That night on the Brissa Plains, as Mercurio’s army and the punitive force set up camp next to each other, the soldiers patrolling their respective camps were quite tense, knowing that fighting could still potentially break out at any moment.

There were some people who had suggested that the two armies should set up camp together, but their opinion was eventually rejected as being too premature to implement at this time, resulting in the two armies camping next to each other instead.

An additional metal fence had been set up between the two camps, aside from the one keeping monsters and bandits from entering, as both sides were yet to be able to fully trust each other.

In fact, many people openly spoken that they couldn’t forgive the punitive force for surrendering to the Mercurio army, even if the surrender was only for show.

Even on the side of Mercurio’s army, there were some who believed that since they had won, they could do whatever they wanted to the losers.

If such people were to clash with each other, fighting would quickly break out again, so both the Mercurio’s army and the punitive force were patrolling their camps carefully.

「Still, it’s good that it’s nearing winter now. There’s no need to rush to clean up the bodies.」

「I know, right? ……If it had been summer, we’d be hurrying to gather and cremate the bodies.」

Two soldiers who were patrolling Mercurio army’s camp exchanged words with each other as they carefully observed their surroundings.

While they were speaking in a relaxed tone, their eyes were still sharp.

They were determined not to miss anything as they walked through the camp, lit up by bonfires and the moonlight.

「But at this rate, it’ll be a while before we will get back to the Imperial Capital. This head on clash with so many soldiers means that the death toll was pretty high.」

「Yeah……that’s true. But, that’s just the main battlefield. Apparently, both sides had sent out small units to attack each other’s main camp without being seen.」

「Really? I didn’t hear about that at all.」

「Well, of course. They were all elite units. Even if the attacks were fended off, the losses wouldn’t have been small. ……Well, since the soldiers sent out for that were smaller in number, the losses wouldn’t have been excessive either. I guess they also didn’t want to show the bodies of so many elite soldiers to everyone.」

「Why not? If we were going to show any corpses, it would be the corpses of the punitive force that attacked us, right? So there’s no need to worry about that then, right?」

「That’s a big deal, you idiot.」

Hearing his partner’s seemingly thoughtless words, the other soldier sighed.

「Those elite soldiers represent the strongest fighters in the army……although that’s not quite accurate.」

The soldier sighed again as he thought of Rei and Set.

「They are the strongest fighters in the army. What do you think will happen if their corpses are shown to people?」

「……What will happen?」

「Haaah. I really was stupid to expect a good answer from you. Anyway, getting back to the main point, we can’t return to the Imperial Capital until we’ve sorted out most of the corpses. At least we low ranking soldiers won’t be able to head back first.」

「Does that mean the higher ups will be heading back to the Imperial Capital right away?」

「Yes. But, it’s not because they think it’s too much trouble to stay here. It’s because of time. The Bestir Empire’s national strength has suffered greatly from this civil war and all the important nobles are here on the battlefield. In particular, there a current and future heads of families present. With them being absent for so long, there is a high chance that more disturbances could break out. It might be different for us if we can quickly dispose of all the bodies though.」

「……As expected. Power struggles are a noble’s job after all.」

As his partner gave an annoyed sigh, the soldier nodded back with a wry smile.

For nobles, it was almost an instinct to desire more power.

He nodded knowing that.

Of course, this wasn’t the case for a lot of the nobles in Mercurio’s army.

After all, they were supporting the Third Prince, who wasn’t exactly in the best of positions before the civil war, so they were a rather unique lot.

In comparison, there were quite a number of ambitious nobles in Frizione’s faction.

「……Still, it’s probably a lot better than over there.」

The soldier muttered to himself as he looked over towards the punitive force’s camp.

Many of the nobles from Kabajid’s faction had remained to give orders to their subordinates, keeping the punitive force together somehow.

In addition, they were following Kabajid’s final instructions to obey Mercurio’s orders.

But, in Shurus’ case……some of the nobles in his faction had already fled back to their own territories while those that remained were trying to escape punishment by trying to use their noble privileges.

In a way, this was only natural.

After all, the Second Prince’s faction had been made up of a lot of nobles who had been rejected by the First Prince’s faction to begin with.

Of course, there were also many nobles in the Second Prince’s faction who were loyal to Shurus.

But, in such a situation, it was only natural for those who fled back to their own territories to stand out more.

After hearing of this, Shurus lamented that he should have sent more of them with the first punitive force to eliminate them.

Many of those nobles who had been captured by Mercurio’s army back then had been brought here as well.

They had been thrown over to where the prisoners were held and it was necessary for their situation to be discussed by Mercurio’s army and the punitive force as well.

Even if the same level of ransom couldn’t be demanded from them as the nobles who had taken part in this final battle, ransom still needed to be paid.

Negotiations over such matters were still underway despite it being night time and the camp wasn’t completely quiet as a result.

Many others were unable to sleep due to the adrenaline from the biggest battle of the civil war keeping them awake.

If taverns or brothels had been available in the camp, such people would have been able to gather together rowdily. However, all such facilities had left well before the final battle.

All the soldiers could do was drink what alcohol they had as they chatted excitedly with their fellow soldiers.

Naturally, many were also exhausted from the day’s fighting and were already fast asleep.

It was in such a situation, where even the smallest incident could lead to more fighting, that the two soldiers continued their patrol around the camp.

