Ch.96Chapter 96. Battle of Hispiel Castle (6)

“…….”

After hearing my explanation, Ginor stroked his chin for a while with a troubled expression.

Then, looking straight into my eyes, he asked.

“Yes. Everything you say makes sense. If Anima loses, things will likely proceed as you described. But… how can you know all this in such detail?”

“If we assume defeat, the possible outcomes become limited.”

“That’s not what I mean.”

Ginor glared at me.

No… to be precise, it wasn’t a glare. He was certainly looking at me sharply, but… it was something slightly different.

I had received such a gaze once before.

At Anel Castle, after the Northern Fortress defense battle.

Back then, Lynn, who was my lord at the time, looked at me with such eyes.

Fear.

In Ginor’s slightly trembling eyes, I caught a glimpse of fear.

“How can you be so certain of defeat? How do you know it will happen that way?”

“…….”

“Let me continue while we’re on the subject. You act as if you know everything. There was a similar incident before. When you said there would be a surprise attack on Valhalart Castle. Back then too, your words carried absolute certainty and confidence. And indeed, everything happened exactly as you said.”

“Even I don’t know everything in this world. Who could possibly know everything? Besides, we’re discussing important matters. How can a man accomplish anything if he lacks confidence in such situations?”

“Evading the most crucial part of the question isn’t a good habit, but I would have answered the same way if I were you, Swen.”

As he said this with a hollow laugh, I felt a strange sense of kinship with him.

“Very well. Since you’ve made your deductions, I’ll make a few of my own. Is that alright? I promise not to take too much of your time.”

“Go ahead.”

“I still think there’s a high probability that you’re right. After all, your story makes sense and everything fits together. Moreover, it’s coming from you, Swen, not just anyone else. I believe there’s a high chance you’ll be right this time too, just like before. In fact, I’m starting to think that perhaps your predictions were correct even before you arrived here.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Let me be frank while we’re on the subject. The public believes that Lynn Brans lost an exceptional military commander in Irene Juliette… but I think losing you might have been an even more painful blow to the Brans army than losing General Irene.”

“Me? Haha. You exaggerate. I was merely a sidekick to General Irene.”

“The Brans army began to collapse after you came over to our side.”

“That was also after General Irene came over.”

“You were the one who called upon the heavens to drop a boulder.”

“As I told you, I’m not a mage and can’t use magic. You’ve seen your daughter, so you should know.”

“That daughter of mine has shown remarkable progress since following your training methods.”

“Training is merely superficial. Her talent is simply beginning to bloom.”

“…Ha!”

Ginor sighed deeply—

Then, for the first time, he tilted his head back and began to laugh heartily.

“You really don’t give an inch, do you!”

As he said this, laughing uproariously at whatever he found so amusing, I realized something.

This was the first time I had seen him laugh.

After a few minutes had passed.

“Swen. This may sound crazy, but I must ask.”

“What is it?”

“Can you perhaps see the future?”

After finishing his question, he stared at me intently.

The fear I had briefly detected earlier was no longer present.

Instead, the emotion in this shrewd strategist’s eyes was… fierce curiosity.

“…….”

“Is it magic after all? Can you see the future through magic, Swen?”

Seeing the future, he says.

Well, if knowing only the outcomes of future events counts as seeing the future, then I suppose he’s right.

But I can’t accept that.

How can something be called magic when I can only make limited predictions, and only when specifically asked questions!

“Forgive me for being rude.”

“There’s no need to hold back now. Speak freely.”

“Seeing the future through magic? Your delusions are quite severe.”

“Ha! That’s rich coming from someone speaking to me, a man whose daughter actually uses real magic.”

“But isn’t it true? If I could see the future, wouldn’t I be making more impressive claims upfront rather than walking this tightrope?”

“It would be different if the future you can see is limited. For instance, perhaps you can determine whether we’ll win or lose a war… but not why it happens that way.”

‘…!!!’

Oh no.

I was so startled that I almost twisted my expression, barely managing to control myself.

To reach that conclusion just from our conversation…

Have I been underestimating Ginor?

‘Is Intelligence 99 something to be taken lightly?’

Suddenly, I recalled the phrase that sent me to this world.

Come to think of it, Ginor was the one who said those words.

I responded with the most composed expression I could manage.

“An interesting hypothesis.”

“Well. Reflecting on our dialogue, I’m not so sure it’s merely a hypothesis.”

He said this with a twitch of his lips.

I never thought Ginor Nighthart would be a person with such expressive features.

Somehow, it felt like the mask of sociability he always wore had slipped off.

‘Suddenly reminds me of Grandpa Cain.’

He too only revealed his true self to me at the very end.

I wonder if he’s doing well?

Unaware that I was thinking about another general, Ginor nodded his head exaggeratedly and said to me.

“Of course, I understand why you can only respond that way. You can’t tell just anyone about your abilities. What gambler shows their hand to everyone?”

“…….”

“Very well. I’ll help you persuade our lord. We’ve talked too much about unnecessary things. Let’s go to the royal castle right away.”

It seemed that Ginor, based on the information he had, was mistakenly thinking of me as a ‘mage’ with the ability to foresee the future.

It was a similar yet fundamentally different, crucial misunderstanding… but it seemed easier to use this misconception than to explain everything.

After all, I hadn’t actually confirmed his words.

From the beginning, hasn’t it been other people’s misconceptions that I’ve exploited multiple times to survive with this ability?

I quietly followed Ginor as he took the lead.

*

“Really? You’re saying there’s an ambush?”

“Yes. Please approve this operation, my lord.”

Ginor bowed his head to Yurie, pleading.

