Gacha Kingdom Building

---This chapter is written using Licia's POV---

After successfully capturing the first village, we encountered a dilemma.

Due to the size of this army, if we stayed too long in such a small village, we would risk running out of our supplies, and the village itself wouldn't be able to resupply us.

As such, we decided to set camp for only one night, and then, march towards the next objective.

This way, if the battle was as tough and long as we predicted, we could return to this place if necessary.

Claire: "Oh... Look what I found here."

Licia: "Hmm? If you're up already... Does that mean my turn is over?"

Claire: "Yep. Aren't you happy?"

Licia: "Eh... I was actually having fun. A few guys came this way looking for a spot to pee. I kept glaring at them, and they left in a panic."

It was pretty funny to see grown men so embarrassed.

Claire: "Pfft. Don't do that!"

I ended up getting scolded by our knight, though...

But it was fine!

I'm sure they found another spot...

Licia: "So... How is she doing?"

I was sitting on a tree log, a little distracted, and then Claire, standing behind me, came closer and casually sat by my side.

As is often the case, there was almost no distance between us, and she even used my shoulders to rest her head on.

It felt nice, but it was also practical since it allowed us to talk freely without worrying about being too loud.

Claire: "...She's strong. I doubt she'll break."

Licia: "I know... But..."

It was lovely to hear Claire praise Mia like this.

It's something she'd never do to her face, but at the same time, the fact they have a rivalry already shows how much they recognize each other's strength, or at least, that's how I see it.

But yeah, this wasn't really a matter of combat strength.

Mia is younger than me, but she has so much on her shoulders already.

The hopes of her entire tribe and her trauma.

And now... She's facing the target of her revenge...

Licia: "But she waited for two years..."

I don't blame Miwen for this.

I agree that focusing on Isabella first was the right choice, even if that meant making Mia wait.

And it is also true that he was not sitting idly.

It was thanks to his efforts that she now leads the surviving members of her tribe.

I've seen how many nights he spent reading and researching, calculating and creating plans for the future.

If we can be on the offensive on two fronts now, it's only because of him.

Yet...

I can only imagine how hard it must've been for the girl who, after coming closer than ever to her objective, had to wait for years without taking any meaningful steps towards it.

Especially since I know how much she already struggled with her own perceived powerlessness and shortcomings...

Claire: "Hmph. Don't worry, with me here, this will be over in a cinch. She won't get the chance to break. I'm more worried about you not paying attention to yourself."

Licia: "Hmm? But I'm fine..."

Claire: "Right... Just take care of yourself, okay?"

Licia: "...Or you could take care of me?"

Claire: "Tempting. But I'm in serious mode for this campaign. So... As your superior, I'm ordering you to go to sleep."

Ohh...

That was reassuring. From what I heard, admittedly from her, Claire has participated in and won many conflicts before being summoned to the Kingdom.

She's as good a commander as she's a fighter...

And so, following my self-appointed commander's orders, I went inside the tent to enjoy the few hours of rest I had before our next big battle.

When the next day came, I was woken by the enthusiastic sounds of our little wolf questioning my knight about not being woken up during the night to stand watch.

Claire was pretending to be upset about it, but she secretly showed me a smile that revealed how proud she was about the success of our plan.

After that, it was time for us to move and leave the camp behind.

The journey took a few hours, but before the sun reached its peak, our next target came into view.

A proper castle, this time.

Fully prepared for invaders, with a moat and their stone towers and walls.

A magic dome protected it, and judging by the number of enemies we could see, it was being fully garrisoned.

Gullard: "Listen! I want the mages to focus on supporting and protecting the frontline. We will-"

Gullard was giving out his orders and preparing his men for the assault.

At the same time, I noticed Claire walking forward without batting an eye at them.

Licia: "...Where are you going?"

Claire: "Hm? Where else?"

...She pointed at the castle.

Licia: "Didn't you say you would take things seriously? I thought you would start acting like you did in your past life..."

Claire: "Yes? That's precisely what I'll do."

We had already walked far enough that the gap between us and the army was obvious.

I became self-conscious under the men's stare, but was distracted when I heard Mia running to catch up.

Claire: "Back then, this is how I led my people. Always ahead of them. The first to meet the enemy. An example of our strength... May my wrath turn to fire. May my power break their will."

A chant made up in the spot... Something that should definitely not work under normal circumstances, and yet...

Her sword, drawn from her scabbard, was cloaked in powerful flames.

The enemy responded to our advance by sending a volley of arrows.

It was hardly all they could do to stop us, but...

They misjudged the danger they were in. Of course, they had no way of knowing, but they had just made a huge mistake.

Not wanting to get in Claire's way, instead of erecting an ice barrier around us, I focused on each arrowhead as they came flying towards us.

I'll admit, it was trickier than I expected to be precise due to the quantity and speed of the projectiles, however, I still managed to cast ice cubes around all of them, increasing their weight quite a bit and making them drop to the ground before having the chance to reach us.

Claire: "Ohh? What a show-off!"

Licia: "I don't wanna hear that from you..."

With her flame swords in her hands, Claire brandished her sword twice.

Both launched forward fire slashes. The first one met a second volley of arrows, but completely burned them down before crashing against and destroying their magic barrier.

However... This was not enough to stop it.

The slash kept going, melting brick and stone, cutting them and causing the tower to fall against the castle.

A similar story happened to her second slash, but her attack was far from over.

Seeing the two towers fall, a devilish smile was painted all over her face, and the flames from her swords started to jump higher than ever.

The heat became unbearable, so I cloaked Mia and myself in a thin ice aura.

The third brandish of her sword and the strike that followed, surprisingly, weren't as powerful as I expected.

