****
Week 7 of the war, day 48.
"Come on, Vanguards. Have a cup of energy drink before heading out."
Battles had been breaking out nonstop, scattered here and there.
Explosions rang out endlessly along the border with the Croisen Empire, with raids coming and going at all hours, leaving both sides utterly exhausted.
Our division was no exception, of course.
I'd even reached the point where I could sleep through the blasts, and just from the sound, I could tell if it was our forces attacking or the enemy's.
"Thank you."
Yet despite the fatigue weighing down the entire army, the Vanguards in our division were bursting with energy.
"It's delicious no matter when I drink it."
The reason was the transparent liquid I was now pouring into cups for each of them from the bottle in my hand.
A liquid that excelled at restoring stamina and relieving fatigue, while also greatly aiding aura recovery.
And what was this liquid?
It was the miraculous panacea, the Elixir, obtained by clearing stage 4 of the Fortuitous Encounter Quest.
'Well, technically, it's diluted Elixir.'
Just one drop in 50 liters of water.
But true to its status as a heavenly treasure, that single drop of Elixir produced tremendous effects.
Thanks to it, our division's Vanguards swept the battlefield without a hint of weariness, steadily racking up achievements and gaining fame across the entire provincial army.
"Then we'll head out on recon."
The unarmed scouting missions carried out by the Vanguards had become completely routine.
Knightly Order Vice-Captain William saluted me before departure.
"Don't push yourselves too hard."
The Vanguards followed behind William, their faces full of enthusiasm as they left the camp.
'Four weeks ago', after I rejected William's offer to support him in the succession struggle, our relationship had seemed a bit strained.
But amid the dragging war and various incidents, it had gradually mended, and now he was showing goodwill toward me again.
The fact that he wasn't making any sudden proposals like last time suggested he was just observing for now, but as a martial artist, he had no fear of others' eyes—which was the problem.
Click.
Once the Vanguards were gone, my adjutant Haman and the other command soldiers nearby eyed the bottle in my hand, but I closed the lid without hesitation.
'I can't just hand out something this precious freely.'
As the grueling siege dragged on, ordinary energy drinks and healing potions from supply couldn't ease the Vanguards' fatigue.
So while seriously considering using stimulants, I remembered the three bottles of Elixir gathering dust in the corner of my inventory.
Stimulants couldn't be ignored for their aftereffects, and while healing potions excelled at treating wounds, they didn't relieve accumulated fatigue.
After agonizing over whether to use it or not, I decided to go ahead, hoping—even if just a little—that the war would end sooner.
The amount of Elixir used so far was about five drops, not even a tenth of one bottle.
But Elixir was priceless; you couldn't buy it no matter how many hundreds of billions you offered.
Even that small amount was equivalent to spending hundreds of billions, so I absolutely couldn't dismiss my investment.
'Oh, my body feels so refreshed!'
I'd passed off the diluted Elixir as a special fatigue recovery tonic from the Arcia family, whose ancestral home was the holy land of Everhill, and the results far exceeded expectations.
Thus, the "God's Droplet," a miraculous fatigue recovery agent, was born among the Vanguards of the Provincial Army's 2nd Corps, 3rd Division.
"Who would've thought Lady Arcia would prove this helpful."
As Haman smacked his lips, I handed him a potion instead.
"We're almost out of the fatigue recovery tonic now. The burden on our Vanguards will only grow from here."
Of course, I could make as much as I wanted, but with more and more people lately prying into the fatigue recovery tonic's production method—due to its impact on the war situation—I brushed it off like this.
'The ingredients are all used up. You can analyze the liquid if you take it, but no more can be made.'
With nothing coming from that angle, the higher-ups just expressed regret.
Well, Earl Otis didn't care either way; he placed great stock in the simple fact that his division was performing well.
"Regiment Commander, the Division Commander is asking for you."
"Again?"
I furrowed my brow at the messenger's report, taking the chance while the Vanguards were out to lounge at the command post and rest.
The reason was that lately, Earl Otis had been summoning me far more frequently.
Seeing my irritated expression, my adjutant Haman grinned and waved it off.
"Doesn't that mean you're trusted that much?"
When a great noble with an earldom calls, you can't refuse, no matter how annoying.
I headed to the rear of the medical train serving as division headquarters.
The rear car doubled as a cargo hold.
As always, Arcia shadowed me like a ghost, followed by two knights.
"Let's head to division HQ."
"Understood."
A driver soldier was already aboard the armored vehicle in the car, waiting for us after prior contact.
