31
凍てつく空気を吸い込んでは吐き出す。将軍になるのは二回目だが、開戦前のこの緊張感にはあまり慣れない。
最後の『行事』・『冬』は言うなれば模擬戦争だ。学園から指名された四人の将軍がそれぞれ六百人弱の生徒を率いる。
今年は私、殿下、オズワルド・セデン、キャラン・ゴウデスがその大役を全うしようとしている。
馬を操り振り返れば、鎧を纏った『スルタルク兵』とその幻獣たちが厳かに整列し、開戦の火蓋が切られるのを待っている。
思えば去年のこの瞬間はどうしようもなく手が震えていた。それに比べれば今はいくらか落ち着いている。
それもそのはず、私の隣には軽めの鎧で九尾に跨るエミリアがいるのだ。彼女はどこかこの緊張感を楽しんでいるように見える。
エミリアは私の『忠臣』。この戦いは将軍が別の将軍を戦闘不能にするか、それぞれの陣地の塔の中にある旗を奪えば勝敗が決するが、忠臣は例外的に将軍を攻撃できる。
だが忠臣が戦闘不能になれば将軍も攻撃力を失う、いわば諸刃の剣。
ゴーン、ゴーン、ゴーン。
学園の最端のこの荒野に、雲の上に鐘があるかと錯覚する澄んだ音が降り注ぐ。『合戦』開始の合図だ。
「私たちには勝利あるのみです」
声を張り上げず、ただ全員に聞こえるように語りかけた。
これは最近知ったことだが、部下の士気を上げるため大声を上げる必要はない。
ただいつもと同じ余裕の微笑みで、勝利を確信した声と後ろ姿で、一番に前に進むのみ。
「気張っていきましょう」
「オオオォォ――――!」
雄叫びをあげながらついてくるのは約三分のニの四百人。そこにはエミリアも九尾もいる。
残りの二百人に旗を任せる。さらに塔のてっぺんでとぐろを巻き咆哮を上げているのは私の幻獣だ。
二百人の兵とクリスティーナがいれば、私の塔はまず落ちない。
私が向かうのは西のキャラン・ゴウデスの陣地。今年は北に私、西にキャラン、南にオズワルド、東に殿下。
馬を走らせ始めてすぐ、前から数十人の部隊が向かってくるのがわかった。方角からしてキャラン・ゴウデスの兵だ。
私は口角を上げた。あれはおそらく斥候だ。見つけられたのは運がいい。
「エミリア、お願い」
「了解です!
エミリアが陽気な掛け声とともに全く陽気でない威力の爆破魔法を繰り出した。
爆心地に黒い煙が立つ。相手は全滅かと思われたが、数人を除いて自分の足で立っていた。
「キャランの『秋』ね」
遠隔で発動できる防御魔法。しかもキャランの魔力は殿下に匹敵するほど強力。彼女は間違いなく『冬』のために『秋』の研究をした。
しっかり囲んで潰すことにしようと、指示を出しかけたときだ。キャランの陣があるだろう方角から、さらに数十人の部隊が姿を現した。
――――違和感。
斥候にしては多い。数の力で押し負ける量を小出しにしてくる意味がわからない。
無視するべき? 私は一人首を振った。最も警戒するべきは挟み撃ちだ。ここで確実に潰す。
「A班、手前を囲んで潰して! B班は奥を! こちらに被害を出さないように!」
四班のうち二班を残して残りの二百人弱で先を急ぐ。
キャランの行動について、考えられるのは時間稼ぎだった。だとすれば進むのが正解。
進んでいくとその陣が見えてきた。二百人ほどの兵が塔を取り囲むように位置についている。
その先頭で、見慣れた少女が防衛の指揮を任されていた。私たちの姿を見とめるとビシッと指差して声を上げる。
「レベッカ・スルタルク! 相手にとって不足なし! みんな行くよー!」
ジュディス・セデンがいの一番に走り出せば、ゴウデス軍が我先にとついていく。
ジュディスがオズワルドの軍に割り振られなかったのは幸運だった。
派手で力強いオズワルドの
逆に言えば、ジュディスしかいないこの場で罠の警戒は必要ない。
私は相手の声に負けないよう、拳を突き出し指示を出した。
「前進ッ!」
両軍が正面から衝突する。数はほぼ互角だが、こっちには九尾とエミリアがいる。
それに勝利の条件が違う。こっちは誰かが一人抜けて旗を掴み取れば勝ちなのだ。
その役目に最も相応しい人物が私の隣には控えている。
「ブライアン、頼んだわ!」
「了解、リーダー」
小さくジャンプしてウォーミングアップしていたブライアン・マークは、私の声を合図に稲妻のように駆け出した。
戦いを全て躱してジグザグと駆け回り、旗奪取を目指す。
本人は「逃げ足だけは一人前」なんて捻くれた言い方をしているが、裏を返せば俊足だ。それもおそらく学園一といっても過言でないほどの。
先程置いてきた二班が合流したことで、蓋を開けてみれば戦況は私たちの圧倒的優勢だった。
両軍が互いに揉みくちゃになって剣を交えるエリアを抜けて、私の兵が段々塔の近くへ前線を推し進めていく。
私も目の前の敵を魔法で仕留めて塔へ目をやれば、ちょうどブライアンが無傷で塔に到達したところだった。
彼が中に入って、旗を取れば終わり。
しかし、塔の中を見たブライアンはぴたりと足を止めた。目を見開いた。振り返った。私と目が合った。
そして何かを叫んだ。
「レベッカ様、危ないッ!」
焦った声が聞こえて背中に衝撃が走り、一拍遅れてエミリアに突き飛ばされたのだと気づく。
馬から落ちて地面に倒れ伏す。
何が起きた?
すぐさま後ろを振り返って、私は目を剥いた。
地面に数え切れないほどの穴が空いていた。今さっきまで私が立っていたところにも。
「......落とし穴?」
私以外のスルタルク軍四百人が、一人残らず落とし穴に落とされた?
呆然とする私の前に一人の男が歩いてきた。地面に尻餅をついたままの私を見下ろした。
彼はここにいるはずがなかった。いてはいけなかった。
精悍な顔つきに、深緑の瞳と髪。
「オズワルド・セデン......?」
Ch 77
