Volume 6 - CH 2.1

18-22 minutes 03.07.2022

Margrave of Romarikku

The civil war that became the cause of the collapse of the old Kingdom of Romarikku one hundred and fifty years ago was named the “Rebellion of the Seven Kings” in future history.

The origin of the affair was a rebellion against the royal family at that time, which had been ruling over the people in tyranny to the extent of being cruel, but after the royal family was overthrown, the rebellion began to take on an appearance of a succession struggle to be the king. The seven powers, which held their grounds in various places, each nominated a person who was descended from the royal family as its leader and competed fiercely.

Ultimately, Blanco Alija Dzeco from the faction that had received the backing of Ahmad defeated the six remaining royalties and suppressed the rebellion; afterwards, Romarikku was annexed by Ahmad in the form of him abdicating the throne of Romarikku to Ahmad’s king anew.

This was the origin of the “Rebellion of the Seven Kings”.

It was around the last century since Romarikku was annexed by Ahmad that the highway connecting to Romarikku from Ahmad was maintained and roughly became its current state. Before that, when Romarikku was still an independent country, there wasn’t that much close interaction between Ahmad and Romarikku.

Simply put, coming and going between both countries was accompanied by difficulties in itself.

Valeria Costacurta’s party was heading towards the east along the wide highway, which was now maintained completely. There were approximately fifty members in the party, and all of them, besides the ten or so maids, were soldiers who guarded her.

Only Valeria had got on the four-seater carriage, which had put up a sunshade canopy, and Bettina was sitting on the driver’s seat. During this period when the heat of the summer was growing increasingly severe day by day, it wasn’t unlikely that she’d collapse from the sultriness inside this tightly shut carriage.

On both sides of the carriage, Dimitar and Thial were each straddling a horse and strengthening the defence. Dimitar was in his usual appearance, but Thial wasn’t wearing a maid outfit like when she was in the mansion but male clothing that was similar to Dimitar’s. Her position within the party was simply Valeria’s maid, but in case of emergency, she could also become a guard to fight and protect Valeria. Due to that sort of meaning, she was wearing male clothing.

「—Nevertheless, that sort of gallant appearance also suits Thial-san well. I’m so envious」

Bettina, who was on the driver’s seat, called out to Thial, who was moving at the side.

「It’s not a question of whether it suits me or not. It’s necessary for the task」

Without neglecting to be cautious of her surroundings, Thial answered indifferently. Although Valeria and Bettina had been calling out to her repeatedly since some time ago, a reply that would spice up the conversation from there didn’t come back in particular. Valeria had already met Thial during the top-secret mission in Seriba, but she certainly didn’t think of her as a person who was so difficult to associate with.

「Hey, Dimitar!」

Valeria lowered her voice and beckoned to Dimitar quietly.

「…What?」

「I, I say, did we do something to her?」

While looking at Thial on the opposite side with a sidelong glance, Valeria bent herself forward from the carriage and asked Dimitar.

「Though I didn’t know Thial-san well since I didn’t have the opportunity to chat with her properly in Seriba, was she this kind of person? Rather than cold, she’s completely unfriendly… did we do something that angered her by any chance?」

「Ah… she always feels like that」

「Is, is that so?」

「It’s normal that she’s unfriendly towards us」

Dimitar declared readily.

「—If the other party is Lucius or Head Director, she’ll properly show a smiling face and talk to them too」

「Eh? That means—?」

「Though it’s like that for me, you’re probably not liked by her very much too」

「Hey… setting you aside, why me as well? Just as I thought, did I do something that angered her!?」

「No, you unusually didn’t make a blunder at all」

「Then why?」

「It’s similar to you thinking hatefully of me. …Guess with that」

「Pardon?」

Valeria, who was staring in puzzlement for a moment, felt as if she had suddenly understood everything and instinctively stared at Thial’s profile.

Thial—just like Valeria—was probably jealous of the close relationship between Lucius and DImitar. Speaking of which, when Lucius rushed to Seriba, Thial was watching Lucius listening carefully to what Dimitar had to say while saying something or other with an expression that was bitter in some respects.

