Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 469: The Previous Day’s Strategy Meeting
Aeris’s agreement to serve as a decoy gave Viscount Musai and Marquis Donaissun the solution they had been hoping for.
Tauro and Aeris had both anticipated that they would be asked to use the misunderstanding to lure out the Northern Empire’s soldiers.
“Then we must finalize the plan and carry it out within the next few days,” Viscount Musai said. “Lady Aeris and Lord Tauro should return to the same square where the enemy approached them. If the imperial unit attempts another abduction, our forces will close the exits and capture them all at once.”
Marquis Donaissun frowned.
“Would returning to the same place not make them suspicious? Such a convenient second opportunity may look like a trap.”
“That’s precisely why I expect them to commit more troops. They probably believe the pair escaped by chance and don’t think their encirclement was detected. This time they’ll surround the square more thoroughly and attempt to seize Lady Aeris before she can flee.”
“If that’s your judgment, we have little time for a better plan. The Saint’s guards must remain near her, but I can provide five trustworthy and highly capable people.”
Viscount Musai would disguise territorial soldiers as townspeople and station additional troops inside the buildings around the square.
The area saw little normal foot traffic. Anyone who gathered there during the operation would therefore be detained and questioned, even if that meant briefly inconveniencing an innocent resident.
“May Ragune, Ankh, and Zion join the operation as well?” Tauro asked. “I can personally vouch for their abilities.”
Tauro didn’t distrust Duke Barriera’s soldiers, but he felt far more secure with his companions nearby.
“Very well. Since you and Lady Aeris are accepting the greatest risk, your companions may participate. They mustn’t disrupt the wider encirclement.”
Musai didn’t know how powerful the three adventurers were, but he kept his reservations to himself.
Voices suddenly rose outside the room.
“What are you doing in front of our room? Let us in!”
“We can force our way through, right?”
“Please don’t use force!”
Ankh, Ragune, and Zion had apparently returned to find Viscount Musai’s guards blocking the door.
“It seems my companions arrived at the perfect time,” Tauro said with a wry smile. “May I let them in?”
Once the three heard the situation, Ankh addressed Tauro without hesitation, despite the two nobles in the room.
“So, leader, are we free to fight as necessary when the time comes?”
Ragune looked toward Aeris.
“Would it not be safer for me to remain beside her? I can protect Aeris with the Mirror Turtle Rectangular Shield until everyone else closes in.”
“If the two of you need protection, I can fight a large number of enemies,” Zion added.
“The goal isn’t merely to repel them,” Tauro replied. “We need to capture the entire imperial unit and end the abduction attempt. If all of us stand together in the open, the enemy may realize something is wrong. I want you to hide nearby with the territorial soldiers and attack only after they commit themselves.”
Tauro also wanted to prevent Viscount Musai or Marquis Donaissun from complicating the plan once the battle began.
“Understood, leader. Just make sure you protect Aeris,” Ankh said with a knowing grin.
“Of course,” Tauro answered, missing the implication entirely.
The troops began preparing the square the day before the operation. Because imperial observers were probably watching Duke Barriera’s residence and tracking anyone who left it, Musai sent his soldiers to the area in advance and hid them inside abandoned buildings and ruins.
Ankh and Ragune took positions in one of the empty buildings near the square.
Zion still looked like a young child beneath her hood, so she would pose as a solitary boy playing near the plaza without attracting much attention.
“I-I really was a loner before Tauro-sama found me, so I can play the role without pretending…”
Apart from Zion’s understandable displeasure, the preparations proceeded smoothly.
Matilda, meanwhile, spent the day with Mahodo, the tamer who had recently become one of her favorite attendants. The Crown Prince wasn’t told about the operation and remained occupied with the route and escort arrangements for the delegation’s next destination.
That night, Aeris visited Tauro’s room.
“Please be careful tomorrow. They intend to abduct me, so they may avoid killing me, but I can’t know what they’ll do to you.”
“I’ll be careful. Besides, you know I’m difficult to kill, and Pella will be with me.”
Tauro laughed, but Aeris didn’t find the subject amusing.
“They’re imperial special forces. We don’t know what methods they’ll use. If the situation becomes too dangerous, promise me you’ll escape.”
“I promise. We have an early morning, so you should get some sleep.”
“Good night, Tauro.”
After Aeris returned to her room, Tauro lay awake for a short while.
The soldiers who had surrounded them earlier had moved with exceptional discipline. He reminded himself not to underestimate them, then gradually fell asleep.