"Lord Strategist, the loading process has been completed."
"Thank you. Shall we set off then? Our time is limited, after all."
Receiving the report through the open window of the carriage, the Strategist issues the command to depart.
Currently, they are continuing their transit toward the eastern side of the Heed Kingdom, right up to the border line. The Nagan party had departed following a hasty reorganization upon receiving the report that the Beast King had been slain by Lais, but because they were soldiers originally prepared and trained specifically to counter the Beast King, their level of proficiency was exceptionally high. They possessed the capability to fully respond to the demands of the Strategist, who sought absolute speed.
"...Haaah, somehow we managed to prepare the targeted quota of foodstuff, I see."
After closing the window he had kept open until just a moment ago and activating the soundproofing magic item, the Strategist lets out a solitary sigh inside the carriage. Where on earth had his usual countenance—one brimming with overflowing confidence, looking as though everything in this world rested upon the palm of his hand—vanished to? Not just his face, but his voice had lost its vigor as well.
And it was no wonder; just when he thought they had somehow escaped the crisis of their nation's demise via the alliance with the Heed Kingdom, a second helping had flown in from a direction he hadn't anticipated in the slightest. Furthermore, it was a time-bomb specification that would become impossible to handle unless addressed with the utmost haste. It was a matter that would thoroughly grind down anyone's spirit.
(The time elapsed since the Beast King's demise is not all that grand yet. To be sure, the report that the King fell in battle appears to have already reached the Beast Kingdom, but... Because our Nagan is a human-centric nation, the number of intelligence operatives we have slipped into the Beast Kingdom—a country of beastmen—is scarce. This reality has surfaced in the worst possible format, hasn't it...)
Currently, the matter the Nagan Kingdom—and this Strategist—is most anxious about is the prospect of the ostrich chieftain, "Lais," becoming the new Beast King. At present, the ostriches are granted food and the protection of a residential territory via their contract with the Heed Kingdom, but the Beast Kingdom can easily prepare that sort of baseline as well. And above all else, because the Beast Kingdom possesses a culture that praises the strong, it is a nation easy for the strong to reside in, and furthermore, they own one of the most prominent granary regions on this continent.
In short, the Beast Kingdom is capable of presenting far superior conditions than the Heed Kingdom.
(Consequently, I must make the first move before that side acts.)
If the instant Lais becomes the King of the Beast Kingdom arrives, not just Heed, but Nagan will face annihilation as well. As for the Heed Kingdom, the Young Queen had 'ensnared Lais in a trap to make her fight the Beast King and furthermore have herself killed,' and as for the Nagan Kingdom, the Strategist had 'stood in hostility against the ostriches during the invasion of Plaque.' In short, if the ostriches turn into enemies, the possibility of being forgiven is practically equal to zero.
And as for the nation known as the Beast Kingdom, given that the Strategist concluded a military alliance with the Heed Kingdom—even if it was to prevent an invasion from the ostriches—there is no reason for them not to destroy two nations that would serve as future obstacles. Led by the King, supported by the citizens. It is the absolute worst state of affairs.
Consequently, the Strategist had to go meet the ostriches with absolute swiftness, investigate her personality by actually meeting her face-to-face, and somehow prevent her from becoming the Beast King while simultaneously elevating their favorability ratings.
"Even so, it was truly a blessing that I stationed Alan-san in Plaque... Thanks to that, we were somehow capable of preparing this, after all."
When attempting to be liked by an opponent, the absolute fastest method is to 'present a gift of something the opponent rejoices in.' For that reason, while waiting for the Nagan Kingdom soldiers to prepare for departure from the royal capital, the Strategist urgently fired off a communication to Alan-san—the man highly renowned as a 'member of the reserve forces for the Ostrich Food (Giver) Corps.' This communication was sent with the expectation that he, who had obtained the status of a "purveyor merchant" as a Nagan intelligence operative and had interacted with the ostriches for a longer duration, might know of some superior gift.
『...Understood. If that is the case, while this will serve as a countermeasure for "Lais" specifically, it would be best to bring in mass-produced wine intended for the general public, pushed to the absolute limit. It appeared the high-class alcohol I received from you the other day did not particularly strike her fancy... In all likelihood, I presume her preference lies in consuming it in massive quantities.』
"I see, I see... Then let us purchase as much as exists within the royal capital. Anything else?"
