Ominous Omens (5)
Lyla Everblaze Barhart gave me an elegant smile.
Damn, a beauty’s smile really is a feast for the eyes. I glanced sideways and saw several students standing there with their mouths hanging open in a stupid “heh—” expression. Snap out of it, Loto. You’re about to drool, man.
“This is rather awkward, Chrome. You all must have been working together and syncing your breathing for a long time already. If I suddenly butt in, won’t I just create unnecessary discord?”
—You guys already finished establishing your chain of command. You really think they’ll obediently listen to me if I step in now?
“Sometimes a few dozen minutes on the battlefield teaches you far more than years of ordinary daily life. My party and I, having faced you directly in combat, are the ones who acknowledge your skill from the bottom of our hearts.”
—After I beat the crap out of your kids last time, who the hell would dare refuse if you tell them to do something?
“Hmm. It’s true that the way you and Ligret fought left quite an impression on me, but…”
—I can’t exactly say there’s no one. For example, you yourself, or that Weapon Master over there watching us with an expression that practically screams “I’m just here for the show.”
“Hahaha, those are kind words. Isn’t that right, Ligret?”
—Don’t worry about that. See? She’s nodding too.
“Very well. Since you’ve gone this far, it would be rude of me to simply ignore your determination. However, I am still inexperienced. If any of you see something that needs correcting, please tell me at any time, Chrome.”
—You’ve got your own agenda for buttering me up like this, don’t you? I’ll go along with it within reason, but if you try to turn me into a puppet, the fun ends there.
“Thank you, Your Highness. I will do everything in my power for the victory of every student in the academy.”
—I’m just here for the win, okay? No ulterior motives. Just win, no matter what.
If I had kissed the back of her hand here, it would have made for a perfect picture. But since we were academy students, we settled for a simple handshake instead.
“Ah! Mr. John! Mr. Garen! Everyone else too! Please come quickly! This is exactly the moment we need to gather our strength!”
The moment my conversation with Princess Lyla ended, even before the other students could react, Fiore quickly called out the names of several support personnel and students. The ones whose names were called looked momentarily flustered, but when Lyla gave them a light, smiling glance, they hurried over and joined our group.
“Well, being where the princess is probably means decent treatment, right?”
Akasha, with her usual cheeky attitude, gathered her own acquaintances and came over as well. Before we knew it, more than half of the twenty-three support personnel and students had gathered on our side.
In a large-scale battle like this, the presence or absence of support personnel and students created a massive difference. While the other factions were still going “huh?” the core talents had already been stolen from them. They tried to regain control of the situation, but they were already one step too late.
“Your Highness, I will also follow your command.”
“This time, I will offer you victory! Please believe in us!”
“Thank you, everyone. I will repay your determination in kind.”
Once one person ignores a red light and starts crossing, everyone else follows. The students who had been frozen in place by the other factions’ pressure began to move. First, those who had been on Lyla’s team during the previous assignment stepped forward. Then the students who had always felt favorable toward the princess followed suit.
The majority were commoner students. They didn’t understand or care about the complicated interests between nobles. To them, Princess Lyla was an easy-to-understand guiding star. She was beautiful, academically outstanding, and unlike other nobles, she didn’t act arrogant. Where else could you find such a straightforward fairy-tale princess?
Normally they had kept their distance because of the subtle sense of separation and the sharp glares from noble students who disliked anyone approaching her. But once the momentum started and everyone was rushing in together, jumping on the bandwagon was the easiest thing in the world.
The good merchant Chrome and his cheerful friends. Their friends’ acquaintances. Support personnel and students. Imperial noble students who had always been favorable toward the princess. And a large number of commoner students who weren’t tied to any particular noble faction.
The faction that formed around me and Lyla instantly claimed half of all the students. What remained were three factions centered around the key nobles from each vassal kingdom, plus the imperial noble students who had been keeping the princess in check.
And that was when I played my final card.
Among the four factions exchanging glances, I approached the noble friends from the Morian Kingdom, led by the Pendevig twins, and suddenly bowed my head.
“Sir Eagle Pendevig. This match concerns the honor of every academy student here. Would you please help us so that we can unite as one and face this together, at least this once?”
“…Raise your head, Midas.”
