Editing Tales of Leo Attiel:Volume3 Chapter1 (section)

===Part 2===


“I might as well meet Lord Leo,” had said Stark, but in actual fact, it wasn’t until a month later that they came face to face. In the meantime, the creation of the ‘personal guards’ that he had suggested was given the go ahead.

Since it had been authorised by the ruler, Magrid, neither the nobles nor the vassal-lords could object, and they had to fork out money and men, just as Leo himself had once badgered them to do.

Percy, an Atallese noble, and Kuon, a mercenary, both of whom had been following Leo and whose positions were close to those of vassals, were also formally integrated into the unit.

''The second son of the House of Leegan is being a fool'' – Kuon was one thing, since he was a rootless drifter, but there was a lot of malicious gossiping about Percy. ''He’s letting himself be dragged along at the prince’s whim. That’s no way to get on in life.''

The rumours weren’t necessarily wrong, either. Leo certainly seemed to be engrossed in military affairs, but what were the odds that Atall would plunge into more foreign campaigns from now on? Even though these were war-torn times, there was no territory that this tiny country could hope to aim for, sandwiched as it was between the two great powers that were Allion and Dytiann.

In other words, there was very little chance that Leo would perform any spectacular feats from here on. And unlike the Royal Guards, which conferred considerable status even if one had no distinguished war records, this newly-established ‘personal guard’ had neither history nor prestige.

Percy himself did not find it unnatural that there were rumours about his ''having bad luck''. Naturally, his family was against the whole thing. His father repeatedly suggested different courses for Percy’s future, but he eventually gave up once he realised that his son was firmly determined.

His mother was more persistent than his father.

“What does Lord Gimlé think about it?” she asked bluntly.

Gimlé Gloucester, one of the vassal-lords, was the father of Percy’s fiancée, Liana. Speaking of Gimlé, when the request for reinforcements had reached Tiwana from Conscon Temple, he had made it very clear that he was against sending them any help, stating that “it has nothing to do with us.” Consequently, when he later learned that the sovereign-prince had one-sidedly decided to send soldiers to the temple, Gimlé had visited Tiwana for the express purpose of voicing his strong criticism of his ruler.

Percy had been among those reinforcements.

On top of that, Gimlé did not seem at all happy about the whole chain of events that had led to Lord Leo driving back Allion’s army.

“How is this heroic? It only on the surface that things miraculously ended well; in fact, he’s sown huge seeds of discontent in Allion. And also in Dytiann, which had its troops annihilated,” this time as well, he forthrightly criticised the princely house.

When at that point, Percy joined Lord Leo’s personal guards, Gimlé was quite naturally not going to hold any positive emotions towards his daughter’s fiancé. And in all truth, Percy’s own feelings grew complicated whenever he thought of Liana.

''I get where my parents are coming from'', he sometimes thought. ''At the moment, I’m like a child who is delirious from fever. I can’t calm down. There are just too many things going on. So I should plant my feet back on the ground for a while, and reconsider again after cooling my head for a bit.''

It would be fine for him to become an assistant to his older brother, who would one day be head of the family. Enlisting in the prestigious Royal Guards would also be good. As would be receiving a subsidiary castle from Lord Gimlé and going to live there with Liana.

But when all those possible paths leading to bright, golden futures were confronted with the thought that ''I will walk alongside Lord Leo'', they immediately faded into colourlessness, cracked, and were crushed and scattered into a thousand tiny pieces.

There were certainly no mapped-out paths to where travelling with Lord Leo would take him. There would be chaos. There would be ups and downs. Perhaps his future itself would be shortened as a result. And that was why Percy thought it was ''interesting.''

Compared to burying himself in a predictable future, it would be far more interesting to walk towards an unknown one, following a path that was shrouded in darkness so thick that he could not see even a single step ahead, and in which Leo Attiel was the only guiding light.

The young Percy’s heart swayed time and again but, in the end, and to the very last, that one thought did not change. Taking several dozen retainers of the Leegan family with him – most of whom had fought alongside him at Conscon Temple – as a gift, he enlisted into the personal guard.

A ceremony was held on the day of the guards’ inauguration. Several hundred soldiers, led by Leo, who was clad in brand-new armour, marched in a parade into Tiwana Palace. Leo stopped before Magrid, who was sitting on the throne in the audience chamber, removed his helmet, and placed it at his feet, while behind him, all of the soldiers knelt in unison.

Magrid rose from the throne and stepped forward. Leo knelt before him and took hold of a precious sword, inlaid with gold ornamentation, the tip of which he pressed against his own chest. Magrid placed his hand on the hilt. Leo did not move. ''If my life displeases my lord, please push this blade forward and end it'', was the declaration being made.

Instead of thrusting the sword into his son’s heart, Magrid stooped and kissed the hilt. After which, he once more took hold of sword and returned it to the scabbard at Leo’s waist. The meaning of those actions was ''I am entrusting you with a part of the power I hold as sovereign.''

The nobles and high-ranking commanders who had gathered in the audience hall in their ceremonial clothes all clapped. With that, the Personal Guards were formally instated. – Though this became something of an object of mockery in Tiwana Palace.

