Vol. 2 Chapter 182

Grape Barrel

Translated by Raizu

[The Spierzeig wont move Do you have any confirmation?]

With a dubious face, Raylight whispered in a low voice that I and the escort could barely hear.

Its important information regarding the movements of the Spierzeig army. I think its safe to assume that the question of whether its okay to talk on this occasion is also included implicitly.

However, this case is not particularly confidential. The escort continues his words without particularly suppressing the volume, and briefly explains that my father and I are going to Levios, the Royal Capital.

Aside from my father, I didnt think I would go to the capital, so Raylights face became even more stern. As if responding to that, the escort speaks the conclusion.

[and, prior to the Royal Capital social gathering, the Levios family requested and accepted the conclusion of a joint retaliation agreement. The agreement will last until the end of the social gathering.]

There are not that many rules in Levios Kingdom.

The birth of the Kingdom began when the Nobles rose up and formed an alliance to break away from the rule of the priests. I think there is an underlying wariness that it is unbearable to be ruled by the Royal family instead of the priest.

Perhaps for that reason, most of the rules that exist in the Kingdom of Levios are [Dont do this] instead of [Do this].

Even though there is a rule that the Nobles of the Kingdom should not go to war, there is no rule that the Nobles of the Kingdom should help each other. Its an extreme theory, but even if the territory of a certain Noble is hit by a disaster or famine, other Nobles have absolutely no obligation to send out reinforcements or provide food assistance.

Of course, even if at glance there is no obligation, there are actually some. For the time being, they are profiting from the alliance with the Kingdom, so if they dont even show a notion of cooperation, they will be evaluated as small and unfaithful, and as a result, they may suffer disadvantages.

Currently, the Noble school in the Royal Capital is closed due to the catastrophe caused by the demon beast Yersinia, but even enrolling there was voluntary.

The Quordenze familyor rather, it was my fathers idea, but he didnt object when I said I wanted to study abroad in the Royal Capital. So it depends on the personality of the head of the family how to judge this.

Why do we have to send our child to the Royal Capital? Dont order us because the Levios family is a Royal family!. There are a certain number of people who think so. I heard that Nobles with such thoughts sent their sons in relatively unimportant positions in the collateral line to study abroad, rather than the children who were planning to inherit the family headship.

[The Levios family made a drastic decision to make a joint retaliation agreement]

Thats why the Royal Nobles basically dislike being told to [Do this]. Its strange that even though its relatively easy to create hierarchical relationships within a group with strong interests like a faction, when it comes to the scale of the entire Kingdom, a sense of resistance to orders emerges.

The order most avoided by such Nobles of the Kingdom was to force them to participate in the war.

One of the reasons why the papal upheaval that started with St. Navempos turned into a quagmire where the priests forced the Nobles to dispatch troops. The Nobles red group and white group were arbitrarily decided according to the political position of the senior priest.

One day, the priest suddenly handed over the white hat, while the Nobles from the neighboring territory, who had been on friendly terms until yesterday, were handed the red hat. The Nobles were forced into a war they didnt want, repeating battles under the direction of a priest who only looked in the direction of the holy city of Maguaose, nearly exhausting the whole continent.

Being forced to join the war and fight against other Noble families is traumatic for many Royal Nobles.

And the joint retaliation agreement was a promise that imposed the obligation to participate in the war.

The content is simple. If a third party launches an act of aggression against a Royal Noble, other Royal Nobles declare to the outside world that they will jointly retaliate against it. In terms of the earth, is it like the right of collective self-defense?

Even if the reason is self-defense, it is a psychologically difficult duty for the Nobles of the Kingdom due to historical circumstances, and the Levios family is having a hard time handling it. Joint retaliation is not explicitly stated in the law, so it does not always apply. Normally, even if one of the Royal Nobles was attacked, the entire Levios kingdom would not suddenly turn into an enemy.

The only exception would be attacks from priests. This is not a very strict rule, but the Nobles of the Kingdom have an obligation to unite.

When the Levios family determines that it is necessary, the basic operational flow of the joint retaliation agreement is to conclude a contract after consulting with each Noble family and issue a warning to the outside world.

Since the contract is accompanied by an expiration date, the contract automatically expires after the period expires. After that the obligation disappears.

