Ch.31Chapter 31. Monthly Regular Meeting / Brans (2)

As soon as I stood before Farfalle, a message suddenly appeared before my eyes!

[Which command would you like to choose?]

And various 1:1 debate commands floated before my eyes, and I crush my opponent with a command imbued with Intelligence 100—

—-Of course, no such development occurred.

If that were the case, a status window would have appeared when I first arrived here.

In the game, Intelligence was the most important stat in 1:1 debates.

Just as a general with high Might would slaughter one with lower Might in a 1:1 battle, the basic mechanism of debates was that a general with higher Intelligence would take their opponent on a sightseeing tour, regardless of the actual logic applied.

After all, the game itself wasn’t designed with such intricate detail; it was basically a simple classic game.

However, now that the game world had become reality, just because I had high Intelligence stats didn’t mean my opponent would say things like “Hmm, I see your point…” while trembling and watching their health bar decrease just because I used words that matched command affinities.

I had to genuinely persuade them.

So what I needed to use wasn’t my Intelligence stat.

It was the truth that only I could know—the rules of this world that I’d learned during my 10,000 hours of gameplay.

And striking at the moment when my opponent would think, “How could they possibly know this?”

Those were the two points where I needed to make my stand.

Those two were my weapons.

This wasn’t the Lunarian Army.

There was no one here who would simply accept my assertions that might sound like Luna’s stubborn insistence.

For my story to sound plausible, I had to demonstrate knowledge of things they thought I wouldn’t know.

‘I need to create an opportunity.’

At that moment, Farfalle spoke to me in a gentle tone.

“Please, feel free to speak first.”

I nodded lightly to Farfalle, who had yielded the first move, and began.

“Invading the Aeshus Army at this point would not be a good approach.”

“May I hear your reasoning?”

“Before I explain my reasons, I would rather—if I may be so bold—ask something of you, Farfalle, and by extension, of your noble lord.”

As I spoke, I looked past Farfalle’s shoulder—

At Lynn, who sat on the throne, watching us with an interested expression.

She was smiling. Fortunately, she didn’t seem displeased.

In that case, I could proceed.

“Why haven’t you invaded the Aeshus Army in the east until now?”

“…I’ll answer that. It’s because the opportunity hasn’t presented itself.”

“Opportunity meaning?”

“As you know, the Aeshus Army possesses power that cannot be ignored. Though their territory is small, they have many talented generals and maintain substantial troops befitting the population residing in the fertile lands of Balhart. No matter how small their territory may be, for our army to attack them decisively would require accepting the risk of endangering other fronts.”

I nodded at her words.

“Yes, I completely agree with your opinion, Farfalle. But that’s precisely why I must ask: why are you now advocating for an invasion of Balhart Castle?”

“Because when the Aeshus Army attacks the Alepel Army, inevitable gaps will appear.”

“Is that the only reason? I believe the Aeshus Army has sufficient capacity to both attack the Alepel Army and fend off our forces.”

“I wouldn’t have proposed it if that were the only reason.”

In response to my probing question, she spoke with barely concealed confidence.

“…It relates to what I just mentioned. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity has presented itself.”

An opportunity has presented itself.

In other words, without such an opportunity, invasion would be impossible.

And in the current situation, there was only one thing that could be considered an opportunity: additional external intervention.

Hearing this, I turned my thoughts.

Irene had mentioned that the Charam Army had come here to present money.

In this game, when someone just gives money, there’s a 99% chance it’s to use the [Betrayal] stratagem.

Though it wasn’t a prediction made with Intelligence 100—it was something I knew from playing the game for 10,000 hours.

“Once a policy is decided, I plan to brief everyone, including our lord, about the situation… but I cannot speak precisely about it yet.”

Her additional comment added credibility to my speculation.

Of course she couldn’t talk about it now. How could she say “The Charam Army will coordinate with us to attack the Aeshus Army from behind” in front of all these people?

She was the strategist of the Brans Army. Even with such vague explanations, she would naturally gain trust based on the results she had shown and proven so far.

Just like Cain and Tifa, who gradually began to trust my abilities during my time in the Lunarian Army.

Moreover, since she stated she would immediately clarify her plans once the policy was decided, she would seem far more trustworthy to the audience than I had been under Luna, when I could only ask them to trust me.

