“Muu……”
“With this, the enemy cavalry has been decimated by the archers in the left wing. My cavalry will now hunt the archers at the back of the enemy line.”
“The morale of the infantry in the right wing of the Caldera army collapses after coming under fire from the rear.”
“Send half the infantry in the left wing to the right and wrap around the enemy’s middle.”
The creases between the brow of the man sitting opposite Krische deepened and the commotion around them grew.
Bogan had brought Krische to a certain room at the army training grounds.
A large table stood in the center of the room.
A layer of sand covered the table with blue and green cloths used to represent terrain such as forests and rivers, pieces stood in various positions across the table.
Krische directed and moved these countless pieces.
They are playing a strategy game, a war game meant for studying tactics.
The pieces represent troops and they are marked to indicate the various type of troops. Other details such as their strength and numbers are recorded on a separate piece of paper.
Three judges decide the outcomes of battles while casualties are decided randomly using dice.
The situation is clearly in Krische’s advantage and the match is effectively over.
It might have been different if it was a siege on a fortress or an encampment, but this is an open battle in the field.
In the field, the cavalry is a key piece which can target fragile archers, disrupt the enemy’s rear and carry out decisive shock attacks on the enemy line while also preventing the enemy from doing the same.
Losing this mobility is equivalent to completely losing the initiative and unless there is an overwhelming advantage in numbers, it becomes impossible to turn the tide of battle.
Krische had intentionally deployed weak infantry on the left wing and let their morale collapse to lure out the enemy cavalry, then deployed the archers she had kept hidden.
The enemy calvary was decimated and Krische’s archers started sniping the backs of the infantry that had broken through the left wing.
The infantry was fighting Krische’s reserve forces when they came under fire from behind.
Their morale easily collapsed and while the archers massacred the escaping infantry, Krische advance half of her reserve infantry and flanked the enemy’s middle.
“……I retreat. The headquarters falls back..”
“The calvary will continue hunting enemy archers. The archers will clean up the enemy’s middle.”
Krische ignored the enemy’s retreating headquarters and reaped the remaining enemy soldiers.
The morale of all enemy units collapsed with the retreat of the headquarters.
The battle that started as five thousand against five thousand came to an end with four thousand against a thousand two hundred.
Krische wanted to shave off another five hundred, but the enemy’s decision to retreat had been quick.
Krischee gave up and stood, looking slightly dissatisfied.
Bogan seemed to be lost in thought as he stared at the board.
Selene was pouting as she watched Krische, she had lost to the same opponent by a narrow margin previously.
“Wow……honestly, that was my complete defeat. Selene-sama did quite wonderfully too, but it is unbelievable that this is Krische-sama’s first war game. The Christand family has a bright future.”
“Haha……I was surprised too. I just wanted to see how she would do, but I did not expect you to lose, Salva. Krische, why didn’t you go for the enemy’s headquarters when you were at such an advantage?”
“……? Was that bad?”
“Not really……but since you didn’t, there must have been a reason why right?”
Krische took a while to find the right words before answering.
“Krische did not feel a need to go after the enemy commander.”
“Why?”
“There was still a thousand elite troops around the commanders. Once they started retreating, only the calvary could catch up, in that case there is the risk of Krische’s calvary being annihilated. It would be a gamble on whether the infantry could catch up in time. So in the end, going after the commander is a fifty-fifty. The risk in trying to completely destroy the enemy is large.”
Krische pointed at the board as she explained.
“In comparison, the loss of troops is a concrete result in itself. Rather than pushing too far for the thousand and the commander, the remaining thousand five hundred troops here can be cleaned up with minimum casualties and is much more appealing……and after returning with such heavy losses, the enemy commander is unlikely to be able to show up on the battlefield again.”
It was an innocent remark, but it made the thin man opposite her――the commander of the third corps, adjutant Salva grimace.
The people present are battalion commanders in charge of a thousand men or corps commanders in charge of five thousand men and their adjutants.
Bogan, the general, is the highest ranking officer.
They could not directly object to Krische’s remark in the presence of the general since is officially the general’s daughter.
But the tension in the air is palpable.
The heavy atmosphere made Krische tilt her head in confusion, but she still continued.
“Of course Krische also wanted to take down the enemy commander if possible. But in this case, the enemy commander retreated early while there were still reserve forces, so Krische focused on maximizing results. But it was a shame that Krische could not taken down the enemy commander even with such an advantage.”
Krische looked up at Bogan as she finished.
Bogan nodded and declared.
“Indeed, it was an excellent decision to retreat at that stage after being driven into such a disadvantage. It was a mistake to let down his guard just because Krische is a beginner, but he did well after that.”
