Chapter 172: Casualties of the War

When I woke up, I knew by my senses that I was in a very deep sleep.

I must have been exhausted after all that.

It was clear from my clear consciousness that I had had a good night's sleep, but there was one thing that troubled me.

After agonizing for a while over whether to get up or go back to sleep, I decided to go with the former.

After a quick breakfast before the guards were ready, I left the mayor's mansion.

Looking up at the winter morning sky, which was turning a brilliant blue, I walked on.

My horse, which I rode from New Nellie City, was not in good shape even after one night, probably due to the aftereffects of the enhancement magic. There are plenty of alternatives, but I chose to walk because I wanted to keep my feet on the ground.

The hustle and bustle of the previous day was gone, and the sound of my leather shoes tapping on the cobblestones echoed in the morning silence that had been created in the short time before the day began.

The sound was somewhat pleasant as it quietly melted into the almost empty street.

As we approached a street outside the city, we met a military officer at work.

“Is this the young master?

Are you running a soup kitchen?”

Ha! With the cooperation of the citizens, we were able to prepare enough food.

The “Operation to show the soldiers of Spiaseik how much the Kuordenze territory can afford” That I talked about yesterday is going to be carried out, I heard.

In my opinion, it was intended as propaganda to show the weakening of the Spiaseik family to the Spiaseik soldiers, but the commander allowed the cookout in order to maintain and improve the morale of the Kuordentse soldiers.

After this, the soldiers needed to be reinforced to the frontline base where their grandfather was waiting for them, so they needed to be energized. In short, it is a mean-spirited plan to enrich both their bodies and spirits by performing a messy act in front of the defeated soldiers.

If you look from a distance, you can see smoke rising here and there on the plains outside the city.

Are the unarmed people collaborators in the city?

Yes. Yes. They willingly provided us with not only stockpiles but also manpower.

The Nambonan Council did not hesitate to respond to our request to provide the food that the city of Nambonan was currently holding, as aid would arrive in a short time.

The fact that they made an immediate decision without resistance or negotiation is a clear indication of their understanding of reality.

I'm going to take a look around a bit. Get back to work.”

Ha!

After receiving the military officer's salute, I decided to continue my walk.

The first thing that caught my eye outside the city was a group of soldiers.

They didn't appear to be participating in a soup kitchen, and looking at the density of the group, which could be expressed in tens of thousands, I could guess that it was a group of Spierzeig's prisoners of war.

As I walked toward it, intrigued, I noticed that military officers and retinue soldiers of the Quardenze army were positioned around it.

The military officer, noticing my approach, decided to regain his composure and shouted at the group.

I warn you once again! Always be careful that your comrades don't run away! If you see anyone moving suspiciously, burn the place to the ground!

The Qordentse fighters surrounding the group of POWs held up the tips of their spears as if they were pointing them at the muzzle of a gun and threatening them.

The tone of his voice his indicates that the words of the military commander are not false.If there were any escapees, the prisoners of war in the vicinity would be collateral damage from the magical attacks.

The POWs continued to monitor each other with suspicion and doubt to prevent their comrades-in-arms from escaping.

The cold winter winds, the lack of food, and the tense atmosphere of the prisoners' quarters were wearing away at the spirit of the POWs.

Thanks for your hard work.”

“Ha! You're up early!

We exchanged a few words of greeting with the military officer who had taken a firm posture of bowing, and confirmed a few things about the current status of the POWs.

The military officers in the Spearceik army were all killed, and those who surrendered among the commoner follower soldiers are being held as prisoners of war after being placed under special restraints.

Perhaps because they have felt the power of the young master up close, they no longer have the will to fight.

Apparently, the death of Spierzeig Verret, who had served as general-in-chief, came as quite a shock, and the morale of the Spierzeig soldiers is said to be close to zero.

“Oh, really?

Look at him. Just by looking at you, young man, you are in this condition.

The prisoners of war near me fell to the ground, shaking all over and silently begging for their lives, probably realizing from the military officer's attitude that my true identity was Quardenze Wilk.

It was transmitted like the ripples created when a stone is thrown into a pond, and more than 10,000 commoners kneeled down in the cramped space, frantically searching the ground.

Nobles and knights are both objects of awe and emotional support for the commoners. No one is more dependable than them in terms of strength.

For the soldiers of Spierzeig, the existence of Quardenze Wilk, who cut off the head of Spierzeig Verret, a powerful backer, can be said to be fear incarnate.

Well, good. I'm more interested in …….”

I shifted my gaze a little to the side.

