The Empire assembled an expeditionary force of thirty thousand strong.
Or perhaps I should say they hired them. Not a single soldier from the Demon Lord's army would be dispatched this time. I intended to wage this war purely and exclusively with mercenaries.
Mercenaries tend to have a cheaper, lower-quality image compared to citizen militia. The reality is the exact opposite. In this day and age, most citizens are farmers. As anyone who's eaten well knows, farmers who tend their fields year-round are naturally outclassed by mercenaries who make fighting their livelihood.
However... mercenaries are expensive.
Ridiculously expensive.
It varies by country, but on average, a foot soldier receives a yearly salary of a whopping 500 gold. Not 50 gold. 500 gold. This is an extremely important detail, so I'll emphasize it twice.
In other words, if you field just a thousand mercenaries composed entirely of foot soldiers... that's a staggering 500,000 gold in annual hiring costs! Hire ten thousand and 5 million gold pours out. At that point, you're not waging war with soldiers—you're waging war with money.
For reference, cavalry are far more expensive than infantry.
Simply think of it as double the cost and you'll have the right idea.
Now then, let's do some calculations.
For this war, I wanted to hire 20,000 infantry and 7,000 cavalry. 500 gold per infantryman, 1,000 gold per cavalryman. That's 20,000 × 500 gold, plus 7,000 × 1,000 gold.
In conclusion, I would need to pay 17 million gold per year to the mercenary force.
"That's excessively expensive."
Lapis said curtly.
I consulted Lapis on how to handle this enormous sum. Ivar, the specialist economist, was around, but she was busy organizing the assets seized from the Grand Dukes. I felt too awkward to ask her for advice, so I called for Lapis instead.
"Well, the amount we squeezed out of the Grand Dukes comes to 90 million, so we can certainly afford it..."
"Those are funds Lord Dantalion will need to operate the Empire going forward. If we can save, it's best to save as much as possible."
Lapis coolly flicked her abacus.
"Based on my calculations, we can reduce costs by up to 300 gold per infantryman."
"Huh? How so?"
"Hire a large number of Helvetica mercenaries."
I tilted my head.
"The Helvetica ones are the most expensive mercenaries out there."
Helvetica was a confederation of demi-human races.
To escape persecution by humans, elves and dwarves had retreated into the mountain ranges. They settled there and began making a living by specializing in exporting mercenary bands, until the nation itself had essentially become one massive mercenary corporation.
Dwarves were born craftsmen with extraordinary strength, and elves were natural-born hunters. Helvetica mercenaries were called the finest in the business, thanks to their superior combat prowess, high morale, and above all, their loyalty to their employers.
Lapis narrowed her eyes and looked my way.
"You really are completely ignorant when it comes to money, Lord Dantalion. Is your brain wired differently from ordinary people? You're astonishingly brilliant in certain fields, yet inexplicably subpar when it comes to economics."
"……."
Lapis was probably the only person in the entire world who would call me an idiot……
I pursed my lips.
"Fine, I'm an idiot. But what kind of magic trick lets you get away with three hundred gold?"
"Because the Grand Dukes were purged as an example, the Helvetica Confederation voluntarily submitted itself to the Empire, didn't it? They're afraid that Lord Dantalion might purge them as well."
Ah, I clapped my hands together. I hadn't thought of that.
"All we have to do is demand that they prove their loyalty!"
"Of course, if we simply refuse to pay wages altogether, they'll push back. But there's no issue with hiring them at a reasonably low price."
"That's where the three hundred gold comes in……"
Lapis nodded.
"I've done the research. In the Habsburg Empire and among the Teutonic forces, infantry are hired for around five hundred gold. In the Kingdom of Castilla, it ranges from four hundred and fifty to four hundred and seventy-five gold. In Batavia, the standard rate for hiring is three hundred gold."
"Huh?"
Mercenaries were particularly cheap in Batavia.
When I sent a questioning look her way, Lapis responded immediately.
