Yeah, in my experience, in this ga, any unsolicited gold gift was almost always a betrayal. If they offered gold, there was almost a 100% chance that an ambush would follow, or they would eventually betray you.
Characters with an intelligence above 95 and the special ability [Betrayal] could use it against their allies. Giving gold was usually part of a betrayal strategy, used to mislead or set up an ambush. To detect such plans, you’d need a character with an intelligence of 99 or higher and the [Psychic Vision] skill. Parfalle, while a great tactician, was still