Monthly Regular Meeting / Brans Army (2)
The moment I stepped in front of Parfalle, a message suddenly appeared before my eyes!
Which command will you choose?
One-on-one debate commands floated before me, ready for selection, and with the power of Intelligence 100 I would crush my opponent—
—except, of course, nothing of the sort happened.
If that were how this worked, a status window would have appeared the moment I arrived here.
In the game, Intelligence was the decisive stat in one-on-one debates. Just as a general with high Martial would butcher one with low Martial in a duel, the actual logic of an argument mattered far less than the simple mechanism of a high-Intelligence officer steamrolling a lower one and sending them on a scenic tour of defeat. The game itself had never been that finely crafted to begin with—it was a simple classic at heart.
But now that the game world had become reality, my high Intelligence score did not mean I could simply pick the right command matchup and watch my opponent mutter, Hmm, I see…! while their legs trembled and a health gauge drained away.
I actually had to persuade them.
Which meant the weapon I needed to use was not my Intelligence number.
It was the truths only I could know—the rules of this world I had learned over ten thousand hours of play. And the art of striking at the exact moment my opponent would think, How does he know even that?
Those two points. That was where I had to stake the match.
Those two were my weapons.
This was not the Lunarien Army. There was no one here who would simply accept my claims the way Luna had, even when they sounded like pure stubbornness. For my words to sound plausible, I had to show them that I knew things they assumed I could not possibly know.
I need to create an opening.
Just then, Parfalle looked at me and spoke in a mild tone.
"You may go first, if you like."
I gave a light nod to Parfalle for yielding the opening move, then opened my mouth.
"Invading the Asius Army at this juncture is not a particularly good idea."
"May I hear your reasoning?"
"Before I give my reasons, I would rather reverse the question—to Lady Parfalle, and, if I may be so bold, to our noble lord as well."
As I spoke, I looked past Parfalle's shoulder—toward Lin, seated on the throne, watching us with an expression of clear interest.
She was smiling. Fortunately, she did not seem to be in a foul mood.
Then it should be fine to speak.
"Why have we never invaded the Asius Army in the east until now?"
"…I will answer in her place. Because the opportunity never arose."
"And by opportunity, you mean?"
"As you well know, the Asius Army possesses a national strength that cannot be ignored. Their territory may be small, but they have an abundance of gifted generals, and their soldiers are numerous enough to match the population of the fertile lands of Valharat. Even with their limited holdings, for our army to commit to striking them would mean accepting that our other fronts would be put at risk."
I nodded at that.
"Yes. I agree with Lady Parfalle's assessment completely. Which is precisely why I must ask—then why advocate an invasion of Valharat Castle now?"
"Because once the Asius Army attacks the Allepel Army, a gap will inevitably open."
"Is that the only reason? An army of Asius's caliber should still have more than enough capacity to hold our forces even while attacking Allepel."
"I would not have proposed it if that were all."
At my probing, she let a trace of confidence slip through, unable to fully hide it.
"…It connects to what I said a moment ago. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity has come to us."
An opportunity had arrived.
Put another way: without that opportunity, an invasion would be impossible.
And in the present situation, there was only one thing that could count as such an opportunity—additional outside intervention.
Hearing that, I turned it over in my mind.
Airen had said the Charam Army had come here to present tribute money.
In this game, when someone simply handed over money, ninety-nine times out of a hundred it was to set up a Betrayal scheme.
It was not a prediction produced by an Intelligence of 100—but it was something a man who had played the game for ten thousand hours would know.
"Once a course of action is decided, I intend to brief everyone—including our lord—on the full situation… but I cannot speak of it precisely just yet."
The words she added only strengthened the credibility of my guess.
Of course she could not say it now. How could she announce, in front of this many people, that the Charam Army had agreed to strike the Asius Army from behind in concert with us?
She was the strategist of the Brans Army. Even speaking in vague terms like this, the results she had already shown and proven would naturally earn her trust—much as Kane and Tifa had gradually begun to believe in my abilities back in the Lunarien Army.
And by promising to explain everything once a policy was set, she would come across as far more trustworthy to the audience than I ever had under Luna, when all I could do was ask them to believe me for the time being.
Which meant the person I needed to shake right now was neither the audience nor Lin.