If it was that kind of Thial, then it might be natural that she’d feel ill at ease about Valeria, who didn’t try to hide her affection for Lucius.

Valeria knitted her brows and spoke to Dimitar.

「W, what should I do? What kind of attitude should I take!?」

「Who knows」

「Who knows, you say…」

「Don’t ask me that kind of thing. If you don’t like Thial, you can utilise that fact that your position is higher and be mean to her slightly」

「Be mean to her, you say… I can’t bring myself to do such a thing」

「Then, you should just treat her normally」

Dimitar, who had asserted with a brusqueness that was above Thial’s, raised his lips.

「…Well, if you think about it objectively, Thial has much more hope than you」

「Eh? W, what do you mean? Hope?」

「Though Thial is a maid, she’s living with Lucius under one roof. And it’s a common story that noblemen have sexual relations with the maids in their own mansions. —Lucius is a man too, you know?」

「N, no way—!」

「I won’t say that the possibility of Lucius laying hands on you, who is a Dominas, is zero, but it’s exceedingly close to zero. After all, Lucius understands that if he does such a thing, then not only he himself but also the House of Richternach itself will be ruined. …Compared to that, Lucius laying hands on Thial has much more realism」

「L, Lucius-sama isn’t a person who would do such a thing!」

「Then, the possibilities of both are zero. It seems that you, comrades who are rejected, will get along well. I’m so glad」

「Ginu…!」

Although Valeria bit her lip in anger, she didn’t give vent to her indignation. If she behaved carelessly in the midst of the many attendants who were in her surroundings, Valeria’s authority as a Dominas would fall.

Valeria, who had motionlessly cast her eyes downwards and desperately calmed her mind down, took a deep breath quietly and shifted her eyes to the scenery in her surroundings.

This carefree journey was also approaching its final stage, and she’d arrive at Romarikku tonight. This area was already the territory of the old Kingdom of Romarikku, but unlike the plains on the outskirts of Roma, the scarceness of greenery was striking. The land, which had lots of boulders exposed on the surface of the earth, went on, and the winds that blew across were dusty and dry. A lot of people saw her off when she departed from the previous inn town, but for the last two, three hours or so, she didn’t see one stray dog, let alone a person, with the exception of her party.

She heard that unlike Ahmad where agriculture and animal husbandry had flourished from long ago, Romarikku’s soil was infertile, and it developed by means of mining industry and commerce rather than agriculture. Perhaps it had such a background, small-scale agricultural communities hardly existed in the current province of Romarikku, and most of its population was concentrated in towns with mines and markets. This was the reason why figures of people were hardly seen along the road.

「—Speaking of which」

Valeria suddenly had something she was concerned about and asked Dimitar.

「What do the people of Romarikku actually think of me, I wonder?」

「What are you saying now?」

「After all, Ahmad annexed Romarikku in the end, right? In that case, what sort of feelings will the original people of Romarikku have…」

「Well, though Ahmad and Romarikku were originally sworn allies, it didn’t mean that they were necessarily close neighbours」

The Holy AllianceLiga Santourear, of which Ahmad had become the leader country, was simply formed to oppose the “Demon”Maroudo. Presently, it was a mere military alliance, and it had a strong nuance of being an alliance to oppose the influence of the barbaric believers in particular.

「Of course, since they had formed an alliance, their relation became stronger than ordinary fellow countries, but nevertheless, it didn’t mean that both of them left the profit-and-loss arithmetic out completely and associated with each other without giving vent to their dissatisfaction, to say nothing of Ahmad being a country whose specialty is pushing through something unreasonable with military strength as its backing. —In fact, there were times when Ahmad and Romarikku were about to be plunged into an all-out war」

「W, were they on bad terms so much? In the history book I had read, there was no description of both countries going to war though…」

「That was a history book written in Ahmad, after all」

「Eh?」

「…Ahmad and the old Kingdom of Romarikku clashing over the border was a matter that was even more than a hundred years in the past than the annexation of Romarikku. Since Ahmad’s army had been famed for being the strongest on the continent from that time, Romarikku’s army should have been defeated easily with just one hit. Ahmad didn’t intend to destroy Romarikku in particular; it was probably aiming for the mine resources. Besides creating an overwhelmingly superior war situation, offering a reconciliation in the form of a compromise from Ahmad and then seizing the mining rights of the mines as reparations—that’s the method Ahmad is good at」

Wiping the sweat on the nape of his neck, Dimitar sighed.

