The Holy Kingdom Army set up camp on the plain next to the Briol forces.
There could have been clashes between the soldiers, but thanks to the Rose Knight Order of Briol rescuing the Holy Kingdom Army, an amicable relationship had formed.
The next day, the Briol forces departed from Gid as scheduled.
Sibylla and the Holy Knights saw Yuri off.
"Let's meet in Balshad."
"Yeah. Travel safely."
"Stay safe until then."
The Rose Knight Order of Briol and the Holy Knights of the Holy Kingdom were no longer hostile like before. Some even became acquainted in just a day.
They wished each other good fortune in battle and promised to meet again.
The Lord of Gid requested to accompany the supply unit heading toward Balshad.
"Your Highness, thank you for granting my request."
"It's for the sake of the Allied Army."
"Please speak well of us to the Empire."
"I will. You go around and say nice things about me too."
"Of course. Hahahaha…"
Yuri did not refuse the request to accompany them.
They were headed in the same direction anyway. The supplies would eventually be distributed to the Allied Army.
"When the war ends, please stop by Gid on your way back."
"I will. I hope we'll be able to greet each other with a smile then too."
"I'm sure we will."
Yuri shook hands with the Lord of Gid.
It had been a short time, but they had built a good relationship. One day, they might need each other's help.
Soon, the unit finished all preparations.
Just before the march, Raymond approached Yuri.
"Your Highness, what shall we do about them?"
Several merchant groups were waiting for the Briol forces to depart.
Some of them were regular merchants who traveled to and from Balshad, while the rest were war merchants who followed battlefields to sell their goods.
"Leave them be."
Strict armies did not allow private merchant groups to accompany them, but Yuri, from his mercenary days, knew those people were necessary in many ways.
An army couldn't provide every item a soldier needed.
"Let's move out."
When Yuri gave the signal, the soldier standing next to him blew a horn. A sound like a ship's foghorn resonated across the plains.
The entire unit began to move.
Yuri, along with the Rose Knight Order, led the vanguard.
A peaceful march continued.
"Sir Raymond, have you ever been to Balshad?"
"Balshad, hmm…"
Raymond looked up at the air, reminiscing. The clear blue sky over the grasslands was a perfect backdrop for drawing out old memories.
"It's a place where remnants of an ancient kingdom still remain."
Balshad was built on the ruins of an ancient kingdom that once existed on the grasslands.
The ruins suggested it had been a powerful kingdom, but the reason for its downfall was still unknown.
"It's not much different from Gid, but the scale is quite larger."
"Is that so?"
"One can tell that the old kingdom once flourished. I didn't stay long, so my memory is vague, but I do remember its grandeur."
"I see."
"You should see it for yourself. As a fortress city, it's excellent."
"That so."
The scenery of the grasslands remained the same.
As they continued forward, the sun eventually began to set.
Reaching a suitable location, Yuri halted the unit.
"Let's sleep here for the night."
The unit quickly began setting up camp.
They had clearly gotten used to the process, as the tents went up faster than before.
Yuri walked around, supervising the soldiers.
"Hey, you there!"
"Yes?"
"That's not how you shovel."
"Y-yes!"
"Give it here."
"B-but, Your Highness, how could you…"
"Come on now."
The soldiers doubted that Yuri knew how to use a shovel, but their eyes widened as he began digging with practiced skill.
"Whoa…"
The fluid movement of stabbing the shovel and lifting the earth wasted no strength.
It was all technique he had learned during his mercenary days. Back then, he had to do everything himself.
"Digging isn't about strength."
"Then…?"
"It's rhythm."
"Ah…!"
"Do it properly."
Yuri went around bothering the soldiers like a seasoned drill sergeant.
His attire was no different from theirs, so unless they saw his black hair up close, the soldiers didn't even realize it was Yuri.
And when he suddenly scolded them, they'd jump in surprise.
"You, over there, not working?"
"Uh—uh, Your Highness?"
"Where are you going?"
"To the latrine, sir."
"Number two?"
"Y-yes…"
"Go far and do it."
