Territory War (3)
Duke Randolph stared down at the exotic dish on his plate.
A thick meat patty nestled between two round buns. A thin layer of golden cheese lay over the meat, a few vegetables piled on top, and the upper bun sealed it all.
His retainer explained.
"They call this… a hamburger, Your Grace."
"A hamburger?"
"Yes. It is a way of eating meat, cheese, and various vegetables together between bread."
The duke's eyes flashed.
"Hamburger… even the name is bizarre."
He quietly picked up the bun. A sidelong glance showed the meat had an odd shape. Catching the meaning in his gaze, the retainer added,
"The meat is something called Hanwoo. They mince it, season it, and fry it in oil."
The duke nodded and took a bite.
Chew, chew.
"Mmm……."
His brow furrowed hard—then a sudden gasp of wonder escaped him.
"Ha……."
For a moment his shoulders trembled.
"Hoh……."
The retainers watched his face carefully. With a shaking hand the duke looked down at what remained of the hamburger. Admiration filled his eyes—yet that admiration slid through happiness into doubt, suspicion, and finally rage.
"Only among themselves……."
His fists clenched.
"They have been eating this among themselves alone? I am furious."
Crunch.
He shoved the rest of the hamburger into his mouth. Savory meat juices and the fragrance of cheese filled every corner of his mouth.
"It tastes so good I am angry."
Crunch, crunch. Smack, smack.
"I am a duke. They are merely a count… so why should a count eat something better than I?"
His eyes blazed.
"If His Majesty the King were to dine on finer fare, I could bow my head as a loyal subject. But… why!"
Thud!
The duke slammed his fist onto the table. The retainers flinched.
"They are only a count, yet they eat this—while I am forced to chew potato bread!"
Silence settled for a moment. Then the duke, deep in thought, spoke again.
"Territory war."
"Y-yes……?"
The retainers lifted their heads in shock.
"Did you not hear me? Is there something wrong with your ears? A territory war!"
They could not answer.
"Hmph. Do you think I am declaring a territory war simply because food has turned my head?"
The retainers fell quiet. They had not entirely failed to think that, yet none dared say so aloud.
"I hear Rodriguez only recently contracted with a Constellation."
The duke's lips kept curling upward.
"And a Constellation that sponsors food on such a massive scale… I can see it clearly. The Constellation is not sponsoring Countess Illys as an individual. It is sponsoring the entire Rodriguez territory."
His fingers tapped the table.
"Then the solution is simple. I take the Rodriguez territory for myself. Once I do, the Constellation's patronage will naturally flow to Rodriguez—that is, to our land. Summon the Five Generals."
"Yes, Your Grace!"
A short while later five knights arrived.
"A drought has gripped the entire continent for a long time. There is not a place where food is not scarce. This drought… is no ordinary matter. The kingdom is investigating, and it is likely to drag on. That means the age is coming when food itself will be power."
Knights were beings who revered strength. The word power made them react at once.
"Food is power! Yet the Constellation of the neighboring count's domain is sponsoring abundant provisions. I declare without doubt that a Constellation of this kind sponsors a territory, not an individual. Even if we conquer the Rodriguez lands, there is no chance the Constellation's patronage will cease."
Now the knights understood what the duke intended. Duke and knights exchanged looks.
"We will strike Rodriguez."
"By your command. We shall obey."
A few days later, urgent news reached Rodriguez County Castle. The retainer who received it raced to report to Illys.
"My lady! Duke Randolph has raised his army!"
"No… so it has come to this after all……!"
Illys bit her lip.
"When do they claim to depart?"
"They have already departed!"
Her pupils trembled. An emergency council was convened at once.
"How long until they arrive?"
"We must confirm the route. By the northern road it would be five days; if they swing eastward, roughly seven."
"So war could break out in as little as five days?"
"That is correct."
The administrator spoke.
"We must first contact the capital. Duke Randolph has not received His Majesty's leave, so we must report that this territory war is illegal."
At that moment an official entered the council chamber.
"My lady. Magical communication has arrived from the capital."
"Connect it."
The official brought the magical device for communication with the capital. The equipment vibrated, and a blue mana pattern rose into the air.
"Is this Countess Illys Rodriguez? I am Count Caitlin, charged with legal affairs."
"What is the matter?"
"His Majesty the King has granted leave for a territory war between Duke Randolph and Countess Rodriguez. Therefore I shall go in person as His Majesty's proxy to adjudicate the territory war."
"What do you mean……!"
"The form of this territory war is either complete seizure of one territory or the elimination of the opposing lord. Once a result is reached, the losing side's lands shall be confiscated."
"That is absurd!"
"Heh heh. I am merely conveying the process of a territory war authorized by His Majesty. I shall see you soon. Fortune favor you."
The communication cut off.
"Adjudication of a territory war?"
Someone muttered low. In that instant everyone understood. This was no mere clash; it was now an official territory war recognized by the kingdom.
"They are even sending an official for adjudication? And if we lose, it is not a matter of paying money—we lose the entire territory?"
Illys swallowed a sigh.
"We have been played."
The duke's side had clearly already laid lines to the capital. This Caitlin fellow had likely been bought as well. The departure of the army and the granting of leave for the territory war had been timed to coincide without warning. And the stakes of the war were far too cruel.
