Madan no Ou to Vanadis:Volume 06 Epilogue
Epilogue
"Please explain."
It was the first sentence of Olga who had visual and auditory finally settled down. It was also hard for both of them even to open their mouth because of extreme exhaustion. The two people side by side leaned on the wall which escaped from destruction, and like that trailingly sat on the floor.
"Before that, (you first) apologize."
Tigre with an indignant face overlooked Olga beside him. Olga snorted and turned her face away. ‘I didn’t do anything bad (I’m not in the wrong)’. She advocated without words.
Tigre blankly looked up at the early morning sky from the hole opened into the ceiling.
---It seems like the control did not work as usual......
The hole roughly extended right above from the Commander room. The gray dragon clad in black light had devoured the monster and flew to the sky afterward.
---Perhaps is it because I overdid it by shooting two arrows successively?
"I..."
Olga's voice, which was somehow sulky, pulled Tigre back to reality.
"I wanted to be helpful to you."
Come to think of it, Tigre vaguely remembered that Ludra also said such a thing.
---But, really, she is an honest child...
The time after seeming to be stubborn, until she explained the reason was short. At 14 years old - even remembering himself three years ago, he felt he would be more stubborn. As Tigre managed to lift the hand which did not turned power, he patted Olga's head.
"I'm happy you did that for me. But... I was worried."
Tigre said that, after about a count of three, Olga whispered the word of apology "Sorry".
After Tigre gently stroked her head, Olga's body slanting leaned (dumped) on the young man as she felt relieved. Tigre did not reject her, and left it so. Feeling the warmth coming from the girl's body, he leaked a sigh of relief. At last, the feeling that it was finally over surged.
"I will tell you later what I can say. Also, please do not talk about this to anyone."
"...Even to Matvey?"
At Olga's question, Tigre nodded. Matvey was a capable man and also very tight-lipped. Even so, no, precisely for this reason, Tigre did not want to tell him.
"I understand. You... Since it's you, I trust you."
"Thank you"
As he expressed his gratitude, Olga somehow embarrassed squinted (narrowed) her eyes.
"It's me who should thank you."
"-Heeey, still alive?"
Suddenly, from the distance, came a sound. And also the sound of armor. Looking over there, nearly ten mercenaries with Simon at the vanguard were moving toward them. They were dumbfounded by this horrible sight, and even forgot to be cautious of the surroundings.
As Simon came up in front of Tigre and Olga sitting on the floor, while looking around the uncanny marks of destruction, asked.
"...What happened here?"
"I don't know, either"
Tigre shook his head. Although Olga stopped her action to think about something for a moment, she nodded as to show that she agreed with the young man (she was of the same opinion).
They didn't know what happened, either. "Let's put it this way" Tigre decided to do so.
'If you speak, you will have to start with the absurd talk that General Leicester was actually a monster. They might believe it looking at the situation where the ceiling and the walls were destroyed, but if the talk extends to how we defeated it, we will be very troubled.'
"That aside, what about the people below? Is the battle over?"
Tigre changed the topic. Though very explicit, Simon, being fascinated by the Commander room which was half blown away, not aware answered.
"It's over. It could be seen almost from anywhere that the Commander room was blown away by a strange black light. Did you see General Leicester?"
"...Just when I thought that I finally arrived, the cocoon of my eyes becomes filled with black light, and when I came to myself, it was this. And General Leicester was not around (was nowhere to be found)."
"Is that so? Well, anyway, it's our victory. The soldiers alive all surrendered, and this Fort... Though one part was literally destroyed, became ours. I count on you for the pay."
While lending his shoulder to Tigre and getting up, seeming to have finally pulled himself together, Simon grinned. Likewise, Olga was carried by another mercenary.
"By the way... What would you do if General Leicester came out?"
Feeling a little uneasy, Tigre asked Simon. Though it would be good if he smashed to atoms by the black bow, if he luckily managed to escape, it would be frightening. Both Tigre and Olga have already erase traces of fight.
"If that happened, of course, we would surround him and take his head."
While pleasantly laughing, Simon supported Tigre and walked the hallway full of cracks. His men carrying Olga followed.
Simon and his men, as they walked around shouting General Leicester was dead, even the guards, who still showed intention of resistance threw away their weapons one after another and surrendered. Their morale melted like pills of ice which bathed in sunlight, and faded away.
The Fort Lux fell. Although accompanied by 3,000 soldiers, they lost approximately five hundred, and there was nearly the double of injured persons' result, but considering that it is in the siege - and more importantly, having encountered a monster, this loss was fairly small.
Vaild Ludra had two worries.
One was how to report the fall of the Fort Lux. He could explain up to the Middle, but he could not fully understand what happened to the end.
Almost like a giant of fairy tale rioting destroyed from the inside, and the disastrous scene of the Commander room that could not be a human work, how on earth should he report all this to Tallard?
Summarizing what he himself had witnessed, coupled with the matter of the black light which disappeared into the sky through the Commander room, Ludra was at wits' end.
The second worry was about Tigre. This one might be more serious.
The day before leaving Valverde, Tallard gave the plan for the capture (of the Fort) to Ludra, but at that time, he said so.
