episode_0324

* * *

The royal castle of Balharat.

Serpina, sitting on the throne, spoke with her eyes closed, tapping the armrest of her chair with her fingers.

“So you’re saying Theta Roland is dead?”

“Yes.”

“The one who killed him was the rebel leader Lunalien?”

“… … Yes, that’s right. ”

Although I answered easily, I still felt a bit uneasy as I delivered the news.

An unbelievable story from the Southern Continent.

Lunarien Inian… … That means Luna-nim caught Theta Roland in a single blow.

I was an old hand at this game. Of course, I had played as Theta Roland too.

Roland was not a very good monarch, but since his military power was always considered quite high, it was standard practice in Roland’s army to continue to place him in the vanguard as a commander-in-chief despite being a monarch, which was an unusual play.

This meant that he was by no means a hot-rod merchant.

No matter how powerful someone was, I couldn’t easily imagine someone losing their head in a single fight.

So does that mean Luna is much more powerful than Roland?

Considering Irene’s advice and the circumstantial evidence, it wasn’t a completely unreasonable story.

This game had something called ‘random mode’.

Starting with this, the starting points of the countries and the status of the characters were randomly determined, so people who had already done everything could start the game with a completely new feeling.

So, theoretically, it is not impossible that Lunalien’s power surpasses Roland’s, but even so, this level of strength…

“I see. A person like Roland… … It’s hard to believe that she has such great strength for a young woman.”

“What are you going to do?”

“The Southern Continent seems to be in chaos, so you must be asking what our military should do?”

“Yes.”

“That’s the question I want to ask you in return.”

Serpina smiled faintly and said-

“There is only one thing our military can do. It is to deal with the Hesna military, the only one that is on the border. I think it is not a bad idea to use this timing to invade, but… … I wonder what you think.”

I immediately entered Serpina’s question honestly into my mind.

Would invading Hesna’s forces here be the most efficient way?

If my guess is correct, the correct answer here should be ‘no’.

The answer was printed out quickly, as expected.

[No.]

‘phew.’

A sigh naturally escaped from within.

If the results were different from what I expected again, I would have to rack my brain to figure out how to reverse the process.

I shook my head at Serpina.

“I think it would be better to refrain from war for the time being.”

“Swen. Is it your will, or is it the direction that your heart has opened?”

“I can answer both.”

I just explained what I thought.

“First of all, the soldiers are exhausted from taking over the Chell and Aishus armies in succession. The battle itself may be okay since our army has always won a great victory, but considering the distance we have advanced, it is almost a miracle that we have achieved this result.”

From Eingart Castle in the north to Walharat Castle at the easternmost tip.

Among them, some soldiers had advanced all the way to Zeta Castle, including Irian.

No matter how high the fraud is, if you continue to fight without rest for such a long period of time, no matter how capable the soldiers are, it is bound to spread.

“In addition, since there are so many territories that have been occupied, it would be better to focus on stabilizing them now. Until the territories in each area are stabilized, we will also need to station some soldiers.”

Serpina nodded slowly.

“Okay. Then I guess I’ll just spend some time in Valharat Castle for the time being.”

“Is it okay if you don’t return to Eingart Castle?”

“Isn’t Jenna there? Don’t worry. It’s better for you to stay here for the time being.”

It wasn’t difficult to read the confidence in Serpina’s confident voice.

It wasn’t strange since she was the type of person who never gave up trusting her subordinates despite being betrayed every time, but she seemed to trust Jenna in particular very much.

Did something happen between you two?

“Okay.”

“Thank you for taking care of me, Swen.”

“In the meantime, my lord. I will always be by your side and assist you.”

“Are you saying this for the rest of your life?”

“… … .”

Since I couldn’t say anything, all I could hear was Serpina’s laughter.

“It’s okay, Swen. I don’t intend to tease you. Anyway, for the time being, I think it would be best for you to rest.”

“Are you talking about rest?”

“Okay. I’ll give you a week off. You must have been tired all day without leaving Yeo-ui’s side. I won’t call you during that time, so after you finish appointing each person in charge, forget about work for a while and get some rest.”

