One day after winter had ended, Romatto, who had been held captive in the beastman town, returned back to the Kingdom of Sandra. When Mireille heard about the report, she visited Romatto in the evening after training.

“Here, huh?” She muttered to herself.

Romatto, who had finished his audience at the castle, was taken to an inn in the city. The place where Mireille went to was an inn built with bricks in the district for n.o.bles.

“Innkeeper, do you have a minute?” She called out.

“Yes. What can I do for you, Knight-sama?” He hurried out to greet her.

Mireille was wearing a cloak belonging to the Red Dragon Knights, and had a sword strapped to her waist. Thus, everyone knew that she was a knight at first glance. In addition, because she lacked curves on her body, if she wears chest bindings, and put on men's clothes, no one would notice that she was a woman.

“I heard that a man called Romatto is staying here.” When Mireille asked about it, the innkeeper answered politely and guided her to Romatto’s room on the second floor.

Mireille stood in front of the room. A stain on the wooden door caught her eyes. Not just the door. For an inn in the n.o.ble district, both the walls and corridors were dirty for some reason. While thinking about such a thing, Mireille knocked on the room’s door.

“I am the leader of Red Dragon Knight Order. Can I come in?” She announced herself.

“Pl-Please wait a minute..!” The person behind the door floundered.

She could hear rattling sounds from inside the room. Before long, the door was opened, and Romatto, who now had a flabby chin, appears.

“Please.” He gestured nervously.

“Umu.” Mireille grunted and stepped in without further ceremony.

The room was shabby, and only had some chairs, a desk, and a bed. It’s obvious that this place was located in the poorer region amongst all the inns in the n.o.ble district.

“I am Mireille, the new leader of the Red Dragon Knight Order.” She declared her ident.i.ty.

“Y-Yes. I am Romatto Bidenhulk.” The man stuttered.

[TLC: names..like this when they don’t give ・, it is one name. I did fixed it some chapter ago and give notes on it iirc]

Mireille observed the nervous Romatto. His face, neck, arms and fingers. After looking at his whole body part by part, she couldn’t spot any trace of torture at all.

Besides, most of the captives usually become thinner when they come back home, but Romatto clearly became much fatter. Mireille thought that it was strange.

“I will take my seat. You sit down too.” She ordered.

When Mireille sat down on the chair, Romatto also sat down on the chair across the desk.

“Tell me as much as you know about the beastman town. What is the condition of the town? How have you lived till now?” Mireille asked Romatto about the the beastman town.

To know your enemy is the most important thing in the war. Their culture and customs, their personal tastes and character, you won’t know what might lead to the victory.

Since he had already said the same thing to the people in the castle, Romatto began to speak in a well-practiced fas.h.i.+on.

What kind of town was it? What kind of tribes were there? What kind of person was the Lord of the town? Romatto told her everything he knew from their food, buildings, and climate.

Mireille listened to him silently. She had already heard that the degree of their civilization was high, so she was not surprised in particular. It was said that the master of the town was a great man.

But, she was slightly interested about Romatto’s treatment. Although he was locked up in one room, it was much bigger and cleaner than the room he had right now. He was given three meals, and a change of clothes each day, and he was even able to take a bath too.

In the Kingdom of Sandra, the captives were place into the dungeons. It’s a place where insects breed, and the surfaces were smeared with filthy water. The difference was like heaven and h.e.l.l.

Romatto said that he killed time by playing a board game with the beastmen almost everyday.

(What is that?)

Mireille’s head hurt. Rather than a prisoner of war, wasn’t it more like him being invited as a guest there?

(Well, it’s not an unbelievable story)

When the story ended, it was already dark outside. Inside the room, the tallow candle brought in by the innkeeper in the middle of the story gave off an unpleasant smell as it was lit up.

Mireille suddenly became interested about the game with small wooden statues on top of a wooden board on the bed. Looking closely, it seemed like the pieces were moved on top of the wooden board in a certain manner. It resembled a military board game which the n.o.bility enjoyed.

“Is that the thing you were talking about?” She asked.

“Yes. They called it chess. It is very profound.” He nodded solemnly as he placed the item onto the desk.

When he was asked how he was able to get this, Romatto said that it was a farewell gift from the beastmen who he became friends with.

While listening to the explanation of chess, although it was much simpler than the military board game, Mireille thought it was quite elaborate.

When she said that she wanted to give it a try, Romatto took out a new wooden board and a small box from the bag.

“If that is the case, I have other good things.” He stated proudly.

“This is?” Mireille tilted her head to the side in confusion.

“This is called reversi. These black and white pieces are called disks. You played it in turns, and change the color of your opponent’s disks by sandwiching them. It is a game where you compete on the amount of disks you have at the end. Because it is simple, I thought that this would be better to play if you’re a beginner.”

[TLC: the formal term is disks not stone in english although the kanji uses stone]

Mireille thought that it seemed easy.

“Let’s do it then.” She nodded in agreement.

First, they arranged the four pieces, and then, they take turns placing their disks. It is only a game, but because there is a victor and loser, Mireille challenged the board game seriously. No one likes to lose after all.

(It’s good to take more disks, it’s just that easy of a game. The purpose of the game is to not overlook the places where you can take a lot of disks.)

Mireille was making light of it, thinking that it was a childish game. That confidence was reflected on Mireille’s black disks that were overwhelming the board.

“What? You’re so weak.” Mireille smiled arrogantly.