[This is the seventh time that we have concluded a pact since the founding of Levios. Precisely because the prestige is shaken now, they want to unite the Kingdom.]

During the social gathering season, the Royal Nobles would gather in the Royal Capital. But, there are many shut-in Nobles who never show their faces from beginning to end. Attendance at social gatherings is not compulsoryor rather, it cannot be done. Since the continent of Eruo is still far from peaceful, there are areas where the founder, who is a symbol of power, cannot vacate the territory so easily.

In fact, when my father went to the Royal Capital, he returned home many times in a short period of time, while my mother, and the others, who stayed in the capital for a longer time, was in a position like a joint reception desk for the Quordenze family, the Sylopea family, and the Evenafis family. In particular, my mothers family, the Evenafis family, was greatly affected by the disaster of the demonic beast Yersinia, and there werent enough relatives left to send to the Royal Capital.

Due to such circumstances, the opportunity for the Royal Nobles to meet together is only once every few years or decades.

And, in order to gather so many Royal Nobles into the Royal Capital, the only trump card is a joint retaliation pact. [Even if something happens while you are away, the Royal family will take the lead, unite the Royal Nobles, and beat up the enemy. So, please come to the Royal Capital with peace of mind. Then, for that reason, please sign this contract.] or something like that.

Its a matter of course, but without trust in the Levios family, it would be difficult to conclude a contract. In order to realize this this time, the Levios family must have put a lot of effort into negotiating with each Noble family.

[Whats wrong, is there anything else?]

[Um]

Raylight listened to the explanation about the conclusion of the contract, but he looked like he still wasnt convinced.

With a troubled expression on his face, he asked another question.

[However, how trustworthy can the promise be? With the now declining prestige of the Levios family, it is highly questionable whether they can really unite the Noble families of each region. In addition, I think it is quite possible that the enemy will dare to attack regardless.]

I see, thats a reasonable opinion.

Even if there is an agreement, it means nothing if the Royal Nobles do not comply with it. The Quordenze family ends up just showing their defenseless bellies and will be cut open.

In the Zinkaen Empire, the current Emperor is afraid of the Empire splitting up so is unable to send reinforcements to the Spierzeig family. It can be said that it is a very natural flow to formulate a strategy to plunge the Levios Kingdom into the same situation.

I decided to intervene in their conversation.

[Certainly, my father wouldnt have thought of taking me to the Royal Capital with just that.]

The Levios family originally planned a large-scale social gathering in the Royal Capital in order to announce the end of the civil war with the Milendorva family both inside and outside the country. Naturally, there must have been inquiries about the conclusion of a joint retaliation agreement and attendance at the Royal Capitals social gathering.

Despite that assumption, my father kept me as the next Head of the family. In other words, it is the best proof that the Levios family wondered if they could really bring together the Nobles of each place.

The Levios family would like to show off the influence of the Royal family here. The attendance of the Quordenze family, which is said to be one of the five great Nobles of the Kingdom, was an absolutely indispensable condition. If there was nothing in particular, my father must have thought that he should leave me and go to the Royal Capital on his own.

However, there are new elements. Operation Serpents Fang.

According to my fathers letter, the news of Reisleaf Castles fall caused a great shock to the nobility world. It is a fresh topic because the rumors about the Archduchess Orshian have passed their peak.

In that case, the Royal Nobles have high expectations. The eldest son of the Quordenze family will surely come to the Royal Capitals social gathering in spring.

Conversely, if I dont come out now, it will clearly show that the Quordenze family cant trust the Levios family.

As for my father, hed want to take me to the Royal Capital because there is no good in being on bad terms with the Levios family. The Levios family also doesnt want the notion that the Quordenze family doesnt trust the Levios family to spread. Both sides had their own intention from having Wilk Quordenze attending the Royal Capital social gathering.

Unfortunately, however, how much of the Levios familys promise can be trusted? If the Quordenze family were to be attacked by the Spierzeig family, would the Levios family be able to retaliate by bundling the other great Nobles?

And then, my father went through trial and error to see if there was a good solution, and started secret maneuvers, finally finding a solution and deciding to go to the capital.

So, I gave Raylight the answer my father came up with.

[Duchess Crowne Adellahan has declared that she will attend the Royal Capital social gathering. How about that?]

[I see.]

