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“Yes, Your Excellency. Three surrendered.” (??)

A Knight from the Hou Household reported.

“They still had some loyalty, it seems.” (Yuri)

After gunshots were heard from inside the room, the five guards were surrounded by a large number of Hou Household’s soldiers, arrangements made to urge them to surrender. The call for surrender could be heard from inside the room, but these two resisted and ended up dead. It meant there were those willing to risk their lives for loyalty.

“Yuri-kun, even if it’s you, wouldn’t two of them put up a fight? They’re trusted aides of the General household, after all.”

“Now that you mention it, you’re probably right.” (Yuri)

Being brought here must have meant they were among the top five in the group.

‘Still, it’s remarkable to fight to the death. Unlike in ordinary wars where a certain percentage survive, here the odds of survival are slim. To die almost certainly while trying to protect someone is no ordinary feat and dying to protect someone is not something you can easily do.

“Hey, tell Dimitri to raise the army.” (Yuri)

“Yes!” (??)

“As for you, inform Rube Household of the urgent matter.” (Yuri)

“Yes! Understood!” (??)

The messenger Knights saluted sharply and ran off.

“Do you think they’ll surrender gracefully?” (Myaro)

Myaro asked.

“Probably.” (Yuri)

The Heavenly Knights carrying leaflets were already airborne. Whether Orlon chose one option or the other, it was necessary to tarnish the Boff Household’s authority. The leaflets exposing the pact with the Witches and condemning Boff Household’s treason needed to be distributed across all cities. They were dispatched simultaneously with Orlon’s siege, so they might already be scattered in nearby towns.

“I think changing the content was a good idea.” (Myaro)

The content of the flyers exposing the secret pact had been slightly altered.

1: Granting the same rights as Kura people to up to 2,000 members of the Boff Household.

The number was changed from 2000 to 200. From the Witch’s perspective, it wouldn’t matter whether it is 2000 or 20000 since it is an empty promise they have no intention of keeping, but promising 2000 might seem too generous. With 2000, those from the Boff Household might think, “Maybe I would have been included, maybe they were trying to help me,” but with 200, they would intuitively feel “abandoned”.

Even if questioned by the main household afterward, they couldn’t say, “This part is a lie, the rest is true.” If the Boff Household’s main household said, “It’s all lies, this is a trick,” then it would be better to make it 200. Lowering their morale with that would probably make them surrender easily with a large army surrounding them. There aren’t any significant cities in the Boff Household’s territory, except for maybe Kotlaha.

Kotlaha is the Boff Household’s capital city. From above, it looks like a city standing alone in a plain without hills, but it’s tricky because it’s completely surrounded by walls. There are no rivers nearby, but apparently, it’s blessed with underground water veins, making it relatively easy to find water by digging wells, so they don’t struggle much with water.

The weakness is the lack of a moat outside the walls, and they can’t build drawbridges like the ones at the royal castle gate. Instead, towers protruding in a semi-circular shape from the walls on both sides of the gate serve as attack points. The gate doors are not sliding but hung down, and although I’ve never seen it myself, I’ve seen illustrated documents at the royal castle.

In the past, a predecessor of the Boff Household, the Mulan Household, rebelled recklessly, so the royal castle once supervised the Boff Household as a caution and ordered the removal of the Kotlaha’s gate.

After about ten years, when things calmed down, it was finally repaired, and at that time, the gate became new and apparently latest version. According to the drawings, it’s made mainly of thick wood, meticulously reinforced with a lattice-like iron grid. I don’t know about its actual durability, but it seems like it would be quite tough to destroy.’

“Yes, that gate is impressive. There might be quite a few casualties.” (Myaro)

Myaro said.

‘As much as I can understand why you want to say that, it’s a magnificent castle gate even when viewed from above. What should we do? Well, if we launch a proper siege, there might be about a thousand casualties. Even if they surrender, it’s ultimately up to the remaining Boff Household members to decide, no matter how much the soldiers want to surrender. Even if morale is low, soldiers will still fight if they’re in a place protected by walls. They’re not being threatened with spears while surrounded.’

“Three or four months until the Crusaders arrive… I see.” (Yuri)

‘I’ve come up with a great idea.’

“In that case, there’s no need to attack.”

