Chapter 82 - Clean Your Room Before Going Out

After the war council ended on a somewhat peculiar note, Sherin and Duke Morayen left the palace with their respective entourages.

The capital's streets were as dark as ever at night. Lighting their way with magical lamps, the soldiers of Pales chatted among themselves.

"People who'd been here before said it was so bustling. I had my hopes up, but it's a bit of a letdown. It's dark, and there's shit and piss all over the streets. Stinks, too."

"That's every city, isn't it? Pales is the exception."

"Well, at least the tall buildings are worth a look."

Only a few years had passed since magical lamps had been installed in earnest and the water and sewage systems improved, yet their standards for judging cities had already become extraordinarily exacting.

Even without that comparison, Hasra hardly looked like the thriving capital it had once been. Most able-bodied men fit to fight had been conscripted or fled to avoid it, leaving only the elderly, widows, and children. How could a city remain lively when the mainstay of its public life had vanished wholesale?

They walked and chatted for several dozen minutes. After returning to the Wievers mansion, they assigned the night watch and began preparing for bed. Around then, Roden, who had been talking with his men, sought out Shan with a grave expression.

"Is Her Highness still awake? There's something I need to tell her immediately."

"Hold on. I'll check."

Fortunately, although Sherin had changed into her nightclothes, she had not yet gone to bed. Roden entered her bedroom with Shan, closed the door, and respectfully reported what he had heard.

"There are indications that the Brotherhood's leader has extended her reach into Hasra."

"Oh?"

A spark of interest appeared in Sherin's tired eyes.

"Tell me more."

"As you instructed earlier, I tried to contact the Brotherhood members remaining in Hasra, but some have cut off contact. They say they'll only accept communications from the true leader."

Prince Conrad had ordered the Altoans expelled when he occupied Hasra, but not all of them had left. He had been unable to root out those whose physical traits were inconspicuous enough to let them pass as westerners.

Upon entering Hasra, Roden had instructed several Brotherhood members in the Altoan mercenary company to contact them. This was the report he received after returning from the palace war council.

"The former leader... The Marquis of Veshalia's favorite mistress, I mean. It seems she's already made her move. What an interesting woman."

When Sherin had seized the Brotherhood, she had already rendered its old contact methods unusable. The woman had probably come in person and taken some action. Otherwise, it would have been difficult to win back people who feared the two masked men.

Her purpose in contacting and directing the Brotherhood remnants in the capital under these circumstances was obvious. The Marquis of Veshalia, the south's most powerful lord, belonged to Elvin's faction. She must have intended to stir up trouble inside the capital somehow.

If they marched out, she would attempt to seize the capital in their absence. If they defended the city, she would try to open the gates in secret.

"You've brought me valuable information. We could have been in trouble if we hadn't known. How are things on our side?"

"You needn't worry about any of ours going over to her."

Over the past few years, Sherin had given the Altoans who followed her a demonstrably better life. Most had lived among the lower classes around Hasra; now they could serve as soldiers, eating good food and receiving ample wages. Even the women and children who could not fight had made homes in the village established between the harbor and the castle.

The peace of mind that came from knowing their families lived in a paradise free of dangerous magical beasts and foreign invaders was a blessing few in this land could dare hope for. And with Shan Barendil, the idol of their entire people, standing beside them, it was safe to say the former Brotherhood members no longer had any reason to return to their old leader.

Sherin nodded at Roden's confident reply.

"Then tomorrow, we should deal with the remaining Brotherhood members in the capital who refuse to cooperate."

"Looks like I'll be putting on the mask again. It's been a while."

"The mask? Surely you aren't planning to kill them yourself?"

Sherin laughed at Shan's muttered remark as though the suggestion were absurd.

"We only need to tell Conrad. He'll probably feel as though someone has told him there's a cockroach in his bed."

* * *

Sherin's prediction proved exactly right.

After spending the night investigating with her spiders, using the personal details Roden supplied, she sent Conrad a letter.

[There are Altoans in Hasra cooperating with Elvin.]

