Conquest, Part 1
"Is that so? Arcteria..."
The rise of one is always a threat to another.
"This report had better be true."
"It is absolutely true, my lord! Among the laborers working at Arcteria's construction site, several were spotted who have clearly swallowed seawater!"
"Hmph..."
Arcteria was not a territory that bordered the sea. Pecigen, the Lord of Grifort, stroked his beard in discomfort.
"They must be runaways from our lands."
"Most likely, my lord."
Grifort was a coastal territory. If pirates or sailors had entered Arcteria, they were highly likely to be from Grifort.
"Are they traitors?"
"Undoubtedly."
The truth did not matter. What mattered was that Pecigen, the Lord of Grifort, wished for it to be so.
"How dangerous. To think Edrin Silverline has been harboring traitors. This is nothing short of a heinous crime."
Arcteria was currently gathering an army.
It was not entirely incomprehensible. With a new lord ascending the throne, a strong military presence would be necessary to secure his grip on power.
Having recently faced the threat of an invasion by Valerian, it was only natural that they were hastily raising troops.
"How unpleasant."
However, Pecigen could not simply sit back and watch.
There was no guarantee that a territory's army would only be used for self-defense.
A military buildup in one territory only served to make its neighbors uneasy.
For Pecigen, that was reason enough to antagonize Arcteria.
"Gather the mercenaries."
Grifort was a coastal territory. Merchant ships constantly drifted in and out, and there was no shortage of mercenaries willing to plunge into war for the right price.
"Let's give the new lord a proper welcome."
The old lord's eyes gleamed with greed.
"Movement has been detected. The agents we deployed to Grifort have sent word."
Selen delivered the report, her voice tense.
"It has finally begun."
I let out a sigh of relief and nodded slowly.
"What would you have done if Pecigen hadn't made the first move?"
Irene asked, looking at me with curiosity.
"I would have forced his hand. You know that well enough, don't you?"
While stabilizing the territory, I had also been moving to find my next prey.
However, launching a preemptive strike would have been unwise. After all, Edrin Silverline was a lord who had averted war under the banner of peace.
Even if war broke out, Pecigen had to be the one to make the first move.
"...I suppose so."
We had strictly inspected the goods of merchants traveling toward Grifort.
It merely added a step or two to the customs process, and it was a measure that caused losses for us as well as them.
Although Arcteria did not hold the only land route to Grifort, Grifort was the only port city connected directly to Arcteria.
We had also rounded up Grifort's spies operating on the outskirts of our territory.
The official charge was tax evasion, but both they and we knew it was merely a pretext.
The regulations did exist, but they were nothing more than forgotten laws that hadn't been enforced for over a decade. No one had ever bothered to follow them.
"Pecigen had no choice but to act. And what is his next move?"
Selen let out a sigh.
"He is gathering mercenaries."
"Just as expected."
Grifort was a port city. In other words, they had money.
They did not have abundant food production, nor were they situated in an easily defensible terrain, but their wealth was overwhelmingly disproportionate to the size of their territory.
"We have received intelligence that an unusually large number of mercenary groups are remaining within their borders instead of moving elsewhere for escort duties or other conflicts."
"Good."
For a newly established intelligence network, they were showing quite impressive results.
Grifort was a coastal territory. Compared to stable inland territories, it was an environment where foreigners constantly drifted in and out.
Naturally, even an inexperienced intelligence organization could easily gather high-quality information there.
"It is a threat. I have crossed swords with Grifort's mercenaries a few times before... and they are definitely not to be underestimated."
In this world, the status of mercenaries was by no means low.
They were battle-hardened warriors who spared no expense on the best equipment to protect their own lives.
"And if Pecigen is gathering them personally... their numbers will not be small."
When facing an enemy who utilized mercenaries strategically, analyzing their military strength was no easy task.
It meant that a city with barely three thousand soldiers yesterday could suddenly gain two thousand elite mercenaries today, hired overnight with cold, hard cash.
