The Question (4)

"I am sorry to make you travel so far each time."

"Not at all. It isn't as though I have any special duties of my own."

The internal administration of Aingart Castle was already running smoothly and producing results. That meant there was no real need to force someone like me into the system — someone whose stats, by all estimates, were probably low when it came to domestic affairs.

"Besides, this is no ordinary summons. It is my lord's command. Even if I were occupied, coming at once would only be proper for a vassal, would it not?"

"I am not particularly fond of flattery so blatant, but I shall accept it specially today."

She said this, then lifted the corner of her mouth just slightly as she looked at me.

She was beautiful.

Every feature of her face seemed arranged for no purpose other than beauty itself — so perfectly placed that the thought alone was almost absurd.

What did it mean, from Serpina's perspective, that she had been born into an age like this one? Did she consider herself fortunate that she could be recognized for her ability rather than her appearance?

The thought was foolish — and yet she was beautiful enough to make even that kind of nonsense cross my mind. In a peaceful world, her looks alone would have overshadowed everything else about her.

Even so, Serpina still carried that faintly unsettling air about her. And yet, before I quite realized it, I had reached the point of exchanging these idle little jokes with her.

Looking back now, it was hard to understand how she had ever earned a reputation as a tyrant. Among all the sovereigns I had served, she moved with the greatest rationality, and she seemed to treat her subordinates with genuine sincerity.

She was strict about rewards and punishments, never forgave traitors, and the rumors said she had shown a rather cruel side during the northern unification I had not witnessed… but compared to Lin Brans, who destroyed everything through sheer inability to yield her pride, or Yuuri Asius of the Asius Army, who cherished her founding retainers so much that she ended up being dragged around by them entirely — Serpina's flaws barely registered as flaws at all.

Every nation I had belonged to so far had been missing a screw somewhere. The prediction that none of them could achieve unification had been easy enough to accept.

But why couldn't Serpina unify the continent? Why had the destiny of that great enterprise flowed instead toward Lunarien?

I would have liked more time to reflect on the question. Serpina, however, had no intention of granting me any leisure. She went straight to the point.

"An envoy has arrived."

"Another alliance negotiation?"

"Yes."

Good. Who is it this time?

Ohana, Hesna, or Roland — one of those three, no doubt. Let's hear the terms already.

And then—

"How amusing."

"…Pardon?"

"Your expression, I mean."

Serpina kept her composure, her smile intact as she spoke.

"I can already see it clearly — that look of boredom, as if you are thinking, I will be asked the same sort of question again."

"…My lord is rather sharp-eyed."

"Anyone who cannot read people that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠quickly has no business bearing the weight of a crown."

She said this, then slowly let the easy smile fade, her tone turning somewhat more serious.

"It is the Brans Army."

"What?"

"The Brans Army has requested an alliance with us."

The Brans Army??

Uh…

Of course, looking purely at the strategic board — the faction that stood to gain the most from allying with us was, surprisingly, the Brans Army. If they could just hold us off somehow, they might lose a bit of territory, but they would find it far easier to repel the southern powers pressing up from below.

The problem was this:

Was Lin Brans the kind of person who could set her emotions aside and make a clean decision based purely on advantage?

The Lin Brans I knew was a woman of enormous pride. That towering pride and self-regard slid easily into arrogance, and her tendency to let emotion dictate her decisions was, as a sovereign, her fatal flaw.

She had once been ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠rated the only force on the continent that might stand against the Serpina Army. She had spent day after day trying to plant her banners across the northern continent — only to collapse, losing castle after castle to Serpina's forces. And now, of all times, she was requesting an alliance?

…What is this?

Had something shifted in her heart?

Real people were not characters. Thoughts could change. Even my own predictions sometimes shifted with circumstance — the same question could yield a different answer today than it would a few days later, because the most efficient response at any given moment was what came through.

In any case, the decision would have been Lin's alone. Unlike the Asius Army, power in the Brans Army was concentrated entirely in her hands.

If that were true—

She might have finally come to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her senses.

The Brans Army had been shoved near the brink by the catastrophic choice of cutting Airen loose — but they had not once been rated as Serpina's equal for nothing. If they recovered their wits from this point on, they would be no force to take lightly.

A Lin Brans who discarded her pride and chose practical advantage was not someone you could casually dismiss.

Still…

I had not yet heard the important part.

"What are the terms?"

"A ceasefire agreement, and an alliance of six months. What they have put forward is twelve thousand eight hundred Goldraders."

Hmm…

It was not an outrageous overpayment, but neither was it a particularly tempting offer. Whether they could have gone higher and simply could not bring themselves to break their last remaining scrap of pride — or whether their finances were worse than expected — I could not say.

Either way, no need to accept it.

I had already turned down better terms three times. I considered simply letting this one pass as well… but it was still worth checking.

Would forming an alliance with the Brans Army be efficient for our forces?

And then—

That damned prediction came rolling into view before my eyes once more.

