Ch.59Chapter 59. First Encounter / Aeshas

As he said, there was a crude camp set up not far away.

It felt like a place built solely for negotiations, without even a fence or any other fortifications.

“Please wait a moment.”

After saying this, the Aeshus army messenger entered the tent.

Standing beside Irene, I whispered to her carefully.

“You don’t need to be nervous. From her perspective, there’s no reason to reject our surrender.”

Instead of answering, she slowly nodded.

I could already read her trust in me from the look in her eyes.

And after some time had passed.

Finally, from inside the tent—the person who would become our new lord appeared, accompanied by a woman.

Long, elegant black hair.

Two differently colored eyes—one deep sea blue and the other a contrasting bright sky blue.

Her straight nose and lips were positioned perfectly, as if on a well-carved statue.

She wasn’t the type whose feminine presence was overwhelmingly expressed through her physical features like Irene standing beside me—

But with curves in all the right places, she had a beautiful figure with definite feminine charm.

In terms of balance alone, I thought many people might actually prefer her type.

‘Wow… she’s beautiful.’

I couldn’t hide my admiration upon seeing Baranga Yurie Aeshus—Yurie’s appearance.

She had a face far more beautiful than I had imagined.

I already knew Yurie’s face.

I had even chosen to play as her in the game before.

However.

Just like with Lynn and Irene—there was quite a gap between the pixelated in-game graphics and her actual face.

Honestly, I wondered if she had really been this beautiful.

And the woman beside her.

I could easily recognize her.

In this game, there was only one general who always carried a bow with teal hair tied in a ponytail.

Epinel Rosenkroz.

One of the founding contributors of the Aeshus army, an S-class general with outstanding military power and leadership.

Among the subordinate generals of “the Aeshus army, which has a small territory but S-class general pool,” she was particularly skilled—a face-of-the-army type general.

I hadn’t noticed when seeing her in pixel form, but she exuded a strong feminine charm.

In terms of exposure alone, she was revealing her stomach and thighs completely while only covering her chest.

World-setting allowances aside, it was impressive that she wore such clothes to the battlefield.

Irene knelt on one knee and bowed her head as Yurie’s footsteps stopped in front of her.

I matched her timing and did the same.

“I am honored to meet Baranga Yurie Aeshus.”

Yurie nodded at Irene’s words and said.

“Are you Irene Juliette?”

“Yes, I am.”

“I’ve heard rumors, but this is my first time seeing you in person. It’s an honor to meet the red-haired female knight Irene face to face.”

Yurie smiled, then turned her head slightly to look down at me and asked.

“And who is this?”

“My name is Swen. I wish to defect to the Aeshus army along with Irene.”

“…”

She silently looked at me.

Then, in a tone like a girl who had found something interesting, she said:

“You… have white hair? That’s a color rarely seen in this region for a young man. Could you possibly be… the ‘White-haired Magician’ who split the sky and created a miracle at the Brans army fortress in the north?”

‘….’

That day when a meteor fell, not lightning.

Considering the number of witnesses, I expected rumors about me to spread—

But hearing the somewhat cringeworthy title “White-haired Magician” directly made me feel a bit embarrassed.

But, what did it matter?

As long as I had this title, it would be good for me if she found me desirable.

“I’m embarrassed to admit it, but yes, that’s me. Though calling me a magician is somewhat ambiguous.”

“Oh? Is that so?”

Yurie said this and laughed softly while covering her mouth.

Not mockingly… but a laugh that suggested she found something interesting.

She was clearly a different type of person from Lynn Brans, who occasionally leaked undisguisable creepiness.

For deliberate manipulation, Lynn’s style might actually be easier to deal with… but I couldn’t stay under her to save Irene.

“Let me see. So you both want to surrender to our army?”

“Yes. Myself, Swen here, and the authority over the fortress along with the 38,000 soldiers inside it.”

Yurie nodded and then carefully asked.

“Irene, and Swen. Listen carefully. Your offer is too good for us to refuse from our perspective. But, normally, people don’t surrender by bringing along soldiers and an entire fortress. Think about it. If you’re going to surrender, wouldn’t it be less troublesome and easier to just escape somehow and join our side? If you were surrendering during a war when defeat seemed imminent, you might come with your soldiers, but we’re not exactly at war right now, are we? We’re on bad terms, sure.”

Her words were logical.

The truth is, things had become complicated because I was trying to maximize the benefits of surrender to achieve my goal of “shaking up the central continent where the Brans army holds the majority.”

“So, what I’m saying is… hmm.”

As Yurie was struggling with her words.

Epinel, who was standing beside her, spoke for the first time.

“What Yurie is saying is that she can’t fully trust you. What if this is a deceptive tactic disguised as surrender? If the soldiers you’ve brought start a rebellion from within, we would be in serious trouble. A fortress, soldiers, and excellent generals. This seems too favorable for our Aeshus army.”

So, they’re afraid this surrender itself might be bait, like a ‘Trojan Horse.’

Well, being suspicious wasn’t that strange.

I thought it would be best to honestly explain why we needed to surrender.

“Actually—”

At that moment.

Irene gently placed her hand on mine as I was about to speak.

She seemed to be saying, ‘Leave this to me.’

Right.

After all, she was the main subject of the surrender, so it made sense for her to speak.

“I…”

Irene slowly closed her eyes.

Then, reopening them at the same pace, she looked up at Yurie and said.

“I have detected intense killing intent directed at me from my former lord, Lynn Brans.”

“Killing intent…?”

Both Yurie and Epinel seemed shocked by Irene’s confession.