In reality, Krische’s tactics were cunning and except for the very start, Salva had been completely focused.
But by saying that, Bogan had helped Salva save face.
Feeling the tension in the air relax a little, Selene whispered into Krische’s ear.
“……I know you meant no offense, but be careful with how you say things.”
“……?”
Selene whispered such that only Krische could hear her.
Krische cocked her head, confused on what she had done wrong.
“There’s probably no use telling you that though.”
Selene sighed, roughly petting Krische’s head.
Krische contemplated complaining about her hair being messed up, but the comfortable feeling kept her silent.
Half a year has passed since Krische joined the Christand family.
Although Selene’s rivalry with Krische has not faded, Selene dotes on Krische like a real sister now.
Krische shows extreme genius at times, but she is honest and obedient.
She tends to say things too bluntly and is insensitive to other’s feelings.
Selene sees her as just a slightly peculiar girl despite her flaws.
This is largely because Krische is domestic and enjoys cooking and other housework.
Since Selene, like Bery, has seen that part of Krische, Selene sees her as a nice, well-mannered girl despite her differences.
Bogan saw great potential in Krische’s talents and started giving her a military education together with Selene, but lately, Selene has started to wonder if that was the right choice.
Krische displayed genius in tactics and strategy, not to mention her fighting skills, but she is also a girl that likes cooking and sweets, just as her appearance suggests.
Bery was clearly opposed to it and Selene is starting to have doubts.
Krische herself is of the stance that she will learn if it is necessary.
She does not aim to succeed Bogan like Selene, nor does she desire fame and honour.
Krische simply wishes for the strength to protect herself and her surroundings, nothing more.
This is how Selene saw it, especially since she knows how Krische lost her parents.
That is why Selene felt some guilt about Bogan teaching Krische such skills just because she has the talent for it.
Krische is expressionless, but her eyes are slightly narrowed.
This is her expression when she is happy, she is enjoying being patted on the head.
With their long relationship, Selene is now able to pick up on these small changes.
Every time Selene sees this adorable part of Krische, Selene’s doubts grew stronger.
“Otou-sama, can I show Krische the training grounds?”
“Aah, okay. Just don’t get in the way of the training.”
The moment Selene and Krische stepped out onto the training grounds, the solders’ gazes gathered on them.
This country’s, the Alberan Kingdom’s royal family is not a patrimony and women have inherited the crown, so there were times when the queen ruled the country.
Because of this, the standing of women in this country is strong and female soldiers are widely accepted.
But that does not mean there are many women that want to become soldiers and among the soldiers present, only a few are women. These female soldiers are also not necessarily all good looking.
If rare beauties like Krische and Selene appeared in such a place, it is natural that all the men’s eyes would gather on them.
But Selene noticed that among those gazes, there is not just goodwill or desire, there is also fear.
Fear of Krische.
On Krische’s previous visit, she had trained with and mercilessly beaten up the soldiers, displaying her overwhelming strength.
Because of that memory, the soldiers here fear Krische.
Selene let out a small sigh and pulled on Krische’s hand, bringing her to shelter under a tree near the building.
It is fortunate that Krische does not seem to care about those gazes.
Just how thick is this girl’s skin? thought Selene as she asked Krische.
“Krische, do you enjoy studying tactics and such?”
“……enjoy?”
“Hmmm, for example, is it fun like cooking?”
“Compared to cooking, it is not fun.”
Hearing Krische answer without hesitation, Selene smiled wryly.
“……I see. Krische, there’s no need for you to force yourself to join me. Even without studying this, Krische can aim to to be a lot of other things, like a researcher or a scholar. There’s no need for Krische to learn such violent things, Krische has other options.”
“……options.”
“Yes. I’ll succeed otou-sama and even if I can’t, I’ll still be able to take care of you and Bery for life. There’s no need to force yourself to do something you don’t like.”
As Selene said that, she thought about it.
Take care of them for life. That is a happy thought.
Selene said this because of a previous conversation with Bery.
Bery had been strongly opposed to bringing Krische to the training grounds and training her as military personnel.
This was the first time she directly defied Bogan’s decision and both Bogan and Selene were bewildered.
They had thought that since it is evident that Krische has exceptional potential as a soldier, it would be a great loss to leave it.
They had naturally assumed that she would join the army.
‘……Krische-sama would probably fight better than anyone else. She might even become a hero remembered in history. But the Krische-sama I know likes cooking and is an unexpectedly spoiled girl……so I am against this.‘
This was Bery’s answer when they asked why she was against it.
