Ch.64Chapter 64. Regular Meeting / Aeshas (1)

The path to the royal palace of Valhalart Castle was not much different from Anel Castle.

One difference, however, was that there were many familiar faces for some reason.

This was because I recognized the owners of faces I had seen countless times while playing [Garand Eternity Saga], where I kept using the same generals over and over.

‘Indeed, this feels worthy of Aeshus, known as a treasure trove of talent.’

The keyword for Aeshus was ‘exceptional talent.’

Though their foundation was extremely weak, they somehow covered for it with talented individuals as they aimed for continental unification.

It might require a bit of effort, but it’s not particularly difficult—think of it as a ruler suited for intermediate players.

And so, we arrived at the castle.

A guard stopped us.

“Please state your identity.”

“Irene Juliette. I haven’t been here long.”

“And you?”

“My name is Swen. Like Irene beside me, I haven’t been in Aeshus territory for long.”

“Irene Juliette, Swen… Please wait a moment.”

The guard entered a small room nearby.

Soon after, having apparently confirmed something, he came out and saluted us.

“I apologize for the inconvenience. Please enter.”

“Hmm.”

We gave the guard a slight nod and entered the royal palace where the meeting was to be held.

Soon, we arrived at what appeared to be the audience chamber where the meeting would take place.

Irene and I found suitable places among the gathered people.

After settling in, I slowly observed the participants.

‘Wow.’

I almost let out an exclamation since almost everyone was familiar.

The most noticeable was, of course, Epinel Rosenkroz, the second-in-command of Aeshus.

With her teal ponytail and revealing, provocative armor, she was waiting for the meeting to begin with her eyes closed and arms crossed.

The woman across from her.

Long, wavy hair of deep blue color.

She was undoubtedly Emma Adeline, one of the few generals with the “siege” specialty, just like Irene.

Standing firmly in her armor, she gave off a similar impression to Irene.

If there was any difference, it might be their chest sizes.

Unlike Emma with her ordinary figure, Irene had a chest that seemed to require custom-made armor.

And next to her, an enormously large man.

Black, disheveled hair, tall stature, sturdy muscular build, and eyes that seemed somewhat melancholic.

I don’t usually memorize male characters’ faces, so I couldn’t be certain, but it was most likely Erinandorf Arisian.

The strongest in Aeshus in terms of pure strength.

A reliable ally who could hold his own in one-on-one duels.

His personality was less reckless compared to Chel from Brans, making him fairly easy to control, but unfortunately, I remembered that his intelligence was low, making him susceptible to schemes.

Epinel. Emma. And Erinandorf.

The three of them together were called the Aeshus Trio.

This wasn’t something I just made up—it was actually written in the in-game character introductions.

Most of the other generals were also familiar faces.

Seeing them like this made me realize anew that there weren’t many outstanding generals in Brans, where I had been before.

There were plenty of people there, but most weren’t memorable faces.

After some time had passed…

“Lord Yurie is entering!”

Along with the soldier’s announcement,

Yurie was walking toward the empty throne.

“Huh?”

Wait a minute.

That old man following behind Yurie…?

A man with a deeply pulled-down hat and distinctively long white beard… that person…

[Is Intelligence 99 something to be taken lightly?]

‘…Ah!’

Right. I remember now.

That old man… Ginor.

The old man with an intelligence of 99, essentially the maximum in-game.

How could I forget Ginor, who put me into this world!

Though I’m not sure if the Ginor in this world knows about that.

So his name was… Ginor Nighthart, wasn’t it?

Huh?

Nighthart?

‘Ah! Ah! Ah!’

That’s right.

Nighthart… Ginor’s surname, which naturally stuck in my memory.

But Reika’s surname was definitely Nighthart too.

What’s going on? Is she Ginor’s daughter? Granddaughter?

No… but Reika was an orphan?

I’m certain of this. Having used Reika numerous times while playing as various rulers, I could be sure.

‘What’s going on here?’

It seemed that while I was in Brans, things had been progressing here in their own way.

I hadn’t even thought Ginor would be here in Aeshus.

However, Ginor’s presence neatly resolved one question I’d had.

When I was in Brans.

Based on Charam’s sudden tribute, I was able to identify the “Betrayal Scheme.”

But the Betrayal Scheme required Intelligence 95 or higher and the [Betrayal] specialty.

To the question of whether Aeshus had such a strategist—

Ginor was the perfect answer.

With Intelligence 99 and versatile skills, he could certainly devise such schemes with ease.

Yurie slowly sat on the throne, then looked at us and said:

“Well. Thank you all for gathering despite your busy schedules. Let’s start the meeting right away. Before we begin, shall we take time for last month’s merit awards?”

“Yes!”

The merit awards weren’t particularly important content.

What stood out was the achievements of the Trio, including Epinel.

It seemed they were performing at their best in their respective positions in this world as well.

“Now, regarding the policy from the last meeting. Everyone worked very hard. Although we failed to conquer Brans, we achieved remarkable results in other areas. I expect you to continue performing like this in the future.”

As someone who had greatly contributed to the failure of advancing into the central continent, I felt a bit awkward.

Anyway, this was my home now.

“Well. For this time, I’d like to gather opinions on what we should do next. Anyone have good suggestions?”

“My lord.”

Ginor was the first to raise his hand at Yurie’s words.

“Yes?”

“I sense auspicious energy in the territory of Valhalart. It might be worthwhile to explore the castle and the territory.”

