Alberan year 457, the major power in the east, the Holy Elsren Empire invaded the Alberan Kingdom.

The Alberan Kingdom’s king had been terminally ill since the previous year and conflict has broken out over the succession of the crown.

Not much time has passed since he ascended the throne, but with no hope of recovery, young king Alberan named his successor. The problem is that instead of his younger brother, Gildanstein, he named his own child――the young princess, Kreschenta as his successor.

Naturally, the royal prince, Gildanstein objected to this.

Gildanstein insisted that he has the legitimate right to the throne.

According to the rules of succession, Gildanstein is next in line and his claim is justified, but king Alberan denied it.

This is because of Gildanstein’s bad habits.

Gildanstein is known for cruelly killing slaves――which are not officially allowed in the kingdom, but do exist――for his own entertainment and abusing his authority as royalty to defile women of lower nobility.

King Alberan’s argument that Gildanstein would not be able to fulfill the duties of the king gained a lot of support.

But regardless of his conduct, Gildanstein has the legitimate claim to the throne.

Many disapprove of breaking the rules or worried that Kreschenta is too young, being only eleven years old, thus causing the nobles to split into two factions.

Infighting was unavoidable.

The king summoned the influential nobles to vote on the next king, but Gildanstein’s faction, at a numerical disadvantage, played for time by not showing up, preventing the vote.

The Holy Elsren Empire took this chance to break their peace treaty.

They invaded the kingdom’s eastern territories with a large army of a hundred thousand men.

With the capital paralysed, the Alberan Kingdom lost the Carmeda, the eastern general, most of its eastern territory and the initiative.

The fearless general of the south, Dagren Garhka, and the northern general also known by the nickname of Lightning Quick――Bogan Christand managed to hold off the invasion, but the kingdom’s capital is still paralysed.

The Alberan Kingdom is in a predicament.

Krische was still in the middle of her officer training, acting as a sword instructor on the side, when she was caught up in this war and now has to travel to the battlefield where Bogan is.

“Only two candy a day. Do not eat more just because are hungry. You will run out of candy too quickly.”

“Kr, Krische will not……Krische is not such a glutton.”

At the gates of the estate, Krische blushed as she received a small pouch stuffed full of candy from Bery.

Krische has grown taller and she is at the transition stage from child to adult.

Even with this growth, she is still petite, but her chest has swelled a little and she had developed curves.

Her arms and legs have grown longer and her features more refined.

But her large eyes made her look young and she is still more a girl than a woman. Her long, glistening silver hair made her beauty feel unreal.

She looked even more like a fairy than before and has grown to develop an alluring, almost magical charm.

She was dressed in a simple one-piece dress with a silver and black design. Over it, she wore a dark green cloak and carried a shoulder bag filled with food and water. A small curved sword and two knives hung at her waist.

She wore no armour.

Krische had not been summoned by the army.

Although she is skilled, Bogan was unwilling to bring a young girl to the battlefield.

Bogan gave in to Selene and allowed her to follow due to her stubborn insistence, but Krische obviously does not have that passion.

Since there is the possibility of danger to Bogan and Selene in a war, Krische was slightly hesitant about staying behind, but in the end Selene convinced her to stay behind and protect Bery.

Security deteriorates during war.

Even this estate far from the battlefield is not entirely safe and Krische had no objections to staying behind to protect Bery.

Even so, this is the king’s land and security was originally quite good.

The riots they worried about did not happen and in the few weeks since the war started, it has been peaceful in the town of Gurgain――Krische and Bery were thoroughly enjoying a life of cooking.

Krische’s trip is simply to deliver letters, not because something had happened.

Although most matters could be handled by the army’s logistics unit, there are matters that nobles, specifically the head of the family need to see for themselves and make a decision.

For example, matters regarding the province that the Christand family governs.

This country is an absolute monarchy, the king has absolute power and the nobles are soldiers as well as bureaucrats.

Naturally, all land belongs to the king but it is not rare for land to be loaned out for a noble to govern.

A large portion of the profits from the land a noble governs belongs to them, so being granted land is an honour.

