A Returner’s Magic Should Be Special - Chapter 43

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 43. Two Problems (2)

Dezir returned shortly with warm tea and dried fruit. Having heard his entire account, it was now Pram’s turn.
Pram recounted how he had fared thus far—from his initial panic at finding himself alone, through the various mistakes he’d made, to finally completing his first Quest and becoming a soldier after all was said and done.
“Right now I’m working on a Quest where I need to distinguish myself in combat against Esteban—they attack every year around this time—and receive my knighthood.”
“Esteban?”
“Yes. Apparently they raid this territory every year. It’s a granary region, you see.”
As Pram finished speaking, a notification chimed.

-You have identified one of the two problems facing Evernaton: the Esteban situation.

‘So the Esteban raid was the other issue.’
Information that only Pram, being a soldier, would know.
Dezir popped one of the dried fruits into his mouth as a snack.
“How far along is the Quest?”
“Well, about that…”
Pram let out a sigh.
“I’m in the exact same position as you, sir. Not once have I ever laid eyes on anyone from Esteban.”
“What do you mean?”
“According to the scouts, there’s not the slightest sign of Esteban approaching. They haven’t even drawn near.”
……
“The Knight Order has tentatively concluded that Esteban has given up on invading this year.”
“They’ve given up?”
Laughter tinged Dezir’s voice.
“That’s impossible.”
“It’s not entirely baseless reasoning. Ever since Wilhelm became lord, Esteban hasn’t succeeded in a single invasion. That’s been going on for five years now, so isn’t it reasonable they’d give up?”
“Do you remember the Esteban man we met at the shop in Uujukeun?”
Pram nodded.
“What was your impression?”
“……He was terribly aggressive.”
“And when men like that gather as a group? You can’t judge them by ordinary human standards. An impregnable fortress? Far from despairing, they’d be seized by battle-fever and throw themselves at it.”
Dezir spoke as if he knew Esteban intimately. In his past life, he had been a comrade to their king, and had watched the Esteban people under his command for a long time. He knew them well.
“But there’s another element: they’re starving. And they have this granary region right in front of their eyes. Give it up? Nonsense. They’ll do everything in their power to breach this fortress.”
Dezir tilted his head once.
“The reason they’re not revealing their main force might be because they’re waiting for Evernaton to let its guard down, just like now.”
“That’s contradictory. If they won’t give up because of their aggression, then they wouldn’t resort to such trickery.”
Dezir nodded, acknowledging his point.
“You’re right. But we need to consider one more element beyond the Esteban’s racial characteristics.”
“What’s that?”
“The existence of an Antagonist. Almost every narrative-driven Shadow World deals with a history of two factions in conflict. So there must definitely be someone who stands at the opposite pole from Evernaton’s lord—the central figure of this scenario. He’s likely the one who devised this strategy.”
Dezir fell into thought.
“Their objective is food… they’re not revealing their main force… Yes, if they’re only after provisions, they won’t need many troops.”
Dezir finally reached his conclusion.
“They’re going to launch a small-scale raid on the food warehouse.”
This was a problem without an explicit explanation.
A problem lacking description of Esteban’s living conditions. Without understanding them well, it could never be solved.

-What began as a tiny clue. Yet from that clue, you displayed remarkable insight and divined Esteban’s plan.

-The Quest “Ambush” has begun.
Esteban will breach the city within three days.
They are targeting the provisions within the fortress. Defend the food supplies from Esteban!

-If provisions run short, soldier morale will plummet! The territory’s people and vagrants will starve in the cold winter!
Should provisions fall short, both the Esteban problem and the vagrant problem will become critically worse.

—Currently, the citadel stores enough provisions for four months.

Crack-crack.
The sound of flames crackling in the hearth was loud and insistent.