When I lifted my gaze as instructed, he was glaring at me with an extremely displeased expression. His eyebrows were twitching violently; it looked like he wanted to snap at me, but no matter how arrogant his personality was, he wasn’t a complete idiot. He knew exactly what kind of situation would unfold if he openly insulted me or rejected my proposal here.
“Even if you hadn’t said anything, I would have reached out first. You really are impatient. A man should not bow his head so carelessly. Keep that in mind.”
“I was somewhat rash. I will take your advice to heart.”
Hmm, good. He wanted to save a little face at the end. I wasn’t narrow-minded enough to stop him.
“…And stop acting so polite like last time. It makes my stomach turn when you do that.”
Why though?
Despite that slightly annoying exchange, everything after that went smoothly. Realizing that holding out any longer would gain them nothing, Alphons was the first to hand over command. The remaining two factions also agreed with reluctant expressions that she would be the leader.
Anyway, that wrapped up the traffic control.
On the day of the decisive battle, fifteen students including Lyla Everblaze Barhart gathered inside a temporary barracks. There were five squad leaders and two adjutants per leader. Once she confirmed that every student’s eyes were on her, Lyla spoke.
“The southern army we must fight is currently divided into five units, from Number One to Number Five, deployed in a fan formation. Each unit numbers two hundred. About one-tenth of them are magic users. However, the regular soldiers are also equipped with gear strengthened by spells, so it would be best to assume they possess some ability to resist magic users.”
A fight of one thousand against one hundred eighty-three. When comparing only magic users, it became one hundred against one hundred eighty-three, but even taking that into account, the difference in combat power was overwhelming. Several students’ eyes wavered slightly, but at that moment Chrome Midas shrugged his shoulders with a sly grin.
“Wow, the empire must think really highly of us. I don’t even know how to react.”
It really was true. At first glance the match seemed almost unreasonable. But the very fact that such a contest had been arranged was, conversely, proof of the expectations the empire held for the academy’s students.
Lyla continued.
“Squad One Leader Eagle Pendevig, Squad Two Leader Alphons Betuart, Squad Three Leader Jin Sirius. I will assign fifty people to each of you. Please cut off the heads of the enemy commanders from Unit One through Unit Three.”
“Please wait a moment, Your Highness Lyla.”
The one who raised an objection was Jin Sirius, who led the students from the Nahat Grand Duchy. The young man, whose appearance reminded one of an extremely rigid soldier, asked her,
“Concentrating our forces on one side is fine, but isn’t this too lopsided? If things stay like this, our remaining thirty-three people will have to face four hundred enemy troops. Even if the goal is to tie them down, there are limits…”
“No, it won’t be thirty-three people tying them down. Ten people, including Squad Four Leader Chrome, will operate as a guerrilla unit, moving freely across the battlefield to look for openings. The remaining enemy forces will be handled by Squad Five, which consists of twenty-three people.”
He shook his head.
“That’s impossible! No matter how superior a magic user is compared to regular soldiers, there are still limits. Moreover, with those numbers they won’t even be able to gain the upper hand against the small number of magic users within the enemy ranks. They’ll be swept away in an instant. They won’t even be able to stall for time!”
Despite his earnest protest, Lyla did not bend her opinion.
“It’s fine. Because I will be the leader of Squad Five.”
The moment that statement—which could even be taken as arrogance—left her lips and caused Jin Sirius to fall silent, she turned her gaze toward Chrome. At that look, Chrome Midas stepped forward and began distributing certain items to each squad leader.
When they saw the ornament featuring white wings and a red gem embedded in it, Eagle Pendevig’s eyes sparkled with interest.
“Oh? A communication magic tool?”
“It’s a defective product that only lasts two to three hours once activated. But among the ones I could get, this was the only thing that multiple people could use at the same time while still being portable. It lets us share information too, right? That’s useful.”
Alphons Betuart spoke up.
“It’s obvious you plan to share information and then immediately snatch only the juiciest parts for yourself.”
“If you don’t like it, don’t use it. We still have to win first.”
Jin Sirius, who had finally regained his senses, made a sour face.
“It certainly seems useful, but accepting it just like this feels a bit…”
“Don’t worry about it and just use them. Don’t refuse to use them in dangerous situations just to protect your pride. That goes for you too, Your Highness.”
At Chrome’s words, Lyla smiled.
“Understood, Chrome. Now then—”
—Shall we go win this?
At her single sentence, everyone’s eyes lit up. It was time to prove the results of the past half year.