“P-prison…? You have no idea where they are?”
Gustav said they did not. The King of Darkness looked up at the ceiling.
“Hmm…I guess we just have to play it by ear.”
“Yes. We don’t have any paladins who are skilled at reconnaissance…”
“I see…” The king nodded. “Building a robust organization with talent that can handle all sorts of information is paramount… But even with multiple intelligence agencies…”
“Th-that’s why I’d like to request Your Majesty’s help. Would you be able to do something with magic?”
“Magic isn’t as omnipotent as you think… First, I need more information about these prison camps. Show me a map with details.”
“My apolo—”
“I don’t think we have one here, so why don’t I go get one?” Neia interrupted.
Maps were national treasures. The more detailed they were, the easier it was to attack or defend as necessary. Allowing a neighboring country that could be an enemy in the future to know the geography of your entire region could only bring harm. That must have been why Gustav tried to refuse.
But.
Neia couldn’t allow it.
She couldn’t allow the King of Darkness to be merely used.
If they were going to borrow his wisdom, they owed him.
Gustav gave her a sharp look, but Neia pretended not to notice.
“Oh, in that case, I’ll take a look at it later. Okay, Miss Baraja, sorry to put you on the spot, but tell me everything you know about this region’s geography.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
They both acknowledged, and then Gustav raised the cloth and left.
Once they could no longer hear his footsteps, the King of Darkness murmured, “You don’t have to worry. I came here for my own benefit, too. Jaldabaoth’s maids are worth a lot.”
“Understood, Your Majesty.”
He must have been talking about the map situation.
Neia’s chest felt warm. How happy she was to have her efforts actually appreciated.
“But. This is a really a tough spot. I don’t know how you all managed to get this far with an organization that can be divided so easily.”
“My humble apologies.”
“Ah, I didn’t mean to have you apologize… It’s just a pain that your organization isn’t a monolith. Haven’t you ever voted when opinions clashed and let the majority rule? With a condition that no one was allowed to complain after the fact?”
“It would be wonderful to have an organization that worked like that. It sounds like a dream.”
“Hmm…wonderful, huh?” The King of Darkness gazed up at the ceiling. But his eyes seemed to be looking much further away. “Yeah. It does sound like a dream.”
“Is there an organization like that in your country, Your Majesty?”
“Oh, uh, nope. Unfortunately, we don’t. But you know…hoh-hoh…” He chuckled softly. “It would be interesting if we did.”
“Interesting?”
“Now then, you were going to tell me about the surrounding region.”
2
The party approached the prison camp under cover of night.
Following the King of Darkness’s suggestion, they had decided to attack a camp that was as far away from their camp as possible and also by the sea. Traveling by boat meant it would be easier to hide their tracks, and if they attacked somewhere away from their base, it would be harder for the enemy to confirm it was the liberation army’s doing.
But there was one problem.
If they went too far, there was a good chance an enemy scouting party would spot them en route.
As a result, they would attack a prison camp only as far away as was manageable.
Neia turned to the King of Darkness on his horse next to her and asked, “Your Majesty, we’re going to ride all the way to the village. Are you ready?”
“Yes, of course. The only thing is…no one has told me what the plan for the operation is. I wonder what strategy they’ve chosen. I’m looking forward to finding out.”
“Looking forward to it?”
“Heh-heh. I can get a peek at how the Sacred Kingdom strategizes. What abilities will they use to bust down the gate? Or will they fly over the wall to launch their assault? I imagine they won’t be holding anything back, so I’ll be able to see it all. It’s exciting to think that someone might have a skill I’ve never seen before.”
He’s definitely going to be disappointed, thought Neia sadly.
The Sacred Kingdom’s basic strategy for attacking an enemy fort was to have angels attack from overhead while sending the infantry charging in. She figured this time would be no different. Put another way, they didn’t have the forces to do anything else.
Neia looked at Remedios and the others.
Almost the entire liberation army force was up ahead.
When the commander raised her spear, the Sacred Kingdom flag affixed to it fluttered.
“We ride!”
“Ooragh!”
The commander kicked her horse and was off. The other knights followed behind her. The village was still quite far, so they were moving at a canter rather than a full gallop.
“The paladins are carrying a big log over from the forest. Is that going to be a battering ram?”
“Yes. Since the liberation army is only made up of paladins and priests, we don’t have anyone who can open the gate or sneak in. Our only option is to break it down. No matter how adept our commander is with a sword, having a tool like that makes it easier to destroy a gate.”
“So you’re not breaking it with magic but with physical blows from a battering ram… Do you use ladders? Are there spells that you could use to get over the wall?”
There were different types of magic—arcane, faith, psychic—but the kind that paladins used was different and was cast via an energy called providence. Fallen paladins such as dark knights also used providence magic.
Neia had never seen or heard of a spell that could create ladders.
“My apologies, I’m afraid I don’t know.”
“I’m the same. I know there’s a spell for flight that paladins can use, but I think it’s in a rather high tier.”
“Oh, really? I’m impressed that you even know about paladin magic…”
The king was truly brilliant. He had deep knowledge
