“Did you say you didn’t receive the allotted amount of food?”
When Frederick asked this, Boreas, the lion beastman who had gone to the supply depot to collect the rations, nodded apologetically.
“The noble in charge of the supplies told us, ‘There’s no food to feed beastmen until they’re full… if they get one meal a day, they won’t die, so that’s all we’ll give them.’”
In preparation for the possibility of an unexpectedly prolonged battle, the fort was supposed to stockpile enough food for three weeks. However, the provisions brought by Boreas’s large beastman group were clearly insufficient for 250 people over that period.
“Frederick-san, is it possible the army as a whole is short on food and being forced to ration?”
“No, that shouldn’t be the case. We’ve secured enough for everyone to last a while, and supplies are still arriving from the rear, courtesy of the commissary merchants… this is likely a personal vendetta from the officer overseeing supplies. He’s probably a noble from the southwest.”
When Noein asked, Frederick sighed and responded.
“I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s not your fault… though this is troublesome. We’re already behind schedule, and as commander, I can’t leave this spot.”
“Well, I could go in your place?”
Noein offered to the troubled Frederick.
“You would?”
“Yes, I am still an acting noble lord, after all. I doubt they’d dare treat me too dismissively.”
“…Alright, I’ll leave it to you.”
After a moment of thought, Frederick nodded in agreement with Noein’s offer.
“Mathilda, Yuri, Pence, come along with me.”
“Yes.”
“Understood.”
“Got it.”
“And I suppose I’ll bring both golems as well.”
“Planning to use them as intimidation if they resist?”
“Oh, come on, I’m not that rough. I just thought they’d be convenient for carrying the supplies… if the others happen to feel intimidated, well, that’s out of my hands.”
“Haha, calculated confidence, I see.”
With that light-hearted banter, Noein, his subordinates, and the beastmen led by Boreas all headed toward the supply depot.
…
The supply depot at the rear of the encampment was a massive facility, consisting of several tents surrounded by wooden fences. Boxes and bags of food were stacked high not only under the tents but outside as well.
Many soldiers guarded the perimeter, likely to prevent pilfering.
As Noein and his group approached the entrance of the depot, several men standing there glared at them.
“Hey, what’s your business here…? We already handed out food to those filthy beastmen. Get lost.”
One of the men, apparently the leader, barked. His equipment suggested he was a high-ranking noble, while the others around him seemed to be lower-ranking retainers.
“Noein Earlkvist, Baronet. I have come from the northwestern kingdom to aid in the defense of Barel Fortress.”
“Tch… I am Baron Varga Delaweld, entrusted with the security of this supply depot by Marquis Galdwin.”
Noein gave a formal salute as he introduced himself, prompting the baron to reluctantly respond with his own name and duty. It was clear he was from the southwestern nobility.
In the kingdom of Lordberg, there was an old custom allowing soldiers to strike down anyone on the battlefield who did not return a salute. Though rarely enacted today, it remained a symbolic mark of respect in the military.
Noein had learned the formal salute and battlefield rules from Yuri, a former mercenary leader. This served him well here, allowing him to elicit the baron’s name and position.
“Earlier, I sent my conscripts here to collect rations, but there appears to have been some misunderstanding… it seems there was a mistake in the amount they received.”
“There was no mistake. I distributed the correct amount. Your troops and the kingdom soldiers received enough for three meals over three weeks. The beastmen received enough to avoid death.”
“I need full rations for the beastmen as well. The paperwork from the command post should state that, no?”
Beyond basic decency, there was a practical issue—starving soldiers would weaken, and if they grew too weak, the fort would fall. The command post, run by the army’s generals and faction leaders, wouldn’t choose such inefficient policies just for beastman discrimination.
Clearly, this was Delaweld’s personal grudge. He was likely deriving enjoyment from making life difficult for the beastmen and the northwestern baronet Noein.
“Enough! These provisions are hard-won resources from our southwestern nobles, gathered through local merchant connections despite the hardships. Why should we waste them on feeding beastmen?”
