Ch.292Chapter 292. Against the Chel, Battle of Alcanwood Castle (3)

* * *

“Then that’s fortunate. First question—”

The first question I asked Serpina was about how she would conduct the invasion.

Serpina explained her thoughts without hesitation, speaking slowly.

“The military force is about 180,000. Commander-in-chief is Kransis, with Irene as deputy commander.”

“That’s right.”

“What about siege weapons?”

“I plan to bring them. Won’t the enemy fortify themselves?”

Right. Logically thinking, they would fortify. Chel might lead about 20,000 men to come out, but they would eventually be overwhelmed by our numbers. To hold out as long as possible, it would be advantageous to quickly deal with siege weapons and lock the gates.

—That was the common sense until today.

However.

“My lord. Is there something you’re intentionally excluding?”

“…!”

Surprised by my words, Serpina gave a bitter smile before responding.

“You’re talking about Reika.”

“If there’s a mage present, the enemy is likely to respond differently. It would be an unpredictable variable.”

“Well. I’m not sure. From my perspective.”

“Is there a reason?”

Serpina made a rather surprised expression.

“Judging by your question, it seems Reika hasn’t told you.”

“…Pardon?”

“It happened not long after she returned from the relief camp. Reika collapsed while working in the library as usual.”

…What?

As I was shocked by this news I was hearing for the first time, Serpina continued her explanation.

“I happened to be inspecting the area, so I could quickly find her. Her breathing was rough, and she was sweating cold. Like someone who had fallen ill.”

“There was… such an incident?”

“Yes. Though she tried not to show it, I could tell. That it was a side effect of using magic. The symptoms were similar to what she showed after healing me.”

No…

She was fine until we rode in the carriage, so why did she collapse only after arriving at Einhart Castle?

—At that moment, I realized that the magic she used at the relief camp was, in her words, something that “makes one healthier,” a buff-type magic.

‘Could it be…!’

Did she cast buff magic on herself during the return journey to hide her exhaustion?

Was the side effect of depleted mana delayed that much?

Though it’s a somewhat extreme example, thinking that way made everything fit together.

“Swen. I don’t know what mana is or how magic works. But I can tell it consumes her lifespan. If I close my eyes and borrow her power, we might win future battles more easily. But—”

—I don’t want to do that.

I don’t want to use her sacrifice as a stepping stone to climb higher.

“My lord…”

“That’s why I had no intention of employing a mage.”

Looking at her as she spoke, I felt a twinge in my heart again.

What is this emotion?

Seeing someone so earnestly facing a goal that could never be achieved no matter how hard one struggled… honestly, it wasn’t something a person should have to do.

The same goes for Reika.

No matter how much she didn’t want to worry others, hiding such an important fact in that way was problematic.

It’s not just about a mage being harmed. I didn’t want to lose Reika.

“…I understand your intentions, my lord. And I agree with them. However, I believe you also know that in the questions we must discuss now, your intentions are of utmost importance.”

“Indeed. Your clairvoyant eye will ultimately determine the path of truth.”

“Therefore, here, rather than following your intentions, please ‘decide’ exactly as I instruct. We’re verifying the future based on your decisions.”

Asking a country’s ruler to decide as I say.

It sounded like it could be quite disrespectful depending on how one heard it, but Serpina nodded with a remarkably compliant tone.

And then—

As if she had no intention of losing to my brazen words, she casually uttered something truly troublesome.

“I understand, Swen.”

“I will let you determine both my body and mind as you wish. Whatever you command, I will absolutely comply from the depths of my heart. Please instruct me.”

‘…!’

Perhaps due to her overly explicit words.

Momentarily speechless, I could only swallow awkwardly.

Since she spoke with such a serious expression, I knew this wasn’t her usual “joke.”

Rather, it was because of her seriousness that something stirred within me.

Suddenly, her large chest, which I normally tried hard not to notice, began to catch my eye.

Not just her chest. Her beautiful face, golden eyes, pink lips, and the citrus scent that brought everything together—Serpina not as a ruler, but as a woman, began to violently shake my thoughts.

‘No, why am I… like this lately.’

Ever since kissing Irene not long ago… for the past few days, thoughts of women had made it difficult for me to sleep.

Perhaps things were building up.

Of course, if it was just desire, I could quietly take care of it myself, but…

What is it that I currently want, that keeps making me feel… ‘regretful’—

“…Swen?”

“Ah, yes.”

“Is something wrong? Did your clairvoyance show an unfavorable future…?”

Serpina’s words quickly brought my wandering mind back.

Right. This isn’t the time to be thinking about women.

“…Anyway, could you please consider having Reika participate in the battle this time?”

“Understood.”

I entered the same question again.

[We will win the battle itself.]

‘It’s the same.’

