Vol 1 Chapter 16 – Fighting the Invaders Who Attack the Empire Alongside My Wife【Vol 1 – When Written in Kanji, It’s Saionji Yumeba】

The Empire. The Imperial Capital. House Saionji. A certain day of a certain month.

“…It’s started.”

The Continental Security Maintenance Alliance’s invasion of the Empire had begun.

I’d gone to the palace in preparation for this day, submitting documents detailing the plan to key figures and reporting to the Emperor—but I was ignored.

Part of it was because I’m the discarded prince, but more than that, the story about the Continental Security Maintenance Alliance probably sounded too unrealistic.

Well, I knew from the start they wouldn’t believe me. If it at least lingered in the back of their minds that such a plan existed, maybe they’d respond a bit faster.

Currently, the three of us—me, Yumeba, and Yukina-san—had gathered in House Saionji’s living room, projecting my right eye’s World Map magic into the air, watching as the invasion began with the Empire surrounded on all sides.

“What incredible magic. If someone told me this was sorcery, I’d almost believe them.”

“…Indeed.”

Just how much does this woman actually know?

“From here, swift horses will be sent from the borders to the capital, then an emergency meeting will be held, soldiers scattered throughout the Empire will be gathered and sent to the borders, right? When do you think we’ll receive our summons?”

“Probably four days at the earliest. Two weeks at the latest?”

I answered Yumeba’s question.

The Empire’s territory is vast, and there’s quite a distance from the borders to the capital. By conventional standards—by Earth’s standards—there’s no way swift horses could arrive in a few days, but this world has sorcery.

Using recovery sorcery and horse equipment inscribed with enhancement inscription magic, travel distances increase dramatically.

Well, that’s technology the enemy uses for their advance too.

“That’s quite a range.”

“It depends on how the meeting progresses. Even though the capital is at the Empire’s center, swift horses from the borders won’t arrive simultaneously. It’ll take time to recognize that the Empire is surrounded on all fronts. If they honestly accept what I reported, four days minimum. If they don’t, two weeks maximum.”

“…Four days seems unlikely.”

“Royalty has unnecessarily high pride, after all.”

At worst, my report might backfire, but in that case it’s the royalty who’ll bear responsibility, not me—a former prince.

“Either way, all we can do is wait.”

House Saionji couldn’t deploy without authorization. For now, we could only wait.

◇◇◇

The situation was laughably bad.

There weren’t many soldiers guarding the fortresses protecting the borders to begin with, and there was no way they could hold against a surprise attack by a massive army.

Thirty percent of the fortresses guarding the borders fell on the first day, and fifty percent fell by the second day.

On the third day, swift horses finally reached the capital with their reports, and an emergency meeting was convened.

Even during the meeting, swift horses continued arriving one after another, and the participants turned pale at how bad the situation was.

How do I know all this? Because I was peeking at the meeting with True Eyes clairvoyance magic.

Unlike when it was Eagle Eye clairvoyance sorcery, this magic can pick up voices if I want it to.

World Map magic can only monitor from above, so it’s incompatible with places that have roofs.

And today, the fourth day, the Empire finally grasped that it was surrounded on all sides.

The meeting grew heated. Opinions emerged that above all else, they should gather soldiers from throughout the Empire and send them to the borders, but opposing views about domestic security, the threat of monsters, and various other concerns kept delaying a decision.

“How is it?”

“At least it doesn’t look like we’ll get summoned today.”

I answered Yumeba honestly, knowing she was aware I was spying on the meeting.

“How’s the enemy advance?”

“Seventy percent of the fortresses have fallen. The fastest groups have already captured towns near the borders and are still advancing.”

“…The casualties?”

“Too many to count.”

On just the fourth day, casualties had already reached five digits, so it was only a matter of time before they hit six digits.

The alliance forces showed no mercy. Any Empire soldiers, even those who surrendered, were mercilessly crushed without question.

It would take time for them to advance all the way to the capital, but the number of casualties in the meantime would be considerable.

◇◇◇

The Empire was being literally devastated.

Bad reports continuously flew into the capital, and the meeting grew heated each time.

No matter how great the Empire, ten years without full-scale war breeds complacency.

The Empire’s proud, renowned generals led troops to deal with the situation, but with everything reactive and delayed, they couldn’t overturn the circumstances.

Of course, the enemy was taking appropriate damage too, but the Empire’s losses were still overwhelmingly greater.

“Just seven days for this.”

Some places were holding out by barricading themselves in walled cities, but even more cities had been occupied.

Soldiers were constantly forced to fight at a disadvantage, and generals had no time to grasp the situation.

“Summons yet~?”

By the seventh day, even Yumeba seemed bored and just asked me for updates.

“The meeting is… still ongoing.”

The meeting’s main topic was where to send soldiers, but among those topics was the matter of summoning House Saionji.

But whenever that topic came up, the Emperor invariably fell silent.

I’d been wondering why, but…

“We can’t hold back when we fight seriously. He probably wants to avoid turning the Empire’s territory into scorched earth.”

“…I see.”

