proof so she hadn’t said anything in order to avoid having to explain things in a roundabout manner. Noel noted that she wanted to get better at that sort of thing.

“Hmph, we’ve heard something truly foolish. War is not a game. We take lives and spill our blood for victory! By no means do you have to listen to her words, Viceroy. She may have some skills, but she is still a lowborn at the end of the day!”

Gaddis followed up Wilm with his own abuse, “That’s right. Proposing that kind of plan brings shame to the Coimbran knights! No, even being a commander of one hundred is beyond your class!”

Looking at the two, Noel cast her eyes down a second time.

“You don’t need to go that far. It has only been a short while since Noel has become a knight. Noel, be sure to learn well from here on. You did nothing wrong to express your opinion on my order. Don’t worry about it.”

Trusting in Noel’s military proficiency, Grohl stood to her defence. Thinking him too soft on her, one officer piped up,

“Viceroy, we have taken fort Carness. At this time why don’t we reassign Noel? We don’t need her anymore.”

“No need. Don’t presume so much!”

The officer hurriedly responded to Grohl’s thunderous roar, “M-my apologies!”

“However, we cannot overlook the disobeying of orders this time. Noel, be sure to always follow Dirk’s orders. You can learn well from his devoted service.”

“Understood!”

Grohl made his point, and Noel stood to salute. Making no promises, she merely informed him that she had comprehended what he wanted. It was how she dealt with situations in which she felt compelled to make a promise that she couldn’t keep: by obfuscating her answers in ambiguity. It was one of her secrets of success.

Leaving after the council was finished, Noel was immediately stopped by Cynthia. Caught by the scruff of the neck, she was forcefully dragged to what appeared to be some servant’s quarters near the fort.

“You fool! Honestly, what even goes through your head!? You’ve finally distinguished yourself, yet you seem to be aiming to ruin it all! Even though I gave you training just so this wouldn’t happen!”

“He wanted my opinion, so all I did was tell him honestly. They really made fun of me, though. It’s rare for that to come from everybody. Um, what was it? A bed of nails?”

A clenched fist came flying at her while she laughed and scratched her head. It wasn’t going easy on her this time.

“It’s because you brought up ‘the black and white game’ at a war council!”

“You suck at that game, after all.”

“You idiot!”

This time her cheeks were pinched in stead of punched. Cynthia had truly gotten angry. Noel wouldn’t be released until she repented from her very soul, and so she made a face that pitifully reflected upon her actions from the bottom of her heart, but it didn’t work. Not even putting up both hands in surrender was enough.

“Ouch… even though I’ve reflected on it…”

“S-sorry, I just started thinking about what happened.”

Noel didn’t want her to just start thinking about things while still pulling on somebody’s cheeks, but she stayed quiet. She had a feeling that it would upset Cynthia somehow.

“What happened?”

“Yes, on the off chance that what you think is even partially correct, we’ll be in trouble.”

“I couldn’t come up with another example. I had no evidence, since it’s just a guess after all. I’m used to being made fun of so it’s fine, but I wonder what’s making me so irritated?”

Cynthia sighed as she spoke, “That’s the normal reaction. If it happened to me, I’d be greatly offended.”

“Cynthia?”

“No, it’d be fine to be even angrier! To think they’d sneer at you like that after witnessing what you’re capable of! Aaah, it’s so frustrating, miserable, irritating! There’s your basic script!! They rejected your opinion without even considering it! Even though we’d be in one hell of a predicament if we were walking into an enemy trap!”

Cynthia smashed a nearby shelf with her armoured fist. Her anger seemed to be more violent than Noel’s. Her voice echoed rather loudly in the room, but it was not a happy voice. It seemed that Cynthia hadn’t realised that she was spouting some risky statements. If she believed Noel, that would mean that Wilm’s report had been a lie.

“Hey, why are you mad, Cynthia?”

“My friend has been insulted, so it’s obvious that I’d be mad! If they weren’t my superiors, I’d beat them half to death! They even failed in their assaults on Carness!”

Her face was red, and she was stamping her feet. Noel’s eyes went round at the scene. Her… friend. Noel had thought that way about Cynthia, but to think that Cynthia felt the same way about her was something that, once confirmed, caused Noel to feel elated; her prior irritation washed away.

“Really, thank you, Cynthia. You’re the first person to get mad on my account, so I feel a little better.”

“That’s not the issue here! What can I do about my anger!”

“Ahaha, first try taking a deep breath, and calming down. It’s fine, we don’t know what’ll happen anyway. Coimbra has you and the young master. Fight as hard as you can so that Coimbra will win. I’ll absolutely protect my promises.”

Noel gently placed a soothing hand on Cynthia’s shoulder as she seethed. She didn’t understand politics very well, but she did know it had been a poor move to invade Baharan territory. It was supposed to be a surprise attack, but they were probably going to be ambushed by their opponent despite her calling their intentions to attention. Things would be simple if Noel had overthought it, but that was an unfathomable possibility. If they continued to advance at their current rate, they would win, but she did not think that would happen.