* * *

Dezir and Pram climbed onto the City Wall of the territory and began a thorough reconnaissance of the domain.
They sketched out the territory’s layout in rough strokes and gauged the positions of the watchtowers stationed at regular intervals.
After half a day spent surveying the entire domain, Dezir identified three sections of the City Wall where Esteban appeared most likely to breach.
The wall behind the Mill, where a hill rises beyond the rampart and the barrier stands relatively lower.
The Eastern-Western Wall, where wider gaps between watchtowers made surveillance more lax than elsewhere.
The West Gate, situated dangerously close to the Warehouse where crops were stored.
“Three locations,” Pram murmured.
The territory of Evernaton was vast enough that dense surveillance proved difficult.
“Pram, what came of proposing to the soldiers that we strengthen patrols?”
Pram exhaled heavily.
“It’s hopeless. No one believes me. No matter how much I emphasize it, they simply won’t trust what I’m saying.”
“What’s your affinity with them like?”
“I’m not sure. I haven’t paid much attention to affinity, so I can’t say.”
“Your affinity is probably too low. That’s why they won’t believe you.”
Dezir and Pram had climbed atop the City Wall.
“The Knight Order concluded that Esteban wouldn’t attack. For them to trust you about Esteban coming under such circumstances, your affinity would need to be at least trustworthy level.”
“So affinity has that kind of function…”
“It’s too late to change that now. We’ll have to devise our own countermeasures.”
Dezir and Pram resolved to cut back on sleep and patrol the City Wall. Each day after their duties ended, they would climb up to focus their patrols on the sections most vulnerable to ambush.
“Hmm, the situation is worse than I expected.”
The state of the soldiers guarding the wall was far from adequate—they bobbed their heads in drowsiness or exchanged idle chatter, typical of soldiers whose discipline had eroded.
“When there’s no sign of an enemy, it’s hardly surprising they can’t maintain their guard.”
“If even the soldiers are like this…”
Rousing the soldiers as they patrolled became Dezir’s responsibility.
Two days after they began their patrols, snow began to fall—the first snow of the season in this region.
By the time they’d finished patrolling the first predicted location, the wall at the Mill, snow had accumulated considerably. Footprints traced their path across the white blanket.
“The snow has cut visibility to almost nothing. We’ll need to be even more careful today.”
Dezir drew his collar tight against the gusts threatening to tear it open.
“Pram, you’re wearing your thermal garment underneath, yes?”
“Always.”
“Good.”
Dezir’s group pressed onward toward the second predicted location, the Eastern-Western Wall. They descended a long staircase and passed through a narrow passage.
When they finally reached the Eastern-Western Wall, they searched for the sentries, but they were nowhere to be found.
“Where are they chatting this time?”
Having witnessed this scene more than once, Pram sighed as he spoke.
But Dezir felt a subtle unease creep over him. Leaving Pram behind, he began to run, searching for the sentries.
“…!”
And then he found them.
The sentries were not at their posts, nor were they sharing idle conversation. They lay collapsed on the ground.
“Dezir?”
Dezir rushed toward the fallen sentries. The snow accumulated on their bodies was thin. Not much time had passed since they fell.
When he rolled the ice-cold body of one sentry over, he saw an arrow buried halfway into the bridge of the nose.
At that moment, an alert sounded.

—Esteban’s ambush has been detected.
The invasion begins.
Their assault is subtle and silent. Most people within the citadel remain unaware that the territory is under attack.

‘Most don’t know?’
Pram reflexively pivoted to move toward the watchtower of the outpost.
“Duck!”
Dezir seized Pram by the back of his neck and yanked him down. In the next instant, an eerie whistle filled the air.
Thwip! Thwip!
The arrow pierced through the blizzard and flew straight toward Pram.
“……An arrow? How is that even possible in this snow…….”
Pram muttered in a dazed voice.
“Pram, wait a moment.”

Owl’s Vision.

A functional magic that secured sight even in the dead of night.
Dezir peered through the gaps between bricks in the City Wall, gazing outward. He spotted a group of Esteban moving while concealed by the falling snow.
One figure among them stood out distinctly—a person wrapped in White Tiger Fur, aiming a Great Bow reaching two meters in length toward the City Wall.
Rare Hero Bloodtalon encountered. He is the chieftain of the Hawk Tribe, lauded as their greatest archer.

Clang! Clang!
Grappling hooks began catching on the City Wall. Esteban wearing White Leopard Fur climbed up, suspended from ropes attached to the hooks.
Dezir tilted his head just enough to peer out and count the ascending Esteban.
“Roughly a hundred or so…….”
Facing that many troops head-on would be sheer madness.
‘I wish Azest were here.’
Pram’s lips had turned pale blue.
“We have to alert them to the invasion.”
“The problem is how to do it…….”
Dezir’s gaze turned toward the watchtower of the outpost.
Atop the watchtower of Outpost Thirteen hung an enormous bell—a bell meant to ring out a warning whenever enemies breached the perimeter.
But the soldier who should have rung it had long since been picked off, riddled with arrows like a porcupine.
Dezir clicked his tongue.
“There’s no choice, then.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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