Taking Refuge with the Brans Army (4)
Right.
As far as I knew, in this game, a gold gift with no strings attached was a betrayal ninety-nine times out of a hundred.
If they came proposing a joint assault anytime soon, I could safely assume there was nearly a one hundred percent chance they would turn on us.
It was a stratagem available when your own side had a tactician with Intelligence of 95 or higher and the specialty Betrayal. Handing over money was simply a mandatory step built into that in-game scheme, which was why it always played out that way.
To see through it in advance, you needed Intelligence of 99 or higher plus the specialty Mind's Eye… and while Parfalle was a fine tactician, her Intelligence sat only in the low nineties — not even 95 — so there was no way she could have spotted it.
Besides, any player who had been burned a few times would inevitably catch on, so the warning hardly mattered anyway.
Now that this world had become reality, it was possible they had genuinely offered the gold out of pure goodwill — but given how every prediction my Intelligence of 100 had made so far had proven correct, I couldn't afford to ignore the patterns that had been common knowledge in the game.
Still.
To make this entire hypothesis hold together, one essential piece was missing.
Namely — that a minor power like the Charam Army actually possessed a tactician-type talent with Intelligence of 95 or higher and the Betrayal specialty.
In a weak little nation like that? What for?
It wasn't an impossible proposition, exactly — but the odds were vanishingly low.
Even so.
No matter how slim the chance, my ability was Intelligence 100, wasn't it?
If I fed it the right question, maybe it would answer.
"Ah… Lady Airen. I have a request, if I may."
"A request?"
Airen, who had been waiting patiently while I sank into thought, tilted her head and asked. For all the formality of her speech, her mannerisms were those of a thoroughly endearing young woman.
But—
Asking her to pose a question out of nowhere would be a little awkward here.
I hesitated, struggling to find the words, and she spoke first.
"Swen?"
"Ah… yes."
"Is something the matter? You went quiet all of a sudden and just stared off into space…"
Airen looked at me with open concern.
After a moment's internal debate, I gave up.
"…It's nothing."
Instead of pressing further, she simply nodded and resumed her explanation. She was letting it go, then. A strange warmth of gratitude toward her settled over me.
"…At any rate, let us move on to the south. Aside from four nations, there is nothing on that side that poses much of a threat."
The southern layout matched what I already roughly knew.
The Roland Army, the Hesna Army, the Karelia Army, and the Ohana Army.
If left to the CPU, the disparity in talent pools meant the Karelia Army would most often survive and conquer the south — though the Ohana Army or Hesna Army seizing the south was a fairly common outcome as well. A Roland victory was about as rare as rain in a drought, and the remaining minor states were doomed to fall unless a player took control of them.
"That covers it. And finally—"
She pointed toward the upper reaches of the continent.
The north.
At this point in time, the only region already unified under a single power.
"The entire northern continent belongs to the Serpina Army. You already know that much, I trust?"
"Of course."
In the game, the minor states that had attached themselves to Serpina's banner were wiped out the moment a single year passed. In this world, with no sortie restrictions, they had almost certainly fallen even faster.
Thanks to Airen's help, I now had a firm grasp of the current power structure. Confirming the layout had yielded a small harvest of its own.
"Thank you."
I offered a polite bow of gratitude, then pulled out a fresh sheet of paper and took up my pen again.
"Hm? What are you doing?"
"I thought I might sketch out a map of the surrounding regions while I'm at it."
Nearly every major battlefield that appeared in the game. After ten thousand hours of play, the layouts were still vivid in my mind even months after arriving in this world. Organizing them would be useful. Besides, I had nothing better to do.
Airen nodded, then rested a hand on my shoulder.
"I'll leave the lantern burning. Put it out before you sleep."
"Won't the light bother you?"
"I am a woman who has spent her nights sleeping rough by a campfire."
With that, Airen offered a faint smile and left my side, settling against the wall with her back to it.
Giving me the bed again tonight, was she?
As always, kindness was best accepted gratefully while it was on offer.
"Good night."
First, the battlefields along the eastern border of the Aeshus Army…
I lifted my pen and began to draw.
The following evening.
Airen had stepped out for a while, and I was alone, still mapping the surrounding battlefields.
