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Translator: Lizz
Proofreader: Xemul
Early in the morning of the next day, before dawn had even broken, the Empire’s army began to mobilize.
The truth was, Loren and his team did not know exactly what the formation would look like. They had not been informed of it.
“We do have a rough idea of what it’ll be, though.”
The adventurers were to work with infantry units.
The supposed reason was because they were not as skilled with horses as the cavalry, but the truth was that there were not enough horses to lend to adventurers.
“Horses are kinda expensive creatures to feed.”
“Just like you, Gula-chan”
“Whatcha say, you subhuman?!”
“Oh, I don’t want to be lumped in with you, you bucket of leftovers. Do you want me to make you bleat?”
“You’re both annoying relics, so will you please be quiet?!
Gula and Luxuria got into an argument, but Lapis quickly cut them off.
As the two Evil Gods unintentionally looked at each other and deflated, Lapis turned her attention to the back. It was Klaus’ party, with Klaus carrying Dauna on his back, walking at the rear.
“Can I be carrying a girl on my back at least?”
Klaus, who was carrying Dauna on his back like a rucksack, blurted out.
“If Dauna were a girl, I would never let you get near her. I don’t want to hear something like she is pregnant after the war ends.”
Even under Lapis’ cold gaze, Klaus only showed a good-natured smile and did not seem to be affected in any way. Amazed at how thick his skin was, Lapis stopped her glaring and turned her attention back to Loren, who was walking beside her.
“The reason we don’t know the formation is probably because the Commander decided it wasn’t necessary.”
“Even if we knew, it seems there’s not much we can do.”
If Lapis and Gula and such were so inclined, saying there was not much they could do would be incorrect. However, there was no way they could reveal their true identities in a place with so many people present around them, so what they could do was limited to what was the consensus, thus there was not much that priests and few mages could do.
“I guess adventurers can’t be trusted that much.”
“Even you, Loren?”
“If it were just me, it might be a different story. But here, I’m just one among many. I can’t be singled out.”
Special treatment could cause unnecessary friction and misunderstandings. In this regard, Loren thought that Yuri’s decision to provide them with a tent yesterday might have been a bit rash, but it’s best not to hold on to any uncertainties.
“I guess if we don’t know what’s going on, we can’t answer any questions. Well, our job is simple.”
As Loren said, the war itself should have been left to the soldiers of the Empire’s army and Yuri, their General. All Loren and his team had to do was to survive, and deal with the Evil God of Wrath if she appeared in the middle of the battle.
“In the worst-case scenario, we can just run away. As long as the Evil Gods don’t come, it’s easy.”
“Was it the same as when you were a mercenary?”
Intrigued, Lapis asked, but Loren shook his head.
“When you’re a mercenary, there are times when you can’t run away.”
“Mercenaries work for money, but there are times they can’t run away either?”
“To be precise, there are times when they are made to be unable to escape. Times when they are treated as pawns to be discarded and there is no way to escape. After all, you can get mercenaries from anywhere as long as you pay enough money.”
It took time and money to train and provide for regular soldiers. In comparison, mercenaries have a wider range of qualities, but as Loren said, as long as they were loaded with money, there was no difficulty in procuring them. Moreover, if the mercenaries were to suffer harm, it would be considered their own responsibility, and they would not have to be cared for around all the time like soldiers. It was understandable why they would be treated as disposable.
“I’ve been there a few times, and it’s the worst. You have to go through either the enemy army or your own army.”
“This time, since the General is your Commander, I guess we don’t have to worry about that.”
“Well, I don’t think the Commander would do such a thing.”
While exchanging such conversations, Loren and his team moved with the Empire’s troops and eventually arrived at the plain that Yuri had apparently chosen as the battlefield for the war against the Kingdom.
As they watched the Empire soldiers begin to line up their positions, Lapis suddenly expressed her doubts.
“The Empire army arrived first and is setting up positions, but there is no guarantee that the Kingdom army will be here, is there?”
“There must be some plans. It’s the Commander we’re talking about.”
“I simply let the Kingdom spies know that I would personally be present here.”
It was Yuri who continued Loren’s vague answer, as if to give it more details.
Loren was surprised to see him appearing out of nowhere. Lapis, who was similarly surprised, mumbled as the General smiled as if he were a child who had successfully pulled a prank.
