Chapter 95 : Chapter 95
Chapter 95. Another Operation (2)
When they met at the south gate of Velia Castle that day, Alexis and Michael were not the only ones observing Roden.
Roden was also observing Alexis and Michael.
As for Michael, the moment he saw him, he could grasp what kind of person he was.
After all, they had many points of contact, and he had a lot of time to think about him, so it was easier to grasp.
‘A person who despises the incompetent due to his pride in the Glockner family. A person who is clever and tries to hide his emotions somehow but is still young and immature. A person who has become gloomy and cruel to protect himself.’
So, Roden was able to make this definition the moment he saw Michael.
On the other hand, since he had not had many points of contact with Alexis, it was difficult to make such a grasp.
So at first, he thought that Alexis might be an active supporter of Michael.
But after talking to him, he quickly realized that was not the case.
Because he had implicitly revealed his displeasure at Michael's focus on the succession war.
A situation where a noble from the Vaskar Kingdom, in order to build up his achievements, had to come to the front line himself and command the army, even though he was a corps commander.
At the same time, a situation where he was displeased with Michael's focus on the succession war.
Nevertheless, a situation where he could not cast Michael out.
Roden put these situations together and was able to draw one conclusion within the connection.
That what Alexis wanted was his own achievement.
Otherwise, there would be no reason for him to take direct command, no reason to be displeased with Michael, who was absorbed in the succession war, and no reason to try to take Michael with him.
And based on this judgment, Roden wrote a letter on the day he arrived at the earthen fortress.
What Roden wrote was an operation plan.
A plan for another operation that he wanted to carry out while capturing the small villages.
‘Originally, I was going to carry out this operation in secret.’
If Alexis had been an active supporter of Michael as Roden had first thought, he would have chosen this option.
To carry out the operation in secret and then suddenly reveal this achievement.
However, if he did this, Roden could not avoid the stigma of having acted on his own, breaking the army's chain of command, no matter how good the results were.
But if Roden received Alexis's permission, the story would be different.
Roden would have faithfully carried out the operation according to orders.
‘Fortunately, I have someone to deliver this letter. As if to prove that building connections so far has not been in vain.’
That person was Tobias, who was carrying out operations by Alexis's side.
Thus, Tobias delivered the letter to Alexis as Roden had intended and received an answer before he began to capture the villages in earnest.
That he could carry out the operation as proposed.
That was the current reason why Roden had entrusted a part of the Special Task Force Company's troops to Chevalier and Liviano and had begun to move separately with Olinto.
“Will the Infantry Platoon Leader and the Cavalry Platoon Leader capture the villages well?”
Olinto said as he walked with Roden.
Roden nodded his head and answered.
“Don't worry too much. The two of them will do well. It's not a very difficult mission where you just have to deploy one squad to each of the six villages.”
Roden really wasn't worried.
Because the difficulty of the operation was so low.
And he had even left Chevalier there in case of any unforeseen circumstances, so he couldn't be more reassured.
‘If I had judged purely for my own sake, I would have brought Chevalier and the Infantry Platoon. We've been working together for a long time, and we've carried out similar operations together many times.’
But Roden boldly left Chevalier with Liviano.
He judged that Chevalier, who was the strongest after himself in the Special Task Force Company and always cool-headed, would be able to overcome any situation.
Olinto, who heard Roden's words, seemed to have thought of this and answered.
“Certainly, the Infantry Platoon Leader and the Cavalry Platoon Leader will do well. Especially since the Infantry Platoon Leader is with them, there's nothing to worry about.”
“That's right. We should be more worried about ourselves. Our operation is more difficult. And the number of people participating in the operation is much smaller.”
“Hey. What's the problem when the Company Commander is with us? I will do my best to assist the Company Commander with the Archery Platoon.”
“Alright. I'll believe you.”
In fact, the Archery Platoon was the weakest of the three units in the Special Task Force Company.
Of course, archers were very useful in war.
Because being able to strike the enemy from a distance was a huge advantage.
In fact, the training difficulty of an archer was much higher than that of an ordinary infantryman.
But in a situation like the Special Task Force Company, where they could grow into knights by learning a superior swordsmanship, the archers were at a great disadvantage.
Because they had to learn the superior swordsmanship while practicing archery.
And since their proficiency in the standard-issue swordsmanship was low, they would have a relatively difficult time mastering the basics and acquiring the secret techniques even if they excluded archery practice and focused solely on the superior swordsmanship.
