Defense of the Valharat Western Fortress (6)
Anima.
It wasn't a name I was hearing for the first time.
Right. There was definitely a strategist-type officer named Anima.
I remembered her as a solid female character with decent stats — perfectly usable. She wasn't a free officer who appeared in the wild, either. No matter which scenario you played, she always showed up as a member of the Asius Army.
That was right. Asius's strategist was almost always Anima.
For some reason Zinor held that seat now, but Zinor had originally been the free officer who appeared in the field.
Once I factored Anima into the equation, Epinel's oddly stubborn behavior started to make sense.
Which meant…
Epinel was unhappy that Anima had been pushed out of the strategist's seat?
Unbelievable.
Even for an army that ran on seniority the way Asius did, that was a stretch. If you considered Intelligence — the single most important virtue of a strategist — Zinor was clearly superior. And this wasn't a game; it was the real world. Zinor wasn't someone like me, who made predictions and reverse-engineered the answers. The man himself was simply that brilliant and wise.
And she still resented him for it?
If the "founding members" mattered that much, what was the point of recruiting talent at all?
"……"
Epinel listened to Zinor, considered for a moment, then turned her gaze on me.
"Swen. Your words — they're certain, are they?"
"Mine, you mean?"
"That it is possible to force a miracle by staking one's lifespan. If the ambush never comes, this fortress — stripped of its troops — will be a candle in the wind. If that ability of yours fails to activate, we will be in serious trouble."
"……It is possible. If this fortress falls, I will almost certainly become a prisoner of the Brans Army. And to the Brans Army, I am a traitor. Why would I risk my life to feed you a lie?"
I laid out the falsehood without so much as a flicker of expression. Well — according to my prediction the ambush was real, so there was nothing to fear.
"……"
Epinel weighed my words for a long time, then looked at Zinor.
"Strategist. I hope you will not take too much offense. But I would ask you to understand that, for our Asius Army, Anima is an extremely important person. In the days when we had nothing, we received a great deal of help from her. She is not someone who deserves to be treated this way. I am not criticizing you, Strategist, but……"
"I understand, General."
"Then I am glad."
Epinel nodded.
"I will pull troops from the fortress and prepare against an ambush on Valharat Castle."
"Lady Epinel."
I took a map from my pocket and handed it to her — the one I had just finished marking with the expected ambush points.
Epinel accepted it and looked mildly surprised.
"This is…… Swen, you prepared all of this yourself?"
"I did."
"Hoh…… I thought your only talent was praying to the heavens. It seems you have some skill in tactics as well."
For the record, I didn't know the first thing about tactics. Even something as basic and well-known as the hammer-and-anvil, I only understood at the level of the concept itself. I simply knew, from ten thousand hours spent on this game, roughly how an ambush tended to unfold.
"In any case, just to be safe, begin preparing the ritual from now on. I will assign you a few soldiers."
"As you command."
"If that is settled, then let us move at once."
And so I somehow managed to persuade Epinel. As Zinor turned to leave, I put a question to him.
"Where is Lady Anima now?"
I had no memory of seeing Anima's face during the war council. In my recollection she wore her light-brown hair in a short bob, and no such woman had been present.
"She is currently away on a period of training."
"Training?"
"……She decided that losing her place to me was the result of her own inadequacy, and left for somewhere within the territory to train."
"……Pardon? And our lord permitted that?"
Call it "training" if you liked — wasn't that just insubordination? It was no different from running off and saying, If you won't make me strategist, I'm not doing anything.
"The current lord, Lady Yuuri, and the core founding officers of the Asius Army are bound by an extremely close bond. It seems she still has some means of contact even while training."
"Hah……"
I studied Zinor carefully. Reading the emotion on his face, I judged that this much was safe to ask.
"Lord Zinor — why are you with the Asius Army?"
At my words, Zinor's brow twitched for a moment. But as I had expected, he did not seem truly offended; he only let out a short sigh.
"That is quite a bold question. ……Well, from a newcomer's perspective, I suppose it is only natural to wonder."
A man of Zinor's caliber would be welcomed anywhere. He was known as the wisest person on the continent. Simply holding the strategist's seat was not enough to explain the treatment he was receiving here.
"This nation is certainly one where the founding officers hold considerable influence. The silver lining is that every one of those founding officers is a general of exceptional ability. General Epinel, General Emma, General Ernandof, and Anima, who was once the strategist — all of them. They may be somewhat stubborn, but not one of them is foolish or wicked. Every last one of them is earnestly striving for the peace of the continent. And our lord, Lady Yuuri, is far more suited to rule than the likes of Lin Brans or Navidos Ohana."
Navidos Ohana — the sovereign of the Ohana Army, which shared a border with the Karelia Army in the south.
"After the Empire collapsed, I came to understand that a ruler who merely 'reigns,' as the emperors of old did, can never bring true peace to this continent. The fact that the entire land is now torn among rival lords is proof enough of that, is it not? I believe that only someone like Lady Yuuri can unify the continent and bring peace."
"In terms of not simply reigning, is there not also Lady Karelia?"
"You mean young Macana Karelia. When the Empire still stood, I once had the chance to speak with her while she was still young. In terms of the power to lead people, I would say even Lady Yuuri must yield a step to her…… but she is simply too kind. That is the problem."
He said it with a deep sigh, like a father fretting over a daughter.
