Time turned forward to when Swen's group had just arrived at Kelstein Castle in the north.
In the royal castle of Raclaine, located at the easternmost point of the Brands army territory, Farfalle, the national strategist of the Brands army, was conversing with Nate, the lord of Raclaine Castle.
"Are you saying that our lord has sent 46,000 soldiers?"
"Yes, Strategist."
That was exactly 10,000 short of the 56,000 she had requested.
The 56,000 was Farfalle's calculated maximum number of troops that could be deployed immediately, excluding border guards.
This meant that 10,000 troops would remain as surplus.
While this might be insufficient against the Aishers army under normal circumstances, they were about to attack the Alepel army soon.
Having 56,000 troops would have been more certain and quicker to finish the job, but the number they had wasn't too small to make it impossible.
"Have any troops been deployed elsewhere besides here?"
"I heard that 10,000 troops were sent to the north."
At Nate's words, Farfalle inwardly slapped her knee.
'So she ended up listening to him after all?'
Swen.
The man who had strangely seen through her plans.
Her lord, Lynn, had valued him highly from the beginning.
Although her proposal had been approved at the meeting, Lynn was essentially telling her that 'she couldn't ignore the concern.'
Of course, she was surprised that he had figured out the entire plan.
But since he made such absurd claims afterward, Farfalle herself had quickly lost interest.
There had been plenty of retainers who failed to meet the expectations of their lord.
However.
At the same time, there weren't many retainers her lord had paid this much attention to.
Moreover, although Swen had slightly changed his opinion, he essentially agreed with Irene's view.
For Lynn, who strangely avoided Irene, to go this far meant that she trusted Swen considerably.
Though it wasn't exactly according to the approved plan but somewhat divided.
This actually made her curious.
Her lord Lynn, while somewhat willful and critically indecisive at times, wasn't a fool.
If that was the case, could the words of Swen, whom Lynn valued so highly, possibly be correct?
The secret agreement proposed by the Charam army.
The question of whether it was, in itself, a blade aimed at their army.
If that were true, continuing with this operation would be extremely dangerous.
'...Our lord must have her own thoughts. So I shouldn't dismiss the possibility that he's right. It's worth keeping in mind.'
If the Aishers army was truly conspiring with both the Charam and Alepel armies to deceive them—
Wouldn't they need to turn this scheme against them?
But if they had no intention of betrayal, her actions might ruin this joint operation, so she needed to be cautious.
Charam was an ignorant fellow, but he was straightforward and wouldn't cause trouble as long as he got his share.
"Has there been any additional envoy from the Charam army?"
"Yes, there has."
She had already discussed the secret plan established with the Charam army with Nate, the castle lord.
Farfalle spoke in a careful tone.
"If an envoy comes... could you call me before receiving them?"
"You, Strategist? Well, of course I'll grant your request, but... is there a particular reason?"
"There's something I need to confirm."
"I see."
Farfalle nodded.
Nate didn't pry further and simply nodded to indicate his agreement.
After all, Farfalle had earned the trust of many people within the Brands army.
After confirming his answer, she left the royal castle and fell into thought.
After prolonged deliberation—uncharacteristic for someone known for her decisive nature—she finally decided to let go of her unnecessary stubbornness.
'...It would be best not to trust them completely.'
Farfalle.
A woman who had built her reputation through various achievements in the Brands army was, for the first time in years, taking someone else's opinion into consideration.
* * *
After that.
I spent most of my time following Irene around, treating the wounded.
When I woke up each day, only a few of the people I had seen the day before had recovered, while most soldiers breathed their last right where they lay.
It was extremely difficult to watch soldiers weep bitterly while looking at Irene's face, before their flame of life was extinguished.
In the game, they were just numbers—a value of 1 that gathered when you pressed the "conscription" button.
But could this person, who was dragged into a hopeless battle, fought bravely, and was now suffering vividly, really be explained as just a number?
For some reason, James's face flashed in my mind.
What did these people do wrong to meet such an end?
'Should I... have somehow tried to persuade Kalinz?'
Of course, I knew realistically there was nothing I could have done.
No matter how much I tried to persuade him, Kalinz was stubborn.
And frankly, if I had unnecessarily tried to stop him and gotten on his bad side, it would have been my life at risk, not someone else's.
Not every commander loves a strategist who speaks the truth.
Besides, persuasion itself... what could I, who only knew the outcome, have done?
If I had Intelligence 100, my brain might have developed exceptionally, but all I could do was make accurate predictions.
Having thought that far, I closed my eyes and offered a light prayer for the departed.
