236. Gulliver's Travels (5)
236. Gulliver's Travels (5)
The next day.
In the Raitel Kingdom, an emergency summons was suddenly issued for all ministers.
The reason: the Lilliput Kingdom had abruptly declared war!
I heard the news in Ichika's room and nodded with satisfaction.
'Oh, Ga-eul sunbae picked the right answer, huh?'
In this Gulliver's Travels quest, the giant is the core focus, no matter what anyone says.
Letting the giant starve to death is the worst route.
Emptying the national treasury to feed the giant is the second-worst route.
And the best route is to start the war first and feed the enemy's horses to the giant.
Of course, no matter which option you choose, the giant doesn't die.
Before the giant starves to death, we launch an attack on the Lilliput Kingdom first.
Then naturally, the giant fights on the side of the Lilliput royal palace.
'Actually, even the second route would've been fine.'
In this quest, if you don't bring Ga-eul sunbae, it's always fixed to the first route.
The route where the ministers pressure you into not feeding the giant.
In that case, the giant can't use its strength because it hasn't eaten, and the Lilliput Kingdom takes heavy damage.
But thanks to Ga-eul sunbae picking the right answer, the quest progression became much smoother.
Well then, now it's war.
What do Ichika and I do in that war, you ask?
'Assassinate the minions of the demon.'
While our side suffers a crushing defeat, we survive and eliminate the spies hiding among our allies.
For once, my lowly status is helpful.
Since I'm just an extra, a nobody soldier anyway.
I don't draw attention, and even if I fight half-heartedly, I won't be branded a traitor.
'But in Ichika's case, since she's a high-ranking authority figure, controlling that is pretty damn hard......'
On top of that, she's the Minister of Magic, who plays a major role in the battle.
If we lose, she'll be held accountable.
Since the Minister of Magic role that Ichika plays was a status even I was seeing for the first time, I figured I'd need to think a bit more.
But my worries proved unnecessary.
My wish came true far too easily.
"What!? Ichika, you're sitting out this battle?"
"......Yeah."
Ichika, back from the ministers' meeting called by the queen, relayed the news with a sullen face.
"What happened?"
*
'Huh...... Crazy......'
I listened to Ichika and dropped my jaw.
So, to summarize,
the queen was reportedly furious that the 'small nation' of Lilliput had dared to declare war first on the 'great nation' of Raitel.
So she immediately ordered war preparations, but—
─Sit out this war, Minister of Magic. It is nothing more than a war against a trifling small nation, is it not? There is no need to use a cow-killing blade to slaughter a chicken.
She said that and excluded Ichika entirely, apparently.
As I listened to the general atmosphere and the ministers' words secondhand, I nodded.
'Ah, I know this one. An incompetent king jealous of a capable, talented subject.'
There were plenty of those in history, weren't there?
Cases of a worthless ruler who keeps a hero, beloved by the people and wielding great power, as a subject and keeps them in check.
When I recalled the queen of Raitel from the original game, it was a totally understandable development.
'This is freaking sweet, isn't it?'
Like this, if the Minister of Magic is completely out of the war, there's no need for Ichika to shoulder the blame for the defeat.
Rather, her power will weaken since they lost because Ichika didn't step up.
In other words, I handle the minions of the demon in the war.
And Ichika can finish her own separate preparations.
Preparations that might let us finish this story in no time!
After sorting out my thoughts, I looked at Ichika.
Ichika wore a sulky expression, her cheeks puffed out full of air.
It seemed she was pretty disgruntled about not being able to join the war this time.
"Ichika."
I smirked and grabbed both of Ichika's cheeks with my fingers.
Pwoo──
A deflating sound escaped the pouting Ichika's mouth.
"Instead of going to war this time, I have a separate job for you to do."
"......A job for me to do?"
"Yeah. Using your shadows, can you gather all the information—every last bit—on this Raitel Kingdom?"
At that, Ichika's dejected face slowly brightened.
"Yeah, I'll do it."
"Still, don't overdo it. Your safety is the highest priority. Got it?"
"......Yeah."
Ichika nodded, still with her cheeks held.
* * *
"We must show those foolish bastards who dared provoke our Raitel Kingdom what we're made of!!!"
A grand army of fifty thousand.
Before them, a woman with her bright yellow hair tied up was raising her voice.
A familiar face.
Elena.
The instructor who got wrecked by me in sparring not long ago, in other words.
"Let them learn what it means to stand against our Raitel Kingdom!!"
She shouted with bloodshot, crimson eyes.