"She lacks the charisma to seize this age of chaos. Lady Yuuri has founding officers who compensate for her shortcomings; that girl has no such people at all. The generals who have shared life and death with Lady Yuuri fill in what she lacks."
Zinor clicked his tongue softly and went on.
"An ideal sovereign — one with unshakable resolve, unswayed by those around them, who seeks to lead all through virtue rather than force — would be wonderful…… but reality is not so kind. The day will come when you understand what I mean."
Strangely enough, listening to Zinor brought another face to mind.
Lunarien Iniang.
Someone with 'unshakable resolve, unswayed by those around them,' who 'seeks to lead all through virtue rather than force'…… wouldn't Luna fit that description perfectly?
During the time I served her, she had trusted me completely — and not because anyone around her had told her to. On the contrary, Tifa and Kane, who seemed to have been with her for a long time, had looked distinctly uncomfortable with my incomprehensible orders. She had unilaterally backed a strategist who had only been with her a few days, on the strength of her own judgment alone. In that respect, she was clearly different from Yuuri.
And she had been extraordinarily lucky. The person she had chosen to trust completely happened to have an Intelligence of 100. Trusting me completely meant she would only ever take the correct course of action.
It was embarrassing to say so with my own mouth, but facts were facts.
Perhaps, someday, I might even be able to bring Zinor over to our side as an officer……
Just then, Zinor turned his head toward me.
"I have talked too long."
"Thank you for helping with the persuasion today."
"Well, we are both working for Lady Yuuri's victory, are we not?"
Yes. For my own sake as well, the Asius Army had to win here. Letting the Brans Army — with whom I was now mortal enemies — grow any stronger was dangerous in more ways than one.
"Then, if you will excuse me."
I parted from Zinor and headed for the place where she would be waiting for me.
"A ritual……? But Swen, if you do that, your life—"
"You need not worry, Lady Airen. The opportunity for me to pray to the heavens will never come."
I laid out our current situation for Airen in full — the Brans Army's plan as I had predicted it, what had passed with Zinor, and what had passed with Epinel.
"An ambush……? Yes, an ambush…… That would not be Chel's idea. But if it is the sort of plan Parfalle would propose, it is more than persuasive."
"She is probably afraid of me. She is one of the people who has watched my ability from closest range. I was the one who shattered the plan the Asius Army had originally set, after all. So there will be no occasion for me to stake my life. You need not be so concerned."
"……If that is true, then I am glad, but……"
Then Airen looked straight into my eyes.
Was it my imagination? For a moment, the focus in her pupils seemed to blur ever so slightly……
"Even if, by some remote chance, there is no ambush…… I will not stand by and watch you perform a ritual that stakes your lifespan. I will stake my own life on that. Absolutely."
……I swallowed dryly without meaning to.
It was the first time I had ever felt such overwhelming presence from Airen.
"……Please do not worry. Why would I ever lie to you, Lady Airen? An ambush is the only possibility I can even conceive of."
"I trust you as well, Swen…… but as I just said, the most important thing in the world to me — the one thing I would not trade for anything — is you. The idea of you staking your lifespan as you please…… I have no intention of standing by and watching that, no matter what happens."
"……"
Something almost chilly seemed to radiate from her. But since my predictions hit with one hundred percent accuracy, the ambush was inevitable — so I felt no real need to worry.
……Once this battle is over, a storm of blood will sweep the central continent.
The balance that had never once been shaken since the Brans Army seized the central continent. Contemplating the moment it would collapse, I began my own preparations.
Command of the vanguard for the ambush defense fell to Airen.
With Emma and Ernandof committed to other fronts and Epinel remaining at the fortress, it was only natural that an outstanding general like her would be selected.
If I could have, I would have stayed at her side — but having declared that I would perform the ritual if no ambush came, I had no choice but to remain at the fortress.
Lady Airen. Please — just come back alive.
Intercepting an ambush meant the fight would heavily favor our side, but sending her onto the battlefield was still far from pleasant.
At first I had approached her simply thinking she might be useful to the Lunarien Army…… but before I knew it, she had become someone far too important to me.
It's fine. My predictions are never wrong. There is no way she will be in danger.
I steadied my heart and passed the time preparing for a ritual I had no intention of performing.
From here on, it was quite literally in the hands of heaven.
In the forest surrounding Valharat Castle.
Airen, serving as vanguard commander of the ambush-defense force, had stationed soldiers at every point where an attack might come. Now she waited in silence for the ambush to arrive.
Swen said the ambush was most likely to come at night.
As a rule, battles rarely took place after dark. Even for the attacking side, fighting at night was a thoroughly troublesome affair.
But an ambush was different. Wasn't the whole point of an ambush to strike when the enemy least expected it?
It's fine. I only need to do exactly as Swen said.
How long had she spent holding her breath in the midnight forest?
Soldiers were confirmed advancing along the exact route Swen had indicated. Planting troops in the woods along that path had been the right call.
Now!
Airen shouted at the top of her lungs.
"All units, charge! Eliminate every soldier not identified as an ally!"
And the moment her voice rang out —
Asius troops who had been lying in wait throughout the darkness revealed themselves in an instant.
"Wh-what?!"
"Enemies! It's a battle!"
Exactly as Swen had predicted —
the Brans Army was launching its ambush not on the fortress, but on Valharat Castle itself.
Airen, who had spent more time at Swen's side than anyone else in the Asius Army, found herself thinking it all over again, almost in spite of herself.
Once more, every word he had spoken had been right.