The Final Battle

It seems that in later years, many dramatizations of this era have

depicted Souma Kazuya as a wise and courageous ruler. They depict him as

a ruler who took to the battlefield, as slaying many powerful opponents in

single combat, as having confounded enemy armies with his ingenuity, and

as having brought happiness to the people with his excellent policies.

However, the historians dispute that appraisal of him.

To begin with, in all his life, Souma only fought enough foreign wars to

be counted on one hand. He had very few opportunities to show that sort of

military prowess. Nearly all of the achievements he is remembered for were

actually accomplished by those who served under him.

As for the ingenuity that let him toy with his enemies, there is no proof

that he came up with any of those ideas himself. In the era in which he

lived, there were many people, foremost among them being the prime

minister, Hakuya, who were masters of such ingenuity, so Souma may only

have been implementing the best plans offered by such people.

Certainly, he had many excellent policies, but it is questionable whether

he led all of his people to happiness.

From time to time, there were signs that Souma's position caused him

suffering. If all of his policies had been having their intended effects, he

likely wouldn't have suffered so. Thus, Souma's abilities were not so great

as the dramatizations depict. That was the consensus reached by historians.

...However.

Even with that said, there are few who claim Souma was not a great

ruler.

Another point of consensus among historians is that "Souma was good

at gathering people and using them well." Souma had no great abilities

himself, but he was a genius in how he placed capable people where they

were needed, and could deploy the necessary number of troops to where

they were required.

The event that first spread Souma's name across the continent, his

victory in the war with the Principality of Amidonia, was largely a result of

this gift. He had a firm grasp of what he was and was not capable of, and

was able to delegate the things he couldn't do himself to others.

It could be that this is the most important quality for a ruler.

◇ ◇ ◇

"They're more stubborn than I expected..."

As I watched the battle develop from the main camp of the Elfrieden

Kingdom's army, I was surprised by how good a fight the forces of the

principality of Amidonia were putting up.

It was 55,000 kingdom soldiers in high spirits vs. 25,000 exhausted

principality soldiers. The outcome should have been apparent to anyone,

but the forces of the principality were holding out well. No, maybe it was

that our forces weren't fully able to attack.

First, the kingdom's and principality's wyverns were dogfighting in the

skies above. Because they hadn't been hit by the ambush at Goldoa Valley,

the Principality of Amidonia's wyvern unit was the most energetic unit in

the principality's army.

There were fewer than 500 knights, but if they stayed on the defensive,

even the Elfrieden Wyvern Cavalry, who boasted twice their numbers,

would struggle to attack them. If we could seize air supremacy, that would

decide the outcome of the battle, but it didn't look like that would happen

for a while.

In the end, the battle had been left for the forces on the ground to decide.

The kingdom's army had deployed in the crane wing formation. In the

center was the Royal Guard led by Ludwin, plus a total of 20,000 troops,

including 10,000 from the troops that reported directly to me in the

Forbidden Army and 10,000 from the Army. In the left wing there were

roughly 15,000 Army troops led by Glaive (Halbert and Kaede were in this

unit as well). Lastly, in the right wing there was a force of roughly 15,000

troops led by Liscia which consisted of Army troops and auxiliaries from

the dark elf village.

I wanted Liscia to stay in the main camp, but she said, "This is the final

battle. Let me do what I can, too," and forced me to let her have her way.

Partly because she was currently the only person who could still keep

the confused forces of the Army together, I hesitantly accepted it.

She had been something like an idol during her time with the Army,

after all. Thanks to Georg's training, there was also no issue with her ability

to command troops. I made the decision figuring that she would meet little

resistance.

I did, at least, send Aisha with her as a bodyguard, though. She was a

princess, after all, and I didn't want her being too reckless.

Anyway, since I was in the main camp, to the rear of the central force

led by Ludwin, the only person I had to talk to was Carla, who I was

keeping close at hand as a hostage.

While Carla was a hostage, her hands and feet weren't bound with

chains. She was wearing a slave collar, so it would strangle her the moment

she attempted to flee or harm her master. It was supposedly safe leaving her

like this. It seemed to me that if she just seized a sword from one of the

guards or stabbed me with those sharp claws of hers, she could kill me

pretty easily, but... I guess that was just how the collar worked. Then again,

Carla didn't seem to have any intention of harming me anymore.

I tried talking to her. "So, what do you think? I thought they'd break

more easily."

"...No one goes to war wanting to lose," she said. "They'll desperately

try to avoid defeat."

"Yeah, I guess they would."

Maybe Carla had gotten bored just standing by my side, because she

responded surprisingly easily. As a former commander of the Air Force, she

must have had a better grasp of the situation than I did.

They're being stubborn because of their inferior numbers, huh. That

could be a little troublesome, I thought.

"Our left and right wings, which is to say the units under Liscia and

Glaive, don't look like they're moving that much," I said. "If they were a

bit more proactive about encircling them, don't you think they could wipe

them out?"

"...If you think that, why not send a messenger on a fast horse with that

order?" asked Carla.

With the tone she used, it was like she was asking "Is that your final

answer?" It made me stop to think about it a little. However, I couldn't

come to any conclusions.

"...I don't know," I said. "My knowledge of war is purely theoretical, so

Liscia should know far more about commanding troops than I do. Rather

than open my mouth when I shouldn't, I'd better leave the decision-making

to those in the field."

Carla laughed a little. "Ha ha ha. That's probably a good idea."

It looked like that was the right answer.

"Carla, do you know the reason?" I asked. "Care to fill me in?"

"It's the number of troops the enemy has," she said.

"The number of troops?"

Carla pointed towards the battlefield. "I only know what I've heard from

listening in, but those are the 30,000 troops that laid siege to Altomura,

right? They were ambushed while they were withdrawing, too."

"Yeah, that's right."

"It doesn't look like their numbers have decreased that much,

considering all that's happened."

"Hm? Now that you mention it..."

With such a large force, it was hard to tell anything at a glance, but they

looked to be about half the size of our own force, which had 55,000 troops.

I guessed they had around 25,000 troops.

It was true that, considering that they'd been ambushed by Juna's

marines in Goldoa Valley, it didn't look like they had taken many losses.

"Did the ambush not achieve anything?" I wondered.

"No, from what I see on the battlefield, there are varying levels of

morale in the different units of the principality's army. They likely made up

the troops they lost to the ambush by taking in conscripts from cities along

their route here. That would be why some of them appear to have low

morale."

"I see..."

Countries in this world generally had standing armies.

