Volume 3 Chapter 28 Dark Clouds
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Lord Fee, please wake up.”
The sound of knocking on the carriage door roused me.
”The enemy is attacking.”
”Ugh, what a pain,” I groaned. “Just let me sleep a little longer.”
They were two hours ahead of schedule. Are the Universal Church types always this impatient? Still, if they had not shown up, I would have been the one in trouble. If they wanted to rush to their deaths, I supposed I should be grateful.
Their war cries carried through the carriage walls. About three hundred men, then.
I sat up with a stretch, climbed onto the carriage roof, and shouted my order.
”Retreat!”
”What should we do with the Golem carriages?” an infantryman called back.
”Leave ’em! The Golems are just bait.”
Everything was proceeding according to plan.
Our forces began a feigned retreat, racing northwest toward Yoghess along the narrow sandbar that separated the lagoon from the sea. My carriage rolled at the rear, serving as the rearguard.
Time to begin.
The previous night, we had sent men into the freezing lagoon to work, and they had coated themselves with whale oil to keep warm. Afterward, the oil-soaked rags they used had been discarded along both sides of the road. I launched a Fireball and set them alight.
The damp cloth crackled as it burned, though the flames still remained low.
”Don’t forget to break the jars!” I shouted to the cavalry riding alongside the carriage with spears in hand.
Large trees were scarce on the sandbar, but patches of salt-resistant shrubs grew here and there. We had hidden jars of whale oil among them the day before, spacing them far apart at first before tightening the intervals farther down the road. Standing atop the carriage, I hurled Fireballs one after another, shattering jars and setting patches of spilled oil ablaze.
By the time we had crossed roughly two-thirds of the sandbar, the lead elements of the enemy’s heavy cavalry reached the place where I had been sleeping and abruptly stopped.
Had they realized it was a trap?
A moment later, they began reorganizing into three columns. I ordered our group to halt and watched them carefully, but when I still could not read their intentions, I launched the fixed-wing drone.
The answer became clear the instant it climbed into the air.
They were waiting for their infantry.
The heavy cavalry would smash through our line while the infantry cleaned up whatever remained. On normal terrain, it was a reasonable plan. On this sandbar, it was a death sentence.
Once their infantry finally caught up, the heavy cavalry surged forward. At a distance of only three hundred meters, they would be on top of us in less than a minute.
”Ready!”
As we cleared the sandbar, five bundles of brush had already been placed across the road behind us, and several more jars of whale oil were thrown over them.
”A little longer… don’t light it yet,” I whispered. “If we panic, they’ll see the trap.”
The cavalry thundered closer.
”Now!”
The moment they reached the midpoint of the sandbar, I gave the signal. Torches flew into the brush and onto the oil-slicked ground. Flames erupted across the center and sides of the road, yet the cavalry never slowed. Judging by the speed of their charge, they clearly believed they could force their way through.
Good. Very good.
I counted two breaths before launching the largest Fireball I could manage. Instead of aiming at the smaller fires, I sent it directly into the heart of the trap.
A nearly white sphere of heat blossomed into existence.
The whale oil vaporized instantly.
Then the entire sandbar exploded into a towering inferno.
Even from several meters away, the heat washed over me hard enough that it felt ready to blister my skin.
The enemy vanguard rode straight into the flames.
None of them came back out.
Their armor glowed red as the metal heated beyond endurance, and one rider after another collapsed. Trapped inside steel shells, they burned where they sat. Clothes ignited. Hair caught fire. The smell of scorched flesh and burning fat rolled through the air until it turned my stomach.
Then a bucket-shaped helmet rolled toward me, a half-burned head still visible inside as flames danced around it.
”Sorry,” I whispered to the unknown soldier. “It’s war.”
Panic spread through the rest of the formation.
Some tried to escape into the sea while others veered toward the lagoon, but their horses immediately began collapsing. We had spent the entire night driving stakes into the water and stringing ropes between them.
The oil-soaked rags from the workers had been tied along those ropes.
Now they caught fire as well.
Flames raced across the brush, linking together until they formed an unbroken wall of fire. Seen from above, the scattered points of light had become a blazing line stretching across the landscape like a railroad track made of flame.
The smell of whale oil choked the air while thick black smoke climbed into the sky, carried northwest by the seasonal winds toward Mustope.
”Catapults, ready!”
Camouflage nets were stripped away, revealing the newly built catapults beneath. The artillery crews loaded stones into the slings.
”Fire!”
Large and small stones arced through the air together.
”Reload!”
The terrain reminded me of Lake Saroma in Hokkaido, though this place was probably only a tenth of its size. The sea lay to the west, the lagoon to the east, and only a narrow strip of land separated the two. The moment I saw the mountains of whale oil stacked behind the Lord’s mansion in Yoghess, I had conceived the plan to lure their heavy cavalry onto this sandbar and burn them alive.
