Side Story: Blow Your Worries Away!

Can Someone Please Explain What's Going On! — LNCrawler · All chapters

Side Story

Blow Your Worries Away!

We were just barely unable to avoid starting a war with Aurantia, the kingdom on our southern border. We still had some time before hostilities broke out in earnest, but there was a heap left for us, the special ops division, to do. We had to complete as much groundwork and investigation into the rapidly changing nation as we could. After the war started for real, on the other hand, we wouldn’t actually be all that busy.

At any rate, since I would be away from home for a long time, I needed a way to precisely convey that to Viola. It figured I would have to leave for a campaign just when the distance between us was finally starting to close.

Would I just be pestering her? Is that all this would be?

I had even heard whispers that I’d taken a new lover! And that it was Angelica?! Impossible.

What was that gossipy tradesman going to do to fix that?! When Rohtas had informed me, I clutched at my sword, overcome by the urge to flee in spite of myself. ...I deserve a reward for simply crumpling up a single report.

I couldn’t be away from home for so long with this misunderstanding in the air, so I leapt into action to clear my name. I’d find a way to resolve Viola’s misunderstanding and then leave for the campaign with a clear mind; having to leave now with this anxiety between us would make for an extremely lonely journey.

“I have to leave again for the south.”

“The south?”

“Yes. The situation has deteriorated a bit down there. We’ve been keeping an eye on it for a long time.”

“Really? I had no idea.”

“That’s understandable—the situation hasn’t been made public yet. The only ones who currently know are the military and the government’s top brass.”

“And this is an actual campaign, not a business trip?”

“Er, well. It looks like there’s been increased activity in that area lately, and considering what we’ve already gathered from intel...”

“Does this mean there’s going to be a war?”

The sparkle in Viola’s sapphire blue eyes disappeared when I told her about the campaign, and she trembled in what seemed to be anxiety.

Is she worried about me? I know it’s not nice to think like this, but I’d be thrilled if she was.

In that moment, though, I resolved to dispel her worries. I schooled my features so I wouldn’t give away how happy I was.

“It’s far enough in the future that we can’t be sure at this point, but it’s rather likely. That’s why we’re heading down there.” Although, honestly, it’s just Aurantia picking a fight, and I wouldn’t worry too much about it. It’s a real pain in the neck.

This time around, however, we know based on our current investigation that they’re going to come out in pretty large numbers, so we’d be in for a rough time if we confronted them recklessly. We’ve got to gather all the intel we can and be diligent in our preliminary preparations.

Ugh, I get the feeling this is going to drag on. We have reason to believe that Aurantia has been preparing for a while, so we don’t have the luxury of taking our time, but who knows how long it’ll take once the fighting actually begins. If Aurantia manages to start an all-out war, it’s going to be a hard battle for us, too. If that happens, it might even turn into a drawn-out conflict like the one that forced us to delay our wedding. Great... now I’m worried that I’ll have to leave Viola while she’s worried.

I unintentionally sighed as I ruminated gloomily over what was to come. When Viola discerned how my expression had darkened, her own features hardened. Her eyes had some fight in them when she gazed back at me. Her sweet face seemed to grant me strength as she stared at me, fists clenched.

Damn it! What a cruel fate it is that drives me so far from her now!

I wrapped my hand around her delicate fist and asked of her, in hopes that it would ease her worry, “Viola, I’m trusting you to look after the place while I’m away. Keep everything nice for me, for when I come back.”

Viola’s eyes widened and she put her hand over her mouth. But I was not expecting what she said next.

“Of course! I’m not alone, after all. I’ve got Rohtas, and Dahlia and Mimosa, Bellis, Cartham, and everyone else, so I’m sure I’ll be fine. We’ll aaaaall look after the manor!” she bluntly replied, smiling.

I’m not exaggerating when I say that, for a split second, it felt like a kick to the chest. I barely kept myself from hanging my head in surrender.

...So, she’ll be fine without me, then. She has the servants, then.

I was speechless. I know she didn’t mean to, but her words really hurt. It must have shown on my face, because Viola’s look intensified, she clenched her fist harder, and followed up with:

“I won’t be lonely, I mean. So don’t worry about me, focus on your work instead!”

But it’s so hard for me to leave you! How can you possibly feel that way?!

I’m tearing up a little. I’m... Just a moment.

Does her sense of happiness simply not include me? My presence in her life is only going to grow weaker once I’m away from her and the house. That’s the first step to disappearing completely from someone’s life, right? I can’t imagine a happy life without Viola, but she doesn’t want me in hers? How can that be?!

I felt something inside me snap.

Worry over a drawn-out battle? That won’t be an issue after our brutal training regime. We’ll end it in no time. We’ll show them! We’ll beat them to a pulp!