In a world where there are giant animals that, from a person back on

Earth's perspective, might as well be monsters running rampant, it was

necessary to have troops that could be mobilized at any time. In Elfrieden,

the Army, Navy, Air Force and the troops that were under my direct control

in the Forbidden Army were standing troops. Of course, in times of need,

levies could be raised from the common people. In our case, most of the

personal armies of nobles other than the three dukes were made up of levied

troops.

After the war, I planned to create a unified army which would

incorporate the various nobles' forces as well, but I intended to release the

people from military service and have them return to their towns. Right

now, raising productivity was a more urgent concern than a decline in

military power.

Naturally, the army the principality used to invade us would also be

made up of a combination of standing troops and levied troops. They must

have raised all the levies they could by now.

So, after the ambush, the levies they'd raised must have come from

those they couldn't have conscripted before.

For instance, they might be the elderly, the feeble, or even adventurers

who had happened to be in their domain. (The adventurers' guild offered a

contract that allowed countries to conscript all adventurers who were in

their territory in a time of crisis. In return, the country needed to pay a fixed

sum to the guild every month, so I had already terminated that contract.)

Carla was pointing out that they couldn't have high morale if that was

the case.

"If you leave people like that alone, they'll eventually break on their

own," she said. "On the other hand, if you encircled them, it would risk

causing them to unite as one. That's why both Liscia and Glaive are waiting

for them to break ranks and flee."

"I see," I said. "So I was right to let my field commanders make the

decision."

I realized that, in a situation like this, rather than pretending to know

what I was doing and making pronouncements from on high, it was better

to trust the people in the field and leave it to them. I had capable people out

there, after all.

"I'm just a figurehead, so I should stay back in the main camp, twiddling

my thumbs," I said.

"I think that's a problem in its own way..." said Carla. "You are the king,

aren't you?"

"There's only work for a king before and after the war," I said. "Other

than that, well... If it comes to it, maybe I can offer up my own head and

beg them to spare the lives of my troops and commanders."

When I said that, Carla's eyes went wide. She looked at me as if she was

seeing something completely unbelievable.

Huh? Why was she looking at me like that?

"Did I say something strange?" I asked.

"You... Aren't you afraid to die?" Carla demanded.

What was she talking about?

"Of course I'm scared to die. I'm not suicidal."

"Still, just now, you said you'd offer your head up if it came to that,

didn't you?" she asked. "Have you already accepted that?"

"Huh? Ah... I guess I did. That's weird..."

Carla was right. Now that she mentioned it... it was weird.

Why had I said I'd offer my head up like it was completely natural?

I knew it was something expected of a king. Power was concentrated in

my hands as the representative of this country, so I had to bear just as much

responsibility. That was what it meant to be king.

But why did it feel "natural" for me to do it?

I mean, I'd always been... a bit of a coward, hadn't I? I valued my life,

didn't I? I'd taken the throne and worked so hard at internal affairs in order

to avoid being handed over to the Empire, hadn't I?

—When had I stopped holding my life dear?

Carla looked at me anxiously. "A-Are you all right? Are you feeling

unwell?"

I was silent.

Unwell... that's not quite right. Broken...

There was something broken about me as a person.

Yeah. That made a strange amount of sense.

Only now that it had been pointed out did I notice that my current

mental state was messed up.

I felt that I had been taking life too lightly. My own life, and the lives of

others.

That was how I was able to do simple arithmetic with people's lives. I

had been subtracting the lives saved from the lives lost, and choosing any

option where the sum was a positive number.

As if I were a system that handled that sort of computation.

That was when the words I'd once said to Liscia crossed my mind.

"Even if I don't want to do it, I have to. Because I'm the king now."

Oh... I see. So that's how it is...

"At some point, I became a king..." I murmured.

"What's this all of a sudden? You've been a king all this time."

Carla didn't seem to understand what I was saying, but it made sense to

me now.

"I was just going along with events as they happened," I said. "At some

point... without noticing it myself, I began to act as a system of the state

which we call a 'king.' ...By telling myself it was part of my programming,

I became able to always choose the 'best' option."

"System? Programming? Hey, what are you even talking about?!" Carla

shouted.

All I could do was give a self-deprecating laugh. "Carla, I may be a

'fake.'"

"Wha?!"

"After all... If I can't get into the role of king, I can't send soldiers off to

the battlefield," I said.

I was a coward. I didn't want to be hurt or killed myself. I didn't want to

see others hurt or killed, either.

For someone like me to go to war as a king, I had to fully embrace my

role as a system of the state.

By telling myself this was what a king did, I had been able to suppress

my own will and do what needed to be done. If I hadn't... I felt like I'd have

been crushed under the weight of all the lives that might be lost because of

my decisions. When I saw how far I had taken that, I could only laugh

scornfully at myself.

"Man... I can't laugh at the former king now, huh," I said. "If I had a

viable replacement, I'd want to give up right now."

"...What good can come from letting me hear you in a moment of

weakness like this?" she asked incredulously.

"You've got it backwards," I said. "Do you think I could let Liscia and

the others hear me talk like this?"

For Liscia, who'd told me she wanted me to be king; for Aisha, who

served me as king; and for Juna, Hakuya, Poncho, Tomoe, and all the rest, I

could never let them hear me like this. Especially since Liscia, being the

serious person she was, seemed to feel responsible for the fact that her

father had pushed the throne onto me.

"Because you've fought against me, I'm able to let you hear," I said.

"...That doesn't make me happy at all."

Then it happened. It happened as we were talking. I noticed there had

been a change on the battlefield.

◇ ◇ ◇

On that battlefield, where a pitched battle was still being fought, the

principality's army suddenly began to crumble.

Members of the force that had fought hard to resist the attacks of the

numerically-superior army of the kingdom up until this point began to flee.

The first to run were those who had been hurriedly pressed into service in

the time between when the force had left Goldoa Valley and their arrival at

the plains.

The Principality of Amidonia had mandatory military service for all men

once they reached a certain age, so they were combat trained, but these

were people who ordinarily lived as civilians. If they were suddenly sent

into a disadvantageous battle, their morale wasn't going to be great.

Eventually, soldiers started fleeing towards the southern side where the

encirclement wasn't yet complete.

The Amidonians cut down fleeing soldiers in an attempt to keep the

others fighting, but there were close to 10,000 of these levied troops, so it

was little help.

However, the more of them that tried to flee, the more their lines were

thrown into disorder, and that ended up disturbing their ability to function

as a unit. Elfrieden did not miss this chance to attack.

"Hal, it's time, you know!" Kaede shouted.

