episode_0123

“Is that so? I really want to know the reason. If you don’t mind, I’d like to ask you to explain.”

I slowly nodded my head in response to Shika’s words.

“It’s simple. Because soldiers are needed there.”

“… … I don’t mean to be rude, but it just sounds like you’re repeating the obvious.”

There is nothing wrong with what Shika said.

To be honest, I don’t really know why.

The good news was that Amin, who I mentioned earlier, brought a map.

“Amin. Could I borrow a map?”

“Yes? … … Here it is.”

Amin did not hide his doubts on his face, but handed me the map with an uneasy expression.

As I spread it out on the table –

“… … .”

Serpina and Jenna, who had been sitting there, came towards us.

It seemed like they also wanted to know what I had to say.

Just because they were moving, several people who participated in the opinion proposal meeting were visibly shaken.

“Please check the map here.”

Taking advantage of everyone’s concentration, I quickly checked the map.

Amir Castle.

An ordinary territory with a river and mountain ranges, located in a remote area at the far end of the east.

Deploying troops here is the right answer – if a rebellion breaks out, this is not the place.

Yes, rebellion.

If deploying troops to the rear area is the right answer, the only answer is rebellion.

If there is an opinion that ‘troops should be deployed in the capital’, it is highly probable that the northern continent is not completely under control.

But the problem is-

“Do you think there will be trouble around here?”

Serpina, who had not said a single word, pointed to a castle with her finger and spoke.

That place was Hyser Castle, which was located closest to Amir Castle.

but.

That is not the correct answer.

“Not really.”

If there is a rebellion in Hyser Castle –

Before I could say anything, Serpina opened her mouth first and said what I wanted to say.

“Well, assuming a rebellion breaks out around here, it would be an efficient choice to deploy troops here rather than here.”

The place Serpina pointed to was Chorel Castle, located at the bottom left of Hyser Castle.

Stationing troops in a castle where a rebellion is taking place is dangerous. Because there was a high possibility that the troops would join the rebels.

In that case, the best way is to place a shelter nearby in advance, but in many ways it is more reasonable to place it in the nearby Chorel Castle rather than the farther away Amir Castle.

So, it is not a ‘rebellion’.

“Then maybe… … .”

This time it was Jenna who spoke to me.

As she slightly tilted her head, her brown hair fluttered lightly.

“Are you worried that a group of thieves will appear nearby?”

To the upper right of Amir Castle, there was a colony spread out over mountainous terrain.

The lower the public sentiment, the more common it was for the territory’s residents to turn into thieves and attack the castle.

But in the end, this is the same logic as before.

“It’s not like that either.”

Jenna stared at my face.

It seemed like she was roughly anticipating what I was going to say.

“If a group of thieves breaks out in this colony, there is a high possibility that they will attack Herder Castle, which is located directly above, rather than Amir Castle. The defense level is lower there, there are far fewer troops, and it is decisively closer.”

“… … It certainly is. If so, I have no choice but to ask.”

Jenna looked straight into my eyes.

“Why on earth do we need to station troops in Amir Castle?”

It is not a rebellion or a group of bandits.

Nevertheless, deploying troops to the rear rather than the border is the most efficient method.

“… … .”

I looked at the map and sighed softly.

Then, he shamelessly put on the most relaxed expression on his face and desperately looked at the map.

‘what? ‘What’s left?’

Why is keeping troops here the right answer?

As long as the brain with 100 intelligence predicted it, it is correct. This is no longer a matter of doubt.

In that case, there was a situation that could only be prevented by having troops here.

It’s not an internal rebellion.

It’s not like a group of bandits in a nearby community.

Other than that, the only terrain worth looking at around the castle is that there is a large river flowing in front.

‘… … huh?’

River stream… … ?

Just in case, I checked to see how far the river connected.

The great river crosses the mountain range and winds its way into the central part of the continent.

The map that Amin brought is depicted only up to this point.

There was no choice because the map itself was drawn mainly on the northern continent, where the territory of Serpina County was marked.

“Hey, Swen? Answer… … .”

“Yes? No, wait a minute. Think about it… … .”

I heard a voice from Jenna, so I reflexively responded, but… …

It seems that Serpina covered Jenna’s mouth first.

Because her pure white hand was crossing Jenna’s chest.

anyway.

Even if the map was broken, I was confident I could picture what was out there.

I played this game for 10,000 hours. Maps of the same shape dozens or hundreds of times. No, I literally kept putting it into my optic nerves over a thousand times.

When you play the game, basically only the map is visible on the screen. So, whether you like it or not, you have no choice but to memorize it.

‘Calm down.’

I picked up the brush and drew the cut out part of the map in my head.

The river… … It winds between mountain ranges and flows to the east of the central part of the continent.

Eventually, after arriving at the eastern end… … Nearby, there is only one castle.

What kind of castle is that?

‘There is a Zeta castle. surely.’

Zeta Castle.

It was the fourth castle in Aethus County, which was the capital of Alefel County and is now part of Aethus County.

An isolated castle located in the upper right corner of Walharat Castle and the lower right corner of Zellstrom Castle.

The territory of Ayers County consisted of a total of four castles.

The capital city of Valharat, Jellstrom above, Rakhline on the left, and finally Zeta on the right.

“… … !!!”

And only then did I feel like I had some idea of what this prediction meant.

‘Ride by the river… … ‘Are the Aecious forces coming up?’

Although some degree of assistance would be necessary, it could not be said that it was completely impossible.

In fact, it was possible to move troops by river in this game.

