Into Hi1tomi 178

Chapter 178 – Familiar, but Strange. (2)

If you list the memorable scenes, it seemed like hours, but in reality it was only a few hours later. Gilia, the main soprano, left due to schedule, and after practicing a few times, everyone walked out of the cathedral in groups.

“I have to go back to my student council work, what are you going to do now?”
“It’s a little early… I’m going home. I have an appointment in the evening, so I think I need to prepare a little.”
“Please don’t hate Celine too much. She is a very complex child… I hope you can understand.”

Sasha rubbed Marey’s small shoulders several times before leaving the cathedral. She stayed behind to help her clean up and greeted everyone before Marey was left alone in the cathedral.

As she sang the chant, she drew the image of Sasha once again, leaving her with a strange feeling of regret.

There was a strange charm to the holy songs. Starting from the sense of unity I felt whenever people sang in harmony, a strangely warm feeling circulated throughout my body, and I felt warm inside my body. Should I say that it feels like meticulously filling in something that has been lost or where there is a gap?

Even if she is Marei, who is subtly bad at memorizing songs. Her songs, which she sang with the choir, are not erased from her memory and flow out in her own snoring.

As I passed by the plaza, which I pass every day, a strange old man came into view at the fountain. To be precise, she felt the old man stare at her and turned her head. It was an ambiguous distance where they could closely examine each other’s faces. Strangely, as if someone had grabbed her ankle, her body didn’t move, so Marei swallowed her dry saliva and bit her mouth shut as she looked at her old man.

Is it burning She looked as if she was on fire. It felt different from the fireworks I saw from Sasha-senpai. It is dangerous as if the fire will go out any moment, but the light shines brightly around. Oh, it wasn’t a flame. It was like a lighthouse, if you’re looking for the right expression. A bright lighthouse illuminating the harbor area Yes, what word could be more appropriate than this? A mass of light illuminating the surroundings on top of a pillar that seemed to collapse at any moment.

“Sir, what are you doing? .?”
“I’m lost and it’s hard to ask people.”

Back straight. A body that looks solid over a neatly dressed suit. On the contrary to the whitened hair and the wrinkles around the eyes that could indirectly feel the passing years, he was an alien old man who felt a strong vitality that seemed to overflow.

I was looking for a cafe that I could find just a short walk from the square, as if I had really lost my way.

“I will take you there. “
“You are a good boy.”

Marei responded with a small smile to the old man’s calm mood, and joined her to support her old man.

“I am not weak enough to depend on anyone.”
“Oh, sorry.”
“Apologizing is not a trivial thing. Unless you did something wrong.”

Strict. She was the first old man he had ever met, but he was oddly strict. He had a very strong look at himself, but he could not find hostility or friendliness. Feeling as if he was being judged, Marei involuntarily hardened his body.

“This is the place you were looking for.”
“It has changed a lot from the last time I came here. The landscape and the people.”

The old man took off his bowler hat and laid it down on the table. Strangely, she couldn’t take her eyes off the old man. He was obviously the first old man I had ever seen. An old man like Ran, who cannot see the unknown fantasy and longing. Still, he was familiar with it, not knowing why. He seemed to have seen it somewhere, but he couldn’t remember.
“Have you been here before?”
“At that time, it was the capital of Balter Kingdom, not Governor Balter.”
“Were you a soldier?”

The old man nodded lightly.

“There is quite a bit of time left before the appointment time, so would you like to be my horse partner?”

Judging by the way the waiter who came to take his order was ordering snacks and drinks, he seemed certain that Marey would be his horse. She was reluctant about a stranger buying something, but seeing the strangely familiar old man, Marei decided to happily accept the current situation.

She had a lot of questions about the military, but Ravela didn’t seem to like her whenever she asked her related questions.

Of course, she was Lean Ravela, who was terrified of imagining the image of an adult Marey in military uniform. Due to Lauren’s personality, she knew that Marey would never tolerate Ravela’s involvement in her personnel transfer, so fearing that her body would distance herself, she tried to divert her attention away from her soldier, Marey. It was a laughable story that he was working hard for.

