The weather was growing colder.
Before I knew it, quite a bit of time had passed since I arrived in this world.
And I—though I couldn't explain why—was gripped by the instinctive feeling that something was about to happen.
'It's too peaceful.'
According to intelligence, the battle between the Serpina Army and the Brance Army had more or less concluded with a defensive victory for the Brance side.
On top of that, both the southern and eastern fronts were reportedly quiet.
Logically, that would make our territory—the western side—a likely next target, yet for some reason, time kept passing without incident.
Of course, I hadn't been sitting idle during that time.
We'd done everything our forces were capable of.
We conscripted as many soldiers as we could without losing public support. Currently, our total force, including the mercenary groups, numbered around 31,000.
Even if we pushed public support to its limits and rounded up every last man in the castle like gathering souls, we could only add another 2,000 or so, so we ceased conscription efforts.
Instead, we focused on training. I ordered the recovered Tifa to train the troops, and Cain was tasked with continuously reinforcing the castle walls under the assumption that no surprises would occur.
Not only Cain but I myself and even our liege, Luna, joined in the repair work, the three of us working together.
As a result, we'd managed to strengthen our defenses more effectively than during the last siege.
All of this required Luna's formal approval as our liege, but she trusted me completely—so much so that she'd believe me if I said I could make steak from wheat. In truth, I was the one running and governing this country.
And there was one more thing.
We'd sent envoys and signed six-month non-aggression pacts with nearby minor countries sharing our borders.
Even Garammil, which once helped the Brance Army invade us, was included.
In this world, there were no permanent allies or enemies. Besides, Garammil didn't seem to hold a grudge against us—they'd been coerced by the Brance Army, more or less.
We were simply preparing in advance so we wouldn't be caught off guard.
Fortunately, those minor nations were too preoccupied with their own internal affairs to cause any problems, and the treaties went smoothly.
Our biggest issue now was, as always, the lack of talent.
I'd been using my 100 intelligence stat to tackle the problem, but no suitable results emerged.
Even when we scouted for talent, we found no one.
On the plus side, we weren't wasting time on pointless searches, but still, not once in the actual game had it been this hard to recruit talent.
Though Gustav and Aaron were working for our army, they were mercenary commanders and thus couldn't be given orders outside of battle.
So in terms of administration, we had only four people: Cain, Tifa, myself, and Luna.
We were in dire need of administrative support, but time kept slipping by without even a single C-rank officer turning up.
'Still, we've done all we could.'
In the game, if you played as a minor country, even if you did everything possible, you'd often be blindsided by some ridiculous stroke of bad luck and hit a game over before you could do anything.
Since Luna was destined to become the Unifying Sovereign, I wasn't too worried about us being wiped out, but for some reason, I couldn't shake this strange feeling of unease.
'Forget it. I'll deal with it when it comes. I'm probably right anyway.'
With that thought, my head felt a little lighter.
As usual, I made my way toward the castle walls to help with the repairs.
I'd been walking for a while when I saw Cain hurrying toward me.
Since I was coming from the palace, he must've been heading there.
"Is something wrong?"
"Oh! Swen! I was just looking for you."
Cain reached me and caught his breath before continuing.
"To the palace—our liege has summoned you. It's urgent."
"Urgent?"
"A messenger has arrived."
A messenger.
That could only mean one thing.
"It's here."
"Am I the last to hear this?"
"Yes, I've already told Tifa, who was in training."
"Understood."
Together, Cain and I quickly made our way to Zeilant Castle.
* * *
Me, Cain, Tifa.
And Aaron, leader of the Chilein Mercenaries, and Gustav, leader of the Raven Mercenaries.
The five of us gathered around a table in front of Luna.
"Thank you all for coming."
Luna spoke with a serious expression.
"What's the matter? Is it the Brance bastards? Did they make a move?"
"Yes."
Luna nodded at Tifa's question.
Given that we'd signed non-aggression pacts with every other nearby country, only the Brance Army remained a potential threat.
"Is that red-haired lady knight coming back this time? I'd love to get some payback."
Tifa slammed her axe on the ground with enthusiasm.
