It takes the better part of the day to organize my soldiers and the mercenaries, and night falls before we’re finally ready to move out. On the other hand, Munimentis and his army of nobles left almost two hours ago. Despite how annoying I find nobles, I have to admit they are far more efficient than my soldiers.

However, before we can finally set off, a messenger tells me that Ducis is calling for me. We can’t afford to waste any more time, so I give Fidel command over my forces and show him on the map where we need to go. An army is far slower than a single person, so I can easily catch up. Besides, now most of my forces are outfitted with horses, and it’s plain to see that they’re still getting used to their mounts.

I make my way to the Royal Castle, where Ducis, with a pensive look on his face, waits for me at its steps.

“Eremus,” He greets, “Are you sure you can win?”

“With these many advantages?” I ask incredulously, hiding my annoyance at his lack of faith in my abilities, “Of course.”

Ducis opens his mouth, then he hesitates. Finally, he musters up the will to say what wants to say, “What Munimentis said… it’s true isn’t it? You let Fidel take part in the first charge, right?”

I frown, “…Yes.”

Ducis looks worried, “Eremus, if you keep clinging to that sort of mindset—”

“Don’t worry,” I interrupt, “I won’t make the same mistake again.”

Then, without a proper goodbye, I leave. I don’t know if my words have quelled Ducis’ worry, but at the very least, he doesn’t call after me.

On the way to the gates, I encounter Luna, who looks like she’s been waiting here for a while.

“Hey, Eremus,” she says when she notices me. She seems a little embarrassed, “I just thought—well—there’s really nothing for me to do here right now, so…”

Her intention is obvious. She wants to come with me to this battle, though she’s too embarrassed to say that outright for some reason.

However, I’m unsure if allowing her to come with is really a good decision. The last time she personally witnessed a battle, she didn’t end up too well.

Having perhaps sensed what I was thinking, Luna quickly says, “D-don’t worry! I won’t freak out this time! Trust me!”

Well… I suppose it can’t hurt to take her along.

“Alright then, let’s get you a horse.”

It takes a while for me to get used to all the bucking and swaying of the horse. By the time we catch up to my army, I just know I’m going to be terribly sore the next morning.

On the other hand, Luna commands her black steed like he’s an extension of herself. They move in sync, and seem to be made for each other. I think I know how the myth of centaurs came into being now.

She even names him.

Storm.

As generic as names can get, but whatever. With her equestrian skills, she can name her horse whatever the hell she likes.

Thankfully, this is not her first time riding a horse; I don’t think my pride could take that. Apparently, her father used to take her out of Salvorum to just gallop around the plains when she was a child.

Meanwhile, I have barely had any experience with horses, so this gap in skills can be forgiven.

Once I am back in command, it takes us about a day to reach our destination: The Northern Plains. As the name implies, this place is a flat, sweeping are with green grass covering the ground as far as the eye can see.

“Sir!” A scout approaches me, “Atwood’s forces should be visible soon! They’ve deployed in standard marching formation!”

I nod, and wait. The air is cool, which makes sense as it’s currently spring, and the sun hangs high in the sky, with nary a cloud to obstruct it. I take a few deep breaths to calm my nerves and finalize the plan in my mind.

Soon… soon…

“—Boss!”

The one who speaks isn’t the scout. Coming up from behind, Fidel calls for me, with Metuculo in tow. Fidel looks as easy-going as ever, while Metuculo looks even paler than usual, highlighting the freckles on his face even more.

“Yes?” I ask. I’d rather not get distracted right now, but I don’t want to ignore my troops either.

“Metuculo wanted to ask you something,” Fidel says, giving Metuculo a hard pat on the back, “Go on then!”

I focus my gaze on Metuculo, and he shrinks away, fidgeting around with his messing blonde hair.

“Er—um—I—um—” He staggers and stumbles over his words, and my patience grows thin. The annoyance must be showing on my face, because Metuculo shrinks away even more.

“Don’t be so afraid,” Fidel says warmly, putting a calming hand on Metuculo’s shoulder, “You have a valid question, don’t you?”

Metuculo seems to draw some kind of invisible courage from Fidel’s hand, and for the first time in this conversation, looks me in the eyes, “I—uh—I just wanted to ask, why aren’t we using the Salvorian airship? Wouldn’t we be able to easily win this battle if we used it? Plus, Eagswall is ours now, so—er—we should be in possession of it, right?”

I blink. That is a valid question.

And the answer to it is simple.

“We can’t find it.”

They both look confused.

“Wait, the airship should be in Eagswall, right?” Fidel asks.

I nod, “It should be, yes. However, it’s hidden well. We’ve sent teams to search all over Eagswall and we still haven’t managed to find it. We even interrogated the captured nobles and Royal Troops, but either they genuinely don’t know either, or they’re refusing to tell us. If we had some more time, I’m sure we could find it, however, Roger Davis stole that chance from us by attacking now.”

“Makes sense…” Fidel says, looking disappointed.

“Get back to your posts, it won’t be long before the enemy arrives now,” I say. They turn to leave. As they do, I can’t help but say, “It was a good question, Metuculo. Don’t hesitate if you have anymore.”

Metuculo’s head whips back at me, his eyes as wide as plates. But I ignore his reaction, favouring to keep my eyes trained on the area ahead for any signs of movement.

Fidel chuckles and leads Metuculo back to his post. I don’t know why I praised him. I suppose that even if his meek habit tends to annoy me, there’s something about people trying their best that makes you want to support them. And today, Metuculo indeed tried his best to overcome his unsteady nature.

“What’s this ‘Salvorian airship’?” Luna asks, breaking me out of my thoughts.

I glance at her. I suppose she wouldn’t know, having never involved herself in military matters. It’s a hard thing to describe to someone who hasn’t the first inkling to its capabilities and impact on history.

“Hm… I’ll show it to you once we find it,” I finally answer, “For now, the best description would probably be to call it ‘Salvorum’s ultimate weapon’.”

Luna pouts, but before she can complain, I hold up a hand to stop her. There’s no time for this discussion.

In front of us, far off into the distance, I can see the telltale glint of steel armour.

They’re here.