The road to the royal palace of Balhart Castle was not much different from Anel Castle.
If there was one difference—for some reason, there were many familiar faces.
Having played [Garland Eternity Saga] repeatedly using the same generals, I recognized the owners of faces I'd seen countless times.
'Indeed, this feels worthy of the Aishers Army, known as a treasure trove of talent.'
The keyword for the Aishers Army is 'exceptional talent.'
Though their foundation is extremely weak, they somehow cover for it with talented individuals as they aim for continental unification.
It requires a bit of effort, but it's not particularly difficult—think of it as perfect for intermediate-level rulers.
As we arrived at the castle entrance,
A guard stopped us.
"Please state your identity."
"Irene Juliet. I haven't been here long."
"And you?"
"My name is Swen. Like Irene beside me, I haven't been with the Aishers Army for long."
"Irene Juliet, Swen... Please wait a moment."
The guard entered a small room nearby.
Soon after, having apparently confirmed something, he came out and saluted us.
"I apologize for the inconvenience. Please enter."
"Hmm."
We gave the guard a slight bow and entered the inner palace where the meeting was being held.
Soon, we arrived at what appeared to be the audience chamber where the meeting would take place.
Irene and I found suitable places among the gathered people.
After settling in, I slowly observed the participants.
'Wow.'
I almost let out an exclamation since almost everyone was familiar.
The most noticeable was, of course, Epinel Rosenkroz, the second-in-command of the Aishers Army.
With her teal ponytail and revealing, provocative armor, she was waiting for the meeting to begin with her eyes closed and arms crossed.
The woman across from her.
Long hair with waves throughout, in a deep blue color.
She was undoubtedly Emma Adeline, one of the few generals with the "siege" specialty like Irene.
Standing in her place wearing solid armor, she gave off a similar impression to Irene.
If there was a difference, it might be their chest sizes.
Unlike Emma with her ordinary figure, Irene seemed to be carrying something that would require custom-made armor.
And next to her, an enormously large man.
Black, disheveled hair, tall stature, sturdy muscular build, and eyes that seemed somewhat melancholic.
Though I didn't typically memorize male characters' faces, he was most likely Erinandorf Arisian.
The strongest in the Aishers Army in terms of pure strength.
A reliable ally who could hold his own in one-on-one duels.
His personality was less aggressive compared to Chel from the Brands Army, making him fairly easy to control, but unfortunately, I remembered he had low intelligence and was susceptible to schemes.
Epinel. Emma. And Erinandorf.
These three were collectively known as the Aishers Trio.
This wasn't something I just made up—it was actually written in the in-game character introductions.
Most of the other generals were also familiar faces.
Seeing them like this made me realize how few outstanding generals there had been in the Brands Army where I was previously stationed.
There were plenty of people there, but most weren't memorable faces.
After some time had passed,
"Lady Yuuri is entering!"
Along with the soldier's announcement,
Yuuri was walking toward the empty throne.
"Huh?"
Wait a minute.
That old man following behind Yuuri...?
A man with a hat pulled low and distinctively long white beard... that person...
[Is Intelligence 99 something to be taken lightly?]
'Ah!'
Right. I remember now.
That old man... Ginor.
The old man with Intelligence 99, essentially the in-game maximum.
How could I forget Ginor, the one who put me into this world!
Though I'm not sure if this world's Ginor knows about that.
So his name was... Ginor Nighthart, wasn't it?
Huh?
Nighthart?
'Ah! Ah! Ah!'
That's right.
Nighthart... Ginor's surname, which naturally stuck in my memory.
But Reika's surname was definitely Nighthart too.
What's going on? Is she Ginor's daughter? Granddaughter?
No... but Reika was an orphan?
I'm certain of this. Having used Reika numerous times while playing as various rulers, I could be confident.
'What's happening here?'
It seemed that while I was in the Brands Army, things had been progressing here in their own way.
I hadn't expected Ginor to be here in the Aishers Army in the first place.
However, Ginor's presence neatly resolved one question I'd had.
When I was in the Brands Army,
I was able to identify the "betrayal scheme" based on the Charam Army suddenly offering tribute.
But the betrayal scheme required Intelligence 95 or higher and the [Betrayal] specialty.
To the question of whether the Aishers Army had such a strategist—
Ginor was the perfect answer.
With Intelligence 99 and versatile skills covering various specialties, he could certainly devise such schemes with ease.
Yuuri slowly sat on the throne, then looked at us and spoke.
"Well. Thank you all for gathering despite your busy schedules. Let's start the meeting right away. Before we begin, shall we take time for last month's merit awards?"
"Yes!"
The merit awards weren't particularly important content.
What stood out was the achievements of the Trio, including Epinel.
It seemed they were performing at their best in their respective positions in this world line as well.
"Now, regarding the policy from the previous meeting. Everyone worked very hard. Although we failed to conquer the Brands Army, we achieved remarkable results in other areas. I expect you to continue performing like this in the future."
I felt somewhat embarrassed, having contributed significantly to the failure of advancing into the center of the continent.
But anyway, this was my home now.
"Well. For this time, I'll first gather opinions on what we should do. Anyone have good suggestions?"
"My Lord."
The first to raise his hand at Yuuri's words was Ginor.
"Yes?"
"I sense auspicious energy in the territory of Balhart. It might not be a bad idea to explore the castle and the territory."
"Exploration..."
Huh?