However, even in these unfavorable conditions, the Archery Platoon had been training hard.
As a result, although there were fewer than in the Infantry or Cavalry Platoons, there were a small number of soldiers who had reached the rank of knight.
So, although they felt weak within the Special Task Force Company, they were quite strong compared to other platoons.
‘But even so, it can't be helped that their confidence is low. It's a fact that they are relatively evaluated as the weakest platoon within the Special Task Force Company.’
This was also the reason why Roden had brought the Archery Platoon on this mission.
You are very strong. I believe in you.
Roden wanted to let them know this by doing this mission together.
‘At the same time, it would be good if I could find a practical way to actually make the Archery Platoon stronger through research.’
But all of this was a secondary objective.
What Roden truly wanted to gain from this mission was something else.
“Company Commander! I see Vinchih over there!”
While Roden was lost in thought, one of the Archery Platoon soldiers shouted.
That was right.
To achieve that objective, Roden had returned to Vinchih once again.
***
Hansen, the owner of the Strutzen Inn, was very depressed after Roden was suddenly taken away by the garrison and the Billem Caravan suddenly disappeared one day.
The 5% net profit that he could get every time Billem meatballs were sold.
This net profit had completely evaporated.
‘Sigh. If I had known this would happen, I would have tried to learn the Billem Caravan's secret recipe somehow.’
Hansen sighed as he looked at the scene of the Strutzen Inn's restaurant, where only flies were buzzing today.
He couldn't help but sigh.
Like the restaurant, Hansen's bank account was also becoming empty.
‘By the way, where did the Billem Caravan go? No matter how much I ask around, I can't find them.’
It wasn't that Hansen had been sitting idle all this time.
As soon as the Billem Caravan disappeared, he first tried to continue the meatball business somehow.
[More delicious than Billem meatballs! Strutzen meatballs!]
He had tried to recall the recipe he had learned over the shoulder as much as possible, made meatballs, and sold them at a stall.
But the Strutzen meatballs, which he had ambitiously sold, did not sell well.
It was only natural, as their taste was much inferior compared to Billem meatballs.
In the first place, Hansen, who had no cooking skills whatsoever, would not have been able to learn properly even if he had been taught how to make Billem meatballs properly.
But he had tried to reproduce it with a recipe he had learned over the shoulder, so of course it didn't taste the same.
Rather, among the many imitations of Billem meatballs that were born after the Billem Caravan left, the Strutzen meatballs received the worst reviews.
[Made in the same restaurant where Billem meatballs were made!]
Even if he shouted at the top of his lungs, he was just ignored.
Having realized that he could not succeed in the meatball business on his own, Hansen immediately looked for another way.
That was to find the Billem Caravan somehow.
But of course, the whereabouts of the Billem Caravan were unknown.
First of all, there was no news of the caravan owner Roden and the other caravan officers who had been taken by the Imperial Army.
There were rumors that many bards, actors, strongmen, and cooks who had been captured had lost their lives when Velia Castle fell, so it was suspicious that they might have met the same fate.
In the first place, the Imperial Army was trying to keep the news related to this from the general public as much as possible, so it was even more difficult to get information.
And it wasn't as if the rest of the Billem Caravan had been spotted either.
He even went to the village where the Billem Caravan was said to have first established their caravan, but of course it was in vain.
Thus, Hansen, who had lost a huge source of income called Billem meatballs and was wandering, was currently in a state of despair.
At this rate, it seemed that he would have to sell off his last remaining property, the Strutzen Inn, in a hurry.
Because of this, Hansen's mind kept thinking about the Billem Caravan, which he could not possibly find.
‘Where did they go……. Where on earth…….’
But since the Billem Caravan, which had disappeared once, would not reappear just because he kept thinking about it, it could be said that only bankruptcy awaited Hansen.
Originally, it would have been like that.
Slam.
If it weren't for the sound of the inn door suddenly opening and someone asking the following.
“Is the owner still alive here?”
A somehow familiar and nostalgic voice.
At that voice, Hansen's head, which had been empty, turned automatically.
At the same time, Hansen jumped up from his seat.
“Ca-caravan leader!”
“Yes. It's been a while, owner. Have you been well?”
Roden asked with a smile on his lips, and Hansen answered with a joyful expression as if he had met his savior.
“I've been waiting for you, caravan leader!”
Of course, Roden had not come here as Hansen's savior.