In that case.

The person I needed to shake now wasn’t the audience or Lynn.

It was the purple strategist standing before me, Farfalle, the architect of this plan.

I deliberately put on an expression suggesting I knew something.

Very imposing, as if I had some grand strategy in mind.

With a slight curl of my lips and in the most relaxed voice possible.

“Farfalle. Are you perhaps thinking of a joint attack?”

“A joint attack?”

“Specifically… I’m asking if you’re considering a strategy to coordinate with the Charam Army for a simultaneous attack.”

“…!!”

Good.

I didn’t miss it.

I could see her pupils contract momentarily.

She quickly regained her composure, but I definitely caught it.

The moment of surprise when she heard my words.

‘That’s it.’

Well, there wasn’t much else it could be.

I continued speaking assertively.

“If that’s the case, I must insist even more strongly that we should not proceed with the invasion. The ruler of the Charam Army, Charam Masakuru, is not particularly trustworthy. If they, rather than us, first proposed this plan, I believe there’s a high probability it’s a trap aimed at our Brans Army.”

“…”

This time, Lynn, who stood behind Farfalle, nodded with interest.

She seemed very focused on my words.

“Let me ask one more thing. Did you also receive the information that the Aeshus Army will attack the Alepel Army from the Charam Army?”

“…”

“If so, it would be correct to assume the Alepel Army is also in on it.”

After a moment of silence, she finally spoke.

“You speak quite assertively.”

Farfalle said this, then intensified her gaze on me.

She seemed surprised that I had seen through her thoughts.

“While I cannot speak precisely yet… both the Charam Army and the Alepel Army are not on good terms with the Aeshus Army. This is something anyone involved in central politics would easily know. Though you, Swen, having recently joined the Brans Army, might not be aware. The assumption that they would conspire together to deceive us lacks plausibility.”

She was trying to provoke me clumsily, but it wouldn’t work.

Come to think of it, in the game, Intelligence 100 was immune to the [Provocation] keyword, and this idle thought naturally made me smile.

“Farfalle, I apologize for saying this, but even if they’re adjacent, we shouldn’t blindly trust what seems easily knowable to the Brans Army, which is ultimately a third party.”

“Pfft.”

Lynn laughed behind me at my words.

Farfalle maintained her composure despite Lynn’s reaction and spoke calmly.

“I understand your point, Swen. Indeed, Charam Masakuru, and by extension Alepel Jaramka, are not particularly trustworthy individuals. But precisely because of that, it’s reasonable to believe they won’t betray us.”

“May I hear your reasoning?”

“…”

She took a deep breath before speaking.

“Assuming, as you suggest, that we are in communication with the Charam Army, their primary goal is to maintain their territory as is. They are men without ambition who are content as long as their own power is recognized. The characteristic of such individuals is that they can become the most reliable allies if you can properly give them what they want.”

In other words, she was saying, ‘If we guarantee their safety, they’ll obey thoroughly, so this can’t be a scheme.’

“In contrast, Baranga Yurie Aeshus, the leader of the Aeshus Army, is not only capable but ambitious. From her perspective, acquiring the territories of the Charam and Alepel Armies would essentially provide the foundation to make her name widely known across the continent. Given this, I don’t think these petty rulers who desire the status quo would cooperate with her. They’re not foolish enough to help a woman who is constantly eyeing their castles.”

It sounded plausible at first glance—

But upon closer examination, there were many holes to poke.

Perhaps she was flustered because I had seen through her scheme?

Well.

I didn’t come here to work passionately like I did in the Lunarian Army.

Though I felt a bit sorry for her, I decided to pick at her words.

“That’s precisely the point, Farfalle.”

“What? What do you…”

“Baranga Yurie Aeshus is an excellent ruler. Have you considered why the Charam Army and the Alepel Army still exist on the continent?”

“T-that’s…”

Good. She’s flustered.

I pressed harder.

“Think of it simply. If you were Baranga Yurie Aeshus, wouldn’t you first consolidate your foundation by clearing out the smaller nations before facing a major power like the Brans Army?”

Farfalle didn’t respond, but she seemed to agree with my point.

After all, she bit her lip for the first time, looking vexed.

But she was a smart woman. Rather than giving her time to think, it was better to press on.