Yoghess hunted whales, but the oil was usually shipped to the whaling city of Voortstadt for soap production. After the Haritz remnants caused a split with the Valfin tribe, that trade route collapsed, and the oil had simply continued to pile up.
With Pamela and Antony away, I had relied on Antony’s father to interpret for me. Age had given the old fur merchant a great deal of wisdom, and he understood both the local geography and Mustope’s political situation better than anyone.
”If the Prooton Order has entered Mustope ahead of schedule, they might have been invited by the Lord,” he had told me in his calm, steady voice.
I built the entire operation around that possibility.
If our Golems remained near Mustope, the enemy would hesitate to attack because the risk would be too great. On the other hand, if the Prooton Order believed we had not noticed them, they would strike immediately. Since Golems were difficult to move quickly by carriage, their best option would be to send waves of heavy cavalry to kill the Mages before the Golems could respond.
Once the Golems were removed from the equation, they would only have infantry left to face.
It was exactly the kind of high-risk gamble they would find irresistible.
That was where the hill road came in.
I had deliberately paraded catapults along it. The enemy would want those weapons destroyed before they reached the front lines, and the Prooton Order’s scouts were skilled enough that they would never miss a separate column transporting siege weapons. Faced with that threat, they would feel compelled to act.
Everything unfolded exactly as expected.
We abandoned the Golems, pretended to flee, and drew them straight into the oil trap.
The catapults on the hill road were dummies, of course. Building a real catapult required an axle and a level of woodworking skill that remained rare in these lands even when timber was plentiful. Thomas had suggested using decoys, reasoning that if they frightened the enemy, that alone would be worthwhile.
He was right.
The fake catapults served their purpose perfectly.
Most of the soldiers guarding them were hunters and fishermen. The instant the enemy began retreating, those men abandoned the decoys and slipped into the woods near the junction, exactly as ordered.
Looking down from the carriage roof, I watched chaos consume the battlefield.
Heavy cavalry trapped by the flames drove their horses into the water or trampled their own infantry in desperation. The infantry, already terrified by the stampeding horses and the constant rain of stones from our artillery, began breaking apart. Men shoved, clawed, and crushed one another as they fought to escape.
When surviving cavalrymen tried to force their way through the crowd, they were dragged from their saddles and stripped naked before they could even draw their swords.
If there was a definition of hell on earth, this was probably it.
Anyone who somehow escaped that slaughter and staggered toward Mustope met the hunters waiting in the woods with harpoons.
Thirty minutes after the feigned retreat began, the operation was effectively over.
Reports from the hunters confirmed that fewer than ten heavy cavalrymen had survived. If the original estimate of one hundred had been correct, we had eliminated roughly ninety percent of them. The infantry had suffered just as badly, with fewer than a hundred escaping.
Three hours later, daylight spread across the sky and the fires finally began to die down. I ordered a large trench dug near the place where we had parked the carriages so the bodies and charred remains could be buried.
”The scorched metal goes to the first carriage,” I ordered. “Usable armor to the second. Currency goes into the first as well. If anyone steals so much as a coin, it’s a beheading.”
As soon as Antony’s father repeated the order, the men went pale. The old fur merchant carried the authority of a guild master, and nobody doubted his words.
Of course, thieves would always be thieves.
To discourage them, I let a rumor spread that we had Mages capable of detecting lies and that anyone caught stealing would lose their head.
While the cleanup continued, the Lord of Mustope arrived with his House Steward and the Captain of the Town Guards, who happened to be his eldest and second sons.
I understood enough of the language by then, but for precision’s sake, I signaled for Antony’s father.
”They say,” the old man translated in his usual steady tone, “that this was a masterful display of military prowess.”
Empty flattery.
Those three were ninety percent guilty.
”Tell them I’m honored,” I said. “Then tell them that because they are suspected of harboring the Prooton Order, they will remain in custody at Yoghess until the war is over.”
”Honored?”
”It means ‘greatly appreciated.’”
The moment the old man finished translating, the three men began struggling, but it was already too late. Soldiers seized them, bound them, and hauled them away.
The burned armor, salvageable weapons, and everything else recovered from the battlefield would eventually be shipped back to Yoghess.
As I watched the prisoners disappear into the distance, I found myself wishing Katri were here. Our maid would have known exactly how to tie them up so the journey would not leave them sore and miserable.
”Right,” I said, turning to the Old Man. “When you reach Yoghess, could you ask the Lord to send someone over to take care of Mustope?”