First of all, although Leo Attiel wore golden armour which covered him from tip to toe, it did not suit his slender silhouette. Nor was it just an outward impression: it actually wasn’t fitted to his size. Normally, the helmet and armour should have been especially made to order for Leo, but he himself had turned down the idea, saying that “It’s only a formality. I don’t want too much being spent.”

Instead, as there were any number of old sets of ceremonial armour lying unused in the treasury, he had chosen suitable pieces from among them, but since there had been no rehearsals before the ceremony, all sorts of flaws were discovered right before the actual performance. The torso was a little tight, whereas around the waist and from his ankles down, it was too loose, and cloth had to be stuffed into the chinks. Because of that, however, Leo’s gait as he walked was a little strange. Every time he took a step forward, the helmet noticeably jiggled up and down, and it comically looked as though it would go flying off at any moment.

Nor was it just Leo: the soldiers also attracted ridicule. Since they were a mish-mashed unit which had been hastily cobbled together, they marched without any kind of coordination, and on top of that, some of them had been mere farmers or merchants until just very recently. It was their first time setting foot inside the palace, so all of their attention was taken by wondering at the interior and at the crowds of people, which led to them accidentally and repeatedly kicking whoever was in front of them, prompting those around them to want to laugh.

“Oh my, truly a gathering of mighty warriors.” Sarcastic comments flew.

And while everyone laughed, it felt somehow as though they were returning to their senses after having seen an illusion. When they had first heard of how Leo had defeated Allion, it had been like something out of a heroic tableau, but now he was before them in the flesh and in armour, accompanied by soldiers who were obviously amateurs.

''It seems that just as the rumours said, there must have actually been very little fighting.''

''Maybe it’s true that Allion retreated when they realised that Atall was taking part and that Dytiann was prepared to intervene.''

They lost interest.

Stark Barsley was also within the crowd. Once the inauguration ceremony had ended, he headed for the antechamber which Leo had withdrawn to. Just as he was about to offer his greetings –

“Oh! Lord Stark. It’s been a long time,” flushed and sweaty, and having just removed his armour, Leo sat up.

They had no seen each other since he had been sent to Allion as a hostage. For a while, they exchanged stories about when Leo was young.

“Ah, but Your Highness is no longer the little master from back then. Your Highness Leo, once again, many congratulations on both your recent military exploits and on the inauguration of your Personal Guards.”

“Thank you very much.”

“Well then, now that you have soldiers of your own, what does our gallant Lord Leo intend to do next?” Stark broached the main topic on a joking tone. “Will you be delivering the finishing blow to Allion? Or will you be seizing Shazarn, now that rumours say the country is in turmoil?”

“Hmm, indeed. First of all…”

“First of all?”

“I’ll start with building work.”

“Building work?”

As the startled Stark watched, Leo finished changing his clothes and started to leave the antechamber.

''Well, we can continue to talk while eating somewhere'', thought Stark, as he hurriedly chased after Leo.

“W-Where are you heading, Your Highness?”

“To Guinbar.”

''What?''

“There are a number of building works that need to be done. Sir Stark, thank you for going out of your way to be here today. Let’s arrange an opportunity to talk together at leisure at some point.”

Leo left the palace with the soldiers who had just taken part in the ceremony and Stark was left reeling from surprise.
The ‘building work’ that Leo had mentioned was the construction of barracks to house the hastily established Personal Guards. The first thing to do was to have them built in the two castle towns of Tiwana and Guinbar. While lodging there, they would be assigned tasks such as undergoing military training, acting as guards, going on patrols and so on. In one go, they had essentially become professional soldiers.

Up until then, every time there was a war, Atall would hire mercenaries, call up militias, or have the various noble Houses send a few dozen of their retainers. Aristocrats who held lands had to call up soldiers from the villages and fortresses dotted around their domains, which created problems in terms of coordination and mobility in an emergency. Leo had long observed the problem, which was why he intended to have his soldiers live in groups throughout the castle towns, and have them perform daily combat training with their units, in an attempt to develop a mobilisation system that was close to Allion’s in terms of skill and efficiency.

It was clear that Leo hoped to one day extend the system throughout all of Atall, and that he intended to first test it out by using his Personal Guards. This would, of course, cost money. Which was why Leo had pleaded with the vassal-lords, and also why Stark had suggested to the sovereign-prince that they be asked to contribute, so as not to overburden the national treasury.

Most of the nobles forked out the money, albeit unwillingly, as I mentioned earlier. There were some, however, who flatly refused to do so.

These were Darren Actica and Oswell Taholin.

“They’ve rejected the hero’s request again…” with just that, their reputation plummeted in their home areas. Yet when the order to contribute had come from the sovereign-prince, they responded with the same plausible excuses that they had used to reject Leo’s plea – “We would very much like to cooperate, but the financial situation in our domains is regrettably strained. We will take part later, when we have a bit more surplus.”

