The village, situated some distance from the highway, had been in an uproar since morning.
Adults rushed into their homes carrying farming tools, praying that nothing would happen.
The sight that greeted a single boy who had dashed out of the village was unlike any army he had ever seen.
"What... is that..."
It was as though a fortress were on the move. Surrounding it, soldiers marched without pause toward Central, and the cold morning air felt different from usual.
The boy, gaping at the movement of an enormous army beyond anything he had witnessed before, caught sight of a blue-haired man standing atop the fortress. Atop it flew a white banner bearing a blue circle. Gray ornamental designs adorned it, and one could tell it was a military standard.
Yet he had never seen such a flag.
The boy kept staring at the sight until his family came to drag him back inside.
He watched the soldiers advancing along the highway, feeling the chill of the morning air.
"The air is foul. The soil's dry, so the dust is terrible. But when it rains, it saps your strength."
Looking around from the rooftop of the fortress, white smoke was rising nearby. There must be a village somewhere.
We had entered Banseim's direct domain and continued our advance. There was no real resistance, and no enemies emerged from Central.
They were under attack from neighboring countries, but that shouldn't have prevented them from gathering troops. It was obvious they were luring us into Central.
Still, to fight Ceres, we had to push on toward Central.
Vera, wearing an overcoat, came up to the rooftop.
"Is it really okay for the alliance leader to be outside without any guards?"
As she said this and stepped onto the rooftop, the wind blew, stirring Vera's black hair. The twin tails flowed in the breeze. Vera held them down with her hand and gazed toward the chimneys visible from the rooftop.
After looking at the chimneys sending up white smoke and nodding several times, she turned her face toward me.
"I've heard the others are heading for Central too, but the decisive battle will definitely be at Central, right? You haven't been picked off one by one or anything?"
I shook my head at Vera, who looked worried.
"There's no need for that concern. I've also considered the possibility that they might bypass Central and target somewhere else. I don't think they'd leave their defenses weakened, and if it's Ceres, she'll make Central the decisive battleground."
"You don't exactly seem like someone who understands her personality as a sister."
Seeing my grim expression, Vera bluntly shared her impression. I let out a small laugh and explained to Vera.
"They'll definitely be lying in wait. Depending on how you look at it, they could just throw a literal army of expendable soldiers at somewhere else, but the reason they won't do that is probably because it'd be too much trouble."
More than trouble, to the current Ceres, winning or losing probably didn't matter at all. As long as she could live in luxury, it didn't matter how many of her subordinates died.
No, she'd probably even laugh watching it happen.
"You can win, right?"
At Vera's question, I looked her straight in the eye.
"I can win the war. There's no doubt about it. I've prepared accordingly. Besides, with the armies I've absorbed, I have even more margin to work with now."
Many lords had offered their cooperation. On the flip side, even when a lord refused to cooperate, their subjects often joined on their own.
The current Central — if they were breaking away from Banseim, that probably meant they were willing to cooperate. Or perhaps they were cooperating with us because we had the food they needed to survive.
"The war, yes. So, what about the most important part?"
She was asking about the direct confrontation with Ceres. I nodded.
"That's why I struck first. I'm sorry, but I have no intention of picking a fight if I can't win. I decided to advance because I believed the current situation gave us the strongest military position we'd ever have."
It was the truth.
Leading the charge was Novem, along with all the companions I'd traveled with as an adventurer. Then there was Gracia, Eliza, Ludmilla — our forces were fully assembled. In a one-on-one fight, the odds of losing would be high, but as long as we didn't let it come to that, we'd be fine.
"Doesn't matter if she's my sister or a girl. We surround her and crush her."
Vera gave a shrug.
"It's a despicable thing to say, but it's also the safest approach. No appeals to sibling bonds, no stubborn pride as a man, no sentimentality — that puts my mind at ease."
Vera seems to agree with my judgment. Still, personally speaking, it's a pathetic situation. It's like saying I can't beat my sister, so I'll fight alongside my girlfriend instead.
"As for me, I'd rather say that and settle this alone."
If I'm giving my honest opinion, I wanted to stop Ceres with my own hands — with only my own hands. But in terms of raw strength, that's simply impossible.
"If you say that and end up losing, you'll regret it for the rest of your life. Throwing away a winnable fight over personal feelings is something only a fool would do. Well, I don't dislike that sort of thing myself, though."
That said, Vera declares she would absolutely hate it if she were the one in that position.
