The Main Family Is About to Die Out, so I, from a Branch Family, Am a Seed Provider (WN): Chapter 48

 

Episode 48: True Intention

 After a short break, we discussed how we would retreat, but during that time, we were trying our best to prevent the imperial attack, and after some time had passed, we decided to retreat.

"That's why we're going to be in charge of the rear unit."

"I have no idea what you mean by that."

 In the short time that both the Kingdom and the Empire were in a lull in the war, we held a private military meeting with only those close to me, including my family members and the young lady, and reported everything that had just happened.

"Are you actually an idiot? Or are you suicidal?"

 Not only Elfie but also Croche Rask turned their dumbfounded faces in my direction.

"No, I don't have a millimeter of that desire......"

"Then you're an idiot."

 No, the way you say it. I mean, please don't be so angry. There were some things that were non-negotiable on my part, too, so there's a little part of me that had no choice, you know?

"Yeah, he's an idiot."

 As I was thinking that, I got a pat on the back from Lady Ritia, who was behind me.

"Why in the world would you come forward yourself? If I had just pushed through, I could have rubbed it in that hateful frogman's face and got rid of him!"

 The young lady is pouting and stomping her feet on the ground. Her appearance is like that of an angry little child, but what she's saying is too dangerous.

"You're not going to die, Nii-san, right?"

"You too, Armes."

 Even Armes, who would normally be on my side no matter what, has a puzzled look on her face.

 Apparently, my appointment to the rear unit is not good, but rather reprehensible.

"Of course."

 Perhaps reading my mind, Elfie muttered simply, and almost everyone nodded quietly. No, I'm sorry, really.

"I've decided to take on the job anyway. I thought up the plan before I came here, so hear me first before deciding."

 I didn't expect to get a total rejection, so I told everyone that I had come up with a plan. I thought at least the young lady would be on my side and understand me......

"So what is the plan?"

"Ah, yeah. That's......"

 I spread out in front of everyone a map of the area that I was given before we came here.

 First of all, even if we move now, it will be afternoon tomorrow, at a conservative estimate, before the withdrawal of the entire army is complete.

 We need at least two days to stay here and fight, and for this time only, the battlefield is limited in this place.

 Therefore, our first priority is to remake this battlefield to our advantage, which is quite simple.

"I'll say it simple, as we don't have much time left for preparations."

"I know, you're gonna use this."

 At the sound of Croche Rask's voice, they look over to one of the soldiers waiting around the entrance, and shortly after, he placed the crate on the map.

"This is?"

"Gunpowder."

"Gunpowder?"

"Yeah. I've collected all the weapons and ammunition the army won't use as they are going to run away unarmed."

 In short, it is an improvised bomb. There are several dozen of them, and they would be used to slow down the enemy's advance.

"How could that possibly stop the enemy completely?"

"I don't think this is going to completely stop the Empire."

 Croche Rask mutters in dismay, but my intentions are much different.

"It's just a matter of how to get through the next two days. If we can make the enemy think there are more bombs, they will naturally slow down."

"You're saying it's the minds of the soldiers that you're after?"

"That's what I mean."

 We are fighting that large army with a small number of men. If we don't use any available tricks or bluffs, we will be the ones who will get crushed.

 In addition, the flags and battle gear of the units retreating from the mountain were placed as scarecrows in various locations so that the imperial side would not be able to accurately measure our numbers.

 After that, we will once again reinforce the method of putting up numerous fences along the mountain path and defending ourselves inside the fences.

 If one fence is breached, we will retreat to the next fence, where we will further defend ourselves. We will fight until sunset, repeating the following steps.

 That was for the first day.

 On the second day, we will go along the mountain path stretching into the canyon to the suspension bridge. Since it is possible to run even in an armed state along that road, the enemy will be relentless in their pursuit.

 Therefore, we will ask the troops who are retreating ahead of us to build a fence on the path to the suspension bridge to block the road. Since this is to be done while running away, we can't expect their durability, but it will be better than nothing. Frankly speaking, it was more difficult to push through this one than to fortify the mountain.

 And, well, as long as we could get across the suspension bridge like that, this strategy would be a success. If we cut off the bridge after crossing it, the enemy would not be able to pursue us so easily.

"......I'm amazed you are willing to go for this plan."

