Lynferia’s Q&A

A few days after Bangagonga and the others arrived at the castle town, I had come back to the village we’d brought under our control the other day.

Bangagonga’s condition, after nearly slipping into Frenzy, had stabilized, and he was working energetically as the goblins’ organizer. Once things settled down, I wanted to hear more from him… but first, I had to deal with what was right in front of me.

Right now, about two hundred mounted soldiers were lined up a short distance away, and facing them, six hundred summoned troops stood by around me.

From the information we’d gotten by interrogating that knight named Oppore or something, we already knew the enemy force would be around two hundred, so I’d ordered that triple their number be sent to the village—but only today had the other side’s troops finally arrived.

By the way, I’d been told those guys weren’t actually “knights,” but… riding horses in neat, sleek armor… no matter how you looked at it, they screamed knight.

Sword and Legions didn’t even have cavalry as a unit type… Man, they looked cool… Horses… maybe I should ask the goblins to take care of them? I wanted to try riding one…

Lynferia and Arandor… they’d look amazing on horseback. Well, raising horses just for aesthetics might be questionable… but horse feed… was it hay? There was obviously nothing like that among items you could trade for with mana stones.

As I was thinking that, Lynferia stepped out from the formation and moved forward.

I’d been standing beside her, but… her profile and even her back… were dignified, or rather… insanely cool.

Lynferia walked alone away from us, stopped about midway between our side and the enemy, pulled the sword at her waist—still in its scabbard—and drove it into the ground.

“My name is Lynferia! I am a knight who serves Overlord Fels-sama!”

It wasn’t exactly a booming shout, but Lynferia’s voice carried with striking clarity. I could hear it plainly from behind her, so of course the other side could too.

In fact, I could even see their line waver as if shaken, and before much time passed after Lynferia’s introduction, a single rider advanced.

The rider stopped several meters from Lynferia and dismounted—an older knight with white hair, the kind you’d call middle-aged to elderly. His expression was calm, or rather… he showed no sign of being rattled by the sudden situation.

I didn’t know if he truly had composure, but… that ability to keep his inner thoughts from showing… I wanted to learn that.

“I am Harris, a squire-knight serving the Yōntsu Territory of the Lumoria Kingdom. Lynferia-dono, though I am but a squire-knight, I am the one leading this force, and I ask your leave for a formal exchange.”

“Very well. But there is nothing here that warrants an exchange. Withdraw your troops at once. This land is already under Fels-sama’s rule. If you take another step forward, we will remove you by force.”

“U-under his rule? No, please wait. This is the Yōntsu Territory of the Lumoria Kingdom. It is you who are unlawfully trampling our land.”

Yeah. Honestly, I thought their argument was correct. Some unknown force had suddenly appeared inside their country and started claiming the land as their own. That was beyond shameless… it was basically a war declaration.

“I see—your claim is reasonable. However, the villagers themselves directly appealed to our king, Fels-sama. They asked us to deal with the goblin settlement found nearby. Naturally, we acted in good faith and fulfilled their request. Then they pleaded for one more thing: they could not trust a country that rarely extended a helping hand when they were in trouble, and when it finally did, it sent knights who behaved unjustly and arrogantly. Therefore, they asked to be placed under our protection.”

“……”

That knight—Harris, was it? Squire-knight?—who had been speaking with a confused tone but an unbroken smile, briefly contorted his face into a frown.

I’d heard Lynferia’s argument somewhere before. A village or town, finding its own country unreliable, seeks protection from another power. The power receiving the plea says something like “it pains us deeply to see innocent people suffer,” sends troops, and establishes effective control. On the surface, it’s “for the suffering people,” but in practice, it’s a land grab.

In the international community, it would be condemned to hell and back… but thick-skinned countries did it anyway, and even if condemned, they’d say, “You don’t have to recognize it—we’ll do it regardless,” and somehow it would pass… If the level of civilization was one where knights led armies, this method might be brutally effective.

Personally, it looked less like a country and more like a gangster’s playbook…

And Lynferia’s explanation—while the facts were basically correct—felt like it was missing tiny bits of context here and there, or slightly exaggerated in places… Yeah. It was pretty much gangster logic.

