I Might Have...
Everything began with that prediction.
Is it right to station the troops gathered from the place where conscription is currently easiest, just as they are?
My Intelligence was 100. But it was not as if I had suddenly become incredibly brilliant, or that I now stood out with any particular genius for strategy or tactics.
What I could do was know what the result would be.
And that result was always correct.
This time was no different. I had simply arrived at the absolute conclusion that it was the most efficient course for Serpina’s army.
I had no idea why stationing troops at Amir Castle was efficient.
What I chose then was reverse calculation.
If a conclusion had been reached, then calculate the situation that would inevitably produce that conclusion.
Until now, I believed it had worked out reasonably well.
And so I formed a hypothesis of my own.
That hypothesis was this: The Asius army will sail up the river from Zeta Castle and launch a surprise attack.
I formed it because, at least as far as I could see, there was no other possibility.
Sailing up the river? I knew it was reckless.
That the Asius army would gain nothing by going that far? Of course I thought so too.
Yet the reason I insisted on it was because I had grounds of my own.
Before coming here, I had served in the Asius army.
The Asius army I had watched from the inside was not always a group that moved rationally.
For example, I was certain Zinor would never propose an attack by sailing up the river. But Anima was different.
The core members of the Asius army, Anima included, regarded Serpina as a mortal enemy. For the sake of internal cohesion, they might well launch even a reckless invasion of that kind.
They were the ones who abandoned me in the first place. Would it be strange for them to make such a decision?
A powerful conviction born of my own experience—of being discarded even by Yuuri in the end.
With that conviction, plus the absolute prediction of [YES], I could be certain.
But—
No matter how much time passed, the area around Amir Castle remained quiet.
Even with scouts frequently deployed along the river, peaceful days slipped by without a single ship being spotted coming or going.
…What?
At this point I could not help but feel anxious.
Had the guesses I had somehow managed to hit until now finally gone wrong for the first time?
No. Thinking about it, it was not the first time.
Back then, when I was certain lightning would strike and acted on that certainty, a meteor had fallen instead.
Well, since I was human, I had always thought that someday I would be completely wrong.
Until now I had somehow managed to work things out with knowledge accumulated from playing the game, but—
Just like the moment, still vivid in my memory, when Tifa discovered the treasure chest full of gold coins at Jeiland Castle, there were results that were utterly unpredictable unless after the fact.
“Looking back now, I can only think that I simply strung together plausible sentences to gloss over the situation.”
And now, having been summoned by Serpina and receiving a question like that, I had no choice but to admit that my hypothesis had been completely wrong.
It was never that the Asius army was going to invade.
Enough time had already passed. If they were going to invade, they would have done so long ago.
If more time were still needed, that would be far from “the most efficient method.”
However, if that was the case—
Then why on earth is stationing troops there the most efficient method?
Whether the Asius army invaded or not was a secondary issue.
Since my brain had predicted “yes,” that answer was absolutely correct.
In any case, stationing the troops itself was the right decision.
Then here, it would be best to muddle through somehow.
Just as in the negotiations with Lin, the fact that I was right would eventually be revealed.
I diligently organized the most plausible words I could think of in my head.
The opponent was Serpina von Aingart. It would probably be a harder fight than ever before… but behind me stood an absolutely correct conclusion.
I slowly raised the brush that was my tongue.
“My lord. The first thing I wish to say is—”
No.
To be precise, I was about to raise it.
“My lord, General Zephyr has arrived. He says there is an important matter that must be reported at once.”
Footsteps of a soldier sounded from behind—and then, suddenly, a general I vaguely recognized entered.
His name was Zephyr. I thought I might have seen him before, but since I was not certain, he was probably just an ordinary officer.
The real problem—
From that moment on, the situation began to take a strange turn.
“Th-this was discovered…!”
I glanced at what was in his hand.
It was a brooch engraved with some kind of emblem.
It looked similar to those of Serpina’s army, yet there were subtle differences.
And on Serpina’s face as she looked at it, the emotion of shock gradually bloomed.
Since facing her, this was the first time she had been this agitated since our first private audience.
A few days later—
I learned that the pattern was one used by Serpina’s late second older brother, a man named Sidmid.
I had no choice but to learn it. Suddenly, several generals of Serpina’s army began to be arrested one after another.
The most absurd part was the circumstances under which that pattern had been found.
It was said to be an item a soldier had accidentally brought back from a place he happened to enter.
And so, at the moment when word was going around that it was pure luck it had been found—
—I quietly realized that it was not pure luck at all.
If troops had not been stationed at Amir Castle, there would have been no patrols for the purpose of utilizing surplus forces.
I did not know the details, but among the officers arrested now there were quite a few big names, and rumors came that if the rebellion had succeeded, it would have been extremely troublesome for Serpina.
Examining that context—finally, I understood why the Intelligence 100 brain had predicted that stationing troops at Amir Castle was the most efficient method.
So… after stationing the soldiers, they organized a garrison, but since there was nothing particular to do, they had them patrol the territory… and in that process, one soldier discovered the hideout of those plotting rebellion with an absolutely ridiculous probability? And so conscripting and then stationing soldiers was the most efficient method?
After finishing that thought, I let out a hollow laugh.
It was not that I decided to laugh and then laughed; it was literally so natural.
The expression “let out” was exactly right for that kind of laugh.
…How the hell was I supposed to know that?!
There is a limit to reverse calculation.
How on earth was I supposed to reverse-calculate this?