 That was my plan, but Elfie and the next head of the Croche family were reluctant to go along with it.

"How are you going to arrange the bombs and fences?"

 In the midst of all that, Elfie asked me about the problematic part.

"It's okay because I allocated a place for each unit according to the order of retreat."

 Well, at first all the nobles were uncooperative, but when I implicitly threatened them, they nodded their heads in agreement.

"How many troops do we have?"

"There are 500 people from my parents' house and two teams of 50 musketeers as reinforcement. That's a total of 600 men."

"Are you planning to take on 80,000 enemies, front and rear, with just that?"

"......Please give me a break, I persisted them for more troops and only got 2 musketeer teams. Also, like I said before, they're not taking weapons and ammunition with them, so all of it is ours to use as we please."

 The plan was to leave all weapons, armor, and other equipment, as they would be fleeing almost unarmed.

"In that case, we need to ask them to carry all the spare ammunition they will need to the top of the mountain. And since we will be passing by the summit on our way to the suspension bridge over the canyon, it can also serve as a trap for our retreat."

 Elfie said while placing numerous pellets in a jumbled manner on the map spread out on the floor.

 I nodded in agreement. It is true that if they can make bombs with spare ammunition when they retreated, we will be able to escape safely.

"Armes."

"I'll go and ask each noble."

"If they hesitated, use the name of the Fregrance family...... Is that okay?"

 I asked permission from the head of the Fregrance family, who was unusually quiet in the corner watching our exchange.

"No problem."

"You heard him."

"Understood."

 After saying that, Armes turned around as she rushes off to the various nobles.

"Anything else?"

 When I asked Elfie about the details of the plan, she twisted her wrinkled face and pointed to the suspension bridge, which was the goal for us, with some difficulty.

"If the enemy catches up with us while we are retreating, the timing of crossing the bridge will be the most important point. With nothing to block their muskets and arrows, and the time it would take to cross the bridge, the damage would naturally be greater."

"Do we need to wait for night to fall, hide somewhere, and then move stealthily later?"

"No, a suspension bridge at night is more dangerous than you think. It is difficult to see where you are going. If one person loses his or her balance and falls, everyone on the bridge will be taken with him or her. And besides, this place is rarely used."

"Then we can split the troops in two beforehand before crossing the bridge. One to defend in front of the bridge, and the other to cross ahead of the other. When night falls, the troops on the other side could use bonfires and torches to guide them across without fear of falling."

 Elfi nodded her head, saying that would be no problem, but she immediately looked dissatisfied.

"In the first place, I'm against this retreat itself......"

"I feel bad about that."

 I smile in reply to the stinging remark.

 Also, for what it's worth, Elfie is thinking of modifying the plan to improve the chances of success as much as possible, so I guess she's just posing her opposition.

"......If you seriously want me to stop you, I will."

"S-sorry."

 Elfie reads my thoughts and glares while squinting her eyes, revealing her anger. Apparently, she's not posing, she's really against it. But she didn't stop me, probably because she realizes that I'm not going to listen to her.

"...Can I ask something?"

 And then Croche Rask, who had been listening to the plan, discreetly raises his right hand and starts talking.

"Where in the world did the imperial troops that invaded Brumud Castle came from?"

"As I recall, reports indicate that the army moved separately and came from Kraha City......"

"Without us, the Kingdom Army, having noticed it?" 

"……Eh?"

 In response to my voice, Rask-dono's gaze falls on the map that I have spread out...... precisely at Brumud Castle.

"Did we send out scouts and investigate the place?"

"We did."

 Regardless of the retreat, since the beginning of this expedition, they have not cut corners when it comes to scouting and investigating, even gathering unimportant information such as the bread sold in the stalls looked better than the ones in the kingdom.

"If they are doing that much, why didn't they notice the enemy's movement? There is no way a large army, let alone a small one, can pass us without being detected. Armies don't just appear out of nowhere, you know? We should be able to see it in action."

"I mean, who's in charge of scouting and investigation? Or did you carry that burden too?"

 Lady Ritia, who was standing by my side, pinched me and asked.

"No, I took care of everything when we withdrew from Gruve City, but apart from the selection of people for scouting, I don't have the right to make that decision......"

 Elfie took over the conversation, as I writhe in pain and ticklish to answer.

