Now then, that’s the end of the story from the time we left this place until the war began—but I wonder what comes after that?

I’ve heard a brief version at Zelkis’ estate, but is there still more to tell?

“The part about the war, I already told most of it to Sera. The mercenary bunch from over there came to us with a proposal, and we accepted it… That’s all there is to it.”

So said Zighart curtly.

Alec gave a wry smile at that, but from Zighart’s point of view, maybe it really felt like something was left unresolved or… something like that.

I don’t think he’s particularly interested in fighting people, but maybe he did have some thoughts about how poorly the western forces handled things?

“Zighart. Did you not participate in the battle at all? In Mother’s letter, she wrote that the Eastern faction performed outstandingly among the entire army, and that Riana’s contributions in particular were significant. Alec and Luban were also part of the campaign from our side, and our soldiers are well-trained from dealing with the monsters in the Demonlands, but still, I don’t think they could’ve performed to such a degree.”

“Huh?”

I hadn’t read Ms. Minea’s letter, so I didn’t know, but from Seriana’s words, it seems like Riana played a pretty active role.

Ms. Minea must’ve gotten that information through her husband, so it’s probably not an exaggeration.

Still, for results like that…

Even setting Alec and the others aside, our soldiers are mainly those who’ve dealt with the monsters from the Demonlands, so I don’t think they’d fall behind so easily against humans.

Alec and Luban, and even if they don’t fight, Liesel and August are strong too, but they’re the type to be powerful in one-on-one or small-group battles, not the kind to go wild against large forces.

Which means—it must’ve been Zighart.

…That’s not what he told me back there though?

“I just burned through a few mercenary bands and regular army units. The skilled ones all pulled out on the first day. I don’t mind if they chalk it up as a win for their faction or territory… but calling it my achievement is a bit much.”

“Ahh… I see, that’s how it was.”

Seriana nodded at Zighart’s words.

And I couldn’t help but nod along beside her.

He had mentioned that among the mercenaries they gathered, the tough or seasoned ones withdrew on the first day, leaving mostly middling types behind.

And then there were the western regulars, who weren’t all that strong to begin with.

Zighart didn’t go into battle to make a name for himself, and no matter how many weak soldiers he brought down, it probably felt pointless to him.

Still… I wonder how many he actually took down?

And burned through…?

I don’t know the numbers of the enemy, but if he’s talking about multiple mercenary groups and regular army units, that could mean dozens, maybe even hundreds…

Even for a battlefield, that must’ve been a brutal sight.

Friend and foe alike must’ve been stunned.

“Zig, did you do all that by yourself?”

Up until now, Fiora had quietly listened to Zighart speak, but apparently something had been nagging her, because she directed the question at him.

Zighart had returned to town and gone straight home, and Fiora should’ve been at the house with him at that time.

Apparently, though, she didn’t ask him about it then.

Well… since the story would be shared here anyway, it’s more efficient to hear it all at once. That’s very much like the two of them.

That aside, it seems what’s bothering Fiora is whether the battle Zighart described was carried out by him alone or not.

It was quite the disaster, but does it really matter if it was done by one person or several?

I couldn’t quite grasp Fiora’s concern, but the other women—Seriana and the others—seemed to understand as they looked toward Zighart.

“Yeah. A few spells did the job.”

Receiving their gazes, Zighart apparently understood what Fiora was getting at and answered plainly. Fiora and the others responded with expressions that were somewhat exasperated.

“I knew there was a power imbalance significant enough to prompt the Western forces to reorganize, but this is worse than I thought.”

Ugh… I still don’t quite get what’s bothering them.

I understand that Zighart is strong, and I get that the western side was a mess and lacked motivation, but…

Maybe I’ll ask Seriana about it later.

The story still seems to be continuing, and asking questions now would just interrupt the flow.

“…Hm?”

Feeling a gaze from beside me, I turned my head to find Seriana looking down at me.

She wore a sly grin… maybe she was watching my reaction.

“Hm? Something wrong?”

“No, nothing at all. More importantly, keep going with the story.”

“I see? Then… Alec, I’ll leave the rest to you.”

“Right.”

And so, the baton passed to Alec once more, and he picked up the tale.

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Sera ・Blessing・【Hideout】+1 【Prayer】 【Mira’s Blessing】 【Water’s Garment】

Blessed Item ・【Floating Orb】+1 【Shadow Sword】+1 【Scarlet Bee Needle】 【Fairy’s Eye】 【Dragon’s Lung】 【Amber Sword】 【Danrem’s Thread】 【Serpent’s Tail】 【Ankle Bracelet】 【Amber Shield】 【Purple Wings】 【Red Sword】 【Monkey’s Arm】 ・8 cards

Seriana ・【Area Identification】・【】・0 cards

Elena ・【】・【Green Fang】 【Amber Sword】・4 cards

Alec ・【Power Strike】・【Red Shield】 【Fierce Horned Trumpet】・10 cards