47 – 7. Recapture of the city
When he heard the news that the enemy general had been captured, the Count of Villach laughed like a child and sent all his troops to the city with the intention of running wild. I pushed it in.
However, even as the corners of his mouth rose to the sky, he did not forget to ask people not to plunder.
“Okay then, let’s all set off!”
“I-I haven’t even had a bite yet-“
“Prepare to eat dinner at Villach! No, is that really a protest?”
“Ah, ah… ….”
Under the count’s solemn command, they pounded on the castle gate all morning, and even the poor soldiers who were just about to have their first drink were dragged out.
Not long after, the camp became empty with only a minimal number of security forces remaining. Only after the mess had died down a bit did Amelie open her mouth.
“Saints should not get involved in worldly affairs.”
“Why?”
“The moment you get involved, you get caught up in a power struggle, and when that happens, you have no choice but to take sides, antagonize, and fight.”
I didn’t specifically say who it was, but looking at the way the world was going right now, I could tell what they were talking about.
“… Like the church and the empire.”
“That’s right. So adults have no choice but to be lonely. Because meaning is given to every encounter, and we are constantly forced to explain. “At the same time, there are a lot of things you have to give up.”
Amelie had a slightly sad expression on her face, and she neatly organized Licia’s clothes, which had become disheveled in her haste to leave.
The saint seemed as if she was reminiscing something about herself. She could only guess that it was probably something she would have to give up.
“The most requested request I received was not for personal salvation. Instead, it was a request to punish the offending person in the name of God.”
“Adults… “Didn’t you mean someone who saves those who are suffering?”
“But the world doesn’t work that simple.”
“… ….”
“She is a saint, she is the most sacred and great, but she must be lonely if she does not want to cause unnecessary trouble. So I made a promise to God that I would never step outside of college.”
Then who is the person in front of me?
When she was about to ask such a question, Amelie smiled softly and said, indicating that she understood.
“You can think of this as an illusion, something that appears in front of you for a moment.”
“Is it a fantasy? But he held my hand…….”
“If you learn magic professionally, you can do things like this. Well, I guess I’ll have to save some time for the magic lecture. “I need to prepare, so if I want to go to college, next spring would be better.”
She was a saint who locked herself away in college, and for the last time, she had her eyes set on a wide world that she would never be able to see for herself.
“Although not now, there will come a time when you will be faced with this choice again. “At that time, remember what I told you, and carefully consider whether to reveal that you are an adult before deciding.”
“Carefully… “Yes.”
“I will tell you in detail when I meet you at university later. “You don’t know what’s going on in the world, so as a senior, I should teach you a lot.”
“Okay, then I’ll see you in the spring.”
“Okay. Oh right. And if she reveals that she is a saint, she cannot get married. “She is a saint and a priest, so she must maintain chastity.”
“… Yes?! Why are you suddenly saying that…… !”
“Okay then, I’ll just leave.”
The saint’s body, instantly enveloped in a swarm of light, transformed into a beautiful butterfly shape and scattered and disappeared before Lisia could do anything about it.
The girl, who was in the midst of deep thought, panicked even though she was left alone in the tent and looked around to see if anyone was listening.
*****
The battle does not end when everyone is killed.
All you had to do was break the enemies’ ability and will to fight.
The opening of the castle gate meant that the ability to resist was lost. And Marcus leaving her body behind and returning only her head was a good way to exhaust his will.
The soldiers who received the spear with the head stuck in it from me also carried it around.
The battle was over the moment the door opened and the leader disappeared.
Once inside the castle, all you had to do was deal with some thieves and knights who could not accept reality and rebelled. And this was something that swarming soldiers were better at than me, who had only one body.
By the time the situation was roughly over, the sun was about to set beyond the horizon.
Only then was I able to return to the campsite. Sancho, whom the other soldiers had brought, was safely in front of my tent.
“Lysia.”
“… Yes? Yes!”
“Are you safe?”
“That… Yes!”
Seeing as there was no particular disturbance, it seemed to be okay.
Also, this is something I heard on the way, and it is said that the priests healed well today and there were unusually few injuries. Everyone probably just thought that, but I knew the truth, so I patted the girl’s head and said,
“You did a good job too.”