“Exploration…”

Huh?

Advisors don’t usually recommend territory exploration.

They only do so in two cases: when there’s hidden talent or when there’s treasure.

At that moment:

“Yurie. I have something to say too.”

Calling her “Yurie” instead of “my lord,” Emma raised her hand.

And she was speaking informally, not respectfully.

Of course, this wasn’t the first time I’d seen such a scene. Tifa had spoken like that back in Lunarian.

But Lunarian was essentially a small group of four people, unlike Aeshus, which had a considerable size. I wondered if it was appropriate for a subordinate general to speak like that, even if they were trusted.

However, Yurie herself didn’t seem to mind as she nodded and said:

“What is it?”

“I think we should deal with Charam and Allepel. I don’t think there’s any value in keeping them alive anymore. We’ve been delaying the invasion with schemes and such, right? We’ll soon clash significantly with Brans, so I’d like to eliminate potential threats in preparation.”

“Hmm.”

Yurie nodded and said:

“Anyone else want to speak?”

A moment of silence passed.

When no one spoke, the meeting continued.

“Alright. First, who thinks it would be good to ‘explore around Valhalart Castle’? Please raise your hand lightly.”

‘Territory exploration, huh.’

It was time to use my power after a long while.

‘Is exploring the territory of Valhalart the most efficient choice?’

As always, my Intelligence 100 brain immediately produced a result.

[Yes, it is.]

‘Oh.’

That was an impressively clear answer after a long time.

Given that the speaker was none other than Ginor, I had expected as much.

His intelligence was 99.

In this world, Intelligence 99 meant his words were 99% likely to be correct.

Unless it was that 1% chance, it made sense to follow his advice.

I slowly raised my hand.

Including Irene beside me, slightly more than half the people raised their hands.

It seemed there were quite a few people in the army who trusted Ginor.

Yurie briefly scanned the room, then continued:

“Next. Who thinks it would be good to deal with Charam and Allepel?”

The outcome was already decided, but I might as well ask.

‘Is prioritizing the conquest of Charam and Allepel the most efficient choice?’

[No, it is not.]

As expected, the answer came, giving me a strange sense of relief.

Regardless of my prediction, a similar number of people raised their hands this time too.

But counting the raised hands… it seemed there were one or two fewer than for the previous opinion.

So would they adopt Ginor’s proposal based on majority vote?

However.

“Hmm…”

Instead of saying “According to majority rule, we’ll adopt Ginor’s proposal,” Yurie seemed lost in thought.

Is this something that needs consideration?

In “meetings,” the opinion chosen by majority vote was always selected.

Not doing so would reduce the loyalty of generals or strain relationships, so from a ruler’s perspective, it was beneficial to just go with the majority.

From the generals’ perspective, they could use one-on-one debates to persuade even if they lost in the majority vote.

But.

“Ginor. I think you’ll have to concede this time. It’s Emma’s suggestion, after all. Is that okay?”

“How could I object, my lord? I will follow your will.”

After hearing Ginor’s words, Yurie nodded and addressed us:

“This time, we’ll adopt Emma’s opinion. Reclaiming the territories of Charam and Allepel. To achieve our goal, I hope everyone works hard in their respective positions. Understood?”

“Yes! Understood!”

‘…?’

Without anyone raising an objection, she just decided as she pleased and that was it.

If it was going to be like this, was there any need to gather people’s opinions?

Moreover, the wording “It’s Emma’s suggestion, after all” was telling.

Does it mean if it had been some third person other than Emma, there would be no need to concede?

I feel like I’ve glimpsed a fundamental problem with Aeshus…

But with the limited information I had, it was difficult to draw a conclusion.

Anyway, the meeting continued.

One notable point was Epinel’s request, as the fortress commander, to deploy an additional 10,000 soldiers from Valhalart Castle to her fortress.

Given that there were currently 53,000 troops at Valhalart Castle, sending some wouldn’t be too burdensome…

But it was somewhat concerning how quickly the request was approved.

It seemed the influence of the Aeshus Trio was stronger than I had thought.

As the meeting concluded,

Yurie stood up and addressed us:

“I’ve organized the tasks for each of you, so please check them on your way out. With this, the meeting is adjourned. Oh, and.”

Then, looking in my direction, she said:

“Swen. Please stay here for a moment.”

“…?”

With her single statement, the eyes of every general in the room turned to me.

It was a bit disconcerting to suddenly be the center of attention, but a general must obey their lord’s commands.

“Understood.”

“Good. Everyone else is dismissed.”

“Understood!”

With those final words, the gathered generals gave their final salutations and left the audience chamber one by one.

I told Irene that I would be out shortly and she could go ahead, then remained in my place until everyone had left.

In the now quiet audience chamber,

The only people left were myself, Ginor, and Yurie—three in total.

I naturally approached her throne.

“What is it, my lord?”

“Swen. There’s something I want to ask you.”

“What might that be…?”

“Actually, it’s more this person’s question than mine.”

Yurie slightly turned her head to look at Ginor beside her.

What?

Ginor has something to say to me?

At that moment, for some reason, the phrase “Is Intelligence 99 something to be taken lightly?” flashed through my mind again.

Ginor gave me a slight bow and slowly walked toward me.

“Are you indeed Swen?”

“Yes, I am.”

“…”

Why… why?

What is it?

Ginor looked at me and asked in a very cautious tone: