Chapter 31: Not Coincidence, but Inevitability (1)
Inside the conference room of the Daphne Viscomital House.
While everyone wore tense expressions, Viscount Cobalt spoke in a serious voice.
"The objective of this meeting is simple. First, to prevent war. Second, to establish the course of action if war does break out. We only need to decide on these two points."
"Ah... yes."
"I-I understand."
Only then did the retainers, having regained their composure, nod their heads, and seeing this, Hardin’s lips twitched slightly.
‘He’s doing well.’
A sudden declaration of war.
If it had been an ordinary person, they would have fallen into panic and floundered helplessly.
But Cobalt was different.
He suppressed his own agitation and seized control of the atmosphere in the conference room… then clearly set immediate goals for the retainers, effectively quelling their confusion.
It might have seemed trivial, but in its own way, it showed capability.
‘Well, he is of our bloodline, after all.’
Yes, he at least needed to be capable of this much for me to feel it was worth helping.
While Hardin’s lips were twitching, Viscount Cobalt continued speaking.
"Everyone, speak freely. Say whatever is on your mind."
"......"
Even if he asked for opinions, what on earth were they supposed to say...?
None of the retainers could bring themselves to open their mouths.
At that moment, Malion let out a long sigh and raised his hand slightly.
"Speak, Malion."
"It’s obvious, but I believe we should focus on avoiding a territorial war."
"Obvious?"
"Of course. The Calpion Viscounty is superior to our house... both in military strength and economic resources. In a frontal clash, we stand no chance of victory."
As Malion spoke in a resolute tone,
"......That is correct."
"I am in agreement."
Several of the younger retainers quickly nodded and added their assent.
Viscount Cobalt asked again.
"Do you have any ideas in mind… for how to avoid war?"
"Yes, of course."
"Then tell us."
For a moment, Malion fixed his gaze directly on me.
‘What is he doing?’
Hardin furrowed his brow slightly and tilted his head, but Malion continued.
"I will personally organize a diplomatic delegation… and head to Calpion."
"A delegation?"
"Yes. I will speak with them directly and, if there are misunderstandings, resolve them. Surely… it will not be difficult to halt the territorial war."
"A g-good idea."
"Certainly… that would be for the best!"
Smiles began to appear on the retainers’ faces.
But Hardin let out a small sigh, looking rather dissatisfied.
‘Well, it’s not a bad choice, but…’
When facing an opponent with overwhelming power, the best option was, in any case, to avoid war.
Moreover, if a delegation was sent… that alone would narrow the enemy’s justification and lay the groundwork for political pressure.
But unlike such textbook situations,
‘This time, those bastards won’t be swayed.’
They kept poking their forks into this barren land where there was nothing to gain.
He didn’t know their exact intent, but their petty attitudes and actions revealed everything.
Surely, there was something here we didn’t know about.
Those bastards were pressing forward because they wanted to get their hands on it.
The outcome was obvious.
‘No matter what we do, war will break out.’
Hardin quietly raised his hand and spoke.
"Sorry, but that doesn’t sound like a good idea."
"What do you mean by that?"
"There’s no reason to go."
"No reason? Didn’t I already explain? If we don’t prevent the territorial war…"
At Malion’s sharp retort, Hardin shrugged his shoulders.
"If you go, there’s a good chance you’ll end up captured as a hostage. Can you handle that?"
"A hostage? If Calpion does something like that, even they wouldn’t be able to deal with the consequences."
"Who knows. If they were the type to be intimidated by that, they… probably wouldn’t have even started this in the first place."
Malion pressed his fingers firmly against the bridge of his nose and said.
"Brother, please stop being unreasonable."
"It’s not unreasonable. It’s simply the truth."
"……."
When Hardin shook his head, Malion’s body trembled, and then, as if he had made up his mind, he spoke with a determined expression.
"Father, please ignore my brother’s words. This isn’t even worth considering further."
"I’m not so sure."
"Brother!"
While the two were bickering, Viscount Cobalt let out a long sigh as he looked up at the ceiling, then dropped his gaze and spoke.
"Malion, this time, Hardin is right."
"What?"
"Sending a delegation now… seems far too dangerous. Calpion’s attitude is anything but ordinary."
"But…"
"For now, we will send a carrier pigeon instead and have it act in place of a delegation."
