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Volume 1 Chapter 4 Part 6

「I know that, but I never thought about my banner and using it… 」

「Now that Lord Theo has achieved the rank of Baron, you are going to be leading your own army into battle. And in order to be able to do that, having your own banner, your flag, is an indispensable thing. 」

Siluca said so while looking up at Theo.

「I also think that it is going to be exactly the thing that you are going to need in order to show everyone the strength of your determination and what it is that you are going to be fighting for. 」

「I think it should be pretty obvious what I am fighting for: to save those who are suffering from tyranny and Chaos. 」

Theo answered that question almost immediately, which made Siluca feel satisfied, because that was exactly what she was expecting him to say.

「There are times when a Lord cannot do it anything by himself. So whenever such a time comes, why not raise a flag like today so that the people that decided to follow you could stand behind and fight for? 」

「No, the way I see it, wars should be fought  by Lords, soldiers and mercenaries, not for the ordinary people. 」

「But both the Lord and the people of the domain that he rules over are human beings. You should be aware of that more than anyone else, Lord Theo. 」

「I know that, but… 」

Theo still  seemed to be distressed about this whole situation. He took an oath to save the people of his hometown village, and he became a wandering Lord exactly for that very purpose. Because of that, it was understandable that he did not wish to involve other people in the fights that he thought were his alone to fight.

「Although I understand why you might be feeling reluctant to do this, there are times when you as the Lord are going to have to fight with ordinary people by your side. For example, now is the time to do that. So please, give them your blessing, Lord Theo. If you do that, then I promise that the casualties are going to be as few as possible. 」

「… I understand. 」

It would seem that Theo had finally made up his mind.

「I am going to take all of your lives upon my shoulders. The King of Selvis only cares about the territory that he can rule over, and he does not care about the people who live on these territories one bit. When he heard that I managed to calm down the Chaos on his territories, he decided to go to war with me because of that alone: jealousy. That is not what a true Lord would have done. A true Lord would have applaud such an achievement, even if his enemy were to be the one to take credit for it. And so, I think it is time for us to go and show the false king just what it is that Crests are meant to do and who they are doing it for! 」

At that moment, the people around Theo bursted into cheers, and Siluca also nodded at him with a big smile on her face.

「When you are fighting for something that you really want to protect, such as your hometown or your family, you need the courage to not flinch even if you are to be fighting against a formidable enemy, the trust to unite your subjects under your banner unwaveringly, and their love that is never gonna give you up. 」

Theo muttered that to himself as he stared at the back of his own hand. He then raised it into the air, and when he did that, an ephemeral flag had already started shining and forming itself on the sky.

It was nothing more but just a combination of simple lines, but nevertheless it emitted a pure white light.

(This light… is a very strong one.)

Siluca had to narrow her eyes in order to look at it.

It means that there were still strong feelings hidden deep inside of Theo, feelings that he could not give shape to just yet. But now, he was trying to turn those hidden feelings of his into a blessing for those who would fight alongside him.

The battle flag is a symbol of the Lord. And when his banner of light is raised, the knights and soldiers in service of the Lord are going to be empowered by the power of their Lord’s Crest.

It was also a way for a Lord to identificate friend from foe, because if the will to fight under the Lord’s banner is not going to be a genuine one coming straight from the inside of one’s heart, then the radiance of the Lord’s banner will never shine down upon them.

Siluca, who was right next to him, could clearly see that Theo was concentrating his mind strongly in this moment. That willpower he was channeling into his flag right now was the very same one that made him a Lord in the first place. It is said that only a limited number of people can take in Chaos and turn it into the power of order like that. This is fundamentally different from a Lord who has been given a Crest by someone else.

(This person is the same as the Founding Lord,  Leon… !!!)

Siluca wanted to scream like an innocent child, but thankfully she managed to suppress that desire in her heart.

「Alright. 」

When Theo nodded in agreement, he stretched his hand straight up one more time, and a pattern of light was drawn in the air around his hand. This time, it looked like a complicated one. If only Siluca had chosen Crestology classes when she was attending the Red faculty at the Magic University, then she would have probably been able to accurately read exactly what kind of power that flag would bestow upon Theo’s soldiers, but even so, there was still a way for her to do that. All she needed to do, was to touch that light.

Siluca stood up and she reached out her hand towards the light. As soon as she did that, she could feel a surge of power welling up inside of her heart. At the same time, Theo’s will was clearly conveyed to her. It was a simple desire of a straight, unwavering heart.

Just like Theo said, his battle flag was meant to protect something important, and those who will raise this banner in his name will gain the power to do just that.

「The Patriot… 」

Siluca remembered that there was once a battle flag that was called like that. As far as Siluca knows, none of the current Lords had managed to raise such a banner.

Starting with the master of the smithy, the people of Theo’s territory touched the flag one after another and made it their own. The same pattern of light that was drawn on Theo’s hand began to appear on their hands and shined brightly. Everyone then looked at each other and laughed at each other.

Siluca turned to Theo.

「I’m sure that you will have a lot of allies, more than any other Lord, and their coming should be just what we need to cause a big avalanche. 」

「I think so too. 」

Theo nodded brightly. And as it turned out later, those assumptions of theirs were the correct ones, because around noon of that day, the armies of independent Lords arrived at Theo’s camp one after another.

*          *          *

Three days later, an army led by Nabir Gerje, the King of Selvis, arrived on the battlefield. He also had several independent Lords with him, but their numbers were smaller in comparison to Theo’s allies, perhaps due to the spreading of the news that the enemy camp had a large number of independent Lord’s armies on their side as well. However. Nabir’s army was still superior to Theo’s as far as pure strength was concerned.

The Mage who made a contract with the King of Selvis advised him to avoid engaging in battle at all costs, fearing that his Lord would end up being too exhausted from the fighting to govern the country properly, which would end up throwing it all into a state of utter chaos.

However, Nabir immediately dismissed that suggestion of his. If he were to withdraw from leading his army here would hurt the prestige of  him as the king. Also, that would probably give even more of a momentum to the independent Lords who wanted to unite under the wandering Lord Theo, who acted as a link that connected them all together.

Victory in this battle would mean the unification of the entire Selvis under his banner, and for the longest time Nabir have already had it up to here with the independent Lords who continued to disobey him even though he was the King of Selvis.