Lord of War (7)
And just as I had expected.
No—exactly as I had experienced it in the game.
"I have returned."
"Hermi Shper."
Our Warlord announced his survival to the entire galaxy in a live broadcast.
"Gyaaaaaaah!!!"
Thanks to that, the galaxy—which had been sinking into a festival atmosphere over the Warlord's disappearance—was plunged into yet another wave of utter chaos.
"Minister Arto, your prediction was correct after all."
"I believed in Minister Arto from the very beginning."
"..."
In the imperial court session that convened immediately afterward, I had to endure the councilors' frantic about-face in real time. But that wasn't what mattered right now. Brushing off the middle-aged men's clingy advances, I resolved to thoroughly impress upon them the true danger of this Warlord during the meeting dedicated to him.
In the session that began at once, opinions on the Warlord split cleanly into two camps.
"The Warlord is no longer invincible. That fact has been proven by the Warlord himself."
"The councilor is correct. The Warlord's fleet, which had known nothing but victory, was defeated by the allied fleet of the southern nations that chose to stand together, was it not?"
"If a defeated foe returns in the same fashion, he will simply suffer the same defeat again."
One faction believed that even if the Warlord had returned, having already suffered a crushing defeat, he could no longer flaunt the same overwhelming strength as before.
"His problem was never merely the raw power of his fleet, as everyone well knows."
"A fleet can be rebuilt, but the reconstruction of lost personnel is an entirely different matter."
"Unlike us, do not forget that the majority of the Warlord's fleet personnel successfully preserved their lives."
The opposing faction insisted that the Warlord must not be underestimated.
Of course, given my special position, I remained carefully neutral whether I liked it or not...
"Minister Arto, since your previous assessment proved accurate, we would like to hear your esteemed opinion this time as well."
"..."
Perhaps because my last prediction had hit the mark so cleanly, the eyes of every councilor present were filled with eager anticipation for whatever I might say next. Faced with that, I tried—as always—to take a step back.
"I don't believe I have anything particular to add..."
"Anything at all would be fine. Why not share your thoughts?"
The moment I tried, the middle-aged councilors launched into full-blown obsession mode. Suppressing an inward sigh, I straightened my posture and spoke as calmly as possible, making it clear that what I knew ended right here.
"If just three problems are resolved, then even with the Warlord's return, our allied fleet stands a high chance of victory."
"Three problems? What sort of problems?"
Silently thanking the councilor who took the bait, I raised three fingers, then folded one as I continued.
"First: Zeltech, once the galaxy's greatest economic power, has knelt to the Warlord. That means his fleet is now being supplied with their vast wealth and resources."
"And the others...?"
At the councilor's question, I folded another finger.
"Unlike the period when the Warlord clashed with our allied fleet, there is currently no force capable of grinding down his strength."
The Mekt-Fuchs fleet—which should have opened a second front to split the Warlord's power—had long since become a "fleet (former)." Like Joseon after the Battle of Chilcheollyang, Mekt-Fuchs had lost everything built through war, left with nothing but a handful of patrol squadrons.
By the time I finished, the councilors' faces were painted with pure dread.
"You mean there is yet another problem?"
"Yes."
I folded the last finger.
"Riel, bring that over."
"Yes~."
At my request, Riel projected a pre-prepared official report into the air.
"This is a report from the Loirakan Republic. Due to the loss of the majority of their heavy battleships in the decisive battle against the Warlord, they state that executing the existing strategy is no longer possible."
In other words: our tank had lost its shields and would now have to block with its body. At first the councilors didn't quite grasp why I was saying this. But the moment the Defense Committee members and the Minister of Defense heard me, they understood perfectly.
"Urgh..."
"Ahem."
They each let out different groans of discomfort.
"Why the long faces?"
Nearby councilors immediately pestered them for an explanation. Forced to field the questions in my place, the men heaved deep sighs and spoke while carefully packing away their unease.
"What Minister Arto means is that if battle with the Warlord begins again... our Empire's fleet will have to stand on the front line."
"You understand perfectly."
With my explanation complete, I stepped back. The atmosphere of the meeting instantly sagged like a wet rag, and that damp, oppressive mood never lifted until the session finally ended.
The next day.
And the day after that. In the conference room where holograms and living people mixed together, a heavy, gloomy depression reigned supreme. It grew so bad that Artraia, in a rare move, even called for a recess mid-session.
"Let us all take a short break for now. If we keep forcing it, nothing useful will come of this..."
"Your Majesty's grace is boundless."
Thus, under the pretext of a recess, the councilors and high officials vanished.
"Her Majesty summons you."
"I can walk there myself, so put me down—"
"That would waste too much time. Unacceptable."
I was kidnapped as a set with Riel by the Imperial Guard and hauled straight into Artraia's private chambers.
"Hello, Arto."
"...We just saw each other in the conference room. What kind of greeting is that?"
"So what? Seeing you this close is a first for today, isn't it?"
Artraia answered casually while sipping tea. I dropped heavily onto the sofa.
"Don't tell me you called me here to ask how we can minimize our side's losses in the coming battle...?"
At my words, Artraia—who had been leisurely sipping her tea—froze for a moment.
Clink.
She set the teacup down on the table as naturally as possible, then turned to me with a bright, sunny smile.
"As expected of Arto! You always read my heart so quickly!"
Faced with Artraia's misunderstanding(?), I could only offer a bitter smile inwardly.
The Good Man's Dilemma
With the fleet battle against the Warlord drawing near, the Empress is losing sleep over how to somehow reduce the heavy losses her subjects and fleet will suffer.
Thus the Empress holds a quiet hope that you might possess even a small, effective stratagem for preserving the fleet.
🎁 Reward: Increase in the Empress's Favor toward Arto Virtorius Sevelli (Additional event if already at maximum)
If I just said the event message told me that... would anyone believe me?
And it was one of those rare quest events that even revealed the reward in advance.
Regardless of the reward, I opened my mouth toward Artraia with pure incredulity.
"Artraia."
"Hm? What is it?"
"Just checking—are you asking me this because you think I actually know something about strategy and tactics?"
Of everything else, I could say this with absolute certainty.
Strategy? Tactics?
Complicated stuff like that? I didn't know any of it.
If she wanted that kind of advice, she should just ask the tactical intelligence officers over at the Ministry of Defense, or the strategic advisory body at Orbital Defense Command. Why on earth was she asking a complete amateur? I threw the question at Artraia exactly like that.
At my words, Artraia briefly showed me a rare blank look of pure shock—then suddenly burst into genuine, full-throated laughter of a kind she almost never displayed even when we were alone.
"Huhu... huhahah!"
> [PAUSED]
The instant I saw that, I hit pause and spent what felt like a full week of subjective time analyzing why Artraia had reacted that way. Once I finally reached a conclusion, I immediately released the pause and spoke to the still-roaring Artraia.
> [PAUSE RELEASED]
"Ahahahah! Arto, really—did you actually think I'd ask you for advice on something like that? Ahahaha!"
"It was a joke, so don't laugh that hard."
After laughing for a long while, Artraia wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and continued the conversation. And in that short span of talk between us, we managed to extract quite a few more useful measures for the situation than either of us had expected.