Sir, I'm back. This is Gen. Dodge. Behind me are Mr. Dodge's chiefs of staff, all of whom I can count on to be there for me. I think we have assembled the finest men you could ask for, sir.
(Hope, street ....... (align ......)
Morgan's sharp gaze pierced Isaac.
With his eyes, Isaac knew that the messenger of protest was for pulling the Marshal out.
But I don't remember that being called wishful thinking.
Who is to say which one of them made such a reckless request as "pull the Marshal out"?
The problem is not that they tried to pull him out (・・・・・・・・), but that they pulled him out (・・・・・・・).
If you try to say something like "we don't want this person" here, you are hurting Dodge's face and pride.
Why did you bring him in? He had to do it carefully even if he asked.
''I heard that you were going to pull out the commander of the Rockwell Kingdom, but I didn't expect you to pull out the Marshal Lord. I was telling you earlier that the Marquis Welrod's army has few skilled men, so it's very reliable.''
Randolph, who had been dealing with Isaac and the others until they came back, was impressed with Felix's great battle record.
(What the hell are you talking about?!)
If Randolph, the next head of the family, had offered a word of welcome, it was no longer easy to say, "I knew you'd leave" now.
The negative effects of not talking about his future plans were nowhere to be seen.
Morgan was also holding his head in his hands - or so I thought - but he only showed a slightly troubled expression.
He sat back in surprise when he saw Dodge, but I guess he's making an effort not to show it on his face.
Maybe that was the Foreign Minister's intention.
'It's been a long time. It's been a while since the ceasefire negotiations. Even though you held the position of General, you are now just Zachariah Dodge, so please call me Dodge. Since you will be attached to His Excellency, there is no need for such an ostentatious title as Marshal.
'No, that's, well, ....... It depends on what we talk about in the future. We haven't officially decided yet, and even though we were an enemy nation, we still want to pay tribute to Marshal Dodge's accomplishments.
Isaac and Morgan shake hands with Dodge and sit them down.
The first person Isaac spoke to was still Felix, who was the first to speak to him.
He said, "I've read through the report, but I'm sure there was no important information about you pulling the Marshal out: ....... What do you mean by that?
"Lord Dodge has fought the Kingdom of Fathill many times. More times than I can count, including skirmishes on the borders. I wasn't sure if he would be able to get through the Kingdom of Fertilizer in one piece, no matter how many times he wanted to be your subject. We had to bring many others besides Lord Dodge, as we had to pass near the cities and villages we had burned. I could not write to you for safety's sake, as there would be more hostility, like the Marchioness of Welrod's, than there would be to me.
Not only was Randolph in attendance, but Margaret and Lucia were also in attendance because of the rank of their opponents.
Lucia didn't seem to have anything in particular, but Margaret was different.
She had mixed feelings because she was the opponent who had fought against the Fertil Kingdom for many years.
She couldn't even mend the surface and looked less than welcoming.
'Marshal Dodge has taken out my uncle. Not just me, but anyone from the Fathill Kingdom would more or less hold a grudge.
Margaret agrees with Felix's words.
A relationship that has lasted two hundred years seems to have left a deep resentment on both sides.
'That's why I couldn't write any details as I was wary of someone stealing the letter on the way. Even with the escort that Lord Enfield had attached to me, I felt it was dangerous to travel within the Kingdom of Fertil, so I felt it necessary to specifically hide Lord Dodge's presence. ......, but it didn't seem to be in line with his lordship's wishes. I should have risked telling you.
Stealing the contents of letters was a common practice in espionage.
Even though he had become Isaac's subordinate, Felix was a person of note to the Fertil Kingdom.
When the messenger was sleeping, he would at least use his magic to sneak a look at the contents of the message.
It was natural for him to be wary.
'No, well, ....... I appreciate the fact that you've recruited a great person, but ....... I'm not sure it's in line with my hopes.
Although in front of Dodge, Isaac decided to say it clearly.
Because this is not a matter that can be left unaddressed.
