Chapter 128
Chapter 128
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 128
Chapter Title: Vittorio's Last Chance
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Leaving Vittorio with his eyes quietly closed, I returned to my seat.
"...If I said it was a misunderstanding, would you believe me?"
"That's the kind of question I wouldn't recommend answering."
"..."
He seemed to sense the pressure well, trembling at every word I said.
On the battlefield, betrayals and tricks were so commonplace in the Ruth Kingdom that I worried whether I'd muster enough emotion to really lean on Vittorio.
Fortunately, he had shown up right when I was in the foulest mood—reviewing casualty reports.
Thanks to that, I could easily display the exact level of cold fury I needed.
"..."
Vittorio, having been called out once, just kept mumbling with his lips twitching. That alone made it a resounding success.
"Don't overthink it."
Still, it was a shame for the elves.
"We cooperated as allied forces, and surely your elves intend to actively support the alliance. Isn't that right?"
Este Kingdom's losses hadn't yet reached an acceptable level, and Vittorio had proven that the core of his thinking wouldn't change easily.
We still needed to keep the alliance going.
Whether the elves attempted a third betrayal or truly changed this time.
It was better for me if the decision came from the transparently honest Vittorio, whose true colors were already laid bare.
"..."
"Or did you plan to abandon us and snatch all the credit? Strange—I thought we followed the agreed plan to the letter."
"...Y-Yes, th-that's it exactly!"
In an exaggerated, theatrical tone, I mentioned a misunderstanding that would soften the blow to Vittorio.
"In the Adige battle, didn't we feel a bit sidelined? So that's what it was!"
"And?"
He caught my intent right away, so he probably wouldn't need much guidance.
Given how he'd tried to stab us in the back on the battlefield, his previous cooperative—groveling, in elven eyes—behavior might have just been part of the ploy.
Unless he went around blabbing about every step and outcome himself, a mere coincidence or minor slip wouldn't get him ousted.
"From now on, we'll stick strictly to the plan! I swear it!"
"How can I trust you?"
-Thud.
"Please believe me. I'm begging you."
"Hah..."
His groveling, complete with a kneel he must have picked up somewhere, was endearing even knowing it was an act.
"...I won't tell Blake, so think of this as your last chance."
"Th-thank you! Truly!"
I rested my hand on my chin, pretending to mull it over while hiding my smirk, then dismissed him appropriately.
With any brains at all, he'd stay quiet for a while.
"...Hm."
Watching Vittorio hurry away, I hoped he'd use this final chance in a more solid, useful situation.
Vittorio had felt his heart drop during the initial grilling.
"Right, the credit. Yeah, yeah. Exactly."
Accepting Victor's deliberate misunderstanding—that they'd tried to hog all the glory—Vittorio regained some composure and returned to the waiting elves.
"It was mostly coincidence. They haven't fully grasped our intentions."
Steadying himself, he claimed the incident in Berti Forest had been accidental.
"Is that so? Well, fair enough."
"Th-that officer I ran into didn't seem to suspect our plans at all."
"Mm, mm."
The hardline elves, convinced no mere human could read their thoughts or schemes, nodded in immediate agreement.
"There are too many suspicious elements to chalk it up to coincidence. They blocked us more than the enemy."
Some elves couldn't help but harbor doubts given the circumstances.
"...We lost many comrades. If we'd stuck to the original strategy, the casualties wouldn't have been this heavy."
"..."
Unexpected major losses and other reasons were cited by those stepping forward.
More elves agreed than when he'd supported Renato, so Vittorio couldn't just steamroll them like before.
"...The sacrifices are regrettable."
Sensing the near-fanatical atmosphere—that would have intensified if the plan had succeeded—had dissipated among the elves, Vittorio accepted their dissent.
"We should play it safe for a while."
"Understood."
In the end, he declared a temporary halt to the plan, quelling the backlash for now.
"...You met him here?"
"Yes! Just as you predicted, Commander!"
"I see."
Meanwhile, Imperial officers reviewing the Berti Forest battle noticed something off.
"Why did the elves come this far?"
"The commander foresaw..."
"Yeah, I heard. No need to repeat."
"Yes..."
Stephan and the Imperial reserves had encountered the elves far behind their previous positions.
"You've never heard that either, right?"
"Nope. Has anyone?"
No officer came forward claiming prior knowledge of the "second wave" Victor had mentioned.
"Suspicious..."
"Are the elves at it again?"
Having been burned by elves multiple times, the officers naturally suspected them.
"...Does the commander know?"
"Hard to say. Maybe, maybe not..."
"If he did, he'd have acted already. Didn't you see the first day?"
"Why not just let it slide? It's not that dangerous."
And whether Victor knew about it.
If he did, why not make an issue of it? Opinions among the officers diverged.
Victor's high support for steering battles to "satisfying" victories meant few questioned his motives outright.
But most agreed something was going on that they didn't know about.
Amid all this.
"My glass is empty! Refill!"
"It's still half... Whoa!"
Unlike the chaotic human and elven camps, the dwarves reveled in victory, downing beer.
"See? When those elves bend a little, we win easy!"
"Yeah, that Victor guy? Humans have stepped up since he arrived!"
"Sure, sure! But without us, huh?"
"Hahaha!"
Blake, thrilled that the alliance was finally acting like one, wildly popped beer keg lids.
"Have some yourself!"
"I'm just relaying the Grand Marshal's..."
"It's fine! Get over here!"
"You fought well? Damn, why not sooner!"
"Uh, er..."
"You any good with blades? We got plenty of good ones. Want some?"
"Can you even forge without screwing up?"
"Hey, you little shit."
They even dragged in an elf there to relay messages, pouring beer into her protesting mouth.
"What, you gonna give away your livers and gallbladders next?"
The elders hadn't shaken their deep-seated elf hatred yet.
"You're a spiteful brat. Still holding grudges after all these years?"
"That's not..."
"Hey! Lord Rupert Dawson needs more booze!"
"Oof, can't argue with that."
-Thump.
They dismissed dissent by branding the doubter petty and drowning it in booze—the hearty Ekni Kingdom dwarves' way.
Thus, the alliance regrouped in their own distinct fashions by race, preparing for the next battle.
Evaluations of past fights and allies varied wildly.
But humans, dwarves, and elves all shared hope that the next battle—and future ones—would go well.
"Orcs—10,000 strong—approaching from Ostia again!"
It didn't take long to realize the enemy forces that had bloodied the alliance's nose multiple times were merely the vanguard.
-Whoosh! Shwooosh!
"Friendlies!"
"Hang in there! Elves incoming!"
Over the next week—or even less—orcs and elves struck relentlessly at short intervals.
Of course, the scattered, disorganized orc assaults were no match for the alliance.
"Raids are intensifying. We need more troops."
"Enemy elves are systematically targeting our scouts. More recon won't fix it."
The seemingly pointless attacks grew organized and cunning.
-Boom!
"What happened to securing the supply lines? Why are our troops fighting all the way over there?!"
"...Sorry, our scouts are at their limit."
With Labria Republic elves hunting scouts and hitting supplies, plus orc attacks piling on.
"...Supply lines are too long, and those elf bastards are too persistent. Retreating to Gione makes sense."
"Hm. Our engineers have done most of the work, so it should be more defensible than Adige."
No defeats in battle, but as the alliance gradually lost ground at Adige, retreat discussions began.
"...Fine, understood."
This stirred the sense of crisis Vittorio had forgotten.