Ch.406Chapter 406. The Most Efficient Method / Sven

* * *

The shocking news that Serpina had handed over the crown to Swen spread like wildfire.

And, quite naturally—it reached the ears of Lynn, who was now part of Serpina’s army.

“…She said she would abdicate the throne?”

“Yes. Our lord Serpina has transferred the throne to Duke Swen, whom she married. She has requested confirmation replies from castle lords across the region.”

“Serpina herself handed over the crown?!”

“That’s correct.”

“How could this…”

Lynn seemed shocked, unable to speak for a while.

It was impossible not to be surprised. Wasn’t Serpina a woman who only thought about reconquering the continent and reigning as emperor once more?

If she was going to hand over the imperial position to her husband so easily… why did she cause the “Tragedy of Einhart” in the first place?

“I suppose.”

“…?”

Unlike Lynn who was too shocked to speak—

Farfalle nodded slowly, as if something had clicked into place.

Her purple hair swayed gently in the direction of her nod.

“I think I understand why Duke Swen remained with Serpina’s army instead of returning to Lunarian’s forces.”

“What…?”

“Perhaps he was aiming for this situation from the beginning.”

“Aiming for this situation?”

“As my lord knows, Duke Swen has an ‘ability.'”

“…!!”

That’s right.

Swen was by no means an ordinary man.

From the moment they first met, when he acted with such confidence as if he knew everything that would happen in the future—

To the miracle he performed at the Northern Fortress, and how quickly he predicted the rebellion within Serpina’s army.

Now that the existence of mages had become apparent, it seemed he was no different from a mage himself.

“And this is the result. Serpina’s army has become Swen’s army… and he has gained everything.”

“So you’re claiming that Swen served Serpina because he anticipated all this? Because he already knew he would become the ruler?”

“That what he was aiming for… from the beginning, was to receive Serpina’s crown and become the new king?”

“…”

Surprisingly,

Farfalle changed her confident demeanor, bowing her head deeply.

“If the situation hadn’t turned out like this, I would have been certain of it.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Don’t you know, my lord? How far we’ve been pushed back.”

“…Ah.”

That’s right.

The situation where they had been engaged in a war of annihilation with the Lunarian army for a long time now.

While they had been going back and forth in individual battles with Serpina’s army achieving some results, in the overall framework of the war, Serpina’s army had never once defeated the Lunarian army.

As a result, about two-thirds of the continent’s territory had already fallen into Lunarian hands, and now they were holed up in Kelstein Castle, which was essentially their final line of defense, focusing on defense as much as possible, just as she had done at Anel Castle.

The difference was that while at Anel Castle they had to squeeze out resources they didn’t have and eventually collapsed quickly due to the variable named Tifa—

Here they had mages and the difference in national power compared to the Brans army at that time was significant, so it seemed unlikely they would collapse easily unless something truly extraordinary happened.

“If Duke Swen can use magic to see the future, he would have already known this would happen… In that case, wouldn’t returning to the advantageous Lunarian army be a much more rational decision than becoming the king of a failing nation?”

Lynn couldn’t respond because she thought Farfalle’s words made sense.

“Moreover, Duke Swen is a founding contributor to the Lunarian army and practically their lifesaver. You know who saved Lunarian from you, my lord.”

“…That’s true.”

“If he returned to the Lunarian army, he would undoubtedly receive treatment equivalent to being a king here. In conclusion, from Swen’s perspective, inheriting the throne of this country is likely not the most efficient option.”

“You… don’t think our army can defeat the Lunarian army, do you?”

“Yes. I believe there’s more than a 90% chance we can’t. And I’m surely not the only one who thinks so.”

“…”

Lynn let out a short sigh.

When Luna’s world arrives… what will become of me?

“Still, if none other than Duke Swen has become our new lord, wouldn’t it be alright to place some hope in him?”

“In truth, that’s all we can do anyway.”

“That’s right.”

Farfalle smiled bitterly.

How could she have imagined that she, and the lord she once served… would end up serving a young rookie strategist as their ruler?

Lynn fell into thought for a moment, then—

“Perhaps Swen isn’t someone who only makes efficient decisions.”

“Pardon?”

“No, just… thinking about what you said, it occurred to me. He inherited the throne because he married Serpina, right? I would understand if our situation was overwhelmingly superior to the Lunarian army. But can you imagine becoming family with that villainess just to inherit a crumbling country?”

“…You mean—”

“Yes.”

Lynn closed her eyes and pictured a woman’s face.

A face she missed. Someone she couldn’t bring herself to visit despite now serving the same lord.

Irene Juliette.

The loyal knight of House Brans who left with Swen… who left her hands.

“When Swen took Irene with him, my mind was too complicated to realize it, but… I think it might have been love. His betrayal of me was something that would have happened eventually when considering Lunarian, but—I think he defected to the Aeshus army so quickly because he loved Irene. If he had only thought rationally, it would have been much more advantageous to stay under our Brans army and wait for the Lunarian army to rise.”