I told you that I wanted you to go and recruit a 'commander to lead a hundred or a thousand men'," he said. As expected, I would not have asked you to recruit a general to command the army of a country. No, on the contrary, I warned you not to recruit a high ranking officer, didn't I? So tell me why you approached Gen. Dodge.
Regardless of the complaints Dodge may make, I have to ask this.
Because in some cases, we may be able to send them back.
Yes .......
Felix thought he'd made a big deal out of it.
From the feeling I'd been getting from talking to him so far, Randolph had been very welcoming.
But Isaac and Morgan were different.
They were confused, as if to say they were annoyed.
He felt his heart tighten, thinking that he had made a big mistake.
'At first we approached those with ties to the Earl of Ford's family, but only a few of them were targeted for redundancy. We couldn't get enough people together. So I consulted Lord Dodge, who knew the people to be downsized.
So far, it was understandable.
The Marshal would have a list of who was fired.
He would also want to arrange for his subordinates to serve, even if it's in another country, rather than have his men go to the streets.
So far, so good.
I was curious as to why even Dodge himself had come.
'When Felix asked me for advice, I was lost. I wasn't sure if I was going to be the only one willing to sit back and enjoy the position of general while my men lost their jobs. So I decided to resign in protest at the downsizing of the army. Of course, I also wanted to work for Lord Enfield.
Dodge took over from Felix and told him why.
-- he is unhappy with the downsizing of the army.
That was another reason I could understand.
If you're a responsible person --.
'I've let my men be led astray when I'm in the highest position of power in the army. How disappointing.
-- and you may be worried about it.
Even if it was the responsibility of his predecessor, he must take responsibility as the person now in charge.
If Dodge had only taken that responsibility, there would have been no problem.
He is free to look for a new job after he leaves the military.
But there is a messenger of protest coming.
The reason for this was an important point in the conversation they had had.
That's where Morgan responds.
'Since you started recruiting, do you mean to say that Gen. Dodge--Lord Dodge has resigned as Marshal: ......
It doesn't matter if he's the head of the Marquess family or the Foreign Minister anymore.
Morgan held his head in front of them.
Isaac almost fell down on his desk, too.
(Is he harassing me on purpose? (Are you thinking of retaliating against me or something?
Whether or not it's true that Dodge was disgruntled and resigned in protest is irrelevant.
The timing is too bad for any amount of time.
From the Rockwell Kingdom's side, it would look like a blatant pullout.
--I'm pulling out the Marshal.
It's no wonder that this could be taken as a declaration of war.
As long as he holds the position of General, he has all the information about the military.
The information on the military's deployment status and defense facilities alone would greatly shake up the national security.
Even if the Rockwell Kingdom was in a position of economic slavery and no other country would attack, it was not something that could be overlooked.
It was a wonder that Dodge, who was on his way to the Reed Kingdom, had not been assassinated.
Of course, that wasn't the only thing.
If the highest-ranking person in the military was pulled out by another country, the face of the Rockwell Kingdom would be destroyed.
They should want to have their Dodge back at all costs.
The Rockwell Kingdom's desire is to have him return in an amicable manner if possible.
It was natural for Morgan to hold his head in the air without worrying about what was out there.
He had pulled out the Marshal of a country.
This is no longer a matter for the Marquis of Welrod's family.
It is a problem for the Kingdom of Reed.
It's a big problem for the Foreign Minister to have his head in the sand, but there are other big problems as well.
''Why did they pull out the Marshal at this time?'' It's about being questioned.
--Expansion of the army is a wary thing for dwarves.
--If you only gather soldiers, you can't expect them to work as an army (.)
--That's why I gathered troop commanders.
So far, Elias and his team would agree.
But pulling out the general and his entourage is too much.
If someone reads too much into it, some of them might find out what Isaac is up to.
I'm not sure I can honestly say that I'm pleased with how well you've assembled a group of reliable people.
It's a good idea to have a good time.