Her wounds had healed faster than expected since the truce, but it had been a close brush with death.
We couldn't afford to lose a main character like Tifa in a place like this.
"Still, haven't we prepared to the best of our ability under Swen's orders? The castle walls are stronger than ever, and our troop count isn't low."
Cain directed his concern at Luna, whose face was clouded with worry.
We'd done everything we could.
We knew the Brance Army would invade again eventually.
We'd even considered an alliance, but my pre-bargaining predictions all returned as impossible.
The Brance Army would never ally with us, no matter what.
All I could do was predict. I couldn't change the outcome.
That's why we'd focused everything on preparing to hold the castle.
So why—
Why did Luna wear such a hopeless expression?
"…You're right, Cain. We've done all we could."
"Then you mean?"
I slowly asked.
At this point, I had a hunch.
And her answer only confirmed it.
"The Brance Army is marching toward Zeilant Castle. Their numbers are…"
She let out a short sigh.
Then, with a resolved expression, she spoke.
"Eighty-one thousand."
""...""
"Wh-what!"
"Eighty-one thousand?!"
Everyone but me, who had guessed the truth, reacted with disbelief at the number.
Yes.
Even after all our preparations, if we were attacked with such an overwhelming force, despair was inevitable.
A force of more than 80,000!
It felt like they'd gathered soldiers from every front except the north.
Zeilant Castle's walls were tougher than ever.
Our troop numbers were the highest yet, and morale had soared since our previous victories.
But what did that matter?
We couldn't stop 81,000 soldiers.
It wasn't impossible in theory—if we had multiple SS-rank champions, they could massacre enemy troops like vacuum cleaners. But the game wasn't exactly grounded in realism.
Unfortunately, we didn't have those kinds of champions. Tifa was strong, but at best, she was still just A-rank. Even if mercenary elites were stronger than normal soldiers, numbers were still king.
So the Brance Army was coming to crush us.
"Then why?"
Why were they coming?
Zeilant Castle wasn't a strategic location. It was just another middling castle in the central region.
Leading a force that size required immense preparation, and this land wasn't worth that effort.
Just then—
"…Swen, what do you think we should do?"
Cain naturally turned to me.
No one objected. They all looked to me for answers.
Luna closed her eyes in thought, then slowly opened them to meet mine.
"Swen, light the way for me. Can we win this battle?"
"..."
[Can we win this battle?]
As always, the answer came swiftly.
[We cannot.]
'...'
We had no chance.
If the prediction said we would lose, then even a meteor from the heavens would hit us and make sure of it. The world did not allow me to overturn a 100-intelligence prediction.
"Victory in this battle is nearly impossible."
"Th-that can't be…"
Tifa, desperate to smile, asked hopefully.
"But you always pull something off, right? You'll find a way again!"
"…Let me correct myself. It's not nearly impossible—it's definitely impossible."
"Wh-what kind of answer is that?! We always managed somehow! Isn't there any way to make a pact this time?"
"There isn't."
If that were possible, the prediction would have told us to form an alliance like before.
"That's not fair! Think of something! I know it's a lot to keep asking you, but... you're the smartest one among us!"
The smartest, huh.
If we're talking about raw intelligence as a number, then maybe that's true.
But in this world, intelligence only increases prediction accuracy—it doesn't help you come up with brilliant ideas out of nowhere.
Sure, perfect prediction is a broken ability in itself... but it still can't make the impossible possible.
"Then... is this the end for our army? With no options left, are we just destined to accept our fate and be destroyed?"
Luna looked at me with a face on the verge of collapse.
This was just the beginning.
The Lunarian Army had only just begun to stretch its wings.
And yet... are we fated to be driven off the stage of history by a powerful lord?
Is there truly no way to resist that fate?
All the surrounding castles belonged to other leaders.
Meaning we had no escape.
'...Hold on.'
Just in case, I mentally input her last, almost defeated question—"Is there truly no way for our army to avoid destruction here?"
And as expected—a conclusion came almost instantly.
[That is not the case. Leave the Lunarian Army.]
Huh?
What?
Leave the Lunarian Army? Me?
Leave... as in resign?
...Wait.
