Editing Tales of Leo Attiel:Volume2 Chapter2 (section)

===Part 3===


An event occurred that same evening.

Kuon was called into the chambers that Camus and Sarah were sharing in the inn they were all staying at, and also found Percy there. The inn was high-class, so the sleeping area was separate from the living room, which had a fireplace installed.

They chatted for a while. Camus was still unhappy with the atmosphere in Tiwana, where the prevalent mood was one of reconciliation with Allion, and his irritation only seemed to be increasing.

“What’s with those brainlessly optimistic nobles we met with? Even though they were once trembling with fear at the thought that Allion might be arriving any day, or even today. The saying about ‘danger past, God forgotten’ fits the people of this country perfectly.”

“Who wants to listen to the same complaints every day? Say, Percy, could you please refer me for work somewhere? I want to earn to pay for a room of my own. Even working as a maid at the palace would be fine. Oh, actually, how about just hiring me to work at your house?”

Although Sarah, his younger sister, was pretending thoughtless optimism, her heart was by no means as calm as her outer appearance suggested. After all, she was a woman who would open fire in the street for a friend’s sake. She could not possibly be indifferent to the predicament the temple was currently facing.

Kuon, for his part, was squatting motionlessly in a corner of the living room. Relentless as the boy was, if they took their eyes off of him, he might go running back to the battlefront.

Finally, the last to turn up was the very person who had called them all there – Leo Attiel. 

According to what was being said, the prince was in very low spirits after having received a sharp rebuke from his sovereign and father, so Percy had thought that – ''the prince has no choice but to stay quiet for a while''. So he had been surprised to receive these sudden summons from him. He was wondering what he wanted to talk about, but after exchanging greetings, Leo precipitously dove straight into the matter.

“I want to convert to the Cross Faith,” he announced.

Those words came as a complete surprise to everyone in the room.

“Ah,” Camus sounded overcome with emotion. Leo had already been the only one in Atall advocating reorganising the military, and now that he was turning to belief in the Cross Faith, Camus could feel that this prince was truly, truly, a kindred spirit. Or no – he wondered as his excitement flared up – was their meeting not perhaps ordained by God?

Listening carefully, however, it became clear that the purpose of Leo’s conversion was to soften the anti-Atall feelings in Allion and was absolutely not because he wished to entrust himself to divine guidance.

Camus closed his eyes, crossed his brawny arms, and stayed silent.

He had pledged to dedicate himself to God’s teachings for the rest of his life and until his body rotted, no, even after death, his soul would be consecrated to the Heavens, so to hear that Leo intended to use those beliefs for political reasons left him fiercely angry. But also, 

''So after all, the prince is also someone who is just scared of Allion’s might and who can only cower and lower his tail before a powerful country'' – disappointment grazed his heart.

Disconnected from Camus’ emotions, Leo continued to explain,

“I want the baptism to be made a big event, so as to communicate my religious conversion to Allion, and to advertise the fact that this isn’t just a stopgap measure. For example, rather than just making do with some public spot within the palace or the town, I would first have a chapel built according to the traditions of the Cross Faith, and hold the ceremony there. I’ve already petitioned Father for it and received his approval.”

Although Percy was surprised that Leo had already talked to Sovereign-Prince Magrid about it, what he actually expressed surprise about was something else,

“Oh. You are going to have a chapel built in Atall?”

Leo nodded.

“To be exact, a church with a chapel sanctum. Or would a large-scale building be called a cathedral?”

“Oh,” Percy exclaimed again, then glanced towards Camus. His expression immediately turned a little complicated; he did not know what the other was thinking, but Camus was a man whose expressions were easy to read. He was probably pondering the fact that although it was irritating to have his god’s teachings be used like this, having a base for proselytising in Atall would not be a bad idea...

“Will you build the church here in Tiwana? If you do, but… how long would the construction take?”

“First, I’ll have them quickly complete a chapel suitable for baptism. We can expand it later, so something simple will be enough for now. I intend to hold the baptism within a month.”

“A month?”

“Also, the church won’t be built in Tiwana. I suggested to Father that Sir Savan Roux’s territory would be a good place, and Father gave his permission.”

Catching on to the prince’s intentions, Percy lifted his eyebrows a little.

To be sure, there were high-quality quarries in Savan’s territory, ideal for materials needed to construct a church. Thinking about the time and labour needed to transport the quarried stone, it would be preferable to build as close to the source as possible – that was probably how Leo had convinced the sovereign-prince.

