A Wish to Grab Happiness

Volume 8, Chapter 212: A Ship Set Sail

In the Great Holy Church’s military camp, Richard’s throbbing throat echoed. It seemed to be a pleasant sound, as if it lingered some funny trait somewhere.

With the huge black sword swaying around his waist, he marched enthusiastic to his tent. That attitude caught the eyes of the soldiers that stood around him. But it was not a bad thing for the soldiers that their captain looked cheerful. When the captain looked cheerful, most probably because of good news, meant that ale would be spared for all those in the military camp.

However, contrary to Richard, who seemed to be in a good mood, only a few soldiers noticed his condition, including the adjutant Neymar, who stood behind him with a clearly frustrated expression on her face.

「Captain of the Corps, do you want me to secretly call the medical soldiers? And please, take a rest in your tent.」

Immediately after entering the tent, Neymar spoke in a quiet voice.

The commander got injured after meeting the enemy’s army, albeit slightly. If such a thing became known to the surroundings, it would affect the morale of the soldiers. Neymar flashed her long eyelashes, as she had to behave ostensibly as if nothing had happened.

Richard responded in a light manner, moving his cheeks in a funny way upon hearing the words thrown at him.

「I don’t need them. It’s just a scratch. 」

That was true. Blood oozed from his shoulder, but it was not something that led to utmost importance. Rather, it was a natural wound inflicted in the battlefield. For Richard, it was more troublesome to have the medical soldiers help him with such a thing. Anyway, a deep wound or not, Richard had to rest for the time being.

However, Neymar’s words were not a concern for Richard’s wellbeing. Rather, the opposite. Her lips were dyed vermilion, and her long canines were visible.

「…No, it’s not. It’s a shame that the Great Holy Church’s captain was despised and hurt by the old believers.」

The words leaking out of Neymar’s mouth were unmistakably full of anger. The tone was more intense and hot than usual.

Richard sighed and returned the words by saying, “Is that so?”

Apparently, he didn’t take Neymar’s words seriously. The wrinkles on his face got deeper. Richard couldn’t stop doing the funny smile from earlier.

The hungry ghost, who only knew how to crawl in the ground with mud, was now a clear enemy, standing in front of him with great determination. He also carried the title of hero for some unknown reason. What a mystery.

“It’s so funny. Yeah, for sure.” Richard thought so from the bottom of his heart.

Even though life was no different from the usual theater show, it seemed there was something unexpected in this world. For Richard, it felt like birds were dancing freely in the water and fish were living happily in the sky.

To be honest, Richard thought that beating the enemy’s army was boring, something that he had to do despite the hassle it carried. Did he despise the Heraldic Order? Not really, actually, for Richard, the Heraldic Order was insignificant. For him, there was no love or hate.

However, such thoughts were blown away. It’s been a long time since he felt so excited. It felt like the time when he walked around as an adventurer.

「Captain, you are the chief of the battalion. You don’t need to be merciful to the barbarians. The number of our soldiers is higher, and the geography is also on our side. Why don’t we launch a big offensive for tomorrow morning?」

When the medic had finished wrapping the bandages, Neymar spoke with great momentum.

Her tone was like asking a question, but her confident face showed that she never expected a refusal, as if she was already ready for battle. The shadow of her hair shook in the tent.

Richard picked up one of bottles of ale that he had brought to his soldiers, and snorted, saying.

「…No. Tell the whole corps to refrain from doing unnecessary actions now.」

Upon hearing Richard’s words, Neymar’s eyebrows quivered as if they were having cramps. Her eyebrows were greatly lifted.

…Did you suffer a wound, and did you become afraid of the old religion?

Neymar endured the burst that was about to come out of her throat. She clenched her back teeth to avoid saying unnecessary words, since she would regret them later on.

It was not because she respected her superior or because she was afraid of a conflict. Rather, avoiding them was a detestable thing for Neymar.

For her, not opening her mouth because of respect for her superior was something laughable since she believed in equality, and avoiding conflict because of fear was something only weaklings would do. Neymar was something whose values spoke higher. She vowed to never have her spirit weakened.

No one was allowed to have such weaknesses, even if they were just ordinary people. That was the basis of the human being named Neymar Gloria.

It would not be the first time she had spoken out against Richard.

Although Neymar was not specialized in reading people, she understood that Richard was a pragmatist person, far from being frightened. At the very least, he was not a sloppy man with any ideas at all.

Because of that fact, Neymar felt there should be a reasonable reason to avoid fighting against the old religion.

Of course, he could be just a cunning man, or someone ordinary who did not possess bravery.

Neymar’s fierce gaze pierced Richard. As if she was trying to see through his true intentions.

「Why are you looking at me like that? It seems you have become a little clever, my adjutant. But I won’t say anything even if you continue to look at me like that.」

Neymar silently looked at Richard, who screamed and laughed happily. Neymar didn’t move an inch from her body until he told her his true intentions.

Richard’s shoulders were shrugged in disbelief.

「Now, they’re getting a lot of momentum. Hitting it head-on is a foolish measure that only increases the damage. To avoid that, we must break that momentum at once.」

Richard turned his thoughts behind his skull, though he didn’t say anything concrete. Richard did not want to assume too much, but there was one concern.

Although rare, there were times when a human being was born on the battlefield. That said human could bounce off a large army and swallow a predicament even amid the threat of million arrows. Actually, it seemed like a delusion, but there were occasional people that behaved that way.

When he met Lugis, Richard heard something in his ears as if something was born. His brain, which had been supporting Richard for a long time, was emitting an alarm sound.

Richard never said he would not fight and be defeated.

Yes, no matter who the little boy was, Richard couldn’t think of losing. Yet, it still felt like a mystery. After all, Richard taught him many things, but he didn’t remember teaching him the theories of war.

“So, I shall teach him now. To that end, I will do everything in my power to decapitate him and kill him. Still, if he overcomes all possible measures…”

「…I’ll use Philos. Set a date for the meeting. 」

Richard’s eyes twinkled with an old glow.

—

In history, except for countless skirmishes, there was only one campaign in which the Great Holy Church and the Heraldic Order fought each other. The Battle of the Five Kingdoms, when the Heraldic Order was once one of the great religions, was the battle where its decline was decided, a feat accomplished by the Great Holy Church.

Since then, the Great Holy Church became one of the leading religions on the continent, while the Heraldic Order almost disappeared. It was like a winner who grabbed the glory and a loser who licked the ground. The conclusion was no longer engraved by history, and the Heraldic Order only emitted a slight light before vanishing.

At the very least, the history of the past did not change the scope of the balance. The Heraldic Order was like wretched corpses, while the Great Holy Church enjoyed utmost glory.

At this time, however, the Heraldic Order roared again and raised its fangs to the Great Holy Church. The anchor was raised, and the ship was already rowing in the rough sea.

In the autonomous city of Philos and the Sanyo Plain, the battle that had never even raised a voice was about to make its mark in history.