The Battle for the Capital

There was a man named Manyu.

He was a high-ranking bureaucrat of Cordova, a man who held the lowest seat in the royal court's council.

As the palace fell into chaos over the threat of the approaching Ogress army, he made a single proposal to the King of Cordova.

"How about we free the slaves and turn them into soldiers?"

Those words shifted the mood of the council, which had been leaning toward surrender.

Ria had issued several surrender demands to Cordova, but each one had been rejected.

The reason was simple: Cordova still had sufficient military forces remaining.

However, the army of twenty legions they had sent as their elite had suffered defeat before the Ogress army, and now that army was marching toward the capital.

Ria's words about making the royal palace's treasures into rewards had already reached them.

Even now, if they surrendered and came under her rule, they would at least be guaranteed their positions as Cordovan earls.

But Manyu urged them to wait.

Would the Queen of Ogress really spare the life of Cordova's king after he had resisted this much?

The same went for the nobles who had been the king's close aides.

Cordova's capital had strong walls and food supplies. As long as they had sufficient forces to rely on, they could still fight.

And after putting up a good resistance and demonstrating their strength, wouldn't they be able to negotiate better terms, even if they did eventually surrender?

Manyu's words strongly swayed the will of the king and nobles.

"Then, Manyu, is there anyone left in our country who can command the slaves?"

The king finally spoke.

"If permitted, this retainer will stake his life on it…"

The King of Cordova nodded firmly.

"By the way, Fio, take a look at this man's documents. What do you think of him?"

"He seems… very capable."

Fio murmured involuntarily.

Baron Manyu, a bureaucratic noble of the Kingdom of Cordova.

His name was Manyu, but since he was a man, he probably didn't have large breasts.

"Why is it that when a country is on the verge of destruction, capable people like this always appear?"

Ria couldn't help but sigh.

Rather, perhaps a situation where such extraordinary individuals weren't needed was the ideal state for a country.

The news that Cordova was using slaves as soldiers reached her immediately.

Those who participated as soldiers would be freed as commoners afterward.

Those who distinguished themselves would receive either a lump sum or land.

Anyone who captured or beheaded Queen Ryukeriana would be elevated to nobility.

Those were quite attractive terms. Certainly, if Ria were gone now, there would be no one left to attack Cordova.

Reyas might have the ability to lead this great army.

But ability alone wasn't enough. Leadership and legitimacy were also necessary.

If they brought Guinevere in as supreme commander, that might work, but then there would be no one to handle logistics back in Manesh.

And Carla was simply not suited to being a military commander. She might have charisma, but…

They began with a preliminary assault.

The former Cordovan soldiers whose lives Ria had saved attacked the capital with fierce intensity.

The siege equipment was fully prepared. But Cordova's side, knowing they had no escape, naturally raised their morale.

Long ladders were set against the walls, but they were destroyed one after another by stones and logs.

The catapult attacks also failed to do much damage to the magically reinforced walls.

The excessive defensive strength built by some cowardly king generations ago was now proving its worth.

 

*

 

Five days passed.

The enemy forces had taken moderate damage, but the allied casualties were clearly greater.

Ria attended the war council, but the push for brute force attacks remained strong.

That was only natural. Those being sacrificed were mainly the Ogress soldiers who had formerly been Cordovan soldiers.

It was natural for nobles whose own territories' armies weren't being depleted to keep pushing for attacks.

But that wouldn't work for Ria.

If she didn't subjugate Cordova while preserving its national power, they wouldn't be able to fight the demon tribe in the Millennium.

But even so, Cordova's capital was an iron fortress.

"Attacking the castle is the worst strategy; attacking their hearts is the best…"

She casually spoke those words aloud.

She had said them without much thought, but they changed the direction of the war council.

Thanks to being constantly exposed to Ria's way of thinking, her staff officers had grown.

And from the next day, it was no longer a siege, but psychological warfare.

First, they began mixing paper slips in with the stones being launched.

These were directed at the beastkin.

Even now, they weren't treated equally with humans and weren't even allowed to volunteer as soldiers.

Yet outside the walls, beastkin were already being treated the same as humans, and some were even said to be receiving the queen's favor.

Even without inciting outright rebellion, this caused support from the rear to drop sharply.

Outside Cordova's tall walls, they used earth magic to create an even larger hill, making the inside visible from it.

It wasn't at catapult range, but for humans, having all their movements observed was tremendously stressful.

Under that pressure, the spirits of Cordova's soldiers gradually wore down.

The Ogress army also began constructing not just a camp, but a fortified position with massive walls and moats that could be called a town.

This was a declaration that they would take the capital no matter how long it took. For the Cordovan soldiers hoping to be freed from slavery when the war ended, the prospect of an endless battle filled them with despair.

Similarly, they began another project requiring a large workforce.

The water that supplied Cordova's population came from a great river, and they were constructing works to cut it off.

It was a project requiring enormous labor and technical skill, but the current Ogress army had both.

Moreover, separate rewards were provided for this work.

They also began announcing their bombardments in advance.

The day before, they would drop bundles of paper indicating which district of Cordova would be bombarded the next day.

The following day, that district would naturally be bombarded, and while the physical damage might be limited, the psychological pressure built rapidly.

The walls still stood, but the citizens who supported the soldiers defending them were breaking down.

And then came the final ruthless strategy: separating Manyu and his soldiers from Cordova's leadership.

First, they sent an envoy strongly demanding Cordova's surrender, along with documents promising Manyu, who had fought bravely, the position of viscount.

Perhaps Manyu should have cut down and discarded this envoy. But he courteously sent the messenger back and handed the documents to the palace.

For the moment, the king praised Manyu's handling of the matter, but suspicion had been born.

The contents of the documents were harsh toward the royal family, but generous toward Manyu.

 

*

 

Several days later, Manyu was dismissed on charges of having secretly met with enemy envoys.

The morale of the slave soldiers defending the walls plummeted.

If this were the Ogress army, Ria or Carla could stand before the troops and rally them.

But Cordova's king had no charisma.

He was simply the existence at the top of Cordova's governing structure, with no need to be capable or to show his face.

One night, without any warning, one of Cordova's gates opened.

Many beastkin fled from it toward the Ogress encampment.

Since this wasn't a coordinated defection, unfortunately they couldn't take advantage of it to invade the city.

But this might have been the final push.

Papers with this fact written on them were launched into Cordova's streets by catapult.

The citizens' support for the crown collapsed completely.

The Cordova famous for its cruel officials was no more. The law had ceased to function.

Military discipline was also lost. One could say that Cordova's fate was sealed the moment Manyu was removed from the front lines.

 

*

 

Just ten days into the siege.

Cordova offered its surrender to the Ogress army.

In response, Ria permitted the Cordovan royal family to leave the capital with their minimum possessions.

She left the royal palace to the soldiers' plundering.

However, just before that, Casalian soldiers under Fio's direction had removed certain items.

The tax records for all of Cordova, along with law books and case precedents.

Fio valued these bundles of paper, worthless as treasure, above all else.

"Ah, I hadn't thought of that. Good work!"

Ria patted Fio's head and smiled.

Fio smiled happily in return.

The soldiers' plundering was thorough.

Everything of value in the Cordovan castle was gone.

Except for the food, of course.

Honestly, the Ogress army had been running low on provisions, so they were relieved that they could finally wrap up the war.

Baron Manyu, who had been under house arrest, was a rather small and refined man.

It was a wonder how he had been able to command the slaves, but perhaps his very appearance had given them a sense of security.

"Cordova shall be renamed Cornada, and Baron Manyu shall be elevated to earl. I entrust you with the governance of Cornada. Do your best."

Ria announced grandly in the audience chamber.

With an expression that looked like he wanted to cry, the newly named Earl of Cornada accepted it humbly.

An empty treasury. No more slaves. His rule would be difficult.

But Ria believed that such difficult governance was best left to others.

He had overwhelming support from the freed slaves, after all.

Above all, Ria simply couldn't be bothered anymore.

The Earl of Cordova had most of his territory stripped away, but his life was spared, and succession passed to his son.

He would live a long life, passing through the era of upheaval, greeting the Millennium, and seeing the age beyond.

But his name would never appear in history again.

 

*

 

"I'm so tired～, so tired～"

Rolling around directly on the carpet, Ria troubled those around her once more.

"Here's some tea."

The tea Carla prepared was her usual milk tea.

Ria drank it and finally stopped her baby-like tantrum.

"Ahhh, things are going to be tough from here on～"

She collapsed forward onto the table in exhaustion.

"Indeed. I'll do my best to organize what needs to be done, so please bear with it."

Fatigue was heavy on Fio's face as well. But the one actually moving around the most was probably Carla.

She spent every day healing those who had been injured or fallen ill due to the war.

Since there was no longer any need to keep magical power in reserve, even those who normally wouldn't recover were being restored to full health by her hand.

Because of this, she was often called not the dragonslayer, but the saint.

"This one does not want to work! This one absolutely does not want to work!"

Even though she said that, Ria somehow ended up working anyway.

Hurry back to Manesh, then return to Casalia once, make Fio officially her wife…

Dreaming of a life of luxury and pleasure, Ria did her best today as well.