Reincarnation into the Barrier Master

......The Commander-in-Chief has been looking pale since a while ago. He is sitting on a chair, biting his nails, and shaking his head repeatedly. If Rico saw him, he would kill him instantly.

"Well, it's bad manners to bite your nails! And please stop moving your feet! It's obvious to everyone around you that you're upset. You are a superior person. You shouldn't show such weakness to those around you. Please calm down.

Like ......?　Well, that's only if I did it. If Rico were here right now, she'd probably just fall silent, her face tense up, and turn on her heel and say let's go home.

"Wow,...... Rico-sama says so. You are really good at imitating Rico-sama, aren't you?"

Sadie was strangely impressed. I wonder if we naturally resemble each other if we have been together for a long time.

We are now leaving the main camp and sitting on a stone by the riverbank to eat. Soldiers in the vicinity are also eating in unison. They are preparing for the battle that may be about to begin.

Bread, salad, and beef stew are on the menu. The beef stew that Peris has put so much effort into making is so good that it almost makes my cheeks fall off. I can cook it too, but I can't make it taste like this. If I served it in a restaurant, there would be a long line for sure.

Sidney and I tuck into the food, saying how good it tastes. In case you are wondering, Escalina shares half of the food with me and Sidhi. She is as expressionless as ever, but I guess she thinks the food tastes good because she eats it with gusto. Neither of us takes the hood here. In fact, I almost think they forgot they had their hoods on.

The commander-in-chief just stares at the soldiers as they eat, but does not eat himself. I think he might be hungry, but I let it go.

The sun is rising high in the sky. It is a little after thirteen o'clock. The riverbed is full of rough and relatively large stones, but it is just the right size for sitting down. The sound of the river is very pleasant. The weather is beautiful, and I am thinking how nice it would be to take a nap on Sidhi's lap, when suddenly Sidhi opens his mouth.

"I don't want to be here."

It seems she got the message. And am I the only one who thinks that the message was conveyed in some wrong way? I can't help but laugh.

Just then, a leaf flutters down on my head.

This is what I ordered Sadakichi to do. I had given him a telepathic signal to drop a leaf to let me know when Elsmo's army passed the point I had instructed him to pass. It was just in time for my search skill.

I immediately activate my skills. Elsmo's army had stopped marching. I guessed that they had been moving on horseback, but as the path became narrower as the mountains became steeper, they seemed to be regrouping.

The army of 20,000 troops is advancing along a narrow mountain road. If they knew the geography well, they could wait at the top of the mountain and raid the general's headquarters, but this would be difficult to do, since the basic premise of such an attack is to avoid inflicting damage. Agartha's soldiers are equipped with warding stones, so I don't think they would die in a little bit, but Safand's soldiers would probably suffer a little damage.

"Well, let's go."

I urge Sidi and the others to head for the commander-in-chief's office. I didn't want to say much, but I had to, for the sake of the mission.

He was attended by one of his staff members, who had a bird like a pigeon perched on his arm. The man took out a piece of paper tied to the bird's leg and handed it to the Commander-in-Chief. He looked at it with a stern expression on his face.

"Excuse me, sir."

"What?"

Without taking his eyes off the piece of paper in his hand, he opened his mouth. I continued to speak.

"I think it's time to move the army we have deployed on the mountain behind the castle toward the top of the mountain.

"Why?"

"It seems that Elsmo's army is getting closer."

At my words, the commander-in-chief looked up with a start and stared at me.

"How do you know?"

"Well, how should I put it: ......"

The Commander-in-Chief looks alternately at me and at the piece of paper in his hand. Then he squeezed the piece of paper and fell silent as he looked at me.

"Perhaps Elsmo's army will arrive here in about three hours," he said. First, let's get the troops from the back of the mountain up to the top of the mountain to stop the water from flowing into the castle. Then, when the water is stopped, let the soldiers of the Karza castle retreat.

The commander-in-chief looked away from me silently and saw a man standing by his side. The man looked at me as if he knew what was going on, and opened his mouth.

Yes, sir. I will send a message to that effect.

With that, he turned on his heel.

We left the main camp without so much as a word of greeting and returned to where we had just had lunch. There was a commotion in the hills behind the camp. They must be preparing to move out of the camp. Then I noticed that Sidhi was yawning.

"......I'm not busy, am I?"

"I guess you can't say that, can you?　We have to keep an eye on the movements of the NONO forces on the other side of the river. There's no guarantee that they won't sense that the backwoods troops have pulled back and move to attack."

"That's highly unlikely."

A hunch?

"Yes, sir."

Sadie says nothing of the sort. Well, it's true, if I was on NONO's side, I wouldn't move. I've attacked this castle too many times to let it fall. And even if the group in the back has vanished, there are still 10,000 men in the main camp behind it. But seeing the commander-in-chief like that, I can't help but wonder if NONO might have someone like that on his side.

Just when I was wondering what to do, Escalina muttered in a small voice.

"I want to go to the ...... fountain."

"Oh, me too!"

That would be difficult. Right now, the Safan army is on the move. It would be something to follow them.

"...... We could just fly through the air."

"Maybe the spring that feeds the castle is pretty good."

Sidi speaks to me, clenching his fists. No, I know how you feel. .......

The water in the spring is pure. That's why you get the true power of water. ......

Sidi nodded his head in agreement with Escalina's words.

"No, well, I understand how you feel. ....... But the army is on the move right now. When this battle is over, we'll go there. See?"

"...... many men could defile it. I want to get there before they do."

Well, it's certainly a possibility. A lot of men wash their bodies there, maybe even harder. Then the fountain will be polluted. We are going to stop the water flowing out of the fountain. It is possible that the dirt will stay there.

"I don't think so."

Sidi opens his mouth. She nods several times, as if convinced of something.

"I'm sure the soldiers wouldn't do something so reckless," she says. After all, that water will be their drinking water."

"...... understand."

"When we go to that spring, let's go back to the house and take a large container with us."

"Yes. ....... Well, this is a good opportunity. Let's just relax and wait here while we watch the enemy's movements.

At my words, they slowly bowed their heads.