Yukina-san might be even stronger than I imagined.

In other words, Yukina-san going on a rampage would cause more damage than being devastated by the enemy.

No wonder he’d hesitate.

◇◇◇

In the end, the Emperor’s summons to House Saionji came on the ninth day.

The reason: enemy units were steadily approaching the capital.

At this point, the Emperor had apparently decided he couldn’t afford to be particular anymore.

“Well then, I’ll go defend the capital.”

“Okay. I’ll go on mobile strikes with Lio.”

“…………”

I’d seen Yumeba in her Imperial Guard armor before, but what both of them wore now was custom dress armor that could be called House Saionji’s formal attire.

I’d thought Yumeba in armor looked cool, but…

“Lio, what’s wrong?”

“…Let’s go on a date in that outfit sometime.”

“Wh-what are you saying at a time like this?!”

That dress armor was perfectly designed to bring out Yumeba’s charm.

“…O-occasionally is fine.”

“Yes!”

Having gotten Yumeba’s permission, my motivation shot up.

“More importantly, what will you do, Lio?”

“What do you mean?”

“If you’re coming with me, will you transform into Alisa?”

“…………”

If I were to fight alongside Yumeba, transforming into Alisa would certainly be more convenient, but…

“No. I’m fine like this.”

I’d only been transforming into Alisa because my status as Fourth Prince was in the way.

So once I married Yumeba and became House Saionji’s son-in-law, I could have revealed my identity.

Until now I’d just lacked the opportunity, so I’d been working behind the scenes as Alisa, but…

“I’ll participate as Yumeba’s partner. As Emilio, not Alisa.”

“Yes♪”

I’d make today my moment to shine.

I hammered explosive flame magic into the tens of thousands of enemy troops, and Yumeba—enhanced by my strengthening magic—devastated the surviving soldiers.

In terms of battle results, my wide-area explosive flame magic killed more enemies, but…

(She’s strong~)

Yumeba rampaging through the enemy soldiers was literally worth a thousand warriors.

That said, I couldn’t afford to just watch admiringly, so I scattered the arrows and sorcery aimed at Yumeba and hammered more explosive flame magic into enemy clusters.

“Don’t push yourself too hard and run out of steam.”

“Magic is more mana-efficient than sorcery so I’m fine, but… how long will this take?”

“At least not one or two days.”

“Ugh~”

Which meant Yumeba wasn’t going all-out either, anticipating a prolonged battle.

I should also switch from flashy magic to magic suited for long-term combat.

I impaled enemies within visible range with stone spears that thrust up from beneath their feet, killing them all.

This magic seemed more troublesome than area attacks like explosive flame magic, but it detected enemies in a specific range and impaled them from below, so it was actually efficient with no waste.

“But it looks awful.”

“Well, it also serves to break enemy morale.”

Unlike explosive flame magic that charred enemies, this left impaled corpses in a grotesque state.

Indeed, many soldiers were becoming hesitant after seeing such gruesome deaths.

“Post-war cleanup will be rough.”

“The surviving soldiers can handle that.”

Assuming the Empire, having already suffered massive losses, had such capacity.

◇◇◇

The third day since we joined the battle.

Having repelled enemy forces without sleep or rest, I was honestly unbearably sleepy.

“Yumeba~, I’m sleepy.”

“…I’m reaching my limit too.”

I think just Yumeba and I killed over thirty percent of the enemy, but honestly I wasn’t counting so the exact battle results are unknown.

However, occasional tremendous light slashes were released from the capital’s direction, so Yukina-san’s battle results might be greater.

“Is that the holy sword’s attack?”

“I’m holding the holy sword, so it’s probably just a normal attack.”

“I-I see.”

What’s a “normal attack” again?

Will Yumeba become like that in the future?

Anyway, we’d mostly repelled enemies approaching the capital, so taking a bit of rest should be fine.

And so we finished our mobile strikes and returned to the capital, but…

“Good work. Thanks to you two, things were much easier.”

“…………”

Unlike us, Yukina-san who’d been defending the capital showed no signs of fatigue.

Can you believe it? This woman achieved battle results equal to or greater than ours.

“Unlike simple combat, the trick to warfare is pacing yourself and resting appropriately.”

“…We’ll keep that in mind.”

Apparently from Yukina-san’s perspective, Yumeba and I still had much to learn.

◇◆◇

The Empire faced an unprecedented crisis.

Though House Saionji’s participation meant enemies were being steadily repelled, only the capital’s vicinity was protected.

The Empire’s territory had been greatly reduced, and depending on post-war negotiations, this land might not be returned.

Normally, enemies who launched a massive surprise attack without declaration of war would be condemned by the populace, but this time the enemy was the Continental Security Maintenance Alliance—a mysterious coalition that rose up for incomprehensible, religion-like reasons.

Moreover, their justification was eliminating the Empire that disturbed continental order.

While the Empire wanted to protest these unreasonable reasons, there were far too many allied nations, and they couldn’t even identify which was the representative.

The Empire had fallen into an unprecedented crisis.

(Impossible.)

