Mobuseka Volume 13 Color Illustration & Prologue

This is MTL. So, I cannot guarantee that the translation 100% contextually accurate or appropriate.

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Prologue

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Part 1

Dawn.

Ange, Livia, and Noel were climbing the stairs leading to the roof of the royal palace.

Ange was leading the way, holding a lantern and illuminating the still dark interior.

Behind Ange, Livia's breath appeared white even in the unreliable light.

Noel, walking behind Livia, blew on her palm.

Ange only turned her head to look back at them and smiled to hide her tired expression.

"You could have slept a bit longer. Didn't Creare tell you that you didn't need to greet?"

Livia and Noel's expressions show that they are sleep deprived, but even from Ange's perspective, they are still tired.

They looked apologetic and yet dissatisfied with Ange.

Livia states the reasons why she is apologetic.

"You should be the one resting when you can, Ange. You work harder than us, you're busy, and you hardly sleep."

When Livia worries about her, Ange makes up a good excuse with a wry smile.

"For me, this is where I have to work hard. Unlike you guys, I can't help on the battlefield. At least let me help prepare things."

All she can do is prepare for the lead up to the war.

Once the war actually starts, she will not be as active as Livia and Noel.

That is why she thought she had to give it her all here.

Noel turned away from Ange, who was pushing herself too hard.

"On the other hand, we're in a situation where we can't do anything. At best, we're just helping out."

Livia and Noel were taking care of the busy workers at the royal palace.

People around them tried to stop them, but they probably felt uncomfortable resting while Ange was working so hard.

Ange looks troubled.

"I'd be more worried if you collapsed on the day of the fight."

Noel shrugged her shoulders and made a stunned face.

"It's the same for Angelica, isn't it? I mean, wouldn't it be worse if Angelica collapsed? Lelia told me. She said it's depressing when there's such a big difference in ability for someone your age."

Lelia——Noel's twin sister is now a priestess of the Sacred Tree in the Republic of Arzel.

She is one of the representatives of the nation and is in the position of governing.

From Lelia's point of view, Ange seems to be running the kingdom well now.

Apparently, she was impressed by the sight of a girl the same age as her, admirably leading a country.

Ange looked surprised.

"Is that how you see it? From my point of view, I'm constantly being made to realize that I'm not good enough. I'm only able to get things done with Milene-sama at my side."

Milene, who used to run the royal palace, now supports Ange by her side.

This was reassuring for Ange, but at the same time, it made her realize how incompetent she was.

She cannot do anything on her own.

That's why she cannot accept compliments with open arms.

Livia calls out to Ange, who looks slightly sad, to cheer her up.

"It's because of Ange that we are able to fight. You should have more confidence. Look, it's almost time we were on the roof."

When they came to the doorway to the roof, Ange opened the door.

The three of them squinted their eyes and held their hands in front of the blinding light.

The cold wind made her body shiver, but gradually her eyes became accustomed and she was able to see the surrounding landscape.

Ange extinguished the lantern and exhaled heavily, her white breath drifting off into the wind.

Noel spread her hands.

"Haha! That's really awesome! I've never seen so many flying battleships together in my life."

Visible from the rooftop garden were the numerous flying battleships that gathered in the royal capital.

Their forms were scattered and their lack of any sense of unity made them look like a raven.

But the purpose of those gathered here is the same —— The unity of will has already been reached.

Even the nobles of the Kingdom of Horfalt, who had been involved in a number of internal conflicts in the past, were showing such solidarity that this was the first time in their history that they could be said to be united.

Livia held Ange's hand tightly.

"You should have confidence too, Ange. It was Ange's hard work that made this view possible."

Ange's eyes moisten as she feels the warmth of Livia's hand.

"Aah, you're right——I hope so."

She resisted the urge to cry.

The reason she almost cried was because she was happy that her efforts had helped Leon.

And —— how many of the flying battleships in front of them could come back? and the number of lives that would be lost in the future.

It was also a stubbornness for Ange not to cry.

(So this is what it means to carry on your back, Milene-sama?)

Having come here, she truly understands the words of her mentor, who taught her in the past.

Noel pointed towards the sun.

"Licorne has arrived!"

Licorne has returned after being renovated on the floating island that was previously owned by Leon.

The three of them made their way to the roof to greet their ride, Licorne.