''Are you thinking not only of holding a baptism and softening the feeling in Allion, but also of drawing closer to Sir Savan?''

“Between purchasing stone from his territory and inviting a large number of people to take part in the building work, Sir Savan’s purse is certain to benefit. Nor will Sir Darren, who is aiming for the quarry, be able to do anything to interfere.”

Percy was extremely impressed. And at the same time, he was glad.

''The prince really is far from ordinary. He’s thought of ways to try and break out from the current conditions.''

This proved that Percy’s own judgement had definitely not been wrong. If he could rescue Savan from his plight, he would surely earn his trust. And he would be killing two birds with one stone by chipping away at the hostility within Allion. And then, once he had brought one of the vassal lords over to his side, what did the prince intend to do afterwards?

Percy felt like a teacher watching over as a good student easily found the right answer, and he was looking forward to what would come next. 

“Indeed, Darren’s movements will also be blocked… In due time.”  Leo’s words were loaded with unexpressed meaning. “At the start, I intend to hide both my conversion and the building of the church and move forward with them secretly. Which means that when Darren sees large quantities of stone suddenly being cut from the quarry he is aiming for, he’ll panic. If Savan’s reading of the situation is correct – if Darren really is sending marauders because he wants to take over the quarry – then he won’t be able to leave things alone.”

“In other words, you will be deliberately luring Sir Darren’s soldiers to the quarry?”

“Exactly,” Leo nodded as though a student he was teaching had given a correct answer. Their positions seemed to have been reversed.

Percy’s eyes went round.

“A-And then what will you do?”

“Defeat them,” Leo declared decisively.

While Camus opened his eyes wide, and Kuon and Sarah’s eyes were transfixed, Percy spoke almost without realising it.

“W-Wait, Your Highness. Why do that? C-Certainly, Sir Darren’s actions are unworthy of a retainer to the sovereign-prince’s House, but this would inevitably cause you to make enemies within the country, and…”

“It would be terrible to make enemies. I’m doing this to get allies,” Leo’s response was concise. “Right now, I basically have neither allies nor troops at my disposal. So I’m doing this to get both.”

“T-Then, when you have allies and troops, what do you intend to do next?”

Leo closed his mouth. Rather than looking as though he was hard pressed to answer, it looked as though he was carefully choosing what his next words should be. It was only after Kuon had time to cough once to clear his throat that Leo completed what he was saying.

“My aim is to fight Allion.”



Everyone was speechless.

''Fight?''

In that moment, Percy almost smiled.

There were two reasons for that.

The first was that hadn’t he just said that he was converting to the Cross Faith in order to “soften the hostility within Allion”? Yet now, completely incongruously, he was talking about “fighting”.

The second reason was simply because the word “fight” did not fit Leo Attiel. In both his facial features and his build, he was just like a girl. He was still only seventeen, and he had not experienced his first campaign. As Leo himself had just said, he had neither allies nor soldiers to lead.

Yet even so, he had said that he was going to fight. Moreover, on top of saying that he was going to “deliberately lure Darren’s marauding soldiers and defeat them,” he had also announced that this was first and foremost no more than a way to get hold of allies and troops, with which he would someday attack Allion. This tiny prince, against an opponent that Atall and Shazarn had not been able to compete with even when they had joined forces...

It was no wonder that Percy almost burst into involuntary laughter.

When Leo had appealed for the army to be reorganised, although Percy had found the prince childishly idealistic and still unable to discern the realities of the situation, he had also felt that to be endearing. Being childish also meant looking towards the future as only youth could, and that was something that the leading Atallese nobles and vassal-lords that he had observed did not have.

''As the prince grows older, as he climbs the stairs of reality one by one, his ideals will surely turn into a stone weight. It will become hard to climb upwards while still holding that weight, his heartbeat will become erratic, and, in the end, he might even toss them away completely. And they will naturally scatter as they fall. Yet even so, he might also grit his teeth until they bleed, and keep clutching at one last part of his current ideals.''

Might not Leo Attiel become a prince worthy of playing a role in Atall’s future? Percy held that expectation, and with it, he hoped that he and the prince would be able to walk forward together. But in his mind, that was very much a story for the future.

''His childish ideals are like a balloon that has blown to the limit, and they’ll burst spectacularly when they confront reality. What can I say to get him to stop?''

“You may laugh.”

Because of Leo’s words, Percy suddenly realised something. 

Lord Leo gave him an enigmatic look, just like a young girl would to a member of the opposite sex.

