Surviving a Harsh Fantasy with Cheat Items (WN)

「Governor Sarah, the Southern Regional Nobles’ Alliance, led by Marquis Pipin, has rebelled!」

「The time has come.」

With a resounding thud, Governor Sarah Rod closed the thick book that lay on her office desk. The cover of the weighty tome she had been reading bore the title ‘Tactical Compendium’ and the author’s name was inscribed as ‘Lyle Laertius’.

Sarah, both the village governor and the defense force commander of Losgow Village, conducted her duties in the corner of the village hall located in the village square. The stone-built structure stood out prominently in the village—a building that needed no introduction, having been used during the era when Lyle-sensei and Takeru served as secretary.

The bookshelves held numerous volumes that Lyle-sensei had read, including works where he himself had compiled annotations on ancient and contemporary tactics. While fulfilling her mundane administrative tasks as the village governor, Sarah immersed herself in the world of books, diligently following the tactical thinking of the knowledge prodigy that Lyle-sensei was in this realm.

Sarah’s patient dedication to the groundwork, diligently working through the curriculum of advanced education prepared by sensei, was all in preparation for this very day. The rebellion of the Southern Regional Nobles—a crisis. The main forces of the volunteer corps stationed in the capital were distant, requiring at least four days by carriage. Deploying the volunteer army would take even more time. Both troops and commanders capable of promptly addressing the rebellion were sorely lacking.

And now, at this very moment, Captain Sarah-chan—the rumored lover of King General and the disciple (perhaps an exaggeration, but not entirely untrue) of the legendary military strategist—was poised to take center stage. After enduring a long period of waiting, the opportunity had finally arrived.

「It was just as Governor Sarah said, but what do we do from here?」

The anxious inquiry came from Milk Rossa, one year older than Sarah. Milk held the position of deputy captain in the Losgow Village Volunteer Corps and was both an admirer and loyal follower of Sarah.

With his golden hair and blue eyes, Milk cut a tall figure for his age, and aside from being somewhat slender, he could easily be described as a handsome young man. His flushed cheeks still retained a hint of youthful innocence. With a keen gaze fixed on Milk’s face, which bore a slightly timid expression, Sarah stood up, her curiosity piqued. She snorted in amusement.

「What are we going to do? It’s obvious! We’ll seize this golden opportunity and rise together!」

Without warning, she dashed out of the village hall and headed toward the barracks. Milk, the young man, hurriedly followed the girl’s retreating figure.

Sarah’s energy-filled steps were as swift as a blazing comet—so fast that even determined boys like Milk would struggle to keep up.

※※※

「Everyone, the exhilarating time of war has arrived! Prepare in thirty seconds!」

Sarah burst into the barracks, and the soldiers sprang to their feet.

Following the usual emergency assembly drill, they began roll call: 「One, two, three, four, five.」

The squad leaders of the five teams numbered ten. Not only from Losgow Village but also from nearby villages, Sarah’s Losgow Village Volunteer Corps had independently gathered over fifty volunteers.

Though many were children of poor farmers and are physically weak, their morale was high. Their eyes sparkled with determination, having endured rigorous training without a single dropout.

Why? Because the Losgow Village Volunteer Corps was the elite guard defending the birthplace of King General. Sarah constantly reminded them to take pride in being the general’s personal guards.

「Everyone is present!」

「Alright, well done. Let me make this clear in advance: this is not a drill. Repeat after me: this is not a drill!」

Despite the sudden emergency assembly, the Losgow Village Volunteer Corps stood in formation before the barracks, their spirits soaring.

Sarah, the same age as the girl carrying the blue flag of Silesie, looked up at it with confidence and shouted:

「At last, the time has come to showcase the fruits of our rigorous training. From here on, I will lead you all to a new battlefield. Among you, there may be warriors who once defeated the strongest dragon knight of Germania in the Battle of Silesie. Fear not—our next foes are feeble nobles compared to dragon knights. Victory is within our grasp!」

「The weakness of those useless, spineless nobles in the capital battle—you’ve witnessed it, haven’t you?」 Sarah teased the soldiers, lifting their spirits.

