“Father, is it true? A war?”
Forget playing coy—I outright confronted the head.
“Yes. Morale is high, and we have plenty of soldiers, weapons, and supplies. At least until we deal with the Four Heavenly Kings, we won’t be lacking.”
Facing the Four Heavenly Kings without lacking anything.
That statement translates to not knowing what lack even means.
If a single lord’s army could defeat the Four Heavenly Kings, the Demon King’s domain would have been subdued long ago.
Besides, the new weapons are just now being deployed to the troops.
“Yes, that’s true. But if you believe meticulous preparation guarantees victory, that’s a problem. You mustn’t go to war now. You can’t underestimate the authority of the Four Heavenly Kings.”
At my words, Head Ashtar frowned.
“Do you, a mere girl, claim to know anything about war?”
‘I’ve likely been involved in more wars than you have.’
‘I’ve never led a command, but I’ve participated in plenty. Even Hero Eugene would likely try to stop this war.’
‘The problem is, I’m Olivia right now. If I were Noah, they’d believe me.’
“No, but isn’t it true that we don’t even know where the Four Heavenly Kings are? If that’s the case, we’d have to sweep through the entire Demon King’s domain. And to do that, we’d need a territorial map. It’s not like demons would have that kind of map, let alone give it to us.”
“Even if they had such a map, the demons wouldn’t hand it over.”
“Besides, the terrain is so terrible you’d have to destroy it with meteors to make progress.”
‘Maybe if they head in that direction, it could work.’
But Ashtar’s army wouldn’t know that path.
By now, the Four Heavenly Kings might have recovered, and the terrain isn’t the only problem.
“Hmm.”
“On top of that, there are hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of demons to deal with. While you might gain the upper hand initially due to the collapse of the Demon King and the subordination of their forces to the Four Heavenly Kings, what will you do when they start launching guerilla attacks from all sides? Can you handle that?”
I’ve considered the scale of it.
At one point, I even thought about wiping out all the demons in the Demon King’s domain.
But that’s not an easy feat—the numbers are overwhelming.
To do it alone, I’d have to gather them all in one place and drop three or four meteors.
And if I did that, I’d probably be killed by the Four Heavenly Kings in retaliation.
“Is that all you have to say?”
“No—”
“When did I ever say I was taking the army straight into the Demon King’s domain?”
‘What? Isn’t that what you’re saying?’
“I heard you were summoning the second son as well.”
“See, even though you may be stronger than Pector, you’re still just a woman.”
‘That’s just a coincidence.’
“Well, yes, I am a woman. But still—”
I couldn’t find a way to counter.
In noble families, women don’t interfere in family matters.
‘Mother, Katarina, is an exception. But for someone like me—a noble lady—interfering is out of the question.’
What a humiliating position.
“Of course, I do intend to go.”
“Wait, what kind of wordplay is this?”
‘I mean, he keeps contradicting himself.’
“I’m not going now. Preparations need to be made first.”
“You said you’d go before the harvest season, didn’t you?”
‘That means you’re preparing now.’
“I will go to the Demon King’s domain. But before that, the destination is Crad Fortress.”
“Crad Fortress?”
“Yes, it’s the outpost your grandfather built to enter the Demon King’s domain.”
“Was it?”
It’s also a base for Berna.
‘Thinking back, Berna’s obsession with Eldakrad still lingers. She’s gone mad. After the Demon King died, her grasp of what’s right and wrong between the Demon King and Eldakrad became impossible to discern.’
‘Right, so that fortress was Eldakrad’s. But there’s a problem.’
That crazy woman, Berna, once corrupted an entire village and destroyed the fortress.
That’s why, during her absence, I attacked her base—not just for revenge but also to clear the path to the Demon King’s castle.
***
[Meteor Fall]
[BOOM!]
‘I remember the time I destroyed Eldakrad’s fortress.’
“It’s a fortress that overlooks the Demon King’s domain. But I don’t plan to march directly into the Demon King’s domain just yet.”
Its position is indeed central.
