"…Where did you obtain this information, and how can you be certain of its authenticity?"
"I am only telling you what I know and understand. Whether you believe it is up to you."
"But this is internal information of the Ursus military…"
"Rhodes Island, as a neutral organization operating between nations, naturally has its own channels of intelligence."
"…"
"You see, even when I present the version of Duke Kashchey you wish to believe in, you remain doubtful. Yet if I condemn his atrocities, you would try to find evidence to refute me."
"…"
"The traitor who betrayed the Forest Ranger may still be alive, but I can tell you with certainty that your other target, the Ursus officer who destroyed your homeland, is indeed dead. After Ursus's defeat in the eastern campaign, he should have escaped judgment during the purge, yet for some reason, he was executed."
___
No matter how much the Black Snake delayed or persuaded the emperor to spend time "educating" the local populace, there was a limit to how long things could be dragged out.
The ambitious emperor of Ursus had already run out of patience.
News from the eastern front filled the aging emperor with a growing sense of unease.
As a result, he issued a firm order to Duke Kashchey, demanding a swift resolution to the Kazimierz situation.
A deadline was set. If the matter could not be settled in time, Kashchey would be reassigned to the eastern front to relieve pressure on the Ursus army group stationed there.
And the Black Snake, at least in name, was still a duke of Ursus.
So long as the emperor did not attempt to interfere with his domain, scheme against his life, or tarnish his reputation, he would not defy imperial orders.
After all, Ursus ultimately belonged to its emperor, not to the Black Snake.
Nor had the Black Snake ever desired to rule a nation directly.
The burden would be far too great.
And so, after some time, the ever-deliberate Kashchey led his army out of Kazimierz, completely unscathed.
The Black Snake intended to preserve Ursus's strength.
To it, a stronger Ursus was never a problem.
No symbiotic being resents its host growing stronger, unless that host intends to cast it out.
But years of relentless warfare had already intensified internal conflicts within Ursus and steadily drained its national power.
The Black Snake was not like the old Ursus nobility or the military, who had been intoxicated by the spoils of war.
It had lived far too long, seen far too much.
It had witnessed countless wars.
What Ursus needed now was time to recover.
___
Outside the forest settlement, the Ursus Shieldguards stood in formation, while the war casters raised their staves.
They were preparing to withdraw.
During the Ursus army's occupation, the Kazimierz knightly orders had launched multiple large-scale assaults.
All had been repelled.
With Kashchey's enhancements, Kazimierz lances were as ineffective as toothpicks against the Ursus forces.
Their charges left no mark upon the Shieldguards' massive shields.
Meanwhile, under the protection of those shields, Ursus casters unleashed spells empowered by Kashchey's scepter, easily tearing through the formations of the Silverlance Pegasi and shattering the knights' armor.
Yet they never pursued a decisive victory.
Because their commander forbade it.
'Duke Kashchey must have his reasons.'
The Ursus soldiers watched idly as the local villagers struggled with their heavy farm work.
Some soldiers, bored and guided by subtle hints from the duke, even stepped in to help, venting the excess energy granted by Kashchey's "enhancements."
Still, they did not speak with the locals.
As soldiers of Ursus, they held immense pride in their nation and looked down upon what they saw as backward natives.
And though the villagers received help from these Ursus soldiers, fear kept them at a distance from the "invaders."
In the end, the one who interacted most with the Ursus forces was the Elafia girl.
The villagers gathered together, their expressions conflicted as they watched the Ursus army.
They looked at the Phidia officer standing at the front, his back to them, his demeanor as arrogant as ever.
Over time, their attitude toward these invaders had slowly changed.
From fear, to numbness, to reluctant familiarity.
Sometimes, they even found bitter comfort in the thought that, at the very least, these Ursus invaders did not demand the heavy taxes imposed by their noble knights.
"…"
The Elafia girl gazed at the aloof Phidia officer, her emotions tangled.
She recalled the words Kashchey had spoken the day before.
This Phidia officer… judging by the respectful way the Ursus soldiers addressed him, he might even be a duke.
Yesterday, when this Duke Kashchey announced the withdrawal in the square, the villagers—who had only just grown accustomed to the situation—and the pardoned Forest Ranger members forced into labor alike were thrown into panic.
At the beginning, the duke had refrained from harming them under the pretext of "educating" the locals and allowing them to gradually integrate into the Ursus Empire.
But if the army was leaving…
Kashchey could not possibly leave behind a portion of his troops. That would be no different from sending them to their deaths.
Without the enhancement granted by Kashchey and his scepter, they would have no chance against the forces active on the Ursus–Kazimierz front. The Silverlance Pegasi, led by Kirill Nearl, were not to be taken lightly.
So before departing, would they destroy everything here?
The Elafia girl did not know. The villagers did not know. Even the Ursus soldiers themselves could not guess what their commander—the Eternal Duke who had once left behind terrifying legends in the now-fallen Gaul—was truly thinking.
Ursus soldiers only needed to obey orders.
___
"Haha, little one, you are quite bold… Do you think my patience has no limits?"
"Still, I am willing to answer your doubts. I have always believed that communication is the foundation of mutual understanding, and the basis upon which peaceful evolution can occur."
"It is true that I possess the power to destroy your homeland. But what of it?"
"If one cannot have something, must it be destroyed?"
"While it is true that within Ursus there are those even more stubborn and archaic than this old man, meaningless slaughter only breeds hatred and perpetuates the cycle of war."
"And I do not enjoy seeing life wasted without purpose."