It was the architect of this plan—the violet-haired strategist standing before my eyes. Parfalle.
I deliberately put on an expression that said I had figured something out. Something grand and imposing, as if I held a brilliant scheme of my own. A slight lift of the corner of my mouth. A voice as composed as I could make it.
"Lady Parfalle. Are you perhaps thinking of a pincer attack?"
"A pincer attack?"
"More specifically… I am asking whether you have arranged a secret pact with the Charam Army to strike simultaneously."
"…!!"
Good.
I had not missed it.
For an instant, I saw her pupils contract. She recovered her expression quickly—but I had caught it clearly.
My words had startled her.
So that's it.
Well, nothing else had been coming out of this, so it had to be.
I pressed on as if stating a certainty.
"If that is the case, then I must insist all the more that we must not proceed with the invasion. Charam Masakuru, lord of the Charam Army, is not a man to be trusted. And if it was their side that first proposed this plan rather than ours, then I believe there is a high probability this is a trap aimed at our Brans Army."
"…"
This time, Lin behind Parfalle nodded with interest. She seemed to be listening very carefully to what I was saying.
"One more question. Did the information that the Asius Army would raid the Allepel Army also come from the Charam Army?"
"…"
"If so, then the Allepel Army is almost certainly in on it as well."
At my words she was silent for a moment, then finally parted her heavy lips.
"You speak with quite a degree of certainty."
Parfalle said this, then put force into the gaze she fixed on me. She seemed genuinely startled that I had seen through her thinking.
"I still cannot speak of it precisely… but neither the Charam Army nor the Allepel Army is on particularly good terms with the Asius Army. Anyone who has paid even a little attention to central politics would know that without difficulty. Lord Swen has only recently joined the Brans Army, so you may not be fully aware—but the assumption that they would collude to deceive us lacks plausibility."
She was trying, rather clumsily, to provoke me. It did not work.
Come to think of it, even in the game, Intelligence 100 had been immune to the Taunt keyword. The idle thought made the corner of my mouth lift on its own.
"Lady Parfalle. I am deeply sorry to say this, but even if they are our neighbors, one should not place too much faith in facts that a third party like the Brans Army can supposedly learn without difficulty."
"Heh."
Lin laughed softly behind her.
Parfalle did not let herself be rattled by that, maintaining her composure as she replied.
"I understand what you are saying, Lord Swen. It is true that Charam Masakuru—and Allepel Zaramka as well—are petty men of little worth as allies. Precisely because of that, it is reasonable to conclude they will not betray us."
"May I hear your grounds?"
"…"
She took a single breath, then spoke.
"I will answer under the assumption, as you say, that we are colluding with the Charam Army. Their greatest goal is simply to preserve their own territories as they are. Men without ambition, who care only that their own power be recognized. The defining trait of such people is that if you can properly place what they want in their hands, they become more reliable allies than anyone."
In other words: As long as we guarantee their safety, they will obey thoroughly—so this cannot be a backroom plot against us.
"By contrast, Baranga Yuuri Asius, leader of the Asius Army, is a capable lord who harbors ambition. From her perspective, seizing the territories of Charam and Allepel would be as good as laying the foundation to make her name known across the continent. Men who want only to maintain the status quo would never cooperate with a woman like that. They are not so foolish as to help someone who is constantly eyeing their castles."
It sounded plausible at a glance—
But if you thought carefully, there were quite a few holes to poke.
Had she been flustered because I had seen through the backroom scheme?
Well.
I had not come here intending to work with the same passion I had under Lunarien. I felt a little sorry for her, but I would seize on her words here.
"That is exactly the point, Lady Parfalle."
"I beg your pardon? What do you mean…"
"Baranga Yuuri Asius is an outstanding lord. Have you ever considered why the Charam Army and the Allepel Army still exist on this continent at all?"
"Th-that is…"
Good. She was rattled.
I pressed harder.
"Think of it simply. Imagine, Lady Parfalle, that you were Baranga Yuuri Asius. Before facing a neighboring great power like the Brans Army, would you not first clean up the weaker states around you and solidify your foundation?"
Parfalle could say nothing—but she seemed to agree. For the first time, she bit her lip as if frustrated.
But she was a clever woman. So rather than give her time to think, the right choice was to drive further in here.
