Chapter 13: This Means War!

“We’re at war,” the king said.

His words were directed toward Mitsuha, who had been invited to the palace once again via the Sabine Express.

Well, that came out of left field.

“I would like you to take Sabine and evacuate to another country.”

So that’s why I’m here, huh.

“ABSOLUTELY NOT!” she cried.

The king and chancellor were taken aback by her rapid rejection.

“I poured blood, sweat, and tears into building my store. Leaving it behind is nothing but a last resort!”

“Oh, this is but a temporary evacuation; a cautionary measure, if you will. You would be cleared to return as soon as the coast was clear.”

“That’s not a guarantee, though, is it? I’ll be protecting my own store, and if worse comes to worst, I’ll just take myself out along with it!”

“Take yourself out? Why would you go to such an extreme?!”

“My store is my home and my castle. If you want to break in, you’re going down with me!”

The king looked uneasy.

Naturally, Mitsuha wasn’t really planning to die with her store. When she referred to taking herself out along with it, she meant this quite literally—in an emergency, she would jump to an uninhabited area on Earth, taking the store with her, then find a secure return location in one of this world’s other countries. Jumping alongside an entire building was child’s play for Mitsuha.

To continue her business elsewhere, she would simply have to make it appear as though she had died when the store vanished. Therefore, she could stand her ground there until the very last moment. The information network in this world was relatively weak, and there was no photography, so she would have no trouble creating a new life for herself somewhere far away.

Besides, people think I’m a little kid, so they’ll picture me looking different in a few years’ time. That means I’d be safe, because by then, I’d still look the same. Too bad for you, would-be sleuths, I’m already fully grown! Agh... Even though it’s a good plan, it still hurts, damn it!

Above all, Mitsuha had no desire to get involved in a war, so she simply refused the king’s request and left the palace. However, she did intend to come for Sabine if the country’s situation turned dire. The young princess had the adaptability to make it anywhere, be it another country in this world or even on Earth.

◇ ◇ ◇

Back in her store, Mitsuha spent a long time thinking. No customers came, surely because everyone had heard of the war. It wasn’t something that could be done in secret, and there was no point in doing so. War involved mobilizing a great number of soldiers, calling for volunteers and mercenaries, gathering food and other war supplies... These activities simply couldn’t be hidden.

Now that ballroom season was over, the nobles had all returned to their homelands. Beatrice had wanted to stay in the capital, but in the end, she too had gone back with her family. The only nobles who remained were those who had sons or subordinates to run their lands, and the landless nobles who had power only through their posts.

According to the king, the country they were now at war with had been acting suspiciously for some time, but he hadn’t expected them to take action so soon. They shouldn’t have had enough military and finances to fight a war for several years, and neither country was terribly impoverished or lacking in options, so the king had wondered what they were planning.

Then, he had received earth-shattering news: the enemy empire had somehow added monsters—orcs, ogres, and the like—to their army.

On top of these grievous conditions, a few nobles with territory at the nations’ borders had chosen to defect to the other side. Normally, these nobles would have kept enemies at bay while buying time for the kingdom to gather its forces. With their betrayal, however, the enemy army had quickly crossed the border territories and gone on to crush all others in their path as they advanced toward the capital.

Express messengers had been dispatched throughout the kingdom with requests for reinforcements. They were constantly switching out horses and riders to save time, but it didn’t seem as though they would make it before the enemy arrived at the capital. Even forces closest to the enemy’s path of conquest had a difficult time getting in their way.

Additionally, no one in the kingdom knew why monsters had joined the enemy army—the creatures couldn’t be communicated with, after all.

Things aren’t looking too good, to put it lightly, Mitsuha reflected. The kingdom’s pretty much in checkmate.

Her benefactor, Count Bozes, resided near the sea on the other side of the country, far away from the invasion. On one hand, his territory would be safe, but on the other, his troops clearly wouldn’t arrive in time. Armies were far slower than stagecoaches, but from what Mitsuha had been told, the enemy would soon reach the capital’s doorstep.

It takes a while for info to get from the observation posts to the city, after all. Hmmm.

All right, I’ve got it. I’m gonna go to the palace. If something happens, I can just jump to Earth, then to the store. My priorities right now are info-gathering and supporting little Sabine. And of course I’m gonna go in fully strapped!

Mitsuha equipped a knife-proof vest, three guns, a knife, a dagger, and some spare magazines. She set the store’s security system to maximum defense mode. If someone were to enter, it would release a smoke signal and fireworks, alerting her immediately.

Here I go!

◇ ◇ ◇

The guards let Mitsuha into the palace without issue, which initially caught her off guard.

Oh, so you know my face? And the king told you to let me pass? Okay, then.