They are collecting the war dead.

The military officer answered as if it were a matter of course.

Isn't it a bit messy?”

I looked at the pile of corpses.

The piles, which could be described as randomly thrown away and stacked in a messy manner, were so numerous that I couldn't count on just one or two.

It was done by soldiers of Spierzeig, so it doesn't matter if it's messy……….Of course, the dead of our army are collected in a separate place. Of the Nambonan citizen soldiers. Rest assured.”

I see.”

I heard that after the battle ended, the captured Spierzeig soldiers were rubbed out as body collectors.

It is understood by rule of thumb on the Eluo continent that leaving corpses unattended is a source of disease. Besides, it attracts large carnivorous animals that target corpses, and it is undesirable for them to learn the taste of human flesh.

That is why postwar corpse disposal is often done well.

Emotionally, the people who rub out POWs instruct them to treat the bodies of their comrades-in-arms, the Quardenze soldiers, with care, but say nothing in particular about the corpses of enemy soldiers, the Spierzeig soldiers.

As a result, the exhausted POWs are said to have treated the bodies of Spiaseik's soldiers rather carelessly.

Even though these were enemy soldiers, it was not a pleasant sight to behold.

How many dead in Kuordentse?”

The military commanders were all praising me, saying that the losses among the Qordentse soldiers had been small because I had gone into battle so quickly.

But even so, I know that there has been no small amount of damage, although I do not know the detailed figures, due to the exposure to the attack of the main ancestral army.

“It's not even close to 1,000.

Whether that is a lot or a little, I don't know.

I don't know if it's a lot or not. 1,000 out of 64,000 solders is less than 10% of the total, so it seems like a small number. But 1,000 lives is not something to be taken lightly. Of a vaginal ejaculation.

Considering the fact that we were ambushed by the army of the main ancestor, I can say that it is a very small number.

This time, Verret seemed to be very motivated and went to the front several times to release magic.

While there are many lazy nobles who retreat to the rear and only send out waves of killing intent, Veretto was doing his job as a general in a manner of speaking.

Most of the dead in the Quardenze army were soldiers who had been caught up in Verret's magichis.

Considering the possibility that Verret would gain experience in battle and grow to be a nuisance, it was fortunate for the Quardenzes that they were able to quickly kill him.

Have you heard about the wounded?”

I have heard that the treatment of the seriously injured has been completed, but I think it would be better to ask for more details at headquarters.

On the continent of Eluo, there is healing magic, a healing technique that surpasses the medical treatment on the previous Earth. Therefore, if you are alive, it is quite possible to survive even if you are seriously ill.

Even commoner soldiers have a chance to receive healing magic if they are successful in battle, so soldiers are more likely to attack boldly if they are slightly injured.

There are even leaders in the history of the continent of Eluo who would cut down their own soldiers, saying things like, “If you kill 10 enemy soldiers, I will cast a healing spell on you. What a terrible way to treat people.

I am glad that I was born as the Lord's ancestor. If I am to be reborn on the Eluo continent, I must be an ancestor.

……Now, let's see the faces of those who fought for our Quordenze.

Then we will have someone to show us the way.

The military officer in charge of prisoners of war called for me to lead the way, and I headed for the place where the bodies of the Kuordenze soldiers had been collected.

I was told that the bodies of the Kuordentse and Nambonan citizen soldiers were collected in different places, so I decided to go see the Kuordentse soldier's body first.

Compared to the Spierzeig soldiers, the remains of the Kuordentse soldiers were arranged much more carefully and looked as if they were about to be auctioned off at a fish market.

The hundreds of bodies lined up in a row, many of which were still in pristine condition, tested to the severity of the attacks they had suffered. The bodies of Spierzeig's soldiers that I had just seen were even worse.

There were no military officers to guard the place where the bodies were collected, only commoners, so I lightly clasped my hands together and left the place immediately.

After leaving the morgue, I called out to the guards.

The commoners are behaving strangely.

What do you mean?”

I didn't think too much about it and just let it hang there, so I couldn't continue.

I looked up at the sky as I formulated my words.

The first time I went to the battlefield,……, I felt a strong sense of awe,……, Compared to the attitude of the soldiers at that time.

There were not a few commoner soldiers who approached me before, but this time, no one approached me even if they realized who I was.

There were some commoners who looked surprised when they saw me while I was walking and at the corpse yard of the Kuordenze army, but they just fell down after their faces became stiff. I even felt a sense of remoteness.