I re-input a question that had returned the same result until just a few days ago.
'Can Lunarian Iniang become the ruler who unifies the continent?'
[Yes.]
That hadn't changed.
She was still destined to become the Unifying Sovereign, but we could not win this battle.
And for the Lunarian Army to avoid destruction... I had to leave?
"Swen?"
Luna noticed the change in my expression and asked, her face filled with concern.
I looked at her and did my best to answer with a neutral face.
"My liege. I deeply apologize, but may I ask for a moment of time? I need to think."
"...Very well."
Luna nodded, watching me carefully.
With her gaze behind me, I mentally fired off a series of critical questions.
'Can Lunarian Iniang become the ruler who unifies the continent?'
[Yes.]
Next question.
'Is there a way to win this battle?'
[No, it is not winnable.]
Still the same. No matter what happens, we cannot win this battle.
Final question.
'Is the Lunarian Army doomed? Is destruction inevitable?'
[That is not the case. Leave the Lunarian Army.]
Three predictions.
Now, what I had to do was figure out what kind of narrative these three '100% accurate predictions' were pointing toward—
And craft the most convincing path leading to them.
It's hard to determine the exact steps a fixed outcome will take.
But it's a little easier to think, "If this is the result, then surely this step must be included."
The Lunarian Army doesn't vanish completely at this point.
Why? Because she is still destined to become the Unifying Sovereign.
Unless that destiny changes, anything done for the Lunarian Army is also done for me.
After all, I can only return to my original world as a retainer of the unified nation.
However, with no place to run, we cannot avoid being erased from the map.
Because we can't win this battle.
If we can't win, Zeilant Castle will fall—that's practically guaranteed—and our army holds no other territory.
A force with no land can't even be called a lord, not even as a formality.
Putting these two facts together leads to a single conclusion that shines brightly in my mind.
'The Lunarian Army will disappear for a while, but later, it will reappear on the stage of history.'
Lord Lunarian Iniang will not die.
She will survive somehow.
By some trigger, she will rise again.
The problem is the rest of the companions.
Tifa and Cain, whose potential hasn't bloomed yet, may be killed if captured.
Lynn Brance.
I recalled how the CPU version of Lynn Brance handled prisoners in the game I spent 10,000 hours playing.
Useful prisoners were recruited—if they didn't swear allegiance, they were executed.
If she couldn't have them, she'd rather kill them.
On the other hand, those with no value were spared generously.
Of course, there were exceptions.
Sometimes even useful prisoners were released.
But there was one type always executed without exception—leaders.
In that case, the chances of losing your head were extremely high.
She must have seen them as potential threats.
I lost count of how many times I had to restart a minor nation playthrough because of Lynn Brance.
No matter how talented, someone who once ruled would never serve another—that's likely how she thinks.
Anyway, if Cain and Tifa are taken prisoner...
'They will both die.'
Cain had a high politics stat. Because of our army's special circumstances, he was handling wall repairs, but he had more than proven his worth in commerce and agriculture too.
Tifa was a general, not quite S-class, but at least A-class.
And neither of them would surrender to a different ruler.
Cain was hiding his identity and wouldn't want to serve under a powerful lord.
Tifa, well... her personality made it obvious.
Cain might survive if he surrenders and lays low, but Tifa would definitely be executed.
'We can't afford to lose even one.'
Even if the Lunarian Army is destined to unify the continent—
Losing a single comrade could make the path there much harder.
So Tifa and Cain cannot be allowed to die. We must protect them for the sake of future greatness.
Which leaves one conclusion.
Make everyone, including Luna, flee the castle.
Having them stick close to Luna, whose safety is more or less guaranteed, is the best option.
Of course, that raises the obvious question—if a sovereign flees with a small force, wouldn't a pursuit force be dispatched?
But they won't.
Why not? Because of the third prediction.
[That is not the case. Leave the Lunarian Army.]
If I leave the Lunarian Army, it avoids destruction.
Then I need to think—why would me leaving prevent its downfall?
The answer came surprisingly easily.
Lynn Brance's goal isn't Zeilant Castle or the Lunarian Army's destruction.
'Her goal... is me.'