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Carrying Thoughts (1): At the Venue

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The day before the inter-academy competition.

In the room of Follet, the younger brother of the princess of the Principality of Rozan, were Beretta, the princess of the Principality of Remnos, her fiancé Orfes, and General Verger, the bodyguard. Additionally, there was also the ambassador from the Principality of Solar, Minka, and even Willard, the flag bearer for the selection team for this competition, all of whom were gathered with serious expressions, kneeling together.

If one were to listen, they might say, “What a historic scene!” with excitement, but the atmosphere in the room was very tense. The cause was solely the uncertainty surrounding the safety of Catrap.

Beretta had arrived at the location two days prior, and when she attempted to meet with the members of Catrap, she was turned down with the explanation, “You cannot meet as there is a suspicion of dangerous elements”. Even when she asked for a reason, she received no clear answer, only that it was due to matters concerning their own country.

After being anxious for an entire day, Follet, the younger brother of the princess of Rozan, was reported to have arrived at the academy.

Since they were not strangers, Beretta approached him with a huff, saying, “I hear that my friends, whom I previously received help from, are being detained. What is the meaning of this?”. Upon hearing this, Follet, who had just arrived, looked puzzled. It seemed he genuinely did not know. Moreover, shortly after that, a student from Solar burst into Follet’s room, saying, “I hear that my friend, the daughter of the Bell Household, among others, is being detained. What is the meaning of this?” This led to a state of utter confusion in the room.

After taking time to align the situations from the three parties, it was revealed that everyone had some connection with the members of Catrap, leading to a peculiar sense of solidarity as they confirmed the situation. When it was later revealed that the student from Solar, Willard, was a son of the Gain Household, Follet was astonished, exclaiming, “No way!?” and after a moment of fluster, he said, “No, never mind,” and the discussion continued without any significant discrepancies.

 

—

 

“No, this is surprising,” (Follet)

After hearing everything, Follet voiced his thoughts, a sentiment shared by both Beretta and Willard.

“However, this is a fortunate situation. We can join forces to save them.” (Follet)

“Um, if you just say a word, Follet-sama, wouldn’t that solve it?” (Beretta)

Upon Beretta’s words, Follet wore a slightly troubled expression.

“If I could do that, I would have done it right away…” (Follet)

“There are powerful nobles in my country as well, so I understand Follet-sama’s position.”  (Willard)

Willard said, offering a helping hand to Follet.

“Thank you for your consideration.” (Follet)

Follet sincerely bowed his head to the younger Willard, who returned the gesture with a nod and continued.

“Especially if it involves that Bowman Deran Baxwal.” (Willard)

Willard added, and Follet reacted slightly.

“Do you know Bowman Deran Baxwal well, Willard-dono?” (Follet)

“I received a letter from Lux. It contained various details.” (Willard)

Hearing this, Follet nodded vigorously, murmuring, “So that was the source”.

Upon seeing this, Willard furrowed his brow slightly and asked, “What is it?”

“I was the one who received a letter from your father.” (Follet)

At Follet’s words, Willard’s eyes widened.

“I see… so that’s why you reacted earlier…” (Willard)

As Willard processed this, Follet paused, and just then, Beretta interjected, “Could you two not advance the discussion alone?”

“What can be considered at this stage is that the likelihood of Baxwal immediately taking Lux and the others’ lives is low.” (Follet)

Returning to the topic of Lux and the others, Beretta asked, “What is your basis for that?”

“Baxwal captured them to carry out some nefarious scheme here and intends to frame them as the culprits. That man prefers such tactics.” (Follet)

“That’s terrible” (Beretta)

“In other words, it means they must remain alive until something happens. If they dispose of them beforehand, it would be inconvenient when it comes time for investigations later.” (Follet)

“…I see, I understand. So how will we rescue them? Shall we mobilize our troops?” (Beretta)

She had brought along a reasonable number of soldiers as guards.

“I would love to do so, but…” (Follet)

“Beretta-sama, is it alright? I think it would not be wise for us to act now…” (Verger)

General Verger gently cautioned Beretta, who looked ready to issue a charge order.

“Why not!?” (Beretta)

“If this were Remnos, it would be different, but we are in another country, and moreover, we are guests here. Acting without reason could lead to significant problems.” (Verger)

“But there is already a problem!” (Beretta)

“However, we have no evidence. There is no proof that they are imprisoned on false charges.” (Verger)

“But!” (Beretta)

“Beretta-sama, I am worried about them as well. Please bear with it. Fortunately, their friends have gathered here. Moreover, they are all of good standing. Therefore, let us all work together to come up with a countermeasure.” (Verger)

While Verger spoke calmly, his eyes were not smiling. Among those captured was Heinz. He too wanted to charge in right away.

