Plain Girl Hero of Darkness
Girls Who Are Well Known as Heroes and Monsters - (2)

[Royal Army, Gallic Fort War Room]

Paul who had been promoted to General for winning the Battle of Iris Plains gathered the key officers under him for the war conference. Alphonse issued an edict, ordering the Seventh Army to fight the Imperial Army that destroyed the Third and Fourth Armies in the north.

Major Olivia's extraordinarily promoted three ranks were among the assembled officers, along with First Lieutenant Claudia who was promoted two levels, and a restless young man. He was recognized for the success of his plan to capture Kasper Castle, and quickly ascended from Private to Warrant Officer.

“-As you have heard, we will fight the Imperial forces in the north on the orders of the King.”

Similarly, Otto had been promoted to Senior Colonel. All the officers nodded in suspense upon hearing that. （Except Olivia who stared at the ceiling with a bored expression, and propped up her cheeks with her palms）.

Otto held back his emotions which made his fists tremble, and explained the situation. As the officers shared their views and opinions, a man raised his hand. He was Major General Hosmund Chrysler who led the right wing during the Battle of Iris.

“Since the Second Army is in danger, then we should hurry. I voluntarily led 3,000 troops as a precursor force, and also used this opportunity to monitor the situation. "

When Hosmund said that, there were basically two types of reactions. Those who agreed and nodded, and those with expressions heated up. The reaction of the former was apparent to Otto, but those in the latter group seem to have seen through Hosmund's desire to gain the merits of war.

And indeed, Hosmund was very anxious. He did not achieve good results in the Battle of Iris, and wanted to make up for it during the siege of Kasper Castle. But Olivia took the Castle before she even reached it.

Elman who was an ordinary person who was promoted to Lieutenant General made him even more anxious.

"Your Majesty, what do you think of Major General Hosmund's proposal?"

He handed the decision to Paul, but Otto objected to this. The scouts will be more than enough for reconnaissance. He could understand that Hosmund wanted to get the war merit, but their mission was to conquer enemy front formations that might march into the middle region. And of course, they need to consider plans to restore the northern zone as well.

For Otto, 3,000 people was not a small number, and he wanted to avoid risking as much as possible.

“Major General Hosmund, if we want to do reconnaissance, can we just send a scout? I don't see any use spreading our power. "

Paul felt the same, and Hosmund stood agitatedly and rebutted vehemently:

“Master Paul, even though we are negotiating here, there is a possibility that the Imperial Army has already moved south. In my opinion, our greatest enemy right now is time. If we move too slowly, we might lose the Second Army as well. We can't just send out scouts and wait for intel casually! "

“Hmm... You are right.”

When Paul said that, most of the officers nodded in agreement. The exception was Olivia who asked loudly: "Another cup of tea!" as well as Claudia and Ashton who hung their heads shyly beside her.

Otto forced a cough, and asked Olivia:

"Major Olivia, what do you think of this?"

"My-is? I will think about it when I meet the enemy. "

As she said that, Olivia added expensive sugar into her tea without holding back, and started sipping on it. Otto was speechless about his attitude, and looked at Ashton to his right.

"What about you, Warrant Officer Ashton?"

“Y-Yes Sir! I — in my humble opinion, I do not feel the need to send a party first! ”

Right after saying that, Ashton's face began to cramp. All the officers looked at him in surprise, as he had clearly mispronounced.

（It was natural for them to react that way, but we are discussing whether to send out a scout, or Major General Hosmund to lead the predecessor group personally. Both options include sending people early. Ridiculous to deny the need to do reconnaissance.）

Otto thought, and Hosmund asked Ashton impatiently:

“I've heard of your outstanding performance during the raid on Kasper Castle. It was impressive and beyond my ability. Hence, I am very interested in the reason why you rejected my proposal. I've still got a lot to learn, and I hope you can enlighten me. ”

The Conference Room became tense, and the subject that caused this incident asked Otto for help. Otto gestured with his lips for Ashton to continue, as he was attracted by this seemingly unreliable young man's opinion.

Ashton jerked his shoulders, and explained his opinion with a sad expression—

the Day after the War Conference in Fort Gaul.

Major General Hosmund led the 3,000-strong Cavalry Regiment and set out for the largest city in the north of the Kingdom, the Fortress of Emreed City. The War Conference concluded that if the Imperial Army were to march south, they would definitely seize Emreed. In short, Ashton's opinion was rejected, and Hosmund's proposal was accepted. In addition, the Olivia Cavalry Regiment would depart one week later as the second wave, while the main force would move out two weeks later.

As the Gaulish Fortress was busy preparing for war, Claudia who was walking down the aisle with documents in hand saw Olivia coming out of the archive room.

With such thoughts in mind, Claudia called out to him from behind, and Olivia turned around listlessly.

"Oh, Claudia."

"You don't look good, do you feel unwell?"

Normally, Olivia was a picture of vitality itself, but she looked depressed right now.

"No, I'm fine. I'm on my way to the dining hall. "

"Is something wrong?"

Olivia felt depressed because something other than food was rare.

"Well, I can't find any leads ..."

Olivia smiled weakly. By the way, Claudia sometimes forgets Olivia. She thought Olivia had gone to the mess, but it seemed like she was looking for something.

"Can I help you?"

He had no idea what Olivia was looking for, but two was better than one. Olivia patted Claudia on the shoulder, and said:

“OK, next time I'll count on you. Let's eat something for now. "

Although she said that, Claudia felt she had been rejected.

（Because he's not feeling well, then everything will be fine. I may be his Executive Officer, but I must not interfere too much in his personal affairs.）

With that in mind, Claudia headed for chaos with Olivia.

In the chaos, they both find Ashton sitting alone in a corner. He was drinking soup with a bitter expression.

（By the way, I have to ask about what he said yesterday.）

Claudia quickly picked up bread and a bowl of soup from the woman who was busy preparing lunch, then sat down across from Ashton.

“Hey, why did you say all that yesterday? Isn't that too fantastic? I'm surprised."

When Claudia said that to him, Ashton's right hand holding the spoon became stiff, and he raised his head in doubt. He looked like a child stuck in the middle of a joke, and was very sorry.

“I really thought like that back then. It's true that sounds a bit fantastic ..."

“Halb halb edicius nietspe?”

Olivia who was sitting next to Claudia stuffed the bread into her mouth and supported Ashton's opinion.

“Mayor, please swallow before you speak. It's unsightly. "

Claudia advised Olivia calmly. Olivia nodded obediently, and Ashton's expression relaxed after seeing their brother's interaction.

The sight of the blond-haired Claudia and the silver-haired Olivia reminded Ashton of the golden and silver lions on the coat of arms of the Kingdom. Then the cup between them will be the cup on the emblem. Ashton's mind began to wander.

“I don't think that's possible. As Ashton said, isn't that too coincidental? Just two months after we captured Kasper Castle, the Third and Fourth Armies were destroyed. It should be only natural to regard it as a mockery towards the Seventh Army. "

Olivia agrees with Ashton again. Why didn't he do it during the war conference? Claudia suddenly thought, then remembered that Olivia was fascinated with her tea back then, who answered her own question.

“But, this is still a logic leap that is too big. Why would the Imperial forces in the north want to lure the Seventh Army there? "

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

...To Be Continue's...