"It's because the method of paying wages differs. In Batavia, wages are paid in cash once every ten days. On the other hand, in other nations, it's overwhelmingly common for wages to go unpaid for three months, or even over half a year."
"I see. It's a matter of trust……"
I understood.
Since Batavia was a wealthy nation, it paid wages on time without fail. A trust had been formed: "If you work, you will be properly rewarded." In contrast, in other nations, even if you risked your life in battle, there was a real danger of never receiving your pay.
Naturally, mercenaries would prefer to be employed by Batavia. That was why they could recruit mercenaries at a much cheaper price.
"In other words, 300 gold is the minimum wage that can be accepted as an exception."
Lapis's blue eyes glinted.
"While Dantalion does not possess the trust that the Batavia Republic has built up over the years, you instead have the right to demand proof of loyalty. The Helvetica Confederation would find that perfectly acceptable as well."
"Good!"
I shouted in high spirits.
"Lapis, go settle this once and for all with the leaders of the Helvetica Confederation! I'll hand over the Emperor's seal, so feel free to wield it however you see fit."
"I will carry out your orders."
Lapis was appointed the following day as the Habsburg Emperor's plenipotentiary representative. She was dispatched to the Helvetica Confederation and closed every single contract in just one week.
I don't know the precise details of how she did it, but Lapis actually managed to hire infantry at 300 gold and cavalry at 600 gold!
That alone would have been enough reason to shout bravo. But that wasn't all.
Just how terrifyingly had Lapis threatened them — the leaders of the Confederation were so thoroughly cowed that they promised to cover the wages for two thousand cavalry on their own! I now only had to pay the salaries of five thousand out of seven thousand cavalrymen.
As a result, Lapis had succeeded in reducing what could have been seventeen million gold in war expenses down to nine million gold. She had effectively cut the budget in half!
Yes. I had no choice but to humbly admit it.
Compared to Lapis, I was a firefly under the moonlight, a brat reciting poetry in front of Baudelaire, an apprentice wizard demonstrating dark magic in front of Barbatos. In Lapis's eyes, I must have looked like a fool who nearly threw eight million gold into thin air. Lapis Lazuli, Lapis Lazuli of Lapis Lazuli, the Succubus of the Blue Stone—praise her!
"Lapis! You're the best!"
The moment Lapis returned from Helvetica, I ran outside barefoot and threw my arms around her. And when I say barefoot, that wasn't a figure of speech—I was literally barefoot. I'd been in the middle of having sex with Gamigin, so I wasn't wearing any shoes.
"Oh my, I really picked a fine prime minister! Don't need anything else. Lapis, you're the absolute best!"
Lapis responded flatly, still wrapped in my embrace.
"...Lord Dantalion. This is the Imperial Palace, where protocol is of the utmost importance."
"I *am* the Empire, so why shouldn't I ignore a little protocol?"
"The maids are watching. It's embarrassing."
She said it in a completely deadpan tone, without a shred of embarrassment on her face.
I was about to go ahead and hoist her onto my back to take a lap around the palace, but I gave up when Lapis looked at me with those rotten eyes—as though she were staring at a piece of garbage. That gaze alone made me realize why the leaders of Helvetica had been so terrified. Lapis was a scary kid...
"You went all the way to Helvetica and back—you must be tired, hm? Want some cool wine?"
"I used teleportation magic both ways. There's no travel fatigue."
"Then... right! Want me to rub your shoulders? You'd be surprised—Barbatos once praised me, told me I should quit the whole Demon Lord thing and become a massage therapist instead."
"I'm fine. And that wasn't praise—it was sarcasm, Lord Dantalion."
Lapis had just saved me a cool eight million gold, and I was so proud of her I wanted to do anything for her.
Then I suddenly felt someone's gaze on me.
I turned around, and for reasons I couldn't fathom, Daisy was glaring at me with narrowed eyes. It was the kind of look you'd give someone who had just witnessed something the human mind was never meant to see.