“…I understand why you have stationed troops here. However, I must ask one thing. What nation do you belong to? Earlier… you said ‘His Majesty Fels,’ but… forgive my ignorance, I have never heard the name of His Majesty Fels in these neighboring lands.”

“…You do not know Fels-sama’s name…”

Lynferia? That wasn’t something to get angry about. Of course they didn’t know my name. …Wait, had I ever clearly told Lynferia and the others that this wasn’t the world of Sword and Legions, but some completely unknown world to us?

I might not have said it outright… maybe I just thought I had… That was bad…

“…I see. You do not know Fels-sama’s name… so it is as I suspected…”

“…Is something the matter?”

Harris asked, suspicious of Lynferia as she muttered like she was thinking. I couldn’t hear the rest, and I couldn’t see her expression—but it didn’t feel like she was about to snap and attack.

“No, it is nothing. The name of our nation is… Einheria. Not here, but a faraway land—ruled by Overlord Fels-sama, who once conquered the world. Einheria, the flawless paradise!”

At the same moment Lynferia shouted the nation’s name, the summoned soldiers around me drew their swords and raised them toward the sky in unison. Perhaps they couldn’t even shout, but their silent, perfectly synchronized salute might have looked eerie from the other side.

Naturally, I couldn’t keep up with the sudden movement and hadn’t raised a sword, so from their perspective I probably stood out like an idiot. But if I raised it now, I’d look even more absurd and draw even more attention, so I decided to stay perfectly still.

Still… Einheria, huh. That was the nation name I used when I played the “white nation” route. I hadn’t said it once since coming here, but Lynferia and the others knew it as if it were obvious.

“Flawless paradise” was new to me, though… What did “flawless” even mean in that context? Paradise, sure, that I got… but “flawless”…?

Also, completely unrelated, but… Lynferia and Einheria sounded weirdly similar. I never noticed that while playing.

And if there happened to be a country here with the exact same name… that would be a disaster. I could practically see my people flipping out and wiping it out on the spot… Hopefully there wasn’t a country with the same name.

“Einheria… you say.”

“Does that name sound familiar?”

“I’m sorry—this may be discourteous, but… I have not heard it, to my limited knowledge.”

“I see. Well, that cannot be helped, and I will forgive it. Now then—I have declared my affiliation, and I have explained our justification for stationing troops here. With that, what will you do?”

“…If you will permit it, we intend to withdraw our troops.”

At Harris’s words, the mounted formation behind him rippled with agitation. Well, of course they would. An unknown army was occupying their territory, and their commander was talking about retreating without a fight.

“If you withdraw, we promise we will not lay a hand on you.”

“Thank you. And one thing I would like to ask… A few days ago, we sent advance envoys to the village… what became of them?”

“As for those men, they committed discourtesy toward our king. We have detained them and are treating them as prisoners. Normally, we would have taken their heads for lèse-majesté, but by Fels-sama’s magnanimous will, they still live.”

“…If we pay a ransom, will you release them?”

At Harris’s words, Lynferia’s atmosphere changed.

“Did you not listen? It is lèse-majesté against the king…? Choose your next words carefully.”

Lynferia turned sharply dangerous—was this what you called killing intent? Even just watching from behind, it made my insides go cold, like if I relaxed I’d start trembling.

Up close, Harris was taking it full-on… and yet he bowed properly, posture immaculate.

“That was a rash statement. I beg your pardon. Indeed, even within Lumoria, to attempt to settle discourtesy toward another nation’s royalty with money is arrogance beyond measure.”

“…There will be no next time. Begone.”

“Excuse me.”

Harris bowed once more, then stepped back, mounted his horse, and rode to his unit. The knights had been murmuring for a while, but following Harris’s orders, they turned their horses and withdrew.

After watching them go, Lynferia turned and returned to us.

“Good work, Lynferia.”

“It was nothing. The next encounter will be the real one.”

In response to my thanks, Lynferia shook her head with a small smile.

“Yeah. It’ll be something to see how large a force they bring.”

“I will surely deliver victory to you, Fels-sama.”

“I’ll look forward to it.”

Well… war was basically confirmed now. But… it couldn’t be helped. If someone asked who was at fault, it was definitely me—the guy who raised a banner in someone else’s house. I’d just have to brace myself…