‘Krische-sama is a very pure and innocent girl. She will become anything you ask her to. She might be able to easily accomplish anything you ask of her. But I do no want her to advance down that path. This is, simply……my selfish wish.‘
Krische would surely do well even on the battlefield.
If there is a need, Krische would act and she has the strength to do so.
But just because she is good at it does not mean she wishes to do it.
She enjoys being patted on the head, likes cooking and finds bliss in eating sweets.
She is surprisingly spoiled and would rather sleep with someone than alone.
Selene does not want to see this girl drenched in blood.
That feeling grew stronger after seeing how the soldiers fear her.
‘This might be okay for a vigilante corp, but Krische thinks it is a problem for soldiers to be this weak when they are getting paid to train to fight and kill enemies. Is that wrong?’
Krische had trained the soldiers after thoroughly beating them up.
When Selene warned Krische that she was going too far, Krische had responded incredulously.
Her perfectly logical but uncompromising argument simply caused more enmity and fear.
Krische follows logic and has the strength to act upon it without compromise.
But she cannot understand the feelings of those that cannot accept that logic even if they wanted to.
That is why she cannot understand why she is feared.
Then people start avoiding her――
Selene is dissatisfied with this situation and it is because she has spent time with Krische and grown to love her that she felt this way.
Bery’s concern might have been because of this part of Krische.
Krische thought over Selene’s words for a while before responding.
“……it is true that Krische does not particularly like it, but Krische thinks it is still necessary to learn. Krische still has regrets too.”
“……regrets?”
“If Krische had done things better, Kaa-sama would not have died.”
Krische said those words in her usual tone, as if it was an insignificant matter, but Selene could not meet her gaze and cast her eyes down.
“……did you, like your okaa-sama?”
“Yes. Krische was an abandoned child and she treated Krische very well.”
Krische nodded as she remembered Grace.
Truly a shame――no, this is sad.
Krische recalled Bery’s words as she continued.
“Krische does not want to regret again, so Krische wants to have more options. Of course, Krische just wants to live with Bery and Selene and cook together though.”
To Krische, the most important thing right now is cooking.
Then her forerunner and comrade, Bery. Selene has also joined them recently.
Krische’s current fortunate lifestyle is supported by Bogan and protected by the overall community that is the country.
As she studied and expanded her knowledge, expanded her view of the world, she had learnt that her cooking life is protected by many things.
To Krische, Bery is her comrade and is very important, as is Bogan, who supports Krische’s lifestyle and his successor, Selene.
Her guardians, Bogan and Selene are both of the military.
So Krische needs to be in a position where she can save them when they are in danger, is how Krische thought about it.
When the bandits attacked the village, Krische’s greatest failure was that she did not have influence and could not command the villagers.
If Krische had strong authority with the village guards, that problem could have been solved easily.
But Krische had been lax and left it to others――as a result, the tragedy of losing both her guardians, Gorka and Grace, befell her.
If nothing happens Krische can just enjoy cooking, but if something does happen, it is a problem if she cannot do anything. That is Krische’s conclusion.
Thus although she may not be very proactive about it, Krische obeys Bogan’s wish for her to learn military skills and flaunted her abilities.
Unlike the village, the army requires for them to have the ability to kill, so there is no need to refrain from showing it.
But Krische does not realise her extreme faithfulness to rules and logic is the reason for the fear that Selene sensed.
“Krische will be troubled if master or Selene dies somewhere without Krische knowing. So Krische wants to stay somewhere where Krische can protect master and Selene.”
“……Krische.”
Although the Krische’s feelings and the reasoning is different, Krische cherishes the people close to her.
Even if it is technically not love, what she says and what others feel is all that matters.
Selene interpreted it the way she wanted to and hugged Krische, whispering to her.
“Then I will protect you so that you don’t have to suffer.”
“……Krische feels its more dangerous for Selene though. Selene is weak.”
“……hey, I’m saying such embarrassing things so please read the mood. That part of you can get really irritating, seriously.”
Selene glared at Krische, blushing.
“When you are told such things, the normal response is to stay quiet, say yes, or say thank you. Got it?”
“……? Okay.”
“Good.”
Selene smiled and pinched Krische’s cheeks.
“Ferere, hofee, ihyaireu……” (Selene, cheeks, painful)
“That’s it for the weird talk. Krische, can I ask for a bout?”
“Fai……?” (Okay)
Selene released Krische’s cheeks and took her hand.
And until war broke out two years later, they lived happily together.
-End-
Yes I did not translate the cheek-pinched speak. The original japanese is cuter than any garbled english I could come up with.
