Rivelt Territory (2)
When you get right down to it, even among nomadic tribes like those prairie bumpkins, there are cases where they just draft everyone the traditional way to pad out the numbers, without any magic at all.
The problem in those cases is that if they don't plunder properly, the tribe has no future.
"Their arable land is scarce, but not so scarce they can't manage. They even receive support from the capital or trade with neighboring noble domains."
"Rivelt alone can probably field a hundred thousand, I'd guess."
That was the truly terrifying part.
Rivelt's population didn't even match that of the allied kingdom, yet they could field more troops than that kingdom could. The other side had its own nobles and tangled internal affairs, so their military strength wasn't particularly high—but even assuming they used blessings, once war broke out and Rivelt raised its banners, the imperial family and nearby noble domains would pour massive quantities of military provisions their way.
The difference in productive capacity was already enormous.
Especially now, with all the talk about how much wartime expense had been burned through, every noble's storehouses were still stuffed to the brim with grain.
"A hundred thousand… the kingdom couldn't field that many right now."
"They have complicated internal issues of their own, and their elite troops got chewed up fighting the Demon King's army. The gap in mobilization power would be huge."
Rivelt had mostly hit and run on the battlefield, so their military losses had been lighter. The main theater between the kingdom and the Demon King's forces had been far away, too.
"But for all that reputation… I mean, I get that they're impressive, but is it really something Lady Olivia needs to inflate that much?"
"That's the past. Well, the army itself is still powerful. But the fight against the Demon King's army was left entirely to the kingdom, and then there's the Hero Party's fame."
That was just how imperial history looked.
There was no real reason to inflate it. Even the Ashtar family's records, boiled down, basically said, "Those bastards are a pain in the ass, but their skill is undeniable," and went on at length about Rivelt's achievements.
Rivals and surrounding nobles had all recorded them the same way, supposedly.
How much time passed after that?
Around an hour later, Arand returned.
"Lord Rivelt is currently on a brief circuit of the territory, so we are late. His Lordship asked me to convey his apologies and to escort you."
"No, this is getting burdensome."
What exactly was he apologizing for? Why treat someone who had just shown up unannounced with this much ceremony?
Was this really Rivelt? Treating the Ashtar duke's daughter this deferentially?
Sure, they acknowledged their rivals, but looking at how Valen acted, even if it wasn't outright cold-shouldering, "Go home" was the usual response around here.
In other words, there was no particular reason to invite us all the way to the mansion.
That said, I couldn't exactly refuse, either.
Fine. Let's go see him. That seemed better. If that eccentric head of house was going this far out of his way for us, he had to be after something.
"We'll go pay our respects."
Having come this far, ignoring a summons from the lord of Rivelt wasn't an option.
Accepting it was the correct move for now. Ignoring even this would just get the Ashtar duke's daughter labeled as rude.
And so I went to the Rivelt head's mansion.
"The Ashtar duke's daughter and the next Magic Tower Master have arrived!"
"Welcome. Lady of Ashtar. Lady Celia. I will guide you to His Lordship."
This much hospitality? What exactly were they after?
Maybe there was something else going on.
"Well now, we have precious guests."
A middle-aged man stood laughing heartily in front of the mansion.
The wild hair that used to stream behind him when he rode into battle was still as striking as ever.
This was the man who was rivals with the Ashtar Duke. Truly bizarre.
How would he see me in this moment? As the Empire's Saint? As the Taesa? Or simply as the Ashtar duke's daughter?
Probably closer to the last one.
His retainers were used to calling me the Ashtar duke's daughter, but in Rivelt territory, Ashtar was just Ashtar no matter what status they held.
"I never expected you would invite us in person like this."
I smiled faintly and offered the formal greeting of a duke's daughter.
"Of course I would. You're the Ashtar duke's daughter, aren't you? This nation's Saint and Taesa as well. We can hardly treat you shabbily."
The lord of Rivelt was laying on flattery like that?
He was definitely after something.
He wanted something. There was no other reason for him to act this way.
Valk. What are you after?
"Thank you. Then I will accept Your Lordship's kindness."
"Come inside. I've prepared quite a few things for the duke's daughter and the next Magic Tower Master. Have you had dinner yet?"
"Not yet."
"Perfect. Rivelt's finest chefs have prepared a great deal for you two ladies."
No, this is getting even more burdensome. Way more burdensome.
Did he really need to go as far as "finest chefs"?
Just like that, I found myself invited to a meal at Rivelt.
I had heard that the Rivelt head's dining table was strictly for family only. Dragging Celia and me into it meant there was something they wanted to impress upon us that badly, didn't it?
No—there wasn't even family present. Just the lord himself and his retainers.
That meant he had something to discuss.
Even so, the sheer volume of meat dishes felt a bit much for human company.
"Isn't this horse meat?"
"Haha, there's beef and pork as well. This one's simmered in soy sauce, and this is beef short ribs steamed with chives."
A whole array of meat dishes that looked like something the prairie folk would eat came out.
Unlike the prairie bumpkins, though, Rivelt's cooking was far more varied.
At least that was a relief.
"By the way. I heard the duke's daughter is both a Saint and a mage."
"Yes."
"Who is the enemy of the Saint?"
