Deployment
Father is leading the army into battle. My brother is going with him. They are departing with a large number of troops in tow.
“Are you really okay with this?”
As I went to see them off at the gate leading out of the royal capital, Father asked me.
In fact, the Royal Capital Guard will also be accompanying Father.
Father plans to conduct a thorough delaying battle until preparations for a counterattack are complete. I told him to take the Royal Capital Guard along as they would be a necessary fighting force for that.
The Royal Capital Guard is well-trained. They're competent enough to be of practical use in battle.
However, the Imperial army will surely attack the capital too. Father was reluctant because he believed a defensive force would still be needed there.
But if the Empire does attack the capital, the Royal Capital Guard alone wouldn't be enough. In that case, their absence doesn’t matter. After all, the capital will be “inaccessible.”
“It’s not a problem. I’ll immediately complete the remaining mana furnaces and activate the capital’s defensive barrier.”
The Royal Capital Defensive Barrier. A prototype of it was already installed at a fortress near the Empire's border—this one will be a multi-layered version of that. Its defensive capabilities are astonishing. To use an Earth-based comparison, even if the Soviet Union's largest nuclear bomb had been deployed exactly as planned, it wouldn’t be able to penetrate it. I designed it with that level of attack in mind.
An invasion of the capital is inevitable. It’s impossible for the Kingdom’s army alone to suppress the entire Imperial army. Logically, the powerful Arland army would be pinned down while a separate unit attacks the capital. If the capital falls, morale will collapse. And with low morale, even Arland’s elite troops won’t be able to fight properly. That’s why I’ve constructed an excessively robust defensive barrier.
“It was supposed to be something for the future… I’m sorry, Alice. I’m leaving the capital to you. Don’t push yourself.”
“Don’t worry about defense. But promise me you won’t die. Just focus on buying time. I’ll make something that guarantees our victory.
Also, take this with you.”
I handed them both charms. They’re infused with a small dose of the O-201 reagent that I made with Eibon. However, I can’t guarantee the effect, so I kept the contents a secret. If I had had a World Tree leaf, I could have made a perfect version, but because I botched the choice of substitute material, it only has minimal effect. Just one drop of that magic potion is inside. It should activate automatically if needed.
“A charm from Alice, huh? Seems like it’ll be effective.”
“Don’t do anything reckless. If you die on your own… I’ll burn the whole world down.”
“We’ll come back alive, no matter what.”
Father and Big brother departed, leading the army.
After seeing off my family and the troops, I began issuing orders to the remaining nobles. Those who stayed behind were purely bureaucrats. Some of the more martial-minded ones had gone off with Father.
“I hereby declare a state of emergency in the capital.”
““““You’ve gotta be kidding! We’ll fight too!””””
The citizens erupted in outrage. On closer inspection, they were wielding household items as weapons. Are they planning to face swords with hammers…? Honestly, they might pull it off...
On a national level, Arland is full of combat-hardened people. It's like if Satsuma samurai were living as commoners in Edo—brimming with fighting spirit. It’s terrifying that ambush warfare is considered a natural tactic here.
Due to the country’s origin—born from persecution by the central government—Arland has unmatched unity. However, that doesn’t change the fact that they’re non-combatants. And I have no intention of letting them fight.
They are my people. I am their princess. It is my duty to protect them.
“Absolutely not.”
“We can handle defensive fighting, at least!”
“Absolutely not! If you try to fight without permission, I’ll have you all jailed until this is over!”
“““……”””
“The capital will not fall. Please believe in me. I’m asking you.”
I will protect the capital no matter what. Even if they send thousands or tens of thousands of troops, I will protect it. So they don’t need to fight.
“From this moment forward, I will withdraw from all administrative duties. I’ll begin weapons production immediately to mobilize the training units. I leave everything else to you.”
“We still don’t know what the training units are, but understood. We will handle all civil affairs in your stead, Princess.”
The training units are classified, so neither the citizens nor the remaining nobles know about them. Still, they seem to understand that I’m planning something. I entrust them with the paperwork from here on out.
I immediately confined myself to the military factory inside the treasure vault, and began expanding the facility and increasing production.
Currently, over a thousand R&D projects are ongoing, but I halted all except those with immediate application. First, I reorganized the personnel.
Top priority is the installation of mana reactors in the capital. That takes the most manpower. Then, construction of the second armed airship, which is near completion. The third hasn’t even been started yet, and the mana battleship isn’t even halfway built, so I’ve canceled both.
Then I expanded the production of ammunition, bullets, and bombs. Gunpowder is being manufactured in the alchemy facility, which is also being expanded. Essential materials will be procured on a priority basis. Father told me I could freely use the national treasury and the kingdom’s logistics routes.
“Princess, the armed airship has departed.”
“Alicia. Tell them to make sure they don’t push themselves. Since their training is lacking, make sure they strictly engage only from outside the enemy’s range.”
“Understood. Please take care not to push yourself either, Princess.”
“And send an emergency deployment order to the Second Training Unit. If we focus all base resources, we should be able to get them operational right away, right?”
At that, Alicia made a bitter face.
“Apparently, the newly established General Staff Office redistributed supplies… but the commander of the Second Training Unit has been engaging in behavior bordering on looting within the base.”