Noel looks sideways at Ange and Livia holding hands, then turns away and stretches up.

"It's going to be alright. Leon and everyone else are doing their best. ——I'm sure it'll be fine."

It's going to be alright. Those words are probably a wish —— a hope even for Noel.

It is clear that she wants things to go well.

Ange nodded slightly.

"I'll do everything I can to help Leon win. For that —— I'll use even those guys."

Livia placed her hand on Ange's back, who had a pained expression on her face halfway through.

"Only this time, it can't be helped."

Livia's expression was also gloomy.

Ange probably has her own feelings about "those guys" that she mentions.

Noel's expression was also cloudy.

"Even if we end up winning this one, there's going to be a lot of problems left."

They had no intention of talking about the aftermath of a victory before the fight.

However, the three of them could see that there would be major problems after the war.

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Part 2

Early morning.

Greg runs into the royal palace with a punch mark on his face.

His clothes are also disheveled and torn in some places.

Despite that, Greg had a cheerful expression on his face.

Greg gives a thumbs up and tells his friends in the room.

"I went back to my parents' house and convinced my father! It looks like we can gather all the strength of the Seberg family."

Greg who happily reported it, was greeted by Brad, who had a bandage on his head.

Brad also responds by giving Greg a thumbs up.

"It seems to have gone well there too. I've assured them that I'll get as much help as possible from my family home."

What Brad pulled out of his pocket was a contract with his parents.

It stated that the Field family would send in most of the forces they could move into the battle.

As Greg approaches Brad, the two of them lightly bump their fists.

"Before, I thought you were a big-headed guy whose only talent was magic, but now you've become a strong-willed bastard."

Brad gave the impression of being unskilled in many areas other than magic, but in Greg's own way he recognized him.

Brad makes light-hearted remarks.

"You're still as muscle-brain as ever, though. You need to learn to use your brain more."

Greg looked a little surprised at Brad's reply —— but immediately started laughing.

"Idiot. In times like this, you can discredit me more instead of praising me. I apologize for calling you a weakling with no other talent than magic. You're a dependable man."

Greg apologized with a straight face for making fun of Brad for being a weak bastard.

However, Brad was puzzled.

He was not surprised that he was being apologized to, but that Greg did not take the word muscle-brain as a bad word.

"Muscle-brain was a word that degraded you in my own way, right?"

"Why? Having muscles all the way to your head is awesome, isn't it?"

Brad held his mouth with both hands in front of Greg, who didn't really think it was a swear word.

His mouth is wide open in shock.

"It's so late now."

Greg, tilting his head at Brad's manner, looked around the room.

"More importantly, are we the only ones back?"

When Brad asks in concern, his expression switches and he says with a serious expression on his face.

"No, Chris came back first. Chris's parents live in the royal capital and it's easier for him to talk to them than we are. The problem is——"

"Whether or not he can convince his father, the Sword Saint, huh?"

Greg and his friends decided to reach out to their family home to help Leon.

However, because of their past actions, they have not only been disinherited but have also been disowned and forced out of their parents' home.

If such people return to their parents' home and say "We need your cooperation!" their parents will not listen to them honestly.

In fact, Greg and Brad also had a hard time convincing them.

Brad tells Greg.

"Maybe it's more of a fight than a persuasion, I guess? Apparently Chris challenged his father to a match."

"Really?!"

Chris's father is the strongest swordsman in the kingdom.

Chris was also called a sword master, but his father was the highest-ranking, a Sword Saint.

Not only in the training he has accumulated, but also in the number of battlefields he has been through.

And that Chris challenged his father for a match——.

"I'll tell you the rest of the story."

Chris, dressed in a hospital gown and using crutches, opened the door and entered.

He is more seriously injured than Greg and Brad, and his right arm and left leg are immobilized, so they are probably broken or cracked.

——One lens of his glasses is also cracked.

Brad sighs when he sees this and Greg asks excitedly.

"What's happened, those injuries?"

"This is what I get for challenging my father to a fight. Aa, don't worry about my injuries. I'm planning to have Marie heal me before the war."

He was a little happy about the part where Marie would heal him.

Greg looked a little jealous.

Should I ask Marie to heal my injuries too? But he gave up, thinking that it would be a nuisance to ask for healing for a minor injury at this busy time.