To summarize, it went like this:
Troops increase at Amir Castle → Used as garrison but no battle occurs → Since leaving troops idle is a waste, they strengthen security with territory patrols and such → Coincidentally, one of the soldiers discovers the rebel hideout → The soldier accidentally brings an item from inside the house → That item was the emblem → Based on the physical evidence, search results lead to early arrest of the rebels → Since Serpina’s army catches the rebels, it is the most efficient method
But what I could know was this:
Troops increase at Amir Castle → ??? → Anyway, most efficient
Just two propositions!
Use only these to extract the above conclusion?
I guarantee that anyone other than me would find it impossible.
There is a limit to guessing; how is a person supposed to guess this?
Ha.
Right—instead of just saying yes or no, if you told me a bit more detail, wouldn’t that be better?
Sometimes it does tell me a bit more detail… but the answer to the question “why on earth” has never come out even once, so it was a vain hope.
Anyway, after all those who plotted rebellion were executed—
After some time passed, I was summoned by Serpina once again.
The first thing I worried about upon being summoned by her was how to package this situation.
Anyway, since I had been right, the way she looked at me would have changed a little.
I prepared how to answer in my own way, but—fortunately or unfortunately, she started rattling off the things I would have said first.
“…Swen.”
“Yes. Please speak.”
“Did you… know that it would turn out like this? All of it?”
“…”
No. I’m not a god. How would I know this?
“You know as well, Swen. Among the traitors caught this time, that woman… Sika was there.”
Really???
I barely managed to hide that I was about to be startled.
This was the first I was hearing of this.
Wait a minute. Then… is she misunderstanding that I deliberately spoke in a roundabout way?
“That is why you gave a reason that was somewhat hard to understand. The opinion that We must prepare for the Asius army coming up the river. Looking back now, that was the only option that could lead to that conclusion, was it not…? When there is a possibility of peasant uprisings in nearby villages, or rebellion in nearby castles, there is no reason to station troops there…!”
Serpina, for some reason so excited, spoke to me with a tension I had never seen before.
She has quite a variety of expressions too—that was the only thought in my head at that moment.
“But Swen, you could not say everything! One of the traitors was mixed in that group, and if you did not give proper grounds, We would not listen! So… using the fact that you were in the Asius army, you created that hypothesis. A very plausible hypothesis that seemed as if it could convince Us as much as possible!”
As expected…
While I was just sitting back, a situation terrifyingly advantageous to me unfolded.
Is this… the true power of Intelligence 100…?
“That was… what was invisible.”
Ah, right.
I did say something like that.
I had the conviction that if I said something plausible, it would be gold-plated later. Since my words would be correct anyway.
But the current situation… was not just gold-plating.
Right now, I must look like a diamond to her.
Because otherwise…
Serpina’s golden eyes would not be burning as if they wanted to devour me.
“You knew everything… everything…! And, to somehow inform Us of it, you gave desperate advice… is that not so, Swen…?”
What should I say?
For now, it would be good to affirm it.
Basically, I was in a position where I needed the lord’s trust to be able to do anything.
Had I not felt that keenly in the Brans army, and in the Asius army?
If this was a kind of opportunity given to me…
I slowly bowed my head with the most elegant gesture I could manage.
And after mind-controlling myself as “a loyal subject serving Serpina,” I answered in the most pitiful voice possible.
“It was dangerous in many ways, but it was my lord’s decision to listen to my words. I am simply grateful that I could be of help to my lord.”
Good.
With this much, she should trust me, right?
To safely return to the Lunarien army later, I needed to gain trust first.
Honestly, I did not think so, but the epithet attached to her was tyrant.
Even in the game, Serpina often showed extremely cruel sides. Was she not the one who executed me in the first place?
So I must not be too incompetent. My judgment was that if I gained moderate trust, I would be able to leave this place safely when the time came.
I could easily predict her response.
After being moderately surprised, something like “Excellent. Swen. We are greatly surprised by your insight. We hope you will display that ability for Us from now on” would wrap it up, right?
Making a fuss was far from the Serpina I had observed so far.
…Or so I thought.
Until I saw Serpina’s expression, steeped in ecstasy.
Uh oh…?
“Swen, truly… truly, you are a truly fascinating man… We are feeling a thrill for the first time since We were born. Can you feel it? Even you… this heart of Ours…!”
As for her, it was as if she could not control herself.
She looked at me as if she were a fanatic who had discovered something so lovely that her whole body was trembling with thrills.
No…
I’m not that great??
Of course, that unreachable cry of mine did not reach her.
Should a lord not say something like “Hmm, is that so” here and pass it over with composure?
Seeing her so astonished just because it hit once… perhaps she was in a less leisurely situation than I thought.
Serpina then rose from the throne and began to approach me closely.
And then she lifted my chin to match my eye level.
…The scent of yuzu.
I had smelled it a few times… but this time, in addition to that, an excessively thick, extremely personal fragrance was felt.
Not just the yuzu scent… this was Serpina’s body scent.
Something deep and intimate of the human named Serpina that only those who have shared body scents can know—
I sensed that it was aiming straight at me.
“Become Ours, Swen.”
Shudder!
Goosebumps raced up my spine all the way to the crown of my head.
The nerve cells in my brain fiercely warned me.
I’m going to be… eaten by this woman…!
“That body, and that heart… serve this body. If you do not…!”
Having said that, she pressed her beautiful face close to mine.
…She was beautiful.
Foolishly, that thought had to come first, so surpassingly lovely was her beauty.
Her golden eyes, her pure white skin, her rough breathing, her large breasts that inevitably brushed against me as she drew near, the sweet yuzu fragrance that bound all of that together…
In that moment when Serpina, who had approached so close that our noses would touch if she fell forward, unilaterally declared that to me, I realized one fact so clear that no prediction was needed.
That I might have… stepped into something terribly, terribly wrong.