"If you don't win, there's no tomorrow. I won't allow you to hold back. Your sister — at this rate, there's no point in her being alive. It's actually more merciful to end things quickly, just like that."
That's Vera's way of encouraging me.
"...That's the plan. I've got a promise to keep, too."
As I grip the Jewel tightly, Vera glances back and forth between me and it.
"You said you heard the ancestor's voice, right? They're not around anymore, are they? Come to think of it, I heard a voice once before, on the ship."
"Yeah, come to think of it, you did hear it, Vera."
I remembered that Vera had heard it on the ship, and couldn't help feeling nostalgic.
"I didn't realize at the time that those were your ancestors' voices. So about that promise with your ancestors?"
That's part of it. But the main reason is something else.
"Well, it's more like a brotherly bond, I guess? Personally, I don't really acknowledge it."
Letting go of the Jewel, I turned my gaze toward Central.
— The armies of Lyle, drawing closer to Central.
Among them were nobles arriving one after another, hoping to climb aboard the winning side. Those who sought to restore their houses. Those who had fled from Central.
Those who wanted to be recognized as nobles. And beyond them, adventurers and mercenaries.
They all sought an audience with Lyle. But Lyle essentially had no further need for additional forces.
Simply having someone participate was a surprisingly difficult way to create an obligation.
In the midst of all this, Ralph Cerclie had been reaching out to his daughter, Miranda.
He made his way to a tent near the mobile fortress and called Miranda out to meet him.
Miranda descended from the mobile fortress and entered the tent with her escort, where she met with her father, Ralph.
"It's been a while, Miranda."
"It has. The warehouse incident, perhaps? Ever since some someone mistakenly purchased a Griffon and a Hippogriff and then dumped me."
Ralph's expression didn't change a fraction at Miranda's barbed remark. He laid his demand before her.
"I'd like you to take in a group of court nobles who've fled from Central. They looked after me in the past, and you owe debts to several of their houses as well. Besides, they have forces of their own. If you add them to your battle lines, they'll do whatever they can to—"
However, Miranda refused the request with a smile.
"There's no need for soldiers who barely know how to fight at this point, is there? Even experienced veterans can still be problematic. Chain of command issues would affect my units the same way. If you're really that desperate, I suppose I could use them up on the front lines."
Ralph's expression didn't waver at his daughter's attitude. He looked at Miranda with a serious face.
"If you cooperate, there are benefits for you too. You don't exactly have a strong backing. Being the leader's woman doesn't necessarily give you a strong position. If we're going to build a new nation, we'll need civil officials. If they're from Banseim, they could serve the leader as well. You can't exactly recruit officials from other countries, can you?"
In other words, he was telling her to secure civil officials and solidify her position. This was, in fact, one of Lyle's weak points.
For Miranda, the benefits were significant. She would gain civil officials, and by cooperating with them, she could make herself someone Lyle couldn't afford to ignore.
In Lyle's harem, where martial strength was valued above all else, she could be one or even two steps ahead.
"Hmm. It is tempting. But, no."
Even so, Miranda made her refusal clear.
"...I thought you were a smart girl. Are you really going to let emotions override your self-interest?"
Miranda answered with a smile.
"Emotions? I'm not rejecting this out of hatred. I'd sell my soul for competent civil officials, and I'd love to get ahead of Lianne. I'll need administrators going forward too. But I've weighed the pros against the cons and decided it's not worth it."
When she noticed Ralph's slight furrowing of his brow, Miranda realized that her father was confused.
"You don't understand what's in my interest. My interest is Lael's interest. But is this truly in Lael's interest? Civil officials who'd use me as their backing and carry on Banseim's methods... what a troublesome lot."
What Lael aimed for was the governance of the entire continent. Because of that, there were various aspects of Banseim's methods that simply wouldn't work.
And despite claiming he could handle all sorts of things, Lael was still young. There was a real possibility that he could be manipulated by the nobles who had spent their careers as civil officials.
You couldn't say there wouldn't be anyone who'd fudge the paperwork and line their own pockets. If such people emerged, a faction would form around Miranda, and Lael would no longer be able to act freely. In the worst case, problems could arise behind Miranda's back without her even knowing.
All of that was part of it, but the biggest drawback was this:
"I won't give preferential treatment just because you're family. During this critical period of laying the foundation, I don't want to be picking civil officials based on connections. I want to prioritize character and ability."
Say there was an important position to fill — having it filled through connections would be a tremendous disadvantage for Lael.