Seeing Verger’s demeanor, Beretta reluctantly backed down.

“However, Follet-sama, if we cannot act from here, what do you intend to do?” (Orfes)

“For the time being, we can only buy time.” (Follet)

“What do you mean?” (Orfes)

“We need to investigate what Baxwal is aiming for first. Although I wish it weren’t so, we are forced to be reactive. I want a trigger to act.” (Follet)

Having said that, Follet paused his words. The situation was not one that allowed for optimism. Could he call trustworthy troops to come by tomorrow? Was there such a battalion or lord nearby? Was it even possible in terms of timing?

The first name that came to mind regarding a noble who definitely had no ties to military nobility was the Via Household, but that family rarely acted for anything other than the princess’s orders. Would they be willing to deploy based on his words in the current situation? It might be difficult. He had no materials to persuade them. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to at least send someone to use.

What other measures could be taken? If it were just him, he might use himself as bait, but he couldn’t involve Princess Beretta or the envoy from Solar.

“I will act as bait.” (Willard)

Willard declared while Follet was still hesitating.

“Willard-kun?” (Minka)

Minka said, widening her eyes. Among this assembly, Minka was the only one without a connection to Catrap. Frankly, she didn’t understand why such a significant group was so concerned about the safety of a single student. Moreover, Willard was the son of a powerful noble from Solar. If something were to happen to him, Minka wouldn’t get off scot-free either.

Ignoring the flustered Minka, Willard stood his ground.

“We have brought fewer soldiers compared to the Remnos people, so I don’t know how much of a threat they’ll perceive us as… but I will cause a fuss and draw Baxwal’s wrath. If all goes well, it may create an excuse for us to breach the academy.” (Willard)

“No, wait, Willard-dono. I cannot allow a guest to be subjected to such dangerous circumstances. If Baxwal is targeting someone, it should be me. I originally intended to act as bait for Baxwal in this meeting. As planned, I will take action.” (Follet)

“No, that is… but…” (Willard)

After some back-and-forth, they continued to struggle to reach a conclusion.

“…In any case, if that man Baxwal is going to do something, it will be tomorrow, on the day of the inter-academy competition. Therefore, why don’t we disband for now, gather information here, and think of countermeasures?” (Verger)

The impasse led to General Verger’s suggestion being adopted, and they decided to temporarily disband. In fact, they had too little information to do anything.

After everyone left the room, Follet was also ejected by Baxwal, and he went to consult with Linkart, who was staying in the building for the competition, to see if he had any good ideas.

 

—

 

The next day, the gathered group all wore unsettled expressions. The only difference from yesterday was that Linkart was present. Thanks to Linkart standing there with a calm expression, the atmosphere was somewhat eased.

However, the situation had not improved. They exchanged glances, shaking their heads in understanding.

“…There is still time. Let’s gather information and formulate a plan until the last moment.” (Follet)

His words lacked vigor.

“However, the opening ceremony will take place in the morning, and then there will be the matches…” (Minka)

“We will delay the opening. In the meantime, we will demand an explanation from Baxwal. If we cannot move, then Baxwal will grow anxious. Although it is frustrating that we can only take such measures…” (Follet)

Follet immediately replied.

“We will also send out messengers to demand an explanation.” (Beretta)

“We will do the same. Is that alright, Minka-sama?” (Willard)

Willard also sought Minka’s agreement.

“There are many spectators visiting. Even if we delay, it can only be until noon at most. We should inform the citizens that there is a slight delay in preparations and see if there are any performances that could buy us some time.” (Follet)

Under Follet’s orders, the subordinate standing at the entrance rushed to handle the situation.

While they were preparing to send messengers to Baxwal in haste, time continued to pass. Finally, the information brought back by the messenger sent to the academy was the bewildering news that “The gates of the Oran Knight Military Academy are closed, and no one can enter”.

“I wonder what is happening inside…” (Beretta) said anxiously.

“Those kids will be fine. I’m sure they will manage to escape smoothly.” (Linkert)

Linkert spoke in a reassuring tone, as if to comfort the students. For now, they could only trust them.

“…In any case, let’s attend the opening ceremony for now. Once the matches begin, we will have more time. We will return immediately to strategize. Willard-dono is…” (Follet)

“Oh, I will be absent from the competition. I will participate here.” (Willard)

Willard stated simply.

“Willard-kun…” (Minka)

Minka sighed deeply as she gazed at Willard’s profile, resigned.

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