Chapter 35: TELL ME WHAT YOU JUST MUMBLED. NOW! (please)
Upper Fire Month, 23rd Day, 600 AGG
"Deploy rogues once the sun sets," Ray considered the mass of knights and peasant levies camped outside the western walls of E-Rantel. King Ramposa worked considerably fast when given proper motivation it seemed. "See if we can sabotage their food stores and subdue their elites."
"Sir, they would be going deep into enemy lines without support—"
"Re-Estize lacks competent saboteurs in their army," Ray waved the aide off. "In the case that they did, then we'd be having far more issues than we do now. No, any Imperial rogue that gets caught by that poor excuse of an army deserved it."
"…yes Sir."
Ray let out a sigh as he watched his lieutenant trudge out of the room to pass on his command. The Eighth Legion's inability to comprehend his orders was a direct result of lacking experience in conquering a human nation—a fault he readily took the blame for. They were more than capable when it came to handling demihuman savages, but the Emperor wanted Re-Estize conquered, not annihilated.
Furthermore, the composition of Re-Estize's army was worlds apart from what they would usually find among frontier demihuman populations. Strategies that wouldn't work there would easily succeed here, and vice versa. At the very least, the enemy lacked the time to gather enough people to pose a true threat to them; although, Ray still found it strange that the king and his nobles were able to muster even this many on short notice.
'Their numbers are irrelevant. It's still a sufficient amount to threaten our convoys.'
Being on the defense in enemy territory was always troublesome in that way.
'A shame they were smart enough to camp the perfect distance away from the walls,' Ray mused while looking down at a map of the city. 'Just out of sniping range.'
The ability to harass enemies from far away was a powerful one, a skill that allowed the group in possession of such talent to claim the initiative in nearly any situation. Unfortunately, rangers and archers with the strength to hit the Re-Estize camps from the walls didn't exist in the Eighth Legion.
'Maybe I should hire some Workers,' the general tapped the table. 'Hm, no. That might end up being more trouble than it's worth.' There wasn't any guarantee that they'll be useful in this setting anyways.
Ray tiredly shook his head and set aside the pointless idea. What he had now was all he was going to be able to work with for the time being. It would be a different story altogether if he was able to muster even a fifth of the Eighth Legion, but their current supply lines were incapable of supporting an invading force that large-at least not across the Katze Plains.
Thus, his mission here was to hold E-Rantel until the Empire was able to fully establish their supply lines.
"Would that I had more power," Ray muttered to himself, frustration mounting at his infuriating circumstances. "Power enough to destroy entire armies single-handedly."
Power like that of the Draconic Kingdom's angel. Yes, an incomprehensible power that was beyond understanding, beyond petty concerns like logistics.
"Ha…" he flumped down on the couch in his temporary office. It spoke to his exhaustion that he was getting distracted by pointless ponderings. "Just who decided to assassinate the Crown Prince?"
The source of all the Empire's troubles could be traced to the mysterious assassination of the Re-Estize heir which had set King Ramposa on the warpath and temporarily bridged the rift between the kingdom's Royal and Noble factions. Clearly, it was not done on the Emperor's command—El-Nix himself had said as much and with the problems it was causing their campaign, Ray easily believed the Emperor's words.
"Whoever they are, they're not on our side or Re-Estize's," was it perhaps a continuation of Zurrernorn's plans? Did they plot to incite greater conflict in pursuit of repeating the undead disturbance of E-Rantel?
Ultimately, in spite of all his theories, his job did not change: hold E-Rantel and defend it from those who would attempt to recapture it.
"Need to send more people to map out the sewer system," Ray noted on the map. Mayor Panasolei Gruze Day Rettenmaier left a map in his office, but it had been found to be lacking. "Don't want a repeat of sappers infiltrating from an unexplored tunnel."
Ray had quickly learned that peasants could get surprisingly clever when given the proper incentives, incentives he was quick to offer in return for their information and future services. Their loyalties were tenuous to begin with—what did it matter to them if an Emperor or a King ruled over them? Indeed, it was good that they were so easily swayed with promises of rewards and mercy; it would set an example to the rest of the malcontent peasant levies and undermine enemy morale.
Resources were still a problem, but with the few villages the Imperial Army had managed to bring under its thrall before the whole mess with the Crown Prince, they were in better shape than expected.
Their current position aside, the whole campaign grated his nerves. He wasn't used to keeping up a protracted defense; that was the expertise of his colleagues like Carvain and Belibad.
