Dream Life

May 13.

Finish your errands at Fortis and leave for your home village of Lasmore.

Gideon Dyer, a former first-degree mercenary, and his wife Francesca came to see me off, along with the Dwarves of the Blacksmith Guild. Even shorter before we left, Clyde Holborn, the mercenary guild leader who was supposed to be busy, also rushed me to get the big guys dropped off more than I thought.

Shake hands by saying, "You're always welcome," to the Blacksmith Guild Branch Manager, Rudiger Nichelles. They are to come to the village of Rasmore in six months' time for training.

Gideon and Francesca will be thanked for the audition.

Theo and Serra were told to come to training at a banquet last night, and they were breaking it down more than they thought. They should be back here in the near future with my grandfather's permission.

I envy them, but I have to teach and guide Luna from now on.

When I finished breaking up with them, my father signaled my departure and left the city of Fortis behind.

There are two routes from Fortis City to the village of Rasmore. One takes Fortis Street east, entering the main city of Ealdred in the eastern realm of the Empire before taking the route through the Kingdom of Kaum.

The other is the route along Elwindwood Avenue heading northeast, into Periclitle and then south down Ars Avenue.

Although the Elwindwood side is only a short distance away, it is a narrow road known only as the street and has not even been a candidate from the outset due to the difficulty of getting around by carriage.

Fortis Street, but we need to cross the difficulty of the Porta Mountains Roguedale, and this one is also dangerous. This is a long corridor that stretches over fifty kilometers, and is slow but uphill.

And this name Roguedale means “Valley of Bandits," which used to be a dangerous place for bandits to surrender. Although it is now time to reduce banditry, there is no substitute for the fact that there are many demons living in the mountains and that they are dangerous.

The entrance to the Roguedale Pass is about two hundred and thirty kilometers. It's a ten-day itinerary and it's relatively safe to get there.

May 23rd.

Enter the difficult Roguedale Pass.

"We need to pay particular attention to demons and bandits beyond this. There was information that Troll and Griffon were there. There are also stories of armed groups like bandits coming in waiting for the snow to melt. Don't overspan the carriage beyond this. Instruct your servants with precision. The roads aren't very well maintained. I want you to manipulate the carriage carefully because you think one mismanipulation involves the lives of all of us..."

I was giving more detailed instructions than usual.

As always, Dan goes ahead and makes sure there is no danger. My father commands the whole thing in the center, and Beatrice commands the front group, and I command the rear group.

Liddy and Sharon are in the center under my father's command, and Mel is under Beatrice's command.

Moreover, the Dwarves of Netherton sat on the carriage podium with their hammers in their hands, creating a system where they could jump out at any time.

Carefully continue along a narrow path sandwiched by cliffs that cut off both sides.

I saw a few weak demons, but without coming at me, I went back to the mountains. However, Dan, who is going to head off, has said he feels his gaze several times, all nervously advancing his horse.

I arrived safely in my first day of accommodation.

There are several places to stay in Roguedale. It's not as big as a town, just about ten inns and a defensive squad sent by a mercenary guild inside a wooden fence.

He arrived safely at the inn the second day without being raided. It's just that Dan's gaze kept sticking together, and we kept getting nervous.

After entering the inn and removing the gear, Beatrice throws away the "gloom". Because she was in command of the most dangerous avant-garde, constantly forcing tension.

"Probably a bandit, but you don't know what you want"

Dan leaks his thoughts. As far as he feels, it seems the three or so are ahead of him, while keeping a certain distance.

"I think they know this one is noticing... I wonder what they're really after"

"Tiring this one up, ambushing him in the toughest part of the city?" Liddy answers my question.

"I think that's possible... and I don't even think there's a bandit attacking the Lockhart family and the Blacksmith Guild..."

The biggest question was that.

He is accompanied not only by the Lockhart family, but also by a carriage bearing the Blacksmith's Guild crest. I mean, you should soon find out it's a line involving booze.

Few people fail to understand the horror of turning Dwarves against their enemies with alcohol entanglement. Even if that few fools are after you, Tsuji doesn't fit. Those people won't be exploring what's going on here.

"In any case, I will cross the line tomorrow. Once you're fully in imperial territory, bandits won't be able to get their hands on you."