“However, the army has stipulated otherwise. I kindly ask you to comply…”
Noein cut off his sentence as he instinctively closed his eyes. One of Delaweld’s retainers had stepped forward, raising a fist toward him.
However, Mathilda intercepted the punch just before it reached Noein’s face.
A dull thud echoed as the man’s bare fist struck Mathilda’s armored gauntlet, making him wince in pain.
“Who is this woman? My subordinates and I are proper nobles! For a beastman slave to…”
“She is my bodyguard. And she only stood there while your man struck her gauntlet.”
“Silence! Damn northern nobles, bringing pet animals to war and even letting them guard you. Do you have no noble pride? What are you here for? To cozy up to some rabbit in the fort?”
Baron Delaweld sneered at Noein with a disdainful look, but Noein narrowed his eyes and returned the glare.
“For all your insults toward my bodyguard, your own entourage seems rather lacking in talent. The hand of the man who failed to land his punch—does it still hurt?”
The baron’s face turned red with anger, and he reached for his sword.
“How dare you, you little…!”
His retainers followed suit, drawing their weapons, while Noein’s golems raised their arms threateningly.
The golems’ surprisingly swift movements startled the baron and his retainers, causing them to flinch.
As the commotion reached a boiling point, the surrounding soldiers looked on in curiosity.
“…In any case, I’ll report this matter directly to Marquis Bechtelshaim. I’ll return with him shortly, so please wait here.”
“Y-You must be joking! There’s no way the head of the northwest faction would listen to a mere baronet!”
“It will be taken seriously, then,” said Baron Delaweld, raising his voice cautiously while keeping an eye on the golems.
Noein responded with a carefree smile.
“There’s a new type of bow-like weapon used by the Northwestern nobles’ army, isn’t there? That was actually developed in my territory before spreading across the Northwest. During that process, Lord Bechtolshaim personally took a special interest in me.”
When Noein mentioned the crossbow, Baron Delaweld’s eyes widened as if recalling it.
“Even though I’m just a low-ranking knight, I was allocated over 200 recruits because Lord Bechtolshaim himself personally arranged it. So, if you were to act on your own judgment to undermine his directive, what do you think would happen? Oh, and by the way, I am also the son-in-law of the influential Viscount Keinitz, who represents the Northwest.”
As Noein continued speaking calmly, Delaweld’s face grew increasingly pale. He seemed to understand that Noein was not just a minor, powerless noble, but deeply connected to key figures in the Northwestern faction. He also appeared to realize that Noein was positioning this conflict as a “Northwest Faction versus Baron Delaweld” scenario.
“So, I’ll be sure to let Lord Bechtolshaim know about this,” said Noein.
“W-wait!”
“I won’t wait. Farewell.”
“Wait! Wait… all right! I admit there was an error in the food delivery! I’ll provide the missing supplies, so please wait! I beg you!”
The once-arrogant Baron Delaweld now looked up at Noein with a pitiful expression. Noein gazed down at him as if looking at a large piece of garbage, and Mathilda, Yuri, and Pence, who surrounded Noein, glared at the baron and his entourage in the same way.
“You should have said that from the start. We’re in a hurry, so make it quick.”
…
When Noein and his group returned with a substantial amount of food, Frederick greeted them, looking somewhat surprised.
“It seems you managed to get the supplies safely… I was a bit worried.”
“It was surprisingly easy. I simply asked him to consider the reputation of Lord Bechtolshaim and Lord Keinitz, who I’ve become acquainted with, and he complied without hesitation.”
“I see… so you used the names of the faction’s bigwigs as leverage. You’re craftier than I thought.”
Frederick gave a wry smile in response to Noein’s cheerful grin.
“All right, let’s load the supplies onto the wagon quickly. Boreas and the others, I’m counting on you.”
“Understood… thank you, Sir Noein, for helping us beastfolk.”
“Think nothing of it. You’re all comrades we’ll be fighting alongside from here on.”
The loading of supplies went smoothly, and Noein and his group departed for Barrel Fortress by early afternoon.