"I've been waiting for this!" he called back. "Let go get 'em, you louts!"

"""Yeahhhhh!"""

In the left wing of the kingdom's army, Halbert charged forward with his

troops to complete their encirclement of the enemy. In this battle, Halbert

was leading somewhere between ten to twenty men from the Army and

fighting as a platoon commander under Kaede's command. He rode no

horse, spinning his two halberds around and knocking his confused enemies

flying. The Amidonian general noticed what was happening and shouted

from up on horseback. "Don't let them encircle us! Use indirect fire to stop

the enemy's left wing!"

In the next moment, a hail of arrows and magic flew from the

principality's army towards Halbert and his unit.

"Earth Wall!" Kaede shouted.

This summoned a wall of earth that was nearly one hundred meters long

and three meters high which narrowly saved Halbert's unit.

That must have surprised the forces of the principality. There couldn't

have been more than five mages on the entire continent who could conjure

such an impressive wall of earth in an instant. Kaede may have had a timid

personality, but she was a genius when it came to her quick thinking and

earth magic.

Halbert pressed his back up against the wall of earth for cover, then gave

an order to his men who were doing the same. "We can't let Kaede hog all

the glory! We're going for some payback!"

"""Yeah!"""

This time it was Halbert and his platoon firing arrows and magic over

the earth wall at the principality's army. Halbert threw one of the fire spears

he had shown off in the battle near Randel against the Zemish mercenaries.

The principality's forces were on an attack footing, so they were unable

to prepare themselves in time. They were shot full of arrows or scorched,

and their formation was thrown into chaos.

Seeing this chance, Halbert leapt out. "Now's our chance, while they're

in disarray! Charge in!"

Meanwhile, in the disorderly chaos of the principality's forces, their

general was trying to restore calm. "Men, don't fall into disarray! If we

break ranks, we'll give the enemy exactly what they want!"

He frantically tried to encourage his troops, but the chaos showed no

signs of abating. Growing impatient, the general rode up to one of his

panicking soldiers and suddenly lopped the man's head off.

"Shut up! If you'll not calm yourselves, I'll behead you like I did this

fool!" he bellowed.

"No, you shut up," a voice said.

"What?!" the general shouted.

By the time the general noticed him, it was already too late. Halbert was

in front of him with his arms crossed.

When Halbert uncrossed his arms, the blades of his two halberds acted

like a pair of scissors, catching the general's torso and cutting him into

pieces.

The upper torso of the now ex-general thudded to the ground.

The sight of blood spurting from the still-standing, headless horse and

the now torso-less rider in its saddle robbed the soldiers of their will to fight

in an instant.

Halbert flicked the clotted blood away from his two halberds with a

flash, and then he roared, "Forbidden Army Officer Halbert Magna has

slain an enemy general! Now, which of you wants to die next?!"

With blood dripping from the halberds in each of his hands, he must

have looked like some horrific monster.

Today, Halbert was fired up to compete with Souma and Kaede, who

were both around the same age as him. Souma had assembled this massive

army, while Kaede was supporting Ludwin with her strategic ingenuity.

I'm not gonna let them get any further ahead of me! That was the feeling

that drove Halbert now.

When they saw Halbert with such intensity, the Amidonian soldiers

reacted as if they'd run into an ogre in the darkness. They scrambled to

retreat, thinking, There's no way we can fight that thing!

One soldier of the principality, who saw Halbert at this time and

narrowly survived the battle, later told the story like this:

"Back then, I was sure I would die. He was still a young man, but even

fierce, veteran warriors didn't want to face him. When I later heard that was

'Hal the Red Ogre,' it made a strange amount of sense. Honestly... I'm

amazed I survived..."

It would be fair to say that for "Hal the Red Ogre," who would in later

years be used in stories as a representative of Souma's followers, his legend

began with this battle.

His style of standing at the front, leading his subordinates forward in a

charge, would remain unchanged even when he was given command of a

full army. Souma would warn him time and again that it wasn't how a

leader should behave, but Halbert would say, "This way suits me better,"

and never listen.

In fact, because he would always manage to survive, and to get results,

Souma wouldn't be able to say anything more than that. It would end up

causing Kaede a great deal of worry, but that is a story for another time.

◇ ◇ ◇

"Hahhhhhhhhh!"

Meanwhile, in the right wing of the kingdom's army, Liscia let out a

battle cry.

While acting as the commander of the right wing, she also rode around

on horseback herself, moving up quite close to the front line.

Each time Liscia thrust her rapier out towards the enemy, blades of ice

formed in the air and tore apart the Amidonian soldiers. Her form as she did

so made her look like a valkyrie. It even had a certain beauty.

But on the other hand, Liscia seemed to be acting in haste, as if the

blood had rushed to her head. She gave the impression of having lost her

calm.

Of course, if she stood out so much, the enemy were going to target her.

"Don't falter! Surround her and take her head!" an enemy unit

commander ordered.

Enemy soldiers swarmed towards Liscia.

No matter how incredibly brave Liscia was, she was at a numerical

disadvantage. If she let herself be surrounded by spearmen, she wouldn't be

able to break away using the horse's superior mobility.

The enemy's spears closed in on Liscia. Then, "Princess! Why, yoooou!

Get away from her!"

Arriving just in the nick of time, Aisha knocked away the enemy

soldiers swarming around her with a full swing of her great sword.

Aisha had been assigned to guard Liscia, but her great sword wasn't

meant to be swung around on horseback, and she had fallen behind because

she was on foot.

Once Aisha had wiped out the nearby enemies with a slash of her great

sword and a blast of wind, she ran up beside Liscia's horse with tears in her

eyes.

"Princess, please, don't be so recklesssssss!"

"...Sorry," Liscia said. "I lost my head there."

Seeing Aisha's pleading, tearful eyes brought Liscia to her senses. She

put her hand on Aisha's head, which was at thigh-level for her because she

was on a horse.

"But I have to be a little reckless," Liscia said. "Because... I want to end

this war quickly."

"Princess?" Aisha tilted her head to the side, confused by the worried

look on Liscia's face.

While the forces of the principality were showing some stubbornness,

the battle was going in Elfrieden's favor. Soldiers were already starting to

flee from the Amidonian side, so if the kingdom's forces slowly encircled

them, it wouldn't be long before they emerged victorious. There was no

need to rush that victory.

However, Liscia turned to Aisha with a pained look on her face. "Hey,

Aisha. What do you think of the way Souma's been lately?"

"What do you mean?" Aisha asked.

"He seems... like he's pushing himself too hard, don't you think?"

"Well... yes, I think you're right."

