Brance Army withdrew at high speed.
As promised, our forces did not pursue them.
Honestly, it wasn't like we couldn't just chase them down and stab them in the back by breaking the agreement, but if we pulled something like that, the Lunarian Army would no longer be able to conduct normal diplomacy with any other country.
That was a given, so we refrained.
Besides disrupting Brance Army, we had nothing to gain by chasing them.
Over half of Zeilant Castle's walls had collapsed, and more than eight thousand soldiers were incapacitated, but in the end, we successfully defended the castle.
Brance Army would be preoccupied with Serpina for the time being, which meant we were handed a golden opportunity to reinforce our internal structure.
This place—inside Zeilant Castle's royal fortress.
Compared to the royal castle at Anel that I had visited, it was downright shabby, but maybe because it felt like I was finally home, I didn't mind it all that much.
Here, the sovereign Luna, along with Gustav, Aaron, and Cain, who had all been guarding different regions, were gathered in one place.
I heard Tifa had sustained serious injuries during the war and was currently under treatment.
I set the bag filled with gold onto the table and spoke.
"Three thousand gold."
Cain checked the gold, then looked between it and my face several times with a disbelieving expression.
"So… Swen, you went to form a ceasefire agreement with a condition of paying thirteen hundred gold, and came back with three thousand gold instead?"
"Yes, that's right."
"How in the world…"
I spoke to Cain, who was too shocked to continue.
"I just did some bargaining."
"No, I mean, bargaining, sure, but… damn."
Cain wiped cold sweat from his brow and stared at me.
When he first looked at me, there wasn't any particular emotion in his gaze.
It was probably just "is this a new guy?" or something like that.
But as time went on, he became increasingly wary of me, and then gradually started showing signs of being impressed by my abilities—
Now, he looked at me with outright reverence.
"Swen, you're incredible. What on earth were you doing until now, hiding such talent?"
"Just doing odd jobs."
"Hah, is that so? I never thought someone this outstanding would still be flying under the radar in times like these. Really, life surprises you the longer you live. You're truly remarkable, Swen. I won't doubt your decisions from here on."
"We were shocked too. To go in with unfavorable terms and come back with money instead—that's amazing."
"Swen, you really have a lot of talent."
Gustav and Aaron were also singing my praises.
I wasn't the type who particularly enjoyed being flattered, but as long as I was working with the Lunarian Army, this kind of response wasn't bad at all.
I was going to keep making predictions based on my 100 intelligence stat that hit the mark despite the unclear process, so having them trust me completely would definitely make things easier than having to explain everything each time.
"I expected this outcome."
Luna added calmly from the side.
"I trusted him. Thank you, truly, Swen."
Reading the deep trust in her ruby-red eyes as she looked at me wasn't hard.
Yeah.
More than anything, I felt reassured by the overwhelming support of Sovereign Luna.
If I'm always right, but the sovereign doesn't listen to me, it would lead to frustrating situations.
But at least while I was working under Luna, I didn't think I'd have to worry about that.
She trusted my words that much.
She'd probably continue backing me without fail.
Just in case, I mentally replayed the very first question Lunarian Iniang had asked me.
'Can Lunarian Iniang become the sovereign who unifies the continent?'
The answer remained the same as before.
The one to unify the continent wouldn't be anyone else—it would be the woman standing before me.
Even now, I had no clue how she was going to pull it off, but…
My predictions never miss. She will become the Unifying Sovereign.
Until then, I just need to stick close to her and smoothly make my return to my original world.
Even I had to admit, this was a solid isekai plan.
'Too easy.'
Wait.
No, no. I can't.
Just because things are going well doesn't mean I can let my guard down.
Even if the future is already decided, the Lunarian Army is still a minor power for now.
We've barely managed to hold on until now, but there's no telling what trials lie ahead.
And so, our army ended up with 3,000 extra gold.
This time, Luna didn't use all of it on relief for the people.
She was planning to prioritize domestic affairs, conscripting troops, boosting commerce, and funding mercenary activities.
It was, without doubt, essential funding to help develop our territory of Zeilant Castle.
At first, I thought we might abandon the castle soon.
But at this point, all the nearby castles around Zeilant were held by different lords.
Since we had neither troops nor funds early on, we couldn't expand, and in the meantime, other lords snatched up all the vacant castles.
This place's location—too close to Brance Army—wasn't exactly great either, and though it was a shame, there was no choice now but to grow what we had.
"It's fine. Everything will work out."
As long as I'm here, we'll make it somehow.
With that in mind, I continued supporting Luna by her side.
* * *
Irene arrived at Anel Castle, quickly assigning the wounded and ordering supplies for the remaining soldiers before heading straight to the royal castle.
It wasn't long before she arrived at the royal castle where her liege, Lynn Brance, awaited.