He had been brought into a tremendous problem at an important time, the upcoming graduation ceremony.
If the Rockwell Kingdom invaded the Fertilizer Kingdom in retaliation, there would be no time for rebellion.
On the contrary, it would even make time for everyone to come to terms with Jason's outrage.
If not in public, "What the hell were you thinking! I would have scolded him.
But Felix hadn't told him everything yet.
I couldn't say anything until I heard him speak.
I stared at him in silence, waiting for him to continue.
'I thought of inviting Lord Dodge to join us, partly because of his own intentions, but also because I thought about the other side of your words, my lord. There is a commander to lead the troops. We also need a chief of staff to assist us. What does that mean? At that time, I thought that His Excellency's words meant 'I will not order you to do anything. I thought it meant, 'Think for yourself what to do and act on your own responsibility. I am convinced that inviting Mr. Dodge and his entourage to join us would be more in keeping with your original wish. Apparently not, though: ......
Felix gives me a look of real apology.
''To my grandfather, I said, 'Just doing what you've been ordered to do is above par. So I thought the time was right, and I came to recruit you.
It seems that General Ford's instruction was well received.
Essentially, he was a major figure that couldn't be more important.
But it's just an afterthought to the current Marquis Wellrod family.
Isaac was very troubled as to how he should react.
''I see. ....... So you didn't take it at its word that you didn't have to invite a high ranking official .......
To Isaac, "Don't push it! Don't ever push me! The figure of the comedian shouting, "I'm sorry," appeared to overlap with Felix.
I don't ask for such promises when politics are involved in a story.
But it had to be done.
Felix only knew the rumors about Isaac with a tail between his legs.
That rumor, too, was imprinted deep in his head as being true when they met before.
This made him believe that he had to read the other side of Isaac's words.
This was self-inflicted, too, because Isaac had threatened him too much.
Isaac was deeply troubled.
His grandfather is worried about how to deal with foreign affairs, his grandmother has mixed feelings, his father is positive that someone reliable has come to him, and his mother is looking at him to make sure he doesn't speak out of turn.
I'm the only one who can move here.
The question was how to move.
He couldn't just sit quietly and spend so much time thinking about it.
Isaac smiled and gave Felix a round of applause.
'Felix has shown his loyalty by doing the best he can as my subject. For that, I appreciate it and it will affect how he is treated in the future. But I do wish he had thought about the political ramifications of pulling out former Gen. Dodge.
I'm sorry.
I'm going to praise him for now and point out the caveats.
Felix shrugs his shoulders, looking more mortified than pleased.
He can tell just by looking at Morgan that he's done something wrong.
Next, Isaac gives Dodge a slightly drawn-out smile.
"Stern orders to 'just do what you're told' won't help your men. But 'think for yourself' is not what you want. It's not easy to rise above others.
'Yes, that's right. The only way to get used to that is to get used to it in practice. There are people in the world who tell you to do only what you're instructed to do, but scold you for acting flexibly. There are those who say they will leave it to you, but they won't feel good about it unless they receive reports on a timely basis. Lord Enfield is still honourable if he doesn't show that kind of attitude.
I didn't want to be that person.
Isaac gives a wry smile.
'My boss in a previous life was like that.
I don't want to be like that," he said, and so he tried to make sure that the consequences of letting someone else do his job were his responsibility.
But this time, though, I had a strong feeling that this was unacceptable.
For now, I decided to change the atmosphere of the place through conversation and wait for Morgan to come back.
I'm sorry for causing you discomfort due to our lack of communication, though it's only natural to welcome someone as good as the Marshal. If you don't mind me asking, could you please tell me more about the reasons for your decision to come to our house? Including if you're bringing your family with you, etc.
--he asked for a job because he resigned as a general.
That can't be the only reason.
Maybe there is a reason, such as "sending spies to the Kingdom of Reed".
I can't think of any reason to spy on the Marshal directly, but I hope so.
Then we could send him back.
Whatever he did, Isaac acted on the idea that he should get the information first.