“Are you talking about that massive fortress between the Demon King’s domain and the Empire? The one that can hold tens of thousands of troops and store three months’ worth of supplies?”
“Yes, that one.”
‘How is that not public knowledge yet? Maybe the Four Heavenly Kings blocked information from spreading.’
“That black fortress belonged to Grandfather?”
Before it was destroyed, it was truly magnificent.
But to destroy the black barrier that stupid Berna had put up, I had to unleash a massive meteor, reducing the entire place to rubble.
“Why are you speaking in past tense?”
“Uh, nothing.”
‘It’s better not to mention it.’
‘Anyway, that was Noah’s doing, not Olivia’s.’
It was done to defeat the Demon King, so there’s no problem, right?
“What’s wrong, Olivia?”
“Well, actually, it’s just that… Noah destroyed it.”
“What?”
“The… the mage in the Hero’s party is Noah’s younger sister. I heard this from her.”
‘Sorry, Noelle. If the Duke interrogates you, you’ll have to deal with it.’
‘If you laugh at me, you should be able to handle that much, right?’
“If that’s true—”
“Didn’t Noah infiltrate the Demon King’s domain alone? I heard it was impossible without breaking through that fortress.”
“Is that so?”
‘Yeah, well, it couldn’t be helped. Who would have thought Olivia’s grandfather built it?’
“That won’t be an issue.”
***
Ashtar’s eldest son arrived.
It’s Olivia’s first older brother.
‘Didn’t they say they were constructing an outpost? That was quick.’
“Oh, Rokton, you’re here. But what do you mean by ‘there’s no problem’?”
“Yes, Father. I’ve heard from Kise about this matter.”
“Then what do you mean by ‘no problem’?”
“I’ve had to cross the border between the Demon King’s domain and the Empire several times for certain tasks. The Crad Fortress, which was once destroyed, has been rebuilt.”
‘Wait, it’s already been rebuilt?’
‘No, that’s not the real issue.’
‘Does this mean Rokton supports the war too?’
‘If the fortress has been rebuilt, that means Berna has made it her stronghold. If Berna’s forces are stationed there, it will be hard to take it.’
“Oh, is that so? Are you saying we can strike it immediately?”
“That’s not the case. Berna commands tens of thousands of soldiers from the Army of Corruption stationed at the fortress. Moreover, the fortress itself has been modified and isn’t the same as before, making it difficult for us to breach.”
‘If it were the old Crad Fortress, there would still be existing records. But the new fortress, likely built by Berna in her obsession with Eldakrad, is entirely different.’
“Tens of thousands? Are you certain?”
“Yes. If you order it, Father, I can devise an optimal strategy. But if you intend to take that fortress, you’d have to sacrifice all of Ashtar’s people.”
“Hmm.”
“Furthermore, achieving our ultimate goal of eliminating Berna would be impossible.”
Rokton, at least, is realistic.
“Are you saying it’s impossible?”
“I understand how much you miss Grandfather, Father. But now is not the time.”
The eldest son’s words were correct, but doing nothing wasn’t an option either.
The head is undoubtedly filled with dissatisfaction.
Having drawn the sword, something must be struck down.
With both Pector and now Berna acting against them, doing nothing would damage the honor of the Ashtar family.
Even a small act of retaliation would preserve face and ease the head’s frustration.
Perhaps sacrificing one of the Demon King’s legions would suffice.
It would restore Ashtar’s tarnished reputation after the Pector incident.
“There is another method.”
“Another method? What is it?”
“If we can’t take it, we should lure them out instead.”
I tossed bait at the head, suggesting we draw the enemy out.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Just northeast of Crad Fortress is the 3rd Demon Legion. Most of the 3rd Legion serves under Berna.”
This is where one of the hidden bases of the Demon King’s forces lies.
The 3rd Legion is stationed there.
“Is that so?”
“If Crad Fortress is attacked, the 3rd Legion typically mobilizes to reinforce it.”
This I learned from surviving kingdom soldiers once trapped at Crad Fortress.