To persuade the people watching this debate, the strategy was not merely to be ahead—it was also to look as though you were.
"So why has she not done so? If we accept the premise that she is not a foolish woman, there must be a reason, must there not?"
"A reason… Do you have some idea of what it might be?"
"I have a fair guess."
Of course, that was a lie.
But there was no need to reveal my hand by saying, I don't know.
"Then by all means, share your grounds."
"Lady Parfalle. Please recall what you said a moment ago. You yourself said with your own mouth, 'I cannot speak of it just yet.' I believe there is a reason you said that. And the same is true of me."
"…"
Insofar as her side was concealing something first, I had the right to conceal something as well.
Parfalle, understanding what I meant, sank into thought for a moment—then directed a question at me.
"For now, I will ask under the premise that your opinion is correct. Let us say that the secret pincer scheme proposed to us is some kind of plot, and that we are being deceived. In that case, would it not be a golden opportunity to turn the operation around and strike the Asius Army from behind instead? We would be the ones who saw through the scheme first. If that were the position you were advocating, I would have agreed as well. However."
Her voice grew clearer.
Only now did I feel that she was truly engaging with me.
"Your position is not 'let us reverse their scheme.' The opinion of General Airen, which you have endorsed, is to send troops north and firmly secure our defenses. Do you still hold to that view?"
"…"
Come to think of it, that was right.
I had come up here to push Airen's proposal.
She was shifting ground because she seemed to be losing momentum on the previous topic.
As expected, the strategist's seat had not been handed to her for free.
I could not lean on the power of prediction, and unlike Luna, no one here would simply believe me on faith—so I had to grind this out with words alone…
But even an Intelligence of 100 had only said the proposal was nearly correct. It had not said it was the most efficient method.
And what, exactly, was the difference between "correct" and "nearly correct"?
The action itself is right… but the conclusion is different?
It would mean that the opinion in question was not the perfect answer, but one that came close.
The mere existence of a "nearly correct" response in a mechanism that otherwise only produced 100% accurate predictions illuminated one fact with perfect clarity.
It meant that Parfalle's "reverse their scheme" was not a particularly good method. If it had been, asking about Parfalle's opinion rather than Airen's would have returned "nearly correct."
Because both concerned action related to the Asius Army.
In short: "using fifty-six thousand troops to do something involving the Asius Army" was itself distant from the most efficient approach.
Which left Airen's opinion.
I applied the same logic here.
The action itself is right, but the conclusion is different.
Here, the answer had been nearly correct.
Then… sending troops north—that action itself is the correct part…?
It was more plausible that the system had judged "sending troops" correct, not "defense" as such. I myself would have struggled to find an argument against the claim that there was no need to start defending this early.
So assume that sending troops was the correct conclusion.
There were only two things you could do once you sent them.
Either further fortify the castle's defenses—
Or gather them for an attack.
And—
…!
The moment I recognized that, cold sweat ran down my spine.
It was closer to deduction than pure reasoning, but if so…
If "fortify the defenses" is not the answer but only nearly the answer, then the true answer is…!
An unexpected result from the compass.
But I knew this compass was truth.
I opened my mouth slowly.
"…We must send troops north. I still support that opinion even now. However—"
"Then you are advocating defense, are you not? I have a great deal to say on that point. First of all, including the forces already constructing fortifications, the number of soldiers currently in the north alone—"
"Lady Parfalle. Please forgive my rudeness. But I must point out that I have not finished speaking."
I had cut her off—but Parfalle seemed to acknowledge that she had interrupted me first, and nodded as she said,
"…I apologize. I seem to have gotten a little heated. Please take your time and state your opinion."
"Sending forces north is correct. But we must not use them solely for defense. No—sending troops for the sake of defense alone is not enough."
"…What?"
At my words, Parfalle was startled.
Lin, who had been watching the debate with a leisurely expression, was startled.
The retainers within earshot of the debate were all startled as one.
And… even Airen, the author of this policy, was startled.
But.
When you eliminate everything that prediction has marked as "not the answer," what remains—no matter how absurd—is the answer.
A glittering answer foreseen by Intelligence 100, leaping past the question of how such a thing could even be possible.
I took that absolute answer as my weapon and drove it against her once more.
"We must gather our forces in the north—and invade the territory of the Serpina Army."