Preparing for the Aishus Army was the right course of action.
In other words, it was a well-known fact that the Aishus Army had set its sights on us.
Yet at the sa ti—
Not deploying troops to the border?
For a brief mont, I was left speechless by these two contradictory pieces of advice.
"Fufufu."
Before I could even open my mouth, I heard Serpina’s laughter.
"It seems the result has left you troubled once again, has it not?"
"Ah..."
Serpina was one of the few who understood that I needed to ask the right questions in order to deduce the correct answer.
I nodded naturally.
"It seems that way."
"If I were to make a deduction, considering the current situation, perhaps deploying troops to the border is not a particularly wise decision."
Every ti monts like this arose, I couldn’t help but be impressed—
She was an incredibly perceptive woman.
"...There is truly nothing that can be hidden from you, my lord."
I looked at Serpina’s face and had a fleeting thought.
Was she in danger again?
If we stationed troops at the border, would an unexpected rebellion arise at the worst possible ti, throwing our army into chaos once more?
That thought flashed through my mind for a mont—
But with just a little more careful consideration, I realized that wasn’t the case.
‘If Lady Serpina were in danger... there’s no way the answer would be "inefficient."’
Which ant—
If deploying troops at the border led to a rebellion that put Serpina at risk, the prediction would have indicated that the fate of the unified empire would shift.
After all, my predictions were not about Serpina as an individual but about the Serpina Army—
This nation itself.
The only reason the Serpina Army could not beco the unified empire was because Serpina herself was on the throne.
If removing Serpina were the most efficient course of action from the nation’s perspective, the answer wouldn’t have ruled it out as inefficient.
So then, what was the real issue?
Lost in thought for a mont, I heard Serpina’s voice.
"What has you so deep in thought, Swen?"
"Ah... my lord."
As soon as I looked up at Serpina, she smiled again—
As if thoroughly amused.
Then, from the throne, she began walking toward with steady steps.
By the ti I had regained my senses, she was already right in front of .
She had drawn so close that not only could I sll the faint citrus scent of her skin, but her soft, yielding body pressed against in a way that sent shivers down my spine.
My head spun, and at the sa ti—
She was proving, through sheer presence, that she was indeed a woman, so utterly different from .
This closeness... if intentional, was frankly terrifying.
And then—
She spoke, her beautiful lips forming words that could easily be taken the wrong way.
"Why not use this body of mine?"
"...What?"
"You may use however you wish. This body... in any way you desire... whatever it may be, I shall conform to you... ♥"
For a brief mont, I nearly blushed—
But I quickly understood her true intent.
"In other words, you would like to ask questions?"
"Fufufu."
She nodded slowly.
"Ask as many tis as necessary until you arrive at the 'true answer.' Just as I use you as my strategist, you may use to seek the 'perfect response.'"
"It would have been easier if you had simply said that from the beginning."
"I don’t understand what you an. Fufufu..."
I considered responding, but I decided to let it slide.
Frankly, I wasn’t confident that I could win a verbal spar against Serpina.
Regardless—
If she had been unaware of my ability, that would have been one thing. But since she knew, there was no issue with proceeding through these rounds of questioning.
It was, after all, the most convenient way to utilize my power.
But now, the important part—
What exactly should I ask?
"Then, I shall begin with a few questions."
"Go ahead, Swen. You may ask anything."
She really was using words that could be easily misinterpreted—
And I was certain she was doing it on purpose.
Without letting myself get drawn in, I proceeded with my line of questioning.
"Ask whether recruiting troops directly from the border territories is the most efficient thod."
"Do you believe that recruiting troops directly from the border territories is efficient?"
Question input.
The answer rolled in imdiately.
[It is not.]
I continued this back-and-forth, posing several questions in succession.
Starting from "Would it be efficient for Serpina herself to take command on the battlefield?"
To asking the sa about every single general, including Airen.
Of course, the answer to every question was the sa:
[It is not.]
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
Even after asking a variety of questions, I couldn’t pinpoint a clear solution.
The only thing I got in response was "It is not."
In other words—
No matter what we did, the answer remained "It is not."
Given such circumstances, deducing a reasonable conclusion seed nearly impossible.
Without the right materials, how could I even begin to construct a proper inference?
There was only so much our army could do when the answers led nowhere.
‘Hmm...’
Just as I was beginning to feel stuck, Serpina spoke first.
"Swen. May I ask you a question this ti?"
"A question from you, my lord?"
"Yes."
Since I had nearly run out of questions myself, her proactive approach was a welco relief rather than sothing to turn down.
"Please, go ahead."
"Would doing nothing at all be the most efficient option?"
"...What?"
"In other words, would it be most efficient to forgo all battle preparations entirely? Since all your questions have resulted in nothing, I was wondering if perhaps the best course of action was to take no action at all. Am I mistaken?"
"Ah..."
As expected of Serpina—
She had quickly deduced that I wasn’t arriving at any solid answers.
Doing nothing at all...
That was certainly a question worth testing.
