"Ah."
"Do you understand, Due? In the first place, knights from the Imperial Guards have been sent here by the old man. Maybe they're trying to find out what kind of strength we are hiding from this war."
Especially that strange person, Elisha Rosmond Balbastre. She is a woman who lacks any kind of common sense, but there was a strange sense of danger I got from her. Whatever she lacked in some areas, she made it back in others. Her sense of combat seems to be quite high. If she was shown the full power of the Opus series, it would not be surprising if she could immediately understand the level of danger.
There were other problems.
"What are you going to do about Charl, anyway? There's no way we can reveal such a nasty monster like a vampire lord, no matter how much we wanted to."
"Vampire! Did you even have one like that in your possession?"
"See. Even someone as powerful as Margrave Doldran is surprised, isn't he?"
Vampires not only harmed humanity, but also reanimated the corpses of their victims as family members, allowing their powers to grow. They were considered especially dangerous among monsters, and if you harboured one, you would be charged with a serious betrayal of humanity. And the fact that Charl was a Lord class. If he was seen all friendly with us, the Inquisition would be sent straight from the Omnian Empire. This was a friendly country that might potentially send us reinforcements, so we wouldn’t want to tear down this bridge.
"Cough! Excuse me...... Other than that, the golem is also no good. Officials from the royal capital would make a fuss about the private ownership of such a powerful magical creature."
"And magic big enough to mow down an entire army, too. I'm sure the court mages or the adventurer's guild would try to keep that magic under control, no matter what."
Fem was a no, while Uni, Drei, and Seis were greatly limited in their field of operation. Charl was out of the question. The only one who could be utilised properly was Due. If he could destroy the entire army alone, then so be it. However, St. Gallen was not without its own heroes. Surely those people could avoid a lone warrior and fight elsewhere.
"So you're saying that the only option we have are the mass-produced ‘products’?"
"Unfortunately, we are tied up there as well. We cannot use the E or EE series. I don't know how the greedy nobles would react if I gave them a glimpse of a large number of elves in their territory."
"So you're saying I could be like someone else somewhere and try to kidnap an entire village?"
"Well, yeah. That's why the only 'products' that could be used out in the open are the M-series and the B-series."
"What happened to the S series? If they're specialised for combat, they won't stand out as much as the others, and I think they'll be a useful asset."
It was Laubert who interrupted me. He's right, the S series will work well in war. That's what it was originally designed for.
Yet.
"No inventory."
"What?"
"Like I said, there aren’t any of them available now. I've already distributed most of them to the nobles who joined my faction. Also, I don't have enough slaves to use for that."
It's not like I can just create a pawn out of thin air. You'll need materials to make a suit of armor, and you'll need an elemental body to make a modified slave. I don't have any slaves on hand to modify at the moment. This meant that even if the S series was the lowest cost product, I couldn’t even make a single one of them now. In the first place, modification requires time, so we wouldn’t make it in time now.
The military officers under Due's command were also scheduled to be converted to S series, but even so, it won't be an overnight process. It was obvious that the Volden would be overrun by the St. Gallen army before the number of soldiers could finish gathering.
"Are you an idiot? You're an idiot, aren't you, my lord? Why don't you keep at least a minimum number on hand just in case!"
"Don't be so harsh, Laubert. That's what we get for working so hard distributing them to strengthen the faction as a whole. Besides, think of it the other way around. Most of the lords I've brainwashed were in the neighbourhood, and they will be the first ones to come to my aid with their S-series. Wouldn't that reduce the chance of losing the accomplishments to the people who are under the control of old man Lavallee?"
"No, at this rate, Volden would fall before those reinforcements arrive, won't it?"
Margrave Doldran said in a dumbfounded manner.
Certainly, with the current explanation, it was understandable to think so.
"Well, if you're really saying that's what's going to happen, I'll just abandon my role as a noble and run away."
When I blurted it out, Laubert and Victor looked at me with horrified faces. You’re so cowardly. Their faces seemed to say.
In fact, the Margrave was unperturbed.
"Well, if you haven't started preparing for your nighttime escape, you have plans?"
"Yes. But in order to do so, I require the assistance of His Excellency the Margrave."
I looked at him while giving him an affirmative answer to his question.
Sure, I have some knowledge, but my talent in military affairs is unknown — I don't think I have much, to be honest — and I have no experience. But what if there was someone who could make up for that? The Margrave, an experienced commander who has been holding down the western frontier for many years. He would be able to absorb my ideas, digest them, modify them into concrete measures, and implement them.
After all, I have good luck at this critical moment. I just happened to have the right people on hand at the right time.
"First of all..."
When I heard the St. Gallen army crossed the mountains to get here, this plan started to cross my mind. It was a plan that could mean Volden's troops wouldn’t even need to participate in the fight.
The reaction from them after revealing my plan was not good. Due made his usual bitter face. Laubert and Victor both shouted in opposition. The only one who was positive was Uni. And then there was Margrave Doldran, who had a difficult look on his face.
"How insane. No, but ...... is there any other way other than this?"
It seemed to have at least been recognised as a useful plan militarily, at least.
"But it's a massive operation. Do we have enough hands?"
"I'll run the Opus series for backstage operations. They'll cause problems if they are on the frontlines, but if they are behind the scenes, then there is nothing to worry about."
Yes, powerful magic and tribal magic would only be a problem if they were revealed in a flashy manner. If we continued to work behind the scenes, we could use the Opus series to their fullest. As long as the final result was achieved by a normal army, no one would care about who did most of the work and how they did it. Unlike a modern army which might be meticulous enough to collect all the shell casings of bullets used in an exercise, the old-fashioned military organisation in the continent of Ithuselah would not bother with the small details.
Victor opened his mouth with a reluctant look on his face.
"It's a measure that could cause a lot of problems politically......"
"When it is time to accord war merits, our war records could be used as a shield. I did such a good job against St. Gallen with just the single province of Volden. Please just overlook this once...... Gratitude and devotion are the basics of this society. If such courtesy was ignored, even if the war is over, the next thing that would happen would be a civil war among the lords. Even if it was Lavallee, he would not be able to contain it."
If this plan worked, we should be able to expect enough results to make a strong case for it. At the very least, it would be possible to limit the damage to Volden alone. If we made it that far, the merit of defending other lands would outweigh the crime of not defending our territory. What if it was not recognised as such? This wasn’t something that could be guaranteed. I have already resolved myself, and I would make sure the old man prepares himself. As well as making sure the royal court, always at the mercy of the conspirators, prepare themselves.
Finally, Due says in a hushed tone.
"I know it's useless, but I'll ask anyway. You, doesn't your heart hurt?"
