* * *
In front of the gates of Jeilant Castle.
Gustaf, the leader of the Raven Mercenaries, and Aaron, the leader of the Chilein Mercenaries, were saying their final farewells to Luna.
"Then, I entrust our soldiers to your care."
Gustaf bowed his head at Luna's words.
"You don't need to use honorifics with me."
"For now, I'm no longer a lord."
Hearing this, Gustaf made a bitter expression before speaking in a serious tone.
"When Lunarienne returns to the stage of history, I will certainly come to your aid."
"Please take care of yourself until that moment."
Aaron also bowed his head in respect.
"Well then."
"Until we meet again, Lady Lunarienne."
With that, the two leaders departed with their respective forces.
The mercenary forces had been supplemented with about 70% of Lunarienne's original military, split evenly between them. Soldiers who wished to retire were allowed to remain as territory residents, while the rest wanted to continue their careers as soldiers, so they would likely adapt well to being part of the mercenary groups.
The remaining force numbered about 3,000 soldiers.
This was the number that would accompany Luna to the southern part of the continent.
Considering food supplies and travel speed, taking any more would have exponentially slowed them down.
As Luna bid farewell to the leaders, she thought to herself.
Having been trained under Tifa, they should be able to perform their duties as soldiers well enough—
For some reason, she recalled Swen's voice, speaking softly to her as she watched the soldiers training in the barracks.
'Lord Swen...'
If you trust me, in return, I will place the world in your hands.
Can I really establish a nation again?
Can I survive... and settle in a new territory?
She closed her eyes slightly and resolved not to harbor such doubts anymore.
I can do this.
I will believe in Swen's words unconditionally.
Because Lord Swen said so, I can do it.
"My Lord. Preparations for departure are complete."
"Ah..."
Kein's urging voice reached Luna as she organized her thoughts.
Two generals and 3,000 troops.
Was it coincidence that this was exactly the same as their forces before meeting Swen?
At that moment,
Tifa scratched her head and said:
"Man, this is bothering me."
"What is it?"
At Luna's question, Tifa bowed her head slightly, then clicked her tongue and said:
"...Really, is this the best option? Leaving only a scrawny kid like Swen in the castle—is that really the right thing to do? Aren't we just abandoning him? I really hate that."
It seemed Tifa thought this action was a cowardly act to preserve their lives.
Luna shook her head and said:
"No, Tifa. Lord Swen told us this path is the answer. I believe in Lord Swen. No matter what."
Tifa looked at Luna's expression.
Her ruby eyes were sparkling, filled with faith and trust.
"I guess so. I'm just an uneducated fool, so honestly I don't really understand what he's talking about, but everything he's said has been right, hasn't it? Like you said, we should believe him. If we don't believe someone who insists we trust them, who will?"
"That's right, Miss Tifa. Lord Swen has extraordinary talent. If he says there's an opportunity, an opportunity will surely come."
Hearing Kein's words, Tifa nodded.
Their overwhelming trust.
In Luna's mind, that was the only way to repay Swen.
Yes.
Then we must escape from here as quickly as possible.
That was the way to repay his belief that she would hold the world in her hands.
Luna mounted her saddle and spoke while standing straight before the 3,000 soldiers.
"Everyone, please listen!"
At this moment,
All the soldiers were looking only at Lunarienne's lips.
"From now on, we're heading south. We may end up serving under another lord. You're free to leave along the way if you wish. Or you can remain in the new territory we settle. But."
There was an appeal in her voice.
A spirit that naturally led people.
Despite her small frame and somewhat fragile personality... she definitely had the appearance of a "leader."
"If you follow me to the end... I will take responsibility for the lives of those who follow me. As much as you believe in me, I will never abandon you along the way. I will not use you as chess pieces to be sacrificed. I promise you that!"
UOOOOOH!!!
The soldiers' shouts pierced the sky in response to Luna's words.
It was the best way to boost morale before embarking on a long journey.
"Everyone, please mount your horses! We will depart immediately!"
And so—
Luna left Jeilant Castle, her first home, accompanied by Tifa, Kein, and 3,000 soldiers.
It would be a temporary farewell to her first strategist as well.
Nevertheless—she believed without doubt that he would return to her side.
'Lord Swen. I will... I will definitely rise again. Let's meet again.'
Lunarienne, the ruler of the Lunarienne army, thus temporarily disappeared from history.
* * *
Near an old seat in the royal castle prepared for the monarch, by a pillar.
I was sitting there, leaning against it.
More precisely—I was tied to the pillar next to the seat, with both hands bound.
On the surface, I needed to appear as though I had been abandoned by Lunarienne.
Since I would eventually be under the Brands army anyway, having no troops or gold with the castle in this state would be a good excuse when pledging allegiance.
And the soldier who tied me up and stayed to listen to my final instructions—
Was now kneeling before me, reporting to me.
It must look quite bizarre to any third party, which made me smile involuntarily.
"Lord Swen. As you ordered, I've raised the white flag over the castle."
The white flag on the castle signified surrender.
It was placed where it could be most easily seen, so they wouldn't launch an unnecessary attack.
Doing so would surely lose them the goodwill of the territory's residents.
"Thank you for your hard work."
"And here..."
The soldier handed me a well-folded flag.
When I unfolded it to check... it was the bright lime-green flag that had symbolized the Lunarienne army.
