“It appears the enemy has no outposts ahead, your lordship.”
“Mm. So it is according to the information from our spies. It seems there’s nothing impressive about this Demon Lord named Dantalian……”
I nodded after hearing the report from my subordinate.
Currently, my troops, the troops of the Margrave of Rosenberg were marching slowly. The destination was Demon Lord Dantalian’s stronghold. Our advance was proceeding smoothly. The morale among the troops was high, and everyone’s steps were light.
It was an abrupt dispatch, but they were all compliant. I was honestly grateful. A force of 1,500 soldiers were all obediently following orders from their superior without voicing any complaints. There was nothing as fulfilling as this for a person of great stature.
“Your lordship. Do you think it’s true? The rumor that there’s an endless supply of black herbs piled up in Demon Lord Dantalian’s castle……?”
“It doesn’t matter if it’s true or not. The important thing is the fact that that kind of rumor has widely spread throughout our land.”
The decisive reason for our dispatch was because of the Black Death.
This terrifying plague had instantly established itself as a nightmare, reigning over all the people of the land. The friends and family that were fine yesterday would end up as cold corpses after a single night. It was terror itself.
Unfortunately, the people of my land were no different. Within a single month of the outbreak, 2,000 of my citizens had died.
Everyone trembled in fear of the plague, regardless of one’s social status. According to a report from a tax collector, the population of a small mountain village had all perished. He had initially gone there to collect taxes, but ended up burying corpses instead. It was a disturbing story……
“Insecurity and fear are at its peak for my subjects. If we were to stay still and take no action, then the public sentiment will be disturbed. If that were to happen, then there is the possibility that a revolt may occur as a result.”
“A revolt……”
My adjutant’s face stiffened.
He must have been surprised that I, the lord, would mention the possibility of a rebellion. My adjutant may have been competent, but his courage was a bit lacking. Would he relax if I smiled here?
“As far as things go, this is merely a hypothesis. Think about it yourself, what would my subjects do if their lord did nothing while their close friends and colleagues were dying? It would be difficult for my subjects to tolerate that.”
“But that’s irrational…… Is the Black Death not divine punishment from the gods? That’s not something within your lordship’s capability to handle.”
“Be it divine punishment or anything else, it is the lord’s duty to look after his subjects. If a lord were to run away from this situation, the only thing that awaits him or her is ruin.”
“Your lordship.”
My adjutant looked at me with a gaze full of admiration.
Stop looking at me with those kind of eyes. Have I not said something obvious? This is quite troubling that youngsters these days are so easily moved by anything.
Or is it perhaps that I’ve gotten so old that I’m unable to keep up with their sensibility? This is depressing. The only things which increase through age are wrinkles and thigh fat. It would be nice to quickly go into a battlefield and die an honorable death……
If I were to voice a complaint, then it would be the fact that there has been no war that felt like an actual war in these past few years. Something like a massive war was even more improbable due to the outbreak of the Black Death.
Thus, I had a substantial chance of dying, not on the rough grounds of a battlefield, but on top of a comfortable bed instead. In other words, a shameful death for a warrior. I wouldn’t have the honor to face my ancestors in the afterlife……
“At the very least, the citizens must know that the higher-ups are not fooling around. Whether there are black herbs in the demon lord castle or not, that is a secondary issue. Showing them that we’re exerting our utmost effort in order to do something is what’s important.”
“I understand. That’s what politics are, huh……”
“Mm.”
I nodded.
“The thing that we should be thankful for is that the main character of the rumor is Dantalian. It’s a relief that it’s the rank 71st Demon Lord.”
“A relief?”
That was so.
Suppose the rumor to have spread was that the one holding a monopoly over the black herb was the rank 8th Barbatos. It would be immensely difficult for my Margrave forces alone to assault Barbatos. Making use of the rumor politically would be impossible.
On the other hand, rank 71st Dantalian was a rookie.
He was on the level of an individual that you’d often forget about.