Attacking with a joint retaliation agreement signed is an act of disrespecting everyone present. It is equivalent to raising the middle finger and provoking with something like [Are you guys even thinking that were scared?! Come and get me, losers!!].

The organizers, the Levios family, will have their reputation tarnished, and the Royal Nobles who attended will probably get angry.

Such an outrage will make the Levios family furious and seriously consider retribution, but that doesnt always mean that the other Noble families will play along.

For example, the current head of the Adellahan family, Marquis Adellahan, shouldnt feel anything about the loss of the Levios family. They will probably send out a few soldiers in step with the Kingdom, but at most they would only send out reinforcements of a level that can be said to be not against the agreement, which is about one Knight.

[Certainly, if thats the casethe Spierzeig family cant move their army.]

However, the story would be completely different if it is Crowne who was disrespected.

Its already big news that Crowne, who is over 100 years old, purposely goes to another territory. In this state, if you mess with the Royal Capitals social gathering, it would be the same as smearing mud on Crownes face. At that point, if you do anything, it would be like youre licking yourself in the butt.

Crowne is the de-facto founder of the Adellahan family, who established herself in times of turmoil, and can be said to be the Hero of the Adellahan region.

Marquis Adellahan cant leave the greatest Hero of her family alone, no, it would be unforgivable if she did. If the Adellahan family, which is said to have some power in the branch family, plays like that, it will be impossible to suppress the relatives. As the Head of the main family, it is necessary to show the attitude of participating in the joint retaliation with all ones might.

However, considering the rumor about Marquis Adellahans temperament, it seems likely that she will lead all the cavalry units in the territory and come to the Quordenze territory to reinforce the army without even being told by her relatives.

Raylight must have understood the situation well, showing a satisfied expression.

The escort further added.

[Its the same with Duchess Crowne, but if the Milendorva family ruined Princess Orshians unveiling, it wouldnt be a shame.]

This Royal Capital social gathering is attracting attention as Orshian Milendorva will be appearing in the nobility public for the first time. The Milendorva family would be furious if their social debut was interrupted.

Although they are Nobles who reign over the people as Noble beings, their essence is like that of a yakuza. Makes me imagine how the Quordenze would be like as a gang.

Reputation and face are really important.

[The Spierzeig family wouldnt be stupid enough to attack in this situation.]

Thats why its very inconvenient for the Spierzeig family to launch a counterattack against the Quordenze family during the Royal Capitals social event.

If they invade, the Levios family, the Adellahan family, the Milendorva family, and of course our Quordenze family will be furious. In particular, the Levios and Adellahan families will be irrevocably furious.

At this point, they are already four of the five great Nobles of the kingdom. If this happens, the remaining one, the southern great Noble Zeldomitra, will have no choice but to send out a considerable amount of reinforcements in line with the others.

In other words, the Spierzeig family will have to contend against the allied forces of Quordenze, Levios, Adellahan, Milendorva, and Zeldomitra. As far as I can think of, thats the combination of enemies anyone would want to avoid.

If this were a game, it might be for the purpose of collecting achievements for bad endings. Something like [Bad End 19_Joint Retaliation Agreement]. Well, you could say its an impossible choice in reality.

[Father was happy that he was able to pull out Duchess Crowne. And being able to call her to the Royal Capital was also perfect for the Levios family to give them authority, and they would be able to gain some favors.]

It seems that my father was behind the scenes in various ways, such as giving information with implications to the Adellahan family messengers who came to see the Reisleaf Castle, and spreading rumors among the commoners using the secret organization under his control, the Worm.

He must have been very happy with the result, since the handwriting in the letter I received from my father was really light.

[Youre right. Is there anything you still want to ask?]

With this, he seemed relieved, and Raylight corrected his posture.

[Yessir. I would like to return to the city, settle down, and work hard at my training.]

Ill do my best, is what Raylight is trying to say, which satisfied me.

I dont know how far the Nambonan militias can go, but I think its okay to supply them with some money. For the time being, lets start with the procurement of equipment and weapons that other military officers wont say much about.

I glanced at the Nambonan militias who were still waiting.

They wore simple armor and carried spears and shields that were probably supplied by the Quordenze army.

[Oh of course.]

[Is there anything else?]

[No, its nothing.]

Thats when I came up with an idea. Since its a big deal, it might be a good idea to order military uniforms.

