The carriage jolted as it moved. The scenery passed by outside the window.
I was sitting across from Asella. Beside her sat the head maid; beside sat Tanya.
Leaning back into the plush seat, I flipped through the docunt handed to .
“The First Princess’s faction often heads to the battlefield. Are you planning to join them?”
“That’s right.”
“The northwest, Count Bluher’s territory. It’s not far from here. Five days’ travel, and we’ll likely run into the First Princess’s faction around the sa ti.”
“This is the first battle Moonlight Palace will participate in. Isn’t it exciting?”
“Oh, absolutely.”
I forced a smile.
This had been Asella’s reason for following all the way to the marquessate from the start.
Since we were heading to the count’s territory anyway, she used the nearest teleport gate and chose the marquessate as a staging point.
The timing had lined up perfectly.
If this had been the plan all along, couldn’t she have told beforehand? So I could at least ntally prepare?
“Count Bluher’s territory has been slowly running out of supplies due to prolonged battles with barbarians. The request for imperial support ca about a month and a half ago.”
“Heike began preparing for deploynt the mont she received it. One week to prepare the army, and a month to march to the count’s territory.”
“What about our troops? The Moonlight Palace knights and the 2nd Battalion’s main force are still in the imperial capital.”
Asella lifted her chin with smug confidence instead of answering.
“You sent them ahead before coming on vacation.”
“Yup. Since we’re in an alliance, Heike will welco us joining the subjugation.”
It was a strategy to steal away the external military accomplishnts Heike and Georg always monopolized.
As expected of Asella. To think she’d secretly crafted such a sly plan.
I turned to the next page of the docunt.
“Is the barbarian faction the Thunder Tribe?”
“There hasn’t been any such report. So there are factions among the barbarians. Young Master, do you know them well?”
“To so extent. Simply put, those wielding stone weapons belong to the Rock Tribe, while those with iron weapons are Thunder Tribe.”
“Then they must be the Rock Tribe.”
“I see.”
I scrolled through the ending list in my status window.
[No. 032: Corrupted Barbarians 17%]
[No. 035: Barbarian Invasion 8%]
...
There were a few bad endings related to the barbarians.
They were a massive force dwelling in untad wild lands—one that couldn’t be ignored considering upcoming events.
Most importantly, the [Corrupted Barbarians] ending.
Until the advance mage unit opened a teleport gate into demon territory, the hero’s party had been defending the empire from invading demons.
The demons had used all manner of tricks to attack the empire, and one of those was infecting the barbarians with demonic energy to turn them into subordinates.
‘But the invading barbarians were randomized every ti.’
The barbarians were composed of several tribes.
The Rock Tribe we were now heading to subjugate had low intelligence but imnse physical strength. If they /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ fell under the Demon King's command, they’d be extrely difficult to stop.
On the other hand, the Thunder Tribe—perhaps thanks to the tribe chief’s ntal fortitude—couldn’t be fully dominated.
They were a tribe capable of conversation and negotiation, so there was room for compromise.
The [Corrupted Barbarians] ending occurred if the Rock Tribe won an internal tribal war and beca overwhelmingly dominant.
The [Barbarian Invasion] ending occurred if the empire lost to either side—resulting in its destruction.
‘If possible, weakening the Rock Tribe would be beneficial to .’
And we just happened to be on our way to subjugate the Rock Tribe now.
If luck was on my side, I might be able to erase the tricky [Corrupted Barbarians] ending.
I asked Tanya,
“Captain, have you ever fought barbarians before?”
“Yes. I occasionally encountered small units while subjugating monsters in the northern forests.”
“Did you win?”
“Of course.”
Tanya answered Asella confidently.
“I’ve been hearing quite a few rumors lately about your swordsmanship, Sir Tanya.”
“I’m honored.”
If even Asella had heard, then Tanya’s skills must have already stood out within the knights.
“Weren’t you offered a post in the 2nd Regint?”
“Ah, you knew about that.”
The 2nd Regint of the Imperial Knights had recently co under Moonlight Palace’s command alongside the military camp previously aligned with Georg’s faction.
Tanya had been using the training facility there lately.
She’d been showing her face there since before the dueling tournant and was now apparently close enough to spar directly with the 2nd Regint’s commander.
“Actually, I was recently offered the position of battalion commander, thanks to my experience leading the marquessate’s knight order.”
“With your skills, you could aim not just for battalion commander but regintal commander too. So? Tempted to take it?”
Even though I asked lightly, Tanya answered with seriousness.
“My duty is to serve as your guard knight, teacher. While I’m currently under Moonlight Palace, I haven’t officially resigned from the Gotberg Knights. For now, I will focus on my current mission.”
Tanya wasn’t soone who’d remain a guard knight forever.
It was still a distant future, but when the Demon King’s army appeared and war broke out, she would beco a swordmaster and perform brilliantly.
I was counting on her to erase several bad endings.
Tanya becoming stronger was sothing I sincerely hoped for.
“I do feel safer with you guarding , Captain, but if that hinders your growth, isn’t that putting the cart before the horse? I’ll hire two more knights to rotate shifts in four teams, and you can spend the remaining ti working in the 2nd Battalion.”
“Hmm.”
Tanya looked hesitant at my suggestion.
“You want to improve your swordsmanship, right?”
“I do. But it’s also true that there are limits within the battalion.”
“Oh?”
“Yes. A strong swordsman can’t reach their peak without real combat.”