If the fortress is attacked, the 3rd Legion comes to assist, trapping the human army alongside the fortress defenders.
“You’re suggesting we bypass the fortress and attack the reinforcements instead?”
“Yes. We strike them and retreat immediately. We don’t even need to mobilize 30,000 troops. With just 20,000, we could take out nearly half the 3rd Legion. A surprise attack could devastate them.”
“If we deploy new weapons like cannons or firearms, a swift and unexpected assault might annihilate the 3rd Legion entirely.”
‘I didn’t have a reason to go that far myself, but…’
“Will it work?”
“So far, Ashtar has only been on the defensive. They won’t expect us to march all the way to the 3rd Legion’s location to attack.”
Given Berna’s lack of strategic sense and her obsession with Eldakrad, this could take her by surprise.
“With new weapons, we could overpower them. Eliminating the 3rd Legion would provoke them to come to Ashtar.”
“Ashtar is the Empire’s front yard. While entering the Demon King’s domain would be difficult for us, turning the battlefield to Ashtar’s territory means we could handle Berna—even if she comes in a rage.”
“Even if they don’t fall for the trap, killing over 10,000 of the Demon King’s forces would still be a significant gain.”
“If we hit and run, they probably won’t come.”
“The Four Heavenly Kings aren’t fools. With the Demon King incapacitated, they won’t take reckless risks.”
“But if it’s Berna, losing her forces might enrage her enough to charge recklessly.”
“Still, could Berna handle this alone? The Seven Stars and the Hero’s party are stationed in this region.”
“The only Heavenly King who might join Berna is Seto, but if the battlefield is Ashtar, I and the Seven Stars can join the fight.”
“Even Noelle would be a valuable asset.”
“Yes.”
“But tell me, Olivia.”
“Yes?”
“How do you know all this so well?”
‘Ah. For someone who hasn’t even left the Empire, this might seem strange.’
I had an excuse ready.
“It’s thanks to Noelle, the mage in the Hero’s party.”
I decided to drag Noelle into this.
‘How dare she mock me? She must’ve been daydreaming while I wasn’t around.’
“Oh, this Noelle sounds more capable than the Hero.”
“Well, she is Noah’s sister! You can work her to the bone!”
‘She’s part of the Hero’s party. Of course, you can order her around!’
“Oh. So you’re close to her?”
“Yes. We became quite close at the shrine.”
That should be enough.
Noelle will probably be dragged into this war.
Let’s see how she handles the mess I’ve handed over.
“Very well. I’ll think about it. I’ll discuss this with your brothers and decide, so you may leave.”
The head seemed deep in thought.
As a lord, he wouldn’t want to recklessly sacrifice his people.
He would likely make a reasonable decision.
***
As I walked out of the head’s office and down the hallway, I noticed Syria staring at me, holding a teddy bear tightly.
“What is it? Why are you staring at me like that with your bear?”
She looked disgruntled.
‘She’s probably thinking, “You left me to go on a date with those flat-chested ones at the shrine!”’
‘Now that I think about it, Kise and Noelle are both flat-chested. Does she have a preference for that?’
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Doesn’t that look like a date to you?”
“What? A date? What are you talking about?”
“Isn’t it the type of magical fear experience date that’s popular among noble couples these days?”
‘What? I’ve never heard of that. Are nobles insane these days?’
“Does that even make sense? I told you, I encountered Berna.”
“Berna, that crazy woman, is no match for you, Olivia! She’s no better than a passing harlot before you!”
‘If it weren’t for Grandfather, I’d have been in serious trouble back then.’
‘Maybe Noelle would’ve helped, but I would’ve been severely injured. I could’ve lost an arm.’
“Hey, you’re overestimating me by comparing me to Noah.”
“I don’t have the stamina I had back then.”
“Still, it’s not fair! If I had been there instead of Noelle, I’d have dispelled those illusions in an instant!”
“What? Why?”
‘Did I do something wrong here?’
‘Even though Noelle and I are siblings, and I’ve told her before, why would she think it was a date?’