Our nine-seater armored vehicle emitted a low hum as it lifted into the air, and with the medical train's outer wall opening, we set off briskly.
Whirr.
It might look like a sci-fi movie scene from Earth, but in Rondel—where magic existed—it wasn't particularly advanced tech.
Just a 3rd Circle Float spell, combined with 2nd Circle Lightening and 1st Circle Wind.
Personally, I thought Rondel's genius lay in popularizing such equipment for widespread use.
They reduced the magicians' burden through automation, boosted efficiency by combining low-circle spells even with the same drive method, and succeeded in lowering costs via mass production.
That allowed artifacts to penetrate even commoners' homes, much like machinery and electronics on Earth.
This magical-industrial revolution had created modern Rondel.
Scree!
Scenes like the medical trains from other families—ours from Lawrence Territory could transport up to 800—lined up in rows were always spectacular.
It only took five minutes to reach Earl Otis's medical train, but Black Eagle spotted me taking off like a ghost, descended from the sky, and landed on the vehicle.
Thud!
"Here, Blackie."
I opened the window, leaned out, and tossed jerky to the Black Eagle.
For reference, Blackie was the guy's name.
Black Eagle felt too impersonal, so I gave him an easy-to-call nickname.
Blackie flapped powerfully and soared high into the sky with the jerky in its beak.
By now, people around were so used to Blackie that they showed no reaction.
"Good work."
Moments later, arriving at the Otis Earl's medical train, I expressed puzzlement seeing vehicles carrying other unit commanders pulling up one after another.
It looked like he'd summoned all the high-ranking commanders in the division.
'If it's battle-related, he could've just notified us by comms...'
Even the other unit commanders I'd grown close to seemed clueless.
Was there some major announcement that couldn't be sent over comms?
"Come on in."
The lavish hall inside the medical train, opulently furnished.
This was Earl Otis's wartime office.
The now-familiar earl, like the guy next door, spread his arms wide to welcome the commanders warmly. The moment I saw his beaming smile, a 'No way?' thought crossed my mind.
Amid the intensifying war, there was only one thing that could elicit that reaction from him.
And as if confirming my guess, the earl picked up a wine bottle from the table and shook it.
"Rejoice, lads. Looks like we won't have to listen to those damn shellings anymore."
"You mean...?"
"Armistice will be declared soon. The foreign ministers of both nations are already making contact."
It was welcome news indeed.
At the earl's words, the commanders all let out sighs of relief.
"Guess the Croisen bastards never intended a full-scale war to begin with."
The current situation was evenly matched, but it was hard to call it a true all-out war.
No matter how strong Reinharts Kingdom's national power was, facing the Croisen Empire charging at full strength would be impossible.
If it escalated to total war, not just our kingdom but allied nations would join, potentially expanding into a continental war.
In the end, this war was just a large-scale local conflict, no different from the annual events.
"Those guys are insane. Why the hell do something like this...?"
"Obvious, isn't it? To bolster imperial authority."
Politicians think alike wherever you go.
Why, hadn't the neighboring countries of the Korea from my past life done the same?
Stirring up inter-nation tension over trifles, using the media to fan anti-Korean sentiment and divert eyes outward.
Same as my past life; bad luck with neighbors in this one too.
The commanders gave bitter smiles at the earl's assessment.
But that faded quickly as the realization that the war was ending relaxed everyone's faces.
"What about the Vanguards we've deployed?"
At my question, the earl personally poured wine into a glass and handed it over.
"Until the armistice is official, we'll keep playing this war game."
War game...
A truly noble way of putting it.
Not right when you think of the dead, but a metaphor anyone would nod to inwardly.
In the end, it's always the underlings who die by the decisions of those above.
No different on Earth, right?
"Come on, Adrian Regiment Commander. Relax that face."
Snapping to at Earl Otis's words, I quickly smoothed my expression into an awkward smile.
He pointed at the golden medal pinned to my chest.
"Your Golden Lion Medal is war spoils too, isn't it? Once the war ends like this, the scraps you'll get won't be insignificant, so enjoy the moment."
A convenient mindset in many ways.
But he wasn't wrong.
I'd gained too much from this war to nitpick the injustices.
'Yeah, since when was I such a good guy?'
I clinked glasses with the earl, thinking more of my future than the war's victims.
The war ending meant returning to the family.
'I need to level up even harder.'
Six weeks had passed since achieving 6th Circle right before the war began.
My current level was 199.
It had taken longer due to irregular login times, but I was now just one level away from my first goal of 200.
Achieving level 200 and completing the Fortuitous Encounter Quest would mean a new 7th Circle archmage for the kingdom.