episode_0072

*

Finding Jinor wasn’t that difficult.

He was looking around from the fortress wall, sighing occasionally.

“Zinor.”

“Hmm? Isn’t it Swen? What’s going on?”

I stood next to him and spoke vaguely.

“Are you planning on letting us fight head on like this?”

“… … What does it mean?”

“I apologize if my words sounded rude. However, I just want to ask if you really think that following Epinel’s opinion is the right answer.”

“… … Haha.”

Jinor let out a long sigh and said.

“What General Epinel said is not completely correct. If we lose this fortress, we will end up at a standstill. I’m thinking that perhaps fighting head to head might be the right answer.”

“Well. I think a little differently.”

“… … What do you want to talk about?”

I spoke in a serious tone.

“Zinor. It’s such a simple thing. Assume that Jinor becomes Brans’ military advisor. Are you going to invade this place with soldiers?”

“I definitely think that 50,000 people are not enough. But this is not a castle, it is a fortress. Well, if it’s an advance force concept, there’s no reason not to invade at all. If it were me, I would have brought 20,000 to 30,000 more soldiers… … The invasion itself would not have been completely absurd.”

“Even though I am here?”

“… … ?”

He didn’t understand what I was saying for a moment and then looked into my eyes.

And soon.

“Ah,” he said, and he slowly nodded.

“… … Well, no way… … .”

“If I were the Brans military strategist, I would not attempt an all-out war with the troops of this fortress, no matter how many there are. Because there is a high possibility that I, ‘Swen’, will be there.”

He nodded, then smoothed the stubble on his chin.

After doing that for a while, he looked at me to see if I could point out something.

“… … But didn’t you say that it’s not ‘magic’ that can be used freely? Of course they also know that, right? Even more so since this is where you worked.”

Jinor was the man in Aishus County who heard the most about my abilities.

It was after I told him that I couldn’t use him as I wanted because I couldn’t tell a lie that couldn’t be corrected.

but.

I have never revealed my entire hand to anyone.

“It’s not magic, but… … To be honest, there are some things I didn’t tell you.”

“What you didn’t say?”

“When I explained it to you earlier, I said that there was absolutely nothing I could control, and that my limit was just reading the flow of the sky… … Actually, that’s not really the case.”

In any case, if Acious Army falls here.

If the only castle that exists, Balharat, is taken away – I will die.

My life may be a waste, but Irene will definitely not end up in a good situation.

So here.

I had to risk my life once again and shamelessly tell a lie.

“By having a little more ‘deep’ communication… … You can intervene in the flow of heaven.’

‘… !!!’

Jinor’s eyes widened and looked at me for a moment-

Soon, he lifted his heavy lips.

“Why… … You were hiding it, right?”

“It’s simple. The price is my lifespan.”

“Life span?”

“In order to manipulate the will of heaven, you must use an absurd amount of mana. If you accept that much mana into your body, it will naturally put a huge strain on various parts of your body. That’s why I couldn’t just speak out about this ability.”

“Hmm… … .”

Jinor pondered for a moment with his expression crumpled, and then asked me carefully.

“I wonder why you’re saying that now. If your life is precious, isn’t this something you shouldn’t bring up?”

“That’s right, even if you stay like this, your life will be lost.”

“… … What does that mean?”

I looked around, then looked into his eyes.

He played with his tongue in a clever way, as if he were someone who was revealing the secrets of heaven.

“It’s a surprise attack, Jinor.”

“!!!”

“The purpose of the Brans army is not this fortress. Soldiers are bait. The real purpose is… … Balharat Castle is currently without soldiers to invade the Alefel army. If Balharat Castle falls, our entire army will become prisoners of Brans’ army. If that happens, I will definitely die.”

“… … What is the basis?”

“I’ll say it again. First of all, if I were the military strategist of the Brans army, I would not have sent troops as long as I was here. Even more so since it is Brans County, where there are people in the same military who actually saw that scene. Jinor, do you know who Brans’s agent is?”

“It was definitely farfalle.”

“If you know, it would be quicker to talk about it. From what you see, Jinor, do you think that Farfalle will advance here without knowing that even I, a mere general, can know?”

“… … .”

He hesitated for a moment, then shook his head and said.

“I won’t do that. Because the girl I watched was a very smart person.”

“It looks like you had a relationship in the past?”

“He was once my student.”

oh? This is information I didn’t know about.

As Jinor was one of the wisest men on the continent, it seemed that his footprints were not light.

At this point, I decided to scratch Jinor’s itch.

“Of course, no matter how correct the tactician says, it is meaningless if the commander does not accept it.”

Jinor’s eyebrows twitched when he heard this.

I could scratch it more if I feel like it, but I’ll leave it here for now.

“The current commander of the Brans Army is Chell Brans. Although he is a bit arrogant and aggressive in battle, he is not so stupid that he ignores the advice of the strategist. The proof is that it has earned the title of best sword and is gaining fame.”

“And I belonged to Brans County until not long ago. Farfalle is highly trusted within Brans County. First of all, the monarch, Lin, is giving her special treatment. Under the rule of Brans County, where the monarch’s influence is stronger than anything else, her opinions actually have a force comparable to that of Lin Brans himself. I can’t imagine Chell ignoring that.”

“… … .”

After that, I tried as hard as I could to persuade Jinor.

From the reason why there were only 50,000 soldiers, to the story that they wouldn’t have much time left except for a surprise attack.

Jinor didn’t answer anything, but it was easy to tell that he was listening to me.

“What we need to do now is to take advantage of their plan to take out the troops from the fortress and attack Balharat Castle. There is nothing else than this. I believe this is the only way for our military to survive.”

“… … Hmm.”

Jinor stared blankly at the horizon, lost in thought for a while-

Soon he turned his head towards me.