She doubted if his eyes were even open as Romatto had overlooked a lot of places where he could turn the disks many times since a while ago.

“No, it starts from now.” Romatto simply smiled back calmly.

And again, the sound of disks being placed echoed. What happened afterwards was that from the middle till the end of the game, all of Mireille’s black disks were being turned upside down.

“Im... Impossible...” She gasped.

The game was over, and the results were 6 to 58. They didn’t even need to count to find out that Mireille had lost.

“Well, it’s usually like this the first time round.” Romatto spoke smugly.

The grin on his face made Mireille want to beat up him, but she suppressed it will all her strength. Instead, a vein throbbed violently on her forehead.

“One more time!” Mireille recklessly challenged Romatto again.

(The corner. The starting point is the corner. If I can just take the corner...)

After one game, as expected, Mireille was able to see the importance of the corner. However, it was impossible to win against Romatto, who had been playing only board games all day for a long time, so she suffered a complete defeat again.

“...Once more.” She still wanted to challenge him again.

But, the third game was decided before the disks were able to fill the board. Of course, the winner was Romatto.

Fed up, Mireille surrendered, placed her disks down, and asked.

“Do you have any intentions of returning to the Red Dragon Knight Order?”

It was an unexpected question. Then, Romatto made a face as if trying to endure regrets. He wanted to return, or so Mireille felt.

But, Romatto shook his head.

“Why? I heard that your swordsmans.h.i.+p is quite good, no?” She demanded.

“You want to attack that town right? I cannot do such a thing.” He stated firmly.

There was no need to ask. He lived with the beastmen everyday, and even got a gift. He became attached to them.

“Is that so?” She asked impa.s.sively before leaving the room.

◆

This is Mireille’s diary.

Spring.

The settlement to the south for the people of lower strata began. Although it needs a considerable amount for the initial investment, there was considerable profit from the trade with spices, so there was no need to worry about money.

Romatto’s current condition.

The legitimate heir’s position had already fallen to the second son, and Romatto’s status was withdrawn. He was made to write a pledge under the priest to not fight, and swear that to G.o.d. He was not allowed to return to his territory, and if he decided to live in the Imperial City, all his monthly living expenses would be taken care of.

It is a miserable story, but if you lose, you only have yourself to blame.

Summer.

It is about time for the the settlers to begin cultivating the land. Next year, at this time, we will invade the beastman town. It is a hot season, but it will be even hotter in southern region.

The true enemy might not be the beastmen, a castle wall, or an unknown magic, but rather, this heat.

By the way, Reversi was being sold in the castle town. It was supervised by Romatto. With its simple and clear rules, quick playing time, and cheap prices, the game was selling like hot cakes. For those who couldn’t buy the board, they were playing it by drawing 64 squares on the ground. Reversi became a wildly popular game in Sandoria.

Furthermore, Romatto’s name became famous, and everyone knows him. He was still undefeated in reversi for now.

Autumn.

It seems like the settlers of the village have already begun sowing seeds.

I saw Romatto in the royal castle. He seems to be nervous and tense when I called out him, so I listened to his story. It seems like he was being called by my father to be his Reversi instructor. It seems like Reversi isn’t only popular in the city, but also in the castles and barracks.

When Romatto returned from the castle, I got annoyed by his triumphant look.

Winter.

Regarding the settlement, it is going well without any abnormalities in particular in terms of the regular communication. But, they have cut most of the trees near the river. It seems like from next year, they will need to transport firewood from our country.

By the way, Chess began to be sold in the Imperial City. It seems like “that” Romatto is the one who supervised to sold it, but all the people came back to Reversi immediately. However, it seems to be popular with some people.

Spring.

A war has begun in the far north. The church issued a new declaration and said that if it is a war for a great cause, we will not excommunicate them. Then, at the same time as that declaration, the Kingdom of Castile invaded the Igor Empire.

The land that was invaded was the area where a territorial dispute had taken place since the olden days, and also, the place where the civil war occurred between the eldest child and second child due to the machinations of the kingdom one year ago.

With the Kingdom of Castile striking with its main force, the Igor Empire wasn’t able to do much to prevent it with only part of its force, so the territory was s.n.a.t.c.hed in no time.

Their preparation is too well done. It was clear that the Kingdom of Castile and the Church had a prior agreement.

Of course, the Igor Empire also moved to recapture the territory by gathering its soldiers. But, it was already too late as the Kingdom of Castile had already strengthened the defense ahead of time, and the situation doesn’t look too good for Igor Empire.

Eventually, the Church mediated peace between two countries, and it became a truce.

Also, other countries were getting busy, and the diplomats, including Braunitze, were running around to allied countries.

The current state of the continent was like being stuffed into an overly small box. It seemed like it will burst out of the box any moment. When the lid comes off, the continent will be wrapped up in a major war. Although it’s a calamity, it’s also a good opportunity for a country to make a big leap.

I wish to be able to carve my name in history just like the founding king of the Kingdom of Sandra.

[TL: Impossiblurrrrr, you are fighting the MC here. Well there might be a spot for a harem member of great king? probably....]

By the way, a Reversi compet.i.tion was held in the Imperial City of Sandoria, and it was said that Romatto won the champions.h.i.+p easily. Our new rookie knight seemed to have joined, and was able to overwhelm Romatto at first, but he was eventually overturned in the middle of the game, and lost.

―― and then, summer arrived.