The fiercest battle in the Bestir Empire civil war was well underway.
Overseeing the battle from his headquarters, Mercurio turned his attention to Theorem, who was standing close by.
「Is it fair to say that, as a whole……we’re pretty evenly matched?」
「Yes. Although we are outnumbered, the current situation is a tight balance. ……The original plan had been to cause more chaos in the rear of the punitive force though.」
「That’s right. If it had gone smoothly, we would have had the advantage by now……」
「Considering Rei’s personality, you would think he would take the opportunity to use some flashy magic.」
Frizione, who had been listening into their conversation, spoke up with some concern.
「You’re right, Frizione. Considering Rei’s personality……or rather his ability, I don’t think he wouldn’t try to do something that could be seen across the battlefield. It makes me wonder if Kabajid’s plan for Rei succeeded.」
「That’s the only thing I can think of. However, I don’t know what his plan could have been. To be honest, the only one who could deal with Rei would be the Immovable Noiz.」
As Theorem said that, another noble shook his head.
「Haven’t we already reached a conclusion regarding that? It’s true that Noiz might be able to stop Rei, but using Noiz in this civil war would need His Majesty the Emperor’s permission. Above all, Noiz had already left for the Demon Mountains right after the end of the tournament, so it would be hard to get him back out.」
The others nodded in agreement.
Yes, logically speaking, the noble was correct. It should be basically impossible to bring Noiz back.
There was no doubt about that.
But, Theorem understood that despite fighting many battles since the start of the civil war, the punitive force had yet to achieve a single victory, achievements of individuals and losses of soldiers and knights aside.
(In other words, we had the punitive force cornered. But, Frederick’s confidence. And, we’re talking about Prince Kabajid. I am certain he has some sort of secret weapon prepared.)
The face of Kabajid, Mercurio’s greatest rival, came to the forefront of Theorem’s mind……no, considering Kabajid’s experience, he could be considered a superior opponent compared to Mercurio.
He had to be planning something.
As if reading Theorem’s mind, a messenger appeared at that moment.
They must have rushed back at full speed. Their horse was breathing heavily without making any attempt to hide it.
「A message, a message! The guerrilla unit is fighting among themselves!」
「……What?」
At first, Theorem didn’t understand what the messenger meant from the few words they blurted out.
That was a matter of course. The guerrilla unit was one of Mercurio’s army’s elite units.
Even without Rei, they still held a level of strength similar to that of the Demon Soldiers and White Rose Knights. With Rei included, they would be the literal strongest force in Mercurio’s army.
Naturally, the members had only been assigned to the unit after checking that none of them risked any chance of betrayal.
Of course, with the situation of the civil war, a comprehensive investigation wasn’t possible.
Because of that, Theorem wouldn’t be surprised if one or two people had been up to something.
That was why he had sent his own subordinate, Pernyx, to take command.
……While the unit was nominally led by Rei, Rei preferred to act on his own, so Pernyx was the person who actually led the guerrilla unit.
In any case, while it was one thing if one or two people betrayed the guerrilla unit, it was highly unlikely that so many would betray them at the same time that there would be reports of internal fighting.
「What’s going on?」
Theorem could hear a nearby noble mutter out loud.
Quickly coming to his senses, Theorem gave his orders.
「If the guerrilla unit is fighting among themselves, there’s a major risk of casualties in the surroundings. Get any units with people to spare to help put down the traitors. Try to capture them rather than kill them where possible. Also, once the whole commotion dies does, go to Pernyx……no, now’s not the time for that. Bring someone over who can explain the situation in detail. How has this affect the state of the battle against the punitive force?」
Hearing that, a messenger who had been on standby at the headquarters immediately sprinted to his horse to deliver Theorem’s first order. At the same time, the messenger who had delivered the report spoke again.
「It seems that the people causing trouble don’t seem to care for friends or foes. So, if the punitive force approaches them, they will attack the punitive force. If the guerrilla unit or the rest of our army approaches them, they will also attack them.」
「…….So they haven’t betrayed us and joined the punitive force?」
If they had joined the punitive force, it would be strange to also attack them.
As Theorem expressed his thoughts in his question, the messenger spoke again.
「Yes. From what I saw, it seemed more like they had gone out of control rather than betraying us.」
「Out of control?」
Theorem was puzzled, he didn’t believe that the guerrilla unit had any magic items that could potentially cause people to go out of control.
To begin with, those types of magic items were extremely rare. Even if the guerrilla unit was an elite unit in Mercurio’s army, he couldn’t imagine them having as many of those magic items as people who had gone out of control.
(If that’s the case……then what? No, perhaps I should just take action rather than continue to think about it like this.
Continuing to worry about it now would only cause those around him to become anxious.
「Are there any other units fighting each other?」
「We haven’t received any other reports so far. It’s probably just the guerrilla unit.」
Theorem frowned in frustration at the response.
There might not be any problems with other units in their army right now, but if he didn’t know why the guerrilla unit was fighting among themselves, he couldn’t feel at ease.
What should he do next?
As he was pondering the question, someone he had been waiting for finally arrived.
No, from the carnage the person had been through, it would be better to say they had come as quickly as they could have.
There was blood on the man’s face, and considering that he didn’t appear injured, it had likely been splattered onto him.
Considering who he had been fighting, it was also likely the blood of his comrades.
The man’s eyes were also filled with confusion.
Theorem called the man from the guerrilla unit.