'Test the ability of Tigrevurmud Vorn.'
Tallard was curious about what kind of strategy Tigre would take to capture the Fort. If Tigre could not propose anything, he should use Tallard's strategy to capture the Fort.
Sure enough, Tigre proposed an excellent plan.
Camouflaging the number here by employing the collar people. And making the soldiers lurk in the north woods. Before dawn, making a surprise attack from the west where the daylight did not reach, and opening the north gate and letting the army invade (the Fort).
These were almost the same measures as those of Tallard's strategy given to Ludra. However, in Tallard's strategy, since Tigre could not grasp Asvarre soldiers, he gave the soldiers someone who they could trust as a Commander, and made a surprise attack from the west side of the walls.
---Tigre-dono... No, Lord Tigrevurmud, at the single point of holding the soldiers, has exceeded his Excellency’s expectation.
He could not help but leak a sigh of admiration. Having tested Tigre's ability in this matter, he honestly praised him.
---While being a person from Brune, it's also a person able to think of the people of a foreign country. So that the employed collar people don't get injured, he made distribution taking it into account as much as possible.
Ludra thought that the problem was there. Sooner or later, when he would notice the falsehood of Tallard's words, Tigre would probably not forgive Tallard.
As it would become a battle if Tigre could not forgive Tallard, he would probably be a formidable enemy that Tallard had never met.
---If possible, I really hope that such a future won't come.
Ludra with his usual smile gave instructions to the soldiers, but to his face, the shadow of suffering faintly blurred.
In a room of the Fort Lux, Tigre, Olga and Matvey had gathered.
As Matvey who kowtowed and apologized, Tigre laughed and forgave him. Although it would be good if he did not cooperate with Olga, shelving himself who was not able to admonish the young Vanadis, Tigre could not blame the tough-looking sailor.
Incidentally, Matvey was monitored by soldiers. He was imprisoned, that was why he safely managed to survive. The curve sword he was wearing when in disguise was taken up before he met with Leicester.
Matvey was a brave man, but he did not have the recklessness jumping out to battlefield unarmed, and he saved himself this point.
While Ludra added, among the soldiers who surrendered, those who returned to allegiance and reorganized the army, the persons who could not follow Tallard were given food for a few days and released.
The soldiers collected the corpses whether those of enemies or allies and buried them, and washed away blood stuck within the Fort with water. This was an epidemic counter-measure as well as a measure to get rid of the ill feeling of those who surrendered. Tigre and the others also helped.
When the day was about to end only by such work, a hectic (hurried) report was brought to the Fort.
"Prince Elliot leading 30000 pirates has landed. It is still unknown whether he will be aim at this Fort or Valverde, but they are in a distance of about two days from here."
Shiver spread throughout the body. They did not receive report that the port town of Mariajo fell. While avoiding showing anxiety (impatience) to his face, Ludra asked.
"Did Mariajo fell...?"
The soldier shook his head to say "No".
"The enemy attacked several fishing villages at the coast, and seemed to land from there."
"Impossible! There’s no way that such large vessels could anchor in mere fishing villages......"
Saying up to there, Ludra pressed down his mouth with his hand as he thought of something. Tigre, who seemed to have understood in the same way, asked with a look at Matvey's face.
"I'm afraid Prince Elliot prepared a large quantity of boats. They drew closer by large vessels till the good place, picked up pirates on the boat from there and commuted back and forth at high speed."
"Using such method, they won't be able to return the boats to the large vessels......"
"They go down with ten boats from the open sea, and nine boats of pirates landed. The remaining one will get back dragging along the nine which became empty. Pirates should be accustomed to such work."
Olga was thrilled to the brief and clear explanation, and Ludra, with a serious expression, nodded.
Up to now, they have not received any contact from Tallard.
However, these thirty thousand enemies were drawing near at a distance of a day or two.
"-Calm down, for the time being, we shall do what we have to do."
The trio confused was accosted in a calm voice by Tigre.
"...Do you have any plan?"
Matvey blotted an unprecedented seriousness in his tough look and asked. After Tigre calmly shook his head, he continued with a smile.
"Not yet. But, I had a similar experience before, and I came through it (I broke out the storm)."
'Therefore, I will somehow manage, I will do it.'
When Tigre finished speaking, Olga, Matvey and Ludra regained their calm. At this time, the three people felt like having touched the container of the young man called "Tigrevurmud Vorn". They felt that they could believe the words of this person, this sentence opens the horizons, and they got the vitality to move forward.
"Then, I must go calm the soldiers for now."
With his usual smile, Ludra left the meeting room. With quick steps, but at a calm pace as to not let people feel uneasy. Olga opened wide her eyes at the remaining two, and said with admiration.
"I feel like having caught a glimpse of a king's ability."
"Don't make fun of me."
"I am serious."
At the earnest words of Olga, Tigre shrugged his shoulders. He thought that she was the kind of person to never say such things. It was true that he had no plan. From now on, he must figure it out anyway. Before the enemy arrived here.
---But, I will prove that I can do it.
Without fighting spirit, and even without trying to look big, Tigre had naturally decided so.
The sun of autumn cast a mild light through the window.
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