Chapter 65: The Glory Seekers

I was separated from Michael, leading the Rosenheim soldiers. Their equipment was far worse than the duchy army’s, but their morale was solid. A soldier who appeared to be the group’s representative spoke to me.

"I’m Gustav, captain of Rosenheim’s militia."

"I’m Wolfgang Ritter von Streit. I’ve been placed in command of your men, so follow my orders."

"We’ll follow your orders, sir. Forgive me for asking, but may I pose a question?"

"Go ahead."

"Will our campaign pay be left with the estate manager?"

"Well, isn’t that the standard arrangement?"

"Hah, if it’s left with him, we won’t see a coin of it. We’ve fulfilled our duties of mobilization and labor, but campaign pay has never been properly paid out."

Huh? What was this about?

Why would they withhold campaign pay?

Commoners bore the duties of taxes, labor, and mobilization, and among these, mobilization came with campaign pay as a kind of custom and unwritten rule. Without it, the people wouldn’t willingly answer the call. The estate manager had apparently lost even his own people’s trust.

Could it be that the Finance Minister had used the estate manager’s request for troop deployment as the pretext for the Crown Prince’s campaign—an elaborate scheme to undermine Administration, which had briefly sided with Military? After all, estate managers fell under Administration’s purview.

But if things were this mismanaged, you could certainly hold the final decision-maker accountable—the Administrative Minister who had appointed the estate manager in the first place.

Just to be sure, I checked the soldiers’ status with the Manager Scouter and confirmed they were telling the truth. If you failed to pay people who had risked their lives during mobilization, would they fight well the next time they were called? You could force mobilization, but morale would inevitably plummet. That was precisely why campaign pay existed.

"I’ll take personal responsibility for seeing that you receive your campaign pay."

"Thank you! We’ll obey your orders, sir!"

Militia captain Gustav and the soldiers’ expressions brightened at once. Nobles didn’t make casual promises to commoners. But I aimed to be a good noble, and ensuring they received pay they were rightfully owed wasn’t difficult.

If that was enough to win their loyalty, it was well worth the effort. I selected five men familiar with the northern area and sent them to Michael as scouts. The Rosenheim soldiers and I were positioned on the right wing and advanced in coordination with the center army.

After marching north for half a day, evening had already fallen. Michael ordered the entire army to make camp. Receiving the orders through Ted, I passed along the instructions to set up camp. Ted, with his good stamina and quick feet, made an excellent messenger.

"Sir Wolfgang! The fire’s going."

"Good work."

I sat down next to Ted and Oscar to warm myself by the fire. Autumn was creeping in, and the weather was starting to turn chilly. Southern Germany’s climate was mild in summer, but winters were bitterly cold. I had heard the Main River froze solid.

For reference, it was September now.

"The weather’s so unpredictable. Already getting cold."

Plate armor was lined with leather on the inside, which made it uncomfortably cold to wear in winter. That was why knights typically wrapped themselves in a cloak—exactly what I was doing now. And it wasn’t even winter yet.

"Should I build the fire up more?"

"No, it’s fine. More importantly, bring Gustav to me."

Ted fetched Gustav. I instructed him to form a small reconnaissance team to search the surrounding area. Michael’s scouts were already out, but their range was limited, so I had the Rosenheim men cover the area around the right wing.

I wished the Searcher Scouter could detect specific groups, but unfortunately, at its current rank (E), searching was impossible unless it was locked onto a specific target. That was why I was shivering in the cold, camping out and combing through the northern area the hard way.

"Sir Wolfgang, what kind of ordeal is this? I thought there’d be a battle the moment we reached Rosenheim, but I never imagined we’d end up camping in the forest."

"Ted, there are always surprises on the battlefield. Just think of it as a learning experience."

Yes, think of it as a learning experience. Oscar seemed to agree, nodding along. My retainers and I still had far too little experience. We were feeling the cold of the darkening forest with our whole bodies.

Camping on the main road between Rosenheim and Breisburg hadn’t been cold at all, but this time we were getting a proper initiation. At least the Rosenheim soldiers seemed accustomed to the chill.

"By the way, the handmaid you fancy—Michael gave his permission."

"Is that really true?"

Oscar was overjoyed at the good news. Meanwhile, Ted grumbled about having no prospects of his own and ate a Landjäger, a preserved sausage. Michael knew Oscar, whom I always kept at my side, so he had judged him worthy of being entrusted with a handmaid and had approved the marriage discussions.

"Hans got settled, Oscar got settled. How is it only me left out? Sir Wolfgang, please find me a match too."

"Well, how about my younger sister?"

Gustav, who had returned from his reconnaissance, chimed in.

Ted perked up at once.

"You have a younger sister? Is she pretty?"

"In my eyes, she’s the prettiest girl in our village."

"Oh, nice! You have to introduce me!"

A village girl for Ted, then?

Since I didn’t know how things would unfold later, forging a connection with Rosenheim’s militia captain didn’t seem like a bad idea. According to Gustav’s report, nothing had been found in the area. So I gave orders to set the watch.

"This is like a game of hide-and-seek."

The route north of Rosenheim led to Count Euz’s territory, which bordered the Duchy of Burgundy and the Duchy of Roden. Had the bandits really gone that far? If so, the search could drag on and our prepared supplies might run out. We were also receiving provisions from Rosenheim in addition to what we had brought, but there were limits.

The Crown Prince’s glorious first campaign had turned into a mess. The Rosenheim estate manager who had caused it would not escape unscathed. If Darth had taken proper measures and located the enemy’s whereabouts in advance, he could have actually earned a promotion.

The next day, a messenger came running from Michael.

"All unit commanders are ordered to assemble at headquarters!"

I hurried to the command tent. Inside were Michael and the Crown Prince, both wearing grave expressions. Most faces in the tent were grim. Before them stood a bloodied man, catching his breath. Michael spotted me and waved me over.

"Sir Streit, we’ve found them."

"Where?"

"Feuzen. A small village north of Rosenheim. This man was heading to Rosenheim to request help after his village was attacked."

Michael glanced at the bloodied man, then addressed the frozen Crown Prince.

"Your Highness, we must advance at once. There’s a good chance the villagers are still holding out, so we should surround the bandits and crush them from both sides."

"...Advance at once!"

It looked like the village of Feuzen would be the main battlefield. I hurried back to the right wing to break camp and prepare for the march. The suddenly urgent atmosphere sent palpable tension through the ranks.

After a swift march, we finally emerged from the forest and could see Feuzen under attack. The militia was desperately resisting the bandits from behind their palisade. Smoke rose from several places. It was a small-scale but genuine siege—quite a sight.

Thud thud thud thud!

But before the full army could even organize its formation, the ten Beren Lance Cavalry riders shot forward like arrows. They had charged out to monopolize the glory the instant they spotted their target. But then twenty other cavalry burst from the opposite tree line.

What the hell was that?

Whose cavalry were those?

"It’s the Burgundy flag!"

Someone shouted from the center army.