“…”

Farfalle nodded slowly, seemingly in agreement.

In the end, Irene was at the core of the betrayal. Lynn had tried to kill Irene with her own hands, and that had completely ruined the future of the Brans army.

“Similarly, if Swen made an irrational choice to the end… it might be because of love, and Swen might have fallen in love with Serpina. If that’s true—”

—Serpina might not be as bad a person as I thought.

“!!!”

Unlike the startled Farfalle, Lynn’s voice was remarkably calm.

“After all, Irene, whom he loves… is a good person.”

After saying that, Lynn stared ahead for a while, lost in some mental image—

Then, with a curve forming at the corners of her mouth, she spoke.

“…!”

Farfalle couldn’t help but be surprised at the sight.

Since that day.

Since Lynn, who had lost her mind from the tremendous shock, finally opened her eyes again and did everything in her power to salvage the future of the Brans army—this was a smile filled with her true feelings that Farfalle had never seen before.

“I want to try believing in our new lord—Swen… I should call him Lord Swen now. If someone who cherishes and loves Irene unifies the continent… it would certainly be good for Irene at least.”

Lynn slowly stood up and dusted off her knees.

For some reason, her shoulders felt remarkably light.

“Farfalle. Reply to our new lord. Tell him we will continue to serve with loyalty.”

“Ah, yes…!”

—Although the blue dream had turned to bubbles—

To cover the transgressions committed while carrying that burden, the flame was once again burning a brilliant blue flame using its own body as fuel.

Just as the red shield had once struggled solely to protect the blue dream—

—Now, solely to protect the red shield.

* * *

Several days had passed since I completed the private ceremony with Serpina.

Even though Serpina’s army had become Swen’s army, it didn’t really feel real.

It was only when I visited Kelstein Castle as usual and confirmed that my place was now the lord’s seat—the throne—that I could feel how the world had been turned upside down.

‘I really have become the ruler.’

When I realized it was the only hope, I didn’t fully grasp it because my emotions were running high…

But sitting in this seat, it felt all the more real that I had risen to a position where I commanded and directed everything.

‘…There’s nothing to be excited about.’

Becoming the ruler didn’t mean I would be walking an easy path.

From now on, I had to challenge a major premise that intelligence 100 had never reversed—”Will Lunarian Ineanne become the ruler who unifies the continent?”

Fortunately, or should I say, the prediction itself had changed to “It depends on heaven’s will”—which meant everything depended on what I did.

I could only guess that it meant I needed to do my best somehow—that was all I could surmise now.

First of all, a strategist.

Since I hadn’t appointed a national strategist yet, there was no advisor by my side.

Who would be good as a strategist?

Based on the intelligence stats in my memory, Ms. Reika and Lady Serpina had high intelligence…

Considering Ms. Reika’s personality—

‘I suppose appointing Lady Serpina as the national strategist would be most efficient here?’

——Yes.

I was certainly just thinking that to myself.

Without being conscious of anything.

Just as casually as I might wonder “what should I eat today?” on a normal day.

But.

As if to sound an alarm to me, who wasn’t thinking anything—

To me, who hadn’t even considered what it meant to become a ruler instead of a strategist—

—It came up to me and whispered.

[That is correct.]

‘!!!’

I looked around in surprise.

Wait a minute.

Why did an intelligence 100 prediction appear?

I haven’t been asked any questions by anyone yet…?

…Huh?

‘W-Wait a minute.’

After calming my trembling heart… I thought of something else.

‘…What is the most efficient method we can use to counter the Lunarian army?’

[Hold out in Kelstein Castle until the second battle.]

‘Who is most suitable as the lord of Einhart Castle?’

[The current lord, Iolyne Al Kaski, is most suitable.]

‘Is it possible to form an alliance with the Lunarian army?’

[Impossible.]

Only after repeating questions and answers in my head several times—

A memory from the past flashed through my mind like lightning.

This game.

As important as strategists were, it was advantageous to appoint one by any means, but a national strategist could only be appointed if their intelligence was above a certain threshold.

Weak minor nations with barely any officers often started without a strategist.

Wasn’t the reason I was so fixated on my last game because I had obtained an outstanding strategist named Ginor?

Of course, it wasn’t that advice wouldn’t appear at all without a strategist.

It would just appear as if I were thinking to myself.

Phrases like ‘It seems difficult to recruit them,’ or ‘This battle seems unwinnable.’

That’s right.

A ruler without a strategist… could ask themselves for advice.

And the accuracy of that advice—

“…Hah!”

So that’s it.

That’s why it said [It depends on heaven’s will]…!

I hit my forehead hard.

And then laughed like a madman. Just like when I made a prediction that wasn’t really a prediction about the meteor falling at the Northern Fortress.

Only my laughter echoed loudly through the quiet imperial palace.

A ruler could ask themselves for advice.

The accuracy of that advice was proportional to the ruler’s intelligence stat.

And——

——My intelligence was 100.