But not all provinces produce a profit and there are many troublesome things that come with governing land.

The letters that Krische is delivering are about large transactions and loans related to the Christand province.

These letters cannot be allowed to end up in the hands of the wrong person. It would be a serious matter even if someone just happened to read the contents.

These documents cannot be sent to the battlefield mixed in with other documents from the army no matter how well disciplined the army is.

The usual solution is for family members or a servant to deliver the letters, which means either Bery or Krische has to deliver them.

Bogan could also have arranged for a trusted soldier to deliver the letters, but all of them followed him to the battlefield.

If this was a training expedition, they could have waited since they knew when he would be coming back, but this is a real war.

The letters just kept piling up.

With so many letters piled up, they needed to deliver them to Bogan and after some discussion, it was decided that Krische would go since she could protect herself.

Bery also has some training in self-defense but from Krische’s point of view, it is effectively nothing. Krische was also concerned about sending someone as pretty as Bery to a dangerous area.

Krische also wanted to check up on Bogan and Selene and convinced a very reluctant Bery to let her go.

“I am aware that Krische-sama is strong, but please take care of yourself if there is any danger. Do not poke your nose into anything weird, okay?”

“Okay.”

“And the last candy in that pouch is mine. Please bring it back for me.”

Krische had already thrown the first candy into her mouth and froze upon hearing Bery’s words, then checked the pouch.

“Er, which one……?”

“Eh? Ah……fufu, that is not what I mean. This is a charm for Krische’s safe return. Please bring the candy back for me.”

“……? Err, okay.”

Though Krische felt like her share just got reduced, she could only nod.

“……now, it is about time to go. You will be late to the carriage.”

“Okay. Bye Bery, take care.”

“Yes, I will. I will also improve my cooking even more while Krische-sama is gone.”

“That, uuu……”

Krische still has not caught up to Bery in cooking.

Krische cast her eyes down as she imaged the gap growing even wider, making Bery smile.

“Fufu, when you come back safely, I will teach you a new recipe. Let’s cook together again.”

“Okay. I will come back as quickly as I can.”

“Yes, please come back quickly. I will be lonely by myself.”

Bery brushed Krische’s hair aside and planted a kiss on her forehead, then stepped back and smiled.

“I will be waiting for your return.”

“……okay.”

Krische smiled back.

Krische will be riding the army’s communications carriage to a supply depot.

After that she will join the supply train to the frontlines.

The journey would take about seven days.

On the fifth day of Krische’s journey from Gurgain in the north of the kingdom, she arrived at the supply depot set up at the entrance to a large forest in the north east of the kingdom.

There she joined a supply train and set off to the frontlines.

Things changed when they were taking a short break on the sixth day as the sun was setting.

Until the fifth day, the soldiers accompanying Krische had met her on other occasions and was aware of her personality.

So when Krische laid out a blanket during breaks and sat there staring blankly at the scenery, they left her in peace――but the carriage and personnel changed on the sixth day.

These soldiers have only heard of her through rumours.

Although she is adopted, Krische is the general’s daughter.

Just like how Selene is known for her military genius, which blossomed through her rivalry with Krische, vague rumours of Krische have spread among the soldiers.

Bogan does not bring Krische to public events or high society because of her communication skills.

So unlike Selene who is famous as the fearless and beautiful daughter of the general, Krische is only known through quiet rumours coming from the training grounds.

Most rumours about her differed from reality, such as she is like a demon with a stronger body than most men or that she is a monster that would make the knees of veteran soldiers tremble.

They were mostly rumours about Krische’s extraordinary skill with the sword――these rumours alone spread further than others.

There is a reason why those that experienced her skill firsthand did not talk about her cute appearance.

She is a cute, dainty, fae-like girl. No one would want to talk about how they were utterly thrashed by such a girl.

Instead they hid that information and described her as a ruthless and terrifying monster, then these rumours transformed even further as they spread.

So when Krische showed the lightning and falcon crest on her cloak and introduced herself as Krische Christand, they all gave her curious looks.

This is why no one spoke to her until evening that day, only staring at her from a distance.