Although the border zone is dangerous, the eastern part of the empire is well policed, especially in El Doredo, where the Eastern Governor's Office is located, where many soldiers are deployed to maintain security. Crusades were also carried out regularly, as demons often descended from the Porta Mountains.

Still, I'm concerned that I can't read the watchmen's thoughts.

Liddy's right, it's going to be tougher uphill up ahead. Especially the gradient near the top of the canopy is tight, and the velocity drops extremely. If you think about it, you don't know where to ambush me.

What I just don't understand is why I revealed my existence here. It is self-evident that it would be more advantageous to ambush them and ambush them. Not that it's possible that Dan misjudged his abilities, but then he should erase the signs once.

May 25th.

By the end of the day, I will be crossing Roguedale.

Approximately fifteen kilometers from the lodging to the top of the canopy. Accommodation about two kilometers down the river is today's destination, but we are all nervous about the presence of the watchman who was with us until yesterday.

Before I left, my father gave a lecture to all of them.

"... I'm concerned about the watchers I've been with until yesterday, but I want you to proceed with caution and vigilance as usual. I don't think you'll be alarmed, but don't be too nervous than you need to be. Maintain moderate tension so that you can hit it with a complete system at times of need. Whoever is in charge of the carriage shall obey the commands of his servants, no matter what happens. What? There are three good magicians here. We are better off in the narrow jaws. You can safely manipulate the carriage..."

Speaking of general theory, magicians are less likely to turn up if they are ambushed in a narrow place like a Because range magic is unavailable, a rapid-fire archer is often more useful.

But in our case, the fact that we can use the magic that can be guided does not put us at a disadvantage even in narrow places, and vice versa makes it easier to fight in narrow places, where enemy locations are limited, for the sake of good magic control.

After leaving, Dan notices and reports that the surveillance eyes he was feeling yesterday are disappearing.

He tried to get a lot ahead of him with his father's permission, but even a kilometer or so ahead of him, the presence of the watchman could not be confirmed, making the fact even more questionable.

(Stay with me until yesterday and disappear today... what are you thinking? I hope you gave up...)

I think about that, but I got more alert and proceeded with the horse.

■ ■ ■

Doug, a former mercenary, was lurking near the top of Roguedale. He was requested by Luke's Holy King and was to raid the Lockhart family.

He himself has not been heard in detail, but the administration of the Holy Kingdom is the client.

Doug was in trouble, disqualified as a mercenary, and on the verge of dropping himself on a bandit. Such was the help of the intelligence forces of the Holy King's Palace, who took him to a village close to the border with the northern part of the Empire. There were many other facilities for mercenaries and adventurers in his similar situation, where he lived every day at dawn in training. They were kept within the Empire for backward disturbance.

Before contacting the Dougs, the Holy King's Office contacted a person in order to raise funds.

That is the former bishop Gregorio Rutini. Rutini is the person who was chased after the Order for being a traitor because of the Lasmore Village blockade.

The Holy King's Office contacted him in order to obtain funds for rear agitation.

"It's all the Lockhart family that you've fallen into this kind of situation. If they were to come to our country as saints, as you say, you could have been archbishop with the credit of obtaining distillation technology..."

By that time Rutini was scorned as a traitor. I was cut off from my family, I couldn't even be at my parents' house, and although I dot everywhere, I was stabbed in the back finger even before I went and couldn't settle in one place.

Originally mentally weak, his spirit was on the verge of collapse in such a situation.

"We are going to lay down the hammer of justice on the Lockhart family, the culprit. If you destroy the Lockhart family, which enjoys the Spring of our world in the Empire, you will also be able to remember the Archbishop and return to the Order..."

Rutini's cloudy eyes react to his words.

"Are you serious... that I can go back to church..."

"Of course you are," the official nodded confidently.

"But I don't have the art of lowering the hammer..." the light in Rutini's eyes goes out again.

"In that regard, I entrust you to our Holy King's Office. I'll lend you our pawn."

"You're saying you can give me a hand!

"Yes. It just doesn't mean it's free. We need the money to move the pawn."

Rutini had hardly heard the words of the officials. I was just thinking about the glory of the past coming back to life again.

"I'll give you money... I'll give you as much as I want! … so…"

That's what Rutini tells the officials.