There's more highland around here than I expected.
Nothing as brutal as sheer cliff faces, but a fair number of hills all the same. Anel Castle and its immediate surroundings sat on broad plains, yet curiously, the terrain right along the borderlines seemed full of ground that would be hard to cross.
I planned to keep reviewing battlefield data in spare moments even after the initial organization was done. There was no telling when I might need to open my mouth and put this information to use.
Just then, the door opened, and Airen returned from outside in her armor.
"Welcome back."
"Mm."
Both her hands were full. She set everything down on the desk, and I looked it over.
"Is this… meat?"
Raw beef — several cuts of it — along with an assortment of other ingredients.
Airen smiled at me.
"It occurred to me that you have become a new member of this household, Swen. It would hardly be proper not to offer you a proper welcome at least once, would it not?"
So she had gone out and bought meat for that?
The unexpected kindness left me flustered.
"You really didn't need to go this far for me."
"It's fine. Doing this puts my own mind at ease. Besides — looking at you, you seem rather frail of body, do you not?"
"…"
I had nothing to say to that. If I tried to follow Airen's training routine, I would collapse from exhaustion in under two hours. The reason I never refused her offer of the bed was that sleeping properly on a mattress was, for someone with a body as weak as mine, a genuine aid to recovery.
"Don't take it to heart. No one is born with stamina already forged. When that is the case, meat is the answer. Eat meat, and build your strength. Sit. I'll have it ready shortly."
As she spoke, Airen unfastened the breastplate that had been protecting her chest. Her ample bosom swayed for an instant with the motion. Then she changed into the comfortable clothes she wore when preparing meals, took up a knife, and began to cook.
…
Living with her these past days, I had come to realize she possessed a far higher degree of practical self-sufficiency than I would have expected. On top of that, she had the mental fortitude to refuse to break no matter how miserable her circumstances became.
Honestly — when a man like me had been sent to her, she must have felt humiliated. What kind of sovereign ordered a newly arrived male subordinate to room with one of her generals? Obedience to one's lord was a vassal's virtue, but this was still an inherently degrading arrangement.
And yet she had never once let any of that show to me. Instead, she had gone out, bought meat, and was cooking a welcome feast.
Why, though?
Even allowing for their poor compatibility, I could not begin to understand why Lin treated someone of Airen's caliber so coldly. Perhaps the reason Lin could never become a unifying sovereign lay precisely in that narrow-minded, petty streak of hers.
I was still turning the thought over when—
"It's ready!"
Airen brought the plates over with a faintly proud look on her face. The same dishes that usually held nothing more than hard rye bread or dried fish now held freshly grilled cuts of meat, and somehow that alone made them look remarkably refined.
I took up my fork and knife and sliced into the meat.
This sensation. How long had it been?
Cutting the meat, placing a piece in my mouth, and chewing — the simple act made me feel vividly, unmistakably alive.
"It's delicious."
The seasoning was just right, and the doneness was perfect. At my words, she smiled brightly. She was openly pleased by the praise.
"I have always had confidence in my grilling. Even on campaign, I usually handled all the cooking myself."
"You did, Lady Airen?"
"Mm. Indeed."
She gave my back a couple of light pats as she spoke.
"Swen. Living under the same roof as a general of the opposite sex must be uncomfortable, and given what you have already seen of me that you should not have, I am sure it weighs on you… I am sorry I cannot resolve it for you just yet. The moment a vacant house becomes available, I will have you moved there. Bear with it only until then."
She sounded genuinely apologetic. A thoroughly earnest character, this one.
Hearing that, I answered with deliberate shamelessness.
"What are you saying? If you don't mind, Lady Airen, I would be happy to keep living with you indefinitely."
And as for things I shouldn't have seen — that had been the finest scenery imaginable, but I kept that part to myself.
"You truly are skilled at flattery. As I have told you before, nothing comes of it."
"No. I mean it."
I answered with complete seriousness. Because I did mean it. Nothing raised her affection faster than living under the same roof.
Lin had sent me here to torment Airen — but from my perspective, that choice was not a bad one at all. If anything, it was an excellent one. And she was beautiful. Looking at that generous chest of hers every single day was surely going to add years to my life.