"It does not matter."
When dealing with Valerian and Eleonor, there was a need to be cautious. They were lords who possessed that level of danger.
But not Pecigen. He might be an experienced and seasoned lord, but he was not a leader blessed with generation-defining talent.
His actions, and my victory, were already predetermined.
"He will not dare to launch a direct invasion against us from the start."
"Then why has he gathered those soldiers?"
"Pillaging. He intends to ravage the outskirts of Arcteria, using the excuse that he could not control the mercenaries."
Biting her lip, Irene gripped her sword, unable to contain her anger.
"I will stop them. I did say they wouldn't be easy opponents, but our army is not so weak as to fall to filthy plunderers."
Dealing with thousands of mercenaries moving in disciplined formations was a difficult task.
But if it was just small bands of dozens of mercenaries gathering to pillage, Irene could lead her knights and warhorses to sweep them away like a hunt.
However, that could not be allowed.
"A direct confrontation is exactly what the enemy wants. If we wipe them out, Pecigen will spread rumors that Arcteria's army slaughtered innocent mercenaries."
"But we cannot just sit by and take it!"
"We must let ourselves be hit. We must smear ourselves with the beast's blood and paint on fake wounds."
We had to establish a justification first. We had to show that they had committed a crime, inflicting damage that we could not possibly tolerate.
"Do not slacken in your intelligence gathering. Keep a close eye on the enemy's movements, and ensure the villagers in the surrounding areas are evacuated the moment danger looms."
"...Understood."
Irene tilted her head in confusion for a moment, but she did not disobey the order.
"There is much to do. Construct fortified strongholds and prepare facilities where refugees can gather in advance."
"Yes, my lord!"
"Select trustworthy, tight-lipped soldiers and have them stand by. In the meantime, I will contact the high bishop nearby."
Pecigen wanted war. And I, too, wanted war.
And the one who would win the opening skirmish—the one who would secure a clearer, more sacred justification—would be me.
However, I could not neglect the actual battle. Once the war of justifications was over, the armies of Grifort and Arcteria would ultimately clash on the battlefield.
And I had already made preparations for that as well.
"Lady Roselyn?"
"Y-Yes? Yes!"
She looked at me with eyes that asked why she was even here in the first place.
"I have a favor to ask. I promised to guarantee you free rein over your research, and I apologize for bringing this up so soon."
"Oh, no! Please, say the word! Even I wouldn't dream of being stubborn in a situation like this."
I offered a faint smile.
"Have you checked the new prototype?"
"Yes... yes! It was definitely a good piece of work. The cost didn't seem too high, and the practicality was—"
"What happens if we increase the purity?"
For a moment, I could sense her inner conflict.
It seemed she was tense, worried that if she let her guard down even a little, she might start rattling off highly advanced technical knowledge without restraint, just like when we first met.
After agonizing over it for a long moment, Roselyn summed up her thoughts in a single word.
"It becomes beautiful."
Irene frowned deeply, perhaps thinking Roselyn was joking.
But I knew. Roselyn's assessment was both accurate and concise.
"Mana is inherently cool, but it's hard to avoid a bit of... cloudiness leaking out. But if you increase the purity, well... only the light and the explosion pass through the mana stone, releasing pure ether, and that..."
"I understand."
If I were the only one here, I might have listened to her speak a bit longer, but Irene and Selen were busy people.
"Can you do that for me?"
"Pardon? B-but mana is ultimately explosive force, so doing that would likely weaken the raw destructive power—"
"But wouldn't it be beautiful? That explosion."
War is waged by people. And people are bound to be swayed by emotions and beliefs.
"I will speak to the other members of the Magic Tower. The cost-efficiency and explosive power are sufficient as they are, so please focus on increasing the purity."
"D-don't worry! We've actually done things like this a few times back at the Magic Tower! We even ran experiments to see who could create the purest wavelength... I can do it!"
Irene wore a confident smile.
I smiled along with her.