I wiped every trace of expression from my face and tilted my head.
"What are you looking at? You seem like you've got something you want to say."
"……No."
Daisy spoke with an expression that was barely holding back a sigh.
"Shall I bring some wine from the warehouse, Father?"
"It's truly a relief that at least that much wit is stored in your skull. If you hadn't said that, I might have started wondering whether what's attached to you is a cranium or a carrying basket. What are you waiting for? Hurry up and go."
Then I turned my head and put on a warm smile for Lapis.
"Oh, come to think of it, I forgot to give you your vacation days, Lapis. How about it? Want to take a nice long break after over five years without a day off? I built a mansion in Niflheim — I'll lend it to you as a summer house."
"……Sigh."
I heard Daisy exhale a sigh behind me.
That kid is a gloomy little thing about everything. She probably just had a sudden epiphany about life's absurdities. Whether she despaired over the unfairness of it all or not made no difference to me, so I paid her no mind.
Having saved a great deal on the budget thanks to Lapis's performance, I cheerfully gave the order to march.
Total forces: 27,000.
Commander-in-chief: Laura de Farnese. The strongest mercenaries, led by the strongest general.
"Consul, the Imperial Army has set out."
Kurz Schleiermacher entered the office and delivered the report. Elisabeth sipped on a vinegar-laced drink and asked.
"Later than I expected. Their numbers?"
"Roughly estimated between 20,000 and 40,000."
Elisabeth frowned.
"The margin of error is far too wide. Twenty thousand and forty thousand are worlds apart, General Schleiermacher."
"My apologies. We've dispatched as many scouts as we could, so we should be able to pin down a more precise figure… There's also a separate reason why estimating their forces is proving difficult."
"A reason?"
Kurz nodded.
"The Crescent Alliance Army has not mobilized. Barbatos hasn't moved, and neither have the forces under her command. Your Excellency, it appears the Empire plans to wage this war using mercenaries alone."
"Hmm…"
"We still don't know the reason why. No matter how useful mercenaries may be, they can't possibly compare to the army of demons."
Once Kurz finished speaking, Elizabeth fell into a long silence. She drained the last of her vinegar water, and even after the glass was empty, she held it against her lips for a while, lost in thought.
"…I see. It's to win the favor of other nations. Kurz. Dantalion is concerned about his diplomatic reputation."
"His diplomatic reputation?"
Elizabeth swept her silver hair back behind her ear.
"He's not mobilizing his own citizens for this war, deploying nothing but mercenaries. This isn't a full-scale war between the Habsburg Empire and the Kingdom of Sardinia. It's merely a duel between nobles staking their honor and fortunes against each other… That's the impression he wants to plant."
Kurz went "Hmm" and stroked the tip of his chin.
"Then you're saying Dantalion poured a staggering amount of funding into mercenaries purely to cultivate a certain image for others to see. Will that actually be effective?"
"Think about what the justification for this war is. It's to protect the noble honor of Laura de Farnese. If the Emperor personally hires mercenaries to fight, it creates the appearance of upholding that honor without imposing sacrifices on his people. It remains, above all, an honorable duel…"
Elizabeth let out a sigh.
"The justification doesn't remain mere rhetoric — it's backed up by actual action. The Habsburg Empire's cause will only grow stronger. On top of that, there's the additional effect of preemptively preventing criticism in international diplomacy."
"Criticism in international diplomacy," she repeated.
Her expression darkened.
"If he had deployed the Demon Lord's army, it would have been possible to frame this war as an invasion by those forces. The Kingdom of Sardinia would have had a justification of its own. He shut that possibility down from the very start… He truly is thorough in every last detail."
"But we, too, have made every preparation, Your Excellency."
"Yes."
Elizabeth rose from her seat.
"It's our turn to make a move, Kurz. Have the troops stationed at the border. The wait won't be long, I imagine."
"Yes. I receive your orders, Your Excellency the Consul."