‘Come to think of it, it’s fine if the trusted confidants of the Boff Household at the core were to perish. If it’s a city that’s troublesome for me to attack, it should be troublesome for the Crusaders too. If they can make another cannon-like fortress destroyer for us, that would be a huge help.’

“Good idea. Let’s do that.” (Yuri)

“Huh?” (Myaro)

“No need to bother fighting. Just close the gates and leave the rest to the Crusaders. That’s the plan.” (Yuri)

‘Yeah, that sounds good. If we can delay them even just a bit, it’ll be a huge relief.’

“Are we talking about a siege by starvation? Well, not exactly…” (Myaro)

“If they don’t surrender, we’ll wait until the Crusaders arrive, then leave them and head down to the capital.” (Yuri)

‘It’s settled. The Boff Household hasn’t yet gathered their troops, so most of their soldiers are elsewhere, not in Kotlaha. There are probably only about two thousand troops in Kotlaha. Since we only need to watch two gateways if we’re besieging, we don’t need that many people. Just hold out for about three months or so.’

“Oh, Myaro, you don’t need to come north. Dimitri and I will handle this. You stay in the royal capital and take care of the aftermath with the Witches.” (Yuri)

“Understood.” (Myaro)

Miyaro nodded.

‘She’s incredibly busy right now. The Witches are undergoing swift trials, and punishments are being decided rapidly. There’s no system of three-tiered court system. It’s a one-tiered trial, so the process is quick.

Hiring informants in the city and sharp-eared individuals like penniless homeless to spread the word about the witch’s name and gather victims. The witnesses of the crimes accuse, the defense presents arguments, a verdict is reached, and the trial concludes.

Probably among those who might be considered minor offenders, Myaro recognizes those who are competent and releases them on bail to return to work in the royal castle.

The bureaucratic structure has become a mess, so things like tax collection and budget management in the royal capital this year probably won’t be done properly, but that can’t be helped anymore.’

“Well then, after I finish my business in the royal capital, I’ll head north. Take care.” (Yuri)

‘Dimitri understands, but among the others, there are many who don’t get it and just think “Kill the enemy. Killing is glory”. If I don’t guide them properly, they might end up mindlessly killing.’

“What’s the business?” (Myaro)

“I need to pay a visit to Eisa-sensei.” (Yuri)

‘I haven’t visited Eisa-sensei’s place yet. It would be rude not to.’

“Oh… be careful. Eisa-sensei seems to be quite popular these days.” (Myaro)

‘Popular?’

“What do you mean by popular?” (Yuri)

“Uh… I think you’ll understand when you get there.” (Myaro)

“Hmm, understood. I’ll do that.” (Yuri)

‘I don’t really get it, but I’ll give it a try.’

—

I went to the secondary residence, changed into my uniform, covered my face with a hat and an exaggerated scarf, and walked to the academy.

The city wasn’t in complete chaos. Armed guards from the Hou Household stood at intervals along the main streets, and patrol teams also roamed the alleys. They were well-disciplined units, so they didn’t extort money from citizens or behave indecently. The citizens were walking around as usual. The security was maintained. However, there was an underlying sense of anxiety, unsure how to deal with the new rulers.

I passed through the gates of the school and headed towards the school buildings. The School of Knights should be operating as usual, but the School of Liberal Arts should be closed. After all, the head of the school, Izabo Marmasset, who happens to be Vivila Marmasset’s sister, was killed in the chaos of the recent turmoil.

There were probably many relatives of the Boff and Noza families within the School of Knights. The future was uncertain.

The curriculum at the School of Knights also needed to change, updating from outdated teachings and strategies. Rapid changes bring chaos, but the days of teaching only swordsmanship and old tactics at the School of Knights were over.

I entered the School of Liberal Arts building and head towards Eisa-sensei’s preparation room.

There, six students from the School of Liberal Arts were standing. I wondered what was going on. If they were waiting in line outside the room, I would understand, but they were just standing around separately, looking suspiciously at me, dressed like a complete stranger.

“Sorry, what are you all doing? Waiting to ask questions?” (Yuri)

“We’re waiting for Professor Eisa Vino.” (??)

‘Waiting?’

“So, Eisa-sensei isn’t here. Where is she then?” (Yuri)

“Why do you have to be so assertive?” (??)

