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Vol 02 Chapter 68-2: The Seven-Day War V

「Captain! I think I was born to serve under you!」

Vilgar cheerfully expressed his gratitude to Roswald, his hands were carrying a mountain of treasure. He wore a golden crown on his head, and a neck ornament so big and heavy that it looked like it could cause neck pain just by looking at it. He had also exchanged his linen clothes for a beautiful red silk garment. While he might have looked like a wealthy patrician or a newly rich merchant from afar, his face and aura ruined the effect, giving more of an impression of a pirate who had stumbled upon treasure—a sadly accurate comparison.

Vilgar and his peers were in high spirits because thanks to the enormous wealth they had gained from looting, they could easily buy back their freedom and even afford to build a large house for themselves. In Vilgar’s mind, a rosy future was unfolding.

However, Vilgar, who wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed and hailed from Germanis—a place so backwater that it made the Adernian peninsula seem advanced by comparison… didn’t realize that buying a large house or land would use up all the money he looted in this operation leaving him penniless. He still didn’t have a clear understanding of the value of land.

「Here’s your share, Captain.」

「No, I’m fine… I prefer not to take part in looting…」

Despite Roswald’s attempts to refuse, Vilgar forcefully pushed the treasure into his hands.

「Aren’t you planning to marry Lia-neesan after the war? You’ll need money for that, right?」

「Well… yeah, maybe I’ll accept it then.」

Easily swayed by the glittering gold, Roswald gave in.

Humans are sinful creatures.

◇

「By the way, what are you doing, Captain?」

「I’m gathering documents. They contain information like the locations of each village and the names of the village heads, along with annual tax revenues. It’s not as detailed as the ones we make, but it’s quite accurate. I didn’t expect to find someone with a mindset similar to Nii-san’s here. It’s truly impressive.」

「Oh, it’s not that big of a deal; you’re making me blush.」

Rene smiled in embarrassment. Roswald approached him.

「My name is Roswald, I’m one of the main retainers of Almus-sama, lord of the Aris territory. May I ask where the list of the retainers of this domain is located?」

「Why do you need it?」

「For headhunting.」

Roswald answered honestly, prompting Rene to burst into laughter.

「No way, I’m not telling you that. Good luck searching for it…」

「Tell me!」

Roswald drew his sword and pressed it against Rene’s neck.

「It’s in the third drawer from the top in my father’s room!!」

「Thank you for your cooperation.」

Roswald graciously bowed and headed towards the room of the lord of the mansion.

◇

Meanwhile, Soyon was restraining the magicians stationed in the town. The restrained magicians couldn’t afford to send any messages using hawks or owls because they knew that attempting to leave their empty bodies behind would lead to their death once discovered.

Nonetheless, to be safe, Soyon restrained each one of them.

「The magicians have been taken care of with this… Let’s go find some treasures, senpai!」

「No, I shouldn’t take things stolen from others…」

Despite Soyon’s reluctance, Dola forcefully grabbed her hand.

「What are you saying? Those things were, in the first place, part of the earth. The people of this town took them without permission. What’s wrong with stealing from thieves? Besides, everything in this town belongs to us now. And aren’t you going to marry tribune Ron soon?」

「Well, yes, after the war…」

「Then you’ll need money.」

Persuaded by Dola, Soyon joined in the looting.

◇

After a while, Raymond announced the end of the ‘fun looting time’. It was now time to decide what to do with Rene, the captured soldiers, the civil officers, and the magicians.

This issue should have been addressed immediately, but it had been postponed because the Equus Tribe seemed too eager to start looting and wouldn’t be able to endure.

「The new King wants to send civil officers to the villages to collect taxes directly. So, we need people who can read and write in Kirisian.」

「I heard about it. I also think it’s the right approach. Are you saying you want to take the civil officers with you?」

「That’s right.」

The ‘recruitment of personnel’ began immediately. Thanks to the use of useful tools like collars, shackles, and handcuffs, the process was swiftly completed.

First, it was decided that twenty individuals would be enslaved.

In a typical war in the Adernian peninsula, there wasn’t any need to decide who became slaves, usually all the surviving residents would become slaves. However, this time they couldn’t transport a large number of people. Forcing them to walk would have compromised the cavalry’s mobility.

