Pursuit into Mount Aden

On a battlefield awash in blood and screaming, no profession harvested glory quite like a mage. Even without the luxury of large-scale magic, my performance was dazzling—I could feel, firsthand, the true power of a mage backed by a reliable allied force.

I hunted the Ernest Fief army like rabbits, and my stats climbed considerably. Once the tide turned against them, the enemy tucked tail and fled for their lives. Riding the surge of morale Hendrik Coulon had ignited, the Coulon Territory army pursued the routing Ernest forces and cut them down. Even at a glance, the casualty exchange rate exceeded one to three. The Coulon soldiers roared their disbelief at the victory, cheering themselves hoarse.

"Wooooooo!!! We're the Spear of Coulon! This is our victory!"

"Those Ernest Fief bastards! We drove our spears right into those losers' guts, that's what I'm saying!"

"You were just hiding in the back holding a shield like a coward! My arrow went straight through a squad leader's skull!"

"How the hell do you know that was your arrow? You put a nametag on it, you fucker? I cut down five men with this sword, that's what I'm saying! Bwahahaha!"

Count Coulomb praised those who had distinguished themselves in the battle, reveling in the triumph. The one who had shone brightest was, of course, me. I had stood at the vanguard of the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠territorial army and toppled enemies like chess pieces with overwhelming magic. Considering that most mages fought from the safety of the main force, my conduct was exceedingly unusual.

Thanks to that, I earned Count Coulomb's considerable trust. Not only that—the atmosphere among the territorial officers who had looked at me with such sour faces had shifted as well. I had earned visible military merit with my own hands; they had no choice but to acknowledge me.

Of course, there were those who envied me—but every group has its share of those. I had no intention of letting such bastards live until the war was over anyway.

We established a new encampment in the position the Ernest Fief army had abandoned in their flight. Even as they ran, they had not left their munitions behind—weapons, provisions, and the rest of their military supplies had all been carried off.

Contrary to popular belief, a retreat is the most dangerous and difficult of all operations. Even in that pandemonium, the Ernest Fief army had done what needed doing and withdrawn in good order.

Looks like there's a competent one among the enemy commanders. If this follows the original game… Baron Melun, is it?

I called up the contents of the original game. In the original, the Coulon Territory army wins several battles and still loses the war. I couldn't afford to get drunk on a single victory.

"Count Ernest's lackeys have fled into Mount Aden. We must wipe them out for good."

Hendrik wanted to pursue the Ernest Fief army without losing a moment. Our soldiers, however, were already worn down from the fighting, and their faces said they wanted rest far more than a chase. Count Coulomb seemed to read that mood as well; he spoke gently to his impatient son.

"A cornered rat will bite a cat. And we are no cats, nor are they rats. Our soldiers are already exhausted from this battle. If we chase the enemy recklessly from here, we may well suffer a counterattack."

Count Coulomb was calmer than he had been in the original. Did that bastard eat something funny? It was also possible that the joy of a bigger victory than in the original had actually cleared his head.

"But if we don't strike them now, they'll regroup and come back at us. We have to finish this while we have the chance."

Once Count Coulomb and Hendrik split, the officers split with them, roughly down the middle. The young junior officers wanted to chase the enemy at once; the veterans argued that they should refit here. In the end, Count Coulomb's gaze turned to me once more.

"What is the thinking of Lord Walker, the architect of this battle?"

My honest opinion was that resting was the right call. In the game, they refitted here as well. The truth was, in the game they won this battle by a razor's edge and had no strength left to pursue, so they rested by necessity.

The gap between Jin from the game and me as I am now is enormous, so what should have been a razor-thin victory had become an overwhelming one. That was why this choice even existed. I came up with a compromise that would earn me the trust of both Count Coulomb and Hendrik.

"Since opinions are so divided, what would you say to this? We form a small pursuit party to follow the enemy, and the rest remain here to rest. Once the pursuit party ascertains the enemy's position and condition, we can open the next battle on far more favorable terms."

"Hmph! That's a fine thought as well."

Hendrik received my suggestion favorably. Count Coulomb was of the same mind.

"Not a poor thought. In that case, how would you have ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the pursuit party composed?"

"I'll take the lead myself!"

Hendrik shouted it with total confidence. I had expected as much from him. Just as in the original, he was overflowing with drive, and he did not spare his own body.

"If Young Master Hendrik is going, then I shall accompany him as well."

A good chance to lock down Hendrik's trust. The kid was already thoroughly taken with me, but if I wanted him well and truly in my pocket, I needed to keep the relationship close. Count Coulomb assigned us two knights from the Reiss Knights. Combined with myself, Luna, Sera, and Arme, that made a pursuit party of seven.

"You must return before this day is out. If you have not found the enemy by then, abandon the pursuit at once."

Count Coulomb impressed it firmly upon Hendrik.

"I will keep it firmly in mind!"

Hendrik became the acting commander of the pursuit party. Together, we entered Mount Aden, where the enemy had fled. My body may have been fat, but my physical abilities surpassed those of most adults. We pursued the Ernest Fief army at high speed.

The knights Count Coulomb had assigned us were professionals trained in tracking. They took the lead, following the traces of the enemy force.

"This victory is entirely thanks to you, Sir Walker. You saved our territory when we were no more than a candle in the wind. Allow me to thank you once again."

"You flatter me. Young Master Hendrik is every bit as humble as Count Coulomb himself. You will make a fine lord."

