"Lloyd! This is terrible!"
I was jolted awake the next morning by Ren's voice. She seemed to be in quite a panic.
"Good morning, Ren. What on earth happened?"
"...Wait just a second. Wash your face first."
Ren held out a basin, and I scooped up some water to splash my face before drying off with a soft towel.
"If I leave you alone, you'll wander outside with your hair all messy. Now, lotion... then I'll comb your hair..."
Ren hurriedly set about grooming me.
"So, weren't you in a rush?"
"Right! You were appointed Vice Commander of the Albert Squad yesterday, weren't you? When I heard, Sylpha-san and I went to join your unit. But when we went to talk to the men, we found out that almost all of them had gone over to that Saias person!"
"...What do you mean?"
"I don't know! Sylpha-san dashed off the moment she heard, and Master Albert is so busy I can't catch him... I don't know what's going on anymore!"
"In any case, let's call a gathering."
It would be faster to hear the story directly from the men who were actually there. And so, I summoned every soldier who had been placed under my command.
However...
"Is this really all of them?"
Only a dozen or so soldiers stood before me, looking apologetic.
"There are so few... There were three hundred at the meeting the other day. This is less than ten percent."
"On top of that, every last one of 'em is a scrawny, puny-looking runt. Can we really fight with this lot?"
Grimo and Jiriel were offering their unsolicited opinions. It was true that I could barely feel any mana from them. It felt a bit mean to think it, but they were likely the leftovers of the Albert Squad.
Regardless, I couldn't start without understanding the situation, so I questioned one of the soldiers.
"Why have only this many gathered? Albert-niisan said half the squad would be under my command."
"W-Well, that's... you see..."
At my question, the soldiers glanced at one another. After a moment, the youngest soldier was pushed forward to speak for the group.
"Um... the truth is, Master Lloyd... all the other soldiers went over to Lord Saias."
"How did that happen?"
"Yes, well... after the meeting ended and we were dismissed, we headed toward the city to hire mercenaries. That was when Lord Saias approached us. He said that if we joined him, he would introduce us to mercenaries we could hire for a bargain. Even though we are technically nobility, none of us are particularly wealthy. Naturally, everyone flocked to Lord Saias."
"And why did you stay?"
"Well... it’s embarrassing to admit, but Lord Saias told us we weren't needed."
As the young soldier gave a wry smile, the men behind him glared at him for saying too much.
I see. He improved their prospects to bolster his own numbers, and as a result, the soldiers who were supposed to follow me followed Saias instead.
"What a dirty trick... That bastard knew he couldn't lay a finger on Master Lloyd if he played fair, so he went and snatched up his subordinates ahead of time!"
"So he intended to monopolize the glory. Trying to sabotage one's own allies... how truly foolish humans are."
Grimo and Jiriel were indignant, but this was actually convenient for me. Commanding that many people—most of whom were strangers—would have been a hassle. With this small number, and given they seemed to lack self-confidence, they would probably be much easier to lead.
"Um... what’s going to happen to us? If we can't gather enough men, will we have to disband?"
"It’s fine, there’s no problem. I look forward to working with you."
I gave the timid soldier a bright smile. For some reason, the men looked even more discouraged.
"B-But, heading into battle with only this many people is suicide... No! It’s not that we’re afraid, but with only us, we could never hope to protect a prince..."
"There is no need for concern."
A dignified voice rang through the plaza. I turned to find Sylpha standing there.
"Sylpha-san! Where have you been!?"
"My master, Master Lloyd, is truly great. He had already cultivated his own connections in preparation for an eventuality such as this."
I had no idea what she was talking about. While Ren and I exchanged puzzled looks at Sylpha's rapturous expression, a large man loomed from behind her.
"Ho ho, you’re talking about something interesting, aren't you, Master Lloyd?"
It was the bald giant, Galilea. He was the former head of the Assassin's Guild, whom I had currently tasked with governing my territory.
"A little violence... how nostalgic. It’s cold of you to try and leave us behind."
Emerging from behind Galilea was Talia, the woman with the long, wavy hair.
"Heh, it doesn't sound like fun, but even if we run, we’ll just be overrun by monsters eventually... In that case, I’d rather work under you."
