In a World of Reversed Chastity, I Strive to Become an Honorable Male Knight, but Lustful Women Keep Targeting My Body - 282

Chapter 282: The Kukkoro Male Knight and the Elven Army

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The attack using the multiple rocket launchers looked flashy, but in reality it did not produce that much effect. Well, that was only to be expected. After all, we had simply fired off unguided rockets without even a gyro, more or less at random. They were hardly the kind of thing that would obediently fly straight. If anything, the fact that we did not hit our own side was already cause for celebration.

However, even if the actual battlefield results were meager, the psychological blow dealt to the enemy soldiers was quite significant. While the zealous elf warriors stood there stunned after being struck by an attack they had never anticipated, we launched a full-force charge. The zealots could not even mount a proper resistance, collapsed into disarray, and before long their command structure broke down, forcing them into retreat.

“Uheah.”

Although we had achieved what could almost be called a one-sided victory, we could not simply celebrate. When we headed toward the river port, we found that the Michael Collins had been half burned. This was not because the enemy had fired flaming arrows or anything like that. Rather, the rocket exhaust flames produced when the rocket launchers were fired had ignited the hull.

Of course, we had known during the design phase that the rocket launchers would produce spectacular flames, so we had taken certain countermeasures… but even so, a wooden ship had its limits when it came to fire prevention. It seemed that avoiding a fire altogether had simply been impossible.

“It looks terrible, but the fire itself has already been extinguished. The damage is not critical, so it won’t interfere with navigation… at least in principle.”

The first officer, who had come ashore to report on the situation, said this while giving me a rather exasperated look. Her attitude practically screamed, “You really loaded such a troublesome weapon onto our ship.” Well, I understood how she felt. A weapon that almost certainly set the ship on fire whenever it was used could hardly be called anything but defective.

“I see, understood. Thank you. Sorry for the trouble. We won’t be able to depart immediately anyway, so get some rest for the time being.”

After patting the first officer on the shoulder and saying that, I let out a small sigh. We had repelled the immediate enemy, but before me there still stood a formidable obstacle. And it was not an enemy, it was our allies.

“……”

I turned around silently. What stood there was an astonishingly large army of elves. When we tried a quick roll call, it turned out their number was nearly one thousand. …Of course, not all of the elves there were elder-faction soldiers who had just helped me in the battle. If anything, about half of them belonged to a different faction. In other words—well—the Legitimate Elfenia Empire.

Immediately after the battle ended, this group joined up with us. According to Lady Orphan,

“Just in case something like this happened, we prepared reinforcements.”

—or so She said. Yet mixed among them were Hume civilians who appeared to be noncombatants. Rather than a fighting force, the whole group felt more like a band of migrants. I had been told beforehand, but actually seeing such a massive group appear before my eyes made my head spin.

Apparently the “Legitimate” faction had intended to migrate to Liseben no matter what the outcome of the three-party talks turned out to be. I had not formally approved that proposal yet, but they were certainly moving fast. …Well, unlike the “New” faction, the “Legitimate” faction did not have the luxury of time. If they dawdled, their entire organization might simply dry up and collapse.

“…But what do we do with this?”

Suppressing a headache, I surveyed the elf crowd. Unsurprisingly, a tense atmosphere hung between the two sides. The “New” and the “Legitimate” factions were clearly separated and glaring at each other. Considering that they were sworn enemies even though a ceasefire was in place, the reaction was hardly surprising.

“Did y’all really come here to help us? Seems to me y’all showed up way too late!”

“The fight was already over before we could even lift a finger! What else were we supposed to do!”

Dangerous voices could be heard from all over the place. If we left them alone, they would probably start fighting soon enough. Please, give me a break.

“The battle is over, yet there’s no peace of mind.”

