Ch.2Chapter 2. Assessing the Situation

* * *

“Please give me the cheapest drink you have.”

At my words, the plump proprietress brings over a glass filled with cheap liquor.

Thud!

The sound of the glass being placed on the table briefly disturbs the noisy tavern.

“Always asking for the cheapest thing. Here you go.”

It’s the middle of the day.

I was sitting in a tavern drinking alcohol.

It might seem like the life of an idler, but what does it matter?

I had transmigrated into a game world, after all.

I don’t think this level of deviation is so bad. Honestly.

…Anyway, to summarize.

I had entered the world of [Garand Eternity Saga], a game I loved.

As soon as I arrived here, I desperately tried to call up a status window.

But true to its outdated game design, no convenient status window appeared before my eyes.

Even so, I was able to learn quite a lot of information without much difficulty.

Or rather, more accurately, after “transmigrating” into this body, this body’s memories naturally felt like my own.

My name is Swen.

I’m 20 years old this year.

I don’t have a surname since I’m not a noble.

I don’t have any family either. If I had to explain, I’d say I have the perfect form of a random extra character, ideal for transmigration.

The only way to return to my original world:

That would be the unification of this continent.

More precisely, if the nation I belong to succeeds in unifying the continent, I can safely return to my original world.

‘This much is quite a common cliché.’

Since I can’t change the situation I’ve been given.

Next was checking my abilities.

Without being able to confirm my exact stats through a status window, I had to check my abilities by moving my body directly.

Considering how I got out of breath just climbing a small hill, my strength and physical power must be quite low.

Somehow, despite being 8 years younger than my actual age, I felt even weaker than my previous body.

I’d estimate it’s somewhere between 5 and 15.

As for my charm stat… honestly, I’m not sure.

Looking in the mirror, I’m not particularly ugly, but I’m not handsome either.

Apart from my nearly pure white hair, I don’t have any distinctive features.

You could say I’m quite ordinary.

This game has a medieval fantasy feel, so characters have all sorts of colorful hair.

Actually, there was never any indication in the game that charm determines a character’s appearance level.

It’s just my vague assumption.

In the game, charm mainly affected persuasion and diplomacy.

I’d say mine is around 50-60.

There were various other stats.

Politics, leadership, things like that.

But there was no way for me to check those right now.

I could confirm them later if I joined an army.

And the most important thing… intelligence.

After several experiments over the past few days since my transmigration, I could be certain.

‘My intelligence is… definitely 100.’

“Ah, you’re here again today.”

Next to me as I drank my cheap alcohol, an older man I’d become acquainted with over the past few days walked over.

He was just a local man, not any named general or anything special that I knew of.

“Hello.”

“So. Have you heard the news? They say the Brans Army successfully recaptured Heizel Castle.”

“Is that so?”

So it was true after all.

The Brans Army was the military force that controlled the territory where this city was located, led by [Lynn Brans], one of the named characters.

Lynn Brans. The most talented of the three versatile Brans siblings.

Despite being the third child and a woman—difficult conditions—she inherited the ruler’s position from her father based solely on her abilities.

Both her first and second older brothers currently served as generals under her command.

If I had to summarize the Brans Army in one sentence, it would be:

Recommended for beginners!

They had no particular disadvantages in most modifier values, plus they had quite a good pool of talent, so with just basic game knowledge, you could unify the continent without much difficulty.

Once players cleared the game with them, they quickly abandoned this nation since there was no need for special strategies anymore.

“You’re really something, you know that?”

“Me?”

I feigned innocence as I replied.

“You predicted that the Walnut Army would suddenly invade and take Heizel Castle from the Brans Army, and you also predicted that they would recapture Heizel Castle despite clearly attacking without proper reorganization.”

The Walnut Army was clearly an ordinary nation, suitable for intermediate-advanced players with no special characteristics.

In this world line, they seemed to have spawned next to the Brans Army.

It’s unfortunate, but ruler Walnut would likely meet his end soon.

Unless a player directly intervened, it was one of those nations that would never achieve unification.

The power dynamics of the game had been transplanted directly into this world—

Even ordinary citizens like this man naturally thought “the Walnut Army cannot defeat the Brans Army.”