“Don’t go acting like big game at strange times. I worry over whether or not you have brains, or if you’re just an idiot.”

“Ahaha, I’ll take that as a complement.”

“I’m not really praising you, though.”

Earlier, Noel had wanted to ask her if the spies’ reports were really correct, and what she thought the chances were of Major General Wilm fabricating them, though if she did ask, she would be dragging Cynthia, who was in charge of her training, into it all. That was why she had stopped herself. Noel could figure that much out by herself. She could run away fine, but Cynthia was another matter. She had already ruled out forcibly attacking the enemy above board, but if she took it easy, she would be playing right into their hands. Wilm in particular, not wanting Coimbra to win, had his eyes on her. She felt like letting her warhammer loose, but restrained herself. Making a living was truly difficult.

“Haa, it seems like the weather has gotten worse.”

“Looks like rain. It won’t affect the march but…”

“Isn’t that fine? It’s not that kind of thing.”

The sun which had been beating down just moments before disappeared behind a curtain of dark clouds, but no rain had yet fallen.

Noel made to return to the campground, and was met with two people that she recognised. The first was a slim, middle aged man with a harsh face: Dirk, the commander of one thousand whom she had disobeyed. Beside him was her subordinate Barbas. It would have been fine if she could have passed through them without incident, but she walked up to them thinking that she might greet them. Cynthia had strictly informed her that she was never to forget to greet her superior officers.

“Commander of One Thousand Dirk, you have my humble apologies for what happened earlier!”

“Ah, Captain of One Hundred Noel? Don’t worry, you don’t have to apologise. I hadn’t intended to disgrace you like that. Starting with Lord Wilm, it seems that Lord Gaddis also has become prejudiced against you. They’ve always been cold to us northerners, but that was unusually harsh.”

“Northerners?”

“Yes, they always look down on the poor from the north. All of the important offices are held by southerners. I hear you’re also from Zoim. That’s essentially how things work.”

“…”

Noel finally thought she understood why they all seemed to look down on her. It might have even been the reason behind Riglette’s openly dissatisfied stance. Cynthia made a pained expression beside her. Noel didn’t remember if Cynthia had taught her that, but it didn’t seem to be a good enough reason for Wilm and Gaddis to hate her so much.

“I’m sorry it turned out that way, despite your distinguished service. I should have taken a stand. Barbas, you were just about to bring up some complaints about it, weren’t you?”

“That’s right. Captain Noel’s finally gotten some merit, and thanks to you, it’s all come to nothin’! It’s ridiculous that those trash then made fun of her. Damn southern bigshots, what’s their problem!?”

“Not everything can be forgiven on account of distinguished service, even for southerners. That’s how the army is. There are those who disagree, but I couldn’t overlook it.”

“What a square! That’s why yer only a commander of a thousand even though yer a noble!”

Barbas tutted as he scratched his head, and Dirk gave a wry smile. His words were extremely harsh, but there was no reason to be particularly bothered by them. If he did, they would likely be on similar terms as Cynthia and Noel.

“My family has fallen to ruin, after all, and I don’t want to get caught up in it all and change my lifestyle… oh yes, you know this man, right? He’s synonymous with the prosperous times for the mining belt. By the way, I was in charge of subjugating the White Ant Bloc until recently.”

“Yer crazy if you think that’ll help you. Well, I’ve got a harsh personality, so it wasn’t hard for me.”

“You would have been exterminated soon, so you’re rather lucky, I’d say.”

“The fuck did you say? Wasn’t it so tough they were about to switch you out!?”

“You fool! That was a ploy to trick you. There’s no way it would be a tough fight!”

Dirk slapped Barbas rather forcefully on the back.

“You two get along well, eh?”

“Really? He really fuckin’ hit me there. We’re just stuck with eachother. Well, we wouldn’t really kill eachother. This old man made sure to capture us alive whenever he could, so we made sure to take advantage of that.”

“I believe that there’s no reason to kill our fellow Coimbrans, but I never would have dreamed that this scoundrel would come to serve Coimbra. To think you convinced him of that. It’s truly impressive you managed to get this hooligan as a subordinate.”

“Thank you very much!”

“You’re welcome. By the way, it seems that you’re on good terms with Senior Commander of One Hundred Cynthia.”

“Yes sir!”

“A friend like that is truly a blessing, so be sure to treasure it.”

“Yes sir, I promise to treasure it greatly!”

Noel straightened up and gave a salute. Cynthia was Noel’s first friend since she had gone out into the world. Mirut and the villagers were precious companions, but not friends. Noel’s allies had greatly multiplied since she had come to Coimbra. She was surrounded by companions, but she hadn’t many friends, so she decided to protect those few she had.

