The next day, another messenger rushed into the office.

“I have a report! Sir Rossi has completed the rescue of the wounded and is on his way. The current known casualty is 63 dead and 122 wounded. Enemy forces are positioned midway between Mantova and Antium and are building defensive positions. That is all for the report!”

“Thank you for the hard work. Please tell Sir Rossi to come here as soon as he arrives.”

“Ha!”

After watching the messenger leave, I ponder.

The reason why he had set up the battle in a way that left a lasting impression was a mystery to me.

Is Oliver losing his standing?

Or had he lost control of their outburst?

Then again, was this also a plan to win?

There’s not much information…

The army escorting the injured returned to the town.

The town is in an uproar, but the injured are being treated without any major problems, since the Minister of Public Health, Ardelheid, had given instructions on how to deal with them in advance.

Of course, the macho was there, too…

But now, I don’t have time to worry about that.

A little later, Charles arrived in the conference room.

He bowed lightly and sat down.

He sipped the tea served to him without any sign of panic.

It’s nice to know that he is calm.

Here, if the person in charge of military affairs is flustered, everyone will be restless.

Everyone is a bit flustered, but I sip my tea along with Charles.

Charles looked at me with a sideways glance and gave me a small smile.

After taking a breath, Charles looked around at everyone.

“I’m sorry to keep you waiting. First of all, let me give you an update on the current situation. The report of casualties has not changed. The enemy is positioned in a triangle between Mantova and Antium. It seems that they will build a defensive position there and send a detachment to Mantova to attack the castle. The total number of the enemy is estimated to be about 1,500. If you think about it normally, that would be almost the entire army of the demon tribe.”

There were that many of them?

I had estimated that even if they could move them, it would only be about 1,000…

I guess they stopped before we had any information.

I’ll reflect on that later.

I have a question for Charles.

“Sir Rossi, was the enemy in control?”

Who is at the top, that’s what I want to know first.

If we make the wrong initial response, the frontline will expand unnecessarily.

There, it is unlikely that we will be able to disguise ourselves.

Charles folded his arms in thought.

“It’s a bit of a leap of faith. If they had been more clever, we would have suffered more damage. The damage was sparse from place to place, so it seems that they did not attack only one place to make an example of us.”

I couldn’t help but fold my arms.

“I see… How does Sir Rossi see the future unfolding?”

“Let’s see. As expected, Antium and Mantova can’t be dropped by momentum alone. It seems that they will make a formation and wait to see how we will react.”

I guess it’s the same from a professional’s point of view.

“What do you think we should do?”

They all looked at each other.

Normally, I would be the one to come up with a plan of action.

Charles took one look at me and nodded.

“It’s not a good idea to fight someone who has a lot of momentum right now. They seem to be in a frenzy, intoxicated by the fruits of what they call victory, even if it is a surprise attack.”

As I thought…

I can throw the whole thing away…but the situation caught me by surprise.

I’m in a city that can be called the front line, and I’m not sure if I should just leave it to them to spread anxiety…

It is good to make the enemy think that I am losing confidence.

But it is not good if my allies think so.

""

“For me, I think it’s best to stand firm on the defensive and watch for opportunities.”

Charles nodded, looking satisfied.

“Thank goodness that my lord is calm. I, for one, am not inclined to get into a fistfight with a drunk, after all.”

I nodded and looked around at everyone.

“Normally, you would have all returned to the capital after your inspection before the battle started. However, after the attack, it was no longer possible to return everyone to the capital. If people think that “only the leaders evacuated to the capital, where they would be safe,” we would be in serious trouble. So we will not move from here until this battle is over. Any complaints or accusations will be heard when it is over.”

I look around at all of them.

They are all nodding their heads.

As if representing them all, Kiara is puffed up her chest proudly.

“Rather than that, he would rather refuse if they ask him to run away. I’m sure my brother would never evacuate.”

Mil and Kiara would not run away even if I asked them to…

Right now, there is still room for all of them.

What will happen when the battle is prolonged and there is no more mental space?

It is easier to convince them if they are prepared.

What if they are involved…

Now is not the time to think about that.

I need to pull all of that together and deal with it as my responsibility.

As it was, the meeting ended with a review of the current situation.

At one point, Charles informed the meeting that he was unable to attend.

It would be foolish to drag my feet at the meeting when I would need to make an immediate decision.

The next few days are standoffish, of course.

In the midst of all this, there was a report from the capital.

It was a report from Robert.

On first reading, there was an attack on the capital, as expected.

It was a small-scale attack from the sea.

The Tarkwinio led the attack and repulsed it.

It was not even a navy yet, but a hastily built navy was created by commandeering small boats from the surrounding area.

Since the opponent’s ships were medium-sized at best, they surrounded it with their small boats and then raid them.

The enemy numbered about 100 men.

We captured the enemy ship and took 60 prisoners.

The rest were killed in action.

I looked through the report I was most concerned about.

The number of dead on our side was 9.

Twenty-three injured.

We decided to announce this in the official gazette.

Basically, we do not hide information.

In times of anxiety, it is the lack of information that further amplifies the anxiety.

There are those who get even more bent out of shape and make a fuss, but that doesn’t mean it is foolish not to release information.

When I put the information out, there were cheers in the square.

I hope everyone calms down.

In the midst of all this, Charles called me over to the ramparts.

The ramparts are about 10 meters high.

Charles was waiting for me at the top.

I was out of breath going up the stairs.

Charles was watching me with a grin on his face.

“I thought it might be a good idea to get some exercise once in a while. As soon as you’re ready.”

""

“Did you call me all the way down here to give me exercise?”

Charles chuckled and pointed in the direction of the enemy.

In the distance, I can see the enemy camp.

With the naked eye, I can only see something.

Then Charles held out something like a pair of glasses to me.

“What are these?”

“We asked Miss Rebecca to create this for us individually. It can be used to simulate the far-sightedness of the winged tribe. Of course, it is not as good as the real thing.”

When did you create this…

Silently, I accept the glasses and look at the area he points to.

Suddenly my vision narrows and I have a momentary headache.

When I strained my eyes a little more, I could see something, though vaguely.

As I focused my attention even more, I could see it more clearly.

A demon tribe in splendid clothes and… a cat tribesmen…?

A voice leaked out.

“No way…”

I hear Charles’ astonished voice.

“I can’t see her face, but I’m sure it’s Suzana. She seems to have taken them in well.”

Only then did I truly regret leaving that thing alone.

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