Airen heard me out, then flushed in sudden fluster. She scraped at the surface of her meat with her fork for a moment before speaking, clearly embarrassed.
"…Ahem. Ahem. Let us finish our meal first."
Then she fell silent and roughly carved off a piece of meat, stuffing it into her mouth. The way she got flustered was rather adorable.
"Well then — thank you for the meal."
I offered my thanks first to Airen, who had prepared the meat for me — and next to Lin, who had so thoughtfully prepared Airen for me — and then continued eating.
Three days had passed since my appointment to the Brans Army.
Which meant today was the day of the Brans Army's regular council meeting.
I had been floating without assigned duties until now, but starting this month I would almost certainly be given work of my own.
Airen, who had risen early and already donned her armor, spoke to me.
"Are you ready to leave?"
"One moment."
I dressed at an unhurried pace, then accepted the outer coat she handed me. The front pocket bore the emblem of the Brans Army. Simply putting it on made my affiliation feel more real than it ever had before.
The Lunarien Army, being a minor power, had never had anything resembling a uniform.
I suppose even menial work is better done at a major corporation, isn't it?
"I'm ready."
"…Ah. One last thing."
"What is it?"
"It may be better for you if you do not associate yourself with me more than necessary. I will go on ahead. I recommend you follow five minutes later. You know the way to the royal castle, I trust."
"…"
I had no trouble reading the true intent behind her words. She was marked by Lin Brans, so she would understand if I kept a measured distance — was that it?
That she could say as much even to someone who was, for all practical purposes, a guest under her own roof filled me with genuine admiration. I answered in a firm tone.
"What would a mere newcomer know of such things? Rather than playing politics from day one, wouldn't it be better to present myself as someone pure and completely ignorant?"
Airen listened, then gave a small, amused smile.
In just three days, we had grown closer than I would have expected.
"…You truly do say such things without the slightest hesitation. I almost wish I could learn how."
"If the opportunity arises, I'll be sure to teach you."
She let out a soft laugh and opened the door, stepping out. I, of course, did not wait five minutes. I followed right behind her.
Morning in East Anel was remarkably peaceful.
The chatter of the domain's people, the carriages loaded with goods rolling this way and that. The most striking feature was how many people wore clothing marked with the same emblem as mine. All of them working under the Brans Army, I supposed.
Apparently the distinctive crest was issued not only to generals but even to common soldiers and the lower ranks of the organization. In the game, only the "generals" were ever visible — but to run an organization this large, countless unnamed "Jameses" of the Brans Army, invisible to the system, must have been grinding away behind the scenes.
The thought left a faintly bitter taste, but there was no time to linger in sentiment.
Before long, we arrived at Anel Castle.
The sound of people exchanging greetings drifted through the air. At this point, one would have expected people who recognized Airen to come forward and greet her — yet astonishingly, not a single person spoke to her. The few who did offer greetings were not generals at all, but servants and maids of low station.
So that's what she meant.
They must have decided that personal dealings with Airen, who was out of favor with Lin Brans, would gain them nothing. A quiet resentment stirred in me, and I pressed even closer to her side.
Fortunately or not, no one paid any particular attention to the man trailing behind her. They seemed to take me for her attendant. Not that their opinions mattered either way.
A few more minutes of walking, and Airen and I stepped into the council chamber within the castle.
Inside, a truly — truly — large number of people stood arrayed in ranks on either side. Dozens visible at a glance alone. Compared to Jeiland Castle's royal hall, which had held five people including myself… this was another world entirely.
Lin had not yet arrived; the throne stood empty.
"This way."
Following Airen's direction, I took a position a short distance behind her right side.
And before long—
"Her Lordship approaches!"
A soldier's booming cry rang out, and the sound of footsteps echoed through the suddenly silent hall like a reverberation.
Long, flowing blue hair. A beautiful face that concealed cruelty beneath it.
The absolute will of the Brans Army — Lin Brans — arrived at the throne with Parfalle in tow, seated herself with lofty composure, and then addressed her assembled vassals in a tone that, for someone with her usual streak of flippancy, was remarkably solemn.
"Well. Is everyone here? We'll begin the Brans Army's monthly regular council. No objections, I trust?"