As he said, there was a crude camp set up not far away.
It felt like a place built solely for negotiations, without even a fence or any defensive structures.
"Please wait a moment."
After saying this, the messenger from the Aishers army entered the tent.
Standing beside Irene, I whispered to her carefully.
"You don't need to be nervous. From her perspective, there's no reason to reject our surrender."
Instead of answering, she slowly nodded.
I could already read her trust in me from the look in her eyes.
And after some time had passed.
Finally, from inside the tent—the person who would become our new lord appeared, accompanied by a woman.
Long, elegant black hair.
Two differently colored eyes—one deep sea blue, and the other a contrasting bright sky blue.
Her straight nose and lips were positioned perfectly, like those of a well-carved statue.
She wasn't the type whose feminine presence was overwhelmingly expressed through her physical features like Irene standing beside me—
But her figure, with curves in all the right places, definitely exuded feminine beauty.
I thought that many people might actually prefer this kind of balanced physique.
'Wow... she's beautiful.'
I couldn't hide my admiration when I first saw Baranga Yuuri Aishers—Yuuri's appearance.
She was far more beautiful than I had imagined.
I already knew Yuuri's face.
I had even chosen to play as her in the game before.
But.
Just like with Lynn and Irene—there was quite a gap between the pixelated in-game graphics and her actual face.
Honestly, I wondered if she had really been this beautiful in the game.
And the woman beside her.
I could easily recognize her.
In this game, there was only one general who always carried a bow with teal hair tied in a ponytail.
Epinel Rosenkroz.
One of the founding contributors of the Aishers army, an S-class general with excellent strength and leadership.
She was particularly skilled even among the subordinate generals of "the Aishers army, which has a narrow territory but S-class general pool."
I hadn't noticed when seeing her in pixel form, but she exuded a strong feminine charm.
In terms of exposure alone, she was revealing her stomach and thighs while only covering her chest.
Despite the world setting allowing it, it was impressive that she wore such clothes to the battlefield.
Irene knelt on one knee and bowed her head as Yuuri's footsteps stopped in front of her.
I followed suit, matching her timing.
"I am honored to meet you, Baranga Yuuri Aishers."
Yuuri nodded at Irene's words and said.
"Are you Irene Juliet?"
"Yes, I am."
"I've heard rumors, but this is my first time seeing you in person. It's an honor to meet the red-haired female knight Irene face to face."
Yuuri smiled, then turned her head slightly to look down at me and asked.
"And who is this?"
"My name is Swen. I wish to join the Aishers army along with Lady Irene."
"..."
She silently looked at me.
Then, in a tone like a girl who had found something interesting, she said.
"You... have white hair? That's a color rarely seen in this region for a young man. Could you possibly be... the 'White-haired Magician' who split the sky and created a miracle at the Brands army fortress in the north?"
'....'
That day when it wasn't lightning but a meteorite that fell.
Considering how many people witnessed it, I expected rumors about me to spread—
But hearing the somewhat cringeworthy title "White-haired Magician" directly made me feel a bit embarrassed.
But, what did it matter?
As long as I had this title, it would be good for me if she found me desirable.
"I'm embarrassed to admit it, but yes, that's me. Though calling me a magician might be a bit of a stretch."
"Oh? Is that so?"
Yuuri said this and covered her mouth as she laughed softly.
It wasn't a mocking laugh... but rather one that suggested she found something interesting.
She was clearly a different type of person from Lynn Brands, who occasionally leaked undisguised malice.
For deliberate manipulation, Lynn's style might actually be easier to deal with... but I couldn't stay under her if I wanted to save Irene.
"Let me see. So you both want to surrender to our army?"
"Yes. Myself, Swen here, and the authority over the fortress along with the 38,000 soldiers inside it."
Yuuri nodded and then carefully asked.
"Irene, and Swen. Listen carefully. Your offer is too good for us to refuse from our perspective. But, normally, people don't surrender by bringing along soldiers and an entire fortress. Think about it. If you're going to surrender, wouldn't it be less troublesome and easier to just escape somehow and join our side? If you were surrendering during a war when defeat seemed imminent, you might come with your soldiers, but we're not exactly at war right now, are we? We're on bad terms, true."
Her words were logical.
The truth is, things had become complicated because I was trying to maximize the benefits of surrender to achieve my goal of "shaking up the central continent where the Brands army holds the majority," by leveraging everything I could.
"So, what I'm saying is... hmm."
As Yuuri was struggling with her words.
Epinel, who was standing beside her, spoke for the first time.
"What Yuuri is saying is that she can't fully trust you. What if this is a deceptive tactic disguised as surrender? If the soldiers you've brought start a rebellion from within, we would be in serious trouble. A fortress, soldiers, and excellent generals. This story seems too favorable for our Aishers army."
So, they're afraid this surrender itself might be bait, like a 'Trojan Horse.'
Well, being suspicious wasn't that strange.
I thought it would be best to honestly explain why we needed to surrender.
"Actually—"
At that moment.
Irene gently placed her hand on mine as I was about to speak.
She seemed to be saying, 'Leave this to me.'
Right.
After all, she was the main subject of the surrender, so it made sense for her to speak.
"I..."
Irene slowly closed her eyes.
Then, reopening them at the same pace, she looked up at Yuuri and said.
"I have detected intense killing intent directed at me from my former lord, Lynn Brands."
"Killing intent...?"
Both Yuuri and Epinel seemed shocked by Irene's confession.
Understandable. It's rare for someone to harbor killing intent toward their own general.