“The fact that you told me that means… … .”

“Yes. I think the only person who can convince Epinel is Jinor.”

That’s right, as a newbie, no matter how hard I try to say something, they won’t listen.

In the end, the person who had the slightest chance of persuading her was Jinor, the national strategist.

… … I was thinking.

Jinor said something unexpected.

“… … is it. Even though you’ve only recently arrived, you seem to have realized the situation I’m in.”

‘?’

I said something very meaningful… … Honestly, I don’t know what you’re talking about.

But for some reason, my senses were screaming loudly.

That now would be a turning point.

I nodded and spoke in as calm a tone as possible.

“What you thought is correct.”

“I see.”

good.

There was some delay in my answer… … It seemed like it went over pretty well.

I don’t know what Jinor’s circumstances were, but from my perspective, I had no choice but to take advantage of him.

‘For someone who can only make predictions, he has to use whatever he can.’

“I understand. Let me convince you one more time.”

“I will join you too.”

“However, I have a favor to ask.”

huh?

Please?

“What is that?”

“If things go well, I hope you will do me a favor.”

“Are you asking me a favor? It’s so sudden though.”

“I promise that this is not a burden or burden on you.”

Among Jinor’s requests, is it something that won’t be a burden to me?

There wasn’t anything in particular to point out… … Honestly, I didn’t have a choice.

Still, it would be better to have insurance.

“If it’s a request I can’t possibly grant, I don’t think I’ll be able to grant it, but if you don’t mind.”

“Do whatever you want. My request is not of that kind.”

“In that case, I have no reason to refuse.”

And so our conversation ended.

Jinor and I headed straight to where Epinel was.

She was busy training the soldiers.

As we approached her, she noticed us coming, tilted her head and asked.

“Master? And Swen, you’re here too. What’s going on?”

“General Epinel. I would like to talk to the general one more time.”

“Are you talking about this?”

“Yes.”

After that, Jinor relayed our opinions to her based on what he had heard from me.

The soldiers dispatched now were likely to be decoys, the real target was Balharat Castle, and a surprise attack was planned, so the troops should be withdrawn.

Jinor told her everything, including the fact that I didn’t say anything because I was afraid of shortening my lifespan.

Perhaps because he was clearly a smart person, he was very good at explaining things in an easy-to-understand manner.

“Is that so? It’s a surprise attack… … Hmm.”

Epinel thought for a moment, then looked in this direction and said.

“After removing the soldiers, if there was no surprise attack, this fortress would have been taken over by about 50,000 soldiers… … In that case.”

“As I said, I will risk my life to open a path to heaven.”

“Hmm… … .”

Epinel thought for a while, then looked straight into my eyes.

“Swen. I don’t want to make you do something too difficult, risking your life.”

“Yes… … ?”

“No, why are you so surprised? As the sentence says, it means that I don’t want to burden you.”

“However, if this is not the case, everyone will be at risk.”

“I understand what you mean. I’ll send a special scout. If you’re thinking of splitting up your soldiers in Branth’s army, wouldn’t the scouts check it out? It’s not too late to decide what to do then.”

‘We shouldn’t waste time needlessly… … .’

Since it was a predicted result with intelligence of 100, I would be right, so there was no need to be so careful.

On the contrary, if I had waited and missed the timing, there would not have been such a disaster.

Of course, Epinel may not know about my situation, but… … No matter how you look at it, that cautiousness seems toxic.

“I… … That’s it.”

I wanted to tell him that if what I said was wrong, it wouldn’t matter if he hit me in the head.

I knew it too. At that time, my ‘insistence’ worked because the monarch was Luna.

If you talk to her now, you won’t be able to convince her.

“Anyway, we can’t remove the soldiers right away, so that’s how you know. I also sent a messenger to Emma, who has already sortied to take over Alefel County. If all goes well, Emma’s army will be able to protect Balharat Castle. Because our Aceers are warriors who have always overcome such chaos somehow.”

“But there is no guarantee that you will return to Balharat Castle in time-”

“I trust Emma’s judgment. Swen. You may not know this, but she is a great warrior who makes the impossible possible. This Epinel guarantees. It might be a good idea for you to take this opportunity to take a look.”

Epinel said, patting her chest.

Is she proud of the results she has achieved with her long-time colleagues?

Self-esteem is good, but… … I wondered if it was really the right way to trust my colleagues like that.

“I hope you don’t worry too much and prepare for battle.”

‘ha.’

I don’t know why I’m so obsessed with these days… … .

In the end, even though they took Jinor with them, they couldn’t convince him.

From the beginning, I thought it might be like this since Jinor’s first agenda, ‘We must remove all the soldiers and send them to Balharat Castle’, was cut off, but it really ended up like this.

‘Should I secretly run away at night with Irene?’

Looking at it calmly, it was none of my business that Acious fell.

If we run away before a fight, ugly rumors will spread about us, but aren’t we already carrying the stigma of traitors?

It wouldn’t be a bad idea to just take care of your life.

Just when I was thinking that… … Jinor opened his mouth in a serious tone.

“General. Take out your soldiers right now and prepare for a surprise attack. Assuming that is the case, if, as the general said, there is no surprise attack and this fortress is lost, I will step down from my position as national officer immediately.”

“… … !!!”

at that time.

Epinel, who had not been persuaded by anything he said, looked at Jinor in surprise for the first time.

‘You’re stepping down from your position as the head of the country?’

Is that a condition for appealing to Epinel that much?

Before I had any doubts for a moment, Jinor continued to talk casually.

And only after hearing the next story.

I was able to guess a little bit about the ‘circumstances he was in’ that Jinor was talking about.

“And I will hand over this position to Anima, who was originally a national officer.”