Chapter 478
It was deep into the night when the Thunder King, Liana de Grantz, returned to Fort Mokna.
Charlotte watched the knights and priests return to Fort Mokna from within the command center.
Somehow, they had found survivors, and quite a few carriages followed the troops from behind.
When they discovered survivors, they would escort them safely back to Fort Mokna by loading them onto the carriages.
Not all the carriages were filled with people, but some could be seen carrying passengers.
And at the very end of the troops, there she was - Liana de Grantz, riding her white horse, guarding the rear of the battalion.
She led the vanguard in battle and took charge of the rear during escort missions.
It was no wonder her soldiers respected a commander who always fought in the most dangerous positions.
The carriages carrying survivors were unloaded at the temporary refugee housing area, and the people moved according to the troops' direction. They would first calm the frightened people, educate them briefly about Edina, and then send them to Edina on transport convoys.
This was the alpha and omega of the Fort Mokna forward base operations.
Harriet muttered blankly as she watched the survivors disembark from the carriages.
"Still... there are quite a few."
This was Liana's mission - to continuously scout and bring back survivors.
External operations could end within a day, but sometimes they would take several days, venturing far away.
The environment made it difficult to find survivors, and although they were considering relocating the base, they could still find survivors nearby. The numbers were just significantly lower than before.
Charlotte couldn't tell how long Liana had been away on her mission, but the survivors they had found numbered over twenty.
These people, rescued from a miserable life, were still trembling with fear even though they had arrived at a safe place. Charlotte quietly watched their faces.
—---
"What's going on without any explanation?"
Upon returning to the command center, Liana cocked her head when she heard that Charlotte and Harriet had been waiting for her until midnight.
"Whatever it is, just wait a bit, let me wash up."
Charlotte didn't have much time to spare either.
She didn't yet know if there were any problems at Fort Mokna and, in fact, it might be nothing. However, she folded her work for now and stayed there because Liana might be involved in the issue.
That's why she needed to finish her duties as soon as possible and leave.
But Charlotte quietly observed Liana's behavior, which seemed as if she had encountered something unpleasant.
'Is it a fight? No, it can't be.'
As soon as she thought that, Charlotte shook her head internally.
During their time at the temple, she and Liana weren't very close, but that didn't mean they didn't know each other at all.
Liana de Grantz.
The young heir of the Grantz Duchy and a top-class lightning user among those with supernatural abilities focused on attack.
After the death of the Duke of Grantz, her abilities had grown several dimensions stronger.
Charlotte knew that Liana's personality was generally outgoing, and she didn't pay much attention to trivial matters. At this point, Liana would hate the Empire, so her feelings towards Charlotte couldn't be good.
Liana would just say what needed to be said.
Her personality wasn't one to suppress others through subtle psychological warfare.
Liana de Grantz was a different breed of person from Olivia Lanze.
While Olivia Lanze would make snide remarks and subtly belittle her opponents, Liana would just bluntly say if she disliked someone.
So, her actions now were likely done without much thought.
Even if it were not Charlotte but Reinhardt in this place, she would have told him to wait while she washed up.
Harriet was tense, not knowing what was going to unfold.
How much time had passed?
Liana, having changed from her military uniform to casual clothes, emerged in the reception room.
Had she not had a proper meal until now? Liana began to nibble on a plate of sandwiches the lieutenant had brought, placing it on the table.
Chewing on a sandwich, Liana stared intently at Charlotte.
"So, what is it?"
Liana was direct from the start. She couldn't feign politeness or beat around the bush; that just wasn't her nature.
Being overly direct could easily make enemies.
However, Liana always led the charge in battle precisely because she was direct in both her actions and her demeanor.
In this unique environment, Liana had gained the absolute trust of most of Fort Mokna's forces, thanks to her seemingly abrasive attitude.
"I've heard it's difficult to find survivors, but it seems there are still people left."
Harriet quietly observed Charlotte's trembling voice.
The direct Liana.
Charlotte, who didn't immediately address the issue at hand.
Only Harriet, watching the situation, felt that the two were very different people.
Liana took a sip of water and sighed.
"Well, it's not like there are none. It's a bit of a crude expression, but you could say the pickings are slim. The efficiency is low. So, we're planning to move the base. You know about that, right?"
"Yeah, I heard you're planning to move the base to another port."
"Why, do you think Fort Mokna should continue to operate? Because there are still survivors in this vicinity?"
At Liana's question, Charlotte shook her head.
"No, I'm sure your judgment as the field commander is the most accurate. Since you've seen and experienced so much, your opinion must be right."
"Actually, whether moving the base will allow us to rescue more people is just a prediction. I don't really know what the outcome will be. And to establish a new base, we'll have to clear out all the monsters in the area. It's dangerous, but we can't afford to stay put here."
We have to save more people.
Liana had only shared her opinion and intended to act according to Reinhardt's principles.
People respected and admired Liana.
Liana was far removed from selfish desires.
Her decision to abandon the relatively safe Fort Mokna and establish a new, riskier base proved that she was not driven by petty ambitions.
"How many people are in the refugee residential area right now?"
"Well, I don't know the exact number, but I think it's about 150, including those we rescued today."
When the next transport ship takes them to Lazak, they will become citizens of Edina.
"On average, how many days do survivors stay here before being transported to Lazak?"
"Well, that's not really about how long the refugees stay here. It's more important when the transport fleet, which comes every three weeks, arrives. If the transport fleet arrives the day after picking up the survivors, they stay for three weeks. If they arrived a week ago, they stay for a week, and so on."