Even to Aisha's eyes, as one who offered her unwavering loyalty to

Souma, his expression lately had been frightening. No... she wasn't

frightened of him, she was frightened for him.

There was something fragile about him.

Of course, considering they were in the middle of a war now, it would

have been just as worrying to see a stupid grin on their ruler's face. Still,

she couldn't help but feel Souma was straining himself to act like a king.

Aisha wanted Souma to be smiling.

"Once this war ends... do you suppose His Majesty will smile again?"

Aisha asked.

Liscia's eyes widened for a moment, then she smiled broadly. "We'll

make it so he can smile."

"Ah! Right you are!" Aisha raised her head, getting back into a fighting

stance with her great sword, then stood in front of Liscia. "However,

princess, please, stand back. If anything were to happen to you, His Majesty

could never smile again."

"...Right," Liscia said. "I'll try to show more prudence."

"Leave the fighting to me!" Aisha cried.

"No, that I can't do. Aisha, you do know that if anything were to happen

to you, Souma would never smile again, right?"

"...Do you think so?" Aisha asked.

"I do."

"You do?"

The two looked at one another and smiled. Then, a moment later, they

wore the faces of warriors.

"Then, princess, let us both take care of our lives."

"Yes," Liscia agreed. "Let's end this agonizing war together."

The two of them rushed across the battlefield.

◇ ◇ ◇

The battle between the armies of Elfrieden and Amidonia had reached a

turning point.

In the center of the principality's army, which was slowly being

encircled, the Sovereign Prince of Amidonia, Gaius VIII, had a grim look

on his face.

His initial plan to ambush the kingdom's army as they encircled Van,

then catch them in a pincer attack with the garrison troops, had gone up in

flames. The forces of the kingdom hadn't laid siege to Van. Instead they had

waited on the plains for the main force of his army to arrive.

The principality's army had been exhausted from marching and from the

ambush at Goldoa Valley, and they then had had to go into battle against the

well-rested army of the kingdom, which had had nearly twice as many

soldiers.

The kingdom's army hadn't been aiming for the capital city Van, but for

the main force of the principality's army, or to be even more specific, for

Gaius VIII's head. That was a fact that made Gaius VIII gnash his teeth.

The forces of the principality had fought well at first, but they were

exhausted, and their quality had been watered down with fresh conscripts,

so they couldn't have hoped to hold out for long. Soldiers had already

started to flee, and there was no hope of regrouping.

At this point, Gaius made up his mind and called Julius back from

commanding on the front line.

When he returned to the main camp, Julius stood before Gaius filled

with anger. "Father! What have you suddenly called me back here for?! You

know if I leave the front line, Elfrieden may push through it!"

"...Julius." Gaius spoke to Julius with a thoroughly calm demeanor.

"Withdraw from this battlefield."

"Wh-What are you saying? The war has only just begun..." Julius

stammered.

"We've lost this war," Gaius said to his bewildered son in a selfmocking tone. "The soldiers of my army are strong. They'll not be found

lacking compared to the kingdom's. However, in their exhausted state after

our long march, it will be impossible for us to overturn the difference in

power between our forces. I will buy time, so you cut a bloody swathe out

of here while their encirclement is yet incomplete and escape by yourself."

Gaius had accepted defeat.

When he realized that fact, Julius felt his legs begin to give out

underneath him. However, if he considered what Gaius was saying, he

couldn't let himself collapse here.

"No... If anyone should do that, it's you, Father!" Julius cried. "I will be

the one to buy time!"

"That is not possible," said Gaius.

"Why not?!"

"Because Elfrieden is aiming to take my head."

Having chosen this as the place he would die, Gaius VIII's mind was

now more clear than it had ever been before. It let him see Souma and

Hakuya's aim.

"I am a constant irritant to Elfrieden," said Gaius. "Many of the nobles

in their country are beholden to us. By striking me down, they must hope to

remove that threat."

Julius fell silent.

"What's more, I am the flag bearer of the anti-kingdom faction in the

principality," Gaius went on. "The reason we can take a hard-line position

against the kingdom is that the hard-liners have been keeping the moderates

down. But, if I were to vanish, the moderates in the principality would gain

momentum."

The difference in power between the Principality of Amidonia and the

Elfrieden Kingdom was clear. Be it territory, population, number of

soldiers, or prosperity, they lost in all respects.

On top of that, Amidonia shared borders with the Orthodox Papal State

of Lunaria, a theocracy to the north which had its own unique set of values;

the Republic of Turgis to the south, with its policy of northward

expansionism; and the mercenary state Zem, the neutral state that would

dispatch troops anywhere for the right price, to the west. There was no

telling when those who were weak of heart might cozy up to one of these

other states in an attempt at self-preservation.

That was why, in order to keep Amidonia as Amidonia, Gaius had

needed to keep a lid on such things. Now Elfrieden was trying to remove

him.

Julius's eyes went wide. "No... You mean to say Souma plotted all of

this solely to take your head, Father?! He even used his own land as bait?!"

"Be careful, Julius," said Gaius. "This new king is nothing like Albert."

Gaius no longer underestimated Souma because of his youth.

He continued, "That is why Elfrieden will never let me escape. If I

attempt to retreat, they will pursue me to the very depths of hell. Their only

goal is to slay me, after all."

Julius said nothing.

"That is why I will remain here, to show them the pride of Amidonia,"

Gaius finished.

"Then I will stay with you!" Julius cried.

"You mustn't! If we lose you, too, what will become of the

principality?!"

"We have Roroa," Julius said.

"Hmph... She's not good enough." Even though he was speaking about

his own daughter, Gaius spat the words out with distaste. "It takes a

venomous snake to lead Amidonia. A venomous snake that will one day

sink its fangs into the kingdom and strike her dead. Roroa may have the

blood of a cunning snake, but she lacks venom."

Even as Julius trembled with fear at the madness his father was starting

to display, he asked, "Father, what is this 'venom' you speak of?"

"The burning desire for revenge against Elfrieden," snapped Gaius.

"Even while surrounded by powerful states, our Principality of Amidonia

has maintained her independence, developed her unproductive land,

endured through hunger, dug mines under harsh conditions, and preserved

herself as a state solely because of our drive for revenge against the

kingdom. Our hatred for the kingdom which stole our fertile lands from us

has driven us to become ever stronger, ever more prosperous.

...Unfortunately, Roroa may have a gift for finance, but she lacks that drive

for revenge. The only one who has at least somewhat inherited my venom,

Julius, is you."

With those words, Gaius rose from his seat and placed his hands on

Julius' shoulders.