With that request made, I headed back to help with the cleanup. I was wearing standard leather armor, the kind that was easy to adjust, and in this situation, that was a real tactical advantage. By blending in with the other men working in similar gear, I made myself a much smaller target for any lingering snipers.
”Lord Fee,” the Old Man asked in his usual steady voice, “do you not intend to enter the town of Mustope yourself?”
”Why? I fully intend to go in.”
”In those clothes? No one will follow you.”
I had thought a plain set of leather armor would be good enough, but apparently this world had different ideas about how a person in command was supposed to look. When I asked the Old Man whether Mage robes would do, he nodded, so I decided to wear my Magic Academy robes for the entry.
By the time I had changed, the burial of the bodies and remains was finished. I walked over to the site and found a massive rock, rolled in from somewhere, resting on top of the earth where the pits had been dug. Maybe two hundred dead was a bit much. I pressed my palms together in front of the stone.
The words that slipped naturally from my lips were from the Heart Sutra, a relic of my teenage chunibyo phase1. I whispered, “The shadow of the void within the eternal seal… Heart Sutra… awaken!”
I had no idea whether the Buddha existed in this world of reincarnation, but it was all I had.
”…Bodhi svaha,” I concluded.
After finishing the sutra, I bowed with my palms still pressed together, then turned around and found the soldiers clumsily copying the gesture, their hands joined in silent prayer. Well, this was war. Kill or be killed was simply the nature of it. Even so, perhaps the wish to honor the dead had reached them, though they knew nothing of the sutra. Not that I had any right to sound noble about it, considering I was the one who had planned and ordered the massacre. I lowered my hands, gave the soldiers a formal salute, and climbed into the carriage.
When we entered Mustope, the locals swarmed around us. I had expected anger, maybe even demands that we release their Lord, but they seemed more interested in staring. Even as our men pushed the crowd back, a ring of onlookers stayed packed around the carriage. I opened the door and stepped out, and a wave of sound rolled over me. Back at academic conferences, the most I had ever received was a polite scattering of applause, so hearing a roar like this was… dangerously intoxicating.
”Since this has to be said,” I told the Old Man, then faced the crowd. “Tell them we have detained the Lord, the House Steward, and the Town Guards Commander on suspicion of inviting the Prooton Order in, and they are being sent to Yoghess.”
The Old Man looked at me and hesitated. “First, you should introduce yourself.”
Right. Of course.
Taking one breath to recover, I called out, “People of Mustope, I am Larry Fee.”
That much, at least, I could manage in the local tongue, and the crowd answered with another roar. After that, the Old Man stepped forward and explained that we were a combined force from the Valfin tribe and the Sami, here to purge the Prooton Order. He also relayed the message about the Lord, the Steward, and the Commander. I worried the spectators might turn hostile, but they only murmured among themselves, looking more confused than angry.
Then an older woman came forward from the crowd, leading a boy of about ten by the hand. A woman in her late twenties followed beside them.
”I am Gunta, wife of the Lord,” the older woman said with calm grace. “And this is Datze, the Steward’s wife, along with her son, Karilus.”
They knelt and bowed their heads.
”My husband, Janis Mustope, has done something truly unforgivable. I am deeply sorry,” Gunta added.
The Old Man translated quickly, and I stared at him. Wait, they were admitting it? They were confirming that the Lord had invited the Order?
”Are you sure about that?” I whispered.
”Seems that way,” he said, looking troubled.
For the time being, I had the three of them confined to the Lord’s quarters and decided we would stay in town for the night. I had worried that the soldiers might get overexcited after the battle and harass the townsfolk, but the night passed without any major trouble.
The next morning, Darius, the Lord’s third son and the town’s guard commander, arrived from Yoghess with five soldiers. He suggested leaving the women and the boy under house arrest, since dragging them away might unsettle the people of the fief. He also confirmed that the Lord and the others were already on their way to Cain.
”What are your plans from here, my Lord?” Darius asked, bowing with careful officer’s manners.
I understood the words perfectly, but the sudden politeness made my skin itch. “We’re heading for Leiche in the Polotsk Principality.”
There were two roads south from Mustope. One led to the capital, Bryachislavichi port, while the other led inland to Leiche, which the Old Man said was the Polotsk Principality’s main farming town. The Prooton Order had definitely used that inland road.
From there, the wider map opened in three directions. To reach Yoghess from the Principality, one could pass through the capital, go through Leiche and then Mustope, or take the marshland route from a town called Kusne farther east. The knights who had attacked Yoghess and Cresar last time were believed to have come through the marshes, and that same route was the one Thomas and his team were now using as they cut across the eastern side of the Principality. Their target was Trabius, the logistical base where the Prooton Order prepared its land invasions.