"I am happy to be able to fight alongside Lloyd."
The man in the black hood was Babylon, and the man in the crow mask was Crow. They were also members of the Assassin's Guild. They were supposed to have retired from fighting to work with Galilea, but it seemed the whole group was here.
"Everyone! You came!?"
"Heh, when it comes to repaying a debt to Master Lloyd, we haven’t got time to be lounging around."
Ren seemed overjoyed to see her old comrades again and went around shaking everyone's hand.
"We came too!"
"Woof! Woof!"
The Sixth Princess, Alieze, appeared while riding atop a giant wolf magical beast. Beside her were Shiro, along with the grown Mini-Shiro and Petit-Shiro.
"Good grief, it’s a problem if you forget about us."
Next to appear was a boy who looked exactly like me—Ido. He was a homunculus I had created, currently under the protection of Galilea and the others.
"W-We will fight too!"
"For the sake of Master Lloyd, I am prepared to serve until this body rots away."
Beside them were a girl in a long skirt, Lamia, and a large man covered entirely in a heavy coat, Gitan. Both were more than half-monster, hiding their abnormal forms under their clothing.
"We've come to help, too. In a large-scale battle like this, our Holy Magic should be useful, right? Not that I really know."
"This is also God's will. I am happy to be able to cooperate with Lloyd-kun."
"Saria-neesan! Even Isha!"
It was the Fourth Princess Saria and the current Pope, Isha. The music the two of them played was truly wonderful, and they could use Holy Magic with healing effects.
"Lloyd-san needs to be even more active as an adventurer, after all. If I do you a favor here, it should come back more than doubled later... right? At any rate, everyone, this is my personal request! Please make sure to earn plenty of merit!"
"Oooooh!"
The Receptionist, Katarina, appeared leading a large group of other adventurers. Combined, there were nearly a hundred people. With this many, there were enough to command my Magic Soldiers.
"All these people came for Lloyd's sake... Sylpha-san, you went to call everyone!"
"Yes, they gathered immediately the moment I reached out. Such is the power of Master Lloyd's virtue. However, I have heard that the Saias Squad has hired mercenaries and already numbers nearly ten thousand. Compared to that, we are still..."
"There's no need to worry about that."
With those words, I summoned the Magic Soldiers.
The plaza was suddenly packed with ten thousand Shadow Men made of mana. The sight of them, crowded so tightly there was hardly room to breathe, left everyone in shock.
"W-What on earth is this...?"
"These are Shadow Men made of mana. I can produce up to ten thousand. I plan to have all of you command them in the coming battle."
"To think... such a staggering magic exists... it is truly a Great Magic that could rewrite history! I knew you were incredible, Master Lloyd, but to this extent! Truly... truly magnificent!"
Sylpha gripped my hand in her excitement. Ah, oops. I might have overdone it a bit. As I was wondering how to gloss this over, I noticed Ido standing beside me. He gave me a meaningful smile and spoke to Sylpha.
"Fufu, impressive, isn't it? This magic is a joint development between me and Lloyd."
"T-That’s right! Yeah, without Ido's alchemical knowledge, this magic wouldn't have been possible at all. Haha, hahaha..."
I jumped onto the lifeline Ido threw me with everything I had. Phew, that was close. I was nearly caught having devised such a spell all by myself. No matter how you looked at it, it would be impossible to pass myself off as an unremarkable mage after showing off something like this.
"Is that... how it was? No, even so, it is a staggering magic. As expected of Master Lloyd."
She seemed to be convinced... probably.
"You saved me, Ido."
"Honestly, Lloyd, you're far too careless. I'm surprised you haven't been found out before now. You should be grateful to me."
Ido laughed triumphantly. He was my creation, but he was certainly better at navigating the world than I was.
"Oh, wait a minute..."
I looked around the crowd and realized something. There was one person missing who usually would have been the first to rush over in a situation like this. That foreign adventurer, full of curiosity and a master of Ki Breathing—
"Hey, Sylpha..."
As if sensing my next words, Sylpha shook her head.
"That girl—Tao—hasn't come."