But what she was saying was completely true. The intense aura of truth can move people.
"Yes. She... dislikes me. Beyond hatred and resentment, she wishes for my death."
"...What? That's... hard to understand. You're Irene, right? The red-haired female knight. The specialist in siege warfare. Even I know your name. Probably every lord knows your name, right? Why would anyone treat such a renowned general like that?"
"..."
That's what I'm saying.
Why does she hate her this much?
They say there's no reason needed to dislike someone, but Lynn Brands definitively killed Irene Juliet in every timeline.
"It's very embarrassing, but it's the truth. So... to survive, I'm defecting to the Aishers army."
"Hmm..."
At that moment.
Epinel turned her head toward Yuuri.
"Yuuri. She doesn't seem to be lying."
"Huh?"
One new fact I learned:
Epinel was speaking informally to Yuuri.
Though it might seem insignificant, it had considerable meaning.
She clearly had a very strong position within the Aishers army.
"I told the spy we sent to the Brands army to report any rumors, no matter how trivial. And indeed, such rumors exist. Lynn Brands hates Irene Juliet."
"Really?"
"Yes. I didn't tell you because it didn't seem like important information. After all, it's just gossip from another country."
"If we were truly surrendering with some scheme in mind, we might harm the Aishers army, but we two wouldn't survive either. And as the rumors say... Lady Lynn Brands hates me. I want to live. I have no intention of risking my life to ambush Yuuri's army for her sake."
"Hmm... I see, so you're surrendering to our army to survive... huh."
A person only has one life.
When you die, everyone meets the same end equally.
Few reasons give more legitimacy to surrender than not wanting to die.
"...Alright. If those rumors are true, I understand Irene's position. But."
Yuuri turned her head to look down at me and said.
"Swen. Why are you surrendering? If you stayed with the Brands army, you'd be on a tremendous path to promotion. As a magician who created a miracle, they'd treat you properly, wouldn't they? It seems strange that someone like you would leave the substantial Brands army to join our smaller Aishers army."
So, she's asking me 'why are you doing something that seems disadvantageous to you?'
I had somewhat anticipated this question, so I delivered my prepared response.
"I came to believe that Lynn Brands is not a lord worthy of my service. In other words, I judged that she doesn't match the qualities of a ruler who could conquer the world."
"Is that so?"
Though my answer was ordinary, I could notice.
The corners of her mouth turned up slightly when she heard those words.
"Yes. Just look at Lady Irene beside me. How could someone who treats a general of Lady Irene's caliber with personal emotions rather than valuing them properly become a unifying ruler who binds the continent together? I want to serve someone who will become the unifying ruler. My achievements only have meaning after I've chosen the right lord to serve."
"Oh? Then conversely, you think I'm the one who will become the unifying ruler?"
"Yes."
Looking at me as I answered without hesitation, she smiled confidently.
This should be enough.
But she still continued to question me.
"Really? Is that the only reason? Nothing else?"
"...?"
What's this?
That expectant look in her eyes...?
Until just now, what I had felt from Yuuri was a ruler's aura of a different caliber than Lynn or Lunarienne.
They all had different tones, personalities, and attitudes toward me, but they all clearly possessed the spirit of someone carrying the weight of others' wills on their shoulders.
But now... she wasn't looking at me with a ruler's eyes, but rather with the eyes of a young girl.
'...Could it be.'
I carefully... brought up what I guessed she wanted to hear.
"I want to stay by Lady Irene's side and protect her."
"...!!!"
At my words, Irene, who was kneeling beside me, looked at me in surprise.
Her face turning completely red and her flustered expression... was honestly quite cute.
And Yuuri as well.
Only after hearing that answer did she speak with a satisfied expression.
"I knew it. What other reason would a man have for following a woman? That's enough for me to understand. Hehehe."
"..."
"Alright. Can you both stand up? Epinel, prepare that."
As we rose from our positions, Epinel went into the tent and brought something out.
It was a basket containing two cups, alcohol, and something resembling a silver dagger.
Epinel skillfully filled the cups while holding the tray.
Beside her, Yuuri took the silver dagger and opened it—
"...!"
She slightly cut her finger.
Then, she mixed a few drops of her flowing blood into the alcohol.
"Here."
Irene and I accepted the cups.
The clear rice wine was becoming cloudy as it mixed with her blood.
"Drink it. By doing so, you'll become our family, sharing my blood."
'...What a strange ritual.'
I wasn't one to talk, having performed a ceremony to call down lightning, but still.
I was newly reminded that this place was reality.
The in-game information I knew about Yuuri was limited to: 'she has excellent leadership that makes many people follow her,' 'she has very close relationships with her comrades,' and 'she's an intermediate-level ruler with a weak foundation but a good talent pool.'
But of course, without meeting her in person—
It's difficult to fully understand a person like Yuuri from just a few lines in a 'character introduction.'
After lightly emptying the cup.
Yuuri finally spoke in a somewhat solemn tone.
"Irene Juliet. And Swen. Welcome to our Aishers army. I, Baranga Yuuri Aishers, will risk my life to protect you. Everyone who has shared my blood is my family."
Then, looking at Irene, she said.
"I look forward to working with you, Irene."
"Yes! I will strive to meet your expectations!"
"...And, I look forward to working with you too, Swen?"
Yuuri tilted her head as she asked me.
I gave her a confident smile.
"I will make sure you never regret this decision."
And so Irene and I became members of the Aishers army.
In conclusion, I had succeeded in saving Irene Juliet.
For that alone, I felt it was worth passing through the Brands army.