"My liege. Irene Juliette, just arrived."
"..."
Lynn approached Irene, who was reporting to her.
One step. Two steps.
When they were close enough to touch noses if either stumbled—
Smack!
Lynn slapped Irene hard across the face.
Her cheek immediately turned red from the blow.
The unexpected attack made Irene stagger slightly, but she quickly regained her balance and stood firm.
"What was that? If you had taken the castle sooner, we wouldn't have had to suffer that humiliation. How many more days would it have taken you?"
Lynn glared icily at her.
'Unfair.'
This was clearly unjust, and Irene knew it too well.
Still, she never once considered defiance.
Instead, she bowed deeply and apologized.
"I apologize, my liege. I failed to capture the castle due to my inadequacies."
'Just a few more days.'
Even a single extra day would have been enough.
She could have explained that, but she chose not to make excuses.
"I will accept any punishment."
"Forget it. Just report, how many troops do we have left?"
"Yes. Excluding the wounded, about 18,000."
Despite conducting a siege and retreating, they had only lost about 5,000.
And not all were dead—some were injured.
By any objective measure, it was an excellent outcome, yet Lynn remained dissatisfied.
Because in her mind, it was Irene's failure that forced her into that humiliating negotiation with Swen.
"Tell the troops to prepare to march immediately. We're sending them to Kelstein Castle."
"Then shall I take the vanguard—"
Lynn cut her off harshly.
"Why? Want to mess things up again like you did before?"
"...No, I understand."
Irene bowed slightly.
It was a silent signal that she would accept any judgment.
Reading it, Lynn sighed deeply.
"Just in case, stay here and defend the castle walls. Got it?"
Defend Anel Castle's walls.
For reference, Anel Castle was surrounded entirely by Brance Army territory.
Meaning there was no need to defend it.
Assigning a general to an unnecessary post was a blatant insult, but Irene nodded and replied earnestly.
"Yes! I will carry out your orders faithfully."
"Good. Go."
As Irene disappeared from view, Lynn bit her thumbnail in thought.
'If we add those 18,000... maybe we can just barely defend Kelstein Castle.'
By combining the forces already at Kelstein, nearby units, and the returning soldiers, nearly 40,000 troops could be mustered.
The western and southern armies could push the total over 80,000, but mobilizing them would take time and effort.
Considering defense has the advantage over siege, she estimated that 40,000 troops could hold off 55,000.
But...
If the ceasefire hadn't been signed, and they had been pursued?
They might have lost another 8,000 during retreat.
Retreating soldiers are always vulnerable.
And the pursuers were elite units from two renowned mercenary groups—Raven and Chilein.
It might not have been 8,000 lost at most—it might have been the minimum.
So...
'That man, Swen, had been right.'
The ceasefire had saved the Brance Army from a crisis.
She didn't want to admit it, but...
Sigh.
Lynn felt herself trembling.
She wanted to claim that man for herself right now, but fending off Serpina's offensive came first.
'This time, I'll go personally.'
Her eldest brother, Chel, was in the south, and her second brother, Karlinz, was unreliable.
That meant it was time for her to take the field again as Supreme Commander.
'This should be fun, Serpina. Whatever you're planning, you're not setting foot in the center.'
With that thought, Lynn swiftly began preparing to depart.
* * *
Since the ceasefire with the Brance Army, things had gone peacefully.
Days passed into weeks, weeks into months.
A calm, almost dull peace.
Delegating duties to the generals, testing predictions, lending what little strength he had.
Zeilant Castle had changed greatly.
Buildings had been rebuilt where the typhoon had raged.
Once eerie streets began to come alive again.
Farming. Livestock. Life returning to a once abandoned land.
Seeing this with their own eyes, the people praised Lunarian's grace.
Looking back, this was peace.
* * *
Time passed, and the harvest season arrived.
Luna and I toured the territory under the pretense of inspecting public sentiment.
Golden wheat fields swayed in the breeze across the vast plains.
It was the first harvest since reclaiming Zeilant Castle.
"The crops turned out well."
Luna nodded.
"Thanks to the people's efforts."
"Those people all praise your rule, Luna. I think it's time you acknowledge you're a great leader."
"You're the only one who thinks that, Swen. Hehe... but thank you."
Then.
A noisy commotion could be heard from afar.
'A festival?'
Luna looked toward it, then tugged my sleeve.
"U-um."
"Yes?"
"Would you... go with me?"
I glanced at her face.
She blushed and fidgeted like a startled animal.
Our inspection was nearly done, and if the liege wanted to go, what else could her vassal say?
"Shall we?"
"Y-yes! Let's go!"
Her face lit up.
Under the sunlight, her red eyes sparkled like gems.
We walked together toward the crowd.