3 bar menu

Volume 2 Chapter 1 Part 1

CHAPTER 1: FLUCTUATION

A wind with a slight scent of the tide came in through the window of the carriage.

Siluca Meletes rested her elbows on her crossed legs, her right hand supporting her chin, and her left hand caressing the back of the Cait Sith Balgary, who was sleeping comfortably in the seat next to her. She was staring at a beautiful castle in the distance.

It is the residence of Vilar Constance, the Earl of Artuk. Built with pure white marble, it was called Castle Uniform after the Constance family crest. In ancient times, it was a small island floating in the sea, but about 100 years ago, it was swallowed by the delta region that spread downstream from the great river Erdu, and it was built in a place where it was connected to the land.

「This place sure would be hard to attack. 」

Siluca Meletes spoke involuntarily.

「Are you seriously thinking of attacking it? 」

Priscilla, sitting across from her, frowned. Siluca told her many times that there was no need for her to be going together with Siluca on this trip, but much to her chagrin, the priestess from the Order of the Crest never yielded in this matter and went together with her anyway.

(Even though Lord Theo only has the rank of a Knight right now…)

Yet despite that, Priscilla was still convinced that Theo will one day become a great Lord. Of course, Siluca thinks so too, and she will do her best in order to support Theo in achieving his goals. That being said, Priscilla was still a little timid around people, but she was constantly professing that she would do everything in her power to be helpful to those around her.

To be honest, there was nothing in the world that Siluca wanted more than to kick her out of the carriage right now, but she could not refuse her request to be taken along with her, because in the previous battle Priscilla saved Aishela’s life, for which Siluca felt greatly indebted to her. Based on what she saw back then, she had no doubts that her excellent healing abilities will be useful to Theo.

「Of course not, but there is always a possibility that someone might try to attack us, right? 」

Siluca said to Priscilla suggestively.

「It’s the castle of the Lord to whom Lord Theo chose to be come subordinate to, right? But in that case, is that not disrespectful towards him? 」

is a subordinate, isn’t it? Isn’t that disrespectful?「

「Listen here you… 」

Siluca sighed, but did not finish her sentence.

「It’s the job of us contracted Mages to think about how the enemy might attack and take countermeasures against that in advance! Even in the battle of Selvis, we prepared carefully, and that was the main reason why we were able to keep the castle for so many days, remember? 」
「I see… 」

Appearing sufficiently convinced, Priscilla stared at the walls of the pure white castle, and…

「It looks like a sturdy castle, doesn’t it? 」

… she expressed her humble opinion.

「You are certainly right about that. 」

Even Priscilla, someone who was a complete amateur when it came to the matters related to warfare, was able to tell at least that much by looking at Vilar’s castle.

「The area around the castle is a tidal flat that turns into the sea at high tide. The road leading from the highway to the castle is a single winding road. If you get off the road, it will remain a wasteland unsuitable for marching with heavy equipment, and there are nice grassy areas here and there perfect for hiding your soldiers in preparation for an ambush. And if someone tried to attack by navigating the boats through the intricate waterways, then all of the bridges along the way are armed and act like outposts… 」

Rather than trying to explain that to Priscilla, Siluca said that in a manner as if she was trying to convince herself.

(Well, how would we go with the potential attack?)

Even if the Knights of Waldrind attacked the castle, they would have no choice but to advance in a vertical line along the road, and in that scenario, even their enhanced heavy crossbows would not pose that much of a threat. Not to mention that every time they would manage to break through a single bridge outpost, such a feat would undoubtedly be paid for with heavy losses on their side.

Siluca gave it some serious thought, but no matter how long and hard she thought she was unable to come up with any surefire way of taking the castle, and before she realized it, they have already gone past the castle gate.

The castle itself has been build on an island that has been flattened in the center, and even though the castle itself was huge, it was surrounded by high, sturdy walls on all sides, so even if the potential invaders were able to somehow break through the gates, they would still be exposed to the merciless attacks of the castle guards raining down upon them from the ramparts.

「So the only possible way is from the sea after all… 」

For the time being, Siluca concluded like so, just in time for their carriage to finally come toa stop.

Sensing that the ride was over, Balgary awoke and let out a big yawn.

「From the sea? 」

Priscilla made a dubious face at Siluca’s abrupt comment.

「In order to attack this castle from the land, a considerable amount of force would be required. In addition to that, you would have to be prepared for making a great amount of sacrifices if you wanted to be absolutely sure that a land siege would be a successful one. In that case, it would be better to climb the castle wall at once from the sea and conquer it from there, since the follow-up attack would also be much easier. 」

However, Vilar definitely knows about this and did not neglect the preparations of his castle’s defenses from the side of the sea.

. Across the sea, Dartania, a small continent southeast of Artuk, has a mighty navy, but they are in friendly relations with the Fantasia Union, so taking that into account, it really might be better to attack from the land, all the potential losses considered.

「Are you still thinking about how the castle can be attacked? 」

This time, Priscilla’s expression showed open disgust.

「You really are just a battle maniac, are you? 」

「I told you that thinking about this is my job now! 」

Siluca raised her voice and pointed her finger at Priscilla. Balgary immediately imitates her

「Hiyii!!! 」

Priscilla looked at Balgary and let out a short scream. She was afraid of him, because ein her eyes he was nothing more but a demonic cat. Balgary knew that she was afraid of him, and that is why this Cait Sith fairy from the world Of Tir na Nog made it a personal point of his to cross Priscilla’s path or stare at her from the darkness with his shining eyes whenever possible.

「S-Should you not be thinking how to prevent the castle from being attacked rather than coming up with the best ways to attack it?! 」

「I swear to god, this is why you amateurs are so insufferable. 」

Annoyed, Siluca snorted at Priscilla and acted as if she was done with her and her opinions, and Balgary imitated her yet again.

「That’s why it’s important to prepare for every battle. If your opponent thinks that you are weak or manages to find any weakness they could possibly exploit, then they are going to attack you without any hesitation. That is not an opinion, that is an established fact. 」

「I expected this would turn into an open battle because we couldn’t come to an agreement, but it turns out it was the exact opposite. 」

Priscilla got hit pretty hard by Siluca’s words.

「Unfortunately. That is also exactly why even after the war to restore order to the world ended, the fighting between the Lords themselves never really ceased. 」

With that answer, Siluca got off the carriage.

Then she saw Theo looking around the castle with his eyes wide open.

Theo rode a horse and came all the way here. His Chamberlain Irvin was the driver of the carriage.

「It’s a big castle. 」
Theo noticed Siluca and called out to her. It was a simple impression that was no less than Priscilla’s.

「Yeah, it is a big castle indeed, and that is also why it can also house a lot of soldiers inside of it. 」

Siluca was choosing her words and answers carefully.

「Welcome to my castle! 」