Anima had been captured.
No one dared to speak.
Yuri sat with her eyes closed, saying nothing.
"……."
Please, don’t make a rash decision.
Anima wasn’t dead—she was just taken as a prisoner.
Serpina, ever pragmatic, would never kill soone as valuable as Anima without reason. As long as Yuri didn’t let her emotions take over and charge blindly, there was still a way forward.
Ti passed.
Yuri slowly opened her eyes.
Her pupils were visibly trembling.
She looked deeply unsettled, as though she couldn’t comprehend how things had co to this.
For a long while, she remained silent, keeping everyone gathered yet unable to utter a single word.
Then, finally, she turned to Jinor, her lips parting hesitantly.
"…Jinor, I’m sorry, but can I ask you to handle this instead?"
So, rather than acting recklessly, she was entrusting it to her strategist.
It was the best choice she could make in this situation—where she couldn’t trust herself to stay composed.
She hadn’t beco a ruler among the five by re chance.
"Understood."
Jinor nodded lightly and began briefing us on the situation in Yuri’s stead.
"Lady Anima Ingram, acting under her authority, led an assault on Hisphil Castle. That much, you all already know. However, the battle did not go in our favor, and she was captured by Serpina’s forces."
"Then… what about General Hernandorf…?"
"……."
Jinor’s expression darkened as he answered the concerned officer.
"He is currently recovering."
"Recovering…? Does that an—?"
"He was gravely wounded."
Hernandorf Arisian had suffered severe injuries.
A murmur rippled through the officers of the Aishus Army.
"How… How did that happen?"
"He charged into the enemy camp alone in an attempt to rescue Anima."
Hearing that alone, I could picture the battlefield in my mind.
Serpina’s forces, retreating while taking Anima as their prisoner.
And Hernandorf, upon learning of her capture, charging in alone, wielding his warhamr.
The bond between the five was not sothing as superficial as drinking each other’s blood for ceremony— it was far deeper than that.
It was no surprise that he would throw his life away to save her.
They were the kind of people who exposed the fatal flaw of "deep camaraderie" with striking clarity.
"If the reinforcents had arrived even slightly later, it could have been disastrous."
"Reinforcents…? Ah, you an the troops that were deployed a few days ago?"
"Yes. You wouldn’t have known since only the commanding officer was inford, but they were sent toward Raklein Castle."
Another wave of murmurs spread through the room.
This ti, however, it was different.
"As expected of Lord Jinor…!"
"So Lord Jinor had already anticipated this and sent reinforcents…!"
"……."
Jinor remained expressionless but subtly glanced at .
I gave him a small nod.
What the officers thought of was none of my concern.
Even if the credit for my plan went to Jinor, it didn’t matter.
I wasn’t going to be here much longer, anyway.
"Wait… Then, could it be that even Raklein Castle…?"
"As I said, reinforcents were sent. The castle was not lost."
At that mont, a female officer standing beside the man who had asked the question raised her hand.
"There were reports of unusual occurrences at Hisphil Castle. Could that be related to our forces?"
"That, I do not know. Whatever happened, it was beyond our understanding. But since it forced Serpina’s forces to retreat, it worked in our favor."
That was a lie.
Jinor knew exactly what had happened.
I had already told him.
About how Reika’s "abilities" had been amplified and everything that followed.
There was no reason to keep it from him.
'He must have already expected sothing like this.'
I had heard whispers about him believing I could "see the future" with so kind of foresight ability.
Ever since that day, Jinor had begun placing imnse trust in my words.
Once the questions had subsided, a formal explanation of the situation followed.
Reinforcents had managed to save Hernandorf in the nick of ti.
There had been significant casualties, but the castle had not fallen, and Serpina had taken Anima as a prisoner.
A simple but heavy conclusion.
"This is where we currently stand," Jinor finished.
"……."
Silence fell over the chamber once more.
Jinor glanced at Yuri before turning back to the gathered officers.
