The Doomed Fief’s Dying Lord (25)

Ludovica’s composed demeanor vanished in an instant.

She glared at Ronari as if she couldn’t believe it.

“I thought jokes ended in the audience chamber?”

“This is not a joke. Our plan requires more than 300 reinforcement troops. And over half of them must be elite, not conscripts.”

“Three hundred is nearly half of Limone’s total forces. Are you asking us to accept that kind of risk and bloodshed?”

Her voice was pressed down to an exceedingly low tone.

A shadow passed across Ludovica’s eyes.

I could feel it.

The determination she showed this time was by no means false.

But Ronari did not back down.

“We demand 300 precisely to avoid such risk and bloodshed.”

“What sort of sophistry is that?”

“Even against a single enemy, three are better than two.”

It was something Ronari had said in the past.

It was also a truth of the battlefield.

Clearly, having more numbers is advantageous.

But because it is a truth it is often overlooked, and because it is a truth it can produce the most startling surprises at the most crucial moments.

Ludovica showed interest in that unexpected angle.

“Hm?”

Ronari did not miss it.

“As the lord said, if 200 fight until they’re exhausted and collapse, the Dungeon will be captured. Many soldiers will die or be wounded in that process. If luck is against us, half of every hundred might not return home in one piece.”

“…Continue.“

“But if the force is 300 or 400? We can leave a rear guard to protect our troops, organize special squads to encircle the enemy, and keep reserves to replace exhausted comrades.”

I spread out the materials Ronari had brought while she spoke.

It was an operational scenario compiled from Denabi’s corps records.

Denabi had been fighting Dungeons for decades.

Every battle had been diligently recorded.

The troop counts of friend and foe,

casualties,

funds expended and supplies,

operation details and time required.

After seeing these records for the first time, Ronari said:

‘Denabi’s long fighting wasn’t in vain then. In the end we’ve been sharpening this weapon.’

‘Weapon?’

‘Yes, look at this. There are so many records. It’s a weapon that lets you resolve war not by shouting but with pencil and paper.’

‘Do you think it’s useful?’

‘Not just useful. Until now we’ve tried to solve mathematical problems with debate, not calculation. But no more.’

She declared.

‘From now on, numbers will rule war.’

“You’ll see. We have more data on Dungeon assaults than any army. This conclusion is rigorously quantified by that data.”

“So you’re demanding our three hundred?”

“Yes. The Limone-Denabi allied force of 400 will take the Dungeon. Expected casualties under twenty. Operation time just thirty-six hours. I guarantee it.”

[Personnel Resource Information Update]

“We will win more perfectly than ever.”

[Second Personnel Resource]

[Ronari Arenta]

[Position: Chief Raw Materials of Project 1 Strategic Analyst of Denabi Corps]

[Current Grade: B+ A-]

The message appeared alongside Ronari’s declaration.

I wasn’t surprised.

I already knew she was exceptional.

But this was a moment when genius was proven.

It somewhat resembled a sunrise or sunset.

Even though it was a moment anyone could expect, and one seen many times before, it still sent ripples through the witness’s heart.

I was proud of her.

‘As expected, my choice wasn’t wrong.’

Not that I raised her, but I suppose I deserved to savor this moment.

I looked at her.

Her eyes shone more triumphant than ever.

I wasn’t the only one affected by that light.

Ludovica was intently scanning the documents I had spread out.

But she seemed to have lost the will to refute them.

What was written in the papers were numbers.

Statistical and mathematical evidence supporting Ronari’s claim.

There was no manipulation in those figures.

And the conclusion those numbers produced was evident.

Realizing that wasn’t particularly difficult.

Even for those not normally comfortable with numbers.

‘But… even seeing this, she surely won’t immediately agree to dispatch troops.’

“It needs review.”

As expected.

Ludovica said as much.

I quickly calculated the remaining time.

There were about seven days left when we arrived here.

It takes two days by carriage to return.

But a force of some 300 marching on foot would take three days and a half a day.

The Dungeon assault itself is another day and a half.

‘And you’ll need to muster the troops too. What about march time to the Dungeon, operation briefings, and training?’

Even starting preparation immediately, time would be insufficient.

I couldn’t let Ludovica dally.

“young master.”

Ronari seemed to have reached the same conclusion.

“…Wait.“

‘But we mustn’t let Ludovica know we’re in a hurry.’

If that happened, negotiations would return to square one.

The narrow advantage we had would vanish.

Even if they demanded a fortune from us, we’d have to accept it.

Because we had no Plan B.

And yet we had to hasten Ludovica.

‘Ugh. This is really a pain. This damn thing… is it a territory story or survival fiction?’

I sighed.

Ludovica spoke.

“You may withdraw for now. We’ll provide lodgings for the delegation. We need to consider your proposal a bit more.”

“I refuse.”

I answered immediately.

Ludovica glared at me.

“What did you say?”

“I said we refuse. Prepare to dispatch troops at once. If not now, this offer is over.”

Even Ronari looked at me with surprised eyes.

It was truly an extreme move.

Yet it was also an absolute.

‘I didn’t leave it because I wanted to. I left it because there was no other place to put it.’

To urge troop deployment without revealing our urgency.

There was only one way to do that.

“Our Denabi has decided to bring 300 foreign troops into the territory. And we have disclosed the forces we can commit to this operation.”

I said.

“Do you honestly think we’ll comfortably offer you the time to plan to swallow Denabi whole?”

Ludovica shrugged.

