Chapter 123: Opinion Soliciting Meeting (2)
“Is that so? I’ve become curious about the reason. If it’s alright, I would like you to explain.”
Upon hearing Shika’s words, I slowly nodded and responded.
“It’s simple. That place needs soldiers.”
“…I don’t intend to be rude, but it sounds like you’re just repeating the obvious.”
Shika’s words weren’t necessarily wrong.
To be honest, I wasn’t quite sure of the reason myself.
The only consolation was that Amin, who had brought up the topic earlier, had brought a map with him.
“Mr. Amin, could I possibly borrow the map?”
“Huh? …Here it is.”
Amin handed me the map with a doubtful expression on his face.
As I spread it out on the table-
“…”
Serphina and Zena, who had been sitting quietly, approached us.
It seemed they were also curious about what I was going to say.
Their movement alone caused a noticeable stir among a few attendees of the proposal meeting.
“Please, take a look at this map.”
Seizing the moment of everyone’s attention, I quickly reviewed the map.
Amir Castle.
A mundane fief located at the easternmost edge, surrounded by a river and mountain ranges.
The correct decision to deploy troops here meant – if a rebellion were to occur, it wouldn’t be here.
Yes, rebellion.
If deploying troops in the rear area is the correct answer, then rebellion is the only answer.
“If the opinion ‘we must deploy troops in the capital’ is raised, it implies that the Northern Continent is not fully under control, making this a plausible scenario.
However, the problem is-
“Do you think a rebellion might occur in this vicinity?”
Serphina, who hadn’t spoken a word until now, pointed at a castle with her finger and asked.
It was Haiser Castle, located closest to Amir Castle.
But.
That’s not the answer.
“It’s not that.”
If a rebellion occurred at Haiser Castle-
Before I could speak further, Serphina opened her mouth first, preempting what I was about to say.
“Well, if we assume that a rebellion happens around here, it wouldn’t be here but deploying troops here would be a more efficient choice.”
Serphina pointed to Chorrel Castle, located to the lower left of Haiser Castle.
Deploying troops in a castle where a rebellion occurs is risky, as there’s a high chance that the troops might join the rebels.
Therefore, preemptively stationing troops in a nearby location is the best strategy, but choosing the closer Chorrel Castle over the farther Amir Castle makes more sense.
Thus, it’s not a ‘rebellion’.
“Then, perhaps…”
This time, Zena spoke to me.
She tilted her head slightly, causing her brown hair to sway lightly.
“Are you concerned about the appearance of bandits in this area?”
To the upper right of Amir Castle was a region spread across mountainous terrain.
It was not uncommon for the people of a fief to turn into bandits and attack the castle if the public sentiment was low.
But this too followed the same logic as before.
“It’s not that.”
Zena looked straight at me.
She seemed to roughly guess what I was going to say.
“If bandits emerge from this region, they are more likely to attack Herder Castle located just above, as it has lower defenses, fewer troops, and most crucially, it’s closer.”
“…Indeed. Then, I can’t help but ask.”
Zena looked directly into my eyes.
“Why must troops be stationed at Amir Castle?”
Neither rebellion nor bandits.
Yet, stationing troops in the hinterland is the most efficient method.
“…”
I scrutinized the map and sighed softly.
Then, I put on the most relaxed expression I could muster and desperately examined the map.
“What is it? What am I missing?”
Why is stationing troops here the correct answer?
My brain, with an intelligence of 100, predicted this. There’s no doubt about it now.
Then, there must exist a situation “that can only be prevented by stationing troops here”.
It’s not an internal rebellion.
It’s not bandits from nearby communities.
The only other notable geographic feature is the large river flowing in front.
“…Huh?”
The river…?
Out of curiosity, I checked where the river led.
The massive river crossed the mountain range, winding its way to the central part of the continent.
The map Amin brought only depicted up to this point.
Since the map was primarily drawn with the territories of Serphina’s army in the Northern Continent, it couldn’t be helped.
“Um, Swen? Your answer…”
“As I heard something from Zena, I reflexively responded…
It seemed Serphina had already silenced Zena’s question.
Her white hand was crossing Zena’s chest.
Anyway.
Even if the map ends here, I was confident I could imagine what lay beyond.
I’ve played this game for 10,000 hours. I’ve seen the same style of map dozens, hundreds, or rather, thousands of times, continuously embedded in my optic nerve.
