Hero
Hero
Lesrom, having heard Eldmia's entire plan, doubted his own ears.
It was a remarkably courteous gesture. Anyone else would have doubted Eldmia's sanity rather than their ears.
"Right now... so, you're saying you'll take advantage of the wyvern knights drawing the shamans' attention, and jump down onto the spot where the gate is expected to be?"
"Yeah."
He had just heard a completely insane statement, but the speaker himself was utterly nonchalant, as if asking why he had to repeat something so obvious.
It was truly absurd, but Lesrom noticed that Eldmia was dead serious and had absolute confidence in its success. At the same time, it felt like a long-standing question he'd had ever since learning about him was finally being answered.
'Just how in the world did he fight Delt in midair...'
Jumping from a wyvern. It was a strikingly novel idea.
Were young people these days capable of that kind of thinking? In my day, we were too busy making safety devices.
Lesrom, who had nearly started reflecting on his own life due to the unexpected story, hastily pulled himself together and properly reviewed Eldmia's plan. He was considerably surprised to find it an incredibly useful concept—so much so that, assuming it worked, it could be reused even after this subjugation was over.
The bodies of aura-enhanced warriors were tenacious. Of course, the amount of aura needed to protect the body from the impact of a fall was considerable, so combat endurance would be reduced compared to normal, but knights of aura expert level or higher could carry out the operation to a sufficiently effective degree.
If even five, or ten, elite fighters of aura expert level or higher could be deployed into the defenselessly exposed enemy rear to cut supply lines or conduct sabotage...
'It would change the battlefield.'
Even in the warm air of the command post, goosebumps rose on his skin.
What was more, for something like that, they wouldn't even need combat-bred wyverns specifically for the knights. The wyverns would only serve to transport the soldiers to the location anyway. Considering the non-negligible cost of raising wyverns with battlefield-optimized builds, it was so attractive he wanted to immediately gauge its practical effectiveness.
Even accounting for failure and risk, it was clear the benefits would be immense. Having thought that far, Lesrom feigned calm and continued the conversation.
"Even if you reach the gate through the method you proposed, what remains is an orc legion numbering in the thousands. Do you have a way to get back out? You wouldn't be able to ride a wyvern out again."
"They aren't a proper army. In the end, all they can do is rush in a mob. Their emergency response won't be the same as humans', either. I plan to identify the area with the lowest troop concentration from the air beforehand, then escape in that direction."
In the end, it was a story of individual martial prowess being the only answer.
"...Won't it be dangerous?"
One wrong move and he could die. What was more, it wasn't a situation where he could bring anyone with him, and given he didn't even seem to consider it, he clearly intended to attempt it alone. Lesrom tossed out the words with a probing feel, wondering if there was some hidden trump card he hadn't mentioned, but Eldmia just shrugged.
"I'll find out when I get there."
Even though he was the one walking into death's jaws, he answered as if it were someone else's problem. Duke Lesrom, letting out a brief hum at Eldmia's response, made his decision.
"The wyvern knights will return late in the evening. I'll speak to them. When do you intend to move?"
"No point in dragging it out. I plan to move first thing tomorrow."
"I'll prepare as best I can. Anything else you need?"
At the question for a final check, Eldmia leaned back in his chair, lost in thought for a moment.
The sight of him simply sorting out his thoughts, rather than angling for something else, was utterly ordinary. Even the aura perceptible from him was laughably weak compared to the achievements he had shown so far. And it was precisely because he possessed an inner nature and standards of judgment completely at odds with that ordinary exterior that Eldmia was so unpredictable.
"If my stock suddenly inflates, how do you think the nobles will react?"
Just like the question right now.
Come to think of it, this was a friend who also had the goal of not giving them any pretext to exploit. Understanding the meaning of his question, Lesrom leaned on his desk and answered honestly.
"What kind of reaction do you want to see?"
The board had grown far too big now for the nobles to keep him in their palm and play him like a puppet. Most of all, this orc subjugation was on a different level entirely. An undaunted hero protecting the village of ordinary refugees—that alone fundamentally changed his public support. It was a far greater event than achievements that might stoke patriotism, or stories of saving nobles.