It’s a vacation.

It was definitely hard to keep up. It was a time when I realized that my physical strength wasn’t all that great.

So, there is no need to decline. If it is the Castle of Balharat, it is a place that holds memories of its own.

“Okay.”

I bowed my head deeply and turned my head to leave the audience room without thinking much about it, but-

Suddenly.

‘uh……?’

I could see that her face was just slightly disheveled.

This was clearly different from usual. There was an inexplicable emptiness in the golden eyes.

I spoke to her without realizing it.

“My lord.”

“… … ? Tell me.”

“Do you have any concerns?”

* * *

“… … !”

Serpina couldn’t hide her surprise.

If I said I had no worries, I would be lying.

“… …Why are you suddenly asking that?”

“It just seems a little different than usual. Well, if you ask me to explain it in words, I honestly don’t know what to say.”

Swen said that, tilted his head slightly, then bowed deeply and answered.

“If it’s nothing serious, you don’t have to worry about it. However, if you need advice, please come to me anytime. As a national strategist, I’ll be happy to do anything for Serpina.”

“… … .”

“Then, excuse me.”

Only after Swen disappeared from sight-

Serpina was able to lower her head, which had been intact, and let out a long sigh.

‘… … .’

――Since I was little.

I realized that I had a kind of talent for being able to read other people’s moods.

At the same time, I realized that there are few people like me who can maintain a poker face and hide their emotions in any situation.

This was a more powerful weapon than anything else for her as a monarch, especially after she inherited the crown of Eingart against her will.

In the midst of all this, I thought I had hidden my worries well.

Little did I know that I would get caught by the man who caused me all that trouble.

‘… … .’

Thump, thump.

Serpina put her hand to her chest.

He could clearly sense that he was more agitated than anything else, as he could feel his heartbeat pounding through his fingertips.

A voice in Jenna’s head kept urging her to make a decision.

‘Marriage, okay?’

If it had been before, I wouldn’t have been able to bring it up so casually, but now there was no way I could. He had a place to go back to. I wasn’t the person he wanted to stay by his side.

What he has done so far is more than enough. If it weren’t for Swen, I wouldn’t have been able to successfully advance into the Central Continent. No, if it weren’t for him before that, there was a very high chance that I would be dead by now.

What should I do?

Despite being an absolute being with nearly half of the continent under his feet, who can do whatever he wants as long as he opens his mouth―

She couldn’t help but laugh at the fact that she was so weak in love that she couldn’t do anything to the man she cared about.

‘… … I’m jealous.’

I envy the person in your heart.

I envy the monarch you wish to serve so much.

It’s okay even if he has a weaker base than our military.

If I could just swap places with that person, I would be more than happy to… … .

In that way, little by little, little by little―

The ‘priorities’ in Serpina’s mind were steadily changing.

――How much time has passed since you organized your thoughts like that?

“My lord.”

From beyond, a soldier approached Serpina.

“What’s going on?”

The soldier answered with his head bowed.

The answer was something I never imagined I would hear at this point.

“The diplomatic envoy has arrived. Would you like to welcome him?”

* * *

At first, the castle of Valharat was in a state of total decline and stagnation due to the destruction of the Aesir army that had ruled them for a long time and the suffering caused by the excessive expansion of the altar in the later years.

With Serpina directly ruling, the city was quickly regaining its former vitality.

Before she even took the leave, she had me question all the city officials and make the appointments.

This means that the internal affairs of the castle of Valharat could only be managed with ‘optimal efficiency’ through predictions with an intelligence level of 100.

As a result, the laughter of the people of Yeongji began to be heard on the streets once again.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that I had regained the energy I had when I came with Irene before.

And, I finally got some vacation time… …

‘… … Where are you?’

We were definitely supposed to meet around here, but the moment I was thinking about it.

“Swen.”

When I turned my head to the familiar voice, there was―

“… … ♪”

Irene, dressed in cute casual clothes, was waving at me with an unusually girlish smile.