Rebirth in a Ruined Nation! The Life of a New Strategist Starting From Now - Champter 78

The War Princess’s ‘Playground’ 

“How come even your vacation is so eventful?”

That was Rays-sama’s first sentence when we met him. 

After returning from Gedland, we immediately went to Rays-sama and gave him Zackhart-sama’s letter. 

When Rays-sama heard the situation, he let out a deep sigh and said to himself, “No, it was my mistake in assuming that Rufa’s case was already settled.”

Rays-sama was currently in the process of discussing with a certain noble to adopt Rufa, and it seemed that the discussion was about to be finalized.

“But…To think Zackhart-sama likes Rufa that much… How unexpected..”

So there were things that even Rays-sama couldn’t predict. 

“Rays-sama, why did you think that Rufa’s adoption was fishy? Was there some other basis besides the rumors you heard from the knights?” I asked.

“Ah, that’s easy. I haven’t received any request to return Rufa.”

The fact that the 10th Division helped Rufa near the border wasn’t a secret. If the priest from Lifrea really wanted to adopt a child, it would be natural for him immediately to pick her up or send someone to do that while also sending gratitude to the 10th Division. 

But even after all this time, no one has come to the 10th Division to inquire about Rufa. 

“Adopting someone through an official route means you have the obligation to take care of them. But Rufa’s supposed adoptive parent never came to pick her up, which means that there is some reason that he can’t adopt her through the official route. Considering there’s also a rumor about some crazy people wanting to sacrifice sarshans, it’s easy to connect the dot. Well, I also can’t ignore the possibility that the adopted parent did send a message about Rufa but that message was delayed for some reason, so I’ve been handling her matter carefully. Well, after the kidnapping incident…I think I can say that possibility is almost nonexistent. I’ll take care of the paperwork needed for Rufa’s adoption. However, making her the official member of the 10th Division…”

As expected, he was reluctant. The fact both Rufa and Lapilia-sama said they both wanted to be deployed together immediately if Rufa became the official member of the 10th Division didn’t help.

“We can’t leave Rufa alone here when the rest of the 10th Division is deployed. Another kidnapping incident might happen if we do that,” Lapilia-sama stated her first reasoning.

“That might happen but, to bring a girl as young as Rufa to the battlefield is…Rufa, you understand, right?”

“Of course. But I still want to go.”

“But Rufa, you can’t fight. I might sound harsh, but I don’t see the point of taking baggage to the battlefield. If you’re worried about kidnapping, then Rufa can just go to Gedland and stay there whenever we are deployed.”

Rays-sama’s words make sense. Rather than making her start learning how to fight so she could participate in battle, it was better to just make Rufa learn horse riding so she could go to Gedland.

But Lapilia-sama has no plan to back down. To go with us to the battlefield was also Rufa’s wish. On our way back to capital, Lapilia-sama, and Rufa have already discussed a certain way Rufa could come with us to the battlefield.

“It’s okay if she can’t fight, since Rufa will come with us as war maiden,” Lapilia-sama said

“War maiden…you sure brought up a very old tradition…”Rays-sama said with the corner of his mouth rose a little. 

Ah, this expression meant he would be willing to listen to our proposal.

War maiden. I also thought this was the only way for us to be able to take Rufa to the battlefield.

The Goddess of Fate, Waldowart, was the Goddess most revered by the soldiers on the battlefield. Goddess Waldowart was the eldest of three sisters. Her second younger sister was Lippitria, the Goddess of Earth and Fertility, and her youngest sister was Loref, the Goddess of Wind revered by the traveling troupe. 

Waldowart’s sisters were said to be very young. The difference in ages between Waldowart and her two sisters was said to be quite large.

A slight selfishness from the Goddess of Fertility would have a huge impact on that year’s harvest. Thus, farmers would hold various festivals dedicated to Lippitria to make Her happy

Loref was a Goddess who could control rain and wind. if Loref was unhappy, prolonged rain would fall, and if Loref threw a tantrum, then a storm would fall. Thus, travelers and sailors would pray for safety on their journey to Loref.

It was said that Waldowart deeply loved Her two sisters, thus it would be easy for girls of similar age with Her two sisters to be given Her blessing.

The tradition of ‘war maiden’ was born from that legend.

By bringing a young girl to their army’s headquarters, people believed that Waldowart would give them Her blessing. Just a few years back, it was common to see armies bringing a war maiden with them.

But…

“War maiden was an obsolete tradition. Bringing a war maiden in this day and age won’t boost morale.”

It was as Rays-sama said. War maiden was a tradition that gradually disappeared because of how dangerous it was to bring young girls to the battlefield and because they were easy targets to make the citizens become displeased with the army.

“Oh, really? I think it’s at least somewhat effective for older soldiers, though?”

“Your reasoning?”

“Because I was a war maiden. My grandfather made me become one,” Lapilia-sama said nonchalantly. 

It was true that Lapilia-sama’s grandfather was a renowned general, but…did he seriously take Lapilia-sama to the battlefield when she was a child!?

The story of how calm Lapilia-sama was in her first battle was famous. So this was the reason. She was just used to the battlefield since the battlefield was her playground when she was still a child.

“That person, did he seriously…That’s the first time I heard about this,” Rays-sama said, sighing for the umpteenth time today.

“But everyone was happy. Even soldiers need a place where their minds can depend on. Even if it’s just a superstition, it’s not a bad thing to believe that your army has the blessing from The Goddess of Fate, Waldowart.”

This statement came from Lapilia-sama’s experience, so it was quite persuasive.

“….sigh…Rufa, I’ll ask you again. You can easily die if you choose to go to the battlefield. There’ll be no one to help you in an emergency. You might face something even more terrifying than the kidnapping. Knowing these, are you sure you want to come with us to the battlefield?”

“Yes,” Rufa answered without hesitation

“Okay, then I’ll take care of the adoption while you, Rufa, please write a letter to Zackhart-sama about your plan to go to the battlefield. Tell him that whatever happened to you on the battlefield will be your responsibility.”

“Understood,” Rufa responded without hesitation.?