“Damn it! I can’t let this turn into some drawn-out battle! I’m gonna do whatever it takes to wrap all this up as quickly as possible, so please! Wait for me!” We won’t be the ones to draw this thing out, at least!

My long-gone motivation welled up inside me once more, and I let my fighting spirit shine through as I assured her that the battle would be brief.

I’m coming for you, Aurantia!

—

“Corydalis, where’s the map of Aurantia?”

“Right here,” he replied, handing it to me so I could spread it out on the floor.

We were in a conference room in the special ops department at the Royal Palace. I was earnestly hammering through my work, having decided to do everything in my power as perfectly as possible, in order to keep the battle short and fulfill my promise to Viola. It was a few days before I was to leave for the campaign and time was not on my side.

We would add notes to the map of Aurantia whenever we made contact with them, but even with the decent number of notes we had, it still wasn’t enough. We need more data. Trails used by animals that would allow us to disappear in the dead of night, secret routes for undercover investigations, escape routes for whenever we might need one...

“We still don’t have enough detailed information. The info for this area here is old, right? And this area is still blank. Those roads were captured by Aurantia—they’ve laid a trap here. There’s no escape if you’re caught. There should still be a few narrow roads and trails they’re not using,” I said as I pointed to spots on the map.

“Are you for real? This is already pretty in-depth, and you want us to modify it more?” Corydalis looked at the map with an expression of disbelief.

You’re not wrong. It is a pretty detailed map, but we need to develop new routes. I swore I’d make this a short war and an easy win. I’ll use any means necessary to lead us to victory!

“Yes. Dispatch three or four people to investigate onsite. After that, make sure everyone has memorized this map,” I told him, pointing to various areas.

“...Even this wasn’t enough for him...” the division members whimpered, tears streaming down their faces as they looked at the map on the floor. They had recorded even the narrowest of village roads, so much so that the lines on the map looked like a fishing net. But no, the commander still wanted more.

“After adding in the animal trails, the map’s already nearly solid black!”

“Just finding the animal paths was a challenge.”

I could hear their muttered complaints, but didn’t really care.

“Understood,” Corydalis replied defeatedly. Don’t give me that look.

“Now that that’s out of the way...”

“What’s next?” he asked as he put the map away.

“Have you noticed a slight uptick in deserters from the Aurantians?”

“Huh?!” Corydalis dropped the map he had just neatly rolled up. I didn’t think it was that surprising.

“According to our investigations, it seems as though their attack will fail, and their king and queen won’t take any sort of action. So wouldn’t you think that would lead to an increase in dissatisfaction among the people?” I explained my reasoning behind my instructions.

“Definitely.”

“If the numbers of people newly willing to cooperate are on the rise, that’s in our favor.”

“True.”

“So I want you to come up with a plan to convince more Aurantian citizens to come over to our side.”

“...Understood.”

“Targeting people with military connections would be best, I think.”

“For Pete’s sake! Why does he keep raising the bar...?!”

“Did you say something, Corydalis?”

“No, not a word,” the lieutenant commander fibbed, looking off to the side.

I sent him off before turning to the other order members.

“I assume you all want this meaningless war to be over with soon, too. You’ll need to give me one-hundred-ten percent in order to achieve that. Show me what you’ve got, today,” I told them, looking over their faces.

“...It seems like the one who wants this over the most is the commander.”

“For sure,” Corydalis mumbled.

Cue more audible whispering.

“Did someone say something?”

“No, not a word.”

“That’s what I thought. I take it you have no objections, then. Go and get started.”

“...Yes, sir. Seriously, though, this is brutal. Honest to god brutal. I mean, I get wanting to finish the war quickly, but we’ve already been providing pretty darn accurate intel. The man says he wants more, though. ...Ugh, there’s no point in going on about it, though. Uh, let’s just do our best, I guess. So, everyone stop your whining and select members for your missions.”

“Yes, sir!” the order members responded.

I watched as Corydalis and the others, with Corydalis still grumbling under his breath, left the conference room before picking up one of the many papers piled on my desk. Now to summarize all the information we’ve gathered. I’ll look it over carefully so I can come up with the most effective strategy.

I, for one, found engrossing myself in my work delightful.

“...And then later, there should be some new intel coming in to work with.”

A few hours after the meeting:

I had worked my way through the thick stacks of paper and finally had a clear desk. From them, I had worked out the best possible plan.

Er, I may need to rework it depending on the new intel, but for the time being, it’s the best. Having this plan eases my worries about the war considerably. All that’s left now is finding a way to make sure Viola never forgets about me! I need to give her something to remember me by for the period I’ll be away! Not that there’s anything wrong with her quiet, relaxed life around the manor, but it lacks impact.

