There were only five stone buildings in the camp. One was the Squad Leader's quarters, which now belonged to Leo. One was the kitchen, where Tim Fielding cooked for the nine men stationed at the camp. Another was the storeroom. The road to the watchtower was difficult to travel, so enough supplies and food for the entire squad had to be brought up at once to last a full week. The remaining two buildings housed the squad's soldiers.
Leo stared at the single rough road leading toward Blackport City and asked, "Ignaz, what happens if an enemy attacks along this only road?"
Ignaz looked confused. "Attack from this road? I've never thought about it... The Lookout Squad's job is to guard against threats from the sea. If enemies appear on this path, then Blackport City itself must already have fallen."
Leo was always sinking into a deep sense of unease. Perhaps it had nothing to do with the West Empire, currently the greatest threat to Blackport City, and everything to do with Leo's own state of mind. Nowhere in Blackport City, or anywhere else in this world, could give a man from another world any real sense of safety.
Ignaz continued, "Squad Leader, we know of a steep path that leads down the cliff. You have to use both your hands and feet, and it's extremely difficult to travel, but I suppose it can serve as an escape route. The previous Squad Leader escaped using that path."
Leo immediately went to examine the steep cliff path Ignaz had pointed out, carefully studying the route of escape. Seeing how interested the new Squad Leader was in the path, Ignaz felt an ominous sense of déjà vu. The previous Squad Leader had also been very interested in it.
After committing the cliff route to memory, Leo said, "Let's go. Take me up to the watchtower."
The watchtower looked like a gigantic chimney. Its stone walls were a full meter thick, surrounding a hollow shaft three meters in diameter. There were no stairs inside, only an iron ladder. Leo climbed above while Ignaz followed beneath him.
At the top of the ladder was a hatch that opened upward. Climbing through it brought them into the lookout room. Six stone pillars supported a round roof, while the sides were open to the wind. The cold sea wind swept through the high lookout room, and no matter how many layers one wore, it was difficult to keep out the damp chill.
Three telescopes mounted on stands faced the coast. The two soldiers already on duty upstairs looked puzzled, wondering who this newly arrived officer was.
Leo ignored them and stood in the lookout room, gazing toward the Mist Sea. Blackport County lay to the east of the Mist Sea, the Kingdom of Assyria to the north, and the Reeding Continent, where the West Empire was located, to the southwest.
When Ignaz reached the top, he explained to the two soldiers, "Both of you, pay attention. This is our new Squad Leader, Leo East."
The two saluted Leo's back. The tall, thin soldier who looked like a bamboo pole muttered, "What is the Battalion doing...? I thought Ignaz was going to become Squad Leader..."
Ignaz hurriedly snapped, "Shut up! This is the Battalion's order! We have no right to question it!"
Leo paid no attention to what was happening behind him. He merely glanced at Ignaz. This Deputy Squad Leader clearly held considerable prestige here. If Leo were not going to be transferred away soon, that would probably have given him a headache. As things stood, it did not really matter.
Leo looked out over the vast Mist Sea, lost in thought. Without turning around, he said, "Deputy Squad Leader Ignaz, starting with the next watch, put three men on every shift. Two isn't enough. Add me to the rotation as well. Both you and I will stand watch in the lookout room."
Ignaz asked doubtfully, "Squad Leader, do we really need three people? We'll be exhausted."
"We do," Leo replied simply.
Ignaz had no choice but to agree. He took the change in the watch system as some method the new Squad Leader was using to establish his authority.
After giving his orders, Leo stood quietly in the lookout room. The three men behind him could all sense that their new Squad Leader did not want to be disturbed, so they remained silent.
The rolling waves of the Mist Sea looked so much like the yellow mist in his Soul Sea. The inverted bowl of the sky looked so much like the vault above his Soul Sea. And now he was standing inside a tower again, just as he had during those seventeen years in the Soul Sea.
For a time, Leo sank into memories of the Soul Sea, the spire, and the attic. He stood completely still for a long while.
The 2nd Lookout Squad had gained a strange new Squad Leader.
Previous Squad Leaders never went up to the lookout room to suffer the cold wind, but the new Squad Leader did. Previous Squad Leaders were always boasting about the dazzling entertainments Blackport City had to offer, but the new Squad Leader never spoke except to give orders. Previous Squad Leaders were addicted to rum, but whenever the new Squad Leader was not on watch, he swung a terrifying mace over and over again, constantly honing his combat skills.
The soldiers below had once tried to isolate the new Squad Leader, intending to vent some of their anger on Ignaz's behalf. To their surprise, however, it somehow seemed as though the new Squad Leader had isolated them instead.
Yes. The new Squad Leader, all by himself, had isolated every other soldier.
Leo had been silently counting the days.
The West Empire had invaded Blackport City on October 11 of the Order Calendar. Twenty days later, around October 31, the resupplied West Empire might launch a second attack to consolidate the gains from its invasion.
According to intelligence provided by Caleb, the first-in-line heir to the Count of Farpass, the West Empire intended to occupy the Kingdom of Assyria and turn the Mist Sea into its own inland sea. They would not allow any other naval power to remain on the Mist Sea.
Leo thought of the shipyards south of Blackport City, where two galleys were being built day and night. If Blackport City still had anything worth drawing the West Empire back, it could only be the shipyards along the Loire River.
At noon on October 28, after lunch, the rise in blood sugar left people feeling somewhat drowsy. Leo, Ignaz, and the soldier called Little Locke were taking their shift in the lookout room.
Leo meticulously scanned the distant sea through a telescope. Little Locke, assigned to the same shift as both the Squad Leader and Deputy Squad Leader, felt a certain amount of pressure and did not dare slack off. He also kept his telescope trained on the distance.
Ignaz rolled his stiff neck and rubbed his sleepy eyes. "Squad Leader, we really don't need to be this serious..."
Leo's eye never left the telescope. "Deputy Squad Leader, I suggest you take this seriously. I also suggest you make it clear to every soldier.
"If the 2nd Lookout Squad makes a mistake twice in a row, I believe the Viscount of Chaumont Castle would have no objection to using our nine heads to explain to the Count of Blackport just how seriously and responsibly he performs his duties...
"Even if we haven't actually done anything wrong."
Ignaz could not help swallowing. "All right. I understand."
Ignaz no longer held any hostility toward Leo. He had later gone to the City Defense Battalion to ask around and learned that the new Squad Leader was only a mage officer temporarily seconded from the 4th Infantry Battalion and would soon be transferred away.
Ignaz still had a chance. He only needed to wait until Leo left, and he would still have a chance to become Squad Leader.
Little Locke became somewhat frightened after hearing the new Squad Leader's words.
Suddenly, Leo lifted his head from the telescope pointed northwest and spoke in a low voice.
"Beacon! Light the beacon!"
Ignaz and Little Locke both jumped. After freezing for a moment, they scrambled to light the beacon fire.
Leo pressed himself back to the telescope, eyes wide. Far out on the sea, the twin-lion flag appeared first at the top of a mast. Then came the enormous sails. Then the hull, its sides lined with cannons.
The West Empire fleet had arrived three days earlier than expected...
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