『As expected, it would be foodstuff. Their gluttony is exceptional. It is highly probable that the food stored up at their place of stay will be completely devoured in less than a week. In fact, the items accumulated in Plaque vanished in the blink of an eye as well. For that reason, while issuing transport commands to the intelligence operatives infiltrated across various regions, it would be best for you to bring in a massive quantity of foodstuff as well, Lord Strategist.』
So continued the Food Man... no, Alan-san. If he brought in a massive quantity of foodstuff, it would naturally please the ostriches, and furthermore, it would undoubtedly prevent the food within the town from diminishing, thereby earning the gratitude of the town's citizens who were terrified of food shortages, he continued.
The Strategist found himself heavily convinced by Alan-san's opinion, established a food transport plan based upon his strategy, and transitioned it into execution. Collecting food products under the pretext of 'relief supplies from the ally nation of Nagan,' he requested transportations from intelligence operatives as appropriate, while also departing with a massive quantity on his own person.
Furthermore, from the intelligence obtained from chief vassals of the Heed Kingdom, such as the Young Queen and the Prime Minister—the intelligence stating that 'During the audience with the Young Queen, Lais was donning an accessory'—he decided to procure a large number of luxurious ornaments intended for beastman women, the kind that noble individuals ought to don, and bring them along. As far as he heard regarding the design of the accessory, it matched the item Alan-san had presented to the ostriches as a gift.
"She is capable of dressing up as the necessity dictates, then. According to Alan-san's past reports, the reaction wasn't all that favorable, but... it connected to grasping her personality: even if she doesn't particularly care for it, she will accept the gift and store it away safely."
It was a commodity exceptionally easy to understand as a gift, and it seemed his thought was that bringing it along wouldn't be an error.
"...For the time being, I have executed everything within my power. The rest is... luck. Fufu, for me—who used to say 'Rest assured, everything rests within my strategy'—to be relying upon a prayer to God, one truly never knows how life will turn out, does one?"
While saying such things, the Strategist gazes outside.
Becoming strange and panicking to make his surroundings anxious, or destroying his body due to accumulated stress, was not his intention. Precisely because he had already played every hand available, it was necessary to forget everything and dissolve his accumulated stress. ...Well, in reality, his true feelings were likely along the lines of 'My stomach pain is so severe that it is one step away from opening a hole in my abdomen, so please allow me to rest.'
Given that intelligence from the Beast Kingdom—furthermore, its nucleus—is difficult to arrive, the time limit until Lais becomes the Beast King remains unknown to the Strategist. Consequently, he is hurrying, but in reality, it is perfectly fine if he doesn't hurry at all. Though it is intelligence he could never discern no matter how much he struggles, Lais herself is of the mindset: 'Even if I've become clever, managing three hundred kindergarteners while being a King will cause me to die from overwork. It's impossible, I don't want to do it,' so there is no way she will become the Beast King.
Strategist-kun turned out to be a pitiful individual after all.
"...At any rate, if I do not make it in time, we can likely do nothing but supplicate as a collective while saying 'pwease forgive us'... Shall we consider the scenario where matters proceed successfully?"
Having rested for just a tiny bit, the Strategist begins rotating his thoughts once more.
Until now, the Strategist had been conducting foreign affairs as his main focus due to the ostriches, but before the title of "Strategist," he must conduct domestic affairs as well. In short, the elimination of enemies existing within the country and the nurturing of soldiers. Actually, regarding the elimination of the "fervent and exclusive zealots of human supremacy"—who were a troublesome enemy for the Strategist—the preparations have advanced to a certain degree; consequently, what he is currently anxious about is "nurturing."
"Though our prized magic corps was annihilated... we have begun the nurturing of successors, albeit in a considerably minor number. And, there is one more thing."
What floats within the Strategist's mind is a solitary female knight integrated into the army he leads.
Within this world, as existences possessing overwhelming martial might, things known as "Special Tactical Forces" exist. Though they are existences that can literally be dubbed the strongest, naturally, a great many humans who could not attain that title existed as well.
Those were the existences dubbed "Quasi-Special Tactical Forces," such as Amelia the elf. Existences who stand absolutely no chance against a Special Tactical Force, yet can perform a match-for-a-thousand exploit against ordinary soldiers—half-baked existences. That was what they were. Due to the sheer scale of the existence known as a Special Tactical Force, they were existences with considerably thin shadows, but they were important personages who supported the battle lines.
As a side note, among the generals under the Beast King's banner—who are currently eating baked sweet potatoes with Nagan's generals at the victims' association—a considerable number of Quasi-Special Tactical Forces had been deployed as well... but every single one was either run over and slaughtered by the ostriches or blasted into nothingness by Lais. Pitiful.