As if she intended to laugh the situation off.

“You’re paranoid. Swallow Denabi? Ridiculous. Would we be interested in a land soaked with Mana, possibly on the brink of expiration?”

Surprisingly, she might be interested.

In the original, you actually try to consume Denabi.

Denabi is ordinary land, were it not for the threat of the Mana Plague.

And Ludovica is a border lord who would welcome even a single person.

‘She wouldn’t pass up an opportunity to double population and land.’

So she harbors obvious ill intent, yet tries to wear a mask in front of me?

That won’t do.

I was a reader of this world’s original.

I gave a small smile.

“Let’s stop the obvious mask play. Ludovica Leviner, esteemed lord of Limone. Do you want us to go on about the border lord’s ambitions? That petty talk?”

I continued.

“And we have no interest in what thoughts the lord harbors. We only want to eliminate the risk that you might summon an invading force rather than reinforcements.”

Ludovica’s gaze grew ever narrower.

Her expression also became increasingly blank.

‘At last you’ve taken off all your masks, Ludovica.’

I greeted her true nature.

“Decide now.”

Then she spoke.

“Well.”

Her blankness was like the darkness of an abyss.

“Before that, I want to ask one thing.”

What could it be?

I suppressed my tension and answered.

“Go ahead.”

“Who devised this plan?”

I answered without delay.

“Alejandro Astrier. The great lord of Denabi and my respected father.”

“I don’t think so. I’ve known Alejandro for some time. He’s rather rigid.”

She immediately saw through my lie.

“Alcohol tax reform, market control, detailed tactics and bold negotiations… this combination is both improvisational and organic. It’s not something that rigid man would conceive. I don’t hear Alejandro’s voice in this plan.”

She muttered as if to herself.

“Then who drew up this whole picture? Who? Jin? Reno? No, those kids are warriors, not strategists. As far as I know, Denabi has no talent capable of drawing a picture of this scale.”

She turned back to me.

And looked at Ronari.

“So it was the work of someone I don’t know.”

Ludovica smiled thinly at me.

“My intuition tells me to kill you.”

It was a declaration that chilled the blood.

Ronari’s face went pale.

I put a hand on Ronari’s shoulder.

Hoping she’d calm even a little.

At the same time I looked at Ludovica and asked.

“And afterward?”

“Huhuhu. I can’t think of it.”

Heh heh heh

Ludovica chuckled.

It was a hair-raising laugh.

The sound didn’t last long.

Soon a voice devoid of any emotion spoke.

“I will accept the proposal.”

The tension and chill that had dominated the reception room began to dissipate.

“It will take at least half a day to gather and arm the troops. We’ll finish preparations today and depart tomorrow morning. Will that suffice?”

“Of course. Thank you for the quick decision.”

I bowed my head.

After stepping out of the building, I drew a long breath I hadn’t been able to take in the reception room.

“Ugh! I thought I was going to die of fright! That woman!”

If I hadn’t read the original, we’d have been in big trouble!

She’d just eat people alive!

Thunk

At that moment, Ronari dropped to the ground.

Her legs seemed to have gone weak from the tension.

I offered her a hand.

“…Ah, thank you.“

Even after getting up she looked a little dazed.

I brushed the dust off her knees.

Then she asked me:

“How could you be so composed?”

“Composed? What do you mean composed. Didn’t you hear what I said? I was terrified too, I thought I was going to die.”

“You didn’t at all look terrified… That lord really intended to kill the young master.”

Ronari had a dazed expression.

I said.

“If there had been sufficient reason, she’d have killed you. The lord of Limone is that sort of person. But what reason could there possibly be?”

Ludovica and Vittorio.

They are characters who personify coldness.

Why would they make such an impulsive choice?

Unless they intended all-out war with Denabi.

So I thought there was no need to be so frightened. (Though I was frightened, of course.)

But Ronari said this:

“…She judged there was a reason to kill. For a very brief moment.“

“Yes?”

She looked me squarely in the eye.

“I think I understand now. What kind of person the young master is.”

“What are you talking about all of a sudden. I’m just leaving.”

I laughed awkwardly.

But Ronari’s expression remained utterly serious.

“young master. I’ve wondered for a long time. Do you truly not know? Or are you pretending not to know?”

“What do you mean?”

“The young master is dangerous.”

Dangerous.

It was an interesting, suggestive expression.

“Dangerous? To whom?”

“To everyone.”

“Everyone?”

If it meant dangerous to enemies, it would be a complimentbut to everyone?

“Are you saying I’m a danger even to you?”

Ronari nodded cautiously.

There was no joking tone about it.

I too couldn’t help becoming serious.

“May I ask why?”

“Watching you press the lord of Limone… for a moment I thought like this.”

The word Ronari used’dangerous.’

From her next words, I grasped its true meaning.

She looked at me straight and said:

“The lord of Denabi must be the young master. Not Jin, not Reno, not Alejandro. It must be Shane Astrier.”

Her eyes glittered with the utmost sincerity.

At that moment, a sentence flashed through my mind.

[Regular contracted talent ‘voluntarily’ assists and cooperates with the Overseer.]

[Also, until contract expiration they ‘absolutely’ will not betray the Overseer.]

To me in this moment, those lines sounded like this meaning:

‘Regular contracted talent can do anything for me.’

Even if that meant rebellion.

[…]

[Milestone Achieved]

[Overseer Authority Expanded.]

[Denabi’s Overseer, Shane Astrier]

[Would you like to view the opened information?]