Initially, as they burned down the castle's gate and the surrounding wall, the flames felt like they were just a little weaker than before...

That impression only lasted until the flames reached the castle's center, where they exploded, launching fireballs in every direction.

She then pointed her sword to the sky before lowering it against and prompting the men to charge forward against the overwhelmed enemy.

Claire: "So? What do you think?"

Mia: "I think you could be more careful."

A few of the fireballs went as far as to reach us...

It was impressive and scary, however, my biggest fear was...

Licia: "I think Gullard is going to kill us..."

The ensuing battle was not as long as we had expected.

Claire's attack had caused a lot of chaos, and although hundreds of men were defending the castle, they were easy prey for our army, which managed to surround and either capture or kill all of them.

After that... Things got a little messy.

Claire's actions, while welcome to any army, put Gullard in a tough position.

She was gaining a lot of favor from Terith's army, and since they already disliked Gullard, he could not avoid scolding us to save face and maintain his authority.

No matter how invincible she claims to be, we can't have the army count on her for every battle, and we need them to obey Gullard...

But on a brighter note, thanks to her, we were faster than expected, and Gullard decided to rebuild and turn this castle into our base for the time being.

Hamperlon's main army has been spotted not far away from here, and their king is with them, meaning we could aim for a decisive victory if we hit the right timing.

And better yet, we were given a room for ourselves.

Licia: "Mia! Come here!"

Mia: "...Why?"

Licia: "So I can wash your hair?"

Mia: "Right..."

The time dilation prevented us from entering the Kingdom to take a bath, and since there was only one place we could do it in the castle, we had no choice but to share it.

We had already taken baths together back when Miwen decided to have everyone pair up for them, so this wasn't anything unusual for us.

However...

Licia: "So fluffy... I really love your hair..."

Mia: "...You always say that."

Licia: "Because it's true?"

Every strand feels so nice to touch and they are so smooth... It's a shame she doesn't seem to care too much about it.

Mia: "Hm... You're quite used to this, huh?"

Licia: "Yes. I used to take care of my sister, remember? I loved washing, brushing, and braiding her hair..."

Hers wasn't as great as Mia's, but taking care of her was so important to me, and in times like this...

Licia: "I would hug her tight... And even though she couldn't speak, I felt like I could understand her."

Claire: "..."

Mia: "...I'm sorry."

Oh... The words left my mouth before I realized it...

Licia: "It's fine, it's all in the past. It's just that... When I look at you two, being so rowdy and energetic... I can't help it, you know? Thinking about how much I wanted her to leave the bed and be a normal girl... But uh... I'm sorry if I'm a little overbearing sometimes. I just can't help it..."

Mia: "...I don't think you are... No... Even if you are, I appreciate it."

I wanted to use this opportunity to grow closer to Mia. To offer her my support and to make her know she could count on me as much as needed.

I had several ideas on how to do that, but who would've guessed that opening up my heart this way would work... Haha...

I kept taking care of her hair, massaging her scalp, removing knots, working the shampoo...

I also did the same to Claire, and then, I had both leave so I could take care of mine.

Claire protested a little, but the truth is, I needed a few minutes alone after what Mia said.

Those words... When I thought of picturing my sister in her place... They shook me to my core.

If I left the bath with them... They would probably see a side of me I wanted to hide.

After the bath, we stayed up a little while waiting for bedtime.

Claire was playing Isabella's game under the excuse of looking for information, even though we were already well past the game events.

At the same time, Mia was reading one of the magazines she's interested in.

I thought the day would end just like that, with nothing major happening, but...

Mia: "...I'm sorry, Licia."

Licia: "...About what?"

I had insisted that we share the same bed since I wanted to keep Mia close.

And a little after we went to sleep, I heard those words...

Mia: "I know about how you're trying to help Miwen become a better person. And here I am, doing the opposite. But I... I'll make it up to you. To both of you. I swear... When this is all over... Whatever you want..."

Licia: "Is that so? Then..."

Mia: "W-W-What are you doing... Mn..."

She was lying between Claire and me, facing Claire's back.

Seeing her being so cute and defenseless like this, I took the opportunity to sneak a hug.

Licia: "You said I could do whatever I wanted..."

Mia: "I said after! You two and that pervert... You are made for each other!"

Licia: "Thanks!"

Mia: "It wasn't a compliment."

...After a little bit, she stopped resisting and accepted my embrace.

Licia: "...You are a good girl, Mia."

Mia: "You don't know that..."

Licia: "I told you, right? When we are close like this, I can understand."

Mia: "I thought that was about your sister..."

Licia: "Yes, but... Perhaps it works with anyone who is hurt?"

I felt her hand slowly approach mine.

For a second, I thought she would remove them...

Instead, she grabbed them and held tight.

Mia: "...I was always alone, the only one I had was my mother, and after she died... I... Didn't want to continue living. But... You and Miwen... The love and care you have shown me... I'll never forget it. That's why... Even though now it's too late, I share your wish. I know this is not the person he wants to be. And I hate myself for forcing him into this path... But... He's the person I trust the most... I couldn't leave it in someone else's hands."

Licia: "...You are giving him too much credit. He wouldn't do this if he didn't want to. You know that. This is a personal revenge for him too..."

Mia: "I know... I'm just glad to have met you. And that I can trust you."

It wasn't how I expected it to go, but...

Licia: "I'm here for you. So... Don't bottle up anything, okay?"

Mia: "Yes..."

I had finally gotten what I wanted.

Stubborn as she was, I knew she wanted this more than anything else.

Without Miwen around... I had to become someone she could depend on.

That's what he counted on me for, and that's what I was happy to do.