“I haven’t done much… ….”
“You saved my life, but you didn’t do anything. I survived thanks to the necklace. “More than that, it was a gift I gave you, but I ended up ruining it. I’m sorry.”
“… Are you okay! “If you come back safely, that’s okay.”
Lisia did not seem overly surprised upon seeing her torn necklace. Although her heart was heavy, she said the girl was fine.
After spending some time chatting with the girl, a messenger carrying a torch came running towards us from afar.
“What’s going on?”
“Pillach has been roughly organized. The Count asked us to give the best rooms in the castle to those who played a big role in this battle. Would you like to go?”
I looked back at the tent I had been in for the past few days.
The conditions were better than those of ordinary soldiers, but it was still not enough to be called a good place to sleep. I nodded and answered.
“Okay, let’s get ready.”
*****
A late night after clearing out the remnants of Villach and cleaning up the dirty streets.
The Count, who took over the building where the mayor used to get his lodging, summoned the knight who participated in the battle with Raven.
“Did you call me?”
“Come and sit down. “Are your wounds okay?”
“You may not be able to use one eye for the time being, but they say it will get better with continued treatment.”
The knight had a bandage wrapped around one eye. This was because his eye was injured in the melee.
It was an area that the helmet could not cover, so unless you had an unreasonable holy relic that reflected all attacks, you had to be careful.
“So, didn’t you say you had something to say about that knight named Raven?”
“That’s right. “You will never regret choosing him.”
“I heard that other soldiers are also very active. “What specifically makes you think that way?”
“The sword he uses is a great relic. Also, Ilshin’s strength was no less than that. Would you believe me if I told you that I killed an enemy knight in one blow?”
Most of the stories the Count heard were about his actions when dealing with lightly armed bandits inside the castle.
However, the commander who crossed the gate for the first time and the knight in front of me had a slightly different story. It was a bit unrealistic, so I had no choice but to call him personally and ask him about it.
“Are you sure you didn’t see something wrong?”
“I saw it clearly with my own two eyes.”
Two eyes. The Count, who had finally regained his past cheerfulness with Philach, suddenly thought of an amazing joke, but held back his itching, thinking it would not be a good idea to make fun of the patient.
It was time to focus more on the conversation. This incident caused great damage to him.
Money accumulates over time. Unless he was a mercenary, he had no need to be stingy with money.
What was important, however, was military power. It was very common for an outsider to take advantage of a moment of weakness to invade.
From Noble mtl dot com
Moreover, now is the time when the conflict between the emperor and the pope is intensifying. I needed to pay more attention.
So, if, indeed, the emperor advances to the Holy See.
I think it would be good to have someone who can block that path.
“You must have seen the supply and demand of that leader of thieves named Marcus.”
“Of course. “He should have seen for himself what kind of horse he almost suffered.”
“The church said that the armor he wore was a holy relic blessed by a famous bishop in the past. “It was torn apart.”
As soon as the knight entered Philach, he remembered the sight of the priests checking the state of the church.
Everything worth money, whether it be a relic or a statue, has all disappeared, and the sight of an empty building is all that remains.
But the most memorable reaction was when I discovered that the relics in the deepest part of the huge church where the vow ceremony was held were broken into pieces and scattered on the street.
“Where are the holy relics, the precious relics of our church?”
“Are you sure you mean this ‘scrap metal’?”
“… Ahhh! Oh God!”
The remaining value of the relics that were cherished for fear of dust was like a piece of iron of the same weight.
It was a shabby ending for an item that would have once had the same value as silver of the same weight.
If it was just a bluff, it would have been enough to roughly match the merits and slap the compensation that was supposed to be given, but if the evidence was solid, it would be a different story.
The count’s worries were short-lived. After the knight retired, he called one of his attendants and gave orders.
“Tomorrow morning, quietly summon the glow-in-the-dark sword Raven.”
“I understand.”
He was saying that since he had both the Pope and the Emperor as his masters, both of them could be allies and enemies at the same time.
If I could prepare for it with just a piece of land, there was nothing I couldn’t give.