Rules, Child's Play

In the province of Newman South, within the study of Viscount Sebastian René Predal, his most trusted Chancellor, his maternal cousin Luther Sebastian, was looking at the compiled information before him.

Luther was a giant afflicted with gigantism, his height exceeding eight feet, which was well over two and a half meters in metric units.

When Luther was young, his immense height brought him superior combat achievements and battlefield honors, but by the time he reached thirty, his body had no room for further growth.

The factors promoting growth were still active, leaving him in unbearable bone pain, with his fingers, toes, the tip of his nose, and earlobes all pathologically enlarged.

He could only go out each day with the help of several servants, a desperate struggle wrapped in a breeding ground of suffering, so he always considered the most pessimistic outcomes when looking at problems.

Viscount Predal believed that in many matters, it was better to consider defeat before victory, which was why his cousin, afflicted with gigantism, had become his chief Chancellor and most important strategist.

Indeed, as Ergons had thought, the Evoy he transformed into had greatly shocked the Viscount, and the four girls had revealed almost all the information they knew.

The Viscount heard that in a poor, remote county on the northern border, there was such a Sir who could command people capable of crossing thousands of miles in an instant.

And what about that person's talk of "comrades"? Those who shared the same ideals and strived for the same goal could call each other comrades, which meant they were organized.

Every major war resulted in the abduction of women and children, and every day on this continent, the strong oppressed the weak. Why did this organization save these four and not others?

Therefore, they must have had something to gain from him.

The other party had left instantly. In the latter half of the night, the Viscount's court knights had searched every inn and lodging house in the city, but found not a single trace of any information left by that Evoy.

Thus, the more this was the case, the more he cared about this organization's affairs and became interested in that border Sir. Noble as she was, even she had times when she needed help, but how could she be involved with someone of that caliber?

"Viscount, there's nothing particularly useful at the moment. I suggest we send someone specifically to investigate. Meanwhile, we should remain unchanging and do nothing on the surface."

Tewain Village, afternoon.

After two days of rest, as this private war had become public, more and more people who wanted to profit from the conflict were gathering.

The Baron also finally arrived, not only bringing more retainers and followers but also, contrary to what Ergons had expected, the troops did not depart.

What is meant by "speed is of the essence in warfare"? How can surprise be achieved?

None of that. The Baron had never intended a surprise attack from the start. From the moment he escalated the matter, he wanted a moral high ground to attack the enemy legitimately.

Ergons had previously worried that among so many retainers and war participants, there would be enemy spies who would leak their plans.

However, the Baron simply organized a military council on the second day of his arrival. Not only did they discuss the main directions from which to launch the attack, but they also openly attributed the attack incident in Tervain Village to the neighboring territory, using it as a new point of condemnation.

They argued that Sirens and pirates were sea creatures, and Maxitu, who had traveled from Gaudy City, the capital of the County, had initially gone to the neighboring territory but suddenly changed course.

He had passed through many places without stopping, traveling day and night directly to Tervain Village, so the problem must have originated in the neighboring territory.

Ergons believed that the Baron must have a way of knowing what happened that night, so he proactively sought his advice as a gesture of closeness.

He never expected it to become a topic of discussion the very next day.

And their way of fighting was too blatant. The Baron actually had him draft the declaration of war.

Considering his terrible handwriting, it was fortunate that calligraphy styles were not yet elaborate, and almost everyone's handwriting was equally bad...

However, Ergons suspected this might be a deliberate trap, something that could be used at some point as proof that he was not Sir Davis Tervalin.

Fortunately, Elisa and William had given him drafts of Sir Davis's personal letters, and he had been practicing for a long time. A few simple sentences should be fine.

The Baron said he would write it. The more he wrote, the more Ergons suspected this wasn't a joke.

Wars between nobles were too childish. The Baron wrote down all the key points of his planned attacks and clearly stated what siege equipment he had brought and how many men he would bring.

He also cordially invited the other party to respond to this just war, for example, by arraying knights against knights beneath the Viscount's main keep.

In Ergons's memory, war was not like this. But the Baron insisted that private wars were like this, and everything required a basic level of decorum.

At this time, it was difficult for wars between nations to occur, as several countries on the same continent were in a state of truce. Most conflicts were private wars between lords.

Private wars were a means of resolving conflicts, aiming not to cause excessive casualties but to settle matters.

"Isn't this like children playing house?"

Ergons seemed to recall his childhood stories of fighting with Ultraman and Optimus Prime against Barbie dolls and Balala the Fairies.

The real reason they started fighting was that they couldn't reconcile who was stronger, Ultraman or the fairy.

It was only natural for them to fight when they were talking past each other in their respective domains.

But this was a battle between territories, between armies, between knights!

Could it really be so childish?

It truly could be.

The Baron's army reached the Viscount's main keep in the neighboring territory without any obstruction.

Viscount Garcia Cortez even came out of the city to meet the Baron upon their arrival...

Ergons, within the ranks, personally witnessed the two nobles spewing the most venomous insults at each other, spitting at each other from over five meters apart, like two shrewish women!

He truly felt a bit disheveled by the wind and became convinced of the game's most unbelievable setting.

That is, even when siege camps were established and siege equipment was being built, the lord of the opposing side could still be called out for a meeting.

Weren't they afraid of being shot dead by a crossbow bolt?

They could even be called out for a meeting every day until you were ready to lay siege, and unless your strength was far inferior to the opponent's, like attacking a city defended by hundreds with only a dozen men, the other side would not send anyone to harass the construction of your siege equipment.