Understandable. It’s rare for someone to harbor killing intent toward their own general.

But everything she was saying was true. The intense aura of truth can move people.

“Yes. She… dislikes me. Beyond hatred and resentment, she wishes for my death.”

“…What? This is… hard to understand. You’re Irene, right? The red-haired female knight. The siege specialist. I know your name. Probably every lord knows your name. Why would anyone treat such a renowned general like that?”

“…”

That’s what I’m saying.

Why such hatred?

They say there’s no reason needed to hate someone, but Lynn Brans definitively killed Irene Juliette in every timeline.

“It’s shameful, but it’s the truth. So… to survive, I’m defecting to the Aeshus army.”

“Hmm…”

At that moment.

Epinel turned her head toward Yurie.

“Yurie. She doesn’t seem to be lying.”

“Huh?”

One new fact I learned:

Epinel was speaking informally to Yurie.

Though it might seem insignificant, it had considerable meaning.

She clearly had a very strong position within the Aeshus army.

“I told the spy we sent to the Brans army to report any rumors, no matter how trivial. And indeed, such talk exists. Lynn Brans does hate Irene Juliette.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I didn’t tell you because it didn’t seem like important information. After all, it’s just gossip from another country.”

“If we truly had some scheme behind our surrender, we might harm the Aeshus army, but we two wouldn’t survive either. And as the rumors say… Lady Lynn Brans hates me. I want to live. I have no intention of risking my life to ambush Yurie’s army for her sake.”

“Hmm… I see, so you’re surrendering to our army to survive… huh.”

A person only has one life.

When you die, everyone meets the same end equally.

Few reasons give more legitimacy to surrender than not wanting to die.

“…Alright. If those rumors are true, I understand Irene’s situation. But.”

Yurie turned her head to look down at me and said.

“Swen. Why are you surrendering? If you just stayed with the Brans army, you’d be on a tremendous path to promotion. As a magician who created a miracle, they’d treat you properly, wouldn’t they? It seems strange that someone like you would leave the substantial Brans army to join our small Aeshus army.”

So, she’s asking me ‘why are you doing something that seems disadvantageous to you?’

I had somewhat anticipated this question, so I delivered my prepared response.

“I came to believe that Lynn Brans is not a lord worthy of my service. In other words, I judged that she doesn’t match the qualities of a ruler who could conquer the world.”

“Is that so?”

Though my answer was ordinary, I could notice.

The corners of her mouth turned up slightly upon hearing those words.

“Yes. Just look at Irene here. How could someone who treats a general of Irene’s caliber with personal emotions rather than valuing them properly become a unifying ruler of the continent? I want to serve someone who will become the unifying ruler. My achievements only have meaning after I’ve chosen the right lord.”

“Really? Then conversely, you think I’m the one who will become the unifying ruler?”

“Yes.”

Looking at me as I answered without hesitation, she smiled with composure.

This should be enough.

But she still continued to question me.

“Is that so? Is that the only reason? Nothing else?”

“…?”

What’s this?

That expectant look in her eyes…?

Until just now, what I had felt from Yurie was a ruler’s aura different from Lynn or Lunarian.

They all had different tones, personalities, and attitudes toward me, but they all clearly carried the spirit of someone bearing the will of others on their shoulders.

But now… she was looking at me not with a ruler’s eyes, but with the eyes of a young girl.

‘…Could it be.’

I carefully… brought up what I guessed she wanted to hear.

“I want to stay by Irene’s side and protect her.”

“…!!!”

At my words, Irene, who was kneeling beside me, looked at me in surprise.

Her face turning completely red and her flustered expression… was honestly quite cute.

And Yurie too.

Only after hearing that answer did she speak with a satisfied expression.

“I knew it. What other reason would a man have for following a woman? That’s enough for me to understand. Hehehe.”

“…”

“Alright. Can you both stand up? Epinel, prepare that.”

As we rose from our positions, Epinel went into the tent and brought something out.

It was a basket containing two cups, alcohol, and something resembling a silver dagger.

Epinel skillfully filled the cups while holding the tray.

Beside her, Yurie took the silver dagger and opened it—

“…!”

She slightly cut her finger.

Then, she mixed a few drops of her flowing blood into the alcohol.

“Here.”

Irene and I accepted the cups.

The clear rice wine was becoming cloudy with her blood mixed in.

“Drink it. With this, you become our family, having shared my blood.”

‘…What a strange ritual.’

I wasn’t one to talk, having performed rituals to call down lightning, but still.

I was freshly reminded that this place was reality.

The in-game information I knew about Yurie was limited to: ‘excellent leadership that makes many people follow her,’ ‘very close relationships with comrades,’ ‘a mid-tier ruler with a weak foundation but good talent pool.’

But of course, without meeting her in person—

It’s difficult to fully grasp a person like Yurie from just a few lines in a ‘character introduction.’

After lightly emptying the cup.

Yurie finally spoke in a somewhat solemn tone.

“Irene Juliette. And Swen. Welcome to our Aeshus army. I, Baranga Yurie Aeshus, will stake my life to protect you. Those who have shared my blood are all my family.”

Then, looking at Irene, she said.

“I look forward to working with you, Irene.”

“Yes! I will strive to meet your expectations!”

“…And, I look forward to working with you, Swen?”

Yurie asked me, tilting her head.

I gave her a confident smile.

“I will make sure you never regret this decision.”

And so Irene and I became members of the Aeshus army.

In conclusion, I had succeeded in saving Irene Juliette.

For that alone, I felt it was worth passing through the Brans army.