"Looks like you weren't able to convince your father."

"Don't be silly. I won properly."

"Really!"

Chris was puffing his chest out in front of a delighted Greg.

However, Brad, who knew the situation, had a twitch in his cheeks.

"——How can you say that after swinging a wooden sword at your father from behind when you say it's an ever-present battlefield? Looks like he won somehow after that, though."

When Greg heard that he had struck from behind, he put on a serious face.

"You, that's cowardly."

Chris, who was told, is apparently aware of it, but he has decided that it is impossible to persuade him fairly in the circumstances.

"I tried to persuade him at first. But my father is an instructor in swordsmanship and not very good at political matters. He said carefree things like, "If he wins again, I will serve as an instructor of swordsmanship"——"

It seems that it was a difficult decision for Chris to make, considering the survival of his family home.

He probably wanted to compete fairly and squarely, but the circumstances did not allow it.

Greg says, dismayed by Chris's father's lack of political sense.

"Well, I don't know about your dad either."

"In the first place, it was my father who usually told me to keep an ever-present battlefield in mind. I thought it was immature of him to get angry just because he showed his back to me and got hit in the head with a wooden sword."

"I understand what you're trying to say——So how's the cooperation going?"

"The disciples, including my father, will participate."

"That's great! Your place is full of strong people."

Armor

Chris's father is a swordsmanship instructor, but as a knight, he also knew how to pilot an armor.

The knights are also being raised and trained to maneuver their armor at the same time.

Greg must have felt very encouraged when he heard that they were going to participate.

Then he asks about the two people who are not here.

"The only two left are Julius and Jilk."

Chris talks about Julius.

"Julius is helping the civil servants at the royal palace. Apparently, he is being worked hard by Angelica."

"I feel a little sorry for him, but I guess he has to accept it. So, what about Jilk?"

This time Brad answered —— but his expression showed a troubled look.

"Jilk guy is with Minister Bernard."

Hearing that, Greg rolled his eyes.

"Seriously?"

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Part 3

There were many desks lined up in the large room.

Officials, and civil servants, were processing piles of paperwork.

All of them have ink stains on their hands and dark circles under their eyes.

They collapse and are carried out, and after a short rest, they return to work.

The scene was exactly like a battlefield.

For the sake of the knights and soldiers who are about to fight on the battlefield, civilian officials are now working busily on paperwork and on-site coordination while almost dying.

Minister Bernard claps his hands.

"We just have one more step to go. If we don't get through this, our allies will not fight satisfactorily. This is our battlefield now. Let's get through this at all costs."

At the sound of the minister's voice, the civilian officials raised their voices, but they were exhausted.

Claris, the daughter of Minister Bernard, comes into the office with drinks.

"We've brought drinks and refreshments."

At the sound of her bright, gentle voice, the civil servants look up and approach at a snail's pace.

After receiving a drink and a sandwich from Claris, they returned to their desks.

Watching the scene was Deirdre, who was helping Claris.

"It's certainly a battlefield."

Deirdre thought that there was no exaggeration in Minister Bernard's words, but her gaze went to the one person working calmly.

Jilk, the man who was once Claris's fiancée, was bought for his abilities and worked with the civil servants here.

Was it his personal qualities or his honed abilities? Jilk was working as hard as the civil servants.

And it looks like he seems comfortable with it.

It was a very encouraging sight, but the eyes of those around him were stern.

Minister Bernard placed a large number of papers on Jilk's desk.

He was smiling, but there was a hint of anger toward the man who had dumped his daughter.

"Jilk-kun, since you seem comfortable, please take care of this paperwork as well."

Looking at the pile of papers, Jilk smiled.

"Please leave it to me. I'll do my best to live up to Minister Bernard's expectations."

For Jilk, he probably meant it.

When he actually gets his hands on a pile of papers, he processes them in a steady rhythm.

His competence was real.

That's probably why people around him are even more annoyed.

"Even though you're just a scumbag who abandoned Claris ojou-sama."

"How dare he appear before us with such a calm face."

"The fact that he can do his job makes it all the more annoying."

Despite the stinging stares of those around him, Jilk processes the paperwork with a smile on his face.

Minister Bernard only highly valued his ability.

"Only his abilities are really real. If only he had the human qualities as well, he would have been the perfect fiancée for my daughter, but nothing ever goes right."