Breathing in the freezing air and exhaling it. This is the second time I've become a General, but I'm not used to this tension before the war.
The last [event]*[winter] is, in a way, a simulated war. Four Generals selected from the Academy each lead about 600 students.
This year, I, His Highness, Oswald Ceden, Kyaran Goudes are trying to accomplish this great task.
If I turn my horse around, the [Slutarch soldiers] dressed in armor and their Phantom Beasts are lined up solemnly, waiting for the war to begin.
If I think back to this moment last year, my hands were trembling uncontrollably. Compared to that, I am somewhat calmer now.
That's also only natural, because next to me, Emilia is riding on the light armor Kyuubi. She seems to be enjoying this tension in some way.
Emilia is my [Loyalist]. In this battle, the Generals will decide the outcome by making the other General unable to fight, or by capturing the flag in the tower of each camp. However, Loyalists can attack the Generals as an exception.
But if a Loyalist becomes unable to fight, the General also loses the ability to attack, it's a double-edged sword.
Gon, gon, gon.
In the top of this wild Academy, a clear sound that makes one think that there is a bell on top of the clouds rains down. It's the signal for the [battle] to start.
"Victory is only for us."
Without raising my voice, I only spoke so that everyone could hear.
This is something I had recently found out, but there is no need to raise my voice to raise the morale of my subordinates.
Just with the same relaxed smile and the voice and back figure of someone who is convinced of victory, they move forward first.
"Let's do our best."
"OOOOOooooo!"
Following with a loud cry, about 400 people out of 800 comes along. Emilia and Kyuubi are among them.
The remaining 200 people are left with the flag. Furthermore, the one coiling and roaring at the top of the tower is my Phantom Beast.
With 200 soldiers and Christina, my tower will not fall.
I am heading towards the western Kyaran Goudes' camp. This year, I am in the north, Kyaran in the west, Oswald in the south and His Highness in the east.
As soon as we started to run the horse, we knew that a few tens of troops were coming from ahead. From the direction, it's Kyaran Goudes' soldiers.
I raised the corner of my mouth. That is probably a scout. It's fortunate that they were found.