Milk, who had followed her, finally caught up and panted, 「Captain Sarah…」

「Vice Captain Milk, from now on, don’t address me as Governor or Captain. Call me Acting General Sarah. Everyone, listen up! As Chef d’escadre, acting on behalf of General Sawatari Takeru, I will lead our fight against the rebel forces. Consequently, all of you are being promoted by one rank. Privates become corporals, and corporals ascend to sergeants.」

“Whooaaahhhhh!’ A resounding cheer erupted from the volunteer soldiers.

「But wait, is it really okay to do this without permission?」

Milk, the hardworking soul, was sweating nervously.

Seeing his alarmed expression, Sarah chuckled mischievously.

「Milk, remember when you used to be the hero’s secretary in Silesie? Shape up. You know that I’ve been granted full authority over personnel decisions as the captain, right?」

「That was during the early days of the volunteer corps.」

「Well, I still have the official appointment letter, and technically, I haven’t been dismissed yet. In times of emergency, it’s only natural for the field to take independent measures.」

「But that’s absurd!」

With a playful smile, Sarah pulled out a signed appointment letter from Takeru herself.

「Don’t worry; if we achieve great deeds, the credit will be ours. After all, even Takeru climbed the ranks this way. Once I earn recognition and become an official general, I’ll entrust you with a unit too. So brace yourself.」

「Is that really okay?」

Milk, aware that even the hero Takeru and the volunteer corps commander-in-chief Louise couldn’t defy Sarah, knew he wouldn’t face any punishment. Still, he hesitated—his timid nature showing.

「Results are everything. Now, fetch that thing for me.」

The volunteer soldiers brought a bronze cannon, mounted on a carriage for ease of transport, and Milk nearly lost his footing.

Why was such a precious, cutting-edge Silesie weapon deployed in this humble village?

「What—what’s with the cannon?」

「I swiped it from the manufacturing plant in the Ye Mountains. Since I’m the one transporting it, they won’t suspect a thing if we borrow it for a bit. It’s only four cannons.」

Milk wanted to protest—it seemed utterly unreasonable—but he was left speechless, unsure of what to say.

Sarah, having been involved in the cannon’s production stages alongside Takeru, was well-versed in artillery. She had even trained some of her trusted volunteer soldiers as gunners. Ammunition supply was also well taken care of.

「Now, let’s head to the front lines. We’re going to Dot’s Castle in Baron Dot’s territory. The Third Corps is probably wavering between siding with the local nobles or the Silesie Kingdom. Our mission is to prevent them from joining the rebels.」

Despite the pursuit and the expected arrival of reinforcements at the front lines, Sarah intended to hold the line with the Losgow Village Volunteer Corps until then.

Milk sighed; it all seemed incredibly reckless.

「Understood. This is also for hero-sama’s sake. Let’s go.」

「Yes, then let’s march! First, we’ll secure Dot’s Castle and repel those foolish nobles there.」

Armed with matchlock rifles and clad in the ‘Black Cedar Armor’, Sarah wore a blue cloak adorned with the Silesie white lily emblem. She confidently led the way on her warhorse, her youthful appearance belying the commanding presence of a seasoned general.

Her golden hair fluttered in the sunlight, gleaming like threads of gold. To the young peasant-born soldiers, it seemed to promise great glory, and they responded with bright laughter and spirited cheers.

And yet, they were about to march into battle…

Milk, a worrier, had resolved to protect Sarah even at the cost of his own life. Despite chasing after the girl with such strong determination, he couldn’t bring himself to say, 「For Sarah’s sake.」 Instead, he uttered, 「For hero-sama’s sake.」.

Milk Rossa was indeed that kind of young man.