Ch.43Chapter 43. Northern Fortress Defense Battle (2)

# Swen. As you ordered, I’ve built a simple altar that you can step up on….”

“Very good.”

After hearing Irene’s words, I checked the altar she had built near the fortress wall.

With small steps on both sides, if I climbed up to the center, it would be quite visible even from outside the fortress.

Still, I thought I should ask just to be sure.

“Um, Lady Irene.”

“What is it?”

She came closer to me.

The distance was excessively close, and I could feel her body slightly brushing against mine.

Moreover, she wasn’t wearing her heavy chest armor at the moment to make carrying bricks easier.

Naturally, her impossibly large chest pressed slightly against my arm.

Somehow the sense of distance between us seems different from usual.

Well, if she was placing her trust in me, that couldn’t be a bad thing.

“For example, that hill over there. When soldiers coming down from there look at me… will they be able to see me clearly?”

“It’s a gentle slope… I think they should be able to see you.”

“Really? That’s good then.”

“…But I’m curious why you asked that.”

Yes.

I should probably explain to Irene…

Of course, I couldn’t tell her everything honestly.

But what’s important is that she ‘recognizes’ what I’m doing.

“Lady Irene. Can you promise not to be surprised no matter what I say?”

Hearing my words, Irene answered without a moment’s hesitation.

“I promise. Swen, I won’t be surprised by anything you say.”

“…”

I slowly closed my eyes.

This is where it begins.

From this point on, I needed to take action.

Yes.

First, I needed to deceive myself.

From now on, I’m going to perform a miracle by calling down “lightning,” one of nature’s disasters.

However, it shouldn’t be implemented in the form of magic. If I claimed to use magic, they would demand proof, calling me a magician or something.

Obviously, I don’t have the ability to cause natural disasters, so proof would be impossible.

Of course, magic does exist in this world.

It’s just that magicians only appeared very late in the game.

It wouldn’t be good to be labeled as the continent’s first magician when not a single magician had emerged yet.

My current lord, Lynn Brans, didn’t like talents that she couldn’t contain within her vessel.

If I became a magician, she might cause trouble for me.

Therefore, this had to be the result of something I achieved through means other than magic.

So—with an expression as if I had realized something,

as if I had received divine revelation, I spoke with a slightly trembling voice.

“Last night, I looked at the sky. Seven stars were shining particularly brightly.”

“Seven stars…?”

“Yes. And three of those stars… shone brightly before my eyes and suddenly disappeared.”

“…?”

Hearing my words, Irene tilted her head in confusion.

She couldn’t help it.

She probably had no idea what I was talking about.

Of course, I had no idea what I was saying either.

I was just stringing together plausible-sounding sentences at random.

How could someone else understand what even I didn’t understand?

But.

That was fine.

All this nonsense I was spouting would be reevaluated after the miracle occurred.

“The energy of the sky is unusual. This flow… if I can interpret it favorably, I think I might be able to achieve a miracle.”

“A miracle…? What kind of miracle specifically?”

“A miracle that can eliminate Serpina’s army in one stroke.”

“!!!”

Surprised by my words, Irene asked:

“Can… you explain in more detail?”

I wanted to tell a big lie like ‘I’m going to make lightning strike,’ but…

The weather was still clear.

I had only vaguely predicted that a natural disaster would occur, but it would be problematic to reveal my hand without knowing what kind of disaster it would be.

“In a few more days… I think I’ll be able to read the flow of the sky clearly. That’s why I had to ask you to build an altar. I need to communicate with the sky.”

“Is… that so?”

Irene tilted her head to the other side, clearly not understanding.

She looks cute like a small animal.

But then she closed her eyes, nodded slowly, and said:

“…I understand, Swen. I don’t know what you’re talking about… but I don’t think you’re talking nonsense.”

I appreciated Irene’s words, but somehow I felt guilty for deceiving her.

Still, the results would speak for themselves.

“Thank you for believing in me. From today, I plan to communicate with the sky here for a few days. If it’s alright with you, could you bring me some simple food to eat during that time?”

“That’s not a difficult request.”

Good.

Now I just need to sit here for a few days, looking like I’m doing something.

Well, let’s try communicating with the sky.

I looked up at the sky.

Then, as if staring at a fire, I gazed blankly at the sky.

Amusingly, this time was becoming a great healing experience for me.

I did wonder what I was doing, but…

After considering my predictions and the rules of this game world that I knew, this was the right answer.

‘It’s okay. Everything will go according to plan. This was the only possibility.’

And so.

On the altar, I sometimes made impressive-looking gestures, or quietly recited lyrics from pop songs I had heard in my previous world.

And this scene was being firmly imprinted in the eyes of the soldiers in the fortress, including Irene who brought me food.

*

A soldier ran up to Irene as she was attending to matters inside the fortress.

“Um, Lady Irene. I have something to ask.”

“Speak.”

“Swen has requested two drums…”

“Drums?”

“Yes, instruments that make sound when struck.”

“I know what drums are… but he asked for them to be brought?”

“Yes. He said they don’t need to be finished products, just something similar, but I’m not sure where to get them…”

Irene pondered for a moment.

‘If we carve wood and cover it with cowhide meant for food… we could make something similar.’

