Sevens

Festival

... Bahnseim’s army robbed of Redant Fortress by Lyle’s force of South Beim. Receiving the report, they sent almost half of their movable forces- a force of sixty thousand- in the opposite direction from Beim.

The main force did so, in order to prevent a pincer from Beim and South Beim. Proceeding to Redant Fortress, they searched for the South Beim army as they marched.

That half of the troops... none of them were the forces of feudal nobles. To the lords, not being able to plunder Beim was a problem.

And the Supreme Commander had set the lords’ armies on Beim first, meaning they were the ones with the largest casualties.

Soldiers unable to move having lost their lord.

Among the feudal nobles, a system of vassal and vassaler existed. Houses of Baron Class and above held a hierarchical relationship with Baronet and Knight Houses under them. For that sake, in the case where the lord of the vassal state was defeated, their forces would be absorbed into the higher order of power.

But when the vassaler was lost, that couldn’t be so.

Bahnseim’s army tried to get together, and reorganize the soldiers who had lost their lord. But they weren’t able to get on like Centralle’s soldiers, where if the commander was defeated, they’d just be assigned to a different unit.

The relations between territories wasn’t always favorable. There were cases where the villages they hailed from were in hostile relations. Some whose relatives had been killed... with various reasons, the reorganization wasn’t getting through.

The Supreme Commander received a report from a man under him.

“About the newly reorganized unit, a fight broke out within the unit, and has given out injuries. The situation was one where they were ignoring the orders of the knights we dispatched... saying they wouldn’t listen to any orders besides their lords’.”

The Supreme Commander’s head hurt.

“What sort of situation do they think we’re in!? This is why I hate those feudal nobles. Dead or alive, they’re nothing but trouble! Say we’ll grant troops to the lords who are alive, and lend them out!”

There, his subordinate shook his head.

“T-the thing is... they won’t accept any reinforcements that aren’t from the main force. The current consensus is that they aren’t going to babysit the soldiers of another territory. And there have been some betrayals among the feudal lords, so everyone is on their toes.”

By the report, there was a betrayal from a Baron Class Noble House. Because of that, the lords were hesitating to accept troops from other lords. For the vassals that lose their vassalers, were just added together without having to look after one another, the territories themselves and their military drills were different, so they tried to avoid hurriedly fightin alongside one another.

Normally, they’d be moving to gather up as many troops as possible, but after receiving the report from Redant Fortress, the feudal nobles had become shrewd.

And...

“Message! The encampment prepared in Beim was burned to the ground!”

What the runner racing into the tent informed them of, was that the space they had recaptured and set up base at was burned down once more.

“Kuh, so they had planned to invite them in to take us down. What was the commander at the site doing? He should’ve be able to figure something like that out in no time.”

The runner spoke to the Supreme Commander.

“H-however. If he didn’t do it, there would be nowhere to rest within Beim. The commander of the site retreated from the city, and after reorganizing forces, he has proposed to try invasion again.”

Battle within the city was more restricted by buildings than they had anticipated, and open spaces were limited. Therefore, a situation extremely easy for adventurers to fight had formed. Even when surrounded with numbers, with ones unfamiliar with the terrain around them, the adventurers knew how to slip away.

On the contrary, isolated units were being taken out one after another. Of course, Beim’s side wasn’t unscathed. If they continued pushing like this, Bahnseim would come out on top. But in the back, a force of thirty thousand that had defeated their elites was marching on them. Any more damage would mean a drop in the Supreme Commander’s evaluation.

“... Respect the opinion of the one in charge of the site. Retreat, and let them reorganize their forces.”

The Supreme Commander put more of his effort into the reorganization of troops...

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... The sixty thousand troops searching out South Beim’s troops dispatched units around from a point a little away from the city of Beim. Many of the mercenaries with a feel for the land were defeated in the invasion of Beim, so they instead used multiple units to search out enemy movements.

If any unit didn’t return, it was thinkable there were enemies there...

“All units have returned right on time. But we were unable to find the enemy. General, should we proceed straight for South Beim? If we aim for their base of operations, they will have no choice but to come out.”

Hearing his subordinate’s words, the general with sixty thousand troops assigned to him thought to himself.

“Not even a year has gone by since the start of South Beim’s development. If we attack such a place, what are we to do if they simply abandon it? With us out of the way, they’ll easily be able to approach the main force.”

Thinking of South Beim’s development from a time perspective, the general thought it wouldn’t be much lost if they cast it away. And protecting the main force’s back was his greatest duty.

“All we have to do is protect our force’s backs. If an army of thirty thousand is moving, they can’t help but be limited in the routes they can take.”

An enemy whose arrival they couldn’t predict before them, Bahnseim’s army continued in a state of high tensions...

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... Entering Beim’s port one after the next were ships carrying reinforcements.

As the first wave arrived from Galleria’s port, Aria came out to greet Lyle. The Vera Trēs that had been on standby in Galleria entered port, so she watched the reinforcements disembark as she waited for Lyle.