Conrad's eyebrow twitched as he read the names and occupations listed below, along with the physical Altoan traits they kept hidden. After a moment's consideration, he handed it to one of his knights.

"Your Highness, what is this...?"

"Information from my depraved youngest sister. I don't know why she'd do this when she's so fond of those descendants of devils, but we can at least look into it."

If it turned out to be some pathetic attempt to unsettle his faction, he could decide how to deal with that accordingly.

Unfortunately, however, Sherin's information soon proved true.

Scales growing between their legs. Traces of horns filed down beneath their hair. Tiny tails at the base of their spines. Fingernails as hard as bone.

One after another, they uncovered people who had passed as westerners thanks to physical traits that were difficult to detect by ordinary means. Among them was even a knight sworn to a noble of Conrad's faction.

Conrad arrested these descendants of devils who had dared hide among them pretending to be human, then tortured them mercilessly. Rather than merely ordering others to do it and standing aside, he took up the branding iron and knife himself.

"Aaaaargh!"

"Urrgh, ngh..."

"I-I'll tell you everything! Please, stop!"

Even those who initially tried to hold out finally divulged what they knew under the relentless torture. Skilled priests stood right beside them as their bodies were stabbed and gouged badly enough to leave permanent disabilities, then healed, over and over. Even the toughest had no way to endure it.

As a result, Conrad learned that they belonged to a secret society called the Brotherhood and, on their leader's orders, had agreed to assist the attack on Hasra from within in a few days' time.

"These vermin...!"

Learning the circumstances only deepened Conrad's hatred of Altoans. After extracting every last piece of information, he had all the Brotherhood members executed and their heads displayed. Then he came to see Sherin in person.

"I'll thank you this time. You helped me clear out that scum."

"I don't need empty thanks. If you're really grateful, hurry up and give me the remaining five wagonloads of magic stones."

"That won't do."

Conrad snorted and shook his head, then directed a contemptuous look at Shan, who stood behind Sherin.

"You'd best watch that hound of yours. Those creatures are filthy traitors by blood. Having betrayed even the Goddess, how hard would they find it to betray their ruler?"

"Spare me the useless advice. I think Marquis Abel is more likely to betray you than Sir Shan is to betray me. Don't trust him too much just because he's your brother-in-law. Father knighted him in the first place, didn't he? If he's betrayed someone once, why couldn't he do it twice?"

"... Hmph."

Having tried to drive a wedge between Shan and Sherin only to have the same tactic turned against him, Conrad strode angrily away.

Naturally, watching Conrad's faction root out the Brotherhood members who had chosen to follow their former leader stirred deeply conflicted feelings among those on Sherin's side. As infiltrators organized into separate cells, they held no particular affection for them as former comrades. Even so, these were fellow Altoans who had once belonged to the same organization, now being brutally tortured and killed.

Roden concentrated on directing their anger toward Conrad, telling the former Brotherhood members that this was precisely why they must follow Sherin. To adherents of the Old Faith, they would never be anything but children of devils. Only Sherin, who raised the banner of magic and enlightenment, could embrace the Altoans.

Even as they purged the enemy within, the faction leaders continued debating how to face their foes. First, they decided to march out and meet Elvin's approaching army in a pitched battle.

Initially, most had favored defending the city. Prince Elvin's forces included elephants from the southern continent and Horace's half-horse archers, both of which were markedly less effective in siege warfare. Moreover, Hasra's walls were high, and magic stones accumulated over many years were embedded in its gates and walls, strengthening them to the utmost and providing an enormous advantage.

But a single question demolished that argument.

'Do we have enough food to hold out?'

As with the problem they had faced in Shedil, cities inevitably suffered chronic food shortages. Worse, the prolonged civil war had long since devastated the Hasra region, once home to Pendia's greatest population density and productivity. Conrad had deployed raiding parties precisely to sustain the capital as the flow of supplies dwindled.

With insufficient food reserves and little hope of further reinforcements, what would happen if the entire capital, still home to over fifty thousand civilians, were surrounded?

Their calculations gave them a month at most.

"A month..."

"Elvin can last far longer than that. He keeps sending out raiding parties."

