Major Toma seems to have a lazy personality.
“Major Toma, could you listen to my story? If possible, keep it confidential.”
I started talking to Major Toma, who was wistfully staring at the empty bag of potato chips.
“Ah, it’s not the best place to talk, so shall we go to the captain’s room?”
Major Toma stood up from his seat with a grunt and started walking, so I followed him.
“Isn’t it alright for the bridge to be without any executives?”
I asked as we walked down the hallway, and Major Toma replied,
“My soldiers are not incompetent enough to do nothing if there are no executives.”
With that, he opened a grand door and let me into the captain’s room.
There’s a grand desk, but… there’s a reclining seat here as well.
“Princess, please sit on the chair at the desk.”
Major Toma said, and as if it were natural, he lay down on the reclining seat himself.
He really likes to lie down, doesn’t he?
“This room is completely soundproof, so feel free to talk. If there happens to be any ill-intentioned person who enjoys eavesdropping, they won’t be able to hear anything physically.”
“Yes, that’s a relief.”
“Kika’s super hearing is the only exception, though.”
Kika-chan can hear conversations from inside even in a fully soundproof room. Amazing!
Major Toma opened the refrigerator within reach of his reclining seat and took out a can of beer.
Drinking again… Looking closely, I see a bookshelf and a multi-purpose cabinet also set up within reach of the reclining seat.
He’s truly tenacious in his laziness, isn’t he, Major Toma?
While lying down, Major Toma munched on beer nuts and drank beer as I recounted the events since my kidnapping.
Major Toma had been listening to me with a vacant stare, as Ashes put it, but his eyes changed when the conversation turned to Kanata’s evil eye, and he sat up abruptly.
Then, with a sharp gaze, he asked me,
“A gaze that can kill living things just by staring? Are you sure, Princess?”
“Y-yes. I was protected by Kanata’s evil eye many times.”
“…The Hachioki’s Wolf Eye… It seems true that Kenrou is Agito’s nephew. He certainly has Agito’s features, but…”
The Major fell into thought. Did something come to mind?
“Is something wrong?”
“…Am I worrying too much? In any case, the Hachioki Soke… the wolf’s blood has not died out.”
Kanata’s evil eye is apparently called the Wolf Eye. The wolf’s eye, it’s truly fitting for Kenrou’s trump card.
“Kanata said that his parent’s parent was from the Hachioki clan.”
“Ah, that’s likely true. The Wolf Eye is an evil eye that only manifests in blood relatives of the Hachioki Soke. Princess, regarding Kenrou’s sword art, did he not use a stance like this?”
Major Toma drew his sword and took a stance with the tip of the blade facing up, the hilt by his right ear.
This was the stance Kanata occasionally showed in the forest.
I really hesitated to talk about Kanata’s information.
…I see. The reason Kanata drew a clear line was for my sake as well.
“…He did use it. I don’t know much about swordsmanship, but I think there were other forms as well.”
“…Does he use Mugen Ittouryu? This might be a second Ice Wolf, no, a greater threat than him.”
“Kanata is a greater threat than Ice Wolf Agito!?”
Major Toma turned on the air purifier and lit a cigarette.
“According to the Princess’s story, Kenrou is someone with a ‘thinking mind’ and his ‘own philosophy (rules)’. Such people grow quickly and are formidable. He’s different from Agito, who was just an arrogant fool relying on his natural talent.”
“Major Toma, do you know Ice Wolf Agito?”
“Yeah, it was me who devised the plan to trap Ice Wolf.”
!! While Captain Roogetsu was the one who defeated Ice Wolf, it was Major Toma who devised the operation!
That’s why Amara-san wanted to recruit Major Toma into the army.
“This is troublesome. Moreover, the story is that Kenrou is a subordinate of Marika of the Scarlet Eye, so I can’t easily lay a hand on him… Well, as long as we don’t run into each other, it’s fine to leave him be.”
Major Toma returned to his vacant stare and lay down on the reclining seat again.
“Is it alright to leave him be?”
I’m grateful for it, though. I don’t want to see the Ghost Brigade and Kanata fight.
“Looking ahead, it would be better to eliminate him now. There’s a saying, ‘kill the snake while it’s still an egg.’ However, if dealing with Kenrou means dealing with Marika of the Scarlet Eye, then I refuse. That woman is too dangerous.”
“Is she that strong? Marika of the Scarlet Eye?”
She’s called the Ace of the Alliance Army, so of course she’s strong.
“I’m not interested in debates about who the strongest soldier in the world is, but betting on Marika would probably have low odds. She’s one of the favorites. Even your sword and shield would likely be no match in a one-on-one duel.”
“My sword and shield are strong too! I’m not inferior to Marika of the Scarlet Eye…”
“You are inferior. You will lose, definitely.”