Naturally, Ralph was thinking of using Miranda's position to build a major faction among the civil officials. Miranda had seen right through it.
"If you don't establish a power base during this period, you'll be nothing but a shadow for the rest of your life."
Hearing Ralph's words, Miranda laughed.
"If that's what's in Lael's interest, then I'm fine with that."
Ralph glared at Miranda and pressed on with his persuasion.
"There are times when problems arise from a lack of knowledge and experience. The officials who served under the Banseim royal family, which has a long history, can't possibly be useless."
"True. But, you know... they're finished, aren't they? Is there really a reason to cherish and carry on the ways of a fallen nation?"
"...Are you dismissing tradition?"
"I'm not dismissing it. But I can't very well recommend the people who show up after everything's done and demand a share of the spoils. Well, you are family, so I'll put in a word on your behalf to some extent. Make your choice... do you want to be cast aside as you are, or do you want to preserve House Cerclie as nobles, at least in name?"
Finding no foothold in Miranda's words, Ralph stood up.
"Where are you going?"
In response to Miranda's question, Ralph replied.
"You're not the only one. Shannon's unreliable, but I'll carry her on my shoulders too. She's the Alliance Leader's woman, so she'll make a fine figurehead — even if she doesn't have your kind of talent."
Miranda hadn't worked out, so he had been prepared to hoist Shannon up instead. Miranda waved her hand dismissively.
"Sure, do your best, dear father"
She saw him off with a smile——.
"Ugh, day after day, why do I have to be the one dealing with this? I'm busy, you know — 'How are you today?' and all that... You can tell just by looking. Read the room."
As we drew closer to Central, more and more people were trying to curry favor with me in front of the great army. Mercenary companies were approaching too, and adventurers were gathering in droves.
The fact that I was a former adventurer may have played a role — they seemed to think they could get something out of me.
Back in my room, I was sitting on my bed wrapped in a blanket when Shannon came in.
"Hey, time for dinner"
I stood up and felt a chill. Inside the Mobile Fortress, there was a workshop where fires were kept burning, so it was considerably warmer than the outdoors.
Even so, it felt cold. I'd spent so long in warm places that my sense of temperature had gone haywire.
"Got it, I'm coming. Huh?"
Something occurred to me, and I asked Shannon.
"Weren't you called out to meet someone today too?"
Not as many as me, but plenty of people had been requesting audiences with her as well. Even Aria had relatives — people who claimed to have been cared for by her or to have cared for her in the past — pouring in.
Eva was the same. Not just as the Elven representative, but also being sought out in her capacity as representative of the demi-humans.
Clara was being asked for meetings too, particularly from academic circles on account of her being from Aramsass. Most of them wanted her to put in a good word for them.
Yet despite having Miranda as her sister, Shannon — who normally received no such requests — was, unusually, being sought out.
"...Yeah, a bunch of people said various things, but I didn't get any of it, so I just told them 'Pass'"
What a typically Shannon response, I thought to myself.
"Don't give answers that'll make them resent you. Let them down gently."
"That's still turning them down in the end, isn't it?"
"It's better than them getting weirdly hostile. Besides, most of the people who make it this far are either terrible at reading the situation or, worse, unpredictable in what they might do. And yet they're the smoothest talkers... *sigh*, what a waste of time. What was it this time? 'Rushing here as reinforcements'? And they have no food? It's just a shakedown, plain and simple."
I understood the importance of audience requests, but I couldn't help but grumble. There were people who would genuinely tell you a long, utterly pointless story.
That was the worst part—they believed it was some kind of appeal. I knew they were desperate to hitch their wagon to a winner, but still...
"I can understand why royalty would demand payment for an audience. Without restrictions, the petitions would get absurd. ...What's wrong?"
Shannon was less energetic than usual. Even though we were talking, she seemed a bit sad, or rather, tired.
"What, did something you hate show up today? I'm not giving up my dessert."
Shannon looked at me with an exasperated expression, but shook her head.
"Not knowing is bliss, isn't it? Well, in exchange, I'm taking today's pudding."
"Wait! Why are you after my pudding? Stop that. Go after someone else's pudding instead of mine!"
Then Shannon got genuinely angry. Her expression was dead serious.
"Don't joke around! With Rail, it's just talk, but if you go after another pudding, that's war! No way—I'm not risking my life for pudding, no matter how good it is!"
"So it's okay if it's *my* pudding?!"
As we bickered noisily, I felt a little of Shannon's usual energy return to her face—