However.

When I made my prediction, the Walnut Army could take Heizel Castle.

I don’t know why. It’s just that no matter how I thought about it, I could only reach the conclusion that [the Walnut Army would win].

And they actually won.

That alone was unlikely enough, but then the Brans Army immediately gathered their defeated troops without proper reorganization and threw their forces into recapturing the castle the very next day.

This man explained to me all his reasoning for why the Brans Army would have difficulty winning this time.

But.

For some reason, I could only reach the conclusion that [the Brans Army would win].

Again, I don’t know why, but I just had a thought—no, a [certainty]—that they would.

And the result came out just today.

It wasn’t just these two situations.

I could discuss the current political situation with various people, and everything turned out exactly as I thought.

After dozens of cross-verifications, I could finally be certain.

Though it doesn’t make sense logically, it’s as if the entire universe is biased in my favor, making everything happen according to my thoughts!

Considering this world is the world of [Garand Eternity Saga], there can only be one reason.

My intelligence is 100!

“Well, it just seemed that way to me.”

“Are you some kind of prophet or something? I’m going gambling soon. Can you tell me if I’ll win?”

The man looked at me and laughed heartily.

I responded with appropriate small talk.

“Hahaha, that’s a bit… You know, sir, it’s better not to gamble.”

“You’re right. If I gamble again, I’ll really get divorced this time.”

Would this man win or lose if he gambled?

Unfortunately, I couldn’t predict that result.

It seemed I could only perfectly predict things within the range of what intelligence 100 could predict in this game.

‘If I could predict everything correctly, I’d be gambling myself.’

Just because my intelligence became 100 didn’t mean I suddenly became super smart with amazing strategies popping into my head.

However, my predictions were 100% accurate. No matter what, they were correct and represented the optimal decision in that situation.

Just like how characters with intelligence 100 in the game would always give correct advice when consulted.

‘Is there a way I can use this to my advantage?’

After saying goodbye to the man who had left after our conversation, I fell back into thought.

Actually, my ability had a penalty of sorts.

My predictions were only possible when someone asked me a question.

If I just thought to myself, ‘Can country A defeat country B in war X?’ I couldn’t reach a clear conclusion.

Until now, I could answer because the man clearly asked me what I thought would happen.

This made sense considering that in the game, military advisors wouldn’t say anything until they were specifically asked.

Still, once I received a question, I could make predictions multiple times.

Anyway.

This was a game world, and it operated according to game rules—

But I, breathing here now, wasn’t just an avatar.

I was a living human being.

These were turbulent times. Making a name for oneself wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but being too conspicuous could clearly put my life in danger.

In the game, players would press the recruitment button to gather about 2,000 soldiers for battle, then attack the neighboring castle as a matter of routine.

Those 2,000 soldiers equated to 2,000 HP, engaging in fierce battle with the opponent.

But.

While they might have felt like HP in the game, these 2,000 soldiers were 2,000 people.

When the numbers decreased, it meant people were dying.

And I… I wasn’t some godlike being overseeing this, but just one of the potential 2,000.

I was just a human with a value of 1.

Of course, I could return to my original world if I became a subject of the unified nation.

But I didn’t know how long unification would take, and the possibility of dying in the meantime was extremely high.

So rather than seeking fame, I planned to enter the relatively stable Brans Army as a retainer, living like a civil servant with a decent salary.

If the Brans Army achieved unification, great. If another nation emerged as a potential unifier in the meantime, I could simply change jobs.

That was my isekai life plan.

That’s why I was spending time in a tavern in broad daylight.

In this game, talent recruitment happened in taverns, and with my intelligence at 100, someone would surely take interest in my abilities and come for me.

However.

In a week, only one ruler had come to recruit me.

Considering that CPU characters would always scout intelligence 100 characters who were unemployed, this was impossible.

‘In the game, you could check characters’ stats, but… in this real-world version, it’s hard to be certain.’

Even the man I just spoke with wasn’t an element from the game.

Neither was the cheap beer I was drinking. The game wasn’t detailed enough to describe such things.