"That is why you must survive. You are the only one who can carry on

my desire for revenge and keep Amidonia as she ought to be."

"Father..." Julius was bewildered.

Did that venomous blood flow in his veins? Certainly, Julius saw the

kingdom as his sworn enemy. However, could he burn with the same

passion he saw in Gaius?

While Julius was still nonplussed, Gaius said to him, "At this point, we

can't afford to worry about being made into a puppet state. You should seek

the Empire's aid. If you do, it should at least prevent the kingdom's

annexation of Amidonia."

"But... Like you were saying before, will the Empire forgive us for

going against the Mankind Declaration?" asked Julius.

"Lay all of the blame for that on me," said Gaius. "The vengeful fiend of

Amidonia refused to heed even his own son's warnings and plotted to

invade the kingdom against the Empire's wishes. That is all there is to it."

Julius gulped. Gaius didn't only intend to die here, he meant to take all

of the ill repute for their actions onto himself. Even Julius, who was known

for his coldness and composure, felt his heart stirred by that. Though, at the

same time, there was an anger towards the kingdom in his eyes.

When he saw those eyes, Gaius nodded in satisfaction, then pushed

Julius away from him. "Go, Julius. You must never let the soul of Amidonia

be erased."

"...Forgive me." Julius saluted, then turned on his heel and departed.

Even after watching his back until he was out of sight, Gaius stood there

for a while. He took a deep breath, and his expression changed.

He no longer felt haste or indecision. He drew the sword at his hip with

the stern expression of a warrior.

"Now, all that is left is to do my duty as a warrior and show them the

spirit of Amidonia."

◇ ◇ ◇

"...That looks like it could be bad," Carla, who was standing at my side,

suddenly said.

The principality's army was already showing decisive signs of defeat,

with no shortage of soldiers fleeing or surrendering. The soldiers near the

main camp who were still resisting were completely surrounded. It felt like

all that was left was to wait for them to be eliminated.

What about that could possibly look bad?

"What's the problem?" Souma asked.

"There's no sign of Gaius VIII fleeing," Carla replied. "He's chosen to

die here."

"I have no intent of letting him escape, so isn't that convenient?"

"...The cowardly have fled, the weak have fallen, and, as a result, the

elite are gathering around Gaius as he continues to resist," she said. "If they

were to form a suicide squad, no ordinary man would be able to stop them.

Especially since, once an army's victory is assured, its soldiers hold their

lives all the more dear."

When I looked at the battlefield after she pointed that out, I saw 40,000

soldiers from my own army seemingly unable to eliminate the enemy's

main force, which must have already been reduced to less than 500 troops.

No matter how many tens of thousands of soldiers we had, only around

three people at most could attack any soldier at one point in time. If they

were clustered together, that number was even lower.

To say nothing of the fact that the enemy had accepted their deaths and

were now fearless while, as the victors, our people held their lives all the

more dear.

There would be no rewards or glory if they died. That was why they

couldn't press the attack.

A cold chill ran down my spine. I knew historical examples of this.

For instance, in the Siege of Osaka, Yukimura Sanada had led 3,000 men

into a suicide attack which had broken through Tadanao Matsudaira's army

of 13,000 and nearly reached their supreme commander, Ieyasu Tokugawa.

Another example had been in China, after the Battle of Gaixia, when a

pursuing force of several thousand men sent out by the victorious Liu Bang

had been defeated multiple times by the defeated Xiang Yu and twentyeight of his retainers.

When there was too great a difference in will to fight, the difference in

number of soldiers lost all meaning. An army without the will to fight could

never win, no matter how great its numbers.

...I'll bet that force is going to come straight for my head.

Honestly... I was scared. Sun Tzu had said never to fight a suicide squad.

However, even so, I couldn't let Gaius get away from here. If I did, all

our sacrifices would have been in vain.

But... if, by some chance... if the worst were to happen...

"Listen, Carla," I turned and spoke to Carla.

"What?"

"...We need to talk."

◇ ◇ ◇

"Seek only the head of the enemy king, Souma Kazuya!" Gaius VIII

shouted from up on horseback.

Gaius had gathered the five hundred knights who were his most elite

retainers around him. He was about to carry out a suicide charge towards

Elfrieden's main camp. The area around him was crowded with tens of

thousands of enemies. It would be a road to death filled with enemy

soldiers, one from which he would never return.

Even if they were successful in striking Souma down, it would only

mean that the king fell at the hands of common soldiers. However, their

grudge against Elfrieden, which had been passed from father to son for the

past fifty years, had seeped into the very marrow of his retainers' bones.

They would not falter.

"Let us show Elfrieden the spirit and valor of the Amidonian people!"

Gaius shouted.

"""Yeahhhhhhh!"""

Hearing that war cry from his retainers, Gaius pointed his sword towards

the center of the kingdom's army and swung it down. "Chaaaaarge!"

The nearly five hundred knights of his elite cavalry raced towards the

center of the kingdom's army.

They put any soldier in their path to the sword, crushing both enemy and

still-resisting ally alike under their hooves as they advanced with the force

of a windstorm. They were like a flame shining one last time before it was

extinguished. That was why they shone all the more powerfully.

"Gaius VIII?! Has he gone mad?!" Ludwin, who was defending the

center, looked at that rampaging group from up on his white horse with a

look of obvious distaste. This sort of reckless charge was nothing less than

suicide.

Well, it probably is suicide, he realized. Now that they've accepted their

overall loss, they're looking for a place to die. Honestly, I'd rather not have

to play along with that...

Ludwin put on the helmet which he had taken off, hoisting his cavalry

lance skywards. He shouted to the knights of the Royal Guard behind him,

"His Majesty is behind us! We are this kingdom's shield! In the name of the

Royal Guard, we will stop that group even if it costs us our lives!"

"""Yeahhhhh!"""

"Let's go!" Ludwin called.

The nearly two thousand knights of the Royal Guard under Ludwin

rushed forward. It didn't take long for them to slam into the front of Gaius'

five hundred retainers.

When they collided, roughly half of Gaius' retainers were blown away

in an instant. Nearly as many of the Royal Guard were knocked flying as

well, but considering that they had had the numerical advantage to begin

with, it could be said that they had taken less serious losses. From there, it

devolved into a melee with the sound of hooves echoing.

In that jumble of friend and foe, Ludwin searched for Gaius. "I've found

you, Gaius!"

The man who appeared to be Gaius was in a group of knights charging

intently towards the main camp, and he wore a magnificent cloak. When the

man in the cloak saw Ludwin, he pointed his drawn sword towards him.

