First Victory
Zeiland's modest castle.
In the central council chamber that ordinarily saw only four officers including myself, four entirely new faces had appeared today — and all of them were on their knees, offering formal respects to their sovereign, Lunarien.
"Gustav, captain of the Raven Mercenary Group."
"Kalle, vice-captain."
"Aron, captain of the Chilein Mercenary Group."
"Yona, vice-captain."
Three men and, last of all, one woman presented themselves before Luna.
That a mere thirteen hundred interceptors had held back eight thousand soldiers was no accident. Two archer companies had struck the Brans Army's flanks in a sudden assault, shattered their formation, and split the eight-thousand-strong host into three isolated masses. Then the rear force had swept around behind them, enveloping the Brans Army as if in an embrace, and annihilated it.
I already knew where the archer companies had come from — the Raven Mercenary Group's vice-captain had introduced them. But only now did I grasp the origin of the rear force.
The Chilein Mercenary Group!
Those bastards actually ended up on our side.
The Chilein Mercenary Group was a unit available only to central-continent lords who cleared a specific quest. Their unique heavy infantry outclassed ordinary spearmen in every respect — a thoroughly overpowered mercenary company. The catch was that the quest required control of a particular central-continent fief. On a continent with almost no vacant land, a random-start lord had no choice but to abandon the recruitment. Even starting as a central lord, you were usually crushed by the Brans Army before you could finish the quest. Unless Brans happened to spawn outside the center — a low-probability event — the Chilein Group was effectively unrecruitable.
And since I never played Brans because it was too boring, the Chilein Group had always been a pure irritation: a mercenary company that, more often than not, simply gave the beginner-recommended Brans Army a free pair of wings.
And now their leaders were kneeling before our sovereign, offering her their respect.
So they can be recruited without the quest?
Even after becoming reality, this world still clung stubbornly to the game's rules. The fact that every prediction of mine — Intelligence 100 — came true no matter how much the world had to contort itself was proof enough.
And yet… these mercenaries helping us, and a war declared before a full year had even passed — there were still pieces that diverged from the game.
I can't afford to put blind faith in game knowledge alone.
"…You may raise your heads."
At Luna's words, all four lifted their faces as one.
"First, allow me to thank you for aiding our army. Truly — thank you. Without you, we might well have failed to hold Zeiland Castle. And… there is something I must ask."
"Ask us anything, my lady."
"Why did you choose to help us?"
Gustav, captain of the Raven Mercenary Group, spoke first.
"Aron and I were already bound for Zeiland Castle when we saw the battle underway. That is why we joined the Lunarien Army."
"Forgive me, but that still does not make sense. Can you explain the reason you chose our army?"
"That is…"
This time Aron of the Chilein Mercenary Group took up the thread.
"Both of our companies were already traveling to Zeiland Castle in order to pledge ourselves to the Lunarien Army."
"…!"
To pledge themselves meant, in short, that they intended to fight for us. Since there was no other reason they would have helped, I had half-expected it and let the words pass without much reaction — but the rest of Luna's officers could not hide their shock. The idea had clearly never crossed their minds.
"…May I ask why?"
"Not long ago, we heard that you distributed an enormous quantity of food and spent a great sum repairing the homes of commoners destroyed by the typhoon."
Aron added a further word after Gustav.
"In all the years I have run a mercenary company, I have met many leaders. Not once since the chaos began have I seen a ruler pour so much effort into relieving the people of his own lands. Even a mighty warlord with vast territories would earn praise for such a deed. For a small force governing a single minor city, it is almost unimaginable."
"I… see."
Luna spoke as if the thought had never occurred to her, but Aron was not wrong.
Six thousand gold was a fortune. You could conscript more than five thousand soldiers and still have enough left to reinvest in domestic affairs — and if any remained after that, you could even buy a mid-grade item or two. Spending the entire sum on the people of the domain was bound to make waves. Considering that investing a mere five hundred gold every half-year was enough to earn the title of a wise and benevolent ruler, the effect was all the greater.
"We nearly failed to help you properly mid-battle, not knowing the exact banner of the Lunarien Army… but fortunately we spotted a man whose features matched the elderly gentleman who had been most active in the relief work, standing at the head of your vanguard. We are glad we arrived in time."
Ah.
The moment I heard those words, the entire chain of cause and effect snapped into place.
[Advice] Assign Tifa to commerce → She discovers a chest of gold by a method only she could manage.
[Advice] Spend every coin on relief for the people → Win their hearts, and two mercenary captains are moved to devotion.
[Advice] Place Kane — whose face became known through his tireless relief work — at the vanguard → The mercenaries recognize him and join the battle at precisely the right moment.