It was fine when the Empire could afford being on the offensive, but this whole damn assassination—
Ray took in a deep breath before exhaling. Right, getting angry was of no use here. The best course of action he could take now was to get used to this new state of affairs as soon as possible and turn it to his advantage.
'Defense wasn't ever my strongest field,' Ray rose to his feet and walked out the office to address his men. 'A good time to gain experience then, I suppose.'
"Leinas really left?" Jircniv wryly smiled. It was about time; he had honestly expected them to disappear the moment news of the Draconic Kingdom's angel made it to his ears. "Well, it can't be helped."
He really wished they waited a bit before leaving though. The war of conquest against Re-Estize was… not going as well as he hoped.
"There's also the matter of the demihumans massing in the forests northwest, Your Majesty," General Gregan of the Sixth Legion continued hammering the Emperor with terrible news. "The Court Wizard's efforts have been admirable, but even he cannot completely prevent a force of this size from leaking past him."
"Deploy more of your reserves. It'll strain our logistics, but the demihumans must not be allowed to march upon the inner reaches of the Empire."
"Yes, Your Majesty," Gregan deferentially lowered his head. "Should I ask Lord Paradyne to fall back as well?"
"Not yet," a frisson of unease ran through Jircniv. "He's better off holding back the bulk of the tide. Either way, Fluder can teleport so take advantage of that."
"Understood, Your Majesty," Gregan stood up with a grunt. "By the way—forgive my impertinence—but are you truly considering a visit to the Draconic Kingdom now? The Empire needs your guidance more than ever before during this tumultuous time."
"Ha!" Jircniv barked out a short laugh and crumpled the letter in his hand. Countess Tierref had returned a while ago, but he had only gotten around to meeting her a few hours ago thanks to the plethora of matters taking up his attention. "If Queen Oriculus invites me like this, then I can't really refuse, can I?"
"... I see. Then I will take my leave, Your Majesty."
A stomachache rumbled within Jircniv as the door clicked shut behind Gregan.
'That damn hag!' Jircniv inwardly cursed. 'Pulling a stunt like this now of all times!'
Did she know that the assassination was going to happen? No, Jircniv shook his head; that was impossible. The death of Crown Prince Barbro had taken everyone—save for the unknown perpetrator—by surprise.
Even still, Draudillon Oriculus had invited him to the Draconic Kingdom while knowing he was in the middle of a war campaign. In any other situation he would've rejected the invitation, citing said military operation, but now…
It would be troublesome if trade was hampered now. And there was that 'Lady of Wings' to keep in mind too.
'I don't have any options but to reply in the affirmative,' Jircniv pulled out a potion and emptied it into his throat, relieving the ache in his guts. 'How do you say 'no' when the person asking commands someone who can conjure up an army of demigods out of thin air?'
The invitation was a formality. Jircniv knew as well as that damn hag that he did not have much of a choice at all.
Fuck.
'Think of what you can do instead of agonizing over what you can't,' Jircniv calmed himself down. Getting worked up wasn't going to help him or the Empire. He needed to look at this as an opportunity, not an obstacle. 'This is a chance to get a better look, a better understanding of that angel in a relatively safe setting. The value of that mustn't be underestimated.'
The more he thought about it, the more he relaxed. Draudillon Oriculus wasn't going to suddenly halt trade between their nations, he doubted the angel would intercede in Re-Estize given the Draconic Kingdom's own pile of problems, and the beastmen to the east were now a non-problem.
'All it costs is a bit of my time. There's even the possibility of acquiring their services to deal with the demihumans northwest,' Jircniv reclined on the sofa and smoothed out the crumpled letter as he prepared to compose a response. 'What could go wrong?'
Draudillon released the orbs of essence with a light exhale, the onset signs of exhaustion beginning to show in her bearing.
She didn't feel like she was making much headway, but it was getting a little easier, a little less tiring each time. Maybe there was some Wild Magic class she was advancing in.
Of course, it was equally likely that she was only getting better at making use of what she already had. In the end, it was a difficult distinction to make.
"I can repeat that another… three times?" Draudillon considered expending just a bit more essence than she usually did when practicing. Aside from experimenting with her Wild Magic, there wasn't much else she could think of doing that wasn't directly work-related. "No, I promised to take breaks, didn't I?"
