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Chapter 17: A Debt Repaid

「Gaia… Are you seriously thinking of running?」

Jessica, the Elven beauty, stared at me with her mouth agape.

I answered her question casually.

「Jessica, it’s only a contingency. You know, my first battle was a losing one against the Empire, right? So I’m just being cautious.」

「But this time is different, isn’t it? We have twenty thousand on our side. The enemy’s just five thousand holed up in a castle. We clearly have the advantage!」

「Well, that’s true, but still…」

As Jessica and I argued in Elven, Rosso of the Great Lizard Tribe got fed up.

「Hey! Hey! What’s all this? A lover’s spat? Speak a language I can understand, will ya?」

「It’s not a lover’s spat!」

「Lizard’s dumb!」

I explained to Rosso what I’d been talking about with Jessica, then told him what I saw yesterday at the Vaffancrow Empire’s main camp.

Rosso scratched his head, his face somewhere between concerned and confused.

「Hmm… yeah, that doesn’t sound good… But still, Gaia, prepping to run before the fight even starts? That’s not a good look.」

「It’s just a precaution.」

「But still—」

「Rosso, Jessica. Look at the sea.」

I abruptly cut the conversation short and pointed.

Floating in the water were large galley ships.

As one galley departed from Colon Castle, another entered the port in its place.

「Those galleys belong to the Kingdom of Algeas.」

「What!?」

「Look at the flag on the mast.」

「You’re right!」

Rosso looked genuinely shocked.

Barbar lives inland. The sea was probably outside his frame of reference.

「As you can see, the enemy can dock their galleys directly at Colon Castle. That means they can resupply food and soldiers from the sea however much they want.」

「That’s… really bad, huh?」

「Yeah, it’s bad. That’s why we need to prepare for the worst.」

Jessica, who’d been listening, asked in clumsy Barbar tongue:

「Gaia. You tell Empire?」

Rosso and I exchanged glances.

Telling the Empire about what I’d seen would probably improve our side’s chances.

Even if we were just hired swords, losing wouldn’t sit well. And we’d likely get a better reward for winning.

However…

「Do you think the Empire’s army will even listen to what we Barbar say?」

I voiced the doubt that had been weighing on me.

The Empire clearly looked down on us Barbar.

And on top of that, their command tent was full of booze and women by midday.

I doubted they’d take us seriously.

But Rosso, arms crossed in thought, had a different view.

「Still, don’t you think we ought to repay the bare minimum of what we owe?」

「A debt, huh…」

I was surprised by Rosso using a very Japanese concept—「giri」 or obligation.

He clearly said 「giri」 in Barbar language.

Even in Barbar, a culture with less developed civilization compared to Japan, the concept of 「giri」 existed.

For people who live by risking their lives in battle, their version of obligation—of 「sticking to what’s right」—must’ve evolved that way.

It made me strangely happy that Rosso and I shared this kind of value.

「Yeah, you’re right. Let’s at least do the honorable thing.」

「Exactly. If we settle our debts, it’ll make things easier down the line when the time comes.」

After escorting Jessica safely back to the Barbar camp, I headed for the Vaffancrow Empire’s command tent with Rosso.

Nothing had changed.

The stench of alcohol and the giggles of women filled the air.

No way was I dragging Jessica into this mess.

Rosso took in the scene and let out a sigh, his eyes distant.

「Gaia… good call leaving Jessica behind.」

「Yeah. No kidding. Let’s get this duty over with.」

「Yeah…」

But when we reached the entrance to the Empire’s massive main tent, we were blocked.

The officers were all drunk, their faces flushed red.

No one would pay us any mind no matter how much we tried to talk.

「We have a report!」

「Ahh, I’m busy right now. Get someone else—hic!」

「We have a recommendation!」

「Hmph, we are terribly busy at the moment! Hic! Come back later!」

That’s how it went.

Rosso didn’t understand the Empire’s language, but he picked up on the gist from their attitude.

「This is rough… No one’s listening to you, huh?」

「Same as yesterday. We couldn’t even find a sober officer… Wait! There he is!」

I spotted one.

It was the young officer I spoke to yesterday with Uncle Athos.

I used the [Sma-ho!] skill to check his profile.

Name: Benito Ponkotts – Soldier – Slightly Incompetent

(Slightly incompetent, huh…)

I looked up to the heavens.

Still, compared to the rest of the 「incompetent「 crowd here, he was the best we had.

No—he was sober. That alone made him better.

I chose to believe that.

I braced myself and called out to the slightly incompetent guy in Empire-speak.

「Benito Ponkotts!」

「Hmm? It’s Ponkotts, not Ponkotsu. Ah, you’re the one from yesterday…」

「Yes. I’m Gaia, commander of the Barbar Mercenary Party. I have urgent news!」

I explained about the galleys coming and going at Colon Castle, and about enemy merchants freely operating in camp.

「Aah, you don’t need to worry about that.」

「What!?」

His response blindsided me.

We don’t need to worry?

As I stood there stunned, Ponkotts went on, speaking lazily.

「As long as they pay, merchants are free to trade.」

「But they might be leaking information!」

「If we win, it’s not a problem.」

「…」

The gap in thinking left me speechless.

I was warning him precisely so we could win—by not giving intel to the enemy.

「Just so you know, the people who took money from the merchants are higher-ups in the army. A kid like you should mind his own business.」

Bribes, huh?

Well, considering this world’s lower civilization level, I can’t deny that such customs exist… but at least be smart about it.

「Then how about the galleys going in and out of Colon Castle? They’re restocking supplies and bringing in fresh troops.」

「You worry too much. One ship can’t carry that many men or provisions.」

「It’s not just one. Several have been going in and out!」

「Even so, our army will win in a few days! We’re the Vaffancrow Empire!」

Useless.

Completely hopeless.

「What if their commander is competent…?」

It was a hypothetical—but I had already confirmed it using the [Sma-ho!] skill.

The enemy commander was tagged as 「Highly Competent.」

「Hah! No one could defeat our elite twenty thousand!」

Ponkotts laughed proudly.

—Arrogance.

That word echoed in my mind.

The Vaffancrow Empire, having invaded its neighbors, now boasted the largest territory in its history.

But maybe it’s already rotting from within.

Even with the Crown Prince leading the army, their officers were all fools, drunk by midday and surrounded by women.

Even this so-called 「better「 officer refused to listen to reason, clinging to baseless confidence.

(Well… I’ve done my part, haven’t I?)

「I understand. Thank you for your time.」

I left the tent with Rosso in tow.

「Hey… Gaia… judging from your face, that didn’t go well.」

「Yeah. But I passed on the information. Gave them the warning. We’ve done our part.」

「Then good enough. We’ll act on our own now.」

「Exactly. I’m calling a meeting with the tribal leaders. We’ll prepare for the worst.」

「Got it!」