Tak!
Malion slammed his hand on the table and raised his voice.
"Father, negotiating face-to-face and delivering a one-sided message are entirely different matters. Please reconsider…"
Viscount Cobalt shook his head, then glared back with resolute eyes as he spoke.
"Malion, this is an order."
"……."
A brief silence.
Soon after, Malion bit down hard on his lip and lowered his head.
"Understood. I will send the carrier pigeon."
"Good. Just make sure to clearly convey that we have no intention of going to war. If we’re lucky, that alone might be enough to stop this."
"……Yes."
Though, it probably won’t turn out that way.
Viscount Cobalt wiped the bitter expression off his face and spoke.
"Does anyone else have a different opinion?"
"……."
With no further response, only silence filled the conference room.
Viscount Cobalt, as if making up his mind, clenched his fist tightly and spoke.
"Commander Mulgybson."
"Yes."
"I want you to issue a conscription order throughout the entire domain. Make haste."
"I will hurry."
Mulgybson bowed his head, and Cobalt continued.
"Quartermaster, inspect the armory’s weapons and prepare them for distribution. All other retainers, check whether it is possible to request reinforcements from neighboring territories."
"Yes!"
"Understood."
Once the direction was decided, everything began to fall into place one by one, and tasks were distributed.
Given how urgent the situation was, the meeting proceeded at breakneck speed, and before long, nearly everyone present had been assigned their roles.
"That will be all for today. Everyone, move as quickly as you can."
"Yes!"
At the lord’s order to disband, everyone poured out of the conference room in a rush.
‘…I suppose I should get going, too.’
Hardin was just about to rise from his seat.
"Hardin."
"Yes…?"
When he turned his head, he found Viscount Cobalt staring at him with a grave expression.
"How did you know?"
"Know what?"
"This matter. How were you so certain… that Calpion would start a territorial war?"
Hardin paused for a moment to find the right words before replying.
"I’ve been telling you all along. Those bastards were going to start a war."
"Is that all? Was there any evidence, or a reason?"
"How should I put it…"
Hardin scratched his head briefly and continued.
"A hunch… I suppose."
It wasn’t something he could pinpoint exactly in words.
Like an artist who had painted countless pictures could imagine the whole image from a single detail, this was the same.
Back when he was Varlach, he had lived through countless wars… and even a fragment was enough for him to picture today.
There was no way to explain this to the man in front of him.
"A… hunch."
After a short silence, Viscount Cobalt closed his eyes tightly, then opened them and spoke in a low voice.
"Hardin."
"Yes."
"If the territorial war breaks out, your mercenaries will also have to stand on the front line."
"Yes, of course. I was about to go check in on them anyway."
As Hardin nodded seriously, Cobalt nodded back at him.
"Go on."
"Yes."
Hardin nodded and immediately left the room.
Step, step.
He walked down the corridor.
"Let’s have ourselves a proper fight."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
---
After the declaration of war was delivered, the entire Daphne Castle was thrown into chaos.
From inside the mansion to the front yard, retainers rushed about, directing the servants and hauling war supplies.
"Come on, everyone! Move quickly!"
"J-just a moment, please!"
"This way! We have to get to the armory! Hurry up, you lot!"
"Haa, haa… y-yes!"
People tripped and fell, shouted, cursed— it was pandemonium.
The mood inside the estate was no better.
"C-Calpion has declared war!"
"Dear heavens… we’re really going to fight a territorial war with Calpion?"
"A-aren’t we all going to die at this rate?"
"War… war!"
The rumors had already spread far and wide, and the townsfolk were muttering in terror, their faces pale.
It was shocking enough that there would be a territorial war at all, but for the opponent to be Calpion of all places… no wonder everyone was afraid.
"Isn’t Calpion’s might far beyond ours?"
"Damn it, why… why is this happening…?"
Deep fear surfaced across the people’s faces.
As Hardin walked past the estate and felt their unease with every step, he fell briefly into thought.
"So this is how it turns out after all."
Fighting a war against an enemy twice their number— anyone who stayed perfectly calm in such circumstances was the one who’d be insane.
Most of them were surely picturing death and defeat.
With a snort, Hardin picked up his pace toward the training grounds.
A short while later…
"Alright, spread out quickly and deliver the conscription order! The rest of you, to the armory!"