「But in reality, it didn’t become like that」

「Why?」

「It’s because of this」

Before she knew, rugged rock cliffs towered on both sides of the highway.

「—It’s not very high, but the foot of this rocky mountain stretches for about ten leagues from north to south. Whether it’s the north side or the south side, if we want to bypass this mountain and head towards Romarikku, the marching distance will probably become close to threefold. There seems to be hardly any maintained roads too. —In short, the shortest route to Romarikku is this valley, which runs through the mountain, cutting across it」

The walls on both sides were too tall, and sunlight couldn’t shine on this mountain road properly. While feeling her sweat lessening in the cool shadow, Valeria looked up at the overbearing rock cliffs.

「From a topographical point of view, there’s no road that is easy to set traps like this. If they hide a certain number of soldiers on top of the valley and throw large boulders or logs down when Ahmad’s army tries to pass through, that alone will cause serious damage」

「But if it’s the Ahmad’s soldiers, everyone will be cautious about that sort of thing, right?」

「Yes. Ahmad’s advance party had most likely sent scouts here to ascertain that there were no traps and ambushes and then tried to pass through here in one breath after that. Launching a swift attack by means of cavalry is the favourite technique of Ahmad’s army. —Even so, despite being cautious that much, it seemed that Ahmad’s army had received a surprise attack in this valley and sustained heavy damage that they were forced to retreat」

「Why?」

「I don’t know. There’s no detailed record regarding the battle at this time left, after all. …But well, I can make a guess. Rather, if I’m told to prevent the Ahmad’s army from advancing here without using traps and ambushes, I’ll can only think of that way」

「Eh? What kind of strategy?」

「Working you hard」

「Ah…」

Valeria didn’t know what he meant for a moment, but looking up at the rock cliff, she could somehow understand.

Even if it was impossible to set traps and ambushes on top of this cliff without being found out by the scouts, it was probably possible for one girl to hide herself at least. And if that girl was a Dominas—if she was a magic warriorMarefikos who possessed an offensive ability that rivalled that of several hundreds of soldiers—it was possible to cause serious damage to the Ahmad’s army passing through here.

However, it wasn’t always the case that all Dominas could use flashy offensive magic; in the first place, the matter of sending a Dominas into the front line as a war potential itself was very improbable in countries other than Heidelauta. The Romarikku at that time had most likely used such an emergency measure to repel Ahmad.

「…In any case, there was the suspicious movement of Bigelow as well, and Ahmad, which had received a severe blow in this valley, abandoned further advance, paid reparations to Romarikku on the pretext of supporting the mine development and reconciled with them. Setting the official stance aside, it was substantially Ahmad’s defeat」

「That’s why the details weren’t written in the history book at all…」

It was Valeria’s first time hearing that Ahmad, which was called the strongest country on the continent, had such a past. It was a fact that not only Valeria but also most of its people probably weren’t able to know.

When she was thinking about such a thing, Dimitar suddenly waved one hand and stopped the party.

「What’s the matter?」

「Don’t let the horses act violently, Gacha Pink」

Without answering Valeria’s question, Dimitar, who had ordered Bettina so, looked back at the rear and told the party.

「—As we had previously discussed, non-combatants to the centre」

At Dimitar’s command, the military escorts of the party started to move simultaneously. In order to protect the carriages and wagons that carried the maids, the soldiers riding on horseback had their shields, which were hanging from the saddles of their horses, at the ready and surrounded the vicinity.

「Valeria-sama, over there!」

At the front where Bettina had pointed at over the soldiers’ heads, figures of countless men and horses could be seen. According to the schedule, people who had been sent to meet them from Romarikku were expected to come partway, but it was too early for that. The arrival at Romarikku would be around today’s sunset, and they heard that they’d link up with the envoy of the prefectural governor a little while before that.