This probably means that the mage’s participation doesn’t affect the outcome.

After that, I continued to present various scenarios to Serpina and repeated the same question to endlessly derive results.

Things like changing the commander or altering the lineup of participating armed forces.

Despite continuously injecting various situations to draw the maximum conclusion—

The answer [We will win the battle itself.] never changed.

‘…What’s going on? What is Chel preparing that only produces this result?’

Does it mean the outcome won’t change regardless of how our army responds?

Or am I missing something…

“Swen.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“You said it’s certain that we will win, correct?”

“That’s right.”

“Then why do you continue asking questions? From my perspective, all your questions seem to be aimed at finding a way to overcome a situation where our army cannot win…”

At this point, I just honestly explained the situation to Serpina.

“I see. So we will win, but there might be some loss for our army…”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“…A loss, is it.”

Serpina briefly rested her chin on her hand, lost in thought.

“Perhaps it would be better to first consider what our army’s losses might be?”

…Huh?

“Even if we lose the battle, thinking about what kind of damage Chel Brans could inflict on our army might help us find an answer.”

“…That’s certainly true.”

Well, it was a conclusion that wasn’t difficult to reach with a little thought—

But being in the position of asking the questions directly, I seemed to have been too fixated on inferring the cause-and-effect relationship of the conclusion through questioning.

“Thank you. Every time this happens, I feel that the synergy between Serpina and me is better than expected.”

“If you’re only realizing such an obvious fact now, I’m disappointed.”

Serpina’s smirk was certainly somewhat overbearing, but still cute in its own way.

“So, what losses might our army suffer?”

“One of the commanders dying, or being at a disadvantage in the exchange ratio of the battle, things like that.”

“It’s not a commander dying. I kept rotating the roster, but the result was the same. If there was a ‘person who dies,’ the conclusion would have changed the moment that person was excluded.”

“Then there’s only one possibility left.”

Our army subdues them but suffers excessive losses?

But with this difference in military strength, and assuming the enemy fortifies, I couldn’t envision a scenario where we would suffer major losses…

‘Wait?’

Suddenly, a sentence flashed through my mind.

“The enemy… might not fortify.”

“What?”

“Instead of fortifying, they might just… come out to intercept us.”

“Are you saying Chel would voluntarily abandon the only castle he currently occupies?”

“Yes. But if we assume our army suffers damage in an ‘unexpected’ situation, that’s the only thing I can think of.”

The idea of a mage suddenly appearing on their side was too unrealistic.

“…Indeed, if he’s willing to burn down his territory and flee, he has essentially no ambition as a lord… However, I still have a question.”

“If he makes such a decision as you suggest, what would be the reason? Simply because he hates me? Chel Brans is an excellent general. Without a ‘valid reason’ to do so, he wouldn’t commit such a reckless act.”

True, abandoning the castle and coming out to intercept would be essentially suicidal from Chel’s perspective.

From our army’s standpoint, we would lose more soldiers. All the siege weapons we prepared would be destroyed.

The first thing that comes to mind is hatred toward Serpina.

From the beginning, all the lords on the continent raised their flags because they couldn’t follow Serpina.

It’s not illogical to think they might decide to inflict damage on her before dying.

But is that really all there is to it?

Would they move that way solely because of that?

To establish a strategy, we needed to be “certain” we understood the enemy… and that certainty felt lacking.

…Right.

Let me think from Chel’s perspective again.

If he had to bring out his troops, what would be the reason?

——Ah.

“Have you realized something, Swen?”

“This is just a possibility, but if the enemy is aware of Reika… that is, the mage—”

“…!”

“If they’ll be defeated by a mage anyway even if they fortify… bringing out an interception force might seem like a rational act rather than suicide.”

No matter how many times I thought about it, that was the only conclusion.

Coming out to intercept us before being defeated by the mage, to catch our army off guard.

“You seem certain this time?”

“…Yes.”

“Then I’ll ask again. Do you think we will win this battle?”

And the answer that came from my mind was——

* * *

Caught by surprise, Chel quickly assessed the situation by looking at Swen’s face standing before him.

Why is this person here?

And with a pink-haired woman presumed to be a mage?

Swoosh!

As the green rapier was pulled from Chel’s chest—

From the gap of the burned wound, red blood gushed forth like a waterfall.

Then with a thud, he fell from his horse…

Barely clinging to consciousness that seemed about to break at any moment, he spoke with a trembling voice—

“What… what is this…”

…No.

That’s not what’s important.

What matters is that he had been literally defeated by Swen.

Then, my coming here following Irene, all of it…

“Was it all… within your grasp… was I just dancing in your palm…?”

Looking up at Swen’s empty gray eyes staring down at him without answering, Chel realized.

The fear his sister Lynn Brans must have felt toward this man at some point.