"You! Who are you?!" the man shouted.

"I am Captain of the Royal Guard, Ludwin Arcs."

"Hmph, an ornamental unit from the capital, is it?"

"Say what you will! Once we strike you down, this war will be over!"

Ludwin spurred his favorite horse forward. When he did, the retainers

surrounding the man in the cloak split off in different directions, as if they

had signaled one another to do so.

Gaius's retainers have abandoned him?!

Ludwin thought their behavior was strange for a moment, but right now

he needed to focus on the man in front of him. It seemed to be all the man

in the cloak could do just to parry Ludwin's lance thrusts with his sword.

"Guh... You fight well, considering your unit only exists to look pretty,"

grunted the man.

"No matter where he puts me on display, my lance exists to pierce His

Majesty's enemies!" Ludwin declared.

Ludwin knocked the sword that was swung at him aside with his lance,

thrusting with all his might at the man's now-undefended torso. His lance

struck true, impaling the man and piercing through his cloak.

The man spat blood and hung his head, but he was smiling. "Well done...

However, it means nothing..."

"What?"

Then, the man raised his face and shouted, "Your Highness! Make our

greatest wish come true...!"

Looking at the expiring man, Ludwin was shocked.

When he thought about it, he'd had no idea what the face of the ruler of

a country they had no diplomatic contact with looked like. For instance, if

Gaius had just had one of his retainers wear his cloak, Ludwin would

mistake that person for him.

What if Gaius was one of those knights who had scattered in different

directions before...?!

Ludwin inhaled sharply, then shouted, "His Majesty!"

When Ludwin turned around, he saw a lone knight charging towards the

main camp.

◇ ◇ ◇

"I have a report! There is an enemy knight bearing down on this main

camp at incredible speed!" a soldier shouted, rushing into the main camp.

It was just as I was finishing making my request to Carla.

...Thank goodness, I thought. It looks like I made it in time.

Carla's eyes were wide in surprise, and she gnashed her teeth and glared

at me. "Is that... an order?"

"No, I don't think it needs to be," I said. "I'm sure you'll accomplish it

whether I make it an order or not."

I went to touch Carla's slave collar, but she batted my hand away.

Immediately, Carla groaned in pain. She had struck her master while

wearing a slave collar, so of course she did.

"Urgh... Don't be ridiculous..." Carla said, glaring at me even as she was

in agony.

"Carla?! What are you doing?" I asked.

"Don't be ridiculous! I could never listen to that request!" Carla flew

into a rage, as if the constricting collar meant nothing to her.

"No, I'm just saying that if the worst should happen..." I said.

"Agh! Enough! Don't talk back to me! Just give me the order to 'kill

him'!" Carla shouted, pointing in the direction the enemy knight was

coming from. "Because of this slave collar, I can't leave your side without

permission! Just give me permission already! I'll deal with him!"

"...You're willing to fight for me?" I asked.

I couldn't believe it, but Carla gave an indignant "Hmph!"

"I'm not doing it for you," she said. "I'm only doing it because I don't

want Liscia to see you with that face."

What face? What sort of face was I making right now?

Was it a scary face? Was it full of grief? Was it pitiful?

As I touched my own face, trying to figure it out, Carla stomped her feet

indignantly and demanded it again.

"I told you, give me the order! For Liscia's sake, tell me to 'kill him'!"

"...I'll allow it," I said at last. If she said it was for Liscia, I could

probably trust her. "Please, Carla. Kill that knight and end this war."

"Understood!"

With those words, Carla bowed her head and then took one long sword

from each of the two nearby guards. Then she spread her wings and took

flight.

She floated in midair for a little while as she searched for her target, then

she dove like a falcon that had found its prey and flew to the south.

◇ ◇ ◇

"Carla... I'll transfer my ownership of you as a slave to Liscia."

That was what Souma had suddenly said to Carla.

Certainly, it was possible for a slave collar to transfer its ownership to

another if its master willed it. However, if he did that, Carla would be able

to harm Souma. So why was it that he had suddenly said that?

When Carla had asked him, Souma had pointed towards the incoming

suicide squad.

"That suicide squad is targeting me. Even in the worst scenario, they'll

burn out after they've taken my head. It should be easy to wipe them out at

that point. So, I have a request. If I fall in this battle, tell Liscia, 'I give the

throne to you.' Well... It's my last will."

"Your last will? Are you joking?"

When she'd asked him that, Souma's face had taken on a serious

expression, and he'd said:

"I'm dead serious. I'm the king, so I have to consider the worst case

scenario. I'd feel bad for pushing things off on her with the job only halfdone, but, well, if we can just take down Gaius, Van will fall easily enough.

If she does what Hakuya tells her from there, everything will be fine."

After saying that, Souma had smiled.

When she saw him smile... Carla realized she had misunderstood

something.

The king was the most powerful person in the country, so she'd thought

he could control everything. Looking at things as a warrior who served the

king, that was what she had come to see a king as.

That was why Carla had thought Souma had usurped the throne.

She'd thought he had been seduced by that tremendous power, deceiving

the kindhearted king Albert into giving it to him, and that he had forced

Liscia into an unwanted engagement, trying to use her to cement his power.

While she had later found out from Liscia's letters that she was wrong, she

had still harbored those doubts in some corner of her heart. That was why

she followed Castor to the bitter end when he chose to die for his friendship

with Georg.

Had Souma truly not been seduced by that power and authority? Even as

she stood as a prisoner at his side, Carla had been pondering that question.

However... with his words earlier, it had become clear to her.

"Carla, I may be a 'fake.'"

"After all... If I can't get into the role of king, I can't send soldiers off to

the battlefield."

He had to get into the role. That was proof that he was aware he wasn't a

king.

Souma never wanted to be king...

If he'd had a carefree attitude and had been able to ignore the

responsibility that came with that power, he might have become king

without worrying too much about it. However, for one who understood that

responsibility, power was nothing but a burden. Souma was managing to

bear that burden by playing a role.

The things she thought he had stolen had in fact been forced onto him by

others.

By Sir Albert, the former king, by Liscia, by his vassals, by the people of

this country, he's been forced to bear every kind of burden, Carla thought.

When I heard Souma speaking so easily about his own death, I thought he

might be feeling sick, but... I was wrong. If there's something wrong with

him, it's not his body, it's his mind.

Souma's mind was slowly being eaten away at by the pressure.

Liscia sensed that. That's why she's been trying so earnestly, so

gallantly, to support Souma.

Carla realized it now, but it was too late.