If Thomas could take and hold Trabius, the Prooton Order would lose most of its ability to invade either the Principality or our own lands. His squad had the two Golems from Cain and Yoghess with them, along with Iri, the Mage who piloted them, and Pia, that perverted, busty Mage. Since Pia was not especially good at operating heavy Golems, I had told her, “Just get them started, stand them in front of the enemy, and that’s enough.”
Anyway, after breakfast, we departed Mustope.
Between Mustope and Leiche, we passed through two villages. Both had been razed, their houses burned and their bodies left to rot in the open. While we were burying the dead, children came out of the nearby woods. Three emerged from the first village and four from the second. They were starving, so I gave them our rations, and after that they followed our convoy from a short distance behind.
”Lord Fee,” the Old Man asked, “what shall we do?”
”If we run into a fight, chase them away immediately. Got it?”
”And if we don’t?”
”We can’t just leave them to wander. Keep feeding them. Once we get back to Yoghess, we’ll find foster families.”
That settled that.
We arrived in Leiche shortly after noon the next day, and the town administrator came out to greet us at once. Like Obernbach, Leiche was a walled city2. The town had successfully repelled the Prooton Order, though every village around it had been burned.
”I thought we were done for,” the administrator said, his voice trembling, “but then we heard General Thomas was moving on Trabius. And then, when we learned that you, my Lord, had annihilated the heavy cavalry that attacked us… it brought tears to my eyes.”
”What’s the situation with Thomas?” I asked.
The Old Man listened and relayed the news. The Principality had sent five hundred reinforcements, a mix of infantry and cavalry, and the battle was going in our favor.
”Now we no longer have to fear the knights’ plundering,” the administrator said with a deep sigh.
I wanted to warn him not to count his chickens before the final report came in. Saying things like that was how people invited a jinx. Still, that night, we were treated to a huge banquet with plenty of food and wine. The next morning, a messenger arrived on horseback with the news that Trabius had fallen. Thomas had won.
Looks like the jinx did not trigger.
”General Thomas is currently managing the occupation, they say,” the administrator reported.
Seeing the local administrator get so carried away made me nervous.
”It seems there is also a message from the Prince,” he continued. “He wants you to reach Bryachislavichi port as quickly as possible. Apparently, he has rented out the brothels to welcome all you soldiers.”
”The Prince is a pretty good guy, isn’t he?” I said to the Old Man.
The Old Man looked like he was not sure how to answer. Even when I mentioned it to Panu and Samuri, my guards, they only stared blankly at me. They had grown up deep in the countryside and did not even know what a brothel was.
”Old Man,” I said, “explain brothels to the youngsters and hand out that money.”
By “that money,” I meant the gold we had looted from the enemy soldiers at Mustope.
”Are you sure, my Lord?”
”If we don’t spend it now, when will we?”
”Lord Fee is generous,” the Old Man said with a grin. “As expected.”
I was starting to get used to being called Lord Fee. In fact, I was beginning to think I might actually be cut out to rule this principality.
”Listen,” I added. “The brothels are rented out, but make sure the girls get a proper tip. That alone will change the level of service you get.”
”You know your way around these things, don’t you?” the Old Man chuckled.
”And you too, ha-ha-ha!”
Once the Old Man passed the word to the troops, we headed toward the capital, Bryachislavichi, at full speed. A man in black, apparently the Principality’s butler, had our carriage parked in the town square and informed us that half the men were to head to the inn.
”By any chance,” the Old Man asked, “is that inn the brothel?”
The butler nodded with a wicked grin3.
A frantic lottery began at once. Whoever drew a winning ticket got the brothel, while whoever lost had to guard the carriage and luggage. It was heaven on one slip of paper and luggage duty on the other. Naturally, I, the Old Man, and my guards, Panu and Samuri, all drew.
I was the only one who won.
”See?” I said, putting on airs. “This is the result of living a virtuous life. You lot should try improving your own conduct.”
Just then, the butler informed me that I had been invited to dinner by Prince Igor’s family. They had also booked me into the finest hotel in the city, so I was to stay there instead.
”So much for ‘virtuous conduct,’ eh?” Panu teased.
”Definitely karma,” Samuri added.
”Which means,” Panu said, jumping on the chance, “since our Lord is declining, someone else who drew a losing ticket gets to go in his place, right?”
”You two have to stay and guard me!” I snapped. “And Old Man, I need you to translate!”
The nerve of these guys, trying to run off and have their fun while leaving Lord Fee behind.
”We have an interpreter prepared for your stay,” the butler added.
At that, the Old Man’s face split into a glorious grin. “Oh, well, that’s too bad. Since this fine interpreter is here, you won’t need me, will you? How terrible for me.”
With that, the middle-aged man walked off laughing his head off, leaving us behind.