"The scout reports go first to those who were authorized. For the purpose of facilitating and processing the information, it has long been decided that those who go on scouting should be selected by those who are familiar with the area and that reports should be received by those who have the authority to make those decisions."

"That's how it is. Also, I was on the front line this time, so I'm not in a position to know the whole picture and make a decision."

"Fuuー. Then it's fine."

 Rather than being satisfied with the information, the young lady responds that she is less interested now that she realizes that I am not taking care of everything. This is a reaction typical of someone who has not been fundamentally educated about his or her own participation in the war.

 This system has been under review since last year, mainly by the landowning nobles, and was scheduled to be changed soon, but since the new system was not yet ready for this expedition to the Imperial Capital, the old system is being used for now.

 In this case, appointing the authority would be Prince Lim's role, who is the nominated commander. All reports that come up go to the prince.

"Then his highness knew about it and decided there was no problem? Did he have a brain stuck in his head?"

 Croche Rask swears. The meeting was limited to only us, but that statement was dangerous. Well, I don't know how I feel about it.

 But looking at the prince's fearful appearance, he was rather caught in the middle of the enemy's large army! If this were the case, he would be trembling and restless, wondering what to do.

 For the most part, he was the appointing authority, but it was someone else who actually showed me the report that summarized the soldiers that had been selected for scouting and got permission.

"I had received the report....... But I stopped it, so his highness does not know."

 Yes. He was given permission after the fact, that General Be'mond is gone, the head of the Fregrance family, the actual commander of the army.

 And when the old head of the main family muttered a few words of truth, everyone froze in place, but Elfie was the only one to open her mouth.

"Why did you not report it?"

"......To keep everyone focused on this battle."

"Are you crazy? It would still be understandable if you were unaware of the plan that we had made, but you were there with us."

 No one stops Elfie from questioning him. On the contrary, Croche Rask's sharp eyes narrowed even further, his whole body radiating murderous intent.

"If that's true, isn't it the same as being a traitor?"

"......"

 At Elfie's question, the head of the Fregrance family closed his eyes.

"Don't be silent, I'm asking you a question――."

"Elfie."

 As she is about to take another step toward the head of the Fregrance family, I call out to her to stop her. But her eyes were full of anger and questioned why I was stopping her.

"Just back off."

"......"

 Elfie, who was told that by me, the next head of the family, silently backs away, and I take a step forward to replace her.

"Can you tell me the real reason? You didn't report that we were struck by a large army of enemies for such a crazy reason."

 To my question, the head of the Fregrance family just stares at me without saying yes or no, with his mouth tied.

"Hey......"

"I know, so just shut up."

 When Croche Rask intervened, a sharp gaze pierces me.

 But I ignore him and wait for the master's answer.

 Rask-dono seems to have misunderstood, but I wouldn't hesitate on this anymore.

 But the image of the man is too far removed from what I've seen so far...... and his actions are so out of the ordinary that I wonder if that's really what the master is thinking.

 For the most part, there are important people here for him, such as Prince Lim and Lady Ritia, who he may or may not love as a parent, but she has a parental love for him. And even his own life as the head of the Fregrance family, which has no heir, is included.

 On this battlefield, where defeat means death, the loss of the head of the main family's life is synonymous with the end of the family, but he would not do such a crazy thing. That is just a mass of discomfort. It should be...... right? Yeah, no, well, as far as the young lady is concerned, if he did not bring her to the battlefield in the first place, that's all there is to it.

 And I see the bitter expression on his face as he looked at the young lady who was protecting him in the meeting earlier.

 It's not even anguishing over the fact that she showed defiance to the prince, or why she came here.

 It was the kind of look that seemed to be dissatisfied with the young lady who was protecting me from that atmosphere that I was about to be ordered to take charge of the rear unit.

 The head of the Fregrance family finally answers my question while keeping his eyes closed.

"That's the real reason."

 The answer that came out of the master's mouth was exactly the same as before. No, his answer, which was an attempt to conceal a lie, only increased the sense of discomfort that was still lingering in my chest.

"There's a reason why I can't tell you, and that if you don't care if we, the Kingdom Army, are wiped out, right?"

"......Do you think there is a commander in the world who works on the assumption that we will be wiped out?"

"Yes, there are."