It's too late... Yes, far too late...

She was already a criminal awaiting judgment. Even if she fought for

Souma now, nothing would come of it.

Even so, when she saw Souma trying to leave the throne and his last will

to Liscia when his own life was in peril, Carla couldn't simply leave him

be. If Souma died here, Liscia would be sad.

My blind stubbornness has already brought Liscia enough grief. I won't

let Liscia be sad anymore!

Carla readied her two swords.

"That is why I will slay you!" she shouted at the general on horseback

who was rushing towards the main camp alone.

"What?!" the man screamed.

Carla glided down, throwing her full momentum into a downward swing

with the swords in both her hands. She planned to end it in an instant with

that surprise attack.

However, the enemy general blocked with two swords of his own. She

thought she had caught him off guard, but he must have been a very capable

warrior.

Carla bent her body into an V-shape, using her remaining momentum to

land a kick on his open torso.

"Urgh..."

The enemy general was thrown from his horse, tumbling across the

ground. However, he immediately rose to his feet, readying his sword and

glaring towards Carla.

"You... You're a dragonewt, aren't you?" he demanded.

"I suppose you must be a well-known general," she responded. "I am

Carla, daughter of Castor Vargas."

"Castor? Didn't he rebel against the king?"

"...Yeah. That would be why I'm in this pitiful state," Carla said,

pointing to the slave collar around her neck.

When the enemy general saw it, he roared, "Then step aside! My only

target here is to take Souma's head!"

"Sadly, I can't let you do that anymore," she said.

"Isn't Souma supposed to be your enemy, too?!"

"He was, but he's also the man my best friend loves. I can't let you kill

him."

"You make no sense! Very well, then you can die with him!" The enemy

general swung at Carla.

Carla crossed her swords to block, but that powerful blow forced her to

take a knee.

"What?! Was that really a human's power?!" she gasped.

To make a dragonewt, far more powerful than a human, take a knee... It

was hard to believe that this general was human.

"While you in the kingdom have sat on your laurels, we have polished

our magic and martial prowess!" the man shouted.

"...I see. Earth magic, huh."

As mentioned when reinforcements came from the Dark Elf village,

Earth magic manipulated gravity. He must have increased the power of his

slash by making the tip of his blade heavier at the moment of impact.

The enemy shouted as he tried to crush Carla. "Our royal family's longheld wish is to take revenge on Elfrieden! For that, we have polished our

fangs and sharpened our claws! I will accomplish the wish of three

generations of our royal family here and now!"

"I see... So you're Gaius, are you?" she asked.

Having discerned the enemy general's true identity, Carla turned his

heavy blade aside with a smooth motion of her right-hand sword, then used

her left-hand sword for a diagonal upwards slash. Just when she almost had

him, Gaius leapt backwards.

Carla pointed her blade towards Gaius. "If you're the sovereign prince...

shouldn't you worry about your people before your revenge?"

"Hmph!" Gaius spat. "I would be in a sad state if I let myself think like

the weaklings of Elfrieden's royal family. In the Principality of Amidonia, a

king is one who can use his strength of will and arms to keep the people in

check!"

"...Right," said Carla. "When I look at you, Albert starts to look like a

great ruler by comparison."

He may not have been especially good or bad, but Albert's reign had at

least been peaceful. Gaius had started a war because he cared more about

his own desire for revenge than how his people lived. She could never

accept a man like that as a king.

"I wouldn't want Souma to become a king like you..." she muttered.

"Hmph, I don't need my enemies to love me... Hah!" Gaius suddenly

shoved his hand to the ground.

In an instant, spikes began to rise out of the ground around Carla. The

thorns growing out of the ground rushed towards her.

Carla avoided a direct hit, but because the ground around her had as

many spikes growing out of it as a hedgehog, her wings were caught and

she was unable to move. In a strange coincidence, Carla found herself

captured by the same tactic Liscia had used to catch Castor.

"Dammit!" she shouted, trying hastily to get free.

"Now you will pay for blocking my path," said Gaius. He thrust his

sword out towards her.

Carla shut her eyes tight despite herself. Thud... She heard the sound of

something being stabbed.

...However, there was no pain. When Carla hesitantly opened her eyes,

there was a roly-poly something or other right in front of her. It was round,

big, and white. When she looked closer, it was a doll big enough for a

person to get inside. That roly-poly doll had gotten between Carla and

Gaius, blocking Gaius's sword with its body.

""Wha...?!""

Both Carla and Gaius's eyes went wide at the doll's sudden appearance.

Then...

"Get away, Carla!"

Carla snapped back to her senses when she heard the voice that called

out to her. She cut herself free from the ground that was binding her and

escaped. When she regained her balance and looked to the source of the

voice, Carla's eyes went wide once again.

"You... are you Souma Kazuya?!" Gaius shouted.

It seemed Gaius had figured it out, too.

By the time they noticed him, Souma Kazuya was standing around

twenty meters away from them. There were four dolls of the same design as

the one that had protected Carla floating around him in midair. It was a

large-sized Little Musashibo doll that had protected Carla, while the ones

deployed around Souma were medium-sized.

"You idiot! What are you doing out here?!" Carla landed next to Souma

and scolded him.

Souma shrugged and said, "This guy's the only one left. Our allies will

gather here soon enough. So I decided, rather than wait back in camp, I'd

kill time out here fighting alongside you."

"If you die, Liscia will be sad, and you know that!" she screamed.

"Yeah. That's why I came here," he said. "To live. It's better if we

concentrate our power. Rather than both of us fighting him alone, the odds

of us surviving are better if we cooperate from the beginning."

With that said, Souma swung his arm out in front of him. When he did,

two of the medium-sized Little Musashibo dolls that were carrying

crossbows fired at Gaius.

The bolts shot straight at Gaius, but Gaius kicked the large Little

Musashibo doll that had been in his way to the ground and cut the two bolts

out of the air.

This time, it was Souma's turn to be dumbstruck. "You can defend

against that?"

"Be careful," Carla cautioned. "That man is very powerful."

With that word of caution, Souma braced himself for what was to come.

"Souma Kazuya!" Gaius howled, a sharp glint in his eye. "I will defeat

you and destroy the kingdom."

"...I hate to break this to you, but I'm pretty sure the kingdom won't be

destroyed even if you do kill me." Despite the fact that Gaius scared him,

Souma had a big grin on his face. "I've gathered talented people. I've laid

out a transportation network, I've reworked the city infrastructure, and I've

laid all the groundwork for prosperity. Even if I were to die, I'm sure

someone could take over and run things just fine."