Sonia complained for once. Both she and I were still dressed in full armor. In a situation like this we could hardly lower our guard, so the most we had managed to do was wipe off the blood and change our surcoats. …Emotionally speaking, I felt like stripping naked and jumping into some water to bathe immediately. Even though it was already late autumn, I was drenched in sweat from all the fighting. Honestly, it felt disgusting.

“A battlefield is nothing new to me. Haha. I’m used to it by now.”

Shrugging my shoulders, I answered that way. If anything, I had been used to it since my previous life. My past life and this one were both like this. 

Man… am I just terrible at choosing how to live my life? 

I could not help thinking that, but that was simply my nature, so there was nothing to be done. In any case, if we left things as they were, the second round of the Super Elf War would start, so I hurriedly ordered the attendants to begin preparing food. When people were starving, they got irritable. We needed to fill their stomachs quickly.

However, there were more than a thousand people present here, including ourselves. Preparing food for that many was no trivial matter. Fortunately, the cargo hold of the Michael Collins still contained relief supplies that had been intended for the “Legitimate” faction, so the ingredients themselves were manageable… but still.

“Albert-don, I’m truly sorry. If the main force had joined us just a bit earlier, you wouldn’t have had to cross such a dangerous approach.”

While I was giving instructions to the thoroughly bewildered Liseben army logistics staff, Lady Orphan approached and bowed her head. The “dangerous approach” she mentioned was probably the rocket-based ambush tactic we had used earlier. Indeed, even I had to admit that it had been quite a reckless strategy. We might have misjudged the enemy’s strength. Ideally, I had intended to win in a somewhat safer way, but the enemy pressure had been stronger than expected.

Or rather, both the enemy and the allies were far more numerous than I had anticipated. Were there really no fence-sitters at all? It almost felt as though the entire “New” faction had split cleanly into pro-Liseben and anti-Liseben camps. Considering that all of this had been triggered by a sudden attack, things had escalated far too quickly. It was hard not to suspect some sort of ploy—or rather, deliberate—manipulation behind it.

“No… the battle began unexpectedly. Arriving late could not be helped.”

To begin with, I had never wanted the entire “Legitimate” army to join the fight. For them to suddenly go all-in and cooperate like this was far too eager. What exactly did they expect me to do?

…Well, I did understand their demands. In short, they were saying: We’ll help you with everything we’ve got, so support us with everything you’ve got. In a way, allies like that might be even more troublesome than the zealot elves we had just fought.

“Besides, Commander Orphan-dono herself took the initiative in protecting our rear. I feel nothing but gratitude. To complain would be unthinkable…”

That said, it was also true that the “Legitimate” faction’s cooperation had been invaluable. Thanks to their support, not a single Liseben noncombatant was lost before they were safely taken aboard the Michael Collins. Moreover, the wounded were able to be evacuated safely as well, and that too was thanks to the efforts of the “Legitimate.”

“Indeed, indeed. That’s exactly right. A joint operation between the ‘New’ and the ‘Legitimate’… Such a thing has never happened before. This battle will surely be remembered in history. Yes, yes.”

Lady Dalaiya popped out from behind and nodded repeatedly with a self-satisfied grin. It was such an adorable smug expression that I almost felt like hugging her, but somehow I could not quite accept it.

You definitely set something up, didn’t you?

I did not know how much of this situation had been deliberate, but it was hard to believe that everything happening now was purely the result of coincidence. I almost sighed, but somehow held it back. A commander had to remain calm and composed in front of his subordinates. With an expression that suggested everything is proceeding exactly as I planned, I nodded back to Lady Dalaiya.

“That’s right. …However, even though we have repelled the enemy for the moment, the situation remains uncertain. Shouldn’t we discuss the current state of affairs and what we should do going forward?”

After all, the “New” faction had completely split apart… Now that they had truly crossed weapons with each other, it seemed unlikely they could simply reunite. My strategy regarding the “New” faction had effectively returned to square one. We really needed to sit down and discuss what to do next.

…Seriously, though. What the hell are we supposed to do now?

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