“That’s a good, enthusiastic response. If you come up with any new plans or tactics, it would be best if you told them to me. I know you have great skill with the military arts, and there are those that doubt it, but miracles and luck won’t give you the enemy leader’s head. You’re young and have a future, so there’s no need to rush the attack.”

He gently patted Noel’s shoulder as he spoke. It wasn’t that Noel was rushing to attain success in life, but that she thought it would be their best chances of winning. He hadn’t recognised it, though. The viceroy and the others all shared Wilm’s opinion. As that was the case, Noel wondered what she could do, but she couldn’t figure it out. Noel corps consisted of five hundred men from the White Ant Bloc, and two hundred common soldiers, adding up to a total of seven hundred men. She could not take Vesta with so few, so Noel honestly aired her thoughts.

“Commander of One Thousand Dirk, would it be unacceptable for you to order me to pursue after the remaining enemies tomorrow?”

“Pursue the remnants? I’m sure that’s not all you intend to do. Are you thinking of stealing a march on someone again?”

When Dirk knit his eyebrows, Noel pulled out a map from her breast pocket and pointed to a specific spot.

“Yes, I thought to attack the ‘military outpost’ that is on the Rhine district in this mountainous region. Will you permit it?”

Noel intended to stay quiet and target it anyway, but decided to try and gain Dirk’s permission. If he was acquainted with Barbas, she thought that he could figure it out.

“We don’t have any plans to take that area. We do have the viceroy’s directive to capture the roads leading to Vesta, so is that the basis for your proposal?”

“Yes. If we attack here, it will by no means be pointless. It might seem strategically worthless, but the threat of us attacking their rear might be psychologically advantageous. If we destroy a troublesome outpost now, it will prove useful in the later stages of the invasion.”

“Okay, I understand. I’ll bring it up with the viceroy, but do try to avoid losing too many men. Show as much restraint as you can. It would be bad if rumors circulated that the hero of Carness had been routed. Once your work is done, return quickly.”

“Yes sir, understood, sir!”

Beside her, Barbas and Cynthia looked like they hadn’t comprehended it yet, but it was a major event for Noel. The Rhine district had a small city stretched out at the base of the Balkes mountain range. Incidentally, just east down the highway, converging with three other highways, was the key point of the highly vital Tolido highway. Being vital, Tolido had a defence set up, but that was not the case for the Rhine region. It was a place where, if taken, seemed to be nothing special. Noels plan was to take the area to use it as a foothold to cross the Balkes mountain range and raid Vesta. As far as she could tell by looking at the terrain, there ought to have been a pass that only the locals knew. If there wasn’t, she would simply force her way through. Noel had already proven it was feasible when she had run away from the church. People could do anything they set their minds to, and if she could do it, there was no reason that other people couldn’t either.

After safely crossing the mountains, they could burn most of the fields surrounding Vesta before the harvest. That was how they would smoke out anyone in hiding. It would be good if there happened to be some nobles nearby that rushed to defend the area in a panic. They would leave a few alive and retreat back over the mountain. Then they could force a decisive battle as the enemy wanted to drag the conflict out. Both sides would likely take a lot of damage, but it at least it wouldn’t be a lopsided defeat. It would be painful, but it was for the best. That was why the Rhine had to fall.

She had realised something when nobody had payed attention to her serious proposition: Wilm was disparaging her as much as possible. It seemed that he didn’t want Coimbra to have an advantageous position. Noel really wanted to cleave his skull in two. For that reason, Noel had quieted down and decided to do things on her own. She had to do it to protect her promises with Cynthia and Elgar. Coimbra would need to be in good health if they were to search for happiness together because it was not in their nature to abandon everything and run away. Her biggest obstacle was the matter of how much she could do with a body of troops only seven hundred strong. It seemed like everything would hinge on the tenacity of Noel corps.

“What drive you have. Yes, you’re very excited about the next attack. Barbas, your captain is very valiant.”

“Of course she is. Whadya think the enemy calls her? Hehe, don’t be too surprised… she’s the fiend, the fiend. She’s a real nightmare for the Baharans.”

“The fiend of the battlefield, eh? How fearsome. No, it’s rather reliable, isn’t it? Demons notwithstanding, I should introduce you to my daughter who’s around your age after the war.”

“I don’t need your help with that, old man.”

“What are you saying? Aside from being a knight, raising a child and passing your name on to the next generation is a very important thing. It is something you must not forget.”

“You done started with the fuckin’ lectures again, you matchmaking geezer!”

“You should fix how you listen! Have you not joined the army!?”

Whilst Barbas and Dirk were complaining, they started shoving each other around. It was only a vague sensation, but Noel felt like she had seen that scene before. She wouldn’t tire of watching it, but Noel had other things she needed to do, so she left. Twofold were her plans: eat some food, and quickly plan for the next day before sleeping, which was most important as the weather had not been particularly good that day.