Chapter 214: The Kukkoro Male Knight and the Self-Proclaimed Orthodox

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“I’m sorry to trouble you when you’re tired, but this is urgent. I hate to ask, but I’d like you to come along for a bit.”

With Sonia accompanying me, I headed for the dragon stables set up on the outskirts of the city of Carrera. A dragon stable was, in simple terms, a stable for wyverns—winged dragons. From the outside, it was a wooden building shaped like a half-cylinder, far larger than barns for livestock like cows or horses.

Even so, it was probably quite cramped for wyverns, which were large flying reptiles… But there was no way we could just leave carnivorous giant reptiles roaming freely.

“Of course. There’s no problem at all, Castellan-sama.”

Though fatigue showed plainly on her face, the wyvern knight bowed with impeccable courtesy. Beside her, the familiar round-glasses Star Guides-sama was fiddling with a notebook while holding a steaming cup.

“In fact, I was just about to come to report to you myself.”

“I couldn’t sit still any longer.”

I said with a light laugh as I sat down on the rest bench placed in front of the dragon stable. I tapped the space beside me with my finger, signaling the dragon knight to sit as well. She smiled faintly and followed my lead. For some reason, the Star Guides-sama followed too and ended up sitting right next to me. Well, having flowers on both sides wasn’t exactly a bad thing…

“Bring some herbal tea for Lyutikainen-kun as well.”

After giving that order to the attendant soldier, I turned back to the dragon knight. Incidentally, Lyutikainen was her name. It wasn’t a surname you heard often in Galea, but that was because she had been dispatched from the frontier region of Norl under Margrave Suolahti.

“So then… It was the Legitimate Elfenia Empire, was it? First, can you tell me how you came into contact with them?”

“Yes. Originally, I planned to drop relief supplies as usual today and then return right away, but… before that, those crow birdmen showed up.”

“I see.”

Aiming for friendly contact, I had been having sacks of food dropped by parachute near Mount Rana almost every day. The contents were food—military hardtack, smoked meat, cheese, and the like.

“At first, I thought they were coming out to intercept us again, so I was about to withdraw.”

I had ordered an immediate retreat whenever the birdman unit appeared. Wyverns and their riders were extremely valuable assets. We couldn’t afford to lose them in a place like this.

“But instead of forcing an approach, the crow folk circled us at a distance and waved flags they were holding with their feet. I thought something was strange, so I waved back and attempted to approach them.”

“That really startled me at the time,”

the Star Guides-sama complained, her round glasses fogging up in the steam from her tea as she puckered her lips. As I smiled at the comical sight, an attendant brought over fresh herbal tea. Once the wyvern knight accepted her cup, I took a metal liquor flask from my pocket. The contents were brandy. Mixing it into herbal tea actually made it quite good. I poured some into the wyvern knight’s cup first, then into my own. Since we were on duty, I kept the amount small.

“Oh, much appreciated.”

“I’d like some too, please.”

“Alright, alright.”

When even the Star Guides-sama held out her cup, I couldn’t help but smile wryly. There was no reason to refuse, so I obliged.

“As expected, the crows didn’t attack us. Instead, they started flitting around in front of us as if telling us to follow them. I complied with their guidance and landed. And where we touched down was an elven settlement.”

“They took you straight to their settlement?”

For elves, who were known for their wariness, that was quite a bold move. I took a sip of the brandy-laced herbal tea, mildly surprised.

“The elven settlement was cleverly camouflaged using the terrain and trees. It was clearly constructed with wartime conditions in mind.”

“Hmmm… What kind of architectural style were the buildings?”

“Well… I can’t quite recall the name, but they were all crude houses, like something primitives would live in. You know, those pit, pit…Something-or-other.”

“Pit dwellings.”

“Yes, that’s it.”

At the Star Guides-sama’s prompt, the rider nodded vigorously in agreement. Even if they had been thrown together on short notice, the two of them made a surprisingly good pair.

“Pit dwellings, huh…”

In Japan, that style had been used for a very long time, from the Stone Age through the Heian period. In other words, exactly what the wyvern knight had called them—“primitive houses.” It seemed the elves were living far more primitively than I had expected.

“How many households and how large was the population?”

“The camouflage was very effective, so I can’t say for certain, but… I’d estimate around a hundred households. The population was probably only a few hundred at most.”

“That’s more a village than a town.”

By normal standards, it would correspond to a farming village within our own territory. Was there another settlement somewhere that functioned as their capital?

“And those people called themselves the ‘Legitimate Elfenia Empire,’ correct?”

“Yes. The elf who claimed to be their leader said she was the direct daughter of the former Elfenia Empress. She said the ones calling themselves New Elfenia Empire were usurpers, and that they themselves were the true successors of the Elfenia Empire…”

“Ugh…”

Was this some kind of Northern and Southern Courts situation?

Groaning inwardly, I added more brandy to my tea. I had anticipated something like this, but… It seemed that this so-called New Elfenia Empire wasn’t a unified state after all. And more than that—only a few hundred people, and among them a supposed descendant of the imperial family? I didn’t want to believe it, but could that village actually be their capital? If so, the organization was absurdly small.

“And what did the leader of this so-called Legitimate Elfenia call herself?”

“Fezaria Orphan. She claimed to be the third daughter of the last Elfenia Empress, though of course that’s self-proclaimed. It’d be best to take it with a grain of salt.”

“This is getting complicated…”

As expected, elven society still seemed to be in a state of civil war. New Elfenia and Legitimate Elfenia… Honestly, give me a break.

“Lady Fezaria requested that we send them more food. It appears the food shortage isn’t limited to New Elfenia alone.”

“Every last one of them…”

Sonia, who had been listening quietly, spat the words out with clear irritation. Frankly, I felt the same way. It wasn’t as if our own Liseben Territory had food to spare. We didn’t have the luxury to hand it out generously.

“Well, as long as it’s within the amount a wyvern can carry, we can keep sending food daily. In any case, I want to establish a negotiation channel with them as well. Let’s continue friendly contact for now.”

I had no intention of intervening in a civil war, but information was information. I decided to order the investigation to continue.

“If possible, I’d like to meet this Lady Orphan directly and talk with her. Let’s see if we can use the continuation of food aid as leverage to draw her into talks.”

“Understood.”

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