Pastor Ramses was a good pastor—at the very least, he wasn't the sort of person who caused trouble for everyone. After letting them in, the interrupted celebration continued.
He had originally gone to report on his duties and deliver a message for Ergons, but he had been making intermittent trips between the villages and forts during this period.
After the duke's minister mentioned the two magical items to him at the banquet that night, Ergons discussed the matter with the pastor, Adam, and William.
In the end, they attributed the miracle to the magical items. As for whether anyone would covet them, that wasn't a problem. Ergons had plenty of things worth coveting.
His territory, noble status, young and courageous body, handsome appearance—he wasn't lacking for a single unsubstantiated magical item.
There had always been people who coveted him. It only depended on how many chips they had and whether what they gained was proportional to what they paid. When the gains matched the cost, they would attack even without any magical items.
Just as now, according to the message Pastor Ramses Bolton had brought back for him.
"Baron Nordsa Tervain is actively building support. He's been spreading word of the dangers of pirates throughout Count Heffin Anduin's county and pointing out that the pirates have managed to leave Viscount Cortes's neighboring territory completely untouched every time."
Pastor Ramses Bolton's words made the expressions of everyone seated at the head table slowly turn cold. Every person there looked toward Young Master Ergons.
"War again? I had a feeling this would happen. This was decided three weeks ago, but I didn't expect it to progress so quickly. Has it already reached the stage where everyone knows about it?"
The young master's words made Elisa tighten her grip on his hand. No one could remain calm at the thought of war.
Pastor Ramses Bolton also said nervously, "It seems our Betredan pirate invasion became the fuse. Judging from the current situation, this isn't merely the baron launching a private war against a neighboring territory. It looks more like a battle that will determine the overall situation in North Province—a war between Count Anduin and that little alliance around Viscount Cortes."
"War?"
"My god, it's only been a few peaceful years. Are we going to fight another major war?"
"Do we have to participate this time as well?"
Everyone present quietly listened to the pastor and the young master's conversation, so the word "war" struck a nerve in all of them.
Ergons stood and reassured them, "Don't be nervous. Private wars can break out between nobles of the duchy, but a major war is absolutely impossible. This is merely an attempt to build momentum. The count and the baron are looking for a legitimate pretext to send troops, that's all. There will definitely be fighting, but it won't become a war on this scale."
His words defined what was about to happen, and only then did everyone finally relax.
The feast continued. The ten new militiamen and three light infantrymen also joined the atmosphere. Regardless of what they had been thinking as individuals, once they blended into a group, they were easily swept up by it.
This was destined to be a joyous banquet. The Northern Legion's food could never have reached such a level. What was caviar? What was dried meat? Whole slabs of cured meat, piles of fruit, cheese, and honey—there was a portion for everyone.
Although this style of eating lacked the pretentious, sophisticated cooking that raised the tone of a meal, it was more than enough for these low-ranking soldiers. It made them feel as though this was a land flowing with milk and honey.
Especially after they found out exactly what they were celebrating and how often celebrations like this took place, they became even more convinced that this was heaven itself.
Just look at the half-bag of fried wheat and the small piece of hard bread in their packs!
That was their food for three days. The moment they left the castle, the Northern Legion had issued them only five days' worth of rations.
On the road, they had thought Pastor Ramses Bolton ate especially well and assumed it was a privilege reserved for members of the clergy.
Which of these soldiers hadn't secretly envied him? Yet after arriving here, they discovered that this was probably just the most basic welfare and treatment.
On top of that, they had heard before coming that they would be serving the Northern Legion's most famous knight—a knight tempered by sword and fire. After meeting him in person, they discovered that this superior was so approachable.
Thus, the soldiers quickly developed a favorable impression of the place.
They had no idea what kind of malicious amusement lay hidden beneath the veterans' eager smiles, nor did they know what sort of training awaited them after dawn the next day.
For now, they were simply quite happy.
The night was deep, and the faint moonlight cooled the lingering warmth of the bonfire. Still in the granary, several people sat on the platform scale used to weigh grain, digesting their food while discussing the anecdotes and news about the counts, barons, and viscounts in the city.
Pastor Ramses Bolton had brought back a great deal of news from the city, but he hadn't gone into detail during the bonfire celebration.
Now, naturally, he held nothing back and explained everything clearly. Everyone also learned exactly how far the situation had developed.
He had hurriedly brought people back this time because he had already been racing back before the mobilization order arrived.
"You can probably tell that the thirteenth soldier this time is also a raw recruit. You told me the mobilization order was imminent. I don't plan to take them out with me, because that would only be sending them to their deaths for nothing."
After the pastor had explained everything, the young master remained silent for a while before speaking. "They've made such a huge fuss because they want to turn a private war into a public one. The count has made a good calculation. He intends to mobilize the Northern Legion to suppress the rebellion. Now all that's missing is officially branding that neighboring viscount as the enemy."
"Not necessarily." William scratched his hair and frowned. "Our own hands aren't clean either. I think the baron and the count suddenly taking the moral high ground and accusing the neighboring territory may not actually mean they want to escalate things to the point of using the legion's forces to attack it."
William's words immediately enlightened Ergons. He nodded. That really did seem to be the case.
Previously, the county's bishop had already launched a campaign from top to bottom over the matter of the Betredan County pirates' invasion. Supposedly, the plan was to let the region fall into disorder before taking control of the Northern Legion again and establishing the Knightly Orders over it anew.
Using this method to turn the feudal system back into centralized rule by the Knightly Orders would ultimately serve some grand purpose. Not to mention that it was directly opposing the system of the Hundred Kings.
The result of the plan reaching this stage was that the county itself came under suspicion of colluding with the pirates. Thus, they had made the first move by accusing the other side of colluding with pirates.
Wasn't this really just an attempt to make the duchy believe that both sides were blindly tearing into each other?
By trying to escalate the war, they could neutralize the other side's opportunity to escalate it first. What a clever move!
"So you're saying this will probably be a private war as well? Then we can still conserve our strength and participate with only twelve men?
"Still, we'll have to wait for the order that arrives before we can see what the final result will be."
Before you continue