I thought that since he had defeated the enemy's ancestor, he should have been overjoyed and come up to me and said something like, “Young master, you are the best.

That's a good thing.

'Normally, that would be the case after the first battle.

'Rest assured, the troops will soon get used to it.

I broached the subject as a form of banter rather than for an answer, but the guards responded as if it were a common occurrence.

They told me that the sons of noblemen make their first battle not for one reason only, but for several.

One of them is to show the power of the family to the people.

The young noble boy, nervous for his first battle, is said to be very friendly to the local militia.

However, when the battle actually begins, this idea is completely shattered.

They feel close to and become aware of the vicious magical menace being unleashed by a boy much younger than themselves. He becomes aware of the reality of the difference between the masters and the slaves, a difference that was determined from the moment he was born. ……The nobleman is different from us, even if he is young, he is still a nobleman. They are different from weak people like us.

The local soldiers who participated in the first battle were once again in awe of the power of the lord's family, and at the same time, relieved that this power was being passed on to the next generation. Be protected from various threats.

You mean to say that you now understand the difference?

Yes,” He said. The nobles of other families also participated in the young master's first battle, and above all, many of the soldiers were accustomed to the general's magical power, so perhaps it didn't make much of an impression.

Normally, nobles do not go into battle too aggressively unless it is a defensive battle. Therefore, the impact of a nobleman's threat on a militia soldier's first battle is significant.

In the case of the Quardenze family, however, their grandfather has been on a rampage all year round, and the soldiers who follow him have grown accustomed to the threat of magic power. I guess they were not that impressed when they felt my threat in their first battle.

In fact, I only threatened my grandfather in the first battle because of the eyes of the other families.

The killing intent that the young master displayed during the single combat was honestly astonishing, even to us.

We can easily imagine what the commoners must have felt.

It was evident in the way the Spierzeig soldiers were frightened.

They are still confused at the moment, but I am sure they will soon come to terms with it. It is not a bad thing for them that the young man, the heir apparent of the Quardenze family, has power.

They should rather relieved that the strength of their lord's family is linked to the security of their territory.”

Time will tell, the guards assure us. Listening to their natural tone of voice, I was convinced that this was the case.

For commoners, the power of the nobility seems to be a kind of faith.

I have always wondered how the people of the Eluo continent, who live in an uncivilized age, can survive in a world that is cut off from the main religion of the Zethusian Sacred High Society, let alone in a prehistoric Earth with developed science and technology .

If so, good.”

If they will eventually get used to it if left alone, it would be best to leave them alone.

The body dump for Nambonan citizen soldiers was as clean as the one for Kuordentse soldiers.

Several citizens were checking the faces of the bodies lined up in three rows, probably looking for the bodies of family members or acquaintances, even though it was early in the morning.

As I glanced around the quiet atmosphere, my eyes fell on a young boy who was moving slowly and out of place.

As I was looking at this little monkey-like boy, he noticed my gaze and bowed to me.

The bow was the most polite bow a commoner could give to an aristocrat, and it was clear that he understood who we were.

Is that……Tico's brother?”

I had seen that face several times in the mayor's mansion as a scullery maid.

I knew that roomon had trained him in many ways to be useful as a scullery maid, but he also seemed to have been disciplined in his courtesy to the nobility.

Since there were no military officers standing by, I approached Tico's brother to ask him a few questions.

Kianes, what are you doing?”

I asked Rialight, a military officer who had been following me on my walk.

I had entrusted him with navigating the brothel with Roomon and Kianeth, so I should have known him by now.

I'm recording this.

Recording?”

Apparently, Kianeth had been assigned to the chore of researching the Nambonan citizen soldiers who had died in the war. He said he was starting his research at night because the families of the dead might retrieve the bodies when the sun rose.

Roomon decided that it might be a good idea to keep a good record of the civilians lost in this battle.

Kianes could write, even though he came from a poor farming village, so he would be perfect for this kind of chore.

Let me take a look.

Curious to see what kind of record he was keeping, I rolled up the wooden board in Kianeth's handhis.

This wooden board is a relatively common notepad on the continent of Eluo, similar to a sawtooth tool used to make sushi rolls. , Although it is not very difficult.

Dozens of these thinly cut boards are prepared and bound together with a string of fibers made from plant roots to make an inexpensive writing pad. The wood is dried well before processing, so it is not as heavy and bulky as it looks. Easy to use.

Ignoring Kianeth, who let out an exclamation, I unfolded the wooden board, which was folded up like a Harisen, and looked through it.

'Zakue, a shoemaker from the second street in the northern part of the city. Hole in his stomach, left arm missing.