Horses and supplies were unloaded one after another, and once Vera stepped down, Aria called over to her.

“Hey, what’s up with Lyle? Did something happen?”

To Aria[s worry, Vera’s face turned a little red, as she averted her eyes.

“Y-yes. He’s fine, but if I had to say something happened... his timing is, you know... He was dead tired from a few days ago, but when morning came, he suddenly...”

Aria looked at Vera’s face.

“Wait a second. Say it clearly. What exactly happened!? Could it be that at a time like this, he...”

There, Vera spoke in resignation.

“When morning came, he suddenly started laughing loudly. At a time like this? I thought, but we were right on the verge of reaching port. See, we came in a hurry. If possible, I want to let him calm down a bit in the ship, but...”

From the ship, Gracia and Elza disembarked with smiles on their faces. Seeing them head for their subordinates, Aria covered her face with her right hand.

“Why does that guy always do this at the crucial times?”

Right after.

The sound and shake of an explosion rang out, causing Aria to survey the area. She thought it was an offense from Bahnseim, but as the surrounding Valkyries were perfectly calm, she presumed that wasn’t the case, and lowered her guard. And in Aria’s field of vision, she could see the building that had exploded.

Right in the middle of Beim... the Guild building had blown up. As the black smoke rose, the splendid symbol of Beim began to collapse.

When another explosion occurred, Aria sensed Clara standing behind her.

“Ah~, he sure did it, that Lyle-san. He should be flashier with it.”

“Clara!”

Seeing Clara with a different atmosphere than usual, Aria looked at Vera. Vera shrugged shoulders as she spoke.

“She was doing best with taking care of Lyle, and various other things. And then, you see... she collapsed a few days ago.”

This time, seeing Thelma standing beside Clara before she had noticed it, Aria was surprised.

“And why are you here!?”

Thelma touched a hand to her face. Her cheeks were a little red.

“I mean, Lyle-dono collapsed, and I thought they’d need some assistance. Even like this, I was the Holy Maiden, so I’ve various sorts of medical knowledge in me. I had the relevant Magic Tools as well, so I thought I’d be of some use, you see.”

Clara looked at Thelma and laughed.

“This woman was also ridiculously easy. Well, everyone was easy. But if Lyle-san was that aggressive on a regular basis...”

Aria grasped both of Clara’s shoulders, violently shaking her back and forth.

“Oy, what happened! Tell me!”

“... Hey, wait! When I’m shaken by your superhuman strength, a frail girl like me can’t...”

Monica jumped down from the ship. As Aria looked her way, Monica spoke regretfully.

“What a blunder! To think the chicken dickwad had such a trick up his sleeves... because of you all, I got a late start! Kuh... because he said, ‘Oh Beim, the time hath come to fall by my hand,’ with a pose like that, I preserved it with such excitement, and yet it had to come to this.”

Saying that, Monica raced off. Monica Units One and Two chased after her.

“Like that, you always get in our way!”

“For now, chasing is our top priority!”

Monica’s group running off were headed for the exploded Guild Headquarters. Aria watched over them, as she lightly tapped Clara’s dizzy face.

“Hey, just what is he planning? Suddenly blowing up...”

Thelma answered her question.

“Apparently, Beim needs no symbol. From here on, I myself shall be their symbol, or so he said. Lyle-dono truly is heroic.”

Aria carefully put Clara to bed on the ground, before giving chase to Monica’s unit...

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“Faaannntaassticc!!”

I spread out my arms, as I watched the exploding, burning Guild Headquarters, before turning to the heavens, and crying out. Ah, this and that happened, but when I see the Guild Headquarters blow up like this, how refreshing it feels.

The Seventh in the Jewel was overjoyed.

『The performance of gunpowder has increased! What a flashy demolition! But Lyle... no, mr. lyle sure is artistic with his explosions. For it to be blown away so cleanly!』

The Third was also rejoicing.

『It’s been a stream of Best Lyle candidates since he woke up on the boat, but to think he’d actually come and blow up the symbol of Beim; how dynamic. Shucks, this time’s another splendid harvest. His ability in cutting through the scene of carnage between those three was splendid. He makes battlefields on his own, and resolves them while he’s at it... you’re perfect, mr. lyle!』

I felt the impact of the blast and crumbling building with my body, as I watched the roof portion fall down to earth. The barrels of gunpowder stuffed in the building were still igniting, or so the vibrations told me.

“Well, it was in the way. To me, and to Beim hereon. This is, in short, the festival to celebrate the birth of a new Beim.”

Smoke rose around as I watched from my box seat. Leaving the symbol of Beim standing was quite inconvenient for me. And when I thought to get rid of it... if I was going to do it anyways, then I might as well make it flashy.

And arriving here with a Skill, Aria shed her sweat as she landed on the roof where I stood. With leftover momentum, she slid, shattering roof tiles on the way.

