Rebirth in a Ruined Nation! The Life of a New Strategist Starting From Now - Chapter 28

Lieze Fortress

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“6th Division, return to the capital.”

 

Because Rays-sama ordered the 6th Division to return to the capital, the responsibility of guarding the southwestern part of the kingdom fell to us, the 10th Division, for the time being.

 

Frankurlt army retreated so we technically won, but it was a battle that could end in disaster if we made even the smallest error.

 

Wickharlt-sama looked gloomy. Despite the victory, I could tell that morale in the 6th Division was rather low. It would be risky to let the current 6th Division guarding the southwest.

 

Furthermore, it was a battle that could cause higher-ups to question Wickharlt-sama’s ability as a general. He may face punishment when he returned to the capital. 

 

I hope that if he received punishment, it would be a light one. Raimaru-san lost his life to save Wickharlt-sama, if WIckhalrt-sama received a heavy punishment, wouldn’t Raimaru-san’s sacrifice become vain? 

 

In short, we, the 10th Division, would temporarily take up the mission of protecting the southwest region until a new division was appointed for the task. That would probably take at least 2 months, so we would be staying at Lieze Fortress until then. 

 

The Lieze Fortress was located southeast of the Hakusha Plain. It was an area where the wind would occasionally bring the familiar fragrance of the sea.

 

It was a massive fortress built to guard the area around the Hakusha Plain and to protect the coast. Although it was referred to as a fortress, because of the stores catering to soldiers that were built in its vicinity and the houses where the citizens who run the stores lived, it was more like a small town.

 

As expected of the place that was called the cornerstone of southwestern Rudek.

 

“You look like you’re having fun. We’ve been here for 5 days already, but you still act like a kid on his field trip.”

 

Frein commented as I continued to look? around the fortress. 

 

“This is a place where you normally won’t be able to enter! I have to carve the interior of this place into my brain while I was here.”

 

“We will be living here for at least two months, you know,” Luzel said while shaking his head.

 

Because of the rescue operation, I became close to Luzel. Frein and Luzel also have a good relationship, so nowadays the three of us were often together.

 

(T/N: Roa started using casual Japanese with Luzel starting from this chapter.)

 

“I know that! By the way, did you two come here often?”

 

“Not often, but we’ve been here before. We always came here when Gorber soldiers attacked the southwest or when we attacked the Gorber Kingdom. We have no particular emotional attachment to the place.”

 

“That’s right, so even if you don’t want to, you’ll probably come here in the future.”

 

We talked as we walked toward the center of the fortress.

 

The command center and the lodging facilities were positioned in the center. People from the 6th Division were now cleaning the area.

 

I didn’t know what type of post the 6th Division would be assigned now that they had been released from their duty to protect the southwest, but they had been here for so long that they probably had a lot of personal belongings they needed to pack.

 

The fortress also has a warehouse for knights to use, but the 6th Division member couldn’t just leave their personal belongings in the warehouse since they didn’t know where they would return here or even if they would ever return.

 

That was why the 6th Division was currently busily packing their belongings and cleaning up the fortress.

 

We offered to help, but they politely refused.

 

I and the rest of the 10th Division could understand their reluctance to leave the place they had defended for so long, so after cleaning up our own lodging, we left them alone.

 

Although the army stayed cautious, the atmosphere in the fortress was rather casual. After all, the Gorber soldiers had just retreated, so it wasn’t likely they would attack us anytime soon.

 

So now I have nothing to do. That was why I killed time by exploring the fortress with Frein and Luzel.

 

“Roa!”

 

“I’ve finally found you! Rays-sama is calling you!”

 

“Me? Ok. Thank you for letting me know. Frein, Luzel, I’m going first.”

 

“Yeah. Don’t get lost.”

 

Frein replied as I began walking toward the command center. 

 

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The moment I walked into the command center, I saw a tall soldier standing there who appeared to be out of place.

 

“Diku!”

 

Diku seemed relieved when I called him. In addition to Diku, there were Rays-sama, Grantz-sama, and Lapilia-sama. Well, it was the usual group.