'Rey, a general store near the mayor's mansion. Three arrows in his chest and stomach his.

Tart, an oil shop near the plaza in front of the council chambers.”All of his body is charred.

Evarup, who works at the dock. His belly has been ripped open horizontally, and various objects are sticking out.

Toel working at the dock with Evarup.

The names of the war dead and the extent of the damage to their bodies were briefly described.

The wooden boards were turned over with a clattering sound, but the descriptions of the merciless deaths just kept on coming. Although it was a record of the dead, I felt a sense of sadness.

I wondered how they knew the names and occupations of the dead, but it seems that interviews were conducted with surviving Nambonan civilian soldiers who were in the same unit as the deceased. Same area or were colleagues at work, so it was not so difficult to identify the dead.

The letters are easy to read.”

Thank you!”

The Eluo language tends to show the individuality of the writer.

These letters are placed to make the brush strokes look graceful and to balance the entire sentence, and their use is left to the individuality of the writer, which makes them even more troublesome.

When reading, it is necessary to ignore these decorative characters, but when I see such meaningless strings of letters in a familiar spelling, I find it hard to read because they seem to get stuck in my brain.

I remember that Tesh used to tell me that my Eruo script was not graceful enough, with too much firmness in the tome-hane and not enough ornamentation.

I felt that it was cooler to have a tight stop or a sharply defined line, and I felt that removing irrational decorations was aesthetically pleasing, but it was not well-received by the aristocrats.

I was so concerned about the reputation of those around me that I tried to correct myself early, and now I can write letters that are elegant, graceful, and tedious to write.

There were no decorative characters in Kianeth's writing, and each letter was clear, almost blocky, and very easy to read.

In the village, we were taught to write legibly!”

Ho……”

Since the job of the rural scribe is to report to the lord or a civil official who sends him or her, they are offended if the scribe cannot read.

The neat brush strokes and the absence of superfluous ornamentation are probably one of the wisdom of the peasants, who put the readability of the recipient first.

From the aristocrats' point of view, it is nothing but a lowly brushstroke with no room for practical use, but I had a rather good impression of it.

Is the list of civilian war dead all that is written here?”

Yes.”

I glance at the guards, and Rialight responds.

'The battle area has not expanded, and many are in pursuit from never, and the civilian soldiers have been pulled up by the military initiative. Number of casualties will be accurate.”

He said that the pursuit did not devote so many resources to the treatment of wounded soldiers as a priority. Rather than killing commoners who were fleeing, they prioritized preparation for the next battle.

Since the Quardenze army had many followers who could use healing magic, it was easy to prevent the deaths from occurring later. Kianes' data should be regarded as a very reliable source.

Hm.

I counted the number of wooden boards with my fingertips, then multiplied the number in my brain to estimate the approximate number of deaths: about 200.

Two hundred deaths of Nambonan civilians is quite a large number, isn't it?

Young master.”

Rialight's tone of voice was that of a man who wanted to make a statement.

I looked at him silently and allowed him to speak.

If you are going to praise the work of the citizens, why not have them cremated? It would be good for …… Future.”

As for the disposal of the dead bodies on the continent of El-O, cremation is considered a good idea.

According to the Zesu Church, when the dead return to the earth, they become part of the spirits or are transformed into the spirits themselves. To ashes and blown by the wind across the sky or the earth.

With this religious background, cremation was always recognized as the most desirable burial method throughout the priestly era.

Even after the transition to the aristocratic period, this custom remained deep in the hearts of the people, and cremation is still considered to be a good idea today.

Although the nobles also cremate their dead, many families have a custom that when a parent dies, the child magically burns the body.

The Kuordenze family also has such a custom, so if my father or mother were to die, I would have to burn them myself. This is a pretty tough event for a former Japanese.

Also, looking at other families, cremation of a member of a knight's family is often included as one of the tasks of the head of a noble family.

My father, for example, occasionally cremates members of knightly families who are brought to New Nellie City, and if the deceased is a knight or former knight, he sometimes goes to various places in the territory for on-site services. Family also has a lot of work to do.

However, commoners cannot be cremated so easily.

Burning a human being requires a certain amount of firepower and space.

Unlike the master and followers, who only need to release fire magic, the commoners, who are the slave ancestors, need to gather fuel to maintain the fire power.

A follower who roams around in the private sector, such as a rupetta, may work part-time as a cremation worker, but hiring a follower is basically expensive, and since there are so few of them, it is more likely that they will not be able to be hired. It is more economical to quietly collect firewood.