The banquet was lavish, and even Panu and Samuri were treated as honored guests after being forced into proper formal clothes for the occasion. I was already acquainted with Duke Igor Pugachev Bryachislavichi, whom I had once held hostage, and his son, Sergei Bryachislavichi. I had been a little worried about a “NIMBY” grudge4, but they turned out to be mild-mannered people, and the two widows were friendly as well.
”So, Onhart-san, you managed to set sail before winter arrived.”
Just hearing that my scattered companions had safely begun their journey home put my mind at ease. Of course, things would have been easier with Kenze around, or with Second Lieutenant Sarah and her team, but I believed people should return to where they belonged.
We spent the rest of dinner discussing the recent battles against the Prooton Order, though the gathering ended earlier than I expected out of consideration for my fatigue. It felt a little abrupt, but judging from the excitement on Panu and Samuri’s faces, they had enjoyed themselves thoroughly.
”First time I’ve ever tasted white bread,” one said.
”And I’ve never eaten meat that tender in my life,” the other added.
The two of them kept talking as we left the dining hall and headed toward the plaza to check on the carriage. Meanwhile, the butler guided me to the finest hotel in the city.
My room occupied the entire third floor.
When I opened the shutters, the harbor spread out below me. A large canopy bed dominated the room, and when I threw myself onto it, the mattress sank beneath me with a softness I had never associated with this world. The sofa looked large enough for several people to sleep on comfortably, while the room itself felt spacious enough to host a small sporting event. In one corner stood a liquor cabinet stocked with expensive-looking bottles, apparently left for me to enjoy at my leisure.
Carrying a silver goblet and a bottle of red wine over to the sofa, I poured myself a glass with as much elegance as I could manage.
”If only there were a woman here, it’d be perfect,” I muttered.
The moment I lifted the glass to my lips, someone knocked on the door.
”Come in.”
After undoing the bolt, I opened the door to find a maid waiting outside. For a brief, glorious moment, my heart leaped.
Then she informed me that I had visitors.
”Sigh…”
Standing behind her were two broad-shouldered men in immaculate suits.
Every alarm bell in my head started ringing.
”I am Georg von Bergmann, Chairman of the Schweilitz Trading Company,” the first man said.
”What?”
”And this is our Vice-Chairman, Niakis von Urban.”
Both men smiled politely.
Their smiles never reached their eyes.
Before I could respond, they walked into the room as though they already owned it.
”Young lady, thank you for guiding us.”
The chairman handed the maid a small package. Her face lit up immediately, and after bowing deeply, she departed.
The door closed behind her.
Not bolted, though.
Maybe because people who did this sort of work preferred to keep an escape route open.
”Now then,” the chairman said, turning back toward me. “Allow us to introduce ourselves properly, Associate Professor Larry Fee Getys.”
The moment I heard my full title, my stomach lurched.
Who exactly were these people?
”I am Major Georg von Bergmann of the Kingdom of Schweilitz General Staff Foreign Affairs Division.”
”And I am Captain Niakis von Urban of the Kingdom of Schweilitz General Staff Foreign Affairs Division.”
”As I thought.”
”We have several matters we would like to discuss with you.”
”Ah, um… would you care for some wine?”
I mostly wanted time to think.
”No. We are currently on duty.”
”I see.”
”If our information is accurate,” the Major continued, “it is said that Larry-kun is sometimes referred to as Duke Fee. Is that correct?”
Cold sweat broke across my back.
The fact that he had attached an honorific to my name somehow made it even worse.
”Surely you are not granting yourself noble titles without His Majesty’s permission?”
”Ah, no, that’s not it. It’s just… the people around me started calling me that on their own…”
”Oh? And why is that?”
I briefly considered pretending not to know, but looking at these two, I doubted either of them possessed a sense of humor generous enough to save me.
The cold sweat spread further.
”What is the matter?” the Major asked.
”Ah… I’m not really sure where to begin.”
”I see. I dislike long stories, so summarize it.”
This was power harassment in its purest form, and as I searched for a way out, every option looked worse than the last. Running was impossible. Even if I somehow escaped, neither Yoghess nor Cain could survive without trade from Schweilitz. If they chose to deploy their latest Golems, the balance of power in this region would collapse overnight.
Compared to Schweilitz, the Prooton Order was barely worth mentioning.
”Um…”
”What is it?”
Just then, noise drifted up from below.
At first it was faint, but it grew louder by the second.
”You cannot go up there, General!”
”It’s fine, it’s fine. Larry’s room is here, right?”
Thomas.
Of all possible moments, he had chosen the worst one.
”Larry, you in there?”
The door burst open.
Thomas marched inside carrying something over his shoulder.
I really should have bolted it.