The man who commands the Second Training Unit is a major problem child. There have been numerous reports saying that he makes Rudolf look like a mere prankster. If the Imperial invasion had been delayed by just a few months, he would’ve been discharged from the army.
According to him, “I just enjoy life a little.”
That said, he's good at handling subordinates, has high military capability, and possesses charisma. In fact, the reason I thought I could mobilize the Second Training Unit was thanks to his achievements. The way he established a special forces unit that could be deployed on Earth within just a few months was genuine skill.
“Again?”
“They say he told a complaining supply officer, ‘You guys have handguns, right? Then do something about it.’ He insisted that his own unit needed perfect equipment and even took away a mortar that was still under test deployment.
Also, he’s already been dispatched to the border on an assault transport ship. For a while, he’ll be engaged in a mission to evacuate civilians from remote villages where evacuation is likely to be delayed.”
Certainly, villages near the border might not make it in time to evacuate. So there’s no issue. He’ll handle it well. As a soldier... personality aside, his capability and patriotism are real. He should at least follow orders. I’m still uneasy, though.
“Then tell the General Staff Office to do their best. And issue orders to the training unit to complete their training faster. We need to send them out even a second sooner.”
If possible, I don't want to move them. The training unit is responsible for cultivating the core personnel of the future military. In other words, future officers. They are not the kind of people who should die here. However, with no reserve forces in the kingdom, I have no choice.
“Understood.”
Once Alicia left the Treasury, I exhaled and looked around the inside. It looked like an industrial zone no matter how you saw it. The Treasury now boasted an industrial capacity at Earth's level. Of course, I won’t be putting all of it out in the open. Even Arland would fall into utter chaos if I did. But I had no choice. It seems I’m also being driven into a corner.
I entered one of the houses in the treasury and sat on the sofa to begin revising my spirit contracts.
The method was simply mutual agreement with the spirits. They were quite reluctant, but I managed to persuade them. If anything extreme were to happen to me, the connection would be cut.
Next, using the teleportation feature in my magic cell phone—only available to me, my family, and friends—I handed protective charms to Anon, Keena, and Sharon. I had a bad feeling. At the very least, the magic phone had defense functions, and with equipment, Anon should be able to manage somehow.
“How soon can the second armed airship be combat-ready?”
I asked one of my clones.
“About two months. Incorporating the data from the first ship took time.”
So there were some glitches after all. Of course, it wasn’t enough to affect combat, but it still needed fixing.
“Also, maintain the 20-inch cannon left outside the royal capital.”
“That one can be used, but we don’t have any shells.”
“Then start mass production. If we don’t at least build some interception facilities, they’ll take root.”
Even if they can’t attack, being surrounded would be a huge nuisance. The citizens might panic and charge at the Imperial Army. So we need powerful interception systems.
For now, let’s place the extra turrets from the armed airships on open land in the new royal capital. I’ll have my personal guard learn how to operate them. They’ve been studying anyway. There should be no problem.
As for the capital’s security, I’ll mobilize the knights guarding the royal castle and the Viceroy Guard. Plus, the escorts hired by the Viceroy Merchant Union can be reorganized into a neighborhood watch. The royal castle’s security level will drop, but we’re short on soldiers, so I’ll have to bear with it. I don’t think it will be an issue.
Next is increasing the production of the Golem Legion. We’re already using golem-based automated production, but lately, many golems have been under renovation, leaving only around 500. I want to increase that to 5,000 within two months.
Before I knew it, it was around sunset.
“Princess, you didn’t eat your snack!?”
“Is it really that surprising that I skipped a snack?”
“People say it’s a sign of impending catastrophe!”
How rude.
“We’re at war, so I’m doing my best too.”
While the soldiers are risking their lives, I can’t be the only one lounging around eating snacks in the rear. That would make me a total scumbag. I need to endure it too. Though I’ve been feeling dizzy for a while now.
“Well, anyway, how’s transport by carriage?”
“Ah, yes, we’re delivering supplies to the border forts without issue. Thanks to the storage pouches, transport has become extremely efficient.
However, some are saying we might be sending too much.”
“Wounded soldiers and such are sent to the border forts too. Having plenty of supplies makes the frontline feel secure. I don’t want them fighting while starving, so send as much as possible.”
The military’s food situation has greatly improved with the mass production of storage pouches, and it’s been well-received. In this world, military rations during wartime typically consist of hard bread with enhanced preservation, dried vegetables, and jerky—enough to make even a soldier sigh. But in Arland, that’s changed for the better.
When it was announced that even during war, they’d be getting stew, knights and soldiers cried. They must’ve really hated the old food. The bread’s been replaced with soft ones too.
This is thanks to the added preservation magic on the military’s storage pouches. Even now, a large amount of food is probably being cooked and stored at the border forts.
The newly developed military canteens have also been well received. Despite looking like 500-milliliter containers, they can hold a lot of liquid. Each soldier carries one, making water transport easy. There are also magical tools for producing water now, so no need to carry heavy water jars like before.
“Understood. But please, at the very least, make sure you eat.”
“I’ll eat later.”
I’m just too busy now. I can have something tomorrow morning.
“No, that won’t do. Come on, let’s go.”
“W-wait a second, I’m busy right now!”
“No excuses. What will we do if you collapse, Princess? You’re taking a break, even if we have to drag you.”
And so, I was dragged away by Alicia.
What do you think about this chapter?
