Several hours had already passed since the battle had begun.
The barricades and trenches we had prepared were already removed, and enemies were clinging to the castle walls.
We detonated the explosives we had set up in advance a few times, but after the first explosion, we could not instill any fear in the enemy.
I pushed a peasant soldier trying to climb up a ladder off. Though our forces were few, we were defending valiantly.
Even so, there were casualties and injuries…
I kept an eye on the overall situation, deploying reserve troops and allowing for rest while tending to the injured as needed.
Boom!
A violent explosion and vibration shook the fortress.
I checked the direction of the sound and saw clouds of dust rising.
It was toward the castle gate…
I headed to assess the situation. It seemed the gate hadn’t been breached, but I could see it was slightly warped.
I climbed the wall to check on the enemy forces. From a distance, I saw about five men seated behind the peasant soldiers. Those men were glowing with light as they chanted spells.
They’re too far away… It looks like arrows or projectiles won’t reach them.
I thought they might be using their magic to break down the castle wall, but perhaps they intended to use it on the gate.
Maybe they want to leave the wall intact for reuse, assuming they can take this fortress.
The magical attacks continued, but somehow the castle gate held up, and as the sun set, the enemy retreated.
Inside the fortress, everyone looked exhausted, but morale remained high.
At least I could help by tending to the injured.
“Your Grace, it is an honor,” someone said.
“It’s fine. It’s my responsibility,” I replied.
While assisting with the treatment, I was called over by Erich. He seemed to want to report something, so I headed toward the barracks. As I stepped through the door, injured soldiers were being brought in from all sides.
The room Erich guided me to had maps and various documents spread out.
It looked like the command room for this fortress.
“Your Grace, here you go,” he said.
I glanced over the documents he handed me.
“Fifty-six dead and one hundred eight injured…”
Should I consider this damage light or heavy?
“Today, thanks to the fighting starting in the early afternoon, the barriers, trenches, and explosives, we’ve managed to keep the damage to this level. However, starting tomorrow, we expect a full-scale battle, and further casualties are anticipated.”
That’s true.
We expect even fiercer fighting starting tomorrow. I wonder if the separate unit will arrive in time before this fortress falls…
I continued to read through the other reports. We had a reasonable stockpile of food and medical supplies, so we could manage, but our stock of arrows and projectiles was being used up more than we expected.
Will we have enough?
We might need to use them sparingly. If that happens, it will be hard to deal with the enemies clinging to us, but if we run out completely, we’d be in serious trouble. We wouldn’t be able to provide any countermeasures.
“Will we be able to hold out tomorrow?”
“…Honestly, it seems we’ll face a tough battle,” Erich said, sounding troubled.
“…We have no choice but to wait for the separate unit. That was the plan from the beginning,” he continued.
“Indeed. We will do our best,” I replied.
I thought about telling him not to overexert himself but held my tongue.
Without any personal combat skills, I had no choice but to rely on their strength. In the end, if they didn’t do their best, I wouldn’t achieve anything, so telling them not to overexert themselves felt inappropriate.
…Maybe I was being a bit too negative.
“Your Grace. I don’t intend to die in a place like this,” he said.
I was surprised and instinctively stared at Erich’s face.
“…Do you have some sort of magic that lets you see into people’s hearts?” I asked.
“Well, who knows?” he replied.
With people like Leila and Erich, I was always being helped.
Yet, instead of feeling pitiful, joy took up a significant part of my emotions.
I involuntarily clenched my fist and thrust it out toward Erich.
An awkward silence followed.
Ah, this world doesn’t have a fist bump culture, does it…
I could see a question mark hovering over Erich’s head, so I explained what to do.
“Just touch fists together.”
“…What is the intention behind that?” he asked.
I smiled as if to tease him.
“Well then, try using your magic to see through it.”
Erich smiled as if he had resigned himself and returned the fist bump.