”You really wiped out the Prooton Order, didn’t you? That’s amazing.”
Without sparing so much as a glance for the intelligence officers, he dumped his burden onto the bed.
”Heh-heh. I brought you a reward. A reward.”
My head immediately began to ache.
”It’s the daughter of the Universal Church priest from occupied Trabius. She might be a little older than your usual type, but she’s a virgin. No mistake about it. Hey, this one is peeing herself.”
He was saying all of this directly in front of the intelligence officers.
”Thomas!”
”What?” he replied. “You don’t need to worry about me. I’m more into mature women anyway. I got the priest’s youngest mistress. Her chest is incredible. Bigger than your mistress Pia’s. Ooh! Hey, who’re those people over there?”
Still wearing the same idiotic grin, he finally stopped gesturing and turned toward the two men.
”Major Thomas Gotch,” the Major said coldly. “You are the General here, are you not?”
The room seemed to grow even quieter.
”Sorry to interrupt such an enjoyable evening, but would you mind telling us your side of the story?”
—
Summary:
Fee executes a calculated feigned retreat, luring the Prooton Order’s heavy cavalry onto a sandbar rigged with whale oil traps. The enemy is decimated by fire and secondary traps, with few survivors making it to the Mustope border. Fee then secures the potentially traitorous Lord of Mustope and his sons under the guise of “protection” while holding them accountable. The situation remains tense as the political implications of their detention unfold.
After securing the town of Mustope and dealing with the aftermath of the battle, Larry Fee continues his journey through the war-torn countryside. He navigates the complex social and military dynamics of the Polotsk Principality while managing his own troops and personal image. The narrative concludes with Larry arriving in the capital, Bryachislavichi port, where he faces an unexpected invitation to a royal banquet, creating a tension between his public duties and private desires.
Larry enjoys a moment of quiet luxury at a hotel after his companions depart. This peace is abruptly shattered when two intelligence officers arrive to interrogate him about his self-proclaimed title. The situation spirals into further chaos as Major Thomas bursts into the room with a crude gift, forcing Larry into a dangerous confrontation.
—
Trivia:
The sandbar’s terrain is compared to Lake Saroma in Hokkaido.
Whale oil was stockpiled in Yoghess because trade with Voortstadt was severed.
The Lord of Mustope is unpopular due to a land dispute with Duke Bryachislavichi.
The dummy catapults were a necessity due to a lack of skilled woodworkers.
Fee’s psychological warfare includes rumors of mages who can read lies.
Larry wears Magic Academy robes to gain social credibility with the locals of Mustope.
The Heart Sutra is a remnant of Larry’s teenage chuunibyou phase, used as a sincere albeit awkward prayer for the fallen soldiers.
The Prooton Order had been utilizing the marshland route from the town of Kusne for their previous attacks.
The Prince of the Polotsk Principality displays a surprisingly hedonistic approach to soldier morale by renting out brothels for them.
Larry was previously a hostage-taker for the Bryachislavichi family.
The local population considers Thomas a “General.”
Schweilitz maintains high-level intelligence operatives in the region.
The political stability of the Yoghess and Cain regions relies on trade with Schweilitz.
—
Translation Notes:
Notes:
• Fee – Larry Fee Getys, a fifteen-year-old reincarnated youth and titular Duke, heads the Getys household governing Strock Village alongside Hans and Iffens. This pragmatic, telepathic protagonist navigates feudal intrigue and founds a new nation. Supported by family, including Teressa and maid Nico, his high status earns prime whale meat. Connected to Adolf and underworld structures, his lineage name aligns with the protagonist.
• Yoghess – A frontier town of about one thousand residents, named after its ruling lineage. Its current lord, who shares the family name with his third son Darius, is a local ruler in the region. He maintains a strained relationship and is currently on bad terms with both Cresare and Mustobe.
• Tim – Jarek Dvorak, 14, the village’s eldest son and recent graduate, has short dark hair, a lean build and thoughtful eyes. He arrived in Obernbach with his father, watches the Golem’s arrival with trepidation, and, as a sugar‑beet cultivator from a family that refines sugar, boasts of pleasures in the district. A carefree, slightly reckless friend of Larry’s.
• Mustope – The Lord of Mustope who, along with his two sons, is suspected of collusion with the Prooton Order.
• Ho – Ho, a comrade of the protagonist. A member of the military unit that defended Garao Village and was slaughtered alongside Marx-san.
• Haritz – A town associated with a specific type of guard Golem used during a rebellion led by a now-deceased figure, whose remnants recently attempted to hijack the Cain estate.