An abrupt question. There was no way he didn't already know. He was setting the stage for some request he wanted to make of me.
What on earth was he thinking?
Still, I could at least give him that much of an answer.
"Naturally, those who go against the Goddess's will. Those steeped in malice and demonic energy, wouldn't you say?"
For the briefest instant, Valk's eyes glittered at my reply.
So there was something he wanted.
"Are black mages among them?"
"Of course."
Obviously. Black mages as a breed were already people who opposed the Goddess.
Everything they did used malice and demonic energy, so it was only natural that the Goddess and the Goddess Church—who claimed to practice justice—would treat them as enemies.
The real question was why this man was bringing it up now.
After getting me to answer this far, he ought to actually say something.
It was clearly about black mages, at least. Were there black mages nearby? Was he asking me to help catch them?
It was so obvious it hurt.
"Saint. Are you familiar with the New World Group?"
"Yes, I am. They're the anti-imperialists who attacked the capital before."
"They did. I heard they even dared to try storming His Majesty's palace."
The close retainers and the lord himself were all circling around me as a set, clearly wanting something.
They could just ask for help honestly and I'd give it. Why the song and dance?
"Yes."
"To digress for a moment—Rivelt is the family that leads the Empire's finest elite troops."
"Cavalry, more precisely."
At my words, the lord's eyebrow twitched.
The fact that I'd answered reflexively without thinking suggested that the Ashtar blood running through this body still saw Rivelt as a rival.
"Ahem. Well then—what would you say if black mages came and started running wild in a territory like that?"
"You'd have to catch them, wouldn't you? I believe Rivelt's magic cavalry would be more than capable of handling them."
In short: even if black mages show up, deal with it yourselves.
At this point Rivelt was going to find things rather annoying, so my meaning might even come across as rude.
There were a few mages around for training magic cavalry, but the number was tiny, and with their magical system still being overhauled, their level was lower than even the capital's—which was already infinitely below the Magic Tower's.
There was no way they could discover black mages and fight them properly.
Mobilizing the entire army just to catch black mages would be ridiculous, too. The black mages would probably just slip away at their leisure.
Rivelt might end up flailing around alone and becoming a laughingstock.
That was just how noble houses worked.
"Of course. Naturally. But recently, you see, black mages actually did come and start making a mess."
"And what did you do about it?"
So. What exactly had they done?
Given that no particular rumors were circulating in the territory, either the lord was clamping down hard or it had only just been discovered.
How curious.
"They merely leave those damp traces of demonic energy behind, so we can only feel truly regretful. Which is why I have a request for the duke's daughter."
"You want me to catch the black mages for you."
Leave it to a noble to be skilled at talking in circles.
"Yes. Hearing you put it so directly is refreshing. Besides, a Saint's work and our interests align, don't they?"
"Yes. They do."
That wasn't wrong.
If anyone in Rivelt had said something like that, I would have gone looking without needing the lord to invite me at all.
At this point, the black mage group had to be being led from behind by someone like Seto or Clanis, so I was going to follow the black mages' trail either way.
However. That was the story when I was "Noah." The person standing in front of the lord of Rivelt right now was the Empire's Taesa and Saint, the Ashtar duke's daughter. Satisfying Rivelt's request with mere hospitality wasn't going to cut it.
So maybe I should push back a little here.
I couldn't just cheerfully accept, after all.
The ones in a hurry were Rivelt, weren't they?
I needed to establish a bit of my own prestige here.
"It doesn't seem all that urgent yet."
At my words, the gazes of everyone at Rivelt's table focused on me.
Their expressions of "What is that supposed to mean?" were rather satisfying.
Come on, isn't it funny? That stupid look on his face. That charismatic lord's face had gone completely blank, like a man who'd swallowed honey and lost his tongue.
He'd lowered his head this far and never expected this kind of reaction.
Accepting too easily would have been bad for my face.
"What do you mean by that?"
Valk's voice dropped a notch.
Well, that was the ordinary reaction.
He'd put his own face on the line like this, and the response was lukewarm.
Still, I had my own excuses ready.
"If the black mages had been serious, you can tell from looking at the capital—they would have already done something. Yet they haven't done that against Rivelt."
"Hmm."
These were people proactive enough to assault the capital itself.
They'd been crushed in the capital, and there was no way they'd start something in a Rivelt that had been weakened like that.
The lord of Rivelt probably knew that, too, but black mages still stuck in his craw. So I spoke as if it were nothing, just brushing past it.
"They might simply have been passing through. Among black magic, there are spells superior to teleportation. It could be traces of those."
There was nothing black mages could gain through Rivelt.
"But you never know, do you?"
"It's not as if the possibility is completely zero. Since they're black mages, they might have set up a New World Group base somewhere in the Haut Mountains."
That was probably the high-probability case.
Otherwise those damp creatures would have no reason to go into the mountains. Precisely because they were damp creatures, they built temples.
"In that case, all the more—"
"That much is something you can handle by deploying your troops thoroughly."
"Are you truly going to take this stance?"
Truly or not, I had plenty of cards to play.
For instance, I was the Taesa. From a Taesa's perspective, a woman who ought to be working in the capital coming all the way out here to handle black mage business?
That just wouldn't do.
I had eyes for reading people. How could I act like that?