“Well, because an enemy might use it. I worked hard to learn about as many types of magic as possible. I didn’t have much natural ability, so I had to make up for it with effort. My friend always said the more you know, the closer you are to victory. Hmm.”
She couldn’t really believe that he had no natural ability, but there were other things they had to discuss.
“Your Majesty, if you have a plan, I can relay it to the commander.”
The clever King of Darkness might have already come up with a better strategy than the one the liberation army had. Maybe that was why he was being modest.
“Huh? N-nah, let’s not. Well, mm-hm, hrm. Freeing the prisoners is the Sacred Kingdom’s job, not mine. As you raid more of them, you’ll begin to get a feel for what works. That’s the first step. You’ve got to notice these things yourselves!”
He was right. Or rather, everything he said was always right.
But Neia was hoping that, just for today, he would give them advice. This was a fight to rescue the innocent who were suffering. She wanted to make sure they chose the method that would save the most people the fastest.
“I know you’re right, Your Majesty. But I beg you to lend us your wisdom.”
She knew it was rude to ask while they were riding. But she still bowed her head to plead with him.
The King of Darkness looked straight ahead for a moment and then said, “Hmm… Neia Baraja, don’t make me repeat myself. Success is born of failure. Even if the plan you come up with without my help doesn’t work, you need to accept that without fear. Such an outcome would be a necessary failure on the way to success.”
His words sent a stabbing pain through Neia’s heart. He couldn’t always be there to help them. The King of Darkness was telling her that in order to rebuild their country independently, there would be sacrifices made as a result of thinking on their own, but that they would be needed nonetheless.
And it was exactly as he said.
But with his power, they might be able to save more people.
Is accepting sacrifices to maintain our independence…just?
What is justice?
Was saving more people just? Or…?
Her thoughts spiraled, and it seemed like she would never find an answer.
“Let’s believe in their abilities.”
All Neia could do now was pray that it wouldn’t end in a huge sacrifice and a sorrowful spilling of blood.
The party headed directly for the prison camp.
There were some hills along the way to the village, but something like a watchtower had apparently been constructed, so if they went from the front, they would undoubtedly be spotted. But it was also true that they were only capable of frontal attacks.
Eventually, the village came into sight.
It seemed like they had a proper night guard in the watchtower atop the gate. The alarm bell rang immediately, and the village erupted in a flurry of activity.
Neia squinted at the watchtower.
The subhumans resembled two-legged goats with long hair. They wore mail shirts and were armed with large spears.
If she remembered correctly, they were called bufolk.
Their race lived in mountainous regions, and their sturdy legs performed like a goat’s, allowing the fearsome warriors to get a foothold on even the slightest ledges and climb right up fortress walls. Neia also remembered her father explaining that their long hair tangled around swords, so after killing one, it was necessary to clean the blade or the cutting edge would be dulled.
The spears the bufolk carried were long enough that they could attack people on the ground from the top of the gate.
She had been worried that they would tighten up their defenses at once, but apparently they weren’t that well trained, because they panicked a bit, which gave the liberation army time to prepare.
The priests got off their horses and got right to work summoning angels.
The paladins also dismounted and held up their shields—probably to protect the ones holding the battering ram from attacks from above. But that wasn’t all the knights. About ten of them remained on their horses and headed for the village’s flank.
“Miss Baraja. Was that small group of soldiers sent around to make sure that no subhumans flee from the camp and bring word to their allies? If any did escape, you would lose the war even if we won this battle.”
“Th-that’s right! It’s exactly as you say!”
How easily he saw through all their tactics. All Neia could say was that she expected nothing less.
But she did wonder where the King of Darkness had learned such tactics.
Beings with tough skin, like subhumans, didn’t usually wear armor. Beings with sharp claws probably didn’t carry swords. The reason humans wore armor and wielded swords was that their flesh was vulnerable.
If there was no need to rely on clever adaptations, then there was no need for them at all. Then why in the world would the King of Darkness, said to possess such overwhelming power, be familiar with the tactics for attacking a castle?
“Where did you acquire such detailed knowledge, Your Majesty?”
“Hmm? Knowledge? Ohhh, you mean my guess from before? Right. Tactics like that, the friend I mentioned before taught me, and I tested them in battle—well, I learned in all sorts of ways, I suppose. But I never thought I’d be applying those lessons here.”
“Was the friend you had very strong as well?”
“Hmm. Well, his strength wasn’t in fistfights or magic battles but elsewhere. In that sense, I’m still probably not as strong as him.”
He laughed an amused “hoh-hoh” with that smile particular to fond memories.
She felt almost as if she were with another human.
Maybe the King of Darkness used to be human…
Neia was never fooled by stories of turning undead through the power of magic. She knew they couldn’t be true. She had been taught that undead weren’t born voluntarily. But…
The world is such a big place…
During her journey with the delegation, she had learned how