Yuriko wouldn't know if she didn't, and working on her Wild Magic 'expertise' technically counted as a break, but was it really alright to resort to loopholes just to avoid actually resting? Even still, the act of resting in of itself felt like a betrayal. A betrayal to her countrymen who had relied on her only to get—
"Right," Draudillon picked herself off her bed with a sigh. The planning for the upcoming counter-invasion was taking more of a toll on her than she'd anticipated. "What to do…"
Breaks usually involved dozing off into a light slumber, boredly staring at a ceiling, or thinking about work. Besides, it had only been a week since her promise with Yuriko—a week to overturn a lifetime's habit of never-ending toil and nightmares. She wasn't used to it, and now that she had the luxury of doing so without worrying about beastmen ravaging the country, she found that relaxing didn't come naturally to her. Not anymore after decades of navigating the kingdom through constant, escalating raids.
Draudillon paused. That was normal wasn't it? It was normal for her to constantly think about the next step, the consequences of previous choices, ways to mitigate current crises…
When did normal become, well, not normal?
"At this rate," Draudillon plopped another one of the mouth-puckering jelly wafers into her mouth and grimaced. "I'm better off just working or practicing instead."
And there was the problem. She lacked the essence to experiment with Wild Magic for an extended period of time. Going back to working would make it… not a break.
'What if I took just a small portion of essence spread out from the entire population? Just… skim a little off the top. Practice for when another enemy appears—' A traitorous idea briefly took hold in her mind before she vehemently strangled the nascent conception. 'No. No. How could I even think that's okay? Is this who I am when things are going well? No. I, I won't accept that.'
Everything was improving, the kingdom was getting back on its feet, she had people who cared about her, so why didn't she feel better? Why was she still entertaining thoughts that belonged to an era of desperation and last-resorts?
You know, I really hate you. I think I might hate you more than I hate the beastmen.
She pulled out a bottle of liquor from her Bag of Holding—Yuriko had long put away all alcohol stored elsewhere—and seriously contemplated just emptying the whole bottle.
'There's no harm,' Draudillon stared at the fluid within the crystal container. 'I wouldn't get drunk off one bottle now anyways. It'll be better than… than whatever insanity I was considering.'
But Yuriko would be disappointed if she knew.
'She doesn't have to know—' Draudillon's fists shook as she angrily tightened her grasp on the container. 'Godsdammit!'
The bottle shattered against her bedroom's wall, heavy spirits spilling over the carpeted floor.
Draudillon mournfully stared at the mess of wasted alcohol for a few seconds before she tore her eyes away from the sight, pulling out and pointing a General Multipurpose Tool at the liquor-soaked pile of broken glass. "『Clean』."
With a word, one of the four sigils on the scepter dimmed, vanishing the trash into nothingness.
It didn't vanish her guilt though. She wasn't sure if anything could.
"Ha… what a waste," the room felt too stifling, as if the walls were closing in on her. She needed to—go somewhere. Anywhere. Anywhere but here. "Dammit."
Outside. Yes, she'd go outside, get some air, and then maybe everything would feel less awful. It's been a while since she last walked around in the castle gardens anyways.
Draudillon threw open the door to her room and made a beeline for the outside, Gatekeepers silently floating in her wake. Not for the first time, she was glad the summons were unable to speak.
'Yuriko would be sad again, wouldn't she? Upset, stressed, worried. Because of me. Because I don't have the self-control to deal with my problems without causing more problems for everyone.'
Draudillon pursed her lips, field of vision narrowing as her pace sped up—
Someone walked into her from the side, nearly knocking the dragon queen over if not for their slender arms catching her in time.
"Hey, be careful—Draudillon?" Yuriko's surprise was quickly replaced by worry. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"
"Yes," the angel didn't look convinced. Draudillon wondered just what sort of expression she was making right now. "No, that was a lie. I'm not. I'm not okay."
"Wanna talk about it?" Yuriko propped Draudillon back on her feet. "Is it the invasion stuff that has you all stressed?"
"I don't know," Draudillon admitted, feeling immensely pathetic as she did so. Didn't the angel have enough to worry about without her adding onto it? Then why did she feel so relieved that she ran into them? "Can we… maybe go somewhere else?"
'Selfish. So selfish.'
"Sure. I was heading to the gardens anyways," Yuriko nodded her head before pausing in her steps. "This feels familiar. Um, like it was that one time you had that nightmare—"
"The gardens," Draudillon grabbed the angel's hand and dragged them behind her. If it also prevented them from seeing her own flushed face, then well, she wasn't complaining. "You were planning on going there, right? Let's go."
"O-Okay!"