When you start the game, you see nothing but the map on the screen. So, like it or not, I had no choice but to memorize it.
“Calm down.”
I mentally picked up a brush and began to fill in the missing part of the map.
The river… winds through the mountains, flowing towards the east of the central continent.
Once it reaches the eastern edge… there’s only one castle nearby.
And that castle is-
“Zeta Castle, definitely.”
Zeta Castle.
It was the capital of Allepel and now belongs to Aishers – the fourth castle of Aishers.
Located to the upper right of Valhart Castle and to the right bottom of Zelstrom Castle, it’s a remote castle.
The territory of Aishers consists of four castles.
The capital Valhart, Zelstrom above, Racline to the left, and finally Zeta to the right.
“…!!!”
And then, I began to grasp what this prediction meant.
“Are Aishers’ troops coming up the river?”
It would require some degree of assistance, but it wasn’t entirely impossible.
In fact, in this game, it was possible to move troops via the river.
However, it was not a very good method because it consumed much more turns than usual and morale dropped significantly during the process, so I had momentarily forgotten about it.
But… now we’re in a world based on the game, albeit in reality.
It couldn’t be ruled out as impossible.
No.
In fact, for stationing troops at Amir Castle to be the most efficient strategy, there was no other scenario.
If this were true, Aishers would be striking us in the back quite effectively.
Usually, it might not matter, but currently, all our troops in the Northern region are pushed towards the central border.
If they succeed in a sneak attack from the rear, they could significantly shake our forces with this clever move.
Even if they quickly lose Amir Castle afterwards, from Aishers’ perspective, it wouldn’t be a big loss.
“Whose idea was this? Jinor? Anima?”
Considering the exchange of letters, it was likely not Jinor’s strategy.
If so, this must be Anima’s idea…
Indeed, having served as a national strategist, she did have some brilliant moments .
“…”
I slowly raised my head and looked around.
Serphina, Zena, and the rest of the warriors seemed to hold their breath, waiting for me to speak.
So, the question was how to explain this…
“Please pay attention, everyone.”
I nodded slowly and began to explain.
“Near Amir Castle, there’s a river flowing. This river serves as the lifeline for the surrounding territories of Amir Castle… However, if we approach it differently, it also acts as the only pathway connected to the secluded Amir Castle.”
Serphina’s intense gaze was somewhat distracting, but I tried not to let it get to me.
Even if they didn’t fully understand my opinion, they seemed respectful enough to listen, so it was worth a try.
“So, if you follow this river, it leads to the sea on the eastern side of the continent… And during this journey, you inevitably encounter one castle. Miss Zena.”
“Yes?”
“Do you know which castle that might be?”
Zena pondered for a moment before quietly nodding.
“…Could it be Zeta Castle you’re referring to?”
“Yes, you’re aware.”
“But I don’t quite understand. How does this relate? Are you suggesting the enemy would navigate the treacherous river currents to attack Amir Castle?”
“Exactly.”
“…What?”
Zena’s eyes, which had casually posed the question, fluttered in confusion at my response.
Serphina’s eyebrow twitched slightly, a movement I clearly noticed.
“Aishers’ army is highly likely to navigate up the river to attack Amir Castle.”
“…???”
Hearing my words, Zena looked puzzled, and the rest of the warriors gave me a look as if wondering what I was talking about.
To be honest, even to me, it sounded far-fetched. Suggesting that the enemy would come up the river so we should station troops in a remote location, what kind of logic was that?
However, one person.
Serphina alone did not break her composure and addressed us with a voice full of compassion, as she did with Amin and Shika – inviting everyone to freely express their thoughts on my opinion.
“An interesting opinion indeed. To think of attacking by going upstream, a strategy even I hadn’t imagined.”
“…”
“Do you have a basis for your suggestion? If you’ve proposed it, there must be a reason behind it.”
Asking for the basis meant Serphina was considering my opinion not just as a thought but as a ‘proposal.’
It implied she was preparing to question me as she had questioned Irian before.
What should I do?
I contemplated playing it off… but being under Serphina’s command, it was necessary to some extent to implant the idea that my words had merit.
Like with Lynn Brans, there might come a time when I could use her psychology to my advantage.
So, is it time to engage with her on this?
As if she had sensed my decision, she asked me again in a very pleasant voice.
“I’m eager to hear your story, Swen. Would you explain? What makes you so confident that Aishers’ troops will attack from that direction?”