Furthermore, a half-hearted cremation, in which the dead flesh is left charred, is considered to be the worst, and much worse than a burial in the ground.

Perhaps because of these circumstances, most commoners are buried in the ground.

Only the wealthy and powerful who can secure sufficient fuel or those who have connections enough to hire a local follower can be cremated. Cremation is a status symbol.

If a commoner wants to be cremated casually, the quickest way is to accept the draft and die fighting seriously.

If you die fighting normally, at the very least you will be cremated by a retinue or a military officer.

In the future?

Yes. Nambonan City has a large population and it is clear that it will become a major base in the outer regions in the future. We need to think carefully about how we handle the dead.

Learight's eyes he was serious as he looked at me.

He had gone to the trouble of advising us, and his opinion was that we should praise the work of the citizens of Nambonan.

He said, “…… I remember you leading the Nambonan soldiers in battle. Did you have any thoughts on that?”

Rearight made a slight gesture of thinking, then opened his mouth.

The commoners do not have loyalty at their core, as is the case everywhere. It is a passive idea of ​​being ruled …… And subjugated.

Realite continued in his own words.

Commoners accept the change of rulers without much resistance, so they are seen as unjust people by those born and raised in knightly families.

Well, it is a bit harsh to ask a mere slave ancestor to disobey his master and followers his.

…… However, I strongly felt from the citizens of Nambonan the spirit of martyrdom for their hometown and loyalty to the city. I honestly could not understand that courage and action of standing up undaunted, even if the opponent was a nobleman of the Spierzeik family.”

The main ancestral army may eventually come from the city of Newnery to reinforce the city, but we do not know when that will be. Furthermore, if the enemy was a small or medium-sized noble family, it would be the Spierzeig family, a large noble family. There was no guarantee that the Quardenzes would be able to repel them.

Seeing the citizens of Nambonan responding to Anna's call and voluntarily taking a stand in such a situation, Rialight felt as if he were dreaming. Normally, in such a situation, the Quordente military, which is on the side of the rulers, would half- way forcefully conscript the people.

Rearight's words he were slightly excited and his fists he were clenched as he described the state of the citizens at that time.

'I see, and?

'If we can turn the direction of their minds from the city to the lords and to the Quordenze family, it would be possible to create an elite unit that exceeds the engineering corps,…… And specializes in warfare. So.”

In a battle against knights and nobles, the strength of mind that commoner soldiers possess is much greater than I, a former earthling, would think, and it can be a factor that moves the battlefield.

The citizens of Nambonan, having been abandoned by their lords in the past, have developed a spirit of independence and self-reliance, and have come to a state where they can touch the concept of freedom. In this continent of Eluo, where the power of the nobility is great, this is not something that can be done with ordinary resolve.

It is no wonder that the commoners, who were passive and only obeyed the nobles, had a completely different mental foundation than the commoners. In fact, without that spirit, the city of Nambonan would not have been able to survive until now.

The Realites have noticed this strong spirit and are wondering if they can somehow take advantage of it.

Then the guards interrupted from the side.

The guards interrupted, “Isn't that difficult to do?

The commoners around here have a strong love of their homeland.

Expecting loyalty from commoners is a bad idea.

My guards, all of whom were raised in knight families, have similar attitudes toward the commoners. In prehistoric Japan.

In this respect, Realite, who had traveled around the continent as a mercenary, seemed to intuitively realize that this was not a characteristic of the local region but a product of the Nambonan city system.

Rearight is still in his early twenties, so he is not as hard-headed as those in their thirties and forties who work as today's escorts.

But Learight, too, seemed unable to explain his feelings on the matter, and he continued to argue with the guards while grumbling.

I have no objection to the cremation of the Nambonan citizen soldiers.

It would be fatal to the future governance of the city of Nambonan if the deaths of the war dead were to end as “Unfortunate sacrifices.”

If I do nothing, it is impossible to predict how the feelings of the citizens of Nambonan will change. As well.

I do not want the citizens of Nambonan to feel that they have been caught up in a nobleman's war, that the nobles are still terrifying, or that they are just weaklings on the side of domination.

There is no doubt that the spirit of independence and self-reliance of the citizens of Nambonan is the driving force behind the city's vitality and continued development and growth, and I cannot do anything that would destroy that.

No matter how powerful my magic is, it is impossible to bring the dead back to life.

But those who stand above others can give meaning to death, justify it, and lead it.

I looked at Kianeth and slowly spun the words.

I have an idea.