The same goes for the Quordenze soldiers, but the clothes they wear under their armor are appropriate. Its mostly dull brown or beige-like fabric, but theres no sense of unity. Military officers wear nice clothes, but even this is not uniform.

After all, since its an army, Id like them to dress neatly during march. Previously, I had a clothing company in Newnelly made a maid outfit for me, but should I ask them to make a military uniform for me this time? Lets try it with Nambonan militias and see if its popular.

In the meantime, lets make cool military uniforms for women and let Rose put them on for some cosplay sex. It seems like it will suit her well.

I mightve grinned a little there due to those thoughts.

Then, perhaps thinking he had misunderstood, the escort interjected as if to pierce a nail.

[Raylight, dont say things that will make Young Master expect too much. After all, they are still just civilian militia.]

Maybe its because Im a former earthling that I dont think its necessary to say such hopeless things in front of commoners.

And if you look back at the history of the Eruo continent, its not uncommon for serfs to have a fairly famous unit. Its never zero.

[Even though they are serf soldiers, there must be some famous units.]

[Most of the serf units with a proven track record in martial arts are made up of serf units from knight families. Those troops and a mere hodgepodge of commoners are of a very different nature. I really doubt how practical it is compared to professional engineer soldiers.]

Certainly, the serf unit that came to my mind was almost entirely made up of serfs born from the knight family.

[But not without exception.]

[.Yes.]

Did something like that really happen?, the escort seemed seriously worried. The escorts confirmed each other with eye contact, but no answer came out.

I dont want to be pretentious, so I say it.

[The barrels of the Milendorva family are just ordinary militias.]

[Barrel? Grape barrel Ruotad?]

Ruotad.

Its a slightly old expression, but it means [Grape Barrel] in the Eruo language. In Japanese, is it similar to expressing a stroller as a baby carriage? Its not wrong, but there are nuances such as words that modern people rarely use.

In the previous world, there was a culture of collecting grapes and putting them in barrels, and the maidens would step on the grapes to make wine.

For example, in Quordenze territory where good grapes can be harvested, there is a festival where small children and unmarried village girls stomp the first grapes of the year to make wine.

In the first place, wine making is one of the rituals of the Zeth Church Holy High Society. The priest gives thanks to the spirits, and the young maiden stomps the grapes. It was practiced all over the continent throughout the time of the priests, so I think its a completely ingrained culture.

A ruotad is a tub-like tool that holds the grapes used in the wine making process.

Ive heard about it before on the banks of the Amelia River, but Princess Orshian, who is the pride of the Milendorva family, is called the Grape Stomping Maiden or the Holy Maiden in commoner circles.

Although it reminds me of a happy scene of a Princess fumbling with grapes, the origin is actually quite disturbing. Princess Orshian was very strong in war. She crushes the enemy army like stepping on grapes, staining the earth with blood that at glance might look like red wine. Yes, in her case, the grapes are people.

[Speaking of grape barrels, do you mean Ruotad, the Holy Maidens bodyguard?]

[Yes. Youve probably heard rumors.]

And Princess Orshian has a very powerful direct unit. Most of them are said to be composed of commoners from her hometown and volunteer soldiers who accompanied her when she recaptured Milendorva territory.

These common militiamen admire Princess Orshian, and are said to show courageous work on the battlefield, even sparing their lives.

They refer to themselves as Ruotads [Barrels].

They loudly claim that they are the tools that Princess Orshian uses to crush grapes. I dont know if theyre just being humble to refer to themselves as just a tool, or if theyre that conceited to imply that theyre an indispensable tool.

As Princess Orshians bodyguards, they made numerous military achievements, and are now so famous that they are called the Holy Maidens bodyguard Ruotad.

[Ive heard stories about grape barrels, but]

The escort with a difficult face gave me a peace sign.

[Young Master, there are two types of strong soldiers. Young Master should be aiming for the first one]

Saying that, the escort closed the middle finger of the peace sign and raised only the index finger.

[The strength of the Holy Maiden bodyguard Ruotad is the second one. But, it is not helpful and should not be done.]

The middle finger was raised again and returned to the peace sign.

Needless to say, I knew about the two categories. For the time being, I have learned something that seems to be the military science of the Quordenze family.