• Antony – A nineteen-year-old coachman, guide, and Larry’s blunt, observant assistant. The son of a fur merchant, this intelligent youth acts as an interpreter, advisor, and local fisherman. A father figure who offers seasoned advice on domestic life, he provides the party with vital tactical information on local gates and skilled navigation through the frozen river area.
• Pamela – An arrogant, petite Elf mage, logistics head, and Larry’s possessive Primary Wife who recently returned from Cain. Hiding her ears and a slave crest under elegant white Gothic Lolita fashion, she is an associate of Thomas and Earnest. Pragmatic yet weary of Larry’s impulses, she protects the group’s children with a grumbling, elderly demeanor while using mind-reading for interrogation and tactical supply management.
• Pam – An escort to the protagonist who is observant and loyal.
• Thomas – Thomas Bauer is a hulking, middle-aged Schweilitz Major (called General) with a wrestler build, red face, scalp burns, and a brash, intrusive confidence. A pragmatic, food-stealing local companion and confidant to Fee and the protagonist, he advises on nation-building, logistics, and tribal dynamics. An associate of Earnest with a Prooton Order history, he secretly plans to build his own lordship.
• Katri – A multilingual, composed maid and guard from the Moscow Maid School separated from her academy group. Bound to Sanna and Larry, she lives with the protagonist as a disciplinarian, forward romantic partner, and co-caregiver for war orphans. A skilled, sadistic professional adept in shibari bondage and verbal discipline, she hides a nurturing core and has a mysterious, intimate link with Earnest.
• Commander – A man leading the mercenary press-gang at the south gate.
• Larry – A 14-year-old Japanese reincarnated soldier and Golem pilot masquerading as Roberto de Calimen, salt merchant’s son. Now a cynical Magic Academy Associate Professor of unknown origin and overworked Fifth Sage candidate, this dark-haired youth commands a frontier military force and Bizan household. Married to Marie, he balances modern knowledge, diplomatic stakes, and tactical detachment.
• Karilus – The young son of the Steward.
• Datze – The wife of the Steward of Mustope.
• Gunta – The wife of the Lord of Mustope. She appears composed despite the political downfall of her husband.
• Janis – The former Lord of Mustope who betrayed his position, now a young peat-harvesting village boy. As an older youth and self-appointed leader of a war orphan group, he is street-smart, defensive, and fiercely protective of his charges. He also serves as a spokesperson for the children living in the village, maintaining a tight, guardian-like relationship with them.
• Darius – The third son of the Lord of Mustope (formerly of Yoghes), this once callow and impulsive military officer has grown into a seasoned commander of the town guard and local militia. Armed with heavy harpoons, he balances a keen interest in military expertise with an evolving devotion to his family and people, leading his subordinates with newfound maturity.
• Cain – The enemy’s home base and the town where the protagonist previously dealt with Marque’s supporters.
• Principal – The mother of Line and the administrative head of the institution. She exercises authoritative control over research assignments and seeks to trade Larry for Ilse Klein due to interpersonal conflicts in her laboratories. The mother of Sabrina and Rhein who intervenes during Rhein’s violent corridor assault to break up the confrontation.
• Bryachislavichi – The family name associated with Prince Igor.
• Cresar – A defensive frontline village, scarred by a recent battle against a Golem User, now uneasily houses the enemy Golem itself, straining relationships between the wary locals and their captive weapon.
• Iri – An associate of the protagonist, this thirteen-year-old, soft-featured Yoghess girl was abducted and sold to Larry, who envisions a seaside future with her. Based with him, she stays by his side, managing awakening desires and Level 4 mana. At the palace, she serves as a fisherman, steward’s daughter, and a mage tasked with the physical clearance, operation, and piloting of golems.
• Pia – A naive, buxom Nurnhügel mage with a curvaceous figure and heavy, sagging breasts, recently returned from Cain. Larry’s mistress and Thomas’s companion, she lives with the protagonist, exhibiting deep submissiveness and telepathic abilities. Wearing a long-skirted ensemble, silk blouse, and hooded robe, her overactive imagination and perverted fantasies contrast with her lack of confidence.
• Samuri – A young guard and archer with soft boyish features who serves as an escort under the protagonist’s command. Though he possesses a blunt, often unrefined way of speaking, he is highly skilled with a bow and arrows, frequently hunting white foxes alongside his uncle.
• Panu – A slight, dark-haired youth who serves as an escort and wagon coachman under the protagonist, and previously served under Earnest. With razor-sharp reflexes, he manages horses and steering during intense combat, participates in local whaling operations, and acts as a bodyguard. He is an archer highly skilled with bows and arrows, an asset he occasionally uses for fishing.
