[You've Come, Ether]
Once the people around Ether had thinned out appropriately, I spoke up.
“Guardian, have you been well?”
Ether smiled faintly.
[As if a soul has any concept of 'well' or not.]
“What's the situation with the war?”
[As you probably know, Lionia scored a major victory. They're both regrouping now, since the commanders of Silimaron and Odyssea both fell.]
“Ah, I've already heard about that. They say Duke Gregory Ivanez stepped up for Silimaron.”
[The King's Sword, right? Silimaron's king sure sent out his best.]
Duke Gregory was a friend of Silimaron's king from childhood and had always stayed by his side as his royal guard. He was also Silimaron's one and only Master-level knight.
“Yeah, apparently the princess who lost her consort threw an absolute fit.”
[Losing a husband like that would make anyone rage.]
“Was he really as handsome as the rumors say?”
[He was. So handsome he didn't even seem human.]
“Too bad I never got to see him myself. Oh, and they've appointed Marquis Jerome Shuske as the new commander for Odyssea.”
He was a somewhat unfamiliar figure. I knew the major noble houses abroad in broad strokes, but I didn't have every detail memorized.
[Sounds like a name I've never heard before.]
“He's not well-known outside. There are rumors he commands Odyssea's intelligence units, but nothing confirmed.”
If he handled intelligence, he couldn't be an idiot, at least. It was clear they'd sent someone better than the previous commanders. Still, that didn't mean Lionia and the Venus alliance would lose.
[Did you bring it?]
“Yeah, it was barely finished before we left.”
[Best if we never have to use it.]
“Probably.”
Ether and I had prepared a secret weapon. With it, we'd win any large-scale battle at least once.
The Venus and Lionia forces had gathered their top brass for a strategy meeting. Though allies, they'd agreed not to form a unified front. The reason? Divvying up the credit would be messy. War was fought for profit, after all—whether honor, money, or something else.
In the end, Lionia would face Silimaron, and Venus would handle Odyssea.
Unlike the other three nations, Venus hadn't mobilized its full national strength. It was just border guards, hastily conscripted locals, and elite troops from the capital. They were short on numbers, but the leadership never dreamed of defeat.
Why? Because I was helping.
Ether knew exactly how I'd assist, but the other noble commanders saw it half as religious fervor. Propaganda that the kingdom's Guardian protected them worked wonders on the troops' morale. Not everyone bought it, but enough did to keep spirits sky-high.
I'd left the Venus camp and slipped into Odyssea's. I'd already scouted their existing forces and gave the new reinforcements a once-over before heading to see the new commander, Marquis Jerome Shuske.
Even here, the marquis emphasized intelligence. He and his staff pored over letters and reports pouring in from all fronts.
“Your Excellency, does this Guardian thing even exist? Should we factor it into Venus's strength?”
The marquis scowled at the staffer's sudden question. Truth be told, he had no idea either. Venus's royal palace had become an impenetrable fortress to spies in recent years. Reliable intel was scarce.
Of course, there had always been tales: Isabel the consort conversing with the Guardian, Prince Ether doing the same, even the founding king's relics bestowed by it. But nothing verified.
Here too, Venus troops touted the Guardian's protection. Even assuming it existed, how do you quantify it as enemy strength? Headache-inducing.
“Has anyone seen this Guardian?”
No one answered the marquis's question.
“Does anyone know its abilities?”
Silence again.
“No one's seen it, no one knows what it is. Normally, we'd call that a delusion. We won't factor the Guardian into calculations.”
The staffers nodded at the marquis's conclusion and buried themselves in paperwork again. Watching the scene, I had to admire his verdict. It was the rational, common-sense call.
But I was a being beyond common sense.
Marquis Jerome Shuske struck me as exceptionally capable. His soul was vast and radiant. No great physical prowess, so he must be brilliantly sharp-minded. His strategies and tactics, hashed out with his staff, rivaled Lionia's without shame.
Yet he had no clue I was eavesdropping on every word.