(She is dubbed the "Red Knight" within our nation; a woman donning pitch-black armor with a yellow cloak—Nagan's color—draped over her shoulder. The consciousness reform of this individual is one of my objectives as well, isn't it.)
Just as the Strategist says, the female knight dubbed the Red Knight is a fervent zealot of human supremacy. However, she was not fanatical to the extent that he had to eliminate her. In his initial plans, she was a personnel brought along for the sake of countering the Beast King, but now that the plan has crumbled, he was thinking of having her values destroyed by interacting with the beastmen known as the ostriches.
"What I shall aim for is a mock battle between her and an ordinary 'ostrich.' While using it as a catalyst to liberate her from troublesome ideologies, I shall grasp the precise caliber possessed by the ostriches."
Though it is hazy, because she claimed victory against the Beast King, Lais's caliber can be predicted to a certain degree. However, the capability regarding the other ostriches besides her remains unclear; for that reason, he had brought her to this location as a touchstone to visually witness and grasp it directly himself. The Red Knight's capability is roughly around the 5,000 class; a level where she can barely be counted as a Quasi-Special Tactical Force.
For the sake of grasping their capability, there was no capable individual as perfect as her.
"...We have a losing record regarding 'ostrich'-related matters. It would be grand if matters proceed successfully, but..."
◇◆◇◆◇
"Eh, Nagan? They're coming?"
"Yes, it seems they have dispatched troops for the sake of reinforcement."
While opening a letter that a messenger apparently brought over, Matilde informs me so.
Let's see, I'm certain the Nagan Kingdom was the country of the soldiers who came to attack Plaque, but before I realized it, they turned into a nation on friendly terms with the Heed Kingdom—the country we are currently in, right? A country that concluded a military alliance and became friends!
"That recognition is perfectly fine. It appears that incident was the reckless rampage of extremist nobles... though the actual state of affairs is unknown, it seems to have been processed in that manner. They were opponents we were fighting until the other day, but now they are an important friendly nation, is what it means."
"Heh~."
Such a new friend heard that we were attacked by the Beast Kingdom! Oh dear, oh dear! We have to send an auxiliary army! Because of that, the Nagan Kingdom apparently dispatched a reinforcement unit immediately... but because I snapped and killed the Beast King while they were en route, it seems it turned into a feeling of 'Uh, what should we do.' Well, normally the combat concludes once you defeat the opponent's King, after all. It can't be helped if it turns into 'Uh, is this the kind of situation where it's better to just go home?'
"The people of Nagan appeared to think so as well, and as expected, returning without doing anything felt a bit painful, so it seems they are going to perform a transport of supplies for us. Bringing a massive quantity of alcohol and food in the coming days... or rather, date-wise, it's today, isn't it. It seems they are arriving."
"That's terribly sudden, huh."
"Well, there are times when a messenger suffers a standstill due to monsters or natural disasters, after all. Because there are instances where the messenger arrives after the main body, it is not all that bizarre of a matter."
So that's how it works, huh. Well, to be sure, it's not like the Earth of my past life where communications happen via phones or emails. Because humans are transporting it by hand, that kind of thing feels like it would happen. If they are passing through mountain paths, moving while riding horses or the like would probably be difficult as well. The fact that they go out of their way to transport things via human labor despite possessing that wondrous power known as magic means means of long-distance communication likely don't exist yet, yeah.
...Wait, did she just say alcohol?! Wow, I'm looking forward to it! Because Lais-chan completely drained all the alcohol existing in this town on the first day, I've been doing a fast—not from food, but from alcohol—this entire time! My tension is going to skyrocket! I wonder how much they're bringing for us? Just once is fine, I want to try drinking until I pass out from intoxication~. Considering the children, I can't actually do it, but I want them to bring that much! Yes!
"...Ah. Come to think of it, Matilde?"
"Mmh? What's the matter?"
"The people of the Nagan Kingdom, I'm certain they practice 'human supremacy,' right? Aren't there many people who find beastmen like us unacceptable?"
When we fought them in Plaque, I feel like I heard such a thing from her mouth. Well, I don't particularly have anything to say from my end regarding that kind of ideological stuff, but if it connects to strange troubles, it would be best to establish some sort of response. It seems we ostriches are classified as beastmen, after all~. While the Nagan people are here, would it be better to distance ourselves from the town and camp out in the wild or something?