“Yes. I am adopted……”

Krische had explained that Krische is Bogan’s daughter when joining the supply train, so why would he ask that question now?

Krische cocked her head to the side, a truly adorable action with her appearance.

When the soldier approached Krische where she sat under a tree, it drew the attention of all the soldiers around.

The soldier wore leather body armour, gauntlets and shin guards.

He carried a buckler in his left hand and a short sword around two feet long at his waist.

The black cloth hanging under the crest of a sword pointing to the sky――the kingdom’s crest, indicates that he is a corporal.

Leather armour is good at absorbing blows and cannot be cut by dull swords.

The leather is also hardened with wax and can cause spear tips to slip to the side.

This man’s armour is quite high quality, much more likely to be his personal equipment than standard issue.

Captains that are in charge of more than fifty men need to procure their own equipment, but conversely those below are not allowed to change their equipment freely as it would affect coordinated action and there is a general rule that they use standard issue equipment.

But there is no problem if the equipment is similar to standard issue, so it is common for those from wealthy families to purchase their own high quality equipment.

This man might be from a relatively wealthy family.

“We did not expect the general’s daughter to be so beautiful. All of us are delighted to be able accompany Krische-sama.”

Armoured soldiers. What is the best way to kill them?

Krische had been absentmindedly thinking about that as she stared at the high quality hard leather. She cut short her examination for weak points to reply.

“……? Okay, thank you. Krische is also grateful to be able to ride this carriage.”

“This road is not entirely safe, but please rest assured. We will protect you with our lives.”

“Haa……”

That is their job.

Krische wondered why he was explaining such an obvious thing, but dismissed the question and nodded.

The more pressing matter is her hunger.

She had already finished her two daily candy, so she could only endure.

People that have mana break down the food they eat and convert it to mana.

Krische had been fed cookies by Bery between lunch and dinner everyday and gotten used to snacking.

The food she had eaten has already been converted to mana and her stomach is empty, by this time of the evening she is always starving.

On a journey with limited water and chances to bathe, a body that does not excrete is an advantage, but the empty void in her stomach is hard to endure.

She does not show it, but she was battling hunger as she quietly asked.

“……will we be making camp soon?”

“Yes, we will come to an open space soon, we will be making camp there.”

The supply train consisted of a few dozen carriages, the areas where they can make camp is limited.

They should have made camp before entering the forest, but as someone hitching a ride, Krische could not complain.

At that moment, Krische’s stomach grumbled.

Krische blushed and the soldier’s eyes widened, then he smiled wryly.

“Eh, ah, this is……”

“Hahaha, so that’s why you asked about making camp. Please wait a moment.”

The soldier ran to a nearby carriage and returned with a small piece of hardbread.

“Have this. It’s not very nice, but it should fill your stomach.”

“Thank you……”

Eyes gathered on Krische as she received it while blushing.

Krische’s embarrassment grew, but she could not resist the temptation.

Since she had received it, she has to eat it――Krische easily threw logic aside and started tearing off small pieces of bread, throwing them into her mouth with an embarrassed expression.

Her hunger made her want to just directly bite into it, but Krische’s sense of aesthetics managed to barely stopped her from doing that.

Quickly throwing pieces of bread into her small mouth without pause actually made her look even hungrier than if she had just bitten directly into the bread, but Krische failed to realise that.

Rumours can’t be trusted, thought the man as he watched the young girl.

They had noticed the small curved sword that Krische carried, but they assumed it was for self-defense and nobody paid attention to it.

Her beauty and charm drew more attention, leading to many looking for the opportunity to talk to her that night. This continued into the next day.

She was given more soup and two pieces of bread not only that night, but even in the morning the next day and at noon..

A while after lunch, she was also handed bread and the remains of the cold soup before she even said anything.

This made Krische want to die of embarrassment, but she had already received it, so she still consumed it without complaint.

It was on this day when they fussed over her, the day before their journey ends――that the incident happened in the evening.

-End-

I’m sorry I suck at names. Any better nicknames for Bogan is welcome. Original is 迅雷, literally translates to Thunderclap, but is referencing more the individual words 迅=speed/violent/intense and 雷=lightning