"I see."
Charlotte nodded at Liana's words and then fell silent, lost in thought for a moment.
Having finished her thoughts, Charlotte asked again.
"How many people were on the last transport fleet?"
"Hmm? I think it was about eighteen hundred."
"And before that?"
"Huh."
Liana narrowed her eyes at Charlotte's question.
Charlotte looked at Liana without any change in expression.
"What are you getting at?"
"...What do you mean?"
Liana glared at Charlotte without hiding her discomfort.
"Why are you asking me about such trivial numbers? They're just numbers written in a report, after all. Why did you come all the way here to ask about them?"
Liana put down the sandwich she had been eating, crossed her arms, and stared at Charlotte.
"Get to the point. What is it? Why are you here?"
At Liana's hostile gaze, Charlotte calmly looked back at her.
"Hmm..."
Charlotte had deliberately stirred the pot to gauge her counterpart's attitude towards her – whether it was friendly, hostile, or neutral.
But she couldn't stand the few indirect remarks and asked directly.
Liana was straightforward and didn't like Charlotte. Charlotte realized that her assumption was correct.
"According to my calculations, I think Port Mokna is claiming more food than they actually need."
"...What?"
"It seems that they've been doing this for quite a while. About a year, give or take."
Liana's expression hardened at Charlotte's words. Harriet's eyes widened in surprise.
Charlotte figured out when Port Mokna had started claiming excessive food just by looking at a few documents.
The basic food requirement for Port Mokna is for two thousand people.
The additional amount of food required is determined by the number of survivors residing here.
For about a year, Port Mokna has been claiming excessive food.
"Food is a serious issue, especially for soldiers about to go into battle. They need to eat well and have high-quality meals. Up until now, Edina's situation required minimal supplies, but we wanted to accommodate better meals at least. Is that really a big deal? Is it something you need to investigate to this extent? Do we, who fight on the front lines, have to listen to this just because we've eaten a bit more?"
At Liana's hostile words, Charlotte nodded quietly.
"Yes, I thought you'd say something like that."
"...What?"
Liana's expression grew colder at Charlotte's nonchalant response.
Liana was blunt. Thus, her words often revealed clues.
Charlotte had already obtained one such clue.
"I understand that you were aware of this issue and that it was done under your direction."
Only then did Liana bite her lip, realizing that she had been caught by Charlotte.
Clues often slipped out between words, and Charlotte was adept at catching them.
Liana, on the other hand, had no talent for it.
"Yes, I did it. So what? Is it really that big of an issue?"
"You wanted to provide better-quality meals for the soldiers' morale, right?"
"Yes."
"But that's not really it, is it?"
"...What do you mean?"
Charlotte calmly began to explain.
"You said you provided more food for the soldiers' morale, but if that were the case, you would have requested higher-quality meals instead of larger quantities. Therefore, you would have needed more meat and processed products. But what you claimed in excess wasn't meat or processed meat, but basic items like flour."
"..."
"You wanted not the quality of the meals but the quantity."
The expression of Liana de Grantz grew increasingly rigid.
With an impassive face, Charlotte calmly explained.
Harriet, who was watching, felt an oppressive sensation in her throat as if something was stuck.
Liana said she had tried to improve the quality of the meals.
But according to Charlotte, while the quantity of food had increased, the quality had not.
Charlotte didn't tell everything she knew from the beginning.
She waited for the other person's mistake and then, as if she had been waiting, she brought out another fact she knew, cornering her opponent.
She caught her opponent with their own words.
"Considering Edina's situation, I thought it was important to feed them well. It's hard to get meat, so we tried to fill the quantity with basic food like..."
"The supplies that were originally distributed were calculated for the necessary nutrition of the combat forces, equivalent to two servings for an ordinary person. So there was no reason to supply more flour or rice. They couldn't even eat it all. No matter how much they ate, Port Mokna's forces couldn't consume the excessively claimed supplies from the beginning."
Bang!
Liana slammed the table roughly, glaring at Charlotte.
Spark! Sparkle!
Electric sparks flew from Liana's forehead as she glared at Charlotte with a ferocious gaze.
"What are you trying to say?"
Charlotte still looked calm, gazing at Liana.
"It's simple. There were more mouths to feed here than the number of people actually reported to Edina."
"More...?"
Harriet asked, sensing a bad premonition.
"..."
Liana remained silent.
Charlotte continued speaking.
"For a few days, or even weeks. Food was needed in larger quantities because they still had to be fed somehow, but for some reason, they never made it to Edina. Many of the survivors who were actually here couldn't make it to Port Mokna. That's why more food was claimed than was actually needed. It was for the unrecorded people to eat."
At Charlotte's words, Liana fell silent.
"You."
Charlotte asked quietly.
"What did you do with those people?"
"..."
"What did you do with the people who couldn't come to Edina when they should have?"
Liana glared at Charlotte, remaining silent.
How long was the silence?
Charlotte knew Liana was not a person driven by trivial desires.
In that case, the excessive claim for food must have been necessary.
There must have been a reason to hide it and lie, a need for deception.
There must have been a truth that could not be spoken.
With a stern expression, Liana slowly opened her mouth.
"...I killed them."
"What, what did you say?!"
Harriet was shocked by Liana's words, breaking the silence.
"I couldn't endanger Edina any longer."
"..."
As if she had anticipated it, Charlotte quietly nodded.