‘Would taking no action before the battle be the most efficient option?’
The response ca as quickly as ever.
[It is not.]
‘Hmm...’
If the answer had been Yes, that would have been troubling in its own way.
But as expected, doing nothing was not the correct answer either.
As I was lost in thought, I heard Serpina’s voice nearby.
"It seems that is not the right answer either."
"Well... It’s fine. If we continue eliminating possibilities one by one like this, we’ll eventually reach the correct answer."
"Indeed. I will humor you for as long as necessary, Swen."
Serpina smiled softly as she said that.
For a mont, I felt an urge to lean into that smile—
But I quickly shook off the feeling and turned my mind back to finding the right question.
But if doing nothing is not the right answer either, then what is?
I was certain we had tested nearly every possible action.
We needed to prepare for war, yet no matter what we attempted, it was deed inefficient.
Even choosing to do nothing was not the correct course of action.
So what were we supposed to do?
Was the answer simply to run away from the battle entirely?
"...Huh?"
Wait a mont.
A cold sweat trickled down my spine.
If nothing was correct—
If even staying still wasn’t an option—
"You seem to have realized sothing, Swen."
"Ah..."
I nodded slowly.
Then, carefully, I asked the question that had surfaced in my mind.
"Lady Serpina."
"Speak."
"Could you ask this question for —
'Is relocating all remaining border troops to the northern continent’s strongholds the most efficient course of action?'"
"...!"
For the first ti ever—
Serpina, who had always matched my pace and remained unfazed no matter what I asked,
showed a flicker of surprise.
Her pupils shrank slightly.
If I organized the information we had gathered so far, the conclusions were clear.
It was certain that the Aishus Army ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) had targeted us.
We had no choice but to prepare for war.
Yet when it ca to preparing for battle at the border,
every option was deed inefficient.
Even refraining from preparing for battle was not an option.
There was only one possible conclusion from this pattern.
Sothing must be done.
But any action that suggested preparing for a battle was inefficient for our army.
Which ant—
This ti, we had to avoid battle altogether.
That was my hypothesis.
We needed to withdraw our forces entirely, abandoning the battle itself.
Abandoning battle ant relinquishing our territory to the enemy.
Unless we were in a desperate situation, there was no reason to do such a thing.
Even if Aishus had finished preparing, they were still a small-to-mid-sized power, inferior to the Serpina Army in scale.
Would there really be anyone who would accept the idea of retreating without a fight?
And yet—
When all other possibilities were eliminated, this was the only answer left.
Serpina stared at in silence, her expression still tinged with surprise.
Then, after a short pause, she slowly spoke.
"Do you believe that relocating all remaining border troops to the northern territories is the most efficient course of action?"
And, as always—
The answer flowed in without hesitation.
[Yes.]
I let out a deep sigh.
We had no choice.
We had to abandon the border territories.
"...My lord."
For the first ti in a while, my voice carried unmistakable seriousness.
"Will you carry out my instructions, no matter what I say?"
"Swen, because it is you speaking, it is highly likely...
But I do not wish to make a reckless promise."
I could tell from her tone that she was willing to listen, but she wouldn’t blindly agree.
Without changing my expression, I spoke in a neutral tone.
"Withdraw all troops from the border."
"...?"
"In other words—
Move all forces to the northern continent."
"Hooh."
Serpina chuckled softly, running a pale finger over her lips.
"Are you claiming that this is the most efficient course of action?"
"Yes."
"Withdrawing troops from the border ans abandoning Hisphil Castle,
our foothold in the central continent that we barely managed to seize. Is that correct?"
"Yes, that is correct."
If the Aishus Army were to launch an invasion, their first target would be Hisphil Castle.
The alternative routes were far too inefficient.
"Then you are saying that this is no different from surrendering the territory outright."
"I understand that."
"I see..."
Serpina fell into thought.
She already knew that my conclusions were always correct.
Rather than demanding an explanation from as she once would have,
she was now contemplating the implications of an answer she knew to be true.
For , this was a welco change—
It ant I didn’t have to waste ti trying to justify my reasoning.
Still—
I needed to figure out why this was the correct course of action.
Frankly, I didn’t know.
I only knew that it was.
I had no idea what would happen,
only that withdrawing our forces was the right decision.
"...Wait."
What had Serpina just said?
"This is no different from surrendering our territory."
And yet, that was the most efficient choice.
Which ant—
Was sothing going to happen to Hisphil Castle?
If our occupation of Hisphil Castle itself was the problem,
then the conclusion was obvious.
There was only one possible reason.
"...Swen."
"Ah..."
Serpina’s voice pulled from my thoughts.
"Is it only our troops that need to withdraw?"
"...Excuse ?"
"What I an is—
Would withdrawing our forces alone be enough?"
Wait.
The fact that Serpina was asking this question ant—
"Could it be... you’re thinking the sa thing?"
"Swen.
If your 'clairvoyance' is infallible,
then in this situation, there is only one possible conclusion."
"Which is—"
Our voices overlapped as we reached the sa answer.
Plague.
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