“Um… Lady Irene.”

“Hmm? What is it?”

“Is this right? I mean… how should I put this…”

The soldier was speaking in an extremely cautious tone.

As if he felt very apologetic for bringing up such a topic.

“I don’t understand at all why Swen is asking for these things… Serpina’s forces are about to invade this fortress soon, aren’t they? We barely have enough time to check defensive facilities and make additional arrows, but he’s… dancing on that strange altar, singing in bizarre languages… I, in my humble position, cannot understand what Swen is trying to do.”

Though he was being very careful with his word choice, the conclusion was clear.

He couldn’t understand Swen’s behavior.

He was just a soldier following orders because Swen was an officer, but he was appealing to Irene, who outranked Swen, asking if this was really okay.

And Irene quickly understood what the soldier really wanted to say.

Is he asking me to explain this incomprehensible behavior?

“I understand your concern. I too haven’t figured out exactly what he’s trying to do.”

“Then—”

“However.”

Irene slowly closed her eyes, then nodded, opened her eyes, and looked directly at the soldier’s eyes as she spoke:

“I guarantee this. Swen is not a man who would engage in useless actions. Would you please consider this as following my orders, Irene Juliette’s orders?”

“Your orders… you say.”

Yes.

Honestly, the soldier didn’t know much about this man called Swen.

But if Lady Irene was taking responsibility for all this, the soldier could follow.

Who was she?

Among all the commanders of the Brans army, she was the one who cared most for mere soldiers like himself.

“…Understood.”

“Good. While we’re at it, I’d like to make a request.”

“Anything, General Irene.”

“I’d like you to prepare wood and cowhide.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

Soldiers had eyes too.

They were witnessing all of Swen’s strange behavior.

Not just the soldier who had asked, but many others had approached Irene with similar questions, but she had somehow managed to quell all their complaints.

If Irene, who was trusted by the soldiers, hadn’t stepped in to mediate, Swen, a new officer without the soldiers’ trust, wouldn’t have been able to even set up the altar properly, let alone do anything else.

‘Swen. I believe in you. I won’t… hesitate anymore.’

In this way, she was firmly protecting the man she had newly decided to guard.

* * *

Indeed.

After a few days, as if on cue, the sky began to grow overcast.

Fortunately, it didn’t immediately affect visibility.

‘As expected!’

As I thought, lightning, the most likely natural disaster after landslides, was about to strike Serpina’s army.

I was secretly relieved since I had told Irene about the sky with lightning in mind from the beginning.

So, today again I was doing meaningless things like mumbling, having two soldiers beat drums freely, bringing paper to place some random patterns on the altar floor and weighing them down with stones so they wouldn’t blow away in the wind—actions that looked impressive but were actually nothing.

“You’re working hard today too, Swen.”

“Lady Irene.”

She brought my daily rations again today.

It wasn’t particularly luxurious food, but it was just enough to satisfy my hunger.

“Thank you so much every time.”

“Not at all. You’re the one working hard. So, how is your communication with the sky progressing?”

“Smoothly. I think I might be able to twist the flow before Serpina’s army arrives.”

“I see.”

And.

During all my nonsensical activities, Irene never questioned me once, just brought me meals and took care of various parts of the fortress that I couldn’t attend to.

Gathering soldiers for training, persuading soldiers who questioned my actions, or handling them according to regulations.

While also caring for the wounded, she must have been much busier than me with my pointless activities.

“I’d like to brew tea, but… unfortunately, there are no tea leaves in this fortress.”

“Brew it for me when we get home.”

Hearing my words, Irene smiled faintly again.

Lately, she had been smiling much more often.

“I will. We’ll definitely be able to return together.”

Seeing her smile made me genuinely want to create a miracle.

Of course, I was planning to do so anyway… but having a place to return to really does make a person feel fulfilled.

‘It will work out.’

So I kept muttering to myself, as if brainwashing myself, that everything would work out.

*

The enemies revealed themselves just as the sky was growing overcast, looking like it would pour rain at any moment.

“The enemy is coming!”

“Serpina’s army is in sight!”

Even without the soldiers’ shouts, it was easy to confirm.

“Swen! I heard the soldiers’ voices, could it be…!”

Irene, who had rushed over after hearing the news, stood beside me and looked toward where the enemy was coming from.

“…They’re here.”

Serpina’s forces were approaching.

The number of soldiers was visibly large, and there were many siege weapons.

It seemed excessive to bring that many siege weapons against a single fortress.

Normally, the fortress walls would have collapsed in less than a day. The defensive capabilities of fortress walls were dimensionally lower than those of castle walls.

The moment the soldiers got close to the walls and the catapults were within range to hurl rocks would essentially be the last moment for this fortress.

Then.

If my prediction was correct. And if my guess was right.

‘Now.’

This is it.

At this distance, lightning should strike Serpina’s army.

What happens from that moment on would be most crucial.

I slowly rose from the altar.

“Swen…?”

I said to her suggestively:

“Lady Irene. I will bring you victory without fail.”

Then I looked toward where the enemies were gathering.

‘Come.’

With that thought, I spread my arms wide.

The greatest show of my life, on which I was betting everything, was about to begin.