After all, to persuade the people watching this debate, showing that I ‘seemed to have the upper hand’ was as much a debate strategy as actually having it.

“So why hasn’t she done that? If we assume she’s not a foolish woman, there must be a reason, right?”

“A reason… do you have any idea?”

“I have some suspicions.”

Of course, that was a lie.

But there was no need to reveal my hand by saying “I don’t know.”

“Then please tell us your basis.”

“Farfalle, please recall your earlier words. Didn’t you just say ‘I cannot speak about it yet’? I believe there’s a reason you said that. The same applies to me.”

“…”

Since she was hiding something first, I had the right to hide something too.

Understanding what I meant, Farfalle fell into thought for a moment—

Then questioned me.

“Let me ask, assuming your opinion is correct. Let’s say that the secret joint attack proposal is some kind of scheme, and we’re being deceived. Wouldn’t this be an excellent opportunity to turn the tables and strike the Aeshus Army from behind? We’ve essentially discovered the plot in advance. If that’s the argument you’re making, I would agree. However.”

Her voice became clearer.

I felt she was finally addressing me sincerely.

“Your opinion isn’t ‘let’s turn the scheme against them.’ The opinion you agreed with—General Irene’s opinion—is to send troops north to strengthen defenses. Do you still maintain that view?”

“…”

That’s right.

I came up here to push Irene’s opinion.

Is she touching on this topic because she feels she’s losing ground on the previous subject?

It seems her position as strategist wasn’t obtained for nothing.

I couldn’t rely on the power of prediction, and they wouldn’t blindly trust me like Luna did, so I had to somehow manage with rhetoric…

But Intelligence 100 had only said it was “nearly correct,” not that it was the most efficient method.

In fact, what’s the difference between “that’s right” and “nearly correct”?

‘Is it that the action itself is right… but the conclusion is different?’

It’s not the correct answer, but an opinion that’s somewhat close to the correct answer.

The fact that a mechanism that only makes 100% correct predictions gave an answer like “nearly correct” clearly revealed one fact.

It meant that Farfalle’s “turning the scheme against them” wasn’t such a good method.

If it were, it would have said “nearly correct” when asked about Farfalle’s opinion, not Irene’s.

Since it involved action related to the Aeshus Army.

To summarize, “using 56,000 troops to do something with the Aeshus Army” itself was far from the most efficient method.

That left Irene’s opinion.

I applied the same logic here.

‘The action itself is right, but the conclusion is different.’

Here, the phrase [nearly correct] appeared.

‘Then, does that mean sending troops north… itself is correct?’

It seemed more plausible that it was judging “sending troops” as correct, rather than “defense.”

I would find it difficult to argue against the opinion that defense itself wasn’t necessary yet.

So let’s assume sending troops is the correct conclusion.

There were only two things that could be done by sending troops.

Either strengthen the castle’s defenses.

Or gather them for an attack.

And—

‘…!’

As soon as I realized this, cold sweat ran down my spine.

It was close to a deduction based on my reasoning, but… if so…

‘If saying “let’s strengthen our defenses” isn’t the correct answer but close to it, then the correct answer is…!’

The compass result I never expected.

But I knew this compass spoke the truth.

I slowly opened my mouth.

“…We need to send troops north. I still agree with that opinion. However—”

“Then you’re advocating for defense? I have much to say about this as well. First, including the forces already building fortresses, the number of troops in the north is currently—”

“Farfalle, please forgive my rudeness. I just want to point out that I haven’t finished speaking.”

Though I interrupted her, Farfalle nodded, perhaps acknowledging that she had interrupted me first.

“…I apologize. I seem to have gotten a bit excited. Please continue with your opinion.”

“It’s correct that we should send troops north. However, we shouldn’t focus solely on defense. No, sending troops just for defense is not enough.”

“…What?”

My words surprised Farfalle.

They surprised Lynn, who had been watching the debate with a relaxed expression.

They surprised all the ministers within earshot.

And… they even surprised Irene, the architect of this policy.

But.

When you exclude all the “incorrect answers” based on prediction, what remains.

No matter how absurd it might seem, that’s the answer.

Beyond the logic of how it could be possible, the shining answer predicted by Intelligence 100.

I confronted her once more with that absolute “answer” as my weapon.

“We should gather troops in the north and invade the territory of the Serpina Army.”