"Yes, Commander!"
At Mulgybson’s command, Daphne’s knights scattered in all directions throughout the estate.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the training ground—
"What are those people doing?"
"…Even the castle sounds like a madhouse."
Beryl and the mercenaries, carrying logs, looked around in bewilderment.
At that moment—
"Ahem!"
Before anyone realized it, Hardin had approached and cleared his throat, drawing the mercenaries’ attention.
Mikkelsen blinked and quickly asked a question.
"Young Master, is something happening? It’s been noisy for a while now…"
"I’ll explain. Put the logs down first."
"Put… them down?"
"Yeah."
Huh? What was with him all of a sudden?
Usually, if they so much as shifted their posture or tried to rest for even a moment, he would glare at them, red-eyed, as if he was about to kill them.
"Really… it’s alright if we do?"
"Yeah."
What was going on with this man? Could it be…
Thud. Thud.
The mercenaries exchanged suspicious glances, then slowly set the logs on the ground one by one.
Once everyone had put down their logs, Hardin folded his arms and spoke with a serious expression.
"It’s time you all earned your keep."
"Earn our keep? What are you talking about?"
Beryl blinked and asked, and Hardin answered.
"A territorial war is about to break out."
"…What?"
In that instant, Beryl and the mercenaries froze in place.
"W-what did you say, Young Master?"
"In five days, we’ll be fighting a territorial war against the Calpion Viscounty. Naturally, you’ll all be joining in."
"I-is this true? You mean there really is going to be a war?"
"Why are you acting like you’re hearing it for the first time? I told you before— we were preparing for a territorial war."
"…That’s true, but…"
Everyone else said it was nonsense.
There was no way a war would ever actually happen, the Young Master was just spouting delusions.
But… it was really happening?
Their bodies began to tremble.
"We—we’re doomed."
"If it’s Calpion… don’t they have twice as many soldiers as us?"
Why— why did it have to be true?
While everyone stared in a daze, caught between shock and despair, Hardin slowly looked over them before pointing a finger at Mikkelsen.
"Mikkelsen. You— step forward."
"Me? Why?"
"When I say come here, you come. We don’t have time."
Step, step.
…What was he planning? This was making him nervous.
As Mikkelsen cautiously stepped forward, Hardin’s fingertip began to glimmer with a blue light.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
He jabbed Mikkelsen’s abdomen with his finger without hesitation.
"Eeeeeek!"
Mikkelsen twisted and writhed before collapsing to the ground, flailing his legs.
"H-hot! It’s burning! Somebody help me!"
It felt as if his lower belly was set ablaze.
A groan forced its way out of his throat.
"Mikkelsen! Are you alright?"
As Beryl leapt forward in alarm, Hardin stretched out an arm to hold him back.
"Stop whining. It’s nothing."
"Nothing?!"
"Yeah."
Nothing? That was a bit much.
Gritting his teeth, Mikkelsen forced himself to endure the pain and slowly staggered back to his feet.
"Haa… haa… haa… What did you just do to me?"
Hardin smiled faintly as he replied.
"I released your mana suppression."
"…What?"
"If you’re going to fight properly, you need to use your strength properly."
"W-what are you talking about…"
"Try it and see for yourself."
Mikkelsen repeatedly clenched and unclenched his hand.
Fwoosh!
In an instant, blue flames flickered from his eyes.
Proof of a mana user— he had activated Body Reinforcement.
"Ohhhh?"
"Mikkelsen, did you really get your mana back?"
"I—I think so?"
Mikkelsen’s expression shifted by the second.
It wasn’t simply that he’d recovered it— he felt as if there was even more power flooding through him than before…
"Did… something change?"
Mikkelsen looked down at his own hand.
His fingertips tingled, and a surging energy thumped in his chest as if his heart might burst.
At that moment, maybe it was instinct guiding him.
"Hrrrrrgh!"
Mikkelsen clenched his fist tight and slammed it down into the ground.
KWAANG!
With a tremendous crash, the earth shook, and a cloud of dust billowed up.
As it slowly settled—
"Haaa…"
Hiss…
A huge crater gaped in the training ground floor, faint white steam rising from within.
"…Holy shit."
What was this?
Mikkelsen stared at his fist in disbelief, eyes wide as saucers.