“But before that, maybe I should correct one thing I said. It’s not Allion that I’ll be fighting – it’s Hayden Swift.”

“Hayden Swift?”

Although he repeated the words, it did not sound as though Percy was simply parroting them. 

Surpassing sympathy or disappointment, Percy felt intense irritation towards the prince. He felt like he knew someone very similar: his own past self, who had so blindly believed that he could become hero, without a single thing to support that conviction.

Just then –

“…May I say something, Prince?” The one who spoke was Sarah. “Visiting the residences of the aristocrats was probably part of your plan, right? Won’t you tell us what it is that Lord Leo is thinking about, including his future intentions?”

Her tone was calm and her judgement composed.

Percy felt embarrassed at how his blood had heated and gone coursing through him. At the same time – ''I see…'' The reason why Leo Attiel had invited them all and deliberately talked to them about this was because he was looking for their cooperation. It was only now that Percy realised something so entirely obvious.

They still did not know each other well. The number of times they had met face-to-face were few enough to be easy to count. Yet Leo had spoken to them of thoughts that he should normally have kept to himself, including the one about ‘defeating an ally’s soldiers’. Thinking about it, the prince was crossing a very dangerous bridge; whatever it was he was planning on doing, Leo did not have anyone to rely on other than themselves.

''Has he been counting on us?''

Although Leo’s plan was bold, after all, Percy and the others had also been plenty foolish and bold when they had seriously set about overturning their situation by attacking Allion’s headquarters. Thinking back on how, when he was at the temple, Percy had vowed to himself to ''at least strike a blow against Allion'', he felt that he ought to at least listen to the end to what Leo had to say. 



At Sarah’s prompting, Leo started to speak. And from that moment onwards, Percy Leegan experienced a series of surprises.

First, Leo explained how Hayden had mocked him at the banquet, and ominously declared that “Atall’s peace will not for much longer”, which had led to Leo making his own declaration of war in return. Percy unwittingly opened his eyes wide.

“My goodness,” Sarah exclaimed involuntarily, but her reason for doing so was completely different from the men’s concerns. “So it was because you were afraid of Hayden snatching Lady Florrie away that you abruptly announced your engagement, Prince? Without checking Lady Florrie’s wishes? I feel so sorry for her!”

“Be quiet, Sarah,” said Camus. Not in his usual weary tone, but with a sharpness that resembled the spear he wielded.

Although Leo blinked at Sarah’s unexpected attack, he resumed his explanation at Camus’ urging. Judging from his experiences while in Allion and from Hayden’s words, Leo was practically convinced that Hayden was the one pulling the strings of the war on the temple.

His conviction was not founded on any tangible evidence, but Percy found it easy to believe. When they had been about to attack the enemy headquarters only to be captured instead by General Anglatt, he had, through the what the general was saying, had the constant impression that there was something strange about this war. 

Although Allion was the one who insisted that Bishop Rogress had “uttered curses against the royal family” and who had sent its army, the number of troops dispatched was insufficient to surround the mountain. Hayden, the commanding officer, had also planned to kill the prince, even though Leo only had a very tenuous relationship with the temple. Moreover, when he learned that the prince had escaped with Florrie, Hayden had promptly abandoned command of the war, and had uprooted the soldiers from the headquarters to go and hunt in the mountains.

If that series of moves by Allion had in fact been made according to Hayden’s wishes, if the reason behind the war lay in one person’s feelings, then no matter how incomprehensible it all was, that baffling, inefficient, ostentatious military campaign was certainly easier to understand.

Camus spoke up again.

“Hayden is the kind of man who could take the initiative to try and conquer the temple even though he had visited it as a mediator. I wouldn’t put it past him to be thinking of destroying Atall.” He nodded with conviction. 

Lord Leo looked at each of them in turn as he continued,

“However, even if our opponent is Hayden alone, he has the ‘power’ to move a considerable number of troops. But Atall on the other hand? Even with the country on the brink of crisis, the vassal-lords won’t fall in step with the sovereign-prince. You all saw that, right? Once an obvious threat is gone from sight, they immediately go back to acting like they can lazily doze off in peace. Even though the beast that was just driven off is actually hiding in the nearby bushes, and sharpening its claws and probably still aiming for their throat.”

Leo was no doubt talking about the nobles and vassal-lords that he had gone visiting. What had become apparent to the prince was exactly what Camus had pointed out.