After the ceremony, Leo behaved himself. He went back and forth several times between Tiwana, the capital, and Guinbar, Savan Roux’s territory. He inspected the construction of the barracks in both towns, kept an eye on how building-work was progressing on the church at Guinbar, and personally went to observe the soldiers as they trained until the sweat was pouring off of them.

Stark would occasionally accompany him. Leo naturally had his own thoughts about this elderly retiree who was suddenly drawing close to him, but he never openly said a thing.

“You’ve come again?” he greeted him. “The elderly seem to have plenty of time on their hands. I would love to hear about your experiences and learn from them, Sir Stark. But please keep them to a length that won’t bore the young.”

Their relationship had even turned into one which allowed him to make those kinds of jokes. And yet –

He really isn’t very good at shortening the distance with people. Stark inwardly appraised him. ''Maybe it’s because this comes after seeing His Highness Roy. It shows in stark contrast how poor he is at socialising.''

Leo did not only travel between Tiwana and Guinbar: very soon after his Personal Guards were instated, he had gone once to Conscon Temple. He had wanted to see how it was doing after Bishop Rogress’ death and now that it was working to rebuild. At the same time, he had gone to see Camus, the warrior monk who had fought against Allion alongside him, and Camus’ little sister, Sarah.

“It is good to see you in good health, Your Highness.”

Camus had been promoted to being an aide to the temple’s bishop. There didn’t, however, seem to be any particular difference in his appearance, including in the clothes he wore. He still wore chainmail under his monastic robes, and grasped a spear in his hand.

When he heard that Leo had been assigned a personal guard, his eyes sparkled.

“Just what I’d expect of you, Your Highness. You are steadily progressing towards your goal. Well then – I will of course also be joining your troops, right?” he said as if to confirm it.

Leo gave a low hum as he gravelly shook his head.

“You’re now a person of importance at the temple. Rather than having me involve you in the trivial, worldly matters, don’t you think it would be better for both you yourself and for the temple if you concentrated on its reconstruction, and put all your energy into supporting the new bishop?”

“W-What are you saying? Of course I will give my all to rebuilding the temple and assisting the bishop, but I am not the sort of man who would begrudge offering my life for you, Prince. If we’re talking about the temple’s future, then I believe that we must implement the ideals that you once talked about so as to demonstrate our military might to our surroundings, and to build up our influence. For that, I, Camus, am willing to face death as many times as I need to, and I am ready to have my bones crushed in order to repay you the debt we owe you.”

“Actually, my big brother finds it boring to be secluded in the temple,” shrugged Sarah, who was standing next to him. “Now that he’s become such a great man, he leaves all his holy duties to others, and spends his entire time training with his spear. There isn’t a single day when you don’t see steam rising from his muscles. Honestly, given that he jabs at them so much, just how many times a day do the gates of Heaven open? A thousand times? Or maybe ten thousand?”

“W-W-Who is it that you’re saying neglects their holy duties? Even though now that Bishop Rogress has passed away, everyone here has carved his last wishes into their heart, and is pushing forward every day… Sarah, you might be my little sister, but you’ve gone too far.”

“Yeah, yeah. Now that you’ve become so great, you’ve also become even more pompous than before. Lord Leo, whether it’s to the battlefield or to certain death, please take my brother wherever you feel like. It will be refreshing not to have him around hurting my ears.”

The prince laughed to see that the two of them were the same as ever.

“I was joking, Camus. What kind of Personal Guards would they even be if you weren’t part of them? You’ve also got your work at the temple, so I’m sure it’s going to be tough on you, but I’ll be counting on you from here on as well.”

Relieved to hear those words, Camus finally cheered up again. He looked as though he might seize his spear at any moment to go and thrust it somewhere a thousand or ten thousand times to release the fiery energy that had been accumulating inside him, which earned him his sister’s heartfelt disgust.

Still, Leo’s goals were not confined to observation and meeting his friends again, and he had brought part of his Personal Guards with him. As part of their duties, they would be stationed at the temple and in the outskirts of Guinbar, to allow them to feel the tension of being somewhere where actual combat had taken place.

Nothing actually happened afterwards though, and the hereditary retainers, the vassal-lords and others simply saw it as “the prince is playing around with his new toy.”

Having observed Leo from close up, Stark was not as quick as the other nobles to draw that conclusion. With his ever-present relaxed expression, he took the tea that Sarah held out to him.

“Oh my, it was well worth leaving the countryside to be offered tea by such a beautiful nun,” his face broke into a smile as he accepted the cup.

It was on that occasion that news reached Atall about Allion and Dytiann, the two countries which lay east and west of it, which were also the two powerhouses whose antagonism had come to head during the battle around Conscon Temple. There had apparently been a number of letters and messengers going back and forth between them, but this time, they had arrived at the point at which a meeting would be held between representatives of both countries. Moreover, those attending would not be nobodies.

For this reason, they would not be meeting in either of their two lands, and it was said that wished to hold the conference in a place halfway between them, in Tiwana, the capital of the Principality of Atall, a country which was also connected to this issue.

And lastly, both Allion and Dytiann had nominated Leo Attiel as a witness to the meeting.