Plain Girl Hero of Darkness
Who You Are Fighting For - (2)

Imperial Capital Orsted, Listerine Castle, Chancellor Dalmes' Office

「-Stonia must be having a heated discussion. But no matter how hard they fought, they only had one path in the end. 」

In the middle of the room, Dalmes was enjoying tea on his couch.

Five months after the Battle of Fort Astra ended, Felixus and his aide Theresa returned to the capital on Dalmes' call.

「Unit that attacked Fort Astra certainly came from the Holy Nation of Mekia?」

「I can not be completely sure, but there is a great possibility so.」

Felixus added sugar to his tea as he listened, and Dalmes watched with intrigue. When he added the seventh sugar cube, Felixus' face became stiff.

As for the information presented by Felixus, Dalmes had sent Heat Haze to gather more related intel. And as a result, the Holy Nation of Mekia who worshiped Citresia as their patron Goddess rose from the water. The Holy Nation of Mekia is known as the Fort Saint Illuminus, and has been silent since the war broke out—— to such an extent that Felixus knew about them.

That was why he was shocked by Dalmes' conclusion.

(By the way, will the Duchy of Stonia really accept this so easily?)

If things went as Dalmes predicted, the Duchy of Stonia would choose to fight against the Holy Nation of Mekia even though they knew the Empire's intent. So if they did not have the determination to do so, they would only be cautious and rebel against the Empire.

(Even if an inevitable death awaits, I will choose to die with respect.)

Felixus expressed his gaze and Dalmes laughed sinisterly. As Felixus furrowed his brows, Dalmes bowed deeply.

「Sorry. Sir Felixus is not wrong to worry about that, but they will probably accept our request. 」

「Master Chancellor, what makes you so confident?」

「Because of the ruler of the Duchy of Stonia, Archduke Silvester is a mediocre person. Even if he knew our intentions, he wouldn't have the guts to oppose us. The best evidence was that they opened their gates on the Imperial army without any resistance from the start. In this case, Swaran Kingdom is much better than them.」

Dalmes pressed the bell on his desk. While the freshly brewed tea was brought in, Felixus could not help but feel sorry for the Duchy of Stonia.

Stonia chose to submit to the Empire without resistance, a decision based on high-level politics. As a result, they did not suffer defeat in the — battle ironically, that was the main reason why Dalmes marked them.

After the Crimson Knight's defeat, the Sun Knight also lost. This news would definitely make their vassal states rethink. So Dalmes chose to attack first and used the Duchy of Stonia as an example to warn other countries.

(Can the Duchy of Stonia defeat the Holy Nation of Mekia?....)

Sipping his tea, Felixus revisited the information he had read earlier.

The Duchy of Stonia had 60,000 soldiers.

The Holy Nation of Mekia has an estimated 40,000 to 50,000 troops.

With that in mind, the Duchy of Stonia had the advantage. War is not only determined by numbers. In addition to irreplaceable assets such as troop morale, training, and the commander's ability to adapt, complicated factors such as terrain, weather, and other outside variables can also create unexpected influences.

If asked the most important factor that would determine the battle, Felixus would answer 'morally' without hesitation. For the Stonian troops forced into battle, they had no fighting spirit to speak of. They had the initiative to attack without any premonition, but the Holy Nation of Mekia had the feat of tinkering with the Crimson Knight with only half the number of their opponents.

「According to you who will win, Mr Chancellor?」

「That's hard to say. Or rather, I'm not worried at all. My priority is to weaken the forces of the Duchy of Stonia, then evaluate the prowess of the Holy Nation of Mekia which has shown its fangs to the Empire.」

Dalmes' words startled Felixus. Felixus has some understanding of the Chancellor's personality, and he's not the type who likes to be twisted like evaluating the opponent's strength.

「Rarely see you so careful, Mr. Chancellor.」

Dalmes's face became pouted.

「... Maybe so. But according to Sir Felixus' report, the Holy Nation of Mekia has engaged their Witches into battle, right? In addition, they have a good relationship with the Church of Saint Illuminus, so we should also not ignore religious fanatics and the Knights of the Holy Church. 」

「Knight of the Holy Church ....」.

The Knights of the Holy Church were an army established to protect the people, but that was only a superficial reason. It is clear from history that they were used to eradicate heretics.

「In addition to the Knights of the Holy Church, they also have nearly two million followers ... At this stage, the Empire should avoid direct conflict with them.」

Only in the Orsted Capital alone, there were several Saint Illuminous churches. Being extreme, they had many potential enemies around them. Even Felixus could not blame Dalmes for his methods.

「I understand the concerns of Chancellor.」

「Very good. And of course, if they were to become a hindrance against the Empire, the Imperial carriage would quickly crash into those fanatics and the Knights of the Holy Church.」

Dalmes concluded without further ado. He said that casually, but Felixus knew that Dalmes was serious.

「-In that case, what is my mission?」

Felixus sat down and went straight to the heart of the matter. He had not expected Dalmes to remember him for no reason whatsoever.

Dalmes nodded happily.

「It is very easy to talk to Sir Felixus. Get to the point. I want Sir Felixus to go to the Duchy of Stonia as a Military Consultant.」

「Military Consultant, yes.」.

「True, take a good look at the fighting power of the Holy Nation of Mekia. Are they going to be a threat to the Empire, and the movement of the Witches of— But it is unclear whether they will enter the Witches into battle against the Duchy of Stonia.」

「... They will probably do it.」

Felix thought of Amelia Stolast. Dalmes peered at Felixus, waiting for his official recognition.

「I understand. I hereby accept the mission as Militar— Consultant On the other hand, what should we do against the Death God Olivia? I think we should take precautions after rushing.」

Dalmes stopped his wrinkled hands from reaching for his cup. He showed a puzzled face as he looked at Felixus.

「Death God Olivia .....?」

「Ya, Death God Olivia.」

「-Oh, the girl with the Black Sword you mentioned earlier ... The God of Death was a being that controlled death as he wished. It was ridiculous to call him the God of Death with his little exploits. 」

Dalmes grinned, speaking as if he knew the true God of Death.

「Maybe so, but he was involved in all our recent defeats. Let me repeat this again, there is a need to take action against him. 」

「After all, it is fine to leave it alone for now.」

Felix doubted his ears. What exactly did Dalmes think of coming to this absurd conclusion?

「Ta——」

Dalmes raised his right hand to stop Felixus who wanted to prolong the matter, and slowly stood up from the sofa.

「I will count on you to act as a Military Consultant. There are urgent matters that require my presence, so I will go.」

By removing the wrinkles in his robe, Dalmes' attitude explained that he refused to talk about this further. Felixus was uncomfortable with the way he dismissed the matter.

If Graden and Rosenmarie were here, they would feel the same way.

(The Chancellor thinks this is too light, he is not the type to ignore such things ... Should I report this directly to His Majesty? —No, it might be useless. Right now, I don't see any reaction from him, other than when he spoke to the Chancellor ..)

He knew it was futile, but Felixus insisted that Dalmes reconsider. Dalmes looked at the large ebony bookshelf with an impatient face, and ended the conversation by saying 「I'll check it」.

(Eboni is the Denger, right? Yep, ebony bookshelves are the same, black.)

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...To Be Continue's...