It has been two months since Cultidian has holed up inside its castle and Germion Kingdom's Sivara the Ripper Knight surrounded them. They have been saving up their food, so there was still plenty of food left to go. They also had their walls, so their siege weapons were still in good condition. Also, due to the faith of the people, they were still willing to fight. In fact, the people believed in the teachings of Kushain and in Saint Mira so much that they wouldn't mind becoming soldiers themselves.
Sivara knew that, so he immediately gave up on the idea of forcing their way through. King Ashtal had informed him in private that Cultidian would belong to him the moment it fell. Sivara hated needless blood shed, so even if Cultidian did capitulate immediately, he wouldn't persecute the Kushain believers.
"Young master! The ballistae are ready," said an old instructor whom Sivara had brought here from the region.
Sivara nodded with a wry smile. "Good. But let's wait for a while."
"Haa?"
As Sivara said that, he wielded his bow with one hand and rode his hipparion toward the castle walls.
"Y-Young master! It's dangerous!"
The old instructor chased after him in a panic, but then Sivara spoke in a loud voice.
"I am Sivara Bandier! Pass this to her holiness!"
Sivara pulled on the bowstring that had been tightened by three people [1] and shot his arrow above the castle walls. The arrow cut the wind as it fell and pierced the castle walls.
"Sivara!? Isn't that the enemy supreme commander!?"
"Is he the real thing?"
The arrow had pierced the upper part of the castle walls, which was near the commander in charge. The situation was chaotic, but the commander in charge ordered to shoot at Sivara anyway, and a volley of arrows rained from the castle walls, only for Sivara to calmly turn heel and go back to his camp.
"Young master! You can't be so reckless!"
Sivara wryly smiled as he listened to his old tutor's sermon. Eventually, the old tutor realized something and asked him a question.
"What message did you send them?" The old tutor asked.
Sivara wryly smiled upon seeing how good the old tutor's eyes were. "I asked her holiness to surrender."
"Ohh! As expected of you, young master, it seems you have grown quite a bit. And here I thought for sure you were just playing around."
"Please. Even I can think properly from time to time."
"If only your father could've seen this, he would've surely, surely! ...Now, then! Please give the order to shoot the ballistae!"
One moment shedding tears, the next moment full of vitality as the old tutor petitioned him to give the order to shoot.
"About that... Let's wait a bit more," Sivara said with a yawn as he listened to the old tutor's scolding and felt the wind passing through the meadows.
It was the commander nearby who found Sivara's arrow. He was quite shaken by the power behind that arrow, which was enough to make it stick into the stone wall. As frightened as he was, however, he still left the walls to his aide and took the letter attached to the arrow to Mira.
Although he wasn't doing this because he wished to obey Sivara's orders, he still brought it to Saint Mira.
Mira was in the middle of a war conical at the time, but she gave him permission to report.
