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Volume 3 Chapter 2 Part 5

Siluca answered Milza’s Question while feeling proud about what Theo and his soldiers manager to accomplish.

「That is certainly impressive… but I am going to create an army that is going to surpass even that. 」

Milza stated with a fearless smile on his face.

(Ugh, I should have just ignored him.)

Siluca could still not wrap her head around the question of why was Milza so hostile towards Theo. Could it really be brought down to just the matter of the two of them arriving at different conclusions despite seeing the same things during their travels as the Wandering Lords?

「Come on guys, let us go! 」

At Lassic’s command, the soldiers of his army resumed their march towards the territory belonging to Falvis. And sure enough, soon after the army of Selvis entered Falvis, the independent Lords of that country rushed to prostrate themselves before Lassic on their knees. There was seven of them in total.

「We have come here today to offer our humble servitude to King Lassic of Selvis! 」

The independent Lord with the highest rank among the seven spoke as a representative of the entire group.

「So the time for you to change your minds has come, huh? And at a rather curious time at that. 」

Lassic remarked as he leaned back in his saddle and looked down on the independent Lords below him from his horse.

He has been negotiating with the lords of Falvis and Clovis to join the Fantasia Union since last year. Quite a few Lords had given him positive responses, but none had made their intentions clear until this expedition.

「It took us so long because we were trying to persuade the other Lords of Falvis to swear loyalty to you, but unfortunately we were unable to reach any sort of satisfying consensus in that matter, so all the other Lords are going to make their decision in accordance with their own will. 」

「What about Jericho Orrick, the King of Falvis? 」

「It would seem that he is prepared to stay in the Factory Alliance and fight as an invader threatening his country. 」

「Just the outcome that I was hoping for. 」

Lassic grinned

「As for the other independent Lords, Baron Radovan has decided to side with the King of Falvis and is determined to fight you alongside him as well. Several of his neighboring subordinate Lords have heeded his call to action and have gathered together with him in his castle. 」

Baron Radovan is a Lord who governs the port city and its surroundings located in the southern part of Falvis. He is known for his honest personality and has a good reputation among the people. For Lassic, he was one of those Lords whom he did not want to antagonize if he could help it.

「In the northeastern part of the country, the other one of the King of Falvis’ subordinate Lords, Lord Branis, who holds the rank of Baronet, has also shut himself up in a solid castle of his. 」

「Branis huh… 」

Lasik distorted his mouth in displeasure.

「That man is widely known as the King of Falvis’ 「Poisonous Snake 」. He has a reputation for being a shrewd and opportunistic individual, so even if he is the King of Falvis’ subordinate Lord, he will not assume that right is right and wrong is wrong just because his master claims so, which means that he should gladly surrender if we defeat the King of Falvis first… 」

「You think that making him surrender is the better option here? 」

Lassic’s contracted Mage Moreno said in his usual light tone.

「It certainly seems to be less troublesome route than making him subordinate to me by force. 」

Lassic nodded with a wry smile. If he were to subjugate the 「Poisonous Snake」by force alone, there is no telling when that would cause him to try and bite him later down the line.

「What about other independent Lords then? 」

「It looks like most of them are still hesitating about what they should do. Apparently, some of them were so afraid to make a decision that they ended up abandoning their territories entirely before fleeing for their lives…」

The independent Lords of Falvis looked at each other before they answered.

「Okay, I think I understand the situation now, and I accept your subordination to me. For the time being, your territories shall be moved under my jurisdiction, but depending on the outcome of this expedition, they will be returned to you and even increased accordingly. 」

「We are thankful for your generosity. 」

The seven people showed relieved expressions and once again bowed to Lassic, and then a ritual of subordination was performed on the spot.

「Now, since you guys have sword loyalty to me, then I want you to act as my guides. I also want you to try to persuade the independent Lords who are still on the fence about their affiliation to subdue themselves to me willingly. 」

「Very well. If that is your wish, then it shall be done. Allow me to lead the way. 」

The seven new vassals of Lassic mounted their horses and spearheaded the army of Selvis.

「It was easier than I thought it would be. 」

While putting some distance between himself and the other Lords of Selvis, Lassic called out to Moreno.

「Considering the fact that you asked them to subordinate themselves to you, I would say that getting all seven of them to give you a positive response was a resounding success, would you not agree? 」

To those words, Moreno replied while being stunned.

Usually, Lassic tends to be optimistic about everything he does. However, it was also a quality required of a proper Lord. If a Lord is not proactive in all of their undertakings, then it is going to be impossible for them to make progress. And while Lords are required to act like that, the role of their contracted Mages is to always explain the situation to their Lords properly and tighten the reins on them if need be.

(After all, it is impossible for a Mage to change the Lords mind once they decided on something already. Or at least it should be…)

Moreno glanced back at Siluca following behind them together with Theo… but she immediately noticed that and looked right back at him.

「What is it? Is there anything you want to say to me? 」

Siluca said coldly and advanced her horse so that it would be right next to Moreno’s, effectively forcing herself between Moreno and Lassic without asking for the consent of neither of them.

「Lord Lassic. 」

「Yeah? What’s up? 」

「Could you entrust the capture of the port city ruled by Baron Radovan to Lord Theo? 」

Siluca said while placing her hand on her chest.

「Are you serious about that? These guys are quite a formidable opponent, you know? The port city itself is surrounded by sturdy ramparts, and there are tens of thousands of residents living there. If it comes to war, they will definitely join the militia and take up arms in order to defend their city. 」

Moreno said while appearing even more stunned than before. Theo might be leading an elite group of Artists with him, but it does not change the fact that there is still less than 100 of them.

「I am well aware of all this. 」

Siluca said while looking sideways at Moreno.

「What kind of scheme did you come up with this time? 」

Moreno simply shrugged his shoulders.

「Oh, I came up with one, you can be sure of that. If the moment ever comes where I will lose my ability to come up with plans for any given occasion, I will immediately stop being a Mage and retire to work quietly in a workshop somewhere. 」

「… Like hell you would. Something like that does not suit you at all. 」

Moreno then tried to imagine Siluca working in regular working clothes, but failed.

「True, something so mundane does not suit me, but it might suit you, Moreno-senpai. If only you cut that annoying hair of yours and removed those needless ornaments from your clothing, then I guess you would not look half bad… 」

Siluca said with a nasty grin on her face.

「Well, sorry to rain on your parade, but after trying numerous different styles and things, I have arrived at the conclusion that the way I look right now is the most popular with women. 」

「Oh really? It is such a pity then that the person that you wanted to convey your feelings to did not end up reciprocating those feelings of yours, you know? 」