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Volume 1 Chapter 4 Part 5

Fires were still burning and laughter could be heard, and sentries were patrolling the area along their usual patrol routes. Many of the soldiers were asleep, but the tension could still be felt from each tent.

(I hope this situation spreads…)

Siluca hoped so. They need to keep the King of Selvis off his guard, and the independent Lords aware of the danger. If Theo is defeated in this battle, the King of Selvis will surely achieve his long-cherished wish of unifying Selvis under his rule, so if the independent Lords do not want to serve King Selvis, they have no choice but to side with Theo.

However, the feelings of not wanting to side with Theo, who is an outsider, and not wanting to join the losing battle on his side are something that was quite understandable, since every independent Lord would became discouraged if the prospects of them winning the battle that their independence hinged on were not looking too optimistic.

Siluca knew that, but there was nothing she could do about it. They accepted King of Selvis’s challenge while under the assumption that all of their allies are going to band together with them, because if their allies will not come to fight on their side, then they are most definitely going to lose this battle.

One thing was sure though: no matter what happens, Theo is most definitely going to be standing at the frontlines together with his soldiers, ready to lay his life in battle just like the rest of them.

(If something happens to Lord Theo because of them….)

Siluca could feel her heart getting heavy just by thinking about it. If their allies fail to come to their aid, then Theo is going to die in this battle, because even though both Lassic and Neman do not have any intentions of swearing allegiance to the King of Selvis, these two alone are not going to be enough to guarantee them victory. In that case, there might be only two choices left for them: for Theo to throw away his Crest and run or for Theo to throw away his life in battle.

(I do not care who it is going to be! Someone… anyone… just let them come!)

Siluca wished so from the bottom of her heart, because that is what the need in order to trigger a big avalanche…

And it was just then that Siluca started hearing a lot of noises getting closer to their camp from the side of the road.

(No way!)

Wondering if her wish had finally been granted, Siluca ran with all her might towards the voice while still feeling somewhat confused about what was going on right now. After a while, she could finally see the flames of several torches beginning to light the dim darkness of the surrounding area. There were dozens of them.

Could it be that some independent Lord has brought his soldiers to aid them in the battle?

Siluca’s expectations were growing with every step she took. And as she finally approached the incoming group close enough to actually see the people holding the torches, it turned out that it was a group of people whom Siluca would never imagine to come to their aid: the residents of the village where Theo’s current castle is located.

There were many young men that Siluca considered recruiting as soldiers, and among them was even the master of blacksmith workshop. The other day, a Chaos accident caused by a Salamander caused him to suffer large, life-threatening burn injury, and Siluca treated him with her magic. The master of the workshop had a smith’s sword and wore old chain armor on his torso.

「Everyone… what are you all doing here? 」

Siluca was surprised to see them all, and so she asked the blacksmith why did they come here.

「We all decided to rush over here as soon as we heard the rumors that our Lord was heavily outnumbered by the enemy forces. Since Lord Theo and Lady Siluca saved my life once already, there was no way for me to overlook your current predicament. I might not look like it anymore, but back in the days of my youth I used to be a mercenary in the city of Elam, but I soon realized that I was much better at fixing broken swords and armor rather than fighting myself. 」

The blacksmith laughed as he answered Siluca’s question.

「W-What about the other young people then? 」

「When they saw me leaving the village, they all followed right after me, so I had no choice but give each of them a weapon. They are all so hopeless that they could never take over their parent’s farms for them, so the only possible future they have for themselves is either to continue helping their folks back home or to venture out into the big cities to try to make ends meet there, so no one is going to grieve for them if the end up dying here, and the same can be said about me. 」

「My folks were actually happy that I came here and did not say anything against me going. 」

Some of the young people raised their voices and everyone laughed in unison at their comments.

「Everyone… 」

Siluca inadvertently felt tears welling up in her eyes.

Certainly, she was hoping for their allies to come to their aid in this battle, but never in her wildest dreams would Siluca expect these people to be the ones to show up. After all, it was only recently that Theo had banished their former Lord, Mesut Medrick from his domain in order to become the Lord in his place. Siluca heard that Mesut Medrick was a pretty horrible Lord who did not care about the people who lived in his domain, but she never would have expected the people to think that he was that horrible of a leader that they would not be able to stand him.

(That being said, Lord Theo is the kind of Lord that deeply cares about the people who live in his territory, so his feelings must have been properly conveyed to them.)

That must have been the case here, because there is no way that taking care of a single Chaos-related incident would be enough to make him so endearing to his new subjects.

Just then, Theo, who seemed to have heard the news of the arrival of the reinforcements, came towards them from the direction of the camp.

「What is going on here? What is the meaning of this? 」

Thinking that he was seeing things because he was still half-asleep, so her rubbed his eyes with his hands more than once, but the scenery before his eyes did not change one bit.

「Did you ask them to come to our aid, Siluca? 」

「Of course not! 」

Siluca hastly shook her head to deny her involvement with the arrival of the people from the village.

「They all came here of their own accord. They heard about Lord Theo’s predicament, and so they rushed in to lend you their support.」

「Really… ? 」

Theo made a troubled expression when he heard Siluca’s brief explanation.

「Everyone, it makes me really happy to know that you all think like that, but the battle that we have ahead of us is going to be an incredibly tough one, and I do not wish to see any of you die in vain. 」

「And that is exactly why we have come here today. We all realize that it will not be easy, and we are all prepared to throw our lives away for you, Lord Theo. 」

The smithy’s master raised his voice, and the young people nodded their heads in unison.

「But… 」

Theo frowned.

「Lord Theo… 」

Siluca’s voice trembled slightly.

「I believe that it is your duty as a Lord to respond to the feelings of the people inhabiting your territory with respect. 」

「I know, but it is also a Lord’s duty to protect his people form harm, is it not? 」

「It is natural for a Lord to think like that, but do you not realize that your people want to do everything in their power to protect their Lord as well? 」

Siluca said admonishingly.

「That’s right! Exactly! 」

When the smithy’s master thrusted the sledgehammer in his hand high into the air, the young people around him all cheered as if on command.

Theo looked around at the villagers. He seems undecided yet, and his mouth was tightly shut.

「Please, Lord Theo. Raise your banner high so that your people could fight under it for you. 」

Siluca said while standing next to him.

「My… banner? 」

「It is a kind of blessing bestowed upon your soldiers by your Crest. Its purpose is to bestow power upon everyone who has sworn allegiance to you. Thanks to it, even the weakest of your soldiers  will be able to fight just like an elite soldier does.」