"Haaah?! What did you just say?!"
"Hm?"
I turned my eyes toward the entrance of the room.
Jerry had called in a subordinate to pass along an order, but now his eyes were wide and he was bellowing.
"Again?! Those bastards really never get tired of it, do they?!"
"Y-Yes, sir. So... what should we do?"
"Tch. Well—"
"What's the matter? What happened?"
I walked over and asked Jerry.
The young subordinate who had been reporting to him until just a moment ago gave me a puzzled look, but I ignored him.
Jerry flapped his hand at the subordinate to dismiss him, then answered my question.
"The soldiers got into another fight."
"Isn't that just an everyday occurrence?"
I tilted my head slightly.
Having served under Henry since childhood and spending time stationed at the Ministry of Military Affairs, I liked to think I was a bit more knowledgeable about such matters than the other imperial princes.
An army was a collective where soldiers got into some sort of squabble almost daily.
Soldiers brawling—I considered it nothing more than a trivial, everyday scene. Jerry, however, who had far more daily contact with ordinary soldiers than I did, clearly did not view it as a routine matter, venting his fury with considerable heat.
"Normally, yeah, but whenever a certain bunch gets involved, it always turns into a massive ordeal."
"A massive ordeal?"
"The sodomite bunch."
"Oh?"
I see, I thought, nodding.
Male lovers were by no means rare.
There were quite a few of them among the nobility as well.
Speaking strictly of the nobility, there was a prevailing attitude that so long as one fulfilled the duty of producing heirs—preserving the bloodline—no one really cared if one engaged in relations with men.
To begin with, marriage for nobility was a duty, and the common belief held that true love lay outside wedlock. As such, there was even a perspective that male-male romance was the truest form of love.
Thus, I wasn't particularly surprised by the revelation.
"I have to pass judgment on them, but... it's a real pain in the ass."
"Why is it such a pain?"
"Most of the sodomite guys have their lovers in the same unit. So when they fight other guys, they usually do it right in front of their lovers. And because they're so eager to show off in front of their partners, they usually take things way too far."
"I see. Carried away in the heat of the moment, they often end up killing each other, don't they?"
"Exactly... A total pain. It's not that I mind them being into men, though."
"You don't?"
"Well, see, it has its merits too. In terms of sexual relief."
"...Ah, I see."
I thought it over for a moment and understood.
Seeing my realization, Jerry nodded.
"If you don't properly manage the soldiers' lower halves, no matter what you tell them, they'll just run wild and loot whenever you take a city. But if you handle it properly on a regular basis, you can keep them mostly in check."
"Indeed. If they loot too excessively, governing afterward becomes difficult. It's an important matter."
"That's how it is. That's why I exempted all the brothels in this town from taxes. So the soldiers can take care of their needs on their own as part of daily life."
"Hahaha, well played."
I praised Jerry quite sincerely.
An army's carnal appetites had been a headache for rulers since ancient times.
Some strictly forbade such acts before an assault and permitted a few days of pillaging after victory, but considering subsequent occupation and governance, looting was best avoided whenever possible.
When marching out on a campaign, it was not uncommon to bring along a unit made up entirely of prostitutes, much like a baggage train.
However, that was synonymous with bringing along many noncombatants; the drawback was that while they consumed food and supplies, they did not bolster military strength in appearance or in reality.
This was a dilemma that various monarchs and generals throughout history had faced without finding a proper solution, so I could appreciate the hardships Jerry was dealing with.
"...Hm."
"Is something wrong, Master?"
"Are there many sodomite soldiers?"
"A decent number, I'd say. Probably around two or three hundred."
"How about gathering those men to form an independent unit?"
"Eh?"
"Didn't you just say it yourself? That they get eager to show off when their lovers are watching."
"............Directing that eagerness at the enemy army?"
"Exactly."
I nodded slightly.
Hearing that, Jerry's eyes went wide in surprise.
He wore an expression that showed he had never even considered such a thing before.
"Besides, if you put them in an environment where everyone around them is the same, there should be fewer fights, right? Well, though that might cause romantic drama instead."
"............"
I said it jokingly, but Jerry fell into dead-serious thought.
"What's wrong?"
"Eh? Ah, no, Master, you really are incredible. Yeah, I'll give that a try."
Snapping back to his senses, Jerry looked utterly earnest.
It was the expression of a man genuinely considering my proposal.
"At the very least, it'll reduce the brawling. It's worth doing for that alone."
"I see."
"No, really, it's amazing. I never could've thought of something like this."
"Do you know that the cavalry of the Pawoo Empire once trampled across the entire world?"
"Eh?"
Jerry looked blank.
What's this all of a sudden? his face asked.
"Well, do you?"
"Yeah, well. I know the Pawoo Empire originally came from northern nomads, so all the elites at its core were cavalrymen."
I gave a slight smile.
Considering the history of the Pawoo Empire, as well as Jerry's background and usual rough conduct, it wouldn't have been surprising if he hadn't bothered studying such things—and yet, Jerry knew quite a bit about it.
As expected, his coarse behavior was an act to some degree, and he was diligently studying behind the scenes.
"Did something happen with that?"
"Do you know why the Pawoo cavalry was so strong?"
"Eh? Because they were nomads and had all been riding horses since birth—"
"That too, but there was another reason."
"Eh? What's that...?"
"For Pawoo, horses weren't just weapons; they also served as food, transport, and more."
"Huh?"
"Each man was provided with five horses, if I recall correctly."
I pulled knowledge from my mind that I had obtained while researching history a while back.
"Normally, they fight on horseback. If one horse gets tired or injured, they can switch to another. And during a march, those horses can carry baggage."
"Ooh..."
"In an emergency, they can slaughter a horse, drink its blood, and eat its meat."
"Walking rations!"
"Combat, transport, supply. Everything could be handled with horses, which eliminated waste and allowed them to operate as a lean, elite force."
"So that was it..."
"It's an association drawn from that."
"Eh?"
"Rather than dragging along prostitutes for sexual relief, it might be better to consolidate lovers into the same unit. Well, they aren't as all-purpose as Pawoo's horses, though."
"No, that's incredible, Master. To make a connection like that from history."
☆
Jerry, who had temporarily left the room, returned in less than thirty minutes.
He came back with an excited look on his face, like a child who had just gotten a new toy.
"How did it go?"
"Looks like I can gather three hundred of them into one place."
"That's good to hear."
"It's incredible, Master. Looks like we'll be able to take the energy of those guys we've just been letting sit idle and holding back, and unleash it straight at the enemy army in a great way."
"Mm... Hm?"
"What's wrong, Master?"
"............"
Jerry asked, noticing my pause.
I held up my palm in a "wait a second" gesture and sank into thought.
Something had caught in my mind.
When I considered what it was that snagged—
"Letting sit idle, huh?"
"Eh?"
What was it about "letting sit idle" that caught my attention?
I thought further.
There was definitely something.
It wasn't my imagination; the phrase "letting sit idle" was tugging at something deep.
And that was—something I had been pondering since a very long time ago.
"—Ah!!"
After pondering for a moment, it hit me.
"Monsters..."
"Eh?"
"The Empire is letting monsters sit idle."
"...—Wh-What?! Is that even possible?!"
Instantly understanding what I meant, Jerry wore a look of utter shock, mirroring my own.