"Haha. Compared to my father, I still have a long way to go. To him, I'm nothing but the son who gives him grief. I put him through quite a lot when I married, you see."

"Ah. I heard you married a young lady of a fallen house."

Once I opened that door, Hendrik grinned and launched into his own story.

"It's a famous tale in our territory. My wife, Melinda, was the daughter of a baronial house that ran a small trading company. When I was a boy, they were still a going concern. But they met a dangerous monster on a trade expedition and failed badly. The debt ruined the house, and only her mother—who hadn't joined the caravan—and Melinda herself survived."

Going bankrupt from a single failed trade expedition wasn't a particularly strange story. If the caravan I'd taken from Tellibai to Coulon had failed, I'd have been out on the street myself.

Of course, a trading company with any kind of foundation diversifies its risk, so it's rare to be ruined by a single failure. That baronial house had probably forced through a dangerous expedition.

"That was how our engagement fell apart. She and I had been promised to each other since we were children, you see. Father hadn't been particularly pleased about it even then. I barely managed to talk him around. In truth, the reason I stand at the vanguard myself is so that he'll recognize me."

"It seems he hasn't fully accepted the marriage yet, then?"

"I'm afraid so. But if I show him the figure of a proud warrior, Father's thinking will change. He's always favored men like that."

So that was the story behind his rather impatient air. Nothing wins recognition of one's ability quite like military merit. And if one distinguished oneself in a territorial war, one could command enormous support when the time came to inherit the fief. Hendrik's aggressive attitude seemed to spring from that background.

"And your wife? If Young Master Hendrik chose her, she must be a truly fine woman."

The moment I praised a wife whose face I had never even seen, Hendrik lit up so plainly it was visible to the eye.

"Of course. Melinda is an angel descended to earth itself. She's thoughtful and wise, and a brave woman besides. If her station had been even a little more exalted, a man like me would never even have dreamed of marrying her."

The rose-tinted glasses were on thick. You can't trust a word from a man like that. Melinda doesn't even appear in the original game. She isn't in the setting materials either, so I knew absolutely ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠nothing about her.

"Commander! The enemy's traces are getting stronger! They should be within a kilometer!"

While we had been making conversation, a soldier who had been diligently tracking the enemy called out.

"Good! Pick up the pace!"

We moved even faster.

The Ernest Fief army had established a camp on the mid-slopes of Mount Aden. For a mountain, it had a great deal of level ground—enough for a large force to encamp. Forming a battle line on a mountain offered defensive advantages.

Are they planning to stall our movements while requesting support from the War Mage unit?

I observed the enemy camp from a considerable distance.

"Hmm. They're in surprisingly decent shape. The enemy's casualties don't seem as heavy as I expected."

Hendrik said it as he assessed the state of the enemy encampment. Of course, we were judging from the outside, so the information was hardly precise. Still, for a routed unit, their morale was holding up well. They knew they still had the numerical advantage. Nothing affects morale quite like headcount.

Originally they would have fought longer on the Aden Plains before falling back, but this time they retreated early because of the variable called me. That means the War Mage unit will be committed much sooner as well.

The fighting on the Aden Plains originally dragged on for nearly three months. After losing battle after battle on the plains thanks to Jin's exploits, the Ernest Fief army fled into Mount Aden and waged a guerrilla campaign from there. They bought time that way, waiting for the War Mage unit's reinforcements. And the moment those War Mages arrived, they offered a frontal battle and shoved the Coulon Territory army off the field.

The future may have changed more than I thought. Maybe I should have gone a little easier in the first battle?

I'd had no choice but to distinguish myself if I wanted Count Coulomb and the territorial officers' trust. What's done is done. For now, I needed a clearer grasp of the situation. It was earlier than scheduled, but if this followed the original, the Ernest Fief army would wage a drawn-out guerrilla campaign here to buy time.

I need detailed information on the enemy. And I had just the item for that.

The sunset was dying. The Ernest Fief army showed no suspicious movement. It seemed they, too, intended to rest here for the day before they moved.

"We should be heading back soon."

"Young Master Hendrik. I'll scout the surrounding area for a short while."

"Scout? It's already this late."

"I know this geography well. Even so, things may have changed in the time since I last came through. I mean to take the measure of those changes."

"Won't it be dangerous?"

"I'll be fine. To someone who knows this terrain inside and out, the darkness is actually on my side."

"Then I'll come with you."

"Count Coulomb would only worry. Did His Lordship not tell you to return before the day was out? Don't concern yourself with me. I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠will most certainly be back before midnight."

Hendrik trusted me a great deal. He nodded at my request.

"Very well. I know your ability, Sir Walker, but even so, don't push yourself too hard. Ah—I'll assign you one of the knights."

Hendrik gave me one of the knights who had been handling the tracking, then headed back to the main force ahead of me.

"I am called Delcourbar."

I couldn't have cared less about the man's name. Besides, it was a bitch of a name to pronounce.

"Delcou— Sir. Is Young Master Hendrik's wife a beauty?"

"You mean Lady Melinda? Well… in her heart, at least, she is as beautiful as an angel, just as Young Master Hendrik says. She comes out to the knight order's training grounds several times over to serve cookies she baked with her own hands. In her heart, at least, she and the young master are a truly fine match. In her heart, at least, she has my deepest respect."

The qualifier in her heart, at least had attached itself three times. That told me everything I needed to know.

"Is that so? What a shame."

"Pardon?"

"No, it's nothing."

I started considering how I was going to kill Hendrik.