Plain Girl Hero of Darkness
Rest: Temptation

“Oh? Open show? What exactly do you want the Major to do?"

Claudia refused to let the matter go, and Ashton shifted his gaze.

“T-Nothing special..”.

"Rubble."

“L-Put a pair of straw humans on stage, and let Olivia show off her sword skills or something.”

Ashton looked at Olivia.

“Let Major show off her sword skills?”

"Yes. If we do that, the army will follow orders properly out of fear."

"Oh ... Command them with fear, and make them obey orders like slaves?"

“Slave a little bit... exaggerated, but something like that..”.

“I understand, aki understand. Haha. You really think of an interesting idea.”

"B-True— Ah it hurts!"

Claudia laughed flatly and pulled Ashton's ear. Olivia covered her face when she saw that, thinking it was over, the demon was here.

"God ... Armor Major as well, why do you have all sorts of strange ideas? Should I cut off your head and examine your brain?"

Olivia was absolutely horrified when she heard that. She imagined Claudia smiling as she cut Ashton's head off with a knife, and thought it was terrible.

“Please forgive my head! And the incident with the armor was how else!"

“E-Erm, Claudia. I thought there was no problem with me showing off my sword technique—"

Olivia said timidly, and Claudia turned her head towards Olivia before she could finish. For some reason, a few hairs stuck to his mouth. Oh no, Olivia's sure she's gonna have nightmares tonight. (After a short pause because of that thought, then Olivia continued her sentence.)

"— for example. That's not good, Ashton."

“O-Olivia !?”

"I'll go now, see you."

Olivia quickly devoured the rest of the soup, and ran out of the dining room. Ignoring Ashton's eyes asking for help.

This is not a desertion from the front lines, but a tactical setback. Olivia tried to convince herself of it.

******

[Royal North, Windsam Castle, Commander's Office.]

"This is a very tempting report."

Paul shared his thoughts after reading the report sent to him.

In short, Fort Astra was attacked by an army of unknown affiliates. It was unclear which faction showed open hostility towards the Empire, but the content of the report was shocking.

That's not all. It could not be confirmed, but the report stated that the Crimson Knight had been forced to the brink at one point. That's why Paul felt it was so tempting. A losing streak will cost a unit both physically and mentally. Even the Crimson Knights were no exception.

If the Seventh Army used this opportunity to launch an attack, there was a high chance that they could seize Fort Astra. Once they reached it, Fort Astra would serve as a fortress against the Empire. For a Kingdom that was in trouble, this significance was greater than just seizing a single fortress.

“By the way, the situation in the north is more or less stable.”

Otto called it an extra note, which made Paul smile awkwardly.

“What do you think of this?”

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean."

“... Personally, I am against it.”

“You are against it... the reason?”

“First is our fighting force. We can only mobilize at most 15,000 soldiers. In contrast, Fort Astra had around 7,000 to 8,000 soldiers. As Your Majesty knows, the attacker usually has to exceed the number of defenses three to one for siege combat. Even if we consider moral differences, we still lack numbers. "

“Hmm. And the other point? "

“Problems with supplies. It's harder than the number of troops. The situation in the north has stabilized, but the food supply is still grim.”

"so. The northern region was subjected to the most severe economic sanctions from the Sutherland Confederation. We have just restored the territory of the Empire, so there has been no riots, but—"

Otto hesitated to continue, and looked at Paul in silence. Paul rubbed his bald head and sighed heavily.

“I know what you want to say. If we set out for the expedition now, we need to take food supplies from the citizens. It's the same as playing with fire."

“As you said. And food isn't the only supply we're lacking."

Otto said while handing over a list of items, which showed a shortage of war horses, weapons, and other supplies. He had already expected Paul to ask, and prepare for this beforehand. Otto was perfect at his job.

(This is unfortunate.)

Paul felt it was a waste after reading the report. The Crimson Knight was getting ready, something unprecedented. If they missed their chance, the opportunity would not come again. And of course, it would be difficult to get Alphonse to agree with this, but the Seventh Army had successfully restored the Southern and Northern Kingdoms. So Alphonse might change his mind.

With Cornelius' support, Paul felt he could get permission from the king. As for the matter of food supplies, they could get it from the depot in the capital, although it would take time to transport it here.

On the other hand, compared to mobilizing troops at the expense of the citizens, this was also a good opportunity to clear up administrative affairs while the Crimson Knight was trapped.

"Your Majesty, according to my calculations, if we only send 7,000 troops, then we don't need to tax the food supplies to the citizens."

Otto knew Paul's concerns, and offered his advice. However, his suggestion was strange.

“Have you forgotten what you just said? I don't think your memory has become fuzzy because of age, do you?"

“Of course not. But there's always an exception."

Otto raised the corner of his lips as he said that.

“—Is Major Olivia again?”

Paul said in a resigned tone, but Otto's smile deepened.

“As you said, Your Majesty. The fame of the God of Death is much greater than we imagined. There's no reason for us not to exploit it."

“Maybe so, but didn't you overload him?”

"Is that so?"

"so. I will remind you again, no matter how strong she is, she is still a teenage girl. The daughters of noble families of his age are enjoying their youth now."

During the Battle of Carnac, all Seventh Army units had difficulty, and only the Olivia Autonomous Cavalry Regiment won their fight, and even wounded their commander, forcing the Crimson Knight to retreat. In the ensuing chase battle, Olivia's unit also performed admirably.

There is nothing wrong with incorporating threats into a strategy. It was a fact that during the battle of Kasper Castle, the Imperial Army surrendered early out of fear of Olivia. But Olivia is just a human being. Considering his age, consecutive fights like this would be difficult for him. Otto was right, but Paul found it hard to agree with this.

Otto, however, did not think much of Paul's argument.

“Your Majesty, why talk about it at this time. That girl is not normal at all. You just need to feed him properly, and he will attack with all his might.”

“What do you mean by feeding him the right food, you really.

“Your Majesty, the war has turned in our favor over the past year and a half. But we can't be complacent. As I said back then, I would use anyone I could, even women or old women. That's all it is."

Otto's brutal ideology leaves Paul speechless, but he's not done yet:

“As for the concrete plan. We're going to set up 100 flags with the Valedstorm emblem. The Major would brandish these banners when he entered. It will not cost much, and will give you good results.”

Otto smiled mischievously as he drew up his plan. Paul thought to himself, "So this man that people call iron masked man is very emotional."

“Whatever happens, we will need the support of Lord Field Marshal. And to carry out your plan, we need a key figure, Major Olivia, who is not here right now.”

"I remember he's in the capital now."

"really. He will be back soon.. ”.

With that, Paul leaned heavily into his chair and closed his eyes.

- A few moments later.

The urgent report from Neinhart defied the expectations of Paul and the others.

The Sun Knights who had previously saved their strength ended up flying their war flags.

...****************...

...To Be Continue's...