If that were his only feat, some might have been pleased to use him as a figurehead who played well with the public, but the achievements piled up before it were far too massive.
"The one who brought back the Margrave of Levien, the hero who saved the Imperial Princess, a man who can contend with the Hero Siegfried, the rescuer of the Holy Light Cross Order's saintess, the subjugator of a Demon Dragon, and if you succeed in tomorrow's plan as well, you'll be the greatest contributor who prevented a sudden assault by a massive orc army through a hidden gate. I'll make them react exactly as you wish."
Who would consider these the feats of a 15-year-old? It was a level even average mid-ranking knights wouldn't dare to aspire to.
What was more, Eldmia was the sole survivor of the first Demonfolk attack on Ogwen. He was continuing such a heroic course that even Lesrom himself, had he not personally investigated and witnessed it, would have thought him a fabrication created by someone using every script at their disposal for public popularity.
There were barely any nobles in the kingdom who could handle that level of fame. And even among those few, no one wanted to willingly harbor a man who could bite their throat out at any moment if things went sideways.
That was why Lesrom could speak with confidence.
"I'd like it if you just left me alone until I become a wandering knight."
But even though the proposal had been offered by one of the only two dukes in the kingdom with a mirthless, earnest face, Eldmia's reaction was ordinary. At the boy's truly consistent demeanor, Lesrom could only relax his expression and burst into laughter.
"That's actually what they'll be hoping for, so don't worry."
Even if he were to immediately take a title, monopolize public adoration, and expand his own power base, there was no easy way to check Eldmia. The man himself knew that fact better than anyone, and since he was volunteering to accept a wandering knight appointment—far removed from political power—there was no reason to stop him.
Most nobles were content as long as they could protect what was theirs. Since it was a good story for Lesrom too, he rose from his seat, satisfied, and prepared a teacup.
"If you'd like, will you have some tea before you go? For a man who's been bedridden for three days, I may not have good tea, but I do have some that will soothe your stomach."
"...Well, don't mind if I do."
Watching Eldmia accept the offer naturally, unlike their first meeting, Lesrom flashed a pleased smile. To treat him—a man wielding some of the greatest power in the kingdom—like a bothersome grandfather from the house out back.
As long as he wasn't clashing with him, he really was quite an amusing friend.
◈
The chat with Duke Lesrom didn't drag on long.
Honestly, calling it a chat was ambiguous. In the end, it was just time spent relaying the slightly more detailed information I knew, starting from when the orcs' base was first discovered.
In the end, I couldn't ask why he had come in person, but since the original objective was met, I wasn't disappointed. Leaving the command post, I returned straight to the tent where Asilie was and explained the situation.
"Again, again! Jumping from a wyvern again!"
I got smacked on the back for it, while she wore an expression of sheer dizziness just from hearing it, but in the end, Asilie didn't stop me. Instead, she just glared at me with eyes full of resentment and added a single remark.
"I don't care. Go tell Ragnis the same thing."
"Going all the way back to the capital to tell her and coming back is a bit..."
"I'm saying this because she's here."
"...Huh?"
What was that supposed to mean? Why was she here? As I threw the question with my face, Asilie let out a deep sigh and answered.
"She said she followed Sir Radnelbandes. Some kind of field training, I guess."
"No, isn't that way too brutal for field training? Even so, training against orcs?"
No matter how ignorant they were, those guys did nothing but eat and fight, and their average combat power was that of red-rank adventurers. They were absolutely not a suitable offering for an event called 'first real battle.'
My expression must have been pretty bizarre, because the sulking Asilie suddenly burst into laughter and continued her explanation.
"I thought that at first too... but I don't know what happened over the past few months, but she's got quite the reputation as a good fighter. You'll probably be shocked when you see her yourself."
"...Really?"
"Yeah. She's out patrolling the defense line with Miss Yekaterina today. Normally, she should be back around evening."
"She's doing search operations with Yekaterina? Yekaterina, who's top-tier even among red-ranks...?"
That Ragnis was...?
I knew the chantless casting she had shown in the Empire was impressive, but this kind of growth was completely unexpected. I could do nothing but wear a dumbfounded expression.
My poor back wasn't going to survive tonight.