According to knights and military officers, there are commoners who can be used and commoners who cant be used among the commoners, and they seem to have some characteristics.

Even in the Quordenze territory, there are areas where strong civilian soldiers can be recruited, and there are areas where only weak civilian soldiers are recruited.

As for what the difference is, its a terribly simple story: the soldiers in areas where there are many serious commoners are strong. The commoners in such areas follow the instructions of their ancestors, such as knights and military officers, and can move relatively calmly even after being strengthened by magic.

On the other hand, commoners in areas where there are a lot of frivolous people who get carried away and start feeling intoxicated as a result of being strengthened, and areas where there are a lot of lazy people, are difficult to move. In essence, they are strong when they are strong and weak when they are weak.

A unit with a lot of serious and patient commoners would be more stable. And a stable, physically-enhanced unit is just strong enough by itself.

Just because its Quordenze territory doesnt mean everyone has similar personalities.

In Japan in my previous life, there were words such as prefectural characteristics and regional characteristics, but in this Eruo continent where people are still in feudal age and dont move much, the difference in personality depending on the region is quite noticeable even if you look at a single village.

[The form of the unit you want is what Raylight says is a combat-specialized engineer.]

[Oh, thats right.]

The higher rank of the serious commoner militia is the serfs soldier who came from a knight family.

Having been trained in the hierarchical relationship of the military, they naturally know the offensive power and defensive power of united forces. Because of their pride in coming from a knight family, they dont often run away even when theyre outnumbered.

However, in the case of the Quordenze territory, serfs who were born into a knight family tend to study hard and aim to become a civil officer, and those who aim to become a military officer tend to be failures. Therefore, it is not uncommon for serf soldiers, who come from a knightly family, to say, [Im a defective product anyway, I have no magic power, I have no wisdom. Im a loser]. Sometimes they cant even become a reliable soldier. Of course, not everyone does.

On the other hand, there are cultural Noble territories where serfs, who came from a knight family, aim to become military officers. Most of the famous serf military units are of this type.

The famous Adellahan family cavalry is exactly this.

According to what I hear, serf boys who were born into a knight family in the Adellahan territory yearn to be a strong man and devote themselves to training. Dreaming of joining the cavalry unit under the direct control of the Adellahan family, they train their body despite not having magical powers, and desperately accumulate military knowledge.

Naturally, not all applicants will be able to enlist, and there will be fierce competition. In other words, they are elite warriors who have passed through narrow gates even though they are serfs.

Naturally, the male Lord who was born with magical power also admired and trained in the cavalry, and as a result, the cavalry under the direct control of the Adellahan family had both Lord and serf soldiers.

Just by hearing that, you can tell how highly trained the unit is. Each soldier is highly capable, the chain of command is clear and unwavering, and above all, they have a high pride as the best warriors in the territory. It will not be possible to destroy it so safely.

The commoner militia unit that was recruited yesterday and today will not be able to compete.

This is the first strong unit that the escort said, and the form Im aiming for is also classified here.

It can be said that it is a strength created through discipline and training.

[The important thing to create a strong unit is to maintain it. As far as Ive heard, Princess Orshians unit is perverse and not of a quality that can be continued.]

And, in a sense, in contrast, there is a strength that exists in units that use elements such as faith and dependence.

It is said that physical strengthening magic is very sweet. To the extent that one may become addicted to it.

It can make someone experience an exhilaration that cannot be experienced in everyday life, a sense of omnipotence, and an ecstatic feeling of receiving direct instructions from the master, who is an overwhelming superior. It may have some kind of drug-like effect. I hear that there are quite a few people who become addicted to war since they werent treated appropriately.

If you lose your mind to the Highlords [Magic Power], you will soon lose even the fear of death and fall into a madman whose only purpose in life is combat.

No matter how much you train, an ordinary human being cannot get rid of the fear of death. But this maniacal soldier fears nothing, and will rise and attack as long as he lives.

A maniac soldier strengthened by magic is like a zombie that keeps moving until its body is completely destroyed. It can be troublesome on its own, but it is said that soldiers who confront it feel instinctive fear when they see its madness, and sometimes lose their fighting spirit.

It is said that the commoner unit led by Princess Orshian, the Holy Maidens bodyguard Ruotad, defeated the Levios army with the strength of this fanaticism.