When I learned that the old man was a soldier, strangely hard answers began to flow.

“Are you a student at Walter School?”
“Yes. She falls short but is trying.”
“A person who makes an effort deserves praise in itself.”

I didn’t answer with the intention of impressing the old man, but the old man nodded her head with a small smile as if he really liked Marey’s answer.
“I wonder what kids are learning these days. Can I ask you a little question?”
“Ah, yes. We don’t have a specific curriculum, so we choose lectures like the Imperial University. I understand that the popular subjects are usually related to magic or administration.”
“How is swordsmanship?”
“It’s popular with male students, but unlike administration-related classes where you compete to take classes, I know there are some empty seats.”

The old man holding a cane was silent for a moment, as if he was thinking about something.

“Looking at the student, I bought it because I thought of her granddaughter, so pay for it. Because she has grown old and has lost her taste for sweetness.”
“Thank you…”

My pocket money was on the higher side compared to when I lived near the wall, but I wasn’t rich enough to be extravagant. Even though I never felt like I lacked pocket money thanks to Ravela and the twin elven teachers who brought me things I needed for class or life in advance.

To be specific, should I say that I buy a slice of cake at a cafe twice a week? That’s why I felt burdened by the old man’s kindness, but it wasn’t easy to refuse.

“You eat well. Here… Bring me two more of what he ate.”
“Uh, so far…”
“It’s okay. It’s been a while since I’ve been talking to a young child, so it’s fun.”

Contrary to the first impression, the old man’s eyes seemed to soften little by little. At a time like this, there was only one thing Marey could say.

“…Thank you.”
“Okay. Let’s talk about it. Aside from swordsmanship, are there many children who have taken the military academy as their career path?”
“I heard that there are quite a few. My relatives are also preparing…”
“Good thing. Do students have any thoughts?”
“I am still thinking about it. She may think she’s cool on the outside, but behind that, she’ll have troubles that she can’t even tell others about.”
“Kids these days are mature.”

The old man burst into laughter.

“Are students interested in military affairs?”
“It’s not enough to say I’m interested, but I do care.”
“I often hear that the north is noisy these days, have you ever thought about it, student?”

Northern. Northern Front. Unlike the beasts and dwarves who interacted with humans and even concluded alliances, it was a place where humans were fighting for survival against orcs and orcs against humans. A place of madness where slaughter takes place every day, without hesitation to say the word extinction to each other’s races.

“…Orcs?”
“Okay.”

It didn’t matter who started the mad slaughter first. The Orcs who crossed the barrier simply killed people indiscriminately, regardless of means and methods. The humans only slaughtered the orcs mercilessly, pushing soldiers over the barrier.

The emotional rift between the two races was too deep to discuss peace any longer. The empire was only developing day by day, and the orcs barely managed to survive in the extreme land where crops could not grow properly.

While setting up their own home in an extreme area where humans are not allowed.

“I think defense is the best.”
“The Empire is strong. Magic has become widespread enough to be seen in everyday life now, the number of outstanding officers is increasing every year, and even though orcs using cold weapons are no big deal, do you think so?”

Marey, who was about to answer right away, felt strange. Contrary to the passionate old man’s words, his brown eyes were very calm. He felt he was being tested. So he organized everything he knew in order and slowly began to spit it out.

Strangely, she seemed to know the answer.

“No matter how hard the Orcs try, there is a limit to how much they can grow on the frozen ground. If the empire has enemies and we can’t leave the unstable enemy alone, I think it’s necessary to conduct regular orc subjugation and break the momentum even if it’s too much… We have a good relationship with the beastmen and dwarves in the south, and I don’t think there is any need to overdo it as the elves are also strong allies.”
“Isn’t it better to root out the orcs at this time when the back is safe?”
“The Empire is growing, and magic and science are developing amazingly. Of course, I think it might be important to root out the orcs now. But in the future, isn’t it possible to reliably defeat orcs with less sacrifice? Is it necessary to shed imperial blood on the frozen soil…? Of course, I’ve heard that the orcs are troublesome and cause damage. If that’s the case, I think it’s right to increase the number of defense troops and increase the number of rangers.”
“Isn’t it the top priority to eliminate the enemies of the frozen land in terms of cost and long term?”
“It may cost more, it may take more time. Money can be earned again, and lost time can be made up for in other endeavors. But don’t the dead come back?”