That’s not true!… No, Major Toma, who tends to avoid definitive statements, asserted it.
I wanted to hear the reason.
“Why can you say I can’t win?”
“Marika of the Scarlet Eye possesses power that repels ordinary heavyweights, the fastest legs in the world, divine-level ninjutsu and combat techniques, and to top it all off, she’s a perfect compatibility with the evil eye. Asches and Quester are world-class powerhouses, but they wouldn’t be a match at their current level. You might stand a chance only after becoming a perfect compatibility.”
I know Marika of the Scarlet Eye is a perfect compatibility…
“I understand that you want to believe your sword and shield are second to none, Princess. However, believing and blindly trusting are different. Sentiment is important, but excluding it from strategy is the mark of a good commander.”
“Sentiment is important, but exclude it from strategy, you say…”
“A commander who cannot feel sentiment for their subordinates is trash. But a commander who makes faulty judgments due to sentiment is incompetent. Think holistically, as if playing chess. However, unlike chess, you can’t have pawns to sacrifice, okay?”
“Yes, after all, it’s living, breathing humans who will be fighting.”
“Exactly. The conversation has strayed. Let’s get back to it. I understand that you were kidnapped by Sabina and rescued by Kenrou in the Witch’s Forest.”
“I’d like to hear your opinion, Major. Should I tell you the truth about Sabina and Kanata…”
“My opinion is just a reference; you have to make the decision yourself, Princess?”
“Yes, I need information for my decision. I will naturally make the decision.”
Major Toma lit a new cigarette and began to speak after a moment of thought.
“If it were me, I would tell the truth about Kenrou. It’ll be found out anyway.”
…I see. No one would believe that I survived alone in the Witch’s Forest for nearly a week.
If a lie will be exposed, it’s better not to tell it.
“That’s right. Kanata will likely report it upon his return, so it’s better not to tell a lie that will be exposed.”
“Even if Kenrou reports it, I don’t think the Alliance will make it public. It’s one thing to have rescued the Princess of the Empire, but they let her escape from the forest. They’re probably just observing our movements, but the Asura Unit wouldn’t want to punish a promising Ace like Kenrou.”
“I don’t think the Mechanist Army will make it public either. It would be a disgrace for the Empire’s Princess to be rescued by an enemy soldier.”
“It seems you’ve learned quite a bit about politics, Princess. Since neither the Mechanist Army nor the Alliance Army has any benefit from this, they’ll probably bury this matter in darkness.”
“What about Sabina’s case?”
“It’s highly likely that Sabina is the Carolingian Family’s illegitimate child. It’s a common story. Even if she is an illegitimate child, questioning Prince Adel about the murder case would be pointless; it’s not like he’d admit it, even if it were true. Lodging a direct appeal to the Emperor is also not a good strategy. If it’s true, it’s a royal family’s impropriety; they might reprimand the Prince, but they won’t make the incident public.”
“You mean that a son’s mistake leads to the Marshal’s mistake, is that it?”
“Precisely. Besides, the murder case itself might be Sabina’s misconception. The first thing to do is to confirm the facts.”
The first thing to do is to confirm the facts. But even if I wanted to confirm it, I have no means…
Ashes and Quester are pure knights, soldiers unrelated to espionage.
…Hmm? Major Toma is looking at me with a rather meaningful gaze.
It feels like he’s implying, “Will you notice?”…
Is he deliberately letting me think? If so, there must be an answer!
…I see!
“Major Toma, could you investigate the murder case?”
“Why me?”
“I heard that the Ghost Brigade is a unit that sets its own targets and carries out missions independently. Therefore, they must conduct intelligence gathering beforehand to determine their targets. Since the Ghost Brigade has never let a single enemy soldier return, I surmise they possess high intelligence capabilities.”
With Kika-chan and Tachikaze, the Ghost Brigade would be able to uncover the truth.
“That’s good. If you can’t do it yourself, it’s a true leader’s ability to have someone who can do it. The generals of the soldiers are good, and the generals of the generals are even better.”
“Kanata said the same thing. He told me to become a commander who can make good use of his generals.”
“…Is that so? He’s a troublesome fellow. If he becomes a commander and gets promoted, he might be a pain.”
I think he will become one, not “if.” Kanata praised me for my charisma, but I think Kanata has leadership.
…If Kanata becomes a commander, he will be an even more formidable enemy for the Mechanist Army.
When I finished telling him everything that happened in the Witch’s Forest, there was a knock on the door.
“Major, I brought your meal.”
Mizar-san entered, holding a tray with a pot of stew on it.
It smells good! T-it’s mealtime!
Finally! Finally, I can eat a decent meal!
Out of all the cities I’ve visited, Olyantitanbo is definitely the one I’d like to go back to again.