??????

What?

This… this is the correct answer?

I filtered out a holy sword, tens of thousands in gold — and this is it? And of all things, allying with the Brans Army is the right call?

And why is it the right call, exactly?

Has the heavens decided to look kindly on an alliance with the Brans Army this time? Something like this, for instance:

Short of messages like those popping up, finding any reasonable explanation for why this alliance would be the most advantageous was nearly impossible.

Anyway.

If this was the correct choice… I was supposed to persuade her to take it?

Me?

Persuade that impregnable fortress of a woman, Serpina — who never listened without clear grounds?

There was not even room to reverse-engineer a justification!

'My lord, I believe we should accept this proposal. That is… well… in any case, that is my view.' — How else was I supposed to explain it?

It would not even be strange if she started thinking, Is this bastard a plant for the Brans Army? Did he infiltrate the Asius Army as a spy and get unlucky enough to be sold off here?

Should I just say it's not worth it again and reject it?

Right. I was not a god. Even if I failed to notice that this alliance would be profitable, no one was going to hold it against me. Serpina was a wise woman; she would never demand to know why I had not caught on. And from a third party's perspective, no one would claim I had known and deliberately chosen otherwise.

And then — while I was still reeling in shock—

"Ahaat…♡"

A woman's voice, thoroughly coquettish, reached my ears.

I had a fair idea whose it was. Slowly, I raised my head—

"Has it descended upon you, Swen?"

"…Pardon?"

"I asked whether that moment has descended upon you once again…!"

Serpina's eyes locked onto me — trapping me inside them. Two of my faces reflected in her pupils. And what I read in both of those trapped selves was pure bewilderment.

"I… that is, what do you…"

Serpina gently cupped her own cheeks with both hands. It was an utterly foolish thought, but that beautiful gesture drew my gaze whether I wanted it to or not.

"Your expression changed, Swen. Yours. Those eyes of yours, flashing as though you had just grasped something tremendous… Do you know? That is an utterly captivating sight… to me…!"

My expression changed…?

When I heard the prediction, had I… shown some kind of panic?

No — I had thought I was hiding my face reasonably well…

"A moment so intense it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠draws even me toward you, quite naturally…!"

She said this, then rose from her seat and walked toward me with deliberate steps while I sat there dazed. Before long, the distance between us was closer than it had ever been.

Serpina's full chest pressed against my chest. As if even that barely mattered, she pressed herself as close to me as she could get.

"…!!"

No… wait a second.

I wanted to think, but the sharp scent of yuzu flooding my nose made it impossible to turn the gears in my head. Her body was — extraordinarily soft. Foolishly, that sensation alone filled my mind to the brim. I could not deny that my instincts were responding fiercely to the beauty of her form.

"Swen. I may ask a question, may I not?"

"Th… wh-what."

"The alliance with the Brans Army… You are thinking that forming that alliance would be an opportunity for our forces, are you not?"

!!!

No — how did she—

"You are making a face that says, How did you figure that out? Fufufu… You have a cute side to you, Swen."

She smiled like an innocent young woman who had just received a lifelong vow from the only man she had ever known in a field of flowers. I did not know why such a specific image rose so clearly in my mind… but the emotion I felt was, without falsehood, exactly that.

"Discerning that much is not so difficult a task."

She slowly brushed my cheek with her pale hand.

It was warm. I could feel the warm blood circulating through the woman before me.

"I merely caught the shift in your eyes, your expression, the movement of your brows… and the moment the atmosphere in this room changed. That is all."

Well — the fact that ordinary people cannot notice all of that and read it with supernatural precision is, I would argue, impressive enough on its own…

"I am merely quick on the uptake… Swen. It is a trivial parlor trick, nothing that can be compared to your Mind's Eye."

Mind's Eye.

That word again.

What exactly did Mind's Eye mean? Serpina had spoken it when a prediction came true, and Zinor had mentioned it once as well, long ago — so there was clearly something to it…

Unfortunately, I had no leisure right now to ponder such things at my ease.

"Now, answer me. What do you think? This alliance — should we form it, or should we not… As you always have, give me your counsel."

The moment I heard that question again, my head — which had been overflowing with everything about Serpina — suddenly lightened.

Right.

I had to answer, one way or another.

Lying here would be an obvious blunder. Whether she had read my face or whatever else — what she was saying was close to the truth. She had hit my thoughts with uncanny accuracy. In this situation, engaging her in a battle of wills put me at a clear disadvantage.

A few days ago she had already asked whether I was confident in my own heart — which meant I was already under suspicion from the officers under her command. And as I had said, the truth was already in her hands.

And if one option was a clear blunder—

Then my decision could only be one thing, could it not?

"…That is correct."

I lowered my head, maintaining as much composure as I could, and answered — gripping in both hands the only weapon I possessed: a prediction that was always right.

"I believe an alliance with the Brans Army would present an opportunity for our forces as well. Would my lord consider forming it?"