The common militia, who had been conscripted by the Levios family and enjoyed the invasion of Milendorva carefree, panicked when they saw the Ruotad soldiers attacking them without worrying about whether their bodies would be bombarded with arrows or their limbs torn off. This caused their morale to collapse. It is said that the common militia started deserting one after another.

As expected, there was no morale collapse when fighting against the reinforcements of the highly trained Adellahan army, and it seems that the Commander-in-chief, Princess Orshian, was at the mercy of the army and could not achieve a victory without being able to move the army satisfactorily. However, it is also said that the Adellahan Mounted Cavalry and the Holy Maiden bodyguard Ruotad fought evenly in a head-on clash.

The fact that the Ruotad soldiers, who were just commoner troops, put up a good fight against the Cavalry Corps, which consisted of elite knights, even though they were serfs, seemed to make the commoners feel quite good, and they fought well. Their tale has even become a song and is spoken all over the continent.

The Adellahan cavalry, which was trained through loyalty, and the Holy Maiden bodyguard Ruotad, who lost their fear due to their fanaticism towards Princess Orshian, could be said to be a form of a clash of strengths of completely different vectors.

[The operation method of Ruotad, which just makes commoners unnecessarily cripple, is never praised.]

[Perhaps they are applying powerful strengthening magic to the commoners without any restrictions. Rumor has it that Princess Orshian is said to have great magical powers, so much physical strengthening has been showered on them every day. can easily destroy the personality of a commoner. The madman soldiers are indeed powerful. However, they will not produce anything after the war. The fate of those who can only find pleasure in battle will be tragic.]

[Even though they were cornered by the Levios family, its the worst method that might end up destroying the territory itself if you make a mistake. Shes just a witch. In the end, its the commoners themselves who are the most troubled by being used like that Because they dont understand that, its completely out of the question.]

This is also my fathers idea, but the basic policy of the Quordenze family is [Lets increase the number of commoners efficiently and use them for a long time]. For that reason, measures that aimlessly crush commoners are disliked.

The escorts gave an extremely poor evaluation of Princess Orshian, who was thought to be using her Highlords strengthening magic to continue her war, which in turn created a large number of disabled people.

However, this may also be related to the fact that the Quordenze family and the Milendorva family do not get along very well. Even before Princess Orshian appeared, the two families were not on good terms due to so-called ideological differences.

There is no evidence that Princess Orshian is actually causing mass-crippling to her soldiers. Despite this, they treat it as if it were confirmed information, probably because that bad impression is at the root of it.

[Yeah, I know. I dont want to make the troops that are purposely trained into cripple.]

I dont want to see the numb soldiers snuggling up to me while drooling with unfocused eyes, saying, [Oh~, young master~, please use more strengthening magic~].

[The shape we are aiming for is the Adellahan style. Do you understand?]

[Yes.]

I had already checked, but there was no way Raylight was wrong.

[However, I will allow the name of Ruotad to be mentioned as a worthy opponent. Thats the kind of Hero that the commoners can easily understand.]

Unfortunately, the reality is that Ruotad, the Holy Maidens bodyguard, is extremely highly regarded in the commoner area, and Nambonan militias are no exception.

It was a dream to have a commoner unit that fought on equal footing with an elite unit of knights. Its convenient, so lets have them become a rival for the Nambonan militias.

I spoke to the Nambonan militias who were still bowing down.

[The Holy Maidens bodyguard made a name for themselves in the fight against the Levios family. Then, its our turn next. With the fall of Reisleaf, we will be able to cut into Spierzeig territory in earnest in the future.]

Of course, thats still a long way off. It is not possible to attack from the Quordenze side until the Royal Capital social gathering is over.

I told them in an easy-to-understand manner that they should train their bodies and prepare themselves for the upcoming invasion.

Every time I repeated my words, the Nambonan militias raised their faces. The expression that was directed to me was shining as if to say Ill do it.

[There will be more opportunities to make a name for yourself. Depending on your merits, Quordenze may become known for having Nambonan soldiers. Encourage each and every one of you.]

They must be mimicking the military officers gestures of saying, yessir! The Nambonan soldier responded with a polite word. However, because they were not used to it, it was uneven and sounded like nothing more than noise.

However, I felt that there was a passionate desire to live up to my expectations.