“Me? By a mere human? Getting sneaked up on, just like that? Ridiculous!… But it’s true that I didn’t notice anything until we were approached and…and…”
“Just by letting them know your location, the Kingdom’s army will come?”
Loren asked while gently hiding Lapis, who seemed to be quite shocked and kept muttering to herself with a stunned look behind his back.
Yuri silently pointed to a direction beyond the plain. Loren’s gaze followed the tip of the finger and caught sight of countless shadows of people gathering on the other side of the plain in the dim darkness. Not knowing what to say, he simply shrugged.
“Hm, just as expected of you, Commander.”
“You mean I never fail to set up a trap.”
Yuri looked pleased with his own work. Loren raised his hands in surrender and said in a teasing tone.
“Then do tell, when this magician is going to show up.”
“That’s the hardest part.”
Yuri said in a low growl as he crossed his arms. Ignoring Loren, who wondered whether a General in charge of an army could afford to dawdle like this, he looked in the direction of the enemy forces for a while before turning around with a shake of his head.
“The only thing certain is that she will appear when and where they are at a disadvantage. War is an uncertain affair, and I don’t know when that moment will come. If I had the talent to know that much, I would have told you- “
Just then, Yuri suddenly held his tongue as if he had just remembered something.
Loren was about to ask him if this sudden change of attitude meant something was wrong, but before he could open his mouth, several soldiers came running up to Yuri.
“General! What are you doing here right before the battle?”
“Everyone is looking for you, General!”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I shall return now.”
Surrounded by soldiers, Yuri was taken away as well as prevented from escaping, which seemed a bit crude for a general in the army. However, his action of wandering around just before the start of the battle was troublesome for the soldiers, and Loren thought that the soldiers of the Empire army were in a tough spot.
“Anyway, Loren! I’ll leave that to you! We’ll take care of things over here so we can win the war, and you take care of the rest!”
“Alright alright, just go back. The higher ups are getting antsy.”
As Yuri shouted at him from inside the wall of soldiers, Loren saw him off while waving his hand as if he were chasing off a dog.
When the General was out of sight, Loren sniffed and looked toward the Kingdom’s army positioned on the other side of the plain.
“Really. He’s very thorough, but I don’t know if he missed something or not…”
“He is very thorough.”
Finding it comical that someone, who had laid a trap to have the Kingdom’s army mobilized, to be dragged away by soldiers like that, Loren said in exasperation. It was Lapis who interrupted him in an even tone. Like him, she also was watching the Kingdom army far ahead.
Almost missing what she had said, Loren thought for a moment about what Lapis was trying to say and asked.
“About what, and to what extent?”
“Up to when your conversation was cut off, and he was taken away by the soldiers.”
Lapis said without hesitation. Loren was about to let it slide when he belatedly understood what she meant; he looked at her with a somewhat stiffened face.
“Is it a joke?”
“If so, it’s not a very funny kind of joke, isn’t it?”
Realizing from the lack of denial and the tone of her voice that Lapis was not joking, Loren once again turned his eyes to the direction where Yuri had disappeared.
No matter how much he thought about it, Loren had no idea how Yuri had slipped away from the army’s executives. But if in addition to that, he had made sure that the soldiers would come calling for him at the exact time he wanted their conversation to end, one couldn’t help but wonder how thoroughly he had orchestrated the whole thing.
“That uncle, I can’t comprehend him at all. Even amongst us, his type is rare.”
“I’m sure the Commander would be pleased to hear that assessment coming from you, Lapis.”
If he was evaluated as someone who could not be bested by the demon tribe, that would certainly be a compliment for someone in Yuri’s position.
Loren has no intention of talking about Lapis’ background even with Yuri, so at present it was simply an evaluation from a priest of the God of Knowledge, but Loren thought that perhaps Yuri would still be pleased.
“I’d like to point this out to you first, Loren. Being a priest of the God of Knowledge is not a synonym for being shrewd.”
“Since when can you read my mind?”
“Your face shows it all…”
Loren reflexively covered his face with his hands when Lapis said this. She couldn’t help but laugh at his reaction, but the atmosphere of the battlefield and the smell of iron in the wind immediately made her sober.
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