Since their carriage had been riddled with arrows by bandits and hacked up beyond recognition, Gerald and Fanny had no choice but to ride with Riezel in his carriage.
Lizbeth was still the one driving, though she had a tense expression.
She gripped the reins with one hand and held her sword with the other, as if focusing all her attention on guiding the horses, not daring to let her guard down even a little.
It was actually because she had only recently learned how to drive a carriage.
Before she turned seven, she was too young and had wandered around with her grandmother, never once having had the chance to drive a carriage.
After she turned seven, Hendrick brought her into the royal palace, making her a secluded princess, which meant she had even fewer opportunities to practice.
For that reason, it wasn't until Riezel decided to head for Sinielle that Marilyn hastily taught Lizbeth some carriage-driving basics.
However, because the lesson had been rushed, lasting barely half a day, Lizbeth was extra careful and nervous, terrified that, as a complete beginner, she would end up causing an accident.
Gerald and Fanny, unaware of this, exchanged uncertain and strange glances when they saw Lizbeth taking the reins.
"Why does such a pretty elder sister have to drive the carriage...?"
Fanny accidentally muttered her thoughts aloud.
Not bothering to explain his relationship with Lizbeth, Riezel had Fanny and Gerald sit across from him before finally learning why they had ended up so vulnerable in Mavros Territory.
However, upon learning it, Riezel was left speechless.
"You two snuck out?"
Riezel's expression turned rather complicated.
"Yes..." Gerald, sensing Riezel's mood, admitted with a guilty look. "Viscount Elyssir didn't approve of Young Lady Fanny coming to this territory, but she had a reason she couldn't ignore, so I thought I could handle guarding her alone—"
"So, you two hid it from the family and ran off on your own?" Riezel interrupted. "Sadly, once you actually arrived in this place, you realized you underestimated how chaotic it is and how capable the bandits are?"
"Yes..." Gerald's guilt deepened, and he sounded almost shaken. "We were lucky to have met you, Sir Riezel. Otherwise, I can't even begin to imagine what kind of fate awaited the two of us in those bandits' hands."
Fanny, still huddled close to Gerald, had the same shaken look on her face as if the earlier incident had left a lasting trauma.
"How reckless..." Riezel crossed his arms and commented flatly. "So, what's this reason that made you risk so much to come here?"
Thankfully, the answer to this question made some sense.
"I-I'm looking for my younger brother!"
It was as if Fanny had suddenly found her courage as she blurted this out to Riezel.
"Your younger brother?"
Riezel blinked slightly and then glanced at Gerald.
Gerald pressed his lips together, hesitating for a moment before finally letting out a sigh and explaining.
"Actually, the young lady's younger brother was sent to the Mavros family..."
Shortly after saying this, Gerald then explained in more detail, making Riezel gradually understand what was going on.
Apparently, this was simply because of the war between Jinas and Reiburg.
Jinas and Reiburg had been at war for years, but since both were among the most powerful countries on the Akasha Continent, no matter how many times they clashed, neither could truly overpower the other.
Because their military strength was evenly matched, if they kept fighting like this, both sides would end up suffering heavy losses, so even if one emerged victorious, the cost would be devastating.
Understanding this, the royal families and nobles of both Jinas and Reiburg became worried, knowing that even if they won, their national strength would weaken, leaving them vulnerable to the other two great countries on the continent, both waiting for an opportunity, along with the numerous smaller countries eager to exploit any weakness.
As a result, years ago, some high-ranking officials from both sides began suggesting a ceasefire to prevent a scenario where they exhausted each other only for others to reap the benefits.
However, these suggestions were met with strong resistance and opposition.
Why?
Simple.
Reiburg was well known as a war-driven kingdom on the Akasha Continent, as ever since its founding, it had embraced an aggressive military culture, advocating for territorial expansion through warfare and wealth accumulation through conquest.
It was, through and through, a country built on strength.
Such an ideology attracted countless battle-hardened warriors, and as its military power grew stronger, Reiburg successfully annexed many smaller countries. Eventually, it became one of the four great countries on the Akasha Continent, expanding its borders until it reached Jinas.
In this country, both the king and the nobles were ambitious figures who coveted Jinas's vast lands and abundant resources, which was why they declared war on Jinas forty years ago.
In other words, the dominant voices in Reiburg were the pro-war faction, while the advocates for peace were few and weak.
Jinas, on the other hand, was the one being invaded—the one forced into war.
After forty years of war, the accumulated hatred between the two countries was unimaginable.
With this situation, Reiburg's calls for peace were already faint, and Jinas had plenty of people who despised them to the core, so negotiating peace was bound to face overwhelming resistance.
Forget about convincing the enemy—just getting their own people to accept it was already an uphill battle.
However, if both countries kept tearing each other apart, neither would be the last one standing. Instead, the true winners would be the other two great countries lurking in the shadows, along with the many smaller countries eager to feast on the remains.
Because of this, after much deliberation, both sides signed an agreement with several terms, which were as follows:
—Every three years, Jinas and Reiburg shall engage in a war that lasts for three years, and if neither side achieves victory by the end of this period, they must cease the war for another three years before resuming it.
—During this ceasefire period, if a third party intervenes and threatens either country, the other must provide support and jointly repel the foreign threat.
—Violation of this agreement shall result in the offending party being deemed the loser of the war and forced to accept any demands from the victorious side, including but not limited to ceding territory.
According to Gerald, this strange, half-hearted agreement served two main purposes.
One was to prevent foreign countries from interfering and seizing the opportunity to devour them both, while the other was to grant both sides time to recover so they wouldn't burn themselves out completely.
Riezel wasn't sure if this setup made any sense or if it would ever lead to a decisive outcome, but since this was how things were done, he just accepted it without overthinking.
And then, the real problem came.