So… does that mean the Brans Army won’t come for me even if I just spend time in the tavern?

‘Do I need to take action myself?’

Do I need to move for fame and fortune?

It might be dangerous, but… it was far better than being conscripted as a foot soldier.

Even though I’m weak, I’m a man. And in this game, conscription could take as many adult males as needed.

That meant I could die as cannon fodder without mercy.

As I emptied my cheap glass and pondered how to join the Brans Army.

“Um… Sir Swen. May I disturb you for a moment?”

“…?”

I turned my head toward the female voice calling me.

Cream-colored cute bob hair.

Red eyes like the strawberry on a strawberry cake.

Elegant but somewhat shabby attire, as if worn for a long time.

Her name was Lunarian Ineanne.

Her nickname in the game was ‘Luna,’ and she was an ultra-advanced difficulty ruler in this game.

A fallen noble with terrible territory and military power, more like a military group than a nation in the initial state.

A talent pool with enormous potential but not much help in the early game.

However, once you survived a certain period, all of Luna’s followers became SSS-tier, enabling what players called a “return of the king” playthrough.

Earlier, I mentioned that only one leader had come to recruit me in a week.

That leader was Luna.

“You’ve come again?”

“Y-yes. I wanted to talk… is that okay? I’ll buy the drinks.”

“The drinks are fine.”

Having played as Luna in the game, I knew the financial situation of Luna’s army all too well.

It would be easier to squeeze blood from a stone.

“Then…”

She carefully sat down.

I recalled how surprised I was when I first met her.

Her incredible beauty, undetectable in the outdated pixel graphics.

If I had known Luna was this beautiful, I would have played through to unification with her more often.

“Um… Sir Swen. I apologize for visiting you again… but could you please help me…?”

“As I told you, my talents are insufficient to serve under you, Lady Luna.”

At my diplomatic words, she shook her head vigorously.

“That’s not true! I’ve heard you’re an extremely wise person. It’s embarrassing, but our army currently doesn’t have a single strategist… We really need your help, Sir Swen.”

“…”

Actually.

If I refused this time, it would be the fifth time I’d rejected her.

She had visited four times in a week.

After being rejected three times, she should have taken the hint and stopped coming, but this tactless ruler kept trying to recruit me, even using honorifics.

I felt sorry for her, but I didn’t have two lives.

I couldn’t join Luna’s army, which would soon disappear from the map along with the Walnut Army.

‘Maybe I’ve been too nice in my rejections.’

It seemed time to reveal the harsh reality.

“…Lady Luna. May I speak frankly?”

“O-of course…! Please speak freely.”

“Why did you raise an army, Lady Luna?”

“That’s… to unify the continent and allow everyone to live in peace—”

“In other words, you wish to become emperor?”

She was slightly taken aback by my interruption.

“Y-yes.”

“But something seems strange. For someone destined to be emperor, you approach everyone, including me, with such a humble attitude.”

“T-that’s…!”

She was startled, as if caught off guard, and couldn’t continue.

I knew her personality was roughly like this in the game.

But from her perspective, she must be wondering how I knew.

“Lady Luna, you seem kind to everyone. I won’t say that’s a bad trait. However, it’s an unnecessary virtue in this era. I don’t believe you can unify this continent, Lady Luna. Therefore, I cannot serve under you.”

“…”

This should be enough to keep her from coming back.

I’m sorry, but I’ve already made my plans.

As I turned away from her and took a sip of my cheap drink—

From beside me, I heard her trembling and sniffling.

“I… see…?”

“…”

Lunarian Ineanne was a fragile person.

She loved peace and raised an army to establish peace, but she was completely unsuited to be a founding ruler in these turbulent times.

In the game, her army would always perish if left to the CPU.

Her crying face made my heart waver, but… there was nothing I could do.

I only have one life.

“In your view, Sir Swen… am I… unable to unify this world…?”

“…”

Well, that’s…

…

…

…

At that moment.

My world momentarily stops.

‘…Huh?’

The question Luna posed to me.

‘Can I, Lunarian Ineanne, not unify this world?’

And—

The conclusion I, with my intelligence of 100, reached.

————————-That is not the case.