The board had been set with ruthless precision. With even a referee prepared, flight or hiding was impossible. Victory was now the only path left.
The representative's office at JH Research.
"La-la-la~"
I opened my smartphone in the office—the one linked to Rodriguez.
"Who said studying is boring?"
Video-call lessons with Illys sank into my head so easily. Anyone who had ever taken online video lectures would understand. An instructor had to make the class fun. Top-tier instructors usually had the gift of gab that put comedians to shame. And a face was part of the fun, too. You had to stare at a screen forever; if the person was handsome or beautiful, that alone made it entertaining.
Therefore Illys's lessons were fun. Because they were fun, I looked forward to them.
I placed a call to Illys. And as always, she answered.
"Hello, Illys."
Hello, Constellation.
The hour when she taught me magic and I taught her semiconductors. One-on-one lessons with a beautiful student—or teacher—could not help but be enjoyable.
Constellation… last time we covered Ice Spear, yes? Um… so… this time I shall explain how to handle the fire element. Fire elements are…….
The lesson continued. Yet I could see the shadow that had fallen across Illys's expression.
"Illys?"
…Yes?
"Is something wrong?"
She flinched as though startled. The shade on her face deepened a little more.
Ah… no, nothing.
"It does not look like nothing."
Ah… there is some friction with the neighboring territory, but… we can handle it ourselves.
"Is that so?"
Yes.
Hmm… her expression had stiffened a bit.
"Illys."
Yes?
"I can speak with you like this, but I can also watch over the territory separately."
Yes…….
"What is going on?"
Well…….
Illys lowered her head.
"Illys. It is all right."
…….
"You can just say it comfortably. It looks like you are forcing yourself to keep it down."
She looked up at me like a teary-eyed puppy.
Um…….
"Tell me."
The neighboring territory—that is, the Randolph Duchy—has declared a territory war against us. Their forces are about ten times ours. Of course, we have the abundant food you gave us, Constellation, so we thought we could simply lock the gates and hold out.
"A territory war?"
My brows furrowed of their own accord.
"How does a territory war work? There must be rules to it."
The goal is either complete seizure of the opposing territory or elimination of the lord… and the result is confiscation of the opposing lands.
A sigh slipped from my lips. On the screen Illys's face grew even paler.
"Eliminate the opposing lord and confiscate the territory?"
A faint tremor mixed into her voice.
Yes.
"So more than ten times the troops are coming to kill you, Illys?"
Yes. The difference in forces is large, but we have plenty of food, so if we hold a siege…….
"Illys."
Yes.
Incredulous, I stared at the Illys beyond the screen.
"Right now more than ten times the troops are coming to kill you, and you were having a lesson with me?"
Well… it is a promise with you, Constellation, so…….
"Illys."
Yes.
"Do you not trust me?"
Pardon?
"How can you hold a lesson in a situation like this?"
…….
Illys fell silent for a moment.
"How much time is left?"
At the earliest they should arrive within five days.
"We will put the lessons on hold until the war is over."
…Yes.
"Illys. A Constellation is a being that sponsors a lord, is it not?"
Yes.
"Then how can you not tell your sponsor about something this important?"
Hic.
Illys's voice grew tearful.
"I will help you."
Hic, hic.
"At times like this you can trust me and lean on me."
Waaah!
The soft sniffles turned into full-blown crying. Oh no. I had made Illys cry properly.
After the video call ended, I thought it over. The deadline was five days. But the other side would need time to prepare as well, so it seemed best to finish something quickly and send it over. The question was—what should I prepare?
"I would have to have fought a war to know."
I was even exempt from military service. These days almost everyone went into the army, but the Military Manpower Administration was not so desperate that they would drag in a man with no legs.
To get advice on war, I opened the internet and posted a question on a gallery.
It was a gallery I used often, so I had habitually gone into Semiconductor. This time I posted the same question on the Web Novel Gallery. Now comments I liked began to appear.
Hmm… there was a slight misunderstanding. When I sponsored something, Illys summoned the object. A summoning circle formed on the ground, and the item rose up from there. Dropping something from a high place would not work.
"Ah!"
There was that method too. I was amazed.
Build walls. In the end it was similar to what Illys was thinking. But the comments surpassed my expectations.
Wow. Collective intelligence really was amazing. Rolling balls, tipping castles… methods I had never even imagined.
While I discussed combat methods online, lunchtime arrived before I knew it. Manager Jang came in.
"Representative. Shall we eat?"
Two or three days still seemed fine, so I decided to eat first. As I wheeled myself outside, my gaze stopped on one spot.
On Team Leader Ran Zhao-ming's desk. Small blocks were neatly arranged there.
"Team Leader. What are these?"
Ran Zhao-ming answered with a smile.
"Nano blocks, yes."
"Nano…?"
"Little mini blocks, yes. You can make anything with them, yes."
"Ohh……."
A toy that connected small blocks into all sorts of structures. Naturally the image of castle walls overlapped in my mind.
"Where do they sell these?"
"Lots at big marts, yes. Or you can go to a block shop."
"A block shop?"
"Yes. There should be one around here too, yes."
A block shop. I searched at once and found there was indeed one nearby.