Grateful for their reception, she walked into the building. This time, she hadn’t come to see the king. The two of them had already met quite recently, and he was likely too busy for her now. She searched for Sabine instead, but had no luck finding her.

I’ll have to ask someone. But then again, I feel like a person walking around a palace searching for a princess would come off kinda sketchy. It’ll be hard to play it off.

While walking around, Mitsuha bumped into the chancellor, who let her know that the king was otherwise occupied. Before she could inquire where to find Sabine, he asked her to come sit in on a meeting, practically dragging her along with him.

Hey, that’s not asking! You’re totally forcing me to come! What kind of meeting is it, anyway? And what’s it got to do with me? We talkin’ business? Do you want some supplies? Oh, so it’s a war council. Gotcha.

The council room they entered was already occupied by about thirty people, each of whom looked to be of either a noble or military sort. They were seated on simple chairs, and at the far end of the space, there was a long table with a few distinguished figures behind it.

Uh, you’re gonna drag me this far in? I’m fine with sitting in the back! Look, now they’re all staring at me!

“And who is this, chancellor?” someone asked.

See?

“Everyone, this is Mitsuha, in the flesh,” said the chancellor.

“Ahh, the infamous Mitsuha, eh?”

What do you mean, “infamous”? What’d you hear about me?!

“Mitsuha!” one of the men in the room stood up, running over to her with arms spread wide.

Is this guy comin’ in for a hug? Hell no!

THWACK!

Mitsuha sunk her fist into his stomach. The mercenary captain had taught her how to punch, and the way the man collapsed made it clear she was a star student.

Wait... That’s Alexis!

“How could you?” he squeaked. His eyes brimmed with tears as the others laughed at him.

What made you think you could hug me in front of people? Or at all, for that matter?

Mitsuha soon discovered that Alexis had been sent to the capital to gather information and open lines of communication as his father’s representative. In the meantime, Count Bozes prepared his army to support the capital.

Alexis’ responsibility carried real weight, and Mitsuha fully understood why he was participating in the war council. He even had a seat near the front of the room, which showed how important a count’s son really was. Additionally, while it was his duty, his presence here was likely also a way to help him gain some prestige.

He had come here by a fast carriage, which meant the journey had only taken him three days. The count’s forces were expected to arrive in seven.

Well, the troops are heavily armored, thought Mitsuha, so a week is actually pretty good for such a tight schedule.

In the end, Mitsuha was provided a seat in one of the front rows—closer to the edge, at the very least. Thereafter, the council discussed the current state of affairs, examined the enemy’s routes, and so on. In all likelihood, the hostile forces would arrive at the capital by tomorrow evening, make camp, then lay siege to the city the next morning.

They figured the enemy army was composed of about 20,000 individuals, 3,000 of which were goblins, orcs, and ogres, among other monsters. The kingdom’s allied forces amounted to just 2,000. Any troops that had been deployed to buy time had probably been killed in action, so it was best not to count them. The current plan was to defend the city with the capital army, guards, royal guards, and mercenaries until reinforcements from the other territories arrived.

At the front of the room, in the center of the bigwig group at the table, was the supreme commander—Marquis Eiblinger. His hair barely had sprinkles of salt within its pepper, but he was a decorated war hero. He had braved the front lines with a great Zweihänder in hand until he inherited his father’s title. His peers’ respect and admiration had made him the best man for the job.

While the roundtable was considering how to position their forces, the guards let a tired-looking soldier into the room. He was clad in iron armor and had a short sword at his side.

“I come with a message about the state of the enemy army!” he declared, sliding a large leather bag off his shoulder and opening it.

Before she knew it, Mitsuha leapt up from her chair and dashed toward Marquis Eiblinger, her thoughts lagging behind.

Weird—that’s not right—a long-distance messenger would wear light leather armor and keep the message somewhere more discreet and not have any other stuff getting in the way—I know he could be tense about talking to these people, but those eyes are just too bloodshot—the hard leather bag looks like a pain to carry—he’s like a hunter ready to strike—if I shoot him, I’ll hit people behind him—am I an idiot—I’ll die—but I have to prevent the marquis’ death—the chaos would be too bad—crap, I needed bulletproof not knife-proof kevlar—aaahhhh!

Mitsuha defended the marquis like a goalkeeper in handball. She didn’t regret her reflexive reaction; even if afforded the time to think, she would have done the same.

I’m Mitsuha, goddamn it! Mitsuha Yamano!

The faux messenger whipped out a small, multishot bow. It had the shape of a crossbow and a special design that allowed it to release five bolts at once. Right before he fired, someone jumped in front of Mitsuha.

THUD.

Mitsuha’s left shoulder seared with pain as she fell backward. A moment later, a man collapsed on top of her. Both his shoulder and abdomen were riddled with bolts.