Meanwhile, Yunix, the Empire’s Fifth Prince, doubted his own eyes at the scene before him.

As someone secretly aiming for the throne, Yunix felt bitter about the Empire’s major setback, but more than that…

(Why is he using sorcery?!)

He was shocked to see Emilio participating in the capital’s defense, fighting alongside Yumeba.

(His mana-generating organ should have been destroyed by the demonic poison. There’s no way he can use sorcery!)

The past assassination attempt on the discarded prince—a short-sighted act carried out to erase the dishonor of being the discarded prince’s twin.

For Yunix, the mastermind, the fact that Emilio couldn’t use sorcery had been a comforting balm.

Yet seeing Emilio using sorcery—or rather, magic—sent various speculations racing through Yunix’s mind at high speed.

(Could he have been pretending he couldn’t use sorcery this whole time? Was he laughing at me inside while I was secretly mocking him for not being able to use sorcery? Just how strong must he be to fight alongside Yumeba?)

The battle near the capital had ended, but forgetting they were still at war within the Empire, Yunix became absorbed in his whirlpool of thoughts.

“Yuni-sama?”

The one calling out to Yunix with concern was his fiancée, Duke’s daughter Serina.

In her kindness, she genuinely worried for Yunix, but…

“Are you alri—”

“Shut up! I don’t have time for you right now!”

“!”

Unlike his usual self, Yunix—having lost his composure—shouted at and glared at Serina.

Both the Empire’s decline and especially Emilio’s success had robbed Yunix of his composure.

“You’re both duke’s daughters, so why are you so different?”

He hurt Serina further with heartless words.

(Ah.)

But what cornered Serina most wasn’t Yunix’s words or attitude—it was his eyes.

Specifically, the eyes of Yunix glaring at her.

(…They’re different.)

At this critical time for the Empire—no, precisely because it was such a time—Serina felt a clear sense of wrongness looking at Yunix’s eyes.

Among Serina’s memories, distorted and brainwashed, the one memory that remained distinctly clear.

The eyes she saw when she first fell in love—had been much more beautiful and kind in color.

(Ah, that’s right.)

The door that had begun opening when she saw Emilio and Yumeba’s wedding, the door she felt shouldn’t be opened in her heart—opened.

(Those eyes I thought were beautiful back then… weren’t blue, but red and green.)

And her distorted memories rapidly regained their color.

(Lio-sama…)

Simultaneously, tears overflowed.

“Don’t cry! You’re annoying!”

Having completely lost interest in Yunix shouting at her, Serina overflowed with feelings for the beloved Emilio in her memories.

(Why am I remembering this now?)

But she knew it was already too late.

Serina knew House Saionji’s characteristics.

Emilio had been taken by Yumeba of House Saionji.

(I can’t take him back. I can’t take Lio-sama back from Yumeba-sama.)

Even as fellow duke’s daughters, Yumeba and Serina’s positions were too different, and taking Emilio back from Yumeba—who inherited House Saionji’s blood and was like a mass of possessiveness—was far too difficult.

(But, but… I can’t give up!)

Precisely because her important memories had been distorted and she’d been brainwashed by others, those memories shone unfaded within Serina.

She was aware she’d hurt Emilio by mistaking the promised meeting place and becoming engaged to Yunix.

(Even so…)

Yes. The girl called Serina, having regained her true self, was…

(Even so, not giving up… that’s what true love is!)

For a duke’s daughter, she was far too—gutsy.

(But first… I need to somehow break this engagement with him.)

And so Serina began plotting to break her engagement with Yunix as a first step.

◇◇◇

We managed to successfully defend the capital, but the Empire still suffered immeasurable damage.

Recovery would take not just years, but decades.

“In the end, we didn’t have time to eliminate the mastermind, much less identify them.”

“It can’t be helped in such chaos.”

As Yumeba said, while the alliance forces initially attacked in coordination, by the time they reached the capital they apparently couldn’t recognize each other as allies, leading to friendly fire and truly chaotic battle.

Finding the mastermind in such circumstances was impossible, and it was doubtful whether the mastermind had even participated, so there was nothing to be done.

“I know they hate the Empire, but…”

“There are probably hundreds, thousands, maybe tens of thousands of people like that.”

“True.”

Considering the Empire’s past actions—its wars of conquest—there were undoubtedly countless people who hated it.

Going back before the last conquest war could narrow suspects, but finding the mastermind among the still-massive number of suspects was far too unreasonable.

“Anyway, let’s put off searching for the mastermind and post-war processing… and rest now.”

“Yeah.”

The war had finally ended, and I refused to work any more than this.

I pulled Yumeba into my arms—and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

◇◆◇

《Oh boy~》

In the divine realm, the Reincarnation God held his hand to his forehead and looked up at the sky.

Periodically peeking at his only friend in this world, he’d investigated this mastermind based on his friend’s situation—and realized something very troublesome.

《Why do they always do unnecessary things?》

The Empire’s last war of conquest was about ten years ago.

Emilio was around six years old then, coinciding with when he regained his past-life memories—and simultaneously when Yunix had tried to poison him to death.