Kays Translations

Just another Isekai Lover~

Chapter 363: Despair in the Conference Room

Rest reported the information he had gathered from the boy to Valeya Catreya, the person in charge of defense.

What Rest had learned was completely unexpected for Valeya and the others. Everyone gathered in the fortress conference room sat in grim silence, their expressions tense.

“Hmm… So, in other words, even the barbarians didn’t desire this attack?”

“The one pulling the strings behind the scenes—the so-called ‘sorcerer’… What could their goal possibly be?”

Valeya and Carlius frowned simultaneously.

For a long time, the barbarians had been quiet. It now seemed clear that a mastermind was behind this assault.

The true identity of this mysterious ‘sorcerer’ was unknown—but Valeya scowled and spat out his conclusion.

“The sorcerer’s target must be our kingdom. If that’s the case… the list of possible enemies narrows itself down.”

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“……!”

The words Valeya spoke caused Rest, Carlius, and everyone else in the room to stiffen.

The Kingdom of Iwood had once been plagued by both internal unrest and external threats. But after the Third Prince, Rodel Iwood, was defeated and the so-called ‘Queen Dowager faction’ purged, the internal troubles were gone.

With the ‘internal turmoil’ eliminated, the only remaining threat was ‘external’.

For the Kingdom of Iwood, there were two possible external enemies—
the northern barbarians, and…

“The Geisel Empire…!”

Someone in the room muttered the name heavily.

The Geisel Empire lay to the east, Iwood’s neighboring nation.

Although the two currently shared a non-aggression pact, they had clashed many times in the past and regarded each other as potential enemies.

On the surface, they maintained trade and appeared to enjoy friendly relations—but many within the kingdom still harbored deep mistrust toward them.

“So you think the Geisel Empire sent this ‘sorcerer,’ this magician—who then kidnapped part of the barbarian tribes, took them as hostages, and forced them to attack our kingdom? The logic… fits.”

“Perhaps they intend to draw our attention northward—then strike from the east while our defenses are thin.”

Carlius added to Valeya’s speculation.

There was no evidence, and it could all just be wild conjecture.

But… if their suspicions proved correct, it would mean the Geisel Empire was about to ignite the flames of war once again.

(By now, the royal capital must be preparing reinforcements to send north. If they attack while the central forces are weakened… then…!)

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Rest swallowed hard.

The words “national annihilation” flashed through his mind.

It wasn’t an exaggeration. Such a war would be on a completely different scale from the civil unrest caused by Rodel and Marquis Eiger.

“It seems we can no longer afford to focus only on the barbarians. We’ll send word to the capital immediately. Tell them not to dispatch reinforcements north—warn them to stay vigilant toward the east.”

“Hmm…”

Someone sighed heavily in the conference room.

That meant they would have to deal with the northern barbarians using only their current forces.

No reinforcements from the capital.

The air in the room grew thick with despair.

(If the barbarians pull back soon, that would help… but if the fighting drags on, this will be bad…)

Rest’s face darkened.

It might sound childish to think “I don’t like this,” but he truly didn’t—nor could he afford it.

He already had work to do developing his own territory, and his two fiancée was probably waiting for him to return home. The fortress wasn’t exactly a pleasant place to stay for long.

(How valuable the hostages are to them will decide how long this war drags out. But if they throw everything aside and attack recklessly… how long can this fortress even hold out?)

The fortress had taken considerable damage in the previous raid.