Strategists don't usually recommend territory exploration.
They only recommend it in two cases: when there's hidden talent or when there's treasure.
At that moment,
"Yuuri. I have something to say too."
Calling her "Yuuri" rather than "My Lord," Emma raised her hand.
Moreover, she spoke informally.
Of course, this wasn't the first time I'd seen such a scene. Tifa had spoken in a similar manner back in the Lunarian Army.
But the Lunarian Army was essentially a small group of four people, unlike the Aishers Army which had a considerable size. I wondered if it was appropriate for a subordinate general to speak like that, even if they were trusted.
However, Yuuri herself didn't seem to mind as she nodded and replied.
"What is it?"
"I think we should deal with the Charam Army and the Alepel Army. I don't think there's any value in keeping them alive anymore. We've been delaying the invasion with schemes and such, right? We'll soon clash significantly with the Brands Army, so I'd like to eliminate these potential problems in preparation for that."
"Hmm."
Yuuri nodded and said,
"Anyone else want to speak?"
A moment of silence passed.
When no one spoke up, the meeting continued.
"Alright. First, who thinks it would be good to 'explore around Balhart Castle'? Please raise your hand lightly."
'Territory exploration.'
It was time to use my power after a long while.
'Is exploring the territory of the Balhart Army the most efficient choice?'
As always, my Intelligence 100 brain immediately produced a result.
[Yes, it is.]
'Oh.'
That was an exceptionally clean answer I hadn't heard in a while.
Given that the speaker was none other than Ginor, I had expected this.
His intelligence was 99.
In this world, Intelligence 99 meant his words would be correct 99% of the time.
Unless it was that 1% chance, it made sense to follow his advice.
I slowly raised my hand.
Including Irene beside me, slightly more than half the people raised their hands.
It seemed there were quite a few people within the army who trusted Ginor.
Yuuri briefly scanned the room, then continued.
"Next. Who thinks it would be good to deal with the Charam Army and the Alepel Army?"
The outcome was predetermined, but I might as well ask.
'Is prioritizing the conquest of the Charam Army and the Alepel Army the most efficient choice?'
[No, it is not.]
As expected, the answer gave me a strange sense of relief.
Regardless of my prediction, a similar number of people raised their hands this time too.
But counting the hands raised... it seemed a couple fewer than for the previous opinion.
So would they adopt Ginor's proposal by majority vote here?
However,
"Hmm..."
Instead of saying "According to the majority principle, I'll adopt Ginor's proposal," Yuuri seemed to be lost in thought.
Is this something that needs consideration?
Typically in "meetings," the opinion chosen by majority vote was always selected.
Not doing so would reduce the loyalty of generals or strain relationships, so from a ruler's perspective, it was beneficial to just go with the majority.
From the generals' perspective, using one-on-one debates could provide opportunities to persuade even if they lost in the majority vote.
But,
"Ginor. I think you'll have to concede this time. It's Emma's suggestion, after all. Is that okay?"
"How could I object, my Lord? I will follow your will."
After hearing Ginor's words, Yuuri nodded and addressed us.
"This time, I'll adopt Emma's opinion. Reclaiming the territories of the Charam Army and the Alepel Army. To achieve our goal, I hope everyone works hard in their respective positions. Understood?"
"Yes! Understood!"
'...?'
Without anyone raising an objection, she just decided as she pleased and that was it.
If this was going to happen anyway, was there any need to gather people's opinions?
Moreover, the wording "it's Emma's suggestion, after all" was telling.
Does it mean if it had been some other third person, there would be no need to concede?
I feel like I've glimpsed a fundamental problem within the Aishers Army...
But with the limited information I had, it was difficult to draw a conclusion.
Anyway, the meeting continued.
One notable point was Epinel's request, as the fortress commander, to deploy an additional 10,000 soldiers from Balhart Castle to her fortress.
Given that there were currently 53,000 troops at Balhart Castle, sending some shouldn't have been too burdensome...
But the immediate agreement was somewhat concerning.
It seemed the influence of the Aishers Trio was stronger than I had imagined.
As the meeting concluded,
Yuuri stood up and addressed us.
"The tasks assigned to each of you have been organized, so please check them on your way out. With this, I'll end the meeting. Oh, and."
Then, looking in my direction, she said,
"Swen. Please stay here for a moment."
"...?"
With her single statement, the eyes of every general in the room turned to me.
It was a bit disconcerting to suddenly be the center of attention, but if the lord says jump, a general must ask how high.
"Understood."
"Good. Everyone else may disperse."
"Understood!"
With those final words, the gathered generals gave their final greetings and left the audience chamber one by one.
I told Irene that I would be out shortly and she could go ahead, then remained in my place until everyone had left.
In the now quiet audience chamber,
The only people remaining were myself, Ginor, and Yuuri—a total of three.
I naturally approached her throne.
"What is it, my Lord?"
"Swen. There's something I want to ask you."
"What might that be...?"
"Actually, it's more this person's question than mine."
Yuuri slightly turned her head to look at Ginor beside her.
What?
Ginor has something to say to me?
At that moment, for some reason, the phrase "Is Intelligence 99 something to be taken lightly?" flashed through my mind again.
Ginor gave me a slight bow and slowly walked toward me.
"Are you indeed Sir Swen?"
"Yes, I am."
"..."
Why... why?
What is it?
Ginor looked at me and asked in an extremely cautious tone.