 

 

「……You want me to follow you guys? No matter the reason, changing my allegiance so soon after Prince Kabajid’s death would be extremely shameful. I refuse.」

「That’s right. I won’t change my master so easily either. How about you, Sobble?」

Both Bratta and Pelfiel immediately refused Theorem’s offer. Pelfiel called out to Sobble, the last of the trio present, urging him to respond.

They probably expected Sobble to refuse immediately as well.

That was what they thought, but to their surprise, Sobble stayed silent.

「Hey, Sobble. Did something happen to you while you were captured?」

Bratta asked with narrowed eyes.

If Sobble were to forget his gratitude to Kabajid at a time like this, Bratta would smack him over the head to bring him back to his senses.

That was Bratta had planned to do when he questioned Sobble, but Sobble finally replied with a voice as calm as ever.

「I too have no intention of abandoning my loyalty to Prince Kabajid so simply. But, isn’t Prince Kabajid dead? We have to decide what to do next in this situation. ……Do you think Prince Kabajid would be pleased if we stubbornly refused to cooperate with Prince Mercurio?」

「That is……」

For better or worse, Kabajid had been someone who valued efficiency and results.

That much could be seen from the fact that someone like Bratta had been promoted to a position as a close aide.

Of course, while Kabajid did value efficiency and results, that didn’t mean he tolerated excessively cruel acts for the sake of efficiency and results.

Regardless, that was why Sobble believed that they would be disappointing Kabajid if they were to stubbornly remain loyal to him and delay the restoration of the Bestir Empire as a result.

At Sobble’s explanation, neither Bratta or Pelfiel could deny that.

But despite knowing that, when asked if they could immediately switch their allegiance to the person who had killed their master……or more accurately, caused their master to kill themselves, they couldn’t bring themselves to agree.

They understood the reasoning, but their hearts couldn’t accept it.

「……I’m sorry, but even if it means being disloyal to Prince Kabajid, I don’t think I can serve Prince Mercurio any time soon.」

「Me too. No, rather, I don’t want to work under anyone other than Prince Kabajid. ……Besides, there are people I need to defeat. Two people in fact.」

The two people Bratta was referring to was immediately clear to Theorem, considering who he had been defeated and taken prisoner by, and who had defeated him in a previous battle without him being able to fight back.

「I’ll say this first, Rei will be returning to the Mireana Kingdom after the victory parade. Count Obrisin will just return to his territory though.」

That said, there was still a possibility that Gurgast would find even the victory parade too much of a bother and not join it at all.

Knowing Gurgast, Theorem was somewhat resigned to the fact that he would just do whatever he wanted.

He was also considering asking Vihera and Tilleyle to join the parade, but both of them were 50/50 at best.

「What-!? Both of them!?」

「Well yeah. I hired Rei to help out in the civil war, and now that it’s over, I don’t think he intends to stay in the Bestir Empire any longer. ……Well, to be honest, I’d be more than happy to have someone like Rei stay here.」

「……I guess so. He’s a man of such strength. If he could use that strength for the Bestir Empire, he would a be a huge force.」

Pelfiel murmured to herself as she recalled the battle where she had been one-sidedly beaten……despite Rei blatantly holding back.

Pelfiel was someone who held confidence in her own strength. She didn’t think herself to be the strongest fighter, but she still prided herself on the fact that she ranked among the strongest.

However……that confidence, pride, and even strength were all shattered in one single exchange.

She had only taken one hit, but that hit was enough to convince her that she would never be able to defeat Rei no matter how hard she tried.

If someone of that strength could be their ally, how reassuring would that be?

(Perhaps he’d even join me in training. Would thinking that be a betrayal of Prince Kabajid? No, it wouldn’t be. If Prince Kabajid were still alive, I think he would even support my idea. It would ultimately be to our benefit.)

As she thought to herself, Pelfiel even felt a sense of admiration for Rei, who was far stronger that she was.

Younger than her? An adventurer with no background? Smaller than her? None of that mattered.

Pelfiel placed the greatest importance on self improvement and becoming stronger. That was all that mattered to her.

「What is regrettable is that you only see his strength as an individual, not as a commander leading subordinates.」

This was where the people present different from others, like Gurgast and Vihera, who placed greater importance on individual strength.

After all, Pelfiel pursued not just individual strength but also strength as a leader.

However, Theorem shook his head at Pelfiel’s words.

「As you probably know already, Rei is an adventurer, not a soldier. While he might be able to coordinate his actions with a few companions, he’s not used to leading people in battle……that I’m sure of. At the very least, I’ve never seen him lead subordinates in battle in a conventional manner.」

Indeed, while the guerrilla unit was technically under Rei’s command, it was Pernyx who truly led them.

The only mission where Rei had worked together with Rei had been the night attack against the second punitive force led by Bratta and Soble. Even then, Rei and Set had gone to create a fire tornado while the guerrillas attacked the fleeing soldiers with bows and arrows.

To the guerrillas, Rei was more of a figurehead rather than an actual leader.

……Of course, that figurehead was extremely powerful and, as a result, made the guerrilla unit appear far stronger than they actually were.

「Let me……think over it.」

In the end, that was all Pelfiel said, leaving Sobble as the only one committed to following Mercurio.

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