Of course, Conrad was also extorting food from nearby villages, but none of it could enter the city once it was besieged. If Elvin surrounded Hasra while his small raiding parties supplied food from the west, their own side would very likely starve first.

Thus they settled on the second option: a pitched battle. Prince Elvin's army would be exhausted from advancing all the way from the south, so they would march out and defeat it just before it arrived.

"Then I will command the center."

"I'll take the left wing."

"Which leaves the right wing to me!"

It was absurd to expect three mutually distrustful factions to intermingle and fight together. Sherin and Duke Morayen, who had come as reinforcements, each took a wing, while Conrad's forces formed the center.

Everyone knew this meant Conrad would likely suffer the heaviest losses, but he had been the one desperate enough to request reinforcements. He would have to accept it. Besides, most of his troops were conscripts, lacking mobility and unable to execute complicated tactics. They were best suited to serving as the anvil that absorbed the enemy's attack.

The next day, scouts reported that Elvin's army was less than a day's march away. The three rulers finally led their armies out of Hasra: roughly a thousand under Sherin, two thousand under Duke Morayen, and seven thousand under Conrad.

Battles with ten thousand soldiers in total were one thing, but large-scale engagements with over ten thousand on a single side were rare in Pendia's history. In the neighboring Kingdom of Libert, with its comparatively large population, they were rather more common.

"Whew, damn it. Why are my hands shaking so much?"

"Goddess, enfold my body in Your mercy and cradle my soul in Your love..."

Even experienced soldiers could not hide their anxiety at the prospect of soon being swept into a battle of such staggering scale. The same was true even of knights who had trained their entire lives and willingly accepted death for glory.

They all instinctively understood. In the enormous battle ahead, they would be no more than one of the many people dying helplessly. The champions and heroes who would dominate the battlefield single-handedly were already decided. Their own role was merely to be weeds trampled underfoot.

Shan, one of those very champions and heroes, rode Arwin quietly forward before glancing at Sherin beside him. She wore her usual solemn, queenly expression, but he could sense that she was extremely tense.

"Your Highness."

"... Hm?"

"Do not worry."

Sherin gave a little laugh at his brief, blunt encouragement.

"Indeed. With my knight here, what have I to worry about? I have no doubts."

"I'll be going out to fight, but Roden will attend you."

Ordinarily Ravana attended Sherin, as a fellow woman, but Roden would take over during battle. He had yet to fully overcome his fear of blades, making it difficult for him to range across the battlefield.

Whatever his actual fighting ability, simply having a hulking knight standing firm beside Sherin offered some protection from attack. From that position, he could also exercise his command skills as acting commander.

Of course, if fighting truly broke out around them, they would have to rely on Roden's willpower. But Sherin should never come under attack in the first place.

"Haa..."

"Sir Roden seems to need a little more time to steel himself."

As Sherin murmured, Roden could not hide his nervousness at all. Fortunately, his helmet's visor kept it out of sight. Shan slipped behind him and gave the back of his armor a firm tap, startling a grunt out of him.

"W-what!?"

"Calm down, man."

"Easy for you to say. Whew. Still, it's better than last time. I'm definitely improving."

He sounded rather as though he were trying to convince himself. Still, it was not entirely empty talk: although his legs trembled slightly, Roden retained enough presence of mind to guide his horse.

Shan spent a little while chatting with Ravana and the other knights to ease his tension. Then he turned at the order to halt from the front. Far in the distance, Prince Elvin's army had come into view.

"All of you, remember this."

Sherin spoke softly, drawing the attention of those nearby.

"This is not our battle. Even if we lose, your first priority is to stay alive. Your lives are what matter most. Do not try to fight to the death."

It was hardly a stirring speech before battle, but as guidance for how they should act now, it was precisely right.

Survival mattered above all. Everyone who followed Sherin engraved that lesson in their minds.

* * *

The two armies met on the plains south of Hasra. Low hills rose to the west, while a shallow stream flowed to the east. Advancing toward one another, the armies halted roughly five hundred meters apart.

In the distance, Shan could make out a lanky knight standing two or three heads taller than everyone else.