It seemed he had brought the one that had been flying before the white flag was raised.
"What should we do with this?"
"..."
For a moment I considered keeping it, but...
A surrendering general personally keeping the defeated nation's flag?
It would certainly not give a good impression to the new ruler.
"Please dispose of it appropriately."
It was a flag that wouldn't hold much meaning for a while anyway.
"Yes! But throwing it away seems wrong... if it's alright, I'll keep it myself."
The soldier said this while carefully gathering up the old flag.
"Is there anything else you'd like to order?"
"No, there isn't. You're free now, so please go wherever you wish. Thank you for your service to our army all this time."
"It's nothing. It was my duty."
Hearing those words, I examined the soldier's face.
Looking at him now, I suddenly realized.
This soldier was our army's messenger who would rush to the monarch whenever war broke out.
Seeing him like this made me realize that the messenger wasn't just a system but an actual living person.
I asked him a question.
"By the way, you're not following the mercenaries or Lady Luna?"
"No. This is my hometown. My parents' and grandparents' graves are all here, and my family is here too. It would be burdensome to wander around with my family."
"So you'll stay here?"
"Yes. Though I'll take off this armor."
The former messenger smiled and said:
"If I keep wearing this, I'd have to work for the Brands, wouldn't I? So I'm quitting soldier life and going back to farming. If they try to conscript me again, I might just cut off a finger or something."
"I'd prefer you didn't do something like that."
"I'm joking. Haha."
The soldier said as he removed his helmet.
"I'm... just an uneducated person who never received even basic education, let alone attended the academy, just a farmer, so I don't know much. But I believe without doubt that this world should be unified by a ruler like Lady Lunarienne. She used large sums without hesitation to aid the territory's residents, and didn't even enforce conscription that other leaders consider natural."
"..."
"So... I believe in the choices made by Lady Luna, Lord Swen, and the other generals. I'm certain Lady Lunarienne will raise an army again. Until then, I'll live my life doing what I need to do."
I looked at the soldier's face.
His eyes were remarkably clear.
He is an extra. Not a leader-class talent, not even a C-class general. He was just a numerical value 1 soldier that would be filled when pressing the conscription button.
Such an existence was now powerfully stirring my heart.
The soldier slowly rose from his position, then bowed 90 degrees toward me, who was still tied up.
"So, please stay healthy until then, Lord Swen. I'll wait for the day when we can serve Lady Luna together again. Well then."
"Excuse me."
I stopped the soldier as he was about to leave.
"May I know your name?"
"Me? My name is James. Being a commoner, I have no surname."
A name so common it could break the sense of the world setting.
Still, this soldier's—this man James's—universe was shining brilliantly even now.
"Please survive, James."
James smiled at my words, then left the royal castle.
Now I was the only one left in the castle. Without even a single guard, I was completely alone here.
Lunarienne Iniang.
Just one of the many insignificant rulers of a minor central nation.
She supposedly had a "royal return" concept, but it would take a long time,
And among users, unless they were planning to role-play, she was a ruler they wouldn't bother with.
Not even a ruler played as a hardcore concept that became a meme among users, just one of the forgettable ABC leaders with no presence.
Yet there was someone here who wanted her to rule the world.
And my prediction still maintained that "she will become the unifying monarch."
I recalled her face.
Those ruby eyes that shone when we danced together...
'We'll definitely meet again.'
The important thing for me now was to survive this chaotic era without making too many enemies.
To return to my original world, I needed to be under Lunarienne, the unifying monarch.
Until that day, whatever might happen—I would avoid getting caught in the currents of history and dying. Definitely.
My intelligence of 100 would serve as my compass.
Now it was time to wait.
Like it or not, I had to move forward.
To welcome the person who would become my new master.
* * *
Leading the massive force of 81,000 was Lynn Brands herself.
It was extremely rare for her to personally lead troops. After all, unless one was a combat-type ruler, it wasn't particularly wise for a leader to roam the battlefield.
But she couldn't wait even a little.
She was about to devour a "deliciously tempting" prey... she was too restless to sit around in Anel Castle.
At the vanguard of this army were Chel and Irene.
Originally, she had planned to appoint only Chel to the vanguard, but Farfalle, who had resumed his duties as strategist, had repeatedly sent messages to Lynn.
"Please make good use of General Irene. She will certainly be of great help. At the very least, place her in the vanguard with Lord Chel. She is definitely not someone who should just be guarding the safe walls of Anel Castle."
In fact, Farfalle had advised using Irene in this way several times before—
'How can I help it if I just don't like her?'
She was just a general who was good at siege warfare, not someone without whom the Brands army couldn't function.
Besides, despite her reputation, she had failed to capture Jeilant Castle.
Still... it wouldn't be right as a leader to not use someone just because they failed once.
That's why she had called Irene back.
Whether that decision was right or wrong—it was as good as absolute will for the Brands army.
After all, she was the ruler of the Brands army.
At that moment.
"My Lord!"
A soldier on horseback was galloping toward them from the distance.
"What is it?"
Had the Lunarienne army prepared something else?
She asked with some excitement, wondering what they might have prepared for such a large force, especially with someone like Swen there.
"On the outskirts of Jeilant Castle... there's a white flag flying."
"What?"
Lynn certainly knew what a white flag meant.
It meant surrender.
And for the Lunarienne army, which had only one territory, to raise this flag—
It signified the fall of the Lunarienne army.