It was something Julia often said. The dead don’t come back. Marey thought of her words over and over again, thinking of her late mother.

“When I see an empire that has grown so large in an instant that I can’t handle it due to the Emperor’s expansion and appeasement policies, I think it’s dangerous. If you see Valter or the capital, you may sing of the empire’s eternity, but in reality, ghosts and monsters from the past are still infesting the provinces. It is a situation where the pagans are also rampaging.”

A group of pagans who often cause trouble in a remote area that Erden told about to let people know about their splendor, although the information did not reach the general public. The problem of monsters popping up from newspapers without boredom. It reminded me of the stories of rebels in other provinces that Ravella sometimes tells.

“Then when do you think is the best time?”
“There are times when it is best for war, but this is not war. If you ask about the conditions to trample the frozen soil… It should be time for the ridiculous rumors that the administrators of the empire take leave after dying. Specifically, I think it is around the time when the administrative power of the empire is directly implemented in each small village. I became a bureaucrat voluntarily because of President Valterya Parwen’s active self-spending and the elves’ active cooperation in the projection of administrative power, but I heard that the situation elsewhere is not so good. The horse was conquest, and because it swallowed land beyond the empire’s capacity, it was not able to properly organize the nobles and left it to management… Of course, there is a contract period of about 10 to 20 years. They will squeeze the land for the rest of their time. Or, have other thoughts… There is a high probability that the Empire will have problems from within.”
“Wouldn’t that take too long? It seems like we need time just thinking about going up north and forgetting about the orcs. How long can you focus only on internal medicine? At a time like this, I think it might be better to quickly organize the northern part and transfer the remaining soldiers to the local security forces.”

Even Marey was well aware that what she was saying was nothing more than an ideal. It was just an ideal. However, the empire had enough capabilities to realize such an ideal.

“As a matter of fact, people don’t trust soldiers very much. It’s a story that military officials will hear, but it hasn’t been long since even the concept of a standing army was completed. A lot of people still worry about looting when soldiers say they’re coming…”

Compared to the mercenaries who were called only when necessary and had no intention of fighting properly, the standing army was excellent. Being tied to an institution called the military, the possibility of looting was infinitely low and controlled. However, will there be many or few people who understand that?

I don’t know the children who can be tied to the concept of students who create schools throughout the country in the empire, give up the present despite lack of administrative power, and think about the future and learn from dispatched teachers. Was not aware of

“And I don’t see the need to advance north. I don’t know if I’m saying it prematurely because I didn’t feel the threat of the orcs. Even now, subjugation wars are being waged periodically, and combat units are operated to put endless pressure on them and have sufficient control over them. There are people who often talk about the last fort being taken, but… I think it was such a ridiculous mistake that I prayed that the military would never do such a thing again. In addition, although it is a good relationship, the problem of these races in the south has not been completely resolved, and I think that the northern conquest may come as a threat to the potential western Sigma Empire.”
“Do you know the number of soldiers on the northern front? Are you familiar with your competencies? If they go south, if they go west, their threat will be nothing?”
“I think what the Empire needs is time. We are doing well and we are working to do better. We are working hard and desperately enough to call it a struggle. Isn’t there an area that is so huge that you don’t even know if you can call it a city? I don’t think every city will be like this, but time is on our side, and we are actively using that time.”

The old man said nothing. I was just holding on to my cold coffee and looking at Marey. Marey also belatedly realized what she was talking about. But she now, the words she uttered were not the knowledge she knew.

To say that she reasoned sequentially, the foundation was poor, and the knowledge was insufficient. If so, is he confidently speaking about the knowledge he is saying now, and why he doesn’t even know why? As if this is right, as if this is the correct answer.