"If anyone has suggestions on how to proceed, speak freely."
Then—
The sound of the audience chamber doors opening echoed through the room.
A woman’s voice followed.
"I’m late. My apologies."
A knight clad in armor with prominent blue fabric strode inside.
Emma.
"Emma…!"
"You’ve only just arrived, it seems."
Yuri and Jinor greeted her briefly.
Emma had been stationed at Zelstrom Castle with Epinnel.
Naturally, as I had predicted, our side had won the battle there.
After all, my foresight had never been about Hisphil Castle—it was about the defense of Zelstrom.
Upon hearing the news, she must have rushed over.
It made sense.
Epinnel, as the lord, had responsibilities to manage, so Emma coming instead wasn’t surprising.
"Yuri. What the hell happened?"
"That is…"
"I will explain."
Jinor gave Emma a concise rundown of the current situation.
Emma listened intently before nodding and giving her assessnt.
"There is only one course of action."
"And what would that be?"
"Isn’t it obvious? We have to rescue Anima."
As expected, Emma didn’t hesitate in the slightest before proposing the most aggressive course of action.
"Everyone here, not just the strategist, understands what the na 'Anima' ans to the Aishus Army. Yuri, you agree, don’t you?"
"I… I…"
"…What’s with that hesitation?"
Emma stepped closer to the trembling Yuri.
Then, in a sharp voice, she shouted—
"We don’t have ti to waste! Issue the order already!"
"……!!"
"You can’t just stand around like this! Anima has been captured! Why haven’t you given the order to rescue her yet?!"
Unbelievable.
No matter how deep their camaraderie was, how could a re general speak to their lord like this? And in front of everyone, no less?
"General Emma, what is the aning of this? Show so respect!"
"……."
Only after Jinor’s sharp reprimand did Emma bite her lip and fall silent.
Even then, the other officers remained speechless.
It was Jinor who took control of the situation.
"General, this will not go unaddressed. Once this eting is over, your actions will—"
"Jinor, it’s fine…"
Yuri’s voice was faint, calming the furious Jinor.
"It’s fine… for now, let’s focus on what we should do…"
"……."
Then—
"I have sothing to say."
A voice I hadn’t expected.
It was Airen.
"Speak, General Airen."
"Mobilizing our army and launching an imdiate attack is an extrely dangerous option in the long run. With the forces at Raklein Castle already depleted, making the first move would be an unwise decision."
Airen’s words made Emma’s expression harden.
"General Airen, are you suggesting we do nothing because it’s too dangerous to fight for Anima?"
Her voice was sharp—enough to make anyone hesitate.
But Airen was not just anyone.
She had endured the constant underhanded tactics of Lyn Brans without ever backing down.
Just as I expected, she remained poised, her tone steady and respectful.
"Lady Emma, I would never suggest that. Anima is an invaluable figure to the Aishus Army. What I am saying is that fighting is not our only option."
"If not battle…?"
"Negotiation."
Airen’s violet eyes glowed with conviction.
"If we can bring Lady Anima back with words alone, we can avoid unnecessary bloodshed."
"Negotiation, huh…"
As expected, Airen was an exceptionally sharp individual.
Not just in her reasoning, but also in her battlefield prowess—there were few generals as capable as her.
"But what would Serpina’s army even demand in return?"
"Regardless, it is still a preferable alternative to war. Please consider this, my lord."
Finishing her words, Airen bowed toward Yuri.
Yuri, however, still said nothing—her body was trembling.
One of the five had been taken prisoner, and she was shaking like this.
‘So this is why she can’t beco a ruler who unifies the land.’
Jinor stepped closer to the unstable Yuri.
"What will you do, my lord?"
"……."
"My lord, please regain your composure. Lady Anima is still alive. If we are to rescue her, it is you—our ruler—who must remain strong."
Jinor’s words finally made Yuri let out a long sigh.