The few minutes it took to get to the gardens must have been the longest yet fastest of her life. More than a few castle staff glanced at the flustered angel floundering behind their unaware queen and mentally reminded themselves to update their bets—calculations the pair were thankfully unaware of.
"We're here," Draudillon took in a few deep breaths. In the past, making a trip that swiftly on foot would have had her gasping on the floor for breath, but now it only slightly winded her. 'Focus. This isn't the time for that.'
She wasn't tired, but she was still exhausted. Focusing was hard and getting harder.
"Sooo," Yuriko sat down against a cultivated tree, legs stretched out before her. "What's up?"
"..." Draudillon suddenly found herself at a loss for words. She knew what she wanted—needed—to say and ask, but now that the person in question was beside her, she just… couldn't.
An awkward silence stretched into two and then three. And then it was four and Draudillon was still standing there as mute as the everwatchful summons that stood guard over the city.
"Y'know," Yuriko was the one who broke the unbearable silence. The angel shaded her eyes with her hand and cast her gaze out towards the city of Oriculo, its denizens unaware of the troubles that plagued their ruler. "We talked here before. It wasn't that long ago, but…"
"It feels like it's been ages," Draudillon quietly finished for the angel. "Second night we met, wasn't it?"
"Yeah," Yuriko closed her eyes as she lowered her hand, the orange sunlight only serving to highlight the brilliance of the angel. Standing beside them, Draudillon's mind could only think of how much more brightly Yuriko could shine if they weren't tainted by her. "Yeah. A lot of stuff happened since then, huh?"
"..."
"Y-You should sit down," Yuriko stammered and scooted over. "Unless you don't want to, I guess…"
Draudillon sat down. It was warm—a warmth unexplainable by the setting sun alone and caused emotion to well up within her breast. Her chest and throat tightened as she watched the angel struggle to piece together their next words.
"But things are d-definitely getting better!" Was Yuriko trying to cheer her up? "I've been walking around, and everyone looks a lot more cheerful!"
"That's good."
"A-And I checked up on the administrator trainees! They were doing pretty well too."
"Is that so?"
"Also, the soldiers you sent to the forests looked really silly! Although I guess I wouldn't do that great either…"
"Mm."
"Okay, seriously, what's wrong?" Yuriko turned her head and looked at the dragon queen. "You've been really down this whole time—Draudillon?"
"Yes?"
Without another word, Yuriko silently wrapped her in a hug. Draudillon distantly noticed that her body was shaking in the angel's arms.
'Why is she hugging me?' Draudillon's chest heaved up and down while her breaths grew shorter and shorter. 'Why is it so hard to breathe?'
It felt like her heart was being squeezed by a vice, relentlessly and mercilessly so.
'Oh,' wet streaks ran down her cheeks and splashed onto Yuriko's shoulder. 'I'm crying.'
How shameful.
"Let it all out," Yuriko reassuringly murmured and rubbed her back. "I'm here. I'm here."
"—" Draudillon bit down on her quivering lips, unwilling to let out even the smallest whimper. "—"
She didn't know how long they stayed like that—the angel gently showering her with caresses while her body was wracked with uncontrollable tremors.
"It's been hard, hasn't it?"
Draudillon nodded, not trusting herself to speak. How many times did this make it? How many times did Yuriko have to deal with her breaking down like this?
How many more times until they got tired of her and left? It wasn't a notion born out of rationality, but… but still.
'I don't want that. I don't want you to leave. I-I need to pull myself together,' Draudillon angrily wiped away her tears only for more to take their place. 'Fuck. Gods damn it all. Get a hold of yourself!'
"You don't have to say anything if you don't want to. I get it."
"H-How?"
"I think I've said this before, but bad stuff doesn't go away just because good stuff happens. Some things are just… forever, I guess."
"..."
"I'm not saying I've been through as much as you, or that I went through worse. But what I have seen I don't think I'll ever forget. And there's all the people relying on the both of us too."
"I'm—sorry."
"Eh? None of it was your fault though? Like, you don't run around eating people, right? Plus, it's probably good for me to take on some responsibility anyways."
"Idiot. You're a damned idiot."
"W-Waaa… just saying…"
"…"
"S-So yeah! That's all I wanted to say, I guess. It probably sounds a little stupid coming from me—"
"I love you."
"What was that?"
"Nothing," Draudillon hoarsely whispered, burying her face into Yuriko's chest. The angel stayed, their heartbeat was right here, and they were still holding her in a tender embrace in spite of everything. "It's nothing at all."
Maybe…
Maybe she shouldn't have made that promise to herself after all.