 

“You’re here.” (Rays) 

 

In contrast to Diku’s nervous face, Rays-sama’s expression was relaxed. I apologized to Rays-sama for being late before turning to face Diku.

 

I didn’t see Diku when the main army of the 10th Division arrived the other day. That could only mean Diku was here for…

 

“…Is it about the canned food project?”

 

“Yeah. As a test, I had several canned foods delivered here, along with other supplies. We came first because the main army was in a hurry due to the 6th Division incident so the logistic corps only arrived today.”

 

“I see, Diku, thank you for coming this far.”

 

“It’s all right. I’d heard the battle was rough. Glad to see you’re doing well.”

 

Lapilia-sama interrupted our conversation.

 

“You can save your talk for later. Let’s get started and see the result!”

 

I could see a slight smile on her lips. She was probably happy that the jams have arrived.

 

Lapilia-sama loved jam so much that she created her own. I heard she called it the Lapilia brand. She also gave me some. It was an exquisite jam with a floral scent. I heard you should pair them with a cup of tea.

 

“Because it will be impossible to create a jam on the frontline, it would be perfect if I could bring them with me.”

I remember she said something like that before. She even has a shelf filled with only jams. 

 

In any case, we all proceeded to inspect the canned food that had been transported here.

 

The canned food was securely kept in wooden crates alongside other military rations in the warehouse.

 

The result of the test was…

 

“This one is broken…this one is broken too…”

 

Although a huge amount of sawdust was placed in the box as a cushioning material to keep the jars from colliding with one another, about one-third of the canned food was damaged.

 

Some damaged canned food had begun to rot, and the terrible odor stuck to the sawdust.

 

“But the canned food that didn’t break seems to be edible,” Rays-sama commented as he carefully examined the canned food.

 

So the storing went great; the issue was transportation.

 

“….As expected, the problem was the road…”

 

“As expected, you say? Did you come up with another interesting idea?” Rays-sama asked in response to my muttering.

 

“Most roads are narrow and uneven, even outside of Rudek Kingdom. I’ve been thinking that it would be better to build a large and smooth road in the future.”

 

“But a wide and smooth road makes it easier for the enemies to attack us.” (Lapilia)

 

“We can just leave the road around the border as is, but rebuild the road that connects the capital to other major towns. That can also quicken our reinforcement’s arrival in case of an attack, right?”

 

When I answered Lapilia-sama’s question, she frowned and replied,  “That’s true, but…”

 

Because of the amount of money and manpower needed, rebuilding the road wouldn’t be an easy task though. 

 

“…Keep this just between us. Actually, someone else also made a proposition to rebuild the road, “said Rays-sama

 

It turned out that a court official with strong links to merchants has proposed to use the manpower that was currently used for the fortification of the fortress to rebuilt the road. 

 

That official suggested that the road from the capital to Gedland should be rebuilt first. According to that official, doing so could boost the economy.

 

The reason the proposal wasn’t accepted yet was the question of whether transferring the labor dedicated to the fortress for rebuilding the road was worthwhile and where would the fund come from.

 

“The canned food project’s future prospects are promising, and rebuilding the road will also help the canned food project…If we consider the potential profit from this project, the expense of rebuilding the road might be…”

 

Rays-sama murmured to himself, appearing to be deep in thought.

 

I doubt he could hear us now. So, as we waited for Rays-sama to return to reality, we all examined the canned food on our own.

 

“Hm…It’s better to just ask Drew.”

 

“So Drew is really the person you’re talking about.”

 

When Rays-sama mentioned a court official with close links to the merchant, I guessed he was referring to Drew. I was right.

 

“You know her?”

 

“I do. She’s well-known in the court officials’ circle as Drew The Eccentric.”

 

“The eccentric? I think you, who spend all of your nights reading war records, are more fitting of the title The Eccentric.”

 

I ignored Lapilia-sama’s remark and as a consequence, she kicked my thigh. Ouch.

 

“I see. She’s an oddball, for sure, but she has good foresight. I’ll talk to His Majesty about whether we should tell her about the canned food project. Of course, I’ll think of other ways to transport the canned food safely.”

 

Thus, our discussion on canned food transportation method came to an end 

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