Laying the Foundation (1)
"Huff... huff... Let's rest a bit."
I collapsed by the roadside and called out to Luna, who was walking ahead.
I had no idea how such a short stretch of walking could leave me this exhausted already. I never imagined that a low Martial stat would be this much of a nuisance.
"Ah—yes!"
Luna, who had been leading the way, came over and settled carefully beside me, her tone almost apologetic.
"I'm sorry I couldn't hire a carriage... Our territory is just a little farther, so please rest as much as you need. Ah—here, some water."
I took the water bottle she offered and drank deeply. Moisture flooding my worn-out body made my head feel clearer at once. Only then did I properly take in the deeply apologetic look on her face, and I cut straight to the point.
"That aside... are you still going to keep speaking so formally?"
"Pardon? What do you mean by that...?"
"As of today, I've been commissioned into the Lunarien Army. That means you, Lady Luna, are my lord. I don't think it's particularly good for a sovereign to address every subordinate with such careful honorifics."
In other words, I wanted to tell her that treating subordinates as subordinates could be the proper path for a ruler. Among modern people raised on ideals of equality and a basic distaste for class systems, that sort of thing might earn praise—"a true leader," "no sense of entitlement." But this was a medieval world with a real hierarchy, and a chaotic age at that. When anything could happen, a sovereign who lowered themselves too far was never making the right choice.
Luna listened... and once again hung her head, looking thoroughly dejected.
"I... see. But I simply feel so grateful toward you, Lord Swen."
"Toward me?"
A faint flush rose in her cheeks as she answered.
"Yes. Aside from the companions who've been with me from the beginning... you're the first person to join our army. So if you're all right with it, my honest wish is simply to treat you well."
So I'm essentially the first subordinate to enlist under Luna?
I thought back to my experience playing as Luna. Recruiting officers had been a nightmare. Of course it had—her nation was a mess, and her lord's renown was nothing special. Unless someone was going for a deliberate underdog-to-conqueror run, nobody played as Luna.
"Then let's do this. When Your Lordship and I are alone, speak formally or casually—however you like. But when a third party is present—when other retainers are there, or before the soldiers—I'd like you to treat me the way other lords treat their subordinates. How does that sound?"
"The way other lords... do?"
"Yes. If you're going to command many people, it's important that you look like someone worth following—no matter how hard that is. Values may change with the age, but given that you have ambition, isn't it only natural to strive to appear as the kind of leader this era demands?"
Unfortunately, this was a barbarous age. To give countless soldiers a sense of security, a ruler needed to be a strong leader.
But Luna only looked troubled as she answered.
"That word... ambition. It feels a little... I simply want everyone to live in a peaceful world. So rather than ambition, I think dream would be a better—"
"My lord."
I deliberately cut her off. An ordinary sovereign would have been offended that a subordinate who'd only just enlisted dared to interrupt their lord. Offended? They could have ordered a head cut off if they felt like it.
"Y-yes."
She showed not the slightest displeasure—only waited for my words like a gentle lamb.
"Have ambition. In an age without dreams, harboring one will only get you killed. Didn't you say you want peace for everyone? A sovereign who clings to pedantic details like which word to use cannot bring peace to a war-torn continent. Do you understand?"
"...Peace... to a war-torn continent."
I looked straight into her eyes. Those crimson irises trembled pitifully. No matter how many times I looked, she never seemed like a sovereign destined to unify the continent. And yet I trusted my Intelligence of 100 completely.
"Yes. Don't steel yourself so weakly. If Your Lordship becomes a vessel fit to unify the continent... then I, Swen, will fill that vessel with the Garand Continent. Without fail."
"...!"
Hearing that, she flushed faintly again. It felt almost redundant to say it once more, but she truly was beautiful—a delicate fragility that made one want to protect her. She gave the impression of a flower blooming alone atop a cliff. It was hard to imagine how someone like her had ever decided to become a leader.
"...I understand. If you say so, Lord Swen... I won't shy away from having ambition."
"That's good enough."
I lightly shifted the mood, turning the conversation elsewhere.
"It's farther from where I was than I expected."
"Hm? Ah... well, yes. It's not so far that a full day's travel couldn't cover it, though."
Luna nodded as she answered. This woman. She had come to recruit me five times. Did that mean she had made this long round trip five times over? That old novel about a lord who enlisted after being visited three times suddenly made a great deal more sense. Having someone keep coming all this way for a man with no particular renown was something to be grateful for.
Right. Now that I've enlisted, I shouldn't half-ass this. I should do it properly.
I looked up at the sky. The sun was still up, but it would be best to reach the territory before dark. My body hadn't fully recovered, but I couldn't spend forever resting either.
"Let's get moving."