“Given that only the nobility holds the right to command troops here, Atall is fragile. I knew of course what everyone wanted to say back then: ‘you need to try and convince them more skilfully.’ Even I’m not that stupid. I might have obtained better reactions if I had chosen my words or my manner better. But that wouldn’t have been any good. If people didn’t at least share my anxiety before I went to talk to them, then I did not think that they would align themselves with me afterwards either. But, as you also all realised, I couldn’t get even half the response I was hoping for. What do you think it means?”

Percy’s position was once again like having a teacher ask him to answer to a subject under discussion, but this time, he could not carelessly speak up.

“No matter how much you, Prince, try to warn people of the threat posed by Allion and Hayden, as things currently stand, no one will listen,” Camus replied in his place. “In which case, Conscon Temple will soon go up in flames, and Atall will eventually share the same fate.”

''Ridiculous'', thought Percy. Setting aside the matter of the temple, the talk related to Atall was probably no more than the prince’s mistaken assumption. Surely this was just Camus exaggerating the danger to Atall in the hopes of getting a firm promise of aid to the temple?

Yet despite his impatience, for some reason, Percy couldn’t say anything. Every time he tried to speak up, his throat seemed to constrict as though to prevent from uttering a sound.

Oblivious to Percy’s fretfulness, Leo continued,

“…And that’s why.”

“That’s why?” Camus asked, as though lured in. He had half-risen from where he sat.

“And that’s why, first of all, I will fight. I will fight and defend the country. After having defended it, I need to change it.”

The words almost made Percy feel dizzy. When the floor shook with a dull thud in the next moment, he wondered if getting vertigo due to excessive shock, but actually, it was Camus’ fist which had slammed against the boards.

“You’ll fight. Fight and fight. That’s what you’re saying, right Prince?”

“I’ve been saying it for a while now, warrior monk.”

“Wrong! Up until a moment ago, what you were saying was as unreliable as a dream. But now, I see it clearly: you are a warrior, Lord Leo. Even though you haven’t struck down enemy soldiers at spearpoint, you are more of a warrior than anyone, here in Atall!”

His eyes were shining, and his eyebrows were bristling even more than usual.

“It’s good that you confided in us. It was undoubtedly God’s will that we met in the mountains of Allion. With you, the temple… No, you are one who is protected by God’s love!”

''Hold it'', Percy tried to hold Camus in check. Yet even though he was driven by a sense of urgency so strong it was enough to make him break out into a sweat, his throat still remained clogged up and his voice could not escape from it.

''Dammit!'' What was wrong with him? Why wasn’t he able to utter a single word to stop these two?

The looks that Lord Leo and Camus were exchanging were feverish. Dangerously ardent. Leo’s heated thoughts about melting the country’s very framework, and Camus’ fervent resolve to protect his divine doctrine even if it meant taking on the most formidable of enemies – the two were mingling into a vortex that might burn away Percy and Atall at any moment.

''These two are young. Or rather, they’re too childish. The prince provoked Hayden even though he has neither power nor support. And it doesn’t even need to be said that Camus thinks it’s fine to die for his god. And it’s all well and good for him to die by himself, but he can’t be allowed to involve the rest of us. If I leave these two unchecked, they’ll put Atall in danger. They’re more of a ‘threat’ than the one from Allion that they’re talking about.''

''I have to stop them. Right, as the oldest one here, scolding children is my duty…''

“Lord Leo.”

The constriction in his throat finally wore off and Percy called out Leo’s name more prudently than he had ever addressed him up until now.

“To fight… yeah, your intention to fight is splendid. And I certainly can’t say it’s impossible that Hayden will march his troops against us in the future. But taking on an impossible fight can lead to death, even for the recklessly brave like Camus here.”

“How can you say that Percy? Those who aren’t prepared to die cannot survive war!”

Camus shouted angrily, but Sarah stopped him with a quiet wave of her hand. It was a reversal of the siblings’ usual roles. Percy continued, without paying them any attention,

“Winning is essential. Or at the very least, hoping that you will win. You are saying that you won’t wait for Hayden’s invasion, but will start the fight deliberately and of your own accord – do you believe you can fight and win?”

While ostensibly, he was directing that question to Leo, inwardly, he was asking himself, 

''Is this what I wanted to say? Didn’t I want to stop the two of them?'

Percy’s eyes were open as far as they would go and were staring intently at the prince, as though to not miss a single thing he did. Percy himself did not notice that those eyes of his were also radiating a certain kind of heat.

There was a long pause.

“Of course.”

For as long as he lived, Percy would never fully forget that moment in which Leo gave a single nod.

“I’ll say it as many times as I have to. If I don’t win this fight, Atall will fall.”