「I’ve called you over for that reason. ……But first, let me ask. Has the chaos among the guerrilla unit settled?」
「No, it’s starting to calm down, but there are still some who are rampaging. Damn it, what even was that……it was like they had lost their minds completely. Why did they do that, why did they……」
「……I know it’s going to be painful to ask this of you right now, but it’s not the time for that. Why did our troops……especially elites in the guerrilla unit, do that? I want to know. Do you have any ideas?」
「Even if you ask me……」
Theorem’s question troubled the man.
After thinking for a few dozen seconds, he spoke up, looking uncertain.
「I think……it’s probably the Wyvern leather armour.」
「The Wyvern leather armour?」
As Theorem muttered to himself, he immediately remembered.
Rei had killed a few Dragon Knights and brought back the Wyvern corpses.
Then, to make the armour, they had used a magic item to forcibly accelerate the tanning process.
「……So, you’re saying it’s Rei’s doing?」
Theorem spoke his worse prediction.
If Rei, Mercurio’s strongest ally, had betrayed them, then this battle would be completely unwinnable.
However, the guerrilla soldier shook his head in response.
「I dont’ believe Captain Rei would do something like that. The vice-captain agrees.」
「Pernyx……」
Theorem trusted his subordinate, so he didn’t believe Pernyx’s thoughts were incorrect.
But then, why? As Theorem thought about it, he couldn’t think of a reason……until his eyes fell on the sheath holding the guerrilla soldier’s dagger, which he carried as a backup weapon.
(A dagger? Come to think of it, in addition to the leather armour, Rei also gave them……?!)
Recalling what he had discussed with Rei previously, Theorem gasped.
He then hastily turned to the guerrilla soldier in front of him.
「I believe that aside from leather armour, didn’t you also make weapons like daggers and arrows from the Wyvern’s fangs and claws? As for magic swords, they would need more time so those were put off?」
「-!?」
The soldier hadn’t considered that as he gasped.
Of course he would have normally considered it.
But, his allies……people he had been talking to just a few minutes ago……had suddenly gone crazy.
Rather, he should be praised for even realising that only those who had been wearing the Wyvern armour were the only people to go on a rampage.
「Theorem, what’s going on? Can you explain so we can understand?」
Frizione, who had been silently watching the conversation, spoke up and Theorem nodded as he replied.
「Even though they were all carrying equipment made from the Wyvern materials, only those wearing the leather armour had gone on a rampage……no, rather they had gone out of control. Those carrying equipment made from the fangs and claws were fine. Even though they were made from materials taken from the same Wyverns.」
By this point, Mercurio, Frizione, and the others around them had realised what Theorem was trying to say.
They all held their breaths.
Meanwhile, Theorem continued.
「There was an attack by Dragon Knights that had led to Rei obtaining the Wyvern corpses. According to what Rei told me, they appeared for seemingly no reason and had attacked him as if knowing they would lose. ……That’s right. It was as if they were giving the Wyvern corpses to Rei.」
「But……let’s say that Kabajid set up some kind of trap on the Wyverns. Then why didn’t anything unusual happen to those with equipment made from the fangs and claws?」
Theorem immediately responded to Mercurio’s question.
He had a good idea as to what the trap had been.
「Normally, it takes a number of days to tan hide and turn it into leather. But, when it comes to monsters……especially monsters like Wyverns, it takes even longer. It’s impossible to turn it into usable leather in just a few days.」
「But didn’t they make it in time?」
「Yes. Our army’s blacksmiths have a magic item called Dream Drops. If you pour it onto the hides during the tanning process, it lowers the quality of the leather but also dramatically decreases the time need to turn the hide into leather. However, if Prince Kabajid knew that we would be using that magic item……」
「So, it wouldn’t be difficult to set up some kind of trap for the Wyvern leather to react to the Dream Drops and cause the wearer to go out of control?」
Theorem nodded at Mercurio with a serious expression.
It was probably true. In other words, Kabjid had already predicted all this from the beginning and had the Dragon Knights attack Rei for that.
It was simply impossible to predict such a trap.
(However, this requires a series of coincidences. If Rei had only decided to hand over the leather armour after the end of the war, it’s possible that things wouldn’t have turned out this way. Perhaps he wasn’t aiming for a 100% success rate trap, but rather hoped that he would luck out?)
Theorem was filled with doubts, unable to understand Kabajid’s thinking.
Losing five Dragon Knights was too big of a cost for a strategy that didn’t have any certainty of success.
If Rei hadn’t given the Wyvern leather armour to the guerrilla soldiers, the Dragon Knights would have died for nothing.
(It might have worked this time, but……the element of luck required was too great. Or rather, had Prince Kabajid really seen through all of this?)
An impossible thought crossed his mind.
The current situation was a result of a series of coincidences.
And yet, if Kabajid had really managed to read all that and set up a trap……
(No, but maybe Prince Kabajid could really do that?)
He was reminded of the mysterious nature of the First PRince.
In terms of ability, he was the most likely person to inherit the throne.
But, given his mysterious nature, Theorem couldn’t bring himself to see Kabajid as emperor.
That was why he had chosen to serve Mercurio.
……Although he couldn’t deny the fact that he was also drawn to Mercurio due to his talent.
「The chaos among the guerrilla unit appears to have finally settled! However, there have been many casualties!」
Theorem was relieved to hear the soldier’s report, but he also couldn’t help but wonder what to do next.