Chapter 57
Chapter 57
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: The Strategist's Insight
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Chirp chirp chirp.
"Ugh...?!"
The birdsong drifting in from outside the window made Dwayne grab his throbbing head as he forced his eyes open. Instead of his familiar dorm ceiling, an unfamiliar one filled his vision.
"What is this place... where am I?"
Dwayne slowly pieced together the events of the previous night.
He had participated in the debate forum... and while discussing national salvation as the topic...
'I took a swing at Archduke Victor... oh god!'
Recalling his actions from the night before, Dwayne plunged into a panic(?).
"What... what the hell have I done?"
Even though it was just a sycophant, openly picking a fight with someone who might become the kingdom's top powerbroker in the future.
When Victor had confronted him head-on, he'd been scared, honestly.
Really damn scared.
At the moment he'd nearly blacked out, he'd felt a certain part of his lower body loosen just a bit.
Excited by the chance to show off to the prince while throwing shade at a lackey, his head had gotten way too hot.
"...Ah, fuck. I'm screwed."
He couldn't remember the details clearly due to the excitement, but he vividly recalled peppering Victor with informal barbs.
Bang!
"Oh, you're awake?"
"Wh-who's there?"
The door flew open with an unfamiliar voice, startling Dwayne into jumping up.
'D-did Archduke Victor drag me here himself?'
Maybe he hadn't handed him off to someone else but planned to deal with him 'personally'.
"Ah, don't freak out. I just put you to bed because you looked exhausted(?)."
The person who appeared before the gulping Dwayne was someone he never would have expected.
"Y-Young Master Jerome?"
Standing before his anxious gaze was none other than Jerome.
"Why are you bothering with that piss-ant?"
Saladin grumbled as he watched me carefully hoist the sleeping Dwayne onto my back.
"He's got interesting ideas. They match up almost perfectly with what I was thinking."
I headed back to my quarters with the unconscious Dwayne on my back.
'Found a fun one in an unexpected place.'
The reason I'd taken Dwayne under my wing wasn't anything complicated.
His statements from last night and his unique trait had let me easily guess who he 'used to be'.
Hasway en Dwayne.
Son of the Hasway barony, one of the kingdom's minor noble houses.
His name wasn't famous, nor had it ever reached my ears in the past.
But his actions had given away his identity.
The radical opinion that those with Heterogenous Powers should be elevated.
The broad foresight hinting at the Holy Empire's southern advance.
And above all, that peculiar constitution where he pissed himself when scared!
'Who would've thought Kandar was from our kingdom.'
In my previous life, the strongest mercenary corps I led, Stigma Mercenary Corps.
A gathering of all the talented survivors from fallen nations, we held unrivaled power among the Holy Empire's resistance forces.
However, the resistance led by Princess Seira, 'Golden Cross', had never fallen behind us.
Unlike our group of all-around elites, Golden Cross had no notable talents besides the lightning mage Princess Seira.
The reason they built a force rivaling ours was the existence of their 'strategist', Kandar.
Though from different groups, we'd met while coordinating joint operations.
He'd been unconventional from the first sight.
People's thinking and perceptions don't change easily.
Black Lions with Heterogenous Powers had been objects of awe to continentals since far before ancient times.
Naturally, that prejudice was deeply ingrained in the remnants of nations destroyed by the Holy Empire.
The one who shattered that mindset and first recruited Black Lions to revive his nation was Kandar.
'I was influenced by his ideas too.'
Always wearing a mask, Kandar never revealed his name or nation to the end, insisting on a world judged solely by ability. He perished with Golden Cross.
Back in the past, while other talents were hard to track, Kandar had been a complete mystery.
'No doubt about it. If my guess is right, Dwayne here is Kandar.'
"...Hey, something's dripping down your back."
"...I know."
That's why my back had felt damp for a while.
Something was plopping down from my back carrying Kandar—no, Dwayne.
But I didn't have the guts to check what it was.
A thought from last night flashed by, but seeing Dwayne's startled face confirmed his identity once more.
Look at him now.
He had no idea why I'd brought him, and his expression soured as he checked for signals from below.
"Young master, why did you... D-did I offend you by speaking out last night?"
I considered teasing him with a 'yes' for fun.
But that might mean changing all the bedsheets, so I held back.
"Nothing like that, don't worry. I just wanted to chat with you, Young Master Dwayne."
I pulled a chair over to the bedside and sat facing him.
"Your words at the debate forum last night caught my interest."
Just how far did the current Kandar—no, Dwayne—see ahead?
"...It was nothing, Young Master Jerome. Just nonsense I spouted in the heat of the moment."
"Ah, that's exactly the nonsense I want to hear. Speak freely."
At my repeated reassurances, Dwayne relaxed a bit, his expression easing as he asked,
"Ahem, if you insist... What part do you want to hear exactly?"
"Everything piques my curiosity, but hmm. Start from where you vented your frustration about whether we could win against the Holy Empire?"
I was genuinely curious.
Fighting the Holy Empire.
That future had indeed come, but in a sudden situation no one had anticipated.
In other words, aside from someone like me who knew the future, most couldn't have foreseen it.
Yet Dwayne, son of a remote eastern house like Hasway, how had he read the signs?