However, doing so would consume a lot more turns than usual and your morale would run out in the meantime, so it wasn’t a very good method, so I just forgot about it for a while.

but… … Even if this place is based on a game world, it is still reality.

I couldn’t say for sure that it wouldn’t happen.

no.

In the first place, stationing troops at Amir Castle was the most efficient, and there was no other case than this.

If this is true, then Acious will be stabbing our military in the back.

Normally you wouldn’t know. All of our military forces in the north are being driven to the border in the central part of the continent.

Wouldn’t it be a trick of its own that would be enough to shake up our military if it succeeded in secretly attacking from behind?

Even if Amir Castle is quickly taken again after that, it won’t be a big loss for the Aishous army.

‘Whose idea was it? Jinor? ‘Anima?’

Considering that the letter was exchanged, there was a high possibility that it was not Jinor’s plan.

If so, then this is Anima’s opinion… …

Certainly, he seemed to have a certain flash of brilliance as he served as a national counselor for a country.

“… … .”

I slowly raised my head and looked around.

Serpinado, Zenado. And the rest of the officers seemed to be holding their breath, waiting for me to open my mouth.

So the question is, how do you explain this? … is it.

“Everyone, please pay attention.”

I nodded slowly and said.

“There is a river flowing near Amir Castle. This river also serves as the lifeline of the territory around Amir Castle… … To approach it a little differently, the reality is that it also serves as the only passageway connected to the Amir Castle, which is located in a remote location.”

I was a little concerned that Serpina was staring at me, but don’t be nervous.

Even if the opinion was somewhat incomprehensible, it was worth speaking up because they seemed to respect it.

“So, if this river flows as it is, it flows into the sea on the eastern side of the continent… … On your journey, you will inevitably come across a castle. Jenna.”

“Yes?”

“Do you know what that last name is?”

Jenna was lost in thought for a moment, then nodded quietly.

“… … By any chance, are you referring to Zeta Castle?”

“Yes. You know.”

“But I don’t really understand what you mean by that. Could it be that the enemy is advancing on Amir Castle by breaking through that rough river with help?”

“That’s right.”

“… … Yes?”

Jenna’s eyes, which had been casually asking a question, trembled slightly as if she had lost her way when she heard my answer.

I clearly see with my own eyes that one of Serpina’s eyebrows is also slightly twitching.

“There is a high possibility that the Aceers army will advance to Amir Castle via the river.”

“… … ???”

After hearing what I said, Jenna frowned slightly as if she didn’t understand.

Not only Jenna, but the rest of the officers looked at me with expressions as if they were wondering what I was talking about.

To be honest, it seems so out of the blue that I even think about it. The enemy will attack along the river, so let’s station the troops in a remote place. What kind of sound is that, like banging on a baton in your sleep?

But, just one person.

As for Serpina, without breaking her expression-

Just as he had with other military commanders such as Amin and Shika, he asked us a question in a truly compassionate voice.

“That’s an interesting opinion. Anyone can freely express their opinion at this opinion proposal meeting. Okay, everyone. Please feel free to say what you think about Swen’s opinion.”

The first to offer an opinion on that question was Miles.

“It seems like a somewhat absurd idea. The idea of coming up the river itself doesn’t seem very realistic.”

“It’s not a bad opinion in terms of establishing a preparedness plan, but I think there might be a way to utilize troops more efficiently… … .”

With Shika adding another word, it seemed like my opinion was generally negative for everyone.

Well, it can’t be helped.

To be honest, I wasn’t confident when asked to provide detailed evidence.

It’s just something you put together knowing the outcome.

And so, the twenty-eighth opinion proposal session ended.

“Everyone, you worked hard today. I promise to review all of your opinions at least once.”

“”Yes, I understand!!””

Is this roughly the end of the opinion proposal meeting schedule?

It was definitely a different feeling from a meeting to literally just make suggestions and not decide anything.

If troops were not stationed at Amir Castle, Serpina’s army would definitely suffer losses, but that was something I could not do anything about.

In fact, even if the northern continent were to be temporarily shaken, the war situation would not be reversed to that extent. Because my prediction was just to select the most efficient means at that time.

After saying my goodbyes and thinking lightly, I was just about to leave the castle.

“Over there.”

“… … ?”

I saw someone put their hand on my shoulder, so I turned my head to check-

It was Jenna who seemed to have rushed to this place.

“Swen. Could you please return to the throne room for a moment?”

“Yes? What’s going on?”

“This is my lord’s order.”

‘… … .’

she called me

Although I had a good guess, I pretended not to notice and followed Jenna back to the throne room.

“Welcome, Swen.”

Serpina looks at me and stretches out her white hand again.

And then, as if he was just looking forward to this moment of being alone with me… … With a very captivating smile on his face, he spoke to me as if he were baptizing me.

“Your opinion was truly interesting. Going up the river and making a surprise attack is a method that even I could not have imagined.”

“… … .”

“Okay. If you presented an opinion, there must be a basis for it, right?”

Asking for the basis meant that Serpina would accept my opinion as a ‘suggestion’ rather than just an opinion.

It also meant that they would interrogate me this time just as they interrogated Irian back then.

how will we do it.

I thought about just responding appropriately, but… … Since I was acting under Serpina-kun, I needed to instill in her the image that my words were correct to some extent.

Just like with Lin Brans, there may come a time when you can take advantage of that psychology.

If so, is it time to deal with him here?

It’s as if he sensed my feelings… … She asked me again in a very pleasant voice.

“I want to hear your story, Swen. Would you like to say it again? On what basis are you certain that the Aishous army will attack that place?”