‘Quite prickly. I wonder if there’s some friction between the School of Knights and the School of Liberal Arts. Well, there’s always been some tension between them, but it’s an old story. Maybe my fervent efforts to undermine the Witch’s authority have caused some kind of shift in power balance. Well, it’s more than a maybe. It’s definitely the case. Well, this person looks about my age or slightly older, so I’ll use respectful language here.’

“Where is Eisa-sensei?” (Yuri)

“I don’t know. That’s why we’re waiting here, right?” (??)

‘Fair enough.’

“I see. Then why are you all waiting here?”

‘Do they want to ask question about the Telor Language? Well, it’s the only option.’

“Eisa Vino-sensei is Yuri Hou’s mentor. We’ve come to ask for her recommendation.” (??)

“Huh?” (Yuri)

‘I couldn’t help but blurt out. Me? A recommendation…? Well, technically, she is his mentor.’

“What kind of recommendation are you seeking? By the way, I happen to be acquainted with Yuri Hou.” (Yuri)

‘Or rather, I am Yuri Hou.’

“I’m seeking clemency for my Obaa-sama. The other kids here… well, it’s complicated.” (??)

As she looked toward the others,

“I was… told by my mother to help with our household’s work…” (??)

And she started talking on her own.

‘Seems like there’s a lot going on. Is Professor Isa trying to escape with six people waiting here?’

“Are you all taking Telor language lessons?” (Yuri)

I said in Telor.

“Yes, I’m taking it.” (??)

Only one of them answered from behind, leaving the others looking dumbfounded.

‘Just one person, huh… Well, technically, since Eisa-sensei is a lecturer, if she hasn’t taught the class, it shouldn’t matter. But if someone she’s never seen in her class suddenly asks for a favor related to Yuri, that would indeed be a problem.

There are too few people associated with the School of Liberal Arts who have dealings with me, so I wonder if it’s really come down to Eisa-sensei. There should be plenty of people at the School of Knights who have interacted with me on expeditions, but maybe they’re hesitant to go that route. Besides Eisa-sensei, Lily-senpai and Shamu have fled south, leaving only two people involved in printing. It must be tough over there too.

As for Piña… she probably went to Komimi since they probably can’t understand each other. Come to think of it, she truly seems to have been born under an unlucky star.’

“Do you really not know?” (Yuri)

“No, I came here to ask about Telor language…” (??)

‘She’s pretty fluent, isn’t she? She’s surpassed the level of broken speech and can carry on a normal conversation.’

“What kind of question do you have?” (Yuri)

“It’s about this passage.” (??)

She had a book written in Telor. She probably borrowed it from Eisa-sensei. It was a book I had read before too.

‘I can probably answer this.’

“…Though it may contravene the precepts, to forget affection is not in keeping with the lord’s collar…” (Yuri)

“What are these precepts?” (??)

“Oh, this refers to the Song of the Ten Commandments. Are you familiar with it?” (Yuri)

“Oh, the Mendicant Orders…” (??)

“That’s right, it’s a hymn of the Mendicant Orders. It can be confusing when it’s suddenly brought up like this.” (Yuri)

‘It’s kind of unhelpful. It’s like a humorous compilation of stories about Isus, assuming you have quite a bit of core knowledge.’

“I see… What about this one?” (??)

“Sayogoromo… ah… I think it’s better to ask Eisa-sensei about this one.” (Yuri)

“Don’t you understand it?” (??)

“I do, but… it’s a bit difficult to explain.” (Yuri)

“It’s okay. Please, go ahead.” (??)

‘Ah… Well, when I asked about it, Eisa-sensei also seemed to have trouble explaining. I wonder how this handoff will go. It would have been better to just erase it with ink…’

“Sayogoromo” is slang for… um, well, it’s when prostitutes stuff cotton in there to prevent sexually transmitted diseases.” (Yuri)

“Eh!” (??)

The girl exclaimed in surprise and slammed the book shut with force. Her face turned red as if she had been humiliated.

‘Did I just sexually harass her…?’

“I’m sorry. I should have left this to Eisa-sensei after all…” (Yuri)

“N-no… I’m sorry for asking…” (??)

Her face turned bright red, and her shoulders shook visibly.

‘There’s a sense of taboo about this.’

“Well then, I’ll go look for Eisa-sensei. Good luck with Telor.” (??)

Feeling like I might turn into a dangerous pervert if I stay here any longer, I decided to leave.