The marquis was more strategist than frontline commander. His plans favored striking weak points over head-on assaults, exploiting psychology. They could yield huge gains on success—but disaster if read.
And they'd all been read before the first clash. Venus couldn't lose even if it tried.
Back at Venus camp, in a tent with only Ether and the real commander, Marquis Kantana, I relayed Odyssea's tactics.
Kantana would handle countermeasures. He was a master of improvisation, and knowing the enemy's plans beforehand was a perfect matchup.
“What do you think? Helpful?” Ether asked.
Marquis Kantana smiled. “Your Highness, this war is already won.”
Skirmishes followed. Odyssea's knights would bait with small detachments—exactly as anticipated. Venus pretended to bite, protruding a force to pursue.
Odyssea planned encirclement and annihilation. But at the critical point, the pursuers halted and withdrew.
This repeated until Odyssea wasted knights on futile chases and provocations.
They switched tactics: abandoning the front and retreating, a prepared withdrawal laced with traps.
But Venus advanced without tripping a single one.
Even ambushes from nearby woods—flanked by main force counterattack—failed. Venus lit the forest with distant fire arrows.
Odyssea troops fleeing the blaze were no match. Their main force's turnaround assault met prepared magic barrages and knight charges, forcing heavier retreat.
After unintended miles of fallback, Odyssea's command tent was a funeral parlor.
Bang!
The marquis slammed the table in fury. “How?! How is this possible?!”
He couldn't accept his schemes failing utterly. One thought dominated: betrayal.
He swept a hawkish glare over the bowing staffers.
'Traitors. One of these bastards is a traitor.'
But they were all long-vetted comrades. Suppressing boiling suspicion, he spoke.
“Any ideas for the next strategy?”
His brilliant staffers unleashed a barrage of plans. He refined the most logical into a surefire win.
But they lost the next battle. And the one after. Over half their forces gone, morale in the gutter.
The final clash? Distrusting his staff, he improvised on-site. Still utterly foreseen.
“Is Venus's Marquis Kantana that brilliant? Or does Venus truly have a Guardian's blessing?”
Staring at the corpse-strewn field, the marquis vomited blood and collapsed dead. Eyes wide in unslaked rage.
Odyssea, commanderless again, fought valiantly via some staffers but retreated relentlessly.
Venus’s morale soared. The losses weren’t zero, but a string of victories naturally lifted their spirits. They’d pushed deep into Odyssea territory, with supplies flowing in from home. Just as whispers of a full conquest began to spread, envoys from Odyssea arrived.
De facto surrender.
Venus never intended total war's end anyway; talks proceeded smoothly. Relatively speaking—territory and astronomical reparations weren't simple.
Meanwhile, Lionia vs. Silimaron neared conclusion. Stalemate at first. Both had Master knights as aces, blunting Lionia's usual tricks. Gregory's command excellently parried strong units.
When some nobles ignored orders like under Count Hector, Gregory beheaded them on-site, restoring discipline.
Fierce battles raged. Gregory Ivanez, the King's Sword, dueled Duke Jonah Zartus five times. Four draws; the fifth a loss with grievous wounds, forcing retreat.
Silimaron crumbled without him.
Unlike Venus, Lionia aimed to end it. They marched on the capital.
I'd questioned Lionia's moves from the start. They'd prepped this war forever. Was conquering just Silimaron enough?
[Ether, about that thing.]
“Suddenly?”
[Yeah. Might need to use it after all.]
“Isn't the war over?”
[Only after becoming a soul did I realize: human greed knows no bounds.]
Ether tilted his head. It wasn't certain yet, so I left it there.
Ether hadn't gained all he'd hoped this war. Praise rang loud for his personal command and victories. Maybe enough for legitimacy.
Especially against Odyssea's Crown Prince Grun.
But winning too easily spotlighted Kantana over Ether. Whispers that Ether rode coattails emerged.
The parties didn't see it that way, but I wanted Ether's position ironclad—even without me.
Lionia's extra greed might benefit him.
And that day came sooner than expected.