His assets exceeded tens of millions of kronas (tens of billions of yen in Japanese yen). Even though the Rutini family had a large estate, they encouraged the accumulation of wealth without paying taxes because of their relationship with the Order's hierarchy for generations.

Assets were diminished by those who have named relatives since they became apostates, but they still have sufficient assets.

Officials of the Holy King's Palace succeeded in obtaining the letter of entitlement and so on of the manor held by Rutini.

The Holy King's Palace had contemplated measures to counter the invasion of the Caerm Empire with funds obtained from Rutini. It was about making a major incident within the Empire and causing a coup d 'état to take place in the wake of it.

The Holy King's Office obtained information that the Lockhart family would become Viscounts in early March. And I thought of causing confusion within the Empire by harming them. (i) In the Viscount house, but if anything happens to Lockhart, it was more obvious than seeing fire that the blacksmith guild would storm, and the idea was to use it.

Initially, we thought about letting the Leopold prince party run wild, but we switch targets to the prime minister's faction, the neutrals, after getting information from troops infiltrated within the empire that they refused to solicit the prime minister.

strike the Lockhart family and leave evidence that the neutrals were involved in doing so. The Crown Prince, supported by a commercial guild, then moves on to the retirement of the Chancellor and the dismissal of Lord Ezarrington's Legion Leader on the grounds that Lord Ingolslop gets the seat of the next Chancellor.

If there is so much political turmoil so far, the ongoing war of punishment must also be halted. I was drawing such a scenario.

The Lockhart family is a martial fame, likely in return for carrying out raids, but we know beforehand that they will return to the territory through Fortis Avenue, making it easier to gather a larger force of war within a secure empire.

The problem is how do you send your forces inside Fortis, but with an orb forged by intelligence forces, it's not hard to get through the Empire and into Fortis.

Dougs were the men of war prepared by the Holy King's Palace.

They are mercenaries and adventurer crumblers, with criminal histories in the orb and usually restrictions on their movement. But if the Holy King officially rebuilds the orb, it can be used for sabotage within the Empire.

Originally he planned to let the merchant squad escorts get into the city and cause backward disturbances such as starting fires or polluting water sources, but he contemplated using one of those troops for a Lockhart family raid.

The Holy King's Palace had only human resources, but had no budget to send by the ensuing war. So he contemplated withdrawing the gold from those who had the most gold in the country, namely the clergy.

It was Rutini who became the target. Even if he later discovered that the Holy King's Palace was pulling the thread, it was unlikely that a complaint would come from the Church, with little risk of failure.

Having squeezed the gold out of Rutini, the Holy King's Palace sent the Dougs into the Empire using intelligence units dressed as Aurelia merchants.

Originally, it was planned to strike at Oak Hope, which would enter Fortis from the central region. That's because the Imperial Army is the least expensive and less risky.

However, the arrival was delayed due to restrictions on the vessel's navigation, and the Imperial Army was to wait on the side of Roguedale, where policing was taking place.

Still, Doug was optimistic.

He has more than sixty men, many of whom are above level thirty. himself, a Class IV mercenary, with a Swordsman level of fifty five. No matter how many Lockhart families are a bunch of fierce people, as long as there are about twenty of them, including women and children, they can be wiped out fully.

Although he was optimistic, he was cautious.

Not only did he set up a rock drop trap by entering the Roguedale Pass, but he was also aiming for an ambush.

Most of all, his thoughts were nullified by incompetent reconnaissance personnel and the excellent scouts of the Lockhart family.

The former adventurer who went on the reconnaissance continued the reconnaissance without reporting it to Doug, even though they thought they had been seen. Even though Doug told me to keep a close eye on things.

The former adventurers were optimistic.

From what I've looked into, the number of escorts was smaller than when I left the Imperial capital, and vice versa, there were more subjects to defend, and the line was longer. I decided on my own that I would have no problem being somewhat alert in this situation.

Doug was ambushing, unaware of the fact.

Half of his men lurk in the rocks on the cliff, beside him is Mick, the archer as a military master, refraining.

The other half were lurking in the woods on the imperial side.

Doug was going to attack the Lockhart family, which has a lot of fiends, from a distance. Behind him is Marutai for dropping rocks, and troops lurking in the woods are equipped with bows. They were supposed to attack with bows after causing confusion with rock dropping.