As soon as we arrived at the royal castle, the situation was quickly explained.

What particularly impressed me was Ginor’s eloquence.

Honestly, compared to my explanation, which was just a hastily cobbled together ‘most plausible possibility,’ his explanation carried much more convincing power.

“But from what I’ve heard, isn’t the ambush just speculation? I don’t think Anima would move so rashly without considering such possibilities…”

“My lord. I hesitate to say this, but I once directly served Serpina von Einhart in my younger days.”

“…!”

Well, that made sense since he had been the Imperial Chancellor.

It was natural for him to have connections with the imperial family.

“She is an extremely cunning person, with a nature like that of a snake. Among the imperial family, Serpina was uniquely cold-blooded. She is exceptionally skilled at setting traps to deceive people. There’s a possibility she used some method to reassure Anima.”

After hearing Ginor’s words, Yurie momentarily let emotion seep into her voice.

“Are you saying Anima is the kind of person who would be deceived by Serpina?”

“……”

Ginor, who had been explaining smoothly until now, was suddenly at a loss for words.

Well, when logic is confronted with emotion, even the smartest person would be speechless.

Perhaps I should step in here.

“It is precisely because it’s Anima that we must take action.”

“…What?”

For someone driven by emotions, touching on those emotions is effective.

I put on the most apologetic expression I could.

“As you said, there’s a possibility that there is no ambush. Our actions might be a waste of rations, or even time. But Anima has always been by your side, always supporting you, Yurie. If an ambush does exist, something truly irreversible could happen.”

“…!!”

At the words “irreversible,” her expression was visibly overcome with shock.

I liked straightforward people.

The more straightforward a person is, the easier they are to persuade.

“Rations can be purchased with money. While time cannot be recovered, wasting time is far better than putting Anima’s life in danger. Don’t you agree?”

Yurie thought for a long time after hearing my words.

It was Ginor who urged her on.

“My lord. Please listen to Swen this time. I, Ginor, earnestly request it.”

“…Ginor.”

Yurie looked at Ginor for a moment—

Then, with a faint smile, she said.

“Ginor, I never thought I’d see the day when you would plead so desperately for someone else.”

“I am merely doing my utmost for you, Yurie.”

Instead of responding to his words, Yurie turned to look at me and asked in a serious tone.

“…So, how should we respond?”

“We need to take two simultaneous actions.”

“Two actions?”

“First, we must send reinforcements from our side. But that will take time to prepare. The marching speed of troops won’t be very fast either. They will likely arrive after the situation has already concluded.”

“Then what’s the point of sending them?”

“Exactly. That would be true if there wasn’t a second option.”

I spoke with a very confident expression.

“I will make Serpina’s forces, which I believe are positioned at the front of Anima’s army, retreat back to Hispil Castle.”

“What?”

Make them retreat.

Both Ginor and Yurie seemed to understand what I was saying.

“You mean to spread false information?”

“Yes.”

I nodded at Ginor’s words.

“We’ll spread false information to Serpina’s army that Hispil Castle is under attack. That will cause Serpina’s forces to retreat.”

*

As I left the royal castle, I was lost in thought.

Spreading false information—the strategy of deception.

In the game that serves as the original source for this world, it was a tactic used to deceive enemy forces in the field and make them retreat.

Just as Ginor had once used the “strategy of betrayal” against the Brans army by joining hands with the Allepel and Charam armies, this “strategy of deception” would surely exist as well.

The problem was how to actually implement it.

In the game, you simply clicked on “Strategy,” selected “Deception,” clicked on the enemy forces, and ended your turn—then success or failure was determined based on your Intelligence stat.

But this wasn’t a game anymore; this was reality.

Nothing would change unless I took direct action.

It was the same with my debate against Farfalle back then.

In the game, it was just a rock-paper-scissors-like mini-game where health decreased based on Intelligence stats, but in reality, I had to develop logical arguments based on evidence.

‘I don’t think they’d fall for it if we just sent a spy to the enemy camp claiming Hispil Castle was under attack…’

For false information to be effective, it needs to have credibility that would make anyone believe it.

How could I add that credibility?

As I was lost in thought, Ginor casually spoke to me.

“Well, we’ve succeeded in persuading our lord. I hope your words prove correct.”

“Don’t worry about that.”

“Well, since you’ve ‘opened your divine eye’ with magic, I suppose you wouldn’t worry. Your words will probably be right.”

Divine eye?

What nonsense is that? But anyway, let’s just let him keep his misconception for now. It’s less troublesome.

“Is there anything else I can help with?”

“No. From here on, it’s an area I need to figure out myself. Your help with the persuasion was enough. Don’t you have other appointments?”

“A strategist’s duties are all much the same. Apart from observing Reika’s training results in the evening, I have no special plans.”

“Training results?”

“Once a week, I check that child’s current abilities. You can think of it as confirming her learning progress. Her magic has certainly improved a lot. She’s now reached a level where she can easily knock down a few trees. Still woefully inadequate for the battlefield, of course.”

“Is that so?”

Since we always meditated or did meaningless things together when we met, I hadn’t regularly checked her magic.

So she’s developed to that extent without much difficulty.

At this pace, she’ll become a mage much faster than in the game’s history.

Talent is truly frightening… As I was having such idle thoughts.

‘…Wait?’

A thought crossed my mind.

She can easily knock down a few trees now?

Perhaps… could I use that?

“Lord Ginor.”

“What is it?”

“I have a request for you. It doesn’t involve you moving directly.”

“What is it? I’ll help if I can.”

I turned my head to look him in the eyes and said.

“Would you mind lending me your daughter for a while?”