“Eh? The two of you… know each other?”
Princess Lelia stared in disbelief at their exchange.
“Hm? Oh, yeah. Guu—I mean, Princess Gudelia—and I spent our childhood together.”
“Indeed. Circumstances led me to stay in Hurion for a time.”
The assembly gasped at this revelation.
I recalled the Fulgus Empire’s lineage.
Princess Gudelia’s grandmother was the younger sister of Prince Hughes’s grandmother. Fifty years ago, the two nations had been close enough for royal marriages. But conflicts had since driven them to war.
From the empire’s perspective, Princess Gudelia bore the blood of an enemy nation. Her position must have grown so precarious that she sought refuge in Hurion.
Whatever had transpired between them, the two shared a familial bond. And yet—for the prince and princess of rival nations to be on good terms was… unusual.
“Now then, honored delegates, we apologize for the delay. Let us commence the war council.”
With all present, General Regalia opened the proceedings.
“Needless to say, this allied army aims to drive out the demon race from this continent. To accomplish this, we must first recapture the Gangaruga Fortress that was taken by the demon race and liberate the former Kingdom of Juneblue in the north. For the sake of the imprisoned people, and indeed for all of humanity, I want us to unite as one beyond national boundaries and fight together. Representatives of each nation, please share your opinions for the subjugation of the Demon King’s army.”
General Regalia delivered his speech smoothly, and the war council began.
“Today’s attack was carried out by the Kingdom of Hameil and our nation at the main gate, but which nation will attack the main gate next?”
General Regalia looked at General Zebul while addressing everyone.
“Surely it should be the Fulgus Empire? If the renowned Moonlight Knights attack, the Gangaruga Fortress would be no match at all.”
Receiving the gaze from the Kingdom of Hurion’s representative, General Zebul looked at Princess Gudelia.
“No, our army hasn’t even completed our positions yet. Here, we’d like the veteran General Gamb to show us an example on the battlefield.”
Princess Gudelia displayed the composure of a great nation and yielded to the Kingdom of Heirent.
“No, no, I’d like to leave this to the younger ones. I hear the Hovos Federation has prepared numerous siege weapons.”
General Gamb directed the conversation toward the Hovos Federation.
“The weapons we brought haven’t finished assembly yet, so perhaps another nation could…”
General Dimos turned his gaze to the representatives of each nation.
The generals and royalty who were yielding turns to each other secretly wanted to claim the attack and earn even a little merit. However, being mindful of the great nations, they held back and it became a scene of mutual deference. But neither my name nor the Kingdom of Lionel’s came up in this circle.
The loss of King Henri was indeed having a significant impact. Spiri, standing behind me, cleared her throat softly, prompting me to speak. But I ignored it and said nothing.
Each nation was confident they could capture the Gangaruga Fortress. Indeed, if the Kingdom of Hurion and the Fulgus Empire got serious, the Gangaruga Fortress would fall. However, both great nations were trying to leave the Gangaruga Fortress conquest to other nations. They were thinking of pushing the casualties onto other nations and avoiding the depletion of their own forces.
I had no intention of sparing myself for the subjugation of the Demon King’s army. But there was no reason to cause unnecessary casualties either. As I remained silent and watched the progression of the war council, General Zebul of the Kingdom of Hameil turned his eyes toward me.
“However, while this alliance has such distinguished members gathered, there are also some that are… not so distinguished.”
General Zebul indirectly named and insulted me.
General Gamb of the Kingdom of Heirent and General Dimos of the Hovos Federation let out sycophantic laughter.
Probably, he intended to put me down here and rob me of my right to speak in future war councils. If handled poorly, I might be used up at the whim of each nation. I should retort here.
“Certainly, there are exceptions everywhere.”
I said, looking at General Zebul.
“Once, the Demon King gave armies to six great generals each and set them loose. Every nation here has been invaded by the armies of these great generals. We fought against the Demon King’s army and took the heads of the great generals, but there was one nation that couldn’t accomplish this.”
When I looked at General Zebul, the general’s face changed color.
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Our Kingdom of Lionel and four other nations had defeated the great generals dispatched by the Demon King’s army and eliminated the threat of the Demon King’s army through their own strength. But the Kingdom of Hameil couldn’t do this.
At that time, the Kingdom of Hameil was cornered by the Demon King’s army led by Great General Barbar, and rather than subjugating them, they were on the brink of destruction. However, when Great General Barbar learned of Demon King Zelgius’s death, he tried to usurp the title of Demon King. But other demons rebelled against this, internal strife broke out within the Demon King’s army, and Great General Barbar was purged by the hands of the demons.
The Kingdom of Hameil was saved by the internal conflict of the Demon King’s army.
“Wh-what! You dare mock us!”
General Zebul, his face reddening, put his hand on his sword at his waist.
“You mustn’t!”
Zephyr, who was nearby, tried to stop his father but was knocked down instead.
Sensing the possibility of bloodshed, Gran and Lagun, who had come as my guards, stood beside me as I sat in my chair.
In response to the twins’ movement, Knight Lysel of the Kingdom of Hameil also stepped forward.
The tension of an explosive situation covered the joint war council.
But suddenly, an extremely cold gust blew through the tent, freezing the tense atmosphere.
Everyone in the tent looked at Princess Gudelia of the Fulgus Empire, who was the source of the cold air. The Ice Princess showed an icy smile while looking at General Zebul and me.
“If your heads are overheating, shall I freeze them solid to cool you down?”
Princess Gudelia threw words colder than the extreme cold of ice and snow at us.
“I apologize, General Zebul. My words went too far. Please forgive me.”
“No, I too got a little too heated.”
I bowed my head in apology. General Zebul also couldn’t ignore the Fulgus Empire’s mediation and bowed his head.
“However, Lady Romelia. Do you have a plan for conquering the Gangaruga Fortress?”
“Well, being a woman, I don’t understand military matters.”
In response to General Zebul’s question, I played ignorant and looked at the twins Gran and Lagun standing on either side of me.
“Gran, Lagun. What do you think?”
“Well, Lady Romelia. Let’s use the suicide squad tactics that the Kingdom of Hameil showed us today.”
Gran, standing to my right, proposed an assault using suicide squads.
“Suicide squads. Will soldiers gather who are prepared to die?”
When I asked, Lagun on my left answered.
“If it’s Lady Romelia’s wish, all fifty thousand soldiers we brought will volunteer for the suicide squad.”
Lagun’s statement that he could turn fifty thousand people into a suicide squad surprised the representatives of each nation in the tent.
“We’d like to give explosive magic stones to everyone and have them charge, but we only have explosive magic stones for ten thousand people.”
“But that should be sufficient. With gates of that level, if a thousand people charge, they can be destroyed.”
Ignoring the representatives’ agitation, Gran and Lagun alternately described tactics using suicide squads.
“Let’s have the remaining nine thousand charge through the destroyed gates. That will halve the Gangaruga Fortress’s fighting strength.”
“If we throw in the remaining forty thousand there, we can capture it. If we start early morning, it should be finished by evening.”
Gran and Lagun presented ruthless tactics, and I nodded without changing expression.
“Then it seems we’ll be able to see tomorrow’s sunset from the Gangaruga Fortress.”
Nodding to the twins’ words, I stood up.
“Well then, please leave tomorrow’s attack to our Kingdom of Lionel. Is this acceptable?”
I confirmed with the representatives of each nation. The generals who had been listening turned pale.
“W-wait. That cannot be permitted!”
The voice of restraint came from General Zebul of the Kingdom of Hameil.
“Why not?”
“That’s because… the next attack will be carried out by our nation again. We couldn’t capture it today, but tomorrow we will definitely conquer the Gangaruga Fortress! General Regalia, please let our nation handle tomorrow’s attack too!”
General Zebul boasted and pleaded with the representative of the Kingdom of Hurion, the alliance leader.
“That’s unfair, General Zebul. The next attack should go to our Hovos Federation!”
“No, tomorrow’s attack should go to the Kingdom of Heirent!”
Reacting to General Zebul’s words, General Dimos and General Gamb successively volunteered for the attack. This was quite different from the earlier mutual yielding.
There was a reason why they stopped me and competed to claim the attack. It all came down to the problem of the former Kingdom of Juneblue, which had been renamed Juneva by the Demon King’s army.
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