After wandering around for a while, he happened upon a troubling scene.
Several soldiers were surrounding Cory, who had fallen to the ground, shouting at him.
Cory couldn't get up and was swaying unsteadily. He looked like he had already been struck a few times.
"You half-breed orc bastard. I told you not to show your face."
"I-I…"
"You think we wouldn't notice?"
Yuri sighed.
Just as the soldier said, Cory—assigned to them by Count Sadeur—was a half-orc, born of a human and an orc.
He had kept his hood tightly wrapped around him, but it looked like he'd finally been exposed.
"Isn't he a spy? Planning to trick the prince and get us all killed? You're working with the orcs, aren't you?"
"Never! I—"
"Wearing some fancy gloves, huh? Hand it over."
"T-this, I can't…"
"I said hand it over."
"The prince gave it to me…"
"Then say you lost it!"
One of the soldiers ripped off Cory's gauntlet. The ugly, mangled hand beneath was exposed—twisted and deformed fingers, scarred flesh.
The soldier who took it recoiled in horror.
"Ugh, what the hell is this… damn it…"
"Please return it."
"It's too disgusting to use."
The soldier was about to throw the glove far away, when—
"Hey, you."
Yuri called out.
At first, the soldiers tilted their heads, unsure who it was. But as Yuri drew closer, they recognized him and froze in terror.
"Y-Your Highness…"
"That glove looks familiar."
"It's not what you think…"
"You weren't just about to throw it, were you?"
Yuri crossed his arms and stared at him. The soldier fumbled, then held out the gauntlet as if presenting it with reverence.
"N-no, never, sir…"
"Then what?"
"I, uh…"
"Maybe it had a lot of dust and you were trying to shake it off?"
"Y-yes! That's right!"
He began brushing the glove off. Then the other soldiers joined in.
A strange sight unfolded—several men fussing over a single glove.
Yuri pressed a hand to his forehead.
"Good grief…"
The soldiers anxiously watched Yuri's expression.
"Well. Looks clean enough now. Get lost."
"Yes, sir!"
They returned the glove to Cory and bolted away. Watching them run, Yuri clicked his tongue.
Utterly pathetic bunch.
Cory bowed his head.
"Thank you…"
"You alright?"
"Yes."
"Cory."
Yuri placed a hand on his shoulder.
Cory flinched, but Yuri casually slung an arm around him.
"So, what should I do for you?"
"Pardon?"
"I could protect you. Punish those guys. You're a valuable asset, being able to understand Orcish."
"Y-yes…"
Yuri looked at him.
Inside the hood, he caught a glimpse of Cory's face. It wasn't a pretty sight, but Yuri didn't look away.
"What do you say? Want me to personally deal with them?"
Cory glanced up at him, just a little.
He had always avoided eye contact. For the first time, their eyes met.
Cory shook his head.
"No."
"Will you be alright?"
"Yes."
"Aren't you angry at those guys?"
Cory lowered his gaze again and pulled his hood further over his face. Then, in a small voice, he replied.
"If our roles were reversed, I might have done the same."
"Hm?"
"Everyone likes beauty, and hates what's ugly. I think it's only natural. It's instinct. An uncomfortable, but undeniable truth."
Yuri was a little surprised.
Cory had always been passive in his responses. It was the first time he spoke his thoughts like this.
"I feel the same, too."
"You do?"
"When I see your face, it lifts my mood, but when I see people like me, it makes me feel depressed."
Yuri chuckled.
"Is that a compliment?"
"Of course not. How could I dare to compliment Your Highness… I'm just stating a fact."
Now that they were having a proper conversation, his pronunciation and intonation were fluent.
Yuri felt like he understood why Jaime had taken Cory in. Where most half-orcs resembled orcs more, Cory was much closer to a human in appearance.
Such cases were extremely rare.
Cory continued.
"And if Your Highness helps me, it might be okay for now, but… it'll only push my dream further away."
"What's your dream?"
"Um…"
Cory hesitated to answer.
As he fidgeted beside him, Yuri gave his back a firm slap.
"Ow!"