 He clearly said it. I look straight into the master's eyes as if to imply that there must be some kind of explanation. Though, It makes me so sad that I have to make eye contact with an old man.

 And I think everyone here, including the master's own daughter, Lady Ritia, feels the same way.

"For example……"

 Meanwhile, the head of the main family muttered.

"If we were to assume total annihilation, who do you think would benefit?"

"Huh? No one would benefit from such a thing, or rather, don't change the topic......"

"Answer me."

 As usual, he is arrogant, and I'm a little annoyed at his pompous manner, even though he only goes silent or goes off-topic when I ask him a question.

"...No one, such a person."

 I calm my frustrated mind and answer as I am told. I mean, there are zero merits in the case of total annihilation. Rather, it would be fatal to the country due to the unexpected loss of the 10,000 members of the kingdom's army that was assembled here from the defeated soldiers, which are worth a lot of value.

 The head of the Fregrance family, one of the five great noble families, led by Prince Lim, and many of the landowning nobles here have land in the frontier, and it is obvious that it will be difficult to maintain the land near the borders.

 As for the rootless nobles, well, from my point of view, I don't care whether they are here or not, but if nobles disappear by the dozens, won't that cause some problems? I don't know.

"Are you sure you don't know?"

"No, I think the disadvantages are greater and no one benefits in the first place. That's my answer. I mean, what's the point of this......"

 As I was about to say so, the master thrust his right hand toward me as if to give me a hint, and then, folded his fingers one by one.

"One, who would have benefited from this expedition to the imperial capital had it succeeded? One, what category of nobles was the main force behind this expeditionary force? One, what does that noble call himself as a noble? One......"

"W-wait a minute!"

 It's hard to accept such a large amount of information being handed to you all at once. Is that it? Are you the kind of person who sucks at teaching people something?

"Then let's examine it closely once more. Since your child will succeed the main family, I will answer you."

 I mean, why are you being so bossy, you were acting all quiet like a cat just now!

 But I'm sure that the true intentions of the head of the main family are hidden in those words.

"Let's see......"

 Then, for the time being, I will analyze the three pieces of information that were given to me.

"The purpose is, well, as the prince said at his birthday party. He said it was to repay everyone's loyalty."

"Birthday celebration, birthday celebration."

"I don't care either way. Ah, but it's the first time Ojousama has ever asked it herself......"

"No, no, no!"

 When I said that with the intention of getting back at the young lady who has been giving me a hard time about something unimportant, she blushed and puffs out her cheeks in a grumpy manner.

 So, first of all, this expedition to the imperial capital started out as a way to reward the nobles who had gathered at Prince Lim's birthday celebration in the royal capital for their years of loyalty.

 Rewarding loyalty, I suppose, is the goal, but what is the reason for rewarding them?

 The second reason is that the nobles who were the main members of this expeditionary force were rootless nobles, so they would be rewarded for their achievements to date by being given a piece of imperial territory as a prize.

 Because the expedition was aimed at the rootless nobles, this expedition to the Imperial capital was not good for the landowning nobles, and most of the participants were behind the scenes...... to the supply units.

 In hindsight, Viscount Fabian was left out of a very tasty war. Haha, Suck on that!

 As for the third reason for the definition of nobility, I don't know about other countries such as the Empire, the Federation, or the Principality, but we, the nobles of the Kingdom, are generally considered to be the people who protect and develop the land given to us by the royal family and are considered to be the highest-ranking people in the country.

 Recently, however, those who receive titles and salaries from the royal family are now generally included in the category of nobility. Moreover, this system has allowed not only knights, but even civil servants without land to become nobles.

 Because of the tendency to ridicule their situation, or to look down on them and discriminate against them, these rootless nobles have come to dream of owning their own land.

 That is why they were so eager to fulfill their dream when the imperial expedition was announced that their rewards were up to their achievements.

 They hired mercenaries or bowed down to the landowning nobles whom they hated and borrowed soldiers, and their motivating actions before and during the war were caught in their vision without being said.

 The best example of their motivation is the unusual speed of their march.

 The fact that they were able to reach the imperial castle of Jubelia in such a short period of time can be attributed not only to the fragile resistance of the enemy but also to their extraordinary willingness to go the extra mile.

"Let's make it simpler. One word is enough to define rootlessness."