"Well, that's... just my delusion, nothing more..."
Dwayne trailed off, hesitant to broach the topic.
'Fair enough. Talking like that now would get him labeled a madman.'
Especially since the east was far from the front lines.
I waited patiently without pressing, until he opened up on his own.
Perhaps sensing my sincerity in his demeanor.
After staring at me thoughtfully, Dwayne gathered his thoughts and began.
"The Empire will surely march south before long."
He dismissed it as his own delusion, but his voice brimmed with conviction.
"Hm, any basis for that?"
Though I knew the future, I was curious about Dwayne—no, Kandar's—reasoning, so I played dumb.
"...You're not mocking me."
Dwayne seemed surprised that I took his words seriously without ridicule.
"Why would I? My family borders the Empire. No way I'd scoff at that view."
Dwayne muttered something like 'Makes sense for the Shield Family' and nodded, continuing.
"It's been decades since war stopped on the continent. In that long time, the Empire has amassed too much power."
He spread three fingers wide.
"The Pope and three Grand Dukes. Out of the continent's eleven superhumans, the Holy Empire holds four on its own. And rumors say the next Pope candidate from the Golden Lion Order, a cardinal, wields tremendous holy power."
"Hmm, that's just rumor, isn't it?"
Of course, I knew the devil Pope Livia would take the throne, but I feigned ignorance.
"Besides, isn't that a stretch for claiming war?"
The continent's history had seen times overflowing with power before now.
Even eras when the Empire was stronger relatively.
Yet each time, the Empire chose internal strife over continental conquest.
Holy Empire.
Due to the lack of a leader with the 'vessel' to embrace its vast 1/3 of the continent's territory.
A demonic seat that shattered even the greatest minds' rationality.
Being the master of the continent's strongest nation was exactly that kind of position.
That's what I pointed out to Dwayne.
"True, normally it would lead to infighting, as you say. But."
Gulp gulp.
Thud!
Dwayne downed some water for his parched throat and slammed the cup down roughly.
"There is one, unfortunately. The focal point."
He knows about the focal point.
'Let's see how much he knows.'
"Hm, a focal point. You think the crown prince or second prince has what it takes to surpass the Emperor's seat?"
The Holy Empire was currently in a fierce succession struggle between the first and second princes.
Both deemed capable of filling the Empire's vessel, so I asked who he meant.
But Dwayne shook his head.
"Neither. No one realizes it, but the Empire will fall into the third princess's hands nine times out of ten."
Surprisingly, Dwayne had nearly grasped a truth no one else approached.
"The third princess. Why?"
Instead of answering, Dwayne gave me a strange look.
"...You're not surprised, young master."
"Should I be?"
"No, well... Most people would call it madness at this point, or chime in just to mock how far the nonsense goes."
A hint of fondness entered Dwayne's eyes.
"I can tell you're truly listening to my views."
Of course. Because you're right about everything.
"Ahem! Anyway, the reason?"
I steered the topic back.
"Most ignore the third princess entirely... but I see differently. It was just a glimpse while handling chores at the Continental Peace Conference."
The Continental Peace Conference. A gathering every few years where all nations, including the Holy Empire, discussed continental issues.
Though now it was largely nominal.
"The attitudes of the Empire's royals and their entire retinue were different."
"Attitudes? The first or second prince wouldn't allow that."
"They served everyone lavishly, of course. But... toward the third princess, there was a deeper, genuine 'respect'."
As the continent's highest nobility, earning 'respect' from underlings—especially the populace like roots—is no easy feat.
"From time immemorial, those who win the people's hearts achieve terrifying results. Especially one who captivates everyone."
Dwayne shuddered, clutching his shoulders.
"Such a figure in one's own royal family is a blessing, but in a foreign power—let alone the Holy Empire—it's a calamity."
It sounded utterly far-fetched to anyone else. But coming from Dwayne, the future 'Kandar', I couldn't dismiss it.
And I still hadn't heard the key part of his views.
"Hmm, one more thing. You suddenly brought up pirates. Did you catch some clue from them?"
Dwayne's head snapped up like a spring from his trembling state.
"They're one of the keys to this war!"
His eyes sparkled, as if he'd finally found someone who understood.
"Punish Archipelago. Most on the continent dismiss them as mere sea bandits, thieves."
That's right.
"But they use astonishingly sophisticated routes, already dominating the continent's waterways beyond the southern continent—a kingdom in their own right."
That's also right.
"Even now in peaceful times, we can't subdue them. What do you think they'll do when war engulfs the continent?"
"...Rampage with plunder. Far worse than before."
In reality, that's what devastated the Continental Alliance.
"Not just that. They'll surely collude with the Holy Empire to sever southern continent sea logistics."
Spot on. The Alliance's individual defeats were largely due to two-thirds of logistics crippled.
"The Continental Alliance scoffs at them as sea savages, but we can't. Whether we pull them to our side or not could sway the entire war."
A regret Kandar often muttered habitually in his past life.
-If we'd secured the archipelago, we wouldn't have suffered like this.
This vast insight. It was certain.
'No doubt. Hasway en Dwayne. This is Kandar.'
As Dwayne paused to catch his breath after finishing, I spoke to him.