What if I took her on another outing?

I feel like I made a lot of mistakes on our last date, but this time around, I’ve reflected on them and I can come up with all sorts of plans.

As far as what the servants told me goes, Viola likes humble, simple things. I wonder if she’d like just a carefree walk around the capital, then? I’ve never done such a thing, though, so I’m clueless about what sort of shops we should stop at.

Should I ask Corydalis? No, he’d just make it into a new joke. I need to stop asking him things altogether.

What about Celosia? No, his tastes are basically the same as mine, so there’d be no point.

I could ask one of the other knights, maybe, I thought, deciding right then to go and take a break. On the way to the break room where we often gathered, I spotted several women who worked in the chivalric order offices headed toward me down the hall. They look to be about Viola’s age, maybe a couple of years older. That’s it! I bet their tastes are closer to Viola’s than any of the knights. Maybe I should ask them. I know that some of the female staff are from the noble class, but by and large, most of them live common lives.

Realizing this, I made my way over to them and began to bombard them with questions.

“May I ask you ladies something?” I motioned to them.

“Commander Fisalis!” one of them gasped, managing to give a proper salute despite her surprise at my sudden question.

“If you’re in the middle of something important, I can ask another time, but do any of you happen to know what stores around the capital are popular with young women right now?”

“Huh?”

“Popular stores. Around the capital?”

“Um...”

Their surprise was visible in their eyes; they’d probably never expected me to ask them a question like that.

“...Let’s see. Lemon Myrtle’s Confectionary is probably the most popular,” one of the women replied after a moment of thought, placing her finger on her lip.

“Everything they make is absolutely delicious. There’s always a huge line.”

“It’s no fun waiting in line, but the flavor of their food is definitely worth it,” two others added.

“I see. Thank you,” I replied in gratitude.

“Sorry we couldn’t give you a better answer!” they all said.

I gave them a little bow before leaving them.

Hmm. Lemon Myrtle’s, huh? I made a mental note of that.

“That went well. I’ll see if I can find anyone else to ask.” It’s no wonder intel gathering is my forte. They’ll all see my true power now!

Little did I know, but the office workers behind me had timidly crept away, whispering, ‘Show us what now?’,‘That’s the second time he’s made me jump now’, and ‘What’s he planning on doing with the information we gave him?’

Also, I didn’t realize it at the time, but the fact that I’d suddenly started approaching women I’d never spoken to before provoked some wild speculation amongst the staff. This led to an emergency gossip session, as their desire for answers reached fever pitch.

The day I was to leave for the campaign came at last.

I had gone on another date with Viola (which she really seemed to like!) through which I was sure I had successfully burned myself into her memory. It felt like a full-body refresh for both of us.

Still, I worried that I would eventually run out of juice on the war front in Viola’s absence, so I told her, “I’d really like some handmade handkerchiefs from you. I think they’ll help maintain my morale, and I’d keep them on me the entire time.” I was referring to the ones she had made shortly after we were married. I recalled that they were incredibly well made.

But why did she do that? Or a better question would be, why was I such a jerk when I first moved back into the main house? I’m sorry, Viola!

“Handkerchiefs? Sure,” Viola readily agreed. She then made me two dozen.

I want to have some spares—not because I plan on letting them get dirty, but because I want to display them!

I’d finished all the prep work to be done in the capital. My subordinates did excellently, too, in my opinion. In fact, they made so many additions to the map of Aurantia that it was all black, and we had to rush out an enlarged version. They really did give me one-hundred-ten percent!

“Time to roll out! Let’s make this as short as possible!” I leapt onto my horse with renewed determination, his black coat shining in the sun.

“About that. I’m already exhausted, so I’d like to go home as soon as possible.”

“Same here,” agreed the rest of my knights.

“What was that?”

“Nothing! Let’s all work our hardest so we can come home early! Huzzah!” they quickly backpedaled before giving a war cry and spurring their horses into a gallop.

I was deep in thought as various foliage and fauna rapidly passed us by. We were able to sufficiently prepare for the war. I’d strengthened my bonds to Viola. Or at least, I thought so. I was pretty sure that I had been able to calm her worries. All that remained was to execute my plans.

I’ll end this war in no time at all!

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Can Someone Please Explain What’s Going On?! Volume 3

by Tsuredurebana

Translated by Matthias Hirsch

Edited by Sarah Tilson

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

Cover illustration by Rin Hagiwara

Original Japanese edition published in 2014 by Frontier Works Inc.

This English edition is published by arrangement with Frontier Works Inc., Tokyo

In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property.

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Ebook edition 1.0: August 2020