'Lug...'

Positions could change any number of times in a fierce battle, but it seemed unlikely he would have a chance to fight Lug. He might if he actively did something reckless to win, but there was no need to go that far.

Before long, a knight bearing a white flag rode out from Prince Elvin's lines and shouted.

"Hear me in the name of Giselle III, the rightful King of Pendia! The traitors Prince Conrad and Princess Sherin, and the foreign invader Duke Morayen, are to disband their armies immediately and submit to judgment under the laws of the kingdom! To those who follow them: the king will not punish any who surrender!"

After a brief swell of murmuring, a knight sent by Conrad rode forward and shouted back.

"Elvin, you unfilial wretch! All Pendia knows you have abducted your father, His Majesty the King, and are coercing him! If you truly have nothing to hide, hand His Majesty over at once! If he still commands us to disband once he is safe, we shall duly obey!"

Conrad was making good use of the same excuse Sherin had used before. It was a difficult move for Elvin to counter, since he could hardly hand over the king, the proof of his legitimacy.

Yet after a moment's hesitation, Elvin's knight promptly answered. They seemed to have discussed this in advance.

"Then we are willing to hold a parley! Prince Conrad and Princess Sherin are each to come forward with three knights! Prince Elvin will receive you with His Majesty the King!"

The unexpected announcement brought louder murmuring from Conrad's lines.

"... What should we do?"

"We can hardly refuse. Ignoring this would look like an open affront to His Majesty."

Conrad's faction had already lost half its strength after a blow to its legitimacy. This was an offer they could not easily dismiss. After some consideration, his retainers offered their opinions.

"We should speak with him first, then claim His Majesty is not of sound mind."

"Who knows? Perhaps he truly isn't."

That, of course, was little more than wishful thinking.

By contrast, the Pales contingent, whose sense of allegiance to the king had always been weak, remained unperturbed. Still, if Conrad collapsed here, they would have no means of reining in Prince Elvin's rampage. That would be a problem.

After a moment's thought, Sherin announced that she would accept the invitation to parley.

"Good. It's been a while since I last saw Father's face."

How on earth had they cured his illness? Or had they truly cured it at all? There was much she could learn by meeting him in person.

As Sherin murmured those words, Shan confirmed that her eyes no longer held the barely controllable fury they once had. What lay within her now was a quiet, carefully contained hatred, like a fire in a hearth.

Soon, Conrad and Sherin rode side by side toward the front of their lines. Six knights, including Shan, Ravana, and Marquis Abel, followed close behind. From Prince Elvin's lines, Elvin likewise rode out with six knights attending him.

One of them was Lug.

Seen up close, Lug certainly seemed to have endured a harsher few years than Shan had imagined. His distinctive, horse-like long face was unchanged, but his once-bright, guileless eyes were now downcast and gloomy.

Perhaps Elvin had rewarded him generously: his armor was a magical device, and his mount was a Horace warhorse. His eyes seemed to widen slightly at the sight of Shan and Sherin, then turned to Marquis Abel.

They were filled with hostility and hatred.

Prince Elvin, whom he attended, also appeared to have changed considerably through the civil war. Once he had looked like a mischievous boy; now his features had matured, and his perpetually smiling mouth had acquired a slight downward turn.

"It's been a while, Elvin."

"It has."

Since Conrad showed no sign of even offering a greeting, Sherin spoke first. Of course, the look she gave Elvin was far from kind. Because of him, she had failed to escape the palace, Sir Kagon had lost his life, and she herself had nearly died.

"I thought I was going to die, thanks to you."

"Sorry. I was in such a hurry I left you behind. But you managed to get out alive somehow, didn't you?"

"The Goddess helped me. If I get the chance, I'll let you savor what it's like to starve to death locked in a tower in the middle of winter."

"I'll look forward to it."

Their exchange, even sharper than when she faced Conrad, lasted only a moment before a palanquin carried by four soldiers approached from behind. The faces of those who guessed who was inside grew rigid.

"So, you've all gathered here..."

Giselle III, King of Pendia, looked down at them all as he spoke in a wheezing voice.