"Parasite."

"You..."

 Only Lady Ritia was a little taken back when she heard my immediate answer. From my point of view, they are like an intermediary who has suddenly sprung up between the landowning nobles and the kingdom, and we are paying them salaries from the tax revenues that have been raised without any hardship.

"So who benefits from the disappearance of these insects?"

"......Eh, no, that's us, isn't it?"

 I don't think so, after making people use their brains so much, we were actually the ones to benefit, teehee! If it's like that, I'm going to be pissed off.

 But the head of the main family shook his head quietly, and Croche Rask muttered, "No".

"What should be given to the royal family is the same as before. I heard that at one time there was a proposal to increase taxes......"

 Three of the five great noble families, the Fregrances, the Be'monds, and the Brigittes, were said to be in opposition, so it was stopped.

 Incidentally, according to the head of the main family, there is no room for further taxation in the current land of the kingdom. It is not that the existing land is scarce, but that there is not enough land to cover the increased taxes. In such a situation, if taxes are increased, the existing land will be overloaded to compensate for the increased taxes, and the land may dry up in a few years.

"And you, who live along the border, know better than anyone that there is not enough land."

"Eh?"

"......Your territory has more forts than fields. You spent the night with that girl who went with you there."

 Hey, how do you know that? No, at that time, I reported that I couldn't make it on time for the delay, but I didn't tell him about having sex with Armes, right? I mean, even if you knew, you shouldn't be telling it now, right? I was having a hard time with the silent questioning from the young lady next to me and if anything, my toes were being stepped on and it was hurting.

 But I understood what the master was trying to say.

 In other words, military facilities such as forts, which have been gradually increasing since the beginning of the war against the empire, are putting pressure on the land, and moreover, the war requires a certain amount of manpower to be mobilized and a certain number of land to be secured, but the number of lands is decreasing rather than increasing.

"So it wasn't us landowning nobles who were having trouble with the increasing number of rootless nobles."

 Croche Rask concluded.

 The tax that should be paid in full will be paid to the rootless, and the victim is the kingdom itself. So, if you turn it over, it is the kingdom that will benefit when they are gone.

"I see. That's why the food served at the birthday celebration was so poor."

 I reflexively and unintentionally snapped at the muttering of Lady Ritia, who was next to me.

"Eh? No, they served such delicious bacon, you know? How could that be poor?"

 The thick slice of bacon I had at his birthday party was insanely good, and the bread was the best I've ever had.

 But the young lady shakes her face from side to side prettily and opens her mouth, remembering those dishes.

"I didn't taste all of them because it was in a buffet style, but they have definitely gotten poorer over the past few years. Even the bacon, as you call it, is lower in rank than before."

 To top it all off, the young lady said, "That's just the level of a small dinner we have at home, isn't it?" I was too surprised to say anything and just stared at her.

 Seriously? Bacon that good, and yet so poor for the people on the top? This is indeed a world too different from the one I live in.

"......Young master, we're not talking about that right now."

 Elfie complained as I shuddered in surprise.

 Well, I digress, but thanks to that, I now know that the kingdom is suffering financially from the system it has created, more than I thought from the nobles' point of view.

"Ah"

 And that's when an assumption went through my mind.

 And our current situation, and the reason why we didn't notice the enemy's attempt to pincer attack us.

 And even though we are in this situation now and the enemy is trying to pinch behind us, we dare to overlook the movement.

 The assumption that came to my mind based on the discussion sent a chill down my spine and an involuntary shiver through my body.

"What's wrong?"

"No, nothing."

 Seeing me like that, the master kept a perfectly normal face, but his voice sounded as if he was affirming that the idea I had come up with was his true intention, which he had been hiding from me.

 What if, what if it's a matter of fact.

 The real intention of this war was not to reward the loyalty of these rootless nobles but to dispose all of them in this war, which had been mobilized.

 Assuming that, then everything seems to make sense so far, although some questions remain.

 Unpleasant sweat runs down the back of my neck, and I get scared.

 Hoping that I'm wrong and it's all just a weird hunch on my part, I offer the only question I can come up with.

"You mean the kingdom was going to let the empire kill all of us in this war?"

 The words I spun in a voice that trembled more than I thought it would, the head of the family nodded quietly.