"You get me all curious and then hide it?"
"N-no, it's not that."
"Then what is it?"
"Well…"
Cory spoke in a small voice.
"I want to be accepted by others, and live together with them."
Yuri paused.
What Cory was wishing for, was something Yuri considered a completely ordinary part of life.
But for this small half-orc, it was a dream likely out of reach for a lifetime.
What would happen to Cory once the Allied Army disbanded?
Yuri could take him in, but that wasn't the future Cory truly wanted.
"Cory, you're traveling with Ernando, right?"
"Yes."
"Alright."
Yuri said,
"Learn magic from him."
"Pardon?"
"If you want to survive, you need a skill."
"Uh…?"
Cory looked at Yuri. He was so stunned that he didn't even avert his gaze like usual.
"M-magic isn't just a skill though. And magic is incredibly hard, not just anyone can learn—"
"Perfect. If it's a specialty, you won't be kicked aside easily."
"Your Highness…"
"Translating Orcish is a good skill too, but it's only useful this season. It's got no future. So try learning."
Yuri reached out and patted Cory's head over the hood.
"Give it a go. If it doesn't work out, then try something else."
"But…"
"You're not usually busy, are you? Or were you planning to laze around?"
"N-no, of course not."
"Good. Then try it once."
"Yes…"
Yuri took the glove Cory had been holding and slipped it onto his hand himself.
Cory was flustered, but didn't dare to stop him.
"It's cold at night. Wear it."
***
The moon hung in the sky.
Yuri gathered the Briol forces and put them on alert.
Though it wasn't the heart of orc territory, there was precedent with the Holy Kingdom.
It wouldn't be strange if orcs launched a raid at any time.
Inside his tent, Yuri called for Laurent and Jared.
"There's only one thing those bastards could be after here."
The three of them sat around a map, which was spread out between them. The Briol army marker lay between Gid and Balshad.
"What would that be?"
"A night raid," Jared answered.
He was perched on a chair, rocking back and forth.
Yuri narrowed his eyes.
"Okay, so what kind of night raid?"
"Just a night raid. Attacking at night."
"But we've fortified our defenses. Would they really bother attacking now?"
"Then what?"
Someone else answered instead.
"Supplies."
When Yuri turned, Raymond was standing at the tent entrance.
He walked in with a smile.
"I have a feeling they might come for that."
Yuri nodded.
"Yeah. That's exactly it."
"Really?"
"They're the ones who attacked the Holy Kingdom. No telling where they're hiding. The grasslands are their domain."
Yuri thought back to his mercenary days. A comrade who had served in the Allied Army once said this:
'Orcs always went for the supplies, day or night. They were absolute masters at driving people mad.'
Now that information about the Allied Army had spread, the orcs wouldn't just sit back and watch the various forces unite.
Yuri suspected they would face sporadic ambushes before reaching Balshad.
Jared tilted his head.
"But wouldn't that require some form of command? I heard orcs don't work together well because they're scattered into tribes…"
As he said, orcs lived divided into numerous feuding clans.
But Yuri already knew. A new king was rising on the grasslands.
Raymond spoke in Yuri's stead.
"Why do you think the Empire formed the Allied Army?"
"To suppress the orcs regularly, of course…"
"That's one reason. But the main reason is the emergence of a significant force far in the East."
Yuri nodded.
There was an orc.
In his past life, that orc's name struck fear into the hearts of men.
"A mysterious orc has appeared, devouring neighboring clans. They say his name is Okua."
Okua.
The monster who would come to be called 'the King of Orcs.'
Because of him, countless knights had lost their lives.
Ultimately, he was Yuri's true target—the one he intended to eliminate through this Allied Army campaign.
"The Empire wants to cut him down before he grows too large."
"I see…"
Jared and Laurent didn't seem all that moved.
To them, he probably just sounded like another powerful orc leader. But they'd understand once they experienced it firsthand.
Suddenly, a commotion erupted outside.
A sentinel shouted in panic.
"Your Highness! Trouble!"
Yuri rose to his feet.
It seemed the uninvited guest had arrived.