There was no longer even a 0.01 percent chance of doubt.
My Intelligence is 100. And my predictions are never wrong.
Every physical law of this world will twist itself if it must — just to make my advice come true!
"…"
"Hah…"
I could feel Kane and Tifa, standing beside Luna, staring at me with expressions of pure astonishment. Their faces were easy to read. The message written across them was something like: Did he foresee all of this?
From their perspective, of course it looked that way. In the end, doing everything I suggested had cleared a mission that had seemed impossible.
What I needed to do in this moment was simple.
Put on a look of profound composure… and give a slow, deliberate nod.
As if I had anticipated every last detail.
The important thing was not that I had actually predicted the entire situation.
What mattered was that, to everyone else, it looked as though I had.
If the conclusion was correct, the rest could be retrofitted afterward. Looking the part would lend credibility to my unfailingly accurate advice, and ensure that even when my counsel made no sense to them, they would follow it without opposition.
As a strategist rather than a sovereign, building that kind of momentum for my opinions inside the faction was vital.
Of course, with Lunarien Iniang as our lord, she would likely listen to me under almost any circumstances — but in an age of chaos, even I could not say what my own fate might become.
I stepped closer to Luna and spoke with the gravity of a sage.
"My lord. Accept them. They will become an immense strength for our army — of that there is no doubt."
"Swen…"
Luna looked at me, lost in thought for a moment, then turned to the captains and vice-captains still kneeling before her.
"You have my deepest thanks for aiding our army. I will never forget this. In the name of Lunarien, your path shall be our path."
To place them under her name was to accept their pledge. Understanding this, the captains bowed their heads and answered.
"Yes! We shall serve with absolute loyalty."
"We will be Lady Lunarien's sword and shield."
The Raven Mercenary Group: seven thousand strong.
The Chilein Mercenary Group: six thousand strong.
In total, thirteen thousand mercenaries joined the Lunarien Army.
Considering they were not ordinary conscripts but well-trained professionals, it was an absurdly generous return on six thousand gold.
This was Anel Castle, the heart of the Brans Army.
Kalintz knelt with his head bowed, pleading before his sovereign, Lin Brans.
"I have no excuse. The fault is entirely mine. Please — put me to death."
"…"
The eight-thousand-strong invasion force had been annihilated.
Countless officers had lost their lives.
Only about a hundred and twenty soldiers had survived — and their general, Kalintz Brans, alone.
It was a catastrophic defeat without precedent in the history of the Brans Army. And not against a renowned power like the Aisius Army, but against the Lunarien Army — a minor force so insignificant she had never even bothered to commit its name to memory.
Lin Brans, sunk in thought, asked quietly:
"Brother. What exactly happened? If you truly have no face left to show, then at least explain it so I can understand."
"…We were ambushed. Afterward we learned that soldiers of mercenary caliber had joined the fight."
"Mercenaries?"
"Yes. One of the men recognized their banners. The Raven Mercenary Group and the Chilein Mercenary Group… appear to have fought on the Lunarien Army's side."
"…What?"
Even Lin could not help being shaken. She knew both companies well by reputation — especially the Chilein Mercenary Group, which the Brans Army itself had been struggling desperately to bring over to their side.
They help some insignificant little lord instead of me?
The situation itself was absurd… but as a sovereign, she knew perfectly well that gaping at what had already happened would solve nothing.
"An ambush can't be helped. You can't win a fight you don't have the information for. Still — you took a brutal beating. For a while, stay off the front and help with reorganization in the rear. Step down from the vanguard command and cool your head."
To a third party, Lin's words might have sounded like the mercy of a gracious ruler covering for failure.
Kalintz, however, could feel the truth. This was demotion for defeat.
That his head was still attached likely owed to the ambush nature of the battle — and to the fact that his surname was Brans.
But what excuse does a defeated general ever truly have?
"…I accept your command."
"Good. You may go."
After dismissing Kalintz, Lin sank into thought.
If two mercenary companies have joined Lunarien, we'll have to commit ourselves fully to take that territory… but I can hardly pull Brother Chel back from the south.
She brooded a while longer, then let out a long, heavy sigh.
And then a certain face rose in her mind.
Am I going to have to use that woman after all?
She truly hated the idea.
She hated it with every fiber of her being — but for the greater cause, was there any other choice?
Lin addressed the soldier standing guard at her side.
"You."
"Yes, my lord."
"The Second Barracks, where the new recruits train — go there and bring Irene."
"At once!"
She had demoted the woman with her own mouth, but there was no helping it now.
Irene was the only blade she could still put to use.
Well. If you're going to be a sovereign, you have to do things you hate sometimes.
Lin rationalized her decision to herself, and left it at that.