“Then this is perfect.”
Asella nodded and spoke.
“This will be a chance for Sir Tanya to gain real battle experience. There’s no shortage of barbarians—subjugate as many as you want.”
“Thank you for the consideration.”
There was a spark of determination in Tanya’s eyes.
We continued our dull journey.
After about three days, we ran out of things to talk about, and everyone fell mostly silent.
But I didn’t want to waste ti.
‘The northwest is a high-altitude region. Steep mountains, higher latitude than the marquessate, so it’s much colder.’
Because we had to detour around the mountain range, we were heading south.
There was an area that felt strangely warm. As I looked out the window, I noticed the landscape and said,
“Let’s stop the carriage for a mont.”
After getting off, I checked the densely packed trees.
‘Coca trees.’
Chewing the leaves and analyzing the components, I was sure—they weren’t identical but definitely of the sa lineage.
Leaves you could extract narcotics from. Cultivating them was illegal in Korea.
They were even once used in cola drinks.
“Young Master, was it that urgent?”
Ignoring Asella, I returned with Tanya carrying as many leaves as we could gather.
“What is all this?”
“Ingredients for making dicine. They’ll be necessary in high-altitude terrain.”
Asella grumbled while reading her book, the carriage now overflowing with leaves.
By the ti I’d gotten used to the motion sickness of the carriage, thud—I felt a weight on my shoulder.
“Mmm...”
Asella, worn out from the long trip, had dozed off, her head resting on my shoulder.
Thanks to that, I had to stop preparing my dicine.
When I unconsciously sniffed the crown of her head, a soft cherry blossom scent wafted up.
I’d only barely washed myself with stream water yesterday—how was she so clean?
And the stream had been ice-cold. I almost went into cardiac arrest.
I get that she’s royalty and needs to maintain dignity, but couldn’t she spare a bit?
The head maid had clearly busted her back sohow to conjure hot water, a tub, and even bubbles in this extre environnt.
‘So annoying.’
Feeling a little spiteful, I rubbed my head against Asella’s hair.
Maybe this way, I’d sll like perfu too.
Mm. I did feel a bit cleaner.
“...”
Across from , Tanya was staring at us again with that lewd smile.
I couldn’t even be bothered to ask what she ant, so I just closed my eyes and leaned on Asella too.
I found out later that Asella could use bath magic. A wave of her hand, and she was instantly fresh and dry.
If she had such a practical spell, couldn’t she cast it on others too? It didn’t even look hard.
This expedition was full of minor annoyances.
Exactly five days later, we entered Count Bluher’s territory.
Though not as critical as the marquessate, the count’s territory was still important for defending the border. Its mountainous terrain made enemy invasions difficult, so it had a lower priority.
Because of that, its population was smaller than typical counties, and small villages were scattered sparsely across the mountains.
“Your Highness, do you have a headache?”
I asked Asella.
“I’m fine. My hands and feet aren’t as cold now either.”
“I believe it’s thanks to the new dicine the teacher made. Truly, your preparations are remarkable.”
Tanya added.
I had prepared dicine for altitude sickness and frostbite ointnt, and distributed them to everyone.
Fortunately, they seed to be effective.
Bundled up tightly, we crunched through light snowfall and entered the southern stronghold.
“Welco! We’ve been waiting for your arrival, Your Highness the Third Princess.”
The captain of the 1st Battalion, under Heike’s faction, opened the heavy iron gate to greet us.
“And Heike?”
“She’s waiting for you, as expected. I’ll guide you.”
Without rest, we ascended to the top of the tower with Asella and Tanya.
When the door opened with a knock, several gazes turned toward us.
Among them was Heike.
She was standing over a large table with a map spread across it—likely in the middle of a strategy eting with her knights.
“Asella, you’re right on ti.”
“You look well, Heike.”
They exchanged light greetings.
Then Heike turned to with a slight smile.
“It’s been a while, Gotberg.”
“I hope you’ve been well, Your Highness.”
“Of course.”
Heike asked Asella,
“What of the 2nd Battalion’s main force?”
“They’ll arrive in two days.”
“Hmm. Then we must finish our deploynt here in the anti. Perfect timing. Co, assess the situation.”
We gathered around the map.
The surrounding mountain terrain, allied bases, and enemy barbarians were all marked.
“Our forces are superior. The already assembled 1st Regint numbers 1,200, and with the 400 from your 2nd Regint and the palace knights, we total 1,700. The barbarians are estimated at around 1,000.”
“Considering individual combat power as well, we should be able to crush them easily.”
“There is a concern,” said the 1st Regint’s commander.
“What is it?”
He answered Asella.
“Our 1st Regint knights aren’t familiar with this terrain.”
“This terrain aning?”
“High-altitude mountains—and the cold.”
Heike spoke next.
“The barbarians seem unaffected, being used to it. But not the imperial knights. Many have fainted complaining of strange headaches, and others have been injured from the cold.”
“Our healers have already consud a significant amount of holy power. To be this weakened before even beginning the real battle...”
Worry clouded Heike and the commander’s faces.
I stepped forward.
“The headaches are symptoms of altitude sickness. The cold injuries are frostbite.”
Wearing heavy armor in this environnt without proper adaptation—it was enough to make even healthy people fall ill.
Heike turned to and asked,
“Gotberg, do you know how to resolve it?”
Of course I did.
What Heike wanted was already in my pocket.
“Of course.”
Heike’s face brightened.
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