"Then I will erase all of that!" Gaius stretched out his arm. In that

instant, a stone shot at them from the ground.

""I won't let you!"" Souma and Carla shouted in unison.

First, two medium-sized Little Musashibo dolls carrying shields moved

up to block that attack. At the same time, Carla circled around to the side of

Gaius and took a swing at him.

Gaius blocked that attack with his sword, then kicked Carla to get her

away from him and covered his body with his cloak to protect himself from

two more arrows that Souma fired. In this world where magic could be

attached to things, even a cloak was a viable piece of armor.

"Damn. I know he's a king, but he's way too strong..." Souma grumbled.

"He's trained himself very differently from the way you do, I'm sure...

Hahh!" Carla spat fire in Gaius's direction.

"Urkh." Gaius blocked the flames with another swish of his cloak. Then

he launched another stone.

Souma blocked the attack with one of his doll's shields, but he could tell

it was slowly breaking it. At this rate, they weren't even going to buy him

time.

...Then, something occurred to Souma.

"Move!" he shouted.

Souma had the fallen large-size Little Musashibo doll stand up and

attack Gaius. Gaius shouted "You pest!" and cut it down, but he'd only cut

the top half, so the large-sized Little Musashibo doll wrapped its arms

around Gaius.

"What?!" Gaius shouted.

"Now, Carla! Burn the doll!"

"Huh?! Why..."

"Just do it! Hurry!"

"F-Fine!"

With no clue why she was doing it, Carla spat flames towards the largesized Little Musashibo doll. There was a bright flash when the flames

touched the doll, followed by...

Boom!

Gaius was caught in billowing flames and a cloud of black smoke.

It had exploded. Having taken the blast at close range, Gaius was hurled

around ten meters through the air.

When Gaius landed on his back, he was burnt all over.

"What was that?" Carla came closer and asked.

Souma answered her question, relieved that it had worked out. "I keep

all sorts of tools in that doll's wicker basket. I remembered I'd put

something like a ceramic ball packed with gunpowder in there, too. You

ignited it and it exploded. After taking an explosion like that at close range,

even Gaius has got to be..."

"...He's moving," said Carla.

Even as he heard Carla, Souma could see for himself, and doubted his

own eyes.

Even though he had been engulfed in that explosion, Gaius was getting

up. He had the serious wounds to his entire body that you would expect, but

he stumbled towards the two of them like a zombie.

"I... will destroy... the kingdom... and show them... the spirit of

Amidonia..." Gaius murmured, his eyes unfocused.

Truly, he was like a solid lump of tenacity.

"What a guy..." Carla let the words slip without thinking, and Souma

agreed with her.

Gaius continued to tread forward, fueled by the sole purpose of

destroying the kingdom. Souma felt both fear and reverence towards his

tenacity. Then...

Twang, twang, twang, twang!

Gaius's body was riddled with countless arrows. After reorganizing their

unit, the archers had caught up at last and fired a volley towards Gaius.

Gaius stopped in his tracks, his body beginning to shake.

He's going to fall... The moment Souma thought that, Gaius switched the

sword he was carrying to a backhand grip, and, mustering all his remaining

strength, he threw it like a spear.

The sword traced an arc as it flew, stabbing into the ground near

Souma's feet.

"...Is this how far your tenacity can reach?" Souma let out those words

along with a sigh of admiration. Then he said to Gaius, even though it

wasn't clear he could hear him anymore, "I have seen the spirit of

Amidonia! Long will they tell tales of your valor! Prince Gaius VIII of

Amidonia. I... King Souma of Elfrieden, will not forget the terror you

inspired in me for my entire life!"

When Souma said that, it looked like Gaius smiled a little.

Then Gaius gently tumbled forward, never to rise again.

Souma burned that final vision of him into his memory. Then, he looked

down to the sword at his feet.

"Perhaps I could stand to learn from his single-minded tenacity."

"If you turn out like him, Liscia will cry," Carla, who was standing at his

side, said.

"Yeah, I guess she would..."

With those words, Souma walked up next to Gaius's unmoving remains,

put his hands together, and prayed. Unsure what the gesture meant, Carla

tilted her head to the side in confusion.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Everyone becomes a Buddha once they're dead... a god, in other words.

It's a custom from my old world. That's why I'm praying so he can find his

way to Nirvana."

"You're praying for this revenge-obsessed monster?" she asked

incredulously.

"That's all the more reason," he said. "You wouldn't want him coming

back to curse me as a ghost because he had regrets in this world, would

you?"

"That's a very calculating religion you've got there."

Souma stood up with a laugh, then looked down at his hands and sighed

again. "...This is my first time seeing someone be murdered."

When Souma said that, Carla looked at him incredulously. "What are

you saying, after everything you've done? I'm sure you must have ordered

your soldiers to kill people before this."

"You sure don't hold back, huh..."

As they were arguing, their comrades who had learned of the main

camp's crisis finally arrived. Liscia, Aisha, Ludwin, Halbert, and Kaede

reacted with surprise when they saw Gaius' fallen body.

Liscia rushed over and hugged Souma. "Souma, you fought, too?! Are

you okay? You're not hurt anywhere, are you?"

As Liscia searched all over his body, Souma wore a wry smile. "I'm

fine, really. The two of us managed to handle him somehow until help

arrived."

"I see," Liscia said. "...Thanks, Carla. For protecting Souma."

"...It just sort of happened." Carla was too embarrassed to say "I did it

for you," so she turned her head to the side and kept quiet.

While he was watching the two of them, Souma clapped his hands to get

their attention. "Well, things are settled here. Let's go ride into Van."

As he and his companions began moving, he saw Gaius's body being

carried away. From the glimpse he saw of the man's face, he really did seem

satisfied.

For you, with your martial prowess... perhaps this was the only path you

could choose, Souma thought. You truly believed that taking revenge on the

kingdom would lead the people of the principality to happiness. I don't want

to completely deny that way of thinking.

In order to avoid ruining the victorious mood, Souma offered his prayers

in silence.

I don't think you were right. But I don't think you were entirely wrong.

Even so, now that I've defeated you, I will move forward...

...to protect Liscia, and all those I consider family.

◇ ◇ ◇

Some hours later, Van, the capital of Amidonia, opened its gates under

the condition that the city's defenders would be spared, that all those who

wished to leave be allowed to depart (they would not be allowed to bring

more luggage than they could carry themselves), and that Gaius's remains

be returned. When Souma brought his entire army into Van, the series of

battles that would come to be known as the One Week War came to a close.

However, it was only the battles that had ended.