'Ah, she's desperate to redeem herself in this battle no matter what.'
She seemed desperate to shake off the disgrace of being an instructor who lost a sparring match to a male trainee.
'Oh dear, what a pity......'
I sighed from among the soldiers, my helmet pulled down low.
We're heading for defeat in this battle.
And not just any defeat—a crushing defeat.
'Well, karma's a bitch.'
Yeah. If she'd picked a fight with me at first but acknowledged her loss in the sparring that followed, it would've been fine.
But apparently, even after that, she kept filing petitions and appeals, claiming I was a minion of the demon or whatever.
But all her attempts were thwarted by the power of the Minister of Magic.
So she stubbornly insisted on proving herself in this war, even offering up her own wealth, and ended up taking the commander's position.
"All units prepare to move!!!"
Elena was shouting desperately with veins bulging in her neck, but
the mood of the Raitel Kingdom forces heading to war was utterly lighthearted in contrast.
"Hey, I heard the enemy forces are only ten thousand?"
"I know, right. What kind of guts does it take to challenge us?"
"We've got fifty thousand, after all."
Faced with a nearly fivefold difference in numbers, it was hard to take things seriously.
'But that'll change soon enough.'
Because they have a secret weapon.
A giant, driven mad with hunger and still brimming with strength.
"Advance─!!!!"
With Elena's signal to advance, the army of fifty thousand began to move with a thunderous rumble, kicking up clouds of dust.
* * *
"M-My friend...... But why on earth am I being made to wear this......?"
The giant asked in a bewildered voice.
He was currently draped with a bright red cloth over his head.
For this, the entire kingdom's forces had to pitch in, ripping down all the royal curtains and stitching them together.
Scrrrape—
No matter how carefully he shuffled along, dragging his feet, the cloth dragged behind him, sending up thick clouds of dust.
Because of that, the Lilliput forces were marching far off to either side of the giant.
"Hah, giant. You don't know this, so I'll tell you. In things like this, showmanship is what matters. Show-manship."
Im Ga-eul said cheerfully from atop the giant's shoulder.
"Show......manship? What's that?"
"Well, if you just show up right away going 'Boo!', the enemies might all run away, right? Then what? The horses you're supposed to eat would be the first to run off."
"Indeed...... That would be problematic."
Ruuumble—
At the mention of food, a deep rumble sounded from the giant's stomach once again.
"Because...... right now. I'm hungry."
Soon.
The Lilliput Kingdom army, having brought the cloth-covered giant with them, faced off against the Raitel Kingdom army on the plain.
"......"
The Lilliput Kingdom soldiers swallowed dryly with tense faces.
A difference in forces of more than five times is hard to truly grasp until you see it with your own eyes.
But seeing the endless line of people before them, they couldn't help but feel it!
The fight they had come to wage.
From the other side, a woman with her yellow hair tied up raised a spear and shouted in a loud voice.
"Lilliput Kingdom! I deliver to you the message of Her Majesty the Queen of Raitel! You traitors who dared raise your flag against our Raitel Kingdom—today, this place shall be your grave!!!"
"Waaaaaaah!!!"
A fierce declaration with no room for compromise.
At that, the Lilliput forces shrank back even further.
They had indeed brought the giant as a secret weapon.
But they doubted whether that giant could handle all those people.
The giant they'd seen was slow of speech and sluggish of movement.
When they recalled how he had been easily captured, unable to even snap a single rope they tied him with,
their doubt could only deepen.
"Urrrrgh......"
Just as someone's teeth were chattering in fear,
Flutter─!
"......Waaaaargh!!!"
The giant grabbed the enormous cloth, threw it off, and raised both arms high.
And the soldiers of Lilliput could see.
A woman with green hair, standing atop the giant's shoulder.
'W-Why is Her Majesty here!?'
She stood proudly on the giant's shoulder, dressed in comfortable clothes fit for a commoner.
She opened her mouth with a cool expression.
"Forces of Lilliput! Follow me and sweep away the enemy!"
At the same moment as her cry,
Hummmmm—
a strange blue energy gathered toward the giant.
'Oh ho! All the jewels of the Lilliput Kingdom are such high-purity Magic Stones! With this, I can fight too!'
"Now, giant! Full speed ahead!!!"
Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. BOOM!!
With that voice, the giant began to charge forward, pounding the ground as he rushed toward the enemy lines.
"Waaaaah!!!!"
And following behind the giant, the soldiers of the Lilliput Kingdom began to charge as well.