• Igor – Duke of the Bryachislavichi line, second son of Count Pugachev, and ruler of the Polotsk Principality. Formerly a hostage alongside the imperial family, he is devoted to the throne yet calmly manipulative, fluent in multiple languages, and wary of Schweilitz interference. To entangle Lord Fee, he leverages local terrain intelligence and his daughter Ellie during a banquet at a chartered inn.
• Pugachev – A powerful Frontier Count, father to Igor, and grandfather to Ellie. He commands a massive military force and fiercely insists on the protection of the Emperor at all costs. He is also a man who lies as easily as he breathes.
• Sergei – The second son of Duke Igor Bryachislavichi of Polotsk, this young martial arts master from the Old Master’s Village is held hostage. Despite confinement, he displays immense resilience, complying with captors to ensure his family’s safety. He maintains a disciplined, composed outward appearance, balancing his noble identity with a fierce commitment to protecting his loved ones.
• Onhart – Tall, stern, and pragmatic, Onhart von Lothringen is a Duke’s eldest son, third in line to the Schuberitz throne, and a Lieutenant Colonel who serves as a primary intelligence contact. Posing as caravan leader Roberto de Calimen to hide his identity, he acts as a father figure to the protagonist, manages rear-carriage hostages, and coordinates logistics and intelligence back to Schuberitz.
• Kenze – Denis is a muscular, agile former Tashkurgan intelligence agent with a volatile temperament. Wearing a niqab and slave crest, this traumatized, emotionally unstable archer and crafter is fiercely attached to Earnest and Larry, but was tasked (likely by Marie) to kill the protagonist. Left at the collapsed bridge, Earnest now wishes she were present for tactical assessment.
• Sarah – A heavily pierced Elf Mage and Second Lieutenant who commands the Magic Corps and controls specialized golem labor. Identifiable by her facial piercings, pointed ears, and long dark hair, this disciplined tactician and skilled pilot restrains Kenze and partners with Thomas in his strategic ambitions, despite having previously insulted Thomas’s intelligence by labeling him a brute-headed brawler.
• Sara – A woman with numerous gold piercings in her ears, eyebrows, and nose, often wearing thick, aggressive makeup. She serves as the Second Lieutenant and Commander of the First Company.
• Sig – A student and friend of Marie characterized by a casual and uninhibited personality, often seen yawning during academic discussions. Has short brown hair from the Holstein territory. She is blunt, realistic about the nature of war, and failed the entrance exam at the Sabaski Magic School.
• Schweilitz – A kingdom possessing an advanced magic academy and military arsenal. A person or entity whose current situation is deemed unfavorable by the protagonist, leading to fears of execution.
• Georg – A Major in the Kingdom of Schweilitz General Staff Foreign Affairs Division and Intelligence Bureau, serving as Chairman of the Schweilitz Trading Company (merchant guild). Known for his cold, monotone demeanor, Georg is a companion of Fee who was recently guided to the inn by a maid.
• von – The noble particle ‘von’ indicates high social standing and ancestral roots connected to territorial estates within the Sabaski lineage. It marks the noble bloodline and full names of Annerose von Bülow, Walter von Riedel, and Marc von Harritz, establishing their shared aristocratic identity and familial relationship within the Kingdom.
• Niakis – A Captain in the Kingdom of Schweilitz General Staff Foreign Affairs Division, serving as the Vice-Chairman of the Schweilitz Trading Company. A Captain serving under Major Georg.
• Larry Fee Getys – Larry Fee Getys is a Strock Village youth and military researcher dealing with mobilization and personal dilemmas. Born to a Bizan noble family of rugged warriors—including Hardy, Denis, and Teressa—he was raised by aunts Alisa and Monica. Court officials used his academy-recognized lineage to clear him of guilt. He inherits a rugged warrior appearance, holds forest lands, and leads his village.
• Getys – Larry Fee Getys is a Strock Village youth and military researcher dealing with mobilization and personal dilemmas. Born to the Bizan noble family Getys of rugged warriors—including father Hardy, brother Denis, and sister Teressa—he was raised by aunts Alisa and Monica. Court officials used his academy-recognized lineage to clear him of guilt. He inherits a rugged warrior appearance, holds forest lands, and leads his village.
• Al – Alberto (Al), a massive red‑haired man recently wed to Mary, lives near the Dish Basin. He’s a companion of Hans, helping intimidate and rally elders as a villager and leader.
• Major – A commanding military officer with a sadistic inclination toward interrogation. She orchestrates the sessions and utilizes Telepathy to coordinate with her subordinates.
• His Majesty – The King of the realm possesses an expressionless, Noh mask-like face, rarely showing emotion except for brief amusement during trials. He holds absolute authority over the kingdom, presiding over high-level deliberations, giving the final word on legal transitions like duels, and maintaining supreme command over all military missions and strategic troop deployments.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
Leave a Reply