“I found you!!”

“Oh my, I’ve been found. Aria, good job finding me. This must be love. Oh, wonderful love! Aria, I love you tooooo!! Whoah!”

As Aria approached me, she lifted up my lapels. Her face was mildly reddened, so I’m sure she was hiding her embarrassment. And that part of her was extremely cute.

“What are you doing!? Do you know what period we’re in? The rebuilding was finally going smoothly, and all the preparations were in place!”

I gripped her hands grabbing me, and spoke with a serious expression.

“I’m sorry... I wanted to stand out.”

Aria’s face turned red, so I held her tight.

“Did you think you’d be forgiven for a reason like...”

“Well listen. There weren’t any people in the building. No one around either, and while it was firmly locked, all valuables had been carried off. It seems the merchants and Guild executives seriously do intend to abandon Beim.”

Aria put up light resistance to my embrace, but she didn’t resist seriously.

“T-that’s why we came in first and put up a resistance...”

“Precisely. If the situation changes for the better and we win, they will return. And there’s a possibility Beim will accept them. Even if they don’t, Beim may use this place as the center to go independent regardless of our intentions. For that sake, I need to destroy the symbol of Beim, and plant a new symbol in its people.”

The Third in the Jewel let out his voice.

『Even if they don’t accept the merchants who fled, there’s a possibility they won’t accept Lyle either. I see, so that’s why he destroyed the symbol of the city first.』

The Seventh sounded impressed.

『So he went to break down their hearts. In a hopeless situation, where the preliminary preparations were already completed... well, the rest is all up to Lyle.』

Aria whispered.

“It couldn’t be, so that’s why you...”

I parted a bit to look at Aria’s face, placing my hands on both her shoulders. I directed a smile to her as I spoke.

“Don’t worry. It’s definitely succeed. The reason being... I’m everyone’s Lyle! Oh, it’s right about time the people start gathering.”

Looking around, I could see soldiers racing over alongside Miranda. Climbing the roofs, there were adventurers wary of us as well.

I turned to them.

“Everyone rejoice! Lyle Walt has returned. I’ve come to get rid of whatever desperate situation you may be in, and to reach victory. Now rejoice! Victory is my companion!”

As I waved one hand to appeal around, I received some blank looks.

Aria grabbed me.

“Like hell they can rejoice! Without telling them anything, you’re laughing like a madman at an explosion! Just how much trouble do you think we’ve gone through!?”

The gathering residents of Beim looked at me. They looked up at my existence, and I was in the process of becoming the new symbol of Beim.

“What, you wanted me to praise you? I’ll reward you with a lap pillow later.”

“I-I don’t need one! More importantly, just what did you do to Clara and the others? Their faces were strangely red when they came down from the ship, and they seemed somewhat happy... oy, look me in the eyes when you speak!”

As Aria looked me straight in the eye, I looked deeply into hers. It would be rude for me to lie here.

“You want to know? Then come to my bed tonight. I’ll take my time teaching you.”

Aria’s face went bright red, so I parted from her. And looking over the city of Beim, I looked at Bahnseim’s army beyond. The numbers in Bahnseim’s encampment on the other side of the destroyed wall were terribly low.

I pointed at their army.

“Now, you all shall be the next to fall. Just you wait, gentlemen of Bahnseim. This Lyle Walt... will take you on, up front, fair and square! Fwahahahah!!”

The Seventh sounded delighted.

『Well, if you look at our numbers including Beim, we have the upper hand. Bahnseim has divided its army in two. It’s courtesy to take them on upfront.』

As I raised a laugh, Aria muttered to the side.

“... Fair and square at this point, are you a loony? No, I’m sure you are in this state, but...”

I spoke to Aria.

“That’s not quite right. The wrong one isn’t me, it’s the world! I’m convinced there’s no world in existence that won’t recognize a man as cool as me. Yet if they fail to recognize me regardless, I need only make it so they do.”

Aria’s face cramped up.

“You can properly win, right? It’s not just victory, we have quite a few conditions, like increasing our allies and such, right? And yet, you’re always like that at the most important times...”

I lifted up my right hand, and looked to the heavens. It was an extremely nice cloudy sky. I got the feeling the heavens were blessing me.

“Fret not. I’m a man loved by the heavens... no, an existence loved by the world. And this Lyle Walt... whether it be women or countries, I’m a man who’ll definitely take down whatever I set my sights on. My success rate is one hundred percent! There isn’t a million-to-one chance I’ll fail. Thought the majority of those I’m seducing this time around will be men, mind you!”

From the Jewel, I could hear the Third’s laugh.

『So you’ve finally learned to make tasteful jokes... mr. lyle sure has grown. Though his very existence is already a joke.』

Now, from here on’s the real battle. As people continued gathering around, I spread out my arms. Feeling everyone’s gaze, I spoke.

“This is the real deal... let’s all enjoy it, gentlemen!”