The plan was to transport them alongside the cargo in wagons.

「Don’t worry. We guarantee you a salary higher than what you were earning working for the Blouse Family.」

They reassured them with these words to prevent any potential rebellion. With these conditions, it was unlikely anyone would think about escaping.

「But… what about our families?」

「We’ll likely be able to exchange ‘this’ for them.」

「Who are you calling ‘this’?!」

Rene raised his voice in protest, but no one listened.

Next were the magicians. Magicians were a particularly troublesome group. High-ranking magicians, capable of manipulating the soul, could take some action even when shackled. Thus, they couldn’t be taken by force. So, they had to be formally recruited.

They were called into private rooms one by one for interviews to determine their willingness to join, with the promise of more than double their current salaries as an incentive.

Combined, there were ten magicians capable of controlling animals in the town of Blouse and Dress Village. In the end, three of them decided to join the Rosais army. Garnet was used to pay upfront as an advance.

However, to ensure safety, a few soldiers and a magician were assigned to monitor them.

The others declined due to being married or having children. Even with the possibility of being exchanged for Rene, they did not want to change their environment.

Next were Rene and the other relatives of the Blouse Family.

The decision was made to take all of them to Aris territory. They could be used for ransom or as bargaining chips.

After all, the Blouse Family was one of the five most important patrician families in King Domorgal’s Country and had mobilized a significant number of soldiers for this war.

If the Blouse Family withdrew from the war, it would lead to a significant reduction of the Domorgal army’s military strength. Even if the withdrawal of their troops wasn’t possible, casting doubt on the Blouse Family’s loyalty by suggesting they had ties with King Rosais could be strategically advantageous.

The captured soldiers were unnecessary and could become a nuisance, so they were disarmed and all locked up in a cell. While the option to kill them was discussed, in the end, they decided against it.

Not killing them increased the likelihood of their rearmament and subsequent use against the Rosais army. However, having minimized killings thus far, it was decided to adhere to this policy until the end. Changing the policy now would negate any benefits they had gained thus far.

It would be advantageous if rumors spread that surrendering to the Rosais army was the best option to keep your life.

「Now, Soyon-dono, could you please send an owl with the report?」

「Understood. I’ll ensure Almus-sama receives the good news by tonight.」

Soyon said this and ran off. No creature attacked an owl at midnight, an owl carrying a message at night was the safest means of communication.

「Tonight, everyone should get a good night’s sleep to recover their stamina. Tomorrow we must hurry to defeat the enemy forces coming from Dress Village. After that, we’ll reoccupy Dress Village. The next steps will depend on Almus-dono’s instructions and the situation on the ground. You are dismissed!」

◇

Second Day, Afternoon

The task of recapturing Dress Village fell to Blouse… the lord of Blouse territory. Tonino thought it advantageous to utilize the local lord, who would be familiar with the terrain. Blouse first sent only the cavalry ahead to scout the situation in Dress Village. Then he hastened the infantry’s march.

「What? The Rosais army has already left? Their destination is… Blouse town?!」

Blouse dispatched the two hundred advanced cavalry to Blouse town. This was because he feared for the town’s safety as there were only two hundred infantrymen in the town.

The two thousand infantrymen who were until that moment on a forced march would need to rest once at Dress Village. While Blouse would prefer to continue the march even at night, it was too risky, and the soldiers wouldn’t have the stamina for it.

Blouse could only hope that the enemy would be caught in a pincer attack by the two hundred cavalry he had sent ahead while the enemy was struggling to breach the walls of the town.

Blouse’s decision to split his forces was a poor strategy for a general. However, he had no choice. The lives of his family were at stake.

If anything, it was a misjudgment on Tonino’s part. But it would be harsh to place all the blame on Tonino, as no one could have anticipated the enemy would dare to attack the town of Blouse.

And nobody expected Rene to surrender so easily. However, Rene lacked military talent. Given the lack of prior information, his decision might even be seen as the best course of action. It’s better to suffer fewer casualties in a likely defeat.

It was a series of misfortunes, all playing into the hands of the Rosais army…

Thus, the Seven-Day War entered its third day.