(Though they are growing overall, the fact that they will start attacking as a collective if someone assaults them likely hasn't altered, after all. There's the incident in Plaque as well, and I don't want to do anything regrettable, you see.)
"Ah, regarding that matter... it seems the message states 'We are bringing along relatively decent humans, so please rest assured.' To be sure, it is a famous ideology in that nation, but according to recent trends, that sort of racial discrimination is becoming scarcer year by year, after all... Nagan must be changing as well."
"Heh~."
"...In addition, that 'Strategist' appears to be coming here as well."
"? Strategist? Who's that."
Apparently, Nagan's prized Special Tactical Force. An insanely clever individual dubbed the "Strategist" seems to be coming.
It means they are counted as a "Special Tactical Force" solely based on their sharpness of mind, so they must be insanely clever, huh. Their IQ is probably around 5 quadrillion. The only Special Tactical Force I know is the Beast King, so I might be looking forward to it just a tiny bit. Since we're ally nations, there shouldn't be any instances of them standing in hostility against us anymore, and personally, I'm a bit curious as to what kind of human such a clever person is.
"In all likelihood, that Strategist. I believe he harbors an interest in you, you know?"
"...Eh, me?"
"Yes. At any rate, you are a new Special Tactical Force born in the neighboring country. Furthermore, a capable individual of a level who single-handedly brought down that Beast King. There is no way it wouldn't weigh on his mind."
"Ah~, well~, true enough."
The way Matilde speaks, the Strategist himself isn't all that strong, presumably. Therefore, if I do a 'Hello, drop dead!', he's an opponent who would likely genuinely die. However, being treated on the same tier as a Special Tactical Force—which is a highland-level existence—solely for being smart sounds insanely amazing. I absolutely stand no chance against him in sharpness of mind, after all... It probably won't just end with a simple greeting either.
There is a possibility that some strange strategy will be sprung upon me, but if a discrepancy of that scale exists, just worrying about it feels like I'd fall right into his trap. In that case, it seems better to just go along naturally without worrying about a thing~.
"Or should I destroy my brain and temporarily become an ostrich-head?"
"...Absolutely do not do that, okay?"
"I won't, it was a Lais-chan joke."
Even if I destroyed my brain until my intelligence level became that of an ordinary ostrich, it would likely recover immediately anyway, and it might weirdly fixate so I can't return to normal. That kind of thing is scary, so I absolutely won't do it, okay? It's true, so don't look over here with those dubious eyes~! Eh, you destroyed your own brain during combat, didn't you? That's accurate. That wasn't tampering; it was total destruction followed by a reboot, so...
"Lady Matilde! Lord Lais!"
"Mmh?"
While I was engaging in such meaningless idle chatter with Matilde, a soldier comes running toward us. I'm certain he's one of Matilde's subordinates, yeah.
"We have discovered cavalry hoisting Nagan's yellow flag approaching from the west! In all likelihood, it is the main body of the messenger that arrived earlier."
"My, speak of the devil, isn't it."
"Understood, gratitude for the report. ...And so? What will you do, Lord Lais?"
Whether to go greet them or not? Ah~, what should I do. If he's coming specifically to see me, as expected, it would be best to greet him properly, right. ...What should I do, should I go as my raw self or in "Chieftain Mode"? As expected, for the first time, shouldn't I go as the Chieftain with an emphasis on the impact? I dislike being looked down upon, after all. Well, he's a clever person, apparently, so he'll likely divine my intentions properly, won't he? Not that I know, though.
"I'll request Amelia-san to help me change clothes before going. Ah, and also, because I'll be going in 'Chieftain Mode' just like before, please tell everyone to be careful~."
"Understood."
...As a side note, Lais's mana quantity has increased compared to when she faced the Young Queen, and furthermore, she comprehends the method of handling mana. Therefore, if she enthusiastically performs a "Mode Switch," the overwhelming aura unleashed into the surroundings is... I shall leave it to your imagination.
〇 Regarding 'Hello, Drop Dead!'
This is a time-honored greeting method passed down in the highlands.
The instant eyes meet, a battle—or rather, a slaughter—initiates. A dark game where if you claim victory, you gain experience points and meat, and if you suffer defeat, you surrender your life instead of prize money. To be sure, escaping midway is possible, but because the probability of having your rear bitten or being shot from behind to die is high, it is not recommended. If you are going to flee, you should live stealthily from the very beginning at a distance where eyes never meet. Well, when it's impossible, it's impossible, though.