"Emilia, please."
"Understood! Fire away----!"
Emilia unleashed a blast of magic with a cheerful cry, though the power behind it was far from cheerful.
Black smoke rose from the blast site, and it seemed as though the opponent had been completely wiped out, but a few people were still standing on their own two feet.
"Kyaran's [fall], huh."
It was a defensive magic that could be activated from a distance. Furthermore, Kyaran's magical power was just as strong as that of His Highness. She had undoubtedly researched [fall] for the sake of [winter].
Just as we were about to encircle and crush them, we received reports from a different direction. Another group of several dozen people emerged from the direction where Kyaran's troops were supposed to be.
--------Something was off.
There were too many scouts for our liking. We didn't understand the point of trickling out such a small force when they were clearly outmatched in terms of numbers.
Should we ignore them? I shook my head. The most dangerous thing to be wary of was a pincer attack. We needed to crush them here for sure.
"Team A, encircle and crush the front! Team B, the rear! Make sure to cause minimal damage on our side!"
We quickly advanced with just over two hundred people, leaving behind two of the four teams.
Kyaran's actions could only be understood as buying time. If that was the case, then our best move was to push forward.
As we progressed, we could see the enemy's formation. About two hundred soldiers were positioned around a tower.
At the front of that formation, a familiar girl was in charge of defense. She glared at us as we approached, pointing her finger and shouting orders.
"Rebecca Slutarch! No shortage of opponents! Let's all go!"
When Judith Ceden runs in the front, Goudes army follows us ahead.
It was fortunate that Judith was not assigned to Oswald's army.
When the flashy and powerful earth mole of Oswald's and the delicate and precise work of Judith's earthworm combine, a high-dimensional trap is completed.
On the contrary, there is no need for trap vigilance in this place where only Judith is present.
I extended my fist and gave instructions so as not to lose to the opponent's voice.
"Advance!"
The two armies collide head-on. The numbers are almost equal, but we have Kyuubi and Emilia here.
Also, the conditions for victory are different. Here, if someone escapes and grabs the flag, we win.
The person most suitable for that role is waiting next to me.
"Brian, I'm counting on you!"
"Understood, leader."
Brian Marc, who had been jumping and warming up, ran out like lightning at my voice.
He avoids the battle entirely and runs around zigzag, aiming to capture the flag.
The person is saying "I'm only good at running away," but in reality, he's very fast. So much so that it would be no exaggeration to say that he's one of the best in the Academy.
With the arrival of the second squad that I left behind earlier, the situation has now become overwhelmingly in our favor.
As both armies clash and swords are crossed, my soldiers are gradually pushing forward towards the tower.
As I finish off the enemy in front of me with magic and look towards the tower, I see that Brian has arrived at the tower unscathed.
If he enters the tower and takes the flag, it's over.
But, as Brian looked inside the tower, he abruptly stopped. His eyes widened. He looks back. Our eyes meet.
And then he screams something.
"Rebecca-sama, it's dangerous!"
I hear a panicked voice and feel a shock run down my back, realizing too late that I have been thrown off my horse by Emilia.
I fall to the ground and collapse.
What happened?
Immediately turning around, I stare in shock.
There were countless holes opened up on the ground, even where I had just been standing. They were unevenly lined up, and there was not a single Slutarch soldier left. Only the Goudes soldiers were standing.
"...a trap hole(Pitfalls)?"
All four hundred Slutarch soldiers other than me were dropped into trap holes, one by one?
A man walked in front of me, who was in a daze. He looked down at me, who was still sitting on the ground.
He wasn't supposed to be here. He shouldn't have been.
With a sharp face, deep green eyes and hair.
"Oswald Ceden...?"
The Villainess Carries a Strategy Guide
その悪役令嬢は攻略本を携えている
https://www.novelupdates.com/series/the-villainess-carries-a-strategy-guide/
Fantasy Josei Romance Shoujo
Academy Adapted to Manga Aristocracy Doting Older Siblings European Ambience Female Protagonist Love Interest Falls in Love First Magic Nobles Otome Game Reincarnated in a Game World Villainess Noble Girls
https://ncode.syosetu.com/n6554fr/
岩田加奈