“You were here all this time!? Get off!”
“There’s no way I can get off now!”
Louise’s hands held the Founder’s Prayer Book. It seems like she didn’t go anywhere like he had thought and instead slipped inside the plane.
“It’s dangerous! You idiot!”
Louise firmly wrung his neck.
“Don’t forget!”
“You. Are. My. Familiar. So. Don’t. Just. Go. Do. What. You. Want! I. Will. Not. Forgive. You. Understand!?”
As the engine drowned out her voice, she shouted in his ears.
“I’m your master! If the master doesn't lead the way, then the familiar won’t listen! And I would hate that!”
Saito drooped his shoulders, sighing heavily. It seems that saying things like “It’s dangerous, don’t come” had absolutely no effect on Louise.
“What happens if you die?!”
“Then try harder! Even if you or I die, I will still find some way to kill you!” She shouted at Saito with her eyes open.
Saito felt a headache coming from the absurd things coming out of her mouth.
“Partner, sorry for interrupting but…”
“What?”
“Ten from the right have just arrived.”
The fire dragon’s breath came flying to them. At that instant, he pushed the control stick quickly to the left. The plane rolled and dodged the breath of the dragon. Louise fell down in the plane with a small cry.
“Control it more elegantly!”
Saito shouted, “Don’t say ridiculous things!”, and made the plane descend. The dragoons couldn’t follow his movements. Taking advantage of this moment, he made the plane ascend, and at its peak he turned it around. With the sun behind him, he descended again. Aiming at the dragoons who were chasing him before, he fired the autocannons and the machine guns at them.
Louise, who had fallen down in the plane, was about to cry from the terror. “Perhaps I really shouldn’t have come?” Her fear asked her. She bit her lip and grasped the Founder’s Prayer Book tightly. Didn’t I sneak on because I couldn’t let Saito die? Hey, don’t pretend as if you’re fighting alone, I’m also fighting!
Even so, she couldn’t do anything. It was always like this, but this time she felt a tinge of regret.
But nevertheless, losing to your fear won’t accomplish anything.
She searched her pockets for the Water Ruby ring Henrietta gave her, and put it on. She grasped that finger tightly.
“Princess, please protect us…” she whispered.
She patted the Founder’s Prayer Book in her right hand softly.
In the end, she hadn’t finished the edict. She cursed her own lack of poetic talent. She was hoping to think of the edict on the carriage to Germania.
That’s right. I was going to go to Henrietta’s wedding ceremony. I was waiting outside the academy’s gates for the carriage to arrive. I then learned war had broken out. Destiny is a cynical thing. She opened the Founder’s Prayer Book while muttering to herself. She was planning to pray to the Founder for their safety. She opened the book and flipped to a random page. The Water Ruby and the Founder’s Prayer Book suddenly shone, taking Louise by surprise.
“They got… wiped out? In only twelve minutes they got wiped out?”
Sir Johnston, the supreme commander of the invasion force, who was on the afterdeck of the flagship, Lexington, looking over the preparations of the bombardment attack with the ship’s cannons, turned pale at the report.
“How many enemy units were there? A hundred? Tristain has that many dragoons left?”
“Sir. A-According to the report, only one.”
“A single unit?”
Johnston stood motionless with a dumbfounded expression. He threw his hat to the ground.
“Nonsense! Twenty dragoons taken out by a single enemy unit? Surely you jest!”
Frightened at the supreme commander’s attitude, the messenger took a step back.
“According to the report, the enemy dragoon had incredible speed and agility, and also had strong, long ranged, magic based attacks. Our units were killed one by one…”
Johnston grabbed the messenger.
“What about Wardes?! Wardes, who was given command of the dragoons, what about him?! What happened to that cocky Tristainian?! Was he also killed?!”
“The viscount’s wind dragon was not included in the list of casualties. But… it seems like he wasn’t seen around…”
“So he betrayed us! Or otherwise he was too much of a coward! Whichever it was, we can’t trust him…”
Quietly reaching out his hands, Bowood said, “Reacting like that in front of all the soldiers will lower their morale, commander in chief.”
Enraged, Johnston took his anger out on Bowood.
“What are you saying?! It’s your fault that the dragoons got wiped out! Your lack of competence was just asking for our precious dragoons to be destroyed! I will report this to His Excellency. I will report it!” Johnston yelled as he reached out to grab Bowood.
Bowood drew his wand and jabbed Johnston’s stomach. The white of his eyes showing, Johnston fainted to the ground. He ordered the soldiers to carry him away.
Should have just made him sleep in the first place, Bowood thought.
Noise apart from that of explosions and cannons only agitated the troops. A single decision could be the difference between victory and defeat, especially during battle.
Bowood turned to the messenger who was staring at him with a worried expression. He spoke with a calm, composed voice.
“Even though the dragoon force has been wiped out, the Lexington is still undamaged. Also, Wardes has probably devised a plan. Don’t worry about it, just put effort in what you’re doing.”
“A single unit killing twenty units? A hero, eh…” Bowood whispered.
But at most a hero. And thus only an individual. No matter how much power an individual holds, there’ll be things he can change and things he can’t change.
“And this ship is the latter,” Bowood whispered.
He issued orders.
“Advance the entire fleet. Prepare the left cannons.”
After a while, far away, at the other end of the field of Tarbes, the battle array of Tristain’s troops, situated in La Rochelle, which was a natural stronghold due to the mountains around it, could be seen.
“All fleets advance slowly. Ship to starboard.”
The fleet turned so that the Tristain forces would be facing their left side.
“Fire the left cannons. Continue firing until further orders.”
“Upper part and the lower part, prepare the right cannons. Use grapeshot.”
Five hundred meters in front of the Tristain troops crowded within La Rochelle, the enemy force could be seen. It had the three colored Reconquista flag, and was approaching quietly. Having never actually seen an enemy before, Henrietta, mounted on a unicorn, was shaking. She closed her eyes to offer a prayer so that the soldiers around her wouldn’t see her shaking in fear.
But… her fear did not stop so easily.
Henrietta looked up at the large enemy fleet and turned pale. It was Albion’s fleet. The side of the fleet flashed. It was enemy fire. The cannon shells accelerated by gravity were flying towards Tristain’s troops.
Impact.
Hundred of cannon shells dropped down on the troops in La Rochelle. Rocks, horses and people were thrown together, sent flying through the air. The troops were trying to flee from the overwhelming might before them. The place was drowned by the sound of thunderous roars.
“Calm down! Everyone calm down!” Henrietta shouted, driven by her fear.
Mazarini whispered in Henrietta’s ear.