I rose slowly from my seat. Moving my body still felt burdensome—I hadn't adapted yet—but this body was ultimately a problem I would have to adjust to.
"Ah—yes!"
Hearing me, Luna stood and once again took the lead, walking on through the undergrowth.
"Hahh... hahh..."
Damn it. The body I'd resolved to adapt to quickly was already putting me through trials. Climbing a single hillside and I was already in this state. It was starting to seem that my Martial stat might be even lower than the 10–15 I'd estimated.
"We're almost there, but... are you all right?"
The sun was already setting. Nightfall would bring its own dangers, and camping would mean throwing away an entire day. For the Lunarien Army—which never knew when an attack might come—wasting time needlessly on a roadside like this was no good either.
"I'm fine... Let's go. Quickly. I'm all right..."
I would have preferred that something resembling exercise actually raise my stamina... but this game, true to its old-fashioned design, had no training commands or anything of the sort for raising stats. Given how thoroughly my predictions had been proving correct, this world seemed to follow the game's rules even when it looked perfectly real—but without knowing how that particular system applied, I couldn't act on any firm assumptions.
"...Hmm."
Luna hesitated for a moment—then stepped closer.
"Um, Lord Swen."
"...Yes?"
She looked at me, then turned her back, bent at the waist, and said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Would you like a piggyback?"
"...Excuse me???"
What? Had I misheard?
"You look like you're struggling a great deal, Lord Swen... so if you don't mind, you can ride on my back. We're almost there."
"No, that's not the issue..."
I wanted to say something, but my legs were trembling so hard the words wouldn't come out properly. I recalled Luna's Martial stat. It was certainly a bit above average... but was this really all right? Looking at her now, I couldn't read the slightest sign of fatigue from her. Even so—I was a man, and her subordinate. Being carried by my female lord would look thoroughly pathetic.
But then again—
...Isn't wasting time for no reason even more pathetic?
Thinking practically, the right move here was simply to accept the ride. Having decided that, I leaned against her without further hesitation.
"I'll be in your care."
"Yes!"
She settled me on her back, found her balance with ease, and stood. Was I just light? Well—my arms were thin, my legs were thin... overall, I did give a rather slender impression. And I hadn't been eating much either.
Carried on her back, I glanced at the side of her face and thought.
Unification for the sake of peace, is it?
One might think there would be plenty of players who wanted to unify the continent as a peace-seeking lord—but the game already had a sovereign built for that concept.
Macana Karelia.
The rightful heir of the old Macana royal line—the kingdom that the once-unified empire of Serpina had destroyed in its earlier conquests—now leading the Karelia Army. A deeply righteous personality, and the de facto rival and archenemy of Serpina, who filled the "tyrant" role in this game; a sovereign with vivid green eyes. If you ran the tutorial, you led the Karelia Army while learning the basics of the game, so calling them the de facto protagonist nation wouldn't be an overstatement. Their talent pool was narrow, but every officer was SS-rank, and once you survived the early stretch they were as workable as Lin Brans—so they weren't exactly a beginner nation either.
Which is to say—
The Lunarien Army was truly nothing in this game. Nothing special about them. They had never driven any major event. Even in-game, where every modifier was randomized, they were always the same: one of those mediocre nations that fell early. That was Luna's army. Unless a player was deliberately going for some absurd underdog-to-conqueror concept, they were a minor power that would never achieve unification.
And yet.
I—no, my Intelligence of 100—was certain, again and again.
That the Lunarien Army would unify this continent. A world unification that neither the Serpina Army, nor the Brans Army, nor the Aesius Army could achieve.
I don't understand it, but...
My predictions were always correct in this world. Whether it turned out well or poorly, as long as that premise held, I had to stay by her side.
And so I made it safely into Zeiland, the small city that served as the territory of the Lunarien Army.
"This is the place?"
A small, dilapidated castle. A dim market alley with no life in it. A landscape that breathed a gloomy air. My first impression of Zeiland—classified in-game as nothing more than a "small city"—was simple.
An abandoned town.
"Yes. This will be your residence, Lord Swen."
With a calm expression, she pointed out a weathered wooden house. Well—I hadn't expected luxurious living in a place like this, so I wasn't particularly disappointed.
"When morning comes, please come to the castle in the center. Then... I wish you a peaceful night."
I saw Lunarien off as she bid me farewell, then stepped into the wooden house. A disagreeable creak answered me—and a very small room with a tiny window spilling moonlight welcomed me in. Aside from a worn bed to sleep on, not a single piece of furniture filled the space.
The house was in this sorry state for now... but the more we grew the city, the better the places I would be able to stay.
For now, sleep.
I lay down on the old bed. My first days as a strategist were about to begin.