"Everyone… I’m sorry. To Jinor, to Emma, and to all of you who have gathered here… I’ve shown you all a disgraceful sight."
What could we say?
All we could do was lower our heads and wait for her next words.
She still looked shaken, glancing around with uncertainty—
But, at least, her voice had regained so steadiness as she posed her question.
"First… Who believes we should go to war? Raise your hand."
Emma and a few others raised their hands.
But the numbers were few.
The reality of the situation was that launching a war over this was reckless.
With that settled—
It was ti for to do what I had to do.
‘Is war the correct course of action?’
[It is not.]
As expected.
Then negotiation really was the answer.
Still, if negotiation was not the answer, what would the correct course be?
I barely had ti to wonder—
"…Who believes we should attempt negotiation?"
‘Is negotiation the correct course of action?’
[It is.]
The answer ca imdiately.
I had already expected this.
Before we had even faced Serpina’s army, the most efficient choice had been negotiation.
Just as I was about to settle with that—
[However,]
‘Huh?’
For the first ti—
The response didn’t co instantly.
There was a slight delay, a tiny hesitation before the next words appeared.
[It depends on the will of the heavens.]
‘…What?’
What was that supposed to an?
Surprised, I asked the question again.
‘Is negotiation the correct course of action?’
[It is. However, it depends on the will of the heavens.]
Negotiation was the right answer, but it was dependent on an unknown factor.
Once again, the compass pointed in a strangely mystical direction.
What was this supposed to an?
"The will of the heavens" didn’t literally refer to divine intervention.
It referred to sothing beyond prediction—
An outco that depended entirely on how I acted.
Did that an the success of this negotiation… was sothing I could determine?
‘…How?’
How could I decide the fate of a negotiation?
I wasn’t a ruler.
I held no authority.
I was just a strategist.
Serpina’s army was the negotiating party, so how could it possibly depend on ?
‘Wait.’
Wasn’t this similar to my last prediction?
[Negotiate personally.]
That had been the answer before—essentially the sa as sending .
But back then, it hadn’t said, "It depends on the will of the heavens."
Why not?
‘What’s waiting for there that keeps pushing to go personally?’
At this point, I almost wanted to go out of sheer stubbornness.
While I was lost in thought—
The discussion continued, and Yuri finally spoke with firm resolve.
"…Emma, I’m sorry, but I will follow the majority’s decision. I know this is frustrating, but… I don’t think launching an all-out war is the right choice. And I believe Anima would agree with ."
"……."
Emma still looked displeased—
But, eventually, she nodded.
"You’re the lord, Yuri. As long as we can save Anima, I don’t care how we do it."
"…Thank you for understanding."
A ruler asking for their subordinate’s understanding.
Normally, I’d find the sight ironic.
But my mind had no space for such aningless observations right now.
"Then, we will proceed with negotiation. As for the envoy… Rutz, are you listening?"
"Yes, my lord!"
A man responded loudly to the na "Rutz."
"I’d like you to handle this mission… Will you do it?"
"If that is your command, then of course. I will ensure Lady Anima is safely returned from Serpina’s forces."
"Good. Now, the terms… Jinor, what do you think?"
"The simplest option would be gold. Given our current finances, we could offer up to 7,900 gold."
"7,900? Will that really be enough? Serpina’s army isn’t exactly struggling financially."
"A larger sum is always preferable. It is a significant amount for a ransom, and Serpina’s forces will find it difficult to refuse."
As they continued the discussion—
I suddenly raised my hand.
"Excuse , may I say sothing?"
"?"
"Swen?"
At that mont, not just Yuri and Jinor—
Everyone’s attention turned to .
But… since the fate of this negotiation was "dependent on the will of the heavens," I had no choice but to speak up.
"It’s about the envoy for the negotiation."
"Is there a problem?" Yuri asked.
I nodded.
"Instead of the one currently selected… may I go as the envoy?"
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