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War has come!

Just past the halfway mark of spring, Andassis the Seventh launched a counter-invasion of the Ertalonese kingdom!

Before making this decision, however, he made sure to seek my opinion on my participation in this revenge war. Emphasis on the “revenge”. This war was declared from the standpoint of a victim, not an aggressor.

Even so, I did not wish to invade another country, even if Ertalon deserved it.

The king wasn’t too bothered by my rejection, instead raising Ansom to be my deputy commander to lead the magitek knights in my stead.

The current magitek corps had increased its membership from its initial 100 to 500. Our first battle at the fort had given the king confidence that as long as the magitek knights were deployed, there was no way he could lose.

As for the elite forces, Andassis the Seventh requested the aid of three overlords. Adding on Cleoz, there were four overlords on our side.

To Ertalon, who only had three battered overlords, this bit of news couldn’t get any worse.

In terms of ordinary troops, the king sent 100,000 veteran soldiers, but their main objective was to occupy rather than actual fighting. On top of the kingdom’s army, the various noble houses also sent a coalition army of 270,000 as reinforcement. Although, vultures would be a more appropriate description of them.

If the magitek knights were deploying, that meant Amori and Belud would follow suit as well. The nascent state of magitek research in general created a need for more field study. Being onsite would be a huge boon for any future developments.

Besides, having the two meisters around would undoubtedly help in the maintenance of these armors.

Thanks to that, everyone I was familiar with was now gone. More importantly, my young adjutant, Ansom, was gone… and I still had a mountain of documents to settle…

“My lord, perhaps hiring a new assistant is in order.”

Here to report the economic situation of the land, Otto suddenly made a rather intriguing suggestion to me.

Half a month had gone by since Ansom’s departure. From the occasional drip of news I received, the war was going unexpectedly well; the Ertalonese stood no chance against the fierce counterattack of the Andassean army. A fifth of its lands were taken in those fifteen days alone.

It was said that Andassis the Seventh tore up the peace treaty himself…

But all that wasn’t important. What was important was that my days were hell since my adjutant was gone…

If I could source a suitable assistant, I could hand off my less important documents to him, raising my efficiency up an entire notch.

If only it was that simple to find an assistant… and I can’t let the documents keep piling on either.

“You have someone in mind?”

Seeing as Otto made this suggestion on his own, it was only reasonable that he already had a candidate.

“I do… but…” he answered but hesitated half-way.

He was clearly stalling for dramatic effect, but I didn’t mind. “It’s someone you know?”

“He’s your humble servant’s nephew, in fact. 25 years old, his name is Calle.”

Having said that, he lowered his head almost apologetically.

“Enough, there’s no need for such theatrics here. If you find him useful, you may bring him here, even if he’s your kin. As long as he proves worthy, I promise not to squander his talents.”

“In that case, your humble servant will take his leave.” Otto smiled faintly as he bowed. However, just as he was about to make his triumphant departure, I called out to him.

“Wait.”

“My lord, is there something else?”

“I received some news that the nature elves in the south are planning to attack a human duchy, has there been any news on that front?”

“Is my lord perhaps referring to the duchy of Wagran? Your humble servant has heard some rumors to this effect. The reports make mention of an elven village being raided some time ago. And just seven days ago, the nature elves launched a surprise attack on the duchy… Currently, they are at the doorsteps of its capital…”

“Already?”

By my estimates, a duchy was roughly half the size of China, so to reach the heartland from its outskirts in just seven days… Calling it a massive strength disparity was an understatement!

“According to the reports, they’ve employed massive manned magical golems, similar to our magitek knights…” Otto paused at that point to glance at me. Realizing that I was unaffected, he continued, “Your humble servant decided it would be wiser for him to investigate further before bringing this up to my lord…”

“I understand.” Looking at the apprehensive look on his face, he had probably put a great deal of thought into this decision. In order to avoid him overcomplicating this situation, I decided to just tell him.

“Our kingdom has had dealings with the elves, but there’s no need to overthink this.”

“Is that so, then your humble servant has nothing left to report and will take his leave.”

“Mhm. You have my leave. Remember to bring your nephew before me in the morning. And I will be blunt, if he doesn’t make the mark, I have every intention of rejecting him.”

Otto immediately straightened his back when he heard that. “If he’s unworthy, please do not hesitate to punish him.”

“Not punish… As long as he isn’t morally bankrupt, I will let him off the hook.”

“My lord is generous.”

“Right, you may go. I still have a mountain of work to handle.”

“Yes, my lord.” However, he did not immediately leave.

A minute later, he was still standing there, as if he was waiting for something.

“Hmm? Otto, is there something else?”

Hearing that, Otto broke into a grin. “Your humble servant was just thinking, perhaps my lord might think of some other matter which requires assistance, seeing as my previous two dismissals were immediately rescinded…”

“I… I swear there’s nothing left this time! Absolutely!”