'Your lord Lynn Brands will carry your soul with her for the rest of her life.'
Ironically, this was all the comfort I could offer.
How many days had passed like this?
A soldier recognized Irene as she was tending to the wounded and rushed over quickly.
"Excuse me, are you General Irene?"
"I am."
"Sir Miguel is urgently looking for you."
"Urgently...?"
The urgency was somewhat concerning, but it's better to face bad news quickly.
Irene and I made our way toward the fortress.
And.
As soon as we entered the fortress, Miguel greeted us with a grim expression.
"You've arrived, General Irene. Now everyone is here."
"What's happening?"
Miguel sighed deeply before delivering "the news" in a devastated tone.
"...Word has come that the Serphina army is advancing on this fortress with 33,000 troops."
They say misfortunes never come singly.
The news Miguel delivered to us was exactly that.
One misjudgment by a relatively competent commander.
That misjudgment had snowballed into an unstoppable avalanche.
*
The Serphina army had launched an invasion.
They must have noticed that troops had been withdrawn from the fortress.
They wouldn't have sent forces only in this direction; they probably sent troops to Cherien Castle as well.
Kalinz had done them a favor, so it was only a matter of time before the Serphina army resolved the situation.
Of course, considering the Serphina army's national power, they would have quickly suppressed Ian's rebellion even without intervention—but one couldn't deny that he had made it easier for them.
The proof was right now, at this very moment of attack on the fortress.
If we had stayed put, they might have been annoyed but wouldn't have paid much attention.
But because we depleted troops from the fortress, they moved their army to clean things up while they were at it.
So the attack on the fortress was—a kind of self-inflicted wound.
"..."
Irene lowered her head with a dark expression.
It seemed she had vaguely sensed this would happen.
Judging by how she expressed her opinions during the meeting, she was much more astute than I had thought.
Her Intelligence stat wasn't that high in the game, but perhaps it was something like a warrior's intuition honed through repeated battles.
Anyway.
Kalinz, who had caused this mess, was captured and not here.
The responsibility to resolve this fell to Miguel, who had the highest influence in the army at this fortress after Kalinz.
"..."
But.
What clever solution could he, who had only served as Kalinz's adjutant, come up with in this situation?
Of course, it wasn't that he was incompetent and couldn't find an answer.
It would be nearly impossible for anyone to devise a solution in this situation.
Simply fleeing would be the best option, no.
In my opinion, an even better solution would be—
'To burn down this fortress and escape.'
If we burned down the newly built fortress and fled, we could at least prevent the Serphina army from swallowing it whole.
From the beginning, this fortress would be more useful when occupied by the Serphina army than by us, so strategically, burning it down made sense.
Of course, only someone like Kalinz could make such a bold move without the sovereign's approval.
Moreover, among the garrison troops, there would be many who had been involved since the fortress's construction—how would they feel watching the fortress they had just painstakingly built being burned down so soon?
It would certainly devastate the soldiers' morale.
However, judging by his expression, Miguel lacked the courage to make such a decision. Even now, he was sweating profusely, wondering what to do.
'Anyway, a desperate resistance is out of the question.'
The fortunate thing was that, at the very least, he didn't seem like he would force a desperate resistance in the name of the country, even if he couldn't come up with any solution.
It didn't matter much if the Brands army suffered consecutive defeats, but it would be problematic if Irene were captured or her life endangered.
I valued my own life as well.
So.
When opinions were sought, I planned to raise my hand and say, "Although losing the fortress is very regrettable, now is the time to retreat to Kelstein Castle for the future."
And just then.
"...I ask everyone here. In this situation, does anyone have a good solution?"
I slowly looked around.
No one was raising their hand.
Well, it would be burdensome to openly suggest "abandoning the fortress" or something similar.
Then perhaps it was my turn, as someone who didn't plan to stay with the Brands army for too long.
'Wait.'
Since I was asked anyway.
Just to check, I entered a question in my mind.
'In this situation, is there any good solution?'
The answer I expected was [Burn the fortress and flee].
From any angle, this battle seemed unwinnable.
In conclusion, Kalinz's actions would end up being futile, but based on my game knowledge, that seemed like the right answer.
The answer, as always, came very quickly.
[Take position where the enemy can see you and hold out.]
'Hmm... take position and hold out. I see...'
I pondered that answer and then...
Soon.
'...?'
I began to gradually comprehend what the answer meant.
Wait.
What?
Hold out?
'Holding out is the right answer???'
Once again.
The absolute compass in my mind was pointing in a direction I never expected.