「Valeria-sama, please move back」

Thial spoke to Valeria, who had unconsciously bent herself forward from the carriage, leaned on Bettina’s head, strained her eyes and stared fixedly at the front, indifferently.

「—They’re thieves」

「Thieves!?」

「Yes」

When Valeria borrowed the telescope that Thial had held out and checked, the ones who were obstructing the path of the party were certainly all coarse men who were straddling horses. Their weapons and defensive armaments were inconsistent, and it didn’t seem that they were troops from somewhere.

「It seems that there are quite a number of them…」

「There probably aren’t a hundred of them though」

Stroking the nape of his neck lightly, Dimitar undid the clasp of the scabbard on his waist.

「…What should we do, Dimitar-sama?」

Extending her right hand to the hilts of the pair of swords tied to the back of her waist, Thial asked.

「The one thing that I’m curious about is whether those guys are there upon knowing our identities」

「If those thieves know that Valeria-sama is here, will they get out of the way obediently? I think that’s impossible though」

The words of Thial, who had asked a question in return like that, sounded like she had coldly detached herself from this in some respects. She might be thinking an “occupation” reeking of blood, which was a bandit, and the devoutness of the god believer couldn’t co-exist.

「No, I didn’t mean it like that… well, at the moment they stood in front of Her Eminence’s party like that, it’s a cause for severe punishment」

Dimitar kicked the abdomen of his horse lightly and moved forward.

「Hey! Dimi… Richternach-kyou! What are you going to do!?」

「Please wait in the carriage, Your Eminence. I’ll settle this immediately. —Thial, I’ll entrust the protection of Her Eminence’s carriage to you」

「Acknowledged」

Dimitar, who had gone out to the front of the party, accelerated in one breath together with several horseback soldiers only. At almost the same time, countless arrows came flying from the thieves in front, drawing a curved trajectory.

「Protect Her Eminence!」

「Ohhhhhh!」

The soldiers surrounding the carriage held their large shields aloft and stood ready. Despite receiving an unforeseen attack, there wasn’t a single person who was flustered or had tried to flee. Unlike the useless members of the chivalric order who were green young men from well-to-do families and were heard about in stories, the soldiers from the army whom Dimitar had chosen, though their positions were low, seemed to be experienced in actual fighting as one would expect.

A jarring “gakakakakakaka!” noise resounded, and a great number of arrows flew off the surfaces of the large shields. Although there were a few arrows that flew towards the carriage, the canopy of this carriage was a custom‐made item that had chain mail fitted between the cloths. Setting fire arrows aside, it was impossible for plain arrows that had flown from a long distance to penetrate it.

「……」

While settling down on the seat of the carriage, Valeria observed the battle in front intently with the telescope. Against Dimitar and the others who had separated from the party and made their horses go fast in one breath, the thieves who had shot the pre-emptive arrows also threw their bows away, drew their swords and charged this way. As far as she could see from the course of events until now, there seemed to be no thief who could use magic.

Immediately after that, screams rose from among the thieves, and several groups of men and horses could be seen being blown off flashily. It was probably Dimitar. Since it was impossible that that cold person would be merciful to the bandits, it was natural that it’d end up like that.

Nevertheless, the fact that flashy blood sprays weren’t made might be because he was thinking he shouldn’t dirty the road that a Dominas would be passing through with blood.

A few thieves broke through the fighting scene in front and came this way, but even so, they couldn’t pass through the wall that the escort soldiers had created.

「—That’s strange」

Thial, who had dealt with an approaching thief with the bow and arrow, which she was skilful at, without drawing her sword, suddenly voiced her doubt.

「What’s strange?」

「The thieves’ reactions are strange. It’s fine that they came attacking, but they’re bewildered by something… that’s the kind of impression I have」

「Bewildered…?」

「I don’t know clearly either」

Thial shot several arrows in succession while saying so, and all of them hit the thieves.

Valeria had also thought about it when she was in Seriba, but when and where in the world did Thial, who was usually serving as the maid of the House of Richternach, hone this skill as a soldier?