"For the war that happens once every three years, the kingdom carries out a conscription campaign across all its territories during the ceasefire period. All of the recruits are gathered in Mavros Territory and handed over to the Mavros family, who are in charge of training them."
"In this way, once the war begins after three years, the trainees can immediately be deployed to the battlefield, becoming proper soldiers."
"In order to actively support this conscription, the kingdom has a rule—aside from major nobles like dukes, marquises, and counts, the male members of minor noble families, such as viscounts and barons, must have at least one person participate in the conscription campaign and train in Mavros Territory for three years."
Gerald explained seriously to Riezel.
"Even though the trainees are usually limited to males over the age of fifteen, some nobles, wanting to give their heirs proper training and improve their personal value, sometimes send their children to Mavros Territory at an even younger age."
"Some nobles even see this as a way to boost their child's prestige, and there are also those who send their children here specifically to correct their arrogant and spoiled personalities. Among them, even major nobles are no exception."
"As for actually fighting on the battlefield, that has nothing to do with them."
It was understandable.
No matter what, they couldn't just send underage children to war, right?
For this reason, once the three-year training period was up, if those noble children were still underage, they would be sent back home.
Naturally, the kingdom didn't stop this practice either since it was beneficial for them.
After undergoing military training, these noble children would typically become loyal supporters of the kingdom, patriots who stood firm in defending their nation. Some even awakened astonishing potential, becoming highly skilled swordsmen during this training period.
Given this, wasn't this a much better outcome than letting noble families raise a bunch of arrogant, incompetent brats?
If this could cultivate a generation of nobles who were fiercely loyal to the kingdom, then even without considering their personal abilities, just the influence they had on their families alone—if it ensured these families remained steadfastly loyal—was already a huge contribution.
"I see..."
Riezel nodded in understanding.
He wasn't particularly familiar with this kind of thing since the original Riezel was just a clueless country boy, so it was normal for him not to know about the customs of the kingdom.
At the same time, he also figured out what Fanny meant by 'looking for her younger brother'.
"So, her little brother got sent to Mavros Territory for this training?"
Riezel asked Gerald in a casual tone.
"Yes, the young master was sent here a year ago." Gerald nodded firmly, his expression turning solemn.
Originally, this shouldn't have been such a big deal—at least, not enough for someone as inexperienced as Fanny to sneak out of her house and come all the way to such a dangerous place just to look for him.
Unless—
"Something happened to him?"
Riezel quickly made the connection.
And sure enough—
"We don't really know if we can call it 'something happened' or not..." Gerald hesitated for a moment before continuing. "But for the past year, the young master has been sending letters home every month, but then, three months ago, he suddenly stopped without any warning..."
"Hmm... that doesn't necessarily mean anything happened, right?" Riezel shook his head. "Maybe he just didn't feel like writing anymore, or maybe training's been so exhausting that he hasn't had the energy to send letters."
As Riezel's words resounded, the one refuting him wasn't Gerald but Fanny.
"No! That's impossible!" Fanny's voice was still very soft, but she spoke with absolute certainty. "Finn would never stop sending me a letter!"
Upon hearing this, Riezel reacted to her extremely certain words.
"Who did you just mention? Finn?" Riezel asked, looking at Fanny in surprise.
"Fi-Finn is my younger brother..." Fanny hesitated for a moment but still gathered the courage to speak. "My younger brother's name is Finn Elyssir."
Upon hearing this, Riezel nodded calmly on the surface, but inwardly, he was starting to have doubts.
'Well, well, there's someone here with the same name as you, Captain.'
Thinking of the small-statured yet loving and dignified pallum captain, Riezel suddenly wished he could return to the world of Danmachi.
As Riezel fell into deep thought, Gerald carefully spoke up.
"Viscount Elyssir has five children, born to three different wives."
"Among them, Young Lady Fanny is the eldest daughter, and Young Master Finn is the third son. They're only a year apart and share the same mother, so they have a very close relationship."
"When the young master goes on a long trip, he always sends a letter to the young lady to reassure her, which is why the sudden loss of contact must have made her worry..."
Gerald thoroughly explained the situation to Riezel.
In other words, Fanny believed that the sudden lack of communication from her younger brother was suspicious and that something must have happened, which was why she couldn't help but come looking for him.
However, her father didn't agree because Mavros Territory was in turmoil and dangerous, and he didn't believe his son would be in any danger in such a heavily guarded military region either, so he stopped her from going.
Yet, who would expect that Fanny would sneak away with only Gerald, without any guards or knights, and make her way to Mavros Territory in search of her younger brother?
All of this explained why Fanny and Gerald had arrived in this chaotic territory with just the two of them without any protection.
"Okay... I got your situation now..." Riezel nodded lightly. "Well, since it's on the way anyway, I'll take you two to the nearest city. After that, you can decide what to do."
Upon hearing this, Gerald and Fanny were overjoyed.
"Thank you, Sir Riezel!"
"Th-Thank you!"
Gerald and Fanny quickly bowed to Riezel.
Seeing this, Riezel extended a hand to help them both up.
"Now, it's my turn to ask a question."
Saying this, Riezel glanced at Fanny before turning his gaze to Gerald.
"Please, go ahead. If it's something I know, I'll tell you the truth." Gerald responded seriously.
"Alright..." Riezel smiled slightly. "Do you know—"
Just as Riezel was about to ask the question on his mind, Lizbeth's voice suddenly came from the driver's seat.
"M-Master! Ahead, there are a lot of people!"
Lizbeth's panicked words made Riezel furrow his brows and stop talking.
"People?"
"Are they... bandits?"
Gerald and Fanny immediately tensed up.
Riezel reached out and pulled up the curtains of the carriage window to look outside.
Upon seeing what was ahead, astonishment appeared in Riezel's eyes.