It is sarcasm against the man who abandoned his daughter.

Jilk never ceases to smile, even at Minister Bernard's thorny words.

Because he understands that it can't be helped if that's all the words that are said.

"Thanks to that, I met Marie-san, so for me, it's beyond perfect."

A vein was visible on Minister Bernard's forehead.

Claris, for her part, smiled scornfully at Jilk for mentioning Marie's name at this moment.

"Had I realized your true nature earlier, I would not have gone astray."

In response, Jilk only smiles wryly.

"Haha, that's harsh."

He doesn't even make eye contact with Claris.

Having no choice, Deirdre carries drinks and food to Jilk.

"I am surprised that you can work well in a workplace like this. I wonder if you are less aware of the resentment? You can still help out elsewhere if you'd like."

Jilk answers Deirdre's question as he sips the drink served to him.

"Right now, I am working for Leon-kun. Minister Bernard and the people here are not stupid enough to get in my way."

"You're like a big shot for understanding that and still acting like nothing happened."

Jilk, who was evaluated by Deirdre, expressed his gratitude.

"Thank you. But please don't fall in love with me. I'm devoted to Marie-san."

"——No one here is going to fall in love with you."

After saying that coldly with a blank expression on her face, Deirdre leaves Jilk's side.

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Part 4

When four of the Five Idiots were fulfilling their respective roles.

Julius was also busy in the royal palace.

Rushing into the office, he reports the situation to Lucas —— the man Leon calls shishou —— who is sitting at his desk processing documents.

"The stockpile of supplies at the port is running out. We cannot support them in the royal capital any longer."

Numerous flying battleships gathered, but of course they were consuming supplies.

Starting with the energy resources needed for the flying battleships, there is also the need to feed the crews that operate them.

In order to fully exploit the power of the Grand Fleet, an enormous amount of supplies are required.

They must be arranged and distributed in just the right amount.

Lucas and Julius were the ones doing that work.

"We're sending our stockpile of supplies to the city closest to the royal capital and then to the fort. As soon as they arrive, we will begin resupplying."

"Understood——"

Julius replied, but looked seriously at Lucas, who was processing the paperwork.

Noticing his gaze, shishou looks up.

"Anything else?"

"——Ano, may I ask you one question?"

He thought he was just a manners instructor at the school, but the truth was that he was his own blood relative, his great-uncle.

Julius had one question for such Lucas.

"I don't mind if you can keep it short."

Lucas's hands were clean as he handled the paperwork, even though he was handling ink.

Watching shishou work so fast and so accurately —— even beautifully, he couldn't help but ask.

"Why did you give the throne to my father? You would have been a better king than my father."

Lucas smiled bitterly at the indescribably disrespectful question.

"I wonder if it's because of Mr. Leon's influence. That's a very disrespectful question."

"I understand it. But I'm not in a position to worry about it anymore."

He does not think his father is fit to be king.

Julius, who said he meant it, smiled and said that his position did not matter now.

Lucas seemed to think this was the result of being influenced by Leon.

"——Indeed, if it had been me, I would have been able to play the role of the king that people expected. But I also believe that would have destroyed this country."

"Not my father, but you?"

Julius' words included the meaning, "Isn't it because of my father that the Kingdom of Horfalt was driven to this point?".

"It means that Roland was more fit to be king than you, his son think. I guess you could say that because it was Roland, we only got to this point. ——Though he didn't break his bad habits until the very end."

Lucas lamented that Roland's bad habit was womanizing, which did not change even after he became king.

Julius ponders in front of Lucas.

"——Father was more splendid than I thought."

"Yes, he is a man worthy of respect. ——But never follow his example when it comes to women's relationships. Okay, absolutely."

After being reminded by Lucas, Julius lightly bows and turns his back to go to his next job.

Then, slowly, he took out a mask from his pocket.

(I can't even begin to guess my father's capability. ——Let me use the mask that my father gave me this time as well.)

He thinks he's given it to him, but in reality he's just borrowing Roland's personal belongings without permission.

If Roland had been there, he would have yelled, "Give it back!".

(Father, I will carry on this mask and your will. I am a foolish son who could not inherit the throne, but your will is the only thing I will not lose.)

Julius swore firmly in his heart.