Reincarnation into the Barrier Master

Vieille is staring into my eyes. Her eyes are beautiful and unclouded. At first glance, it looked as if she had made a tragic resolution.

"Vieille!"

"Yes."

We can retreat at our discretion. Am I right?"

"...... left, sir."

I see. Good.

Perhaps she was surprised by my response, but she looked at me with a puzzled expression on her face. At that moment, Nike opened her mouth.

"King Agartha, are you saying that when Lord Vieille starts to retreat, we will retreat too? I see, that is a good idea.

No, I didn't mean it that way. It was just a confirmation.

"Don't be modest. Yes. With all due respect to Mr. Vieille, if you start retreating, we will retreat.

Then we, the Heedata army, will retreat as well."

Duke Vilas opens his mouth. He looked at me quickly and nodded slowly, as if he wanted me to agree with him.

"I understand. I have nothing to say to you about your withdrawal.

Vieille opened his mouth with a serious expression on his face, but then his face immediately brightened and he turned to us again.

"When this operation to recover Aphrodite is successful, I would like to celebrate with all of you in the Pope's temple. The wine of victory will be a special treat to drink while looking down on Aphrodite and the magnificent sea that stretches out from there. Please follow us ashore. If we should defeat the Pope's temple, we will send a messenger to you. We ask that you do not attack us then. I know. ...... Gillette is waiting for you here. This Gillette will be sent to you. Please do not forget this face.

At Vieille's urging, Gillette stood up and walked toward us with a blank expression on his face. He took one look at us, bowed a little, and quickly returned to his place.

"Okay, gentlemen, we'll move on to the preparations for the attack. We are not going to leave a rearguard. Therefore, we would like you all to land when our forces are out of sight.

When he had finished, Vieille said, "Well," and stood up, urging Gillette to leave.

"What a tremendous resolve you have!

Nike muttered in dismay. In response, Duke Weiras opened his mouth.

"You want to get Aphrodite back at all costs, don't you? Without Aphrodite and the Papal temple, Mr. Vieille will never regain his papal throne. The problem is what will happen after this battle is over. The battle for the Pope's temple will probably be fierce. It will take a long time to recover Aphrodite from the dead. If that happens, Lord Vieille will ask for our support, what will you do then, brother-in-law?"

No, we won't know until the time comes. We'll think about it when the time comes.

"That still doesn't explain it."

Matkal mutters. Everyone's eyes are focused on her.

"A frontal attack on the Pope's temple is fine, but I don't understand what you mean by attacking those who are retreating. Is it to raise the morale of the soldiers?　To instill a sense of determination in the soldiers?　If you do such a thing, even if you win this battle, the soldiers will have a deep grudge against Mr. Vieille. Not only that. If we go along with that, in the worst case scenario, we will also incur deep resentment from Klimiana.

You are right, Mr. Matkal. Perhaps, by doing so, Mr. Vieille is trying to turn the hatred of this battle against us.

Duke Weiras nodded. I sigh loudly and look around at the others.

"Well, I guess Vieille has that much confidence. Perhaps, but I doubt that any of Vieille's soldiers will retreat.

"So, how does King Agartha plan to proceed?"

"I'm sorry, Nike, but I don't intend to go ashore. I'm going to wait and see what Vieille does.

"Static," I'm told. ....... You are still concerned about the forces at sea, aren't you?"

"Well, there's that too. Yes, I have a favor to ask of you, Nike and the Duke of Vilas. When Agartha retreats, whatever the situation may be, I want you all to follow my lead and retreat at once.

"......"

"If you say so, brother-in-law, I will obey."

"...... King Agartha, do you intend to abandon Lord Vieille?"

No, I did not say that. In fact, I think it unlikely that Vieille will lose this battle. That little ...... girl, excuse me for saying this, but that little girl is not the kind of person who would risk her own life in a battle. She will probably make a plan that will ensure victory and execute it. However, there is a possibility that she may be caught flat-footed because of her ...... surprisingly loose character. First, let's wait and see how the battle unfolds.

"You may have your doubts, King Nike, but my king is often right. I do not say anything bad. Try to do as my king says.

Knogen smiles and opens his mouth. Nike turns away with a look of disapproval on her face. She looks at Knogen and smiles wryly.

"So, although we gathered here for a military meeting, we haven't done anything like a military meeting after all, have we?"

Matkal mutters to no one in particular. Well, that's for sure. I thought for a moment, then beckoned to Knogen, who was standing nearby, and gave him an instruction in a low voice. He smiled, bowed, and left.

"It doesn't look like Vieille and the others are going to make a move yet. I wonder if they will start their attack once they have eaten, given the time of day. Indeed, I am getting hungry. What do you say, gentlemen?

At my suggestion, Duke Weiras bowed reverently. Nike, on the other hand, stood up with a puzzled look on her face.

"I am not yet hungry. I will now return to my army and observe the movements of Lord Vieille.

"I see. I'm sorry to hear that. No, I thought we could all have a barbecue together. ......"

Nike reacts to the word "barbecue. I guess she loves it, after all.

"So this time, I was planning to cook teppan-yaki while everyone enjoys the barbecue.

"Brother-in-law, what is teppanyaki?"

No, we simply heat a griddle and cook on it. Well, cooking means grilling meat, vegetables, fish and shellfish, so it's basically the same as barbecuing, but when you cook meat on it, the juices overflow and it's delicious. I was also thinking of cooking rice and pasta baked with spices and other ingredients."

"Well, that sounds interesting. It has been quite a while since I have had a home-cooked meal from my brother-in-law. I would be happy to share it with you.

Duke Weiras comes to me with a smile. Nique looks at me sharply.

"What's the difference between meat cooked on a griddle and meat cooked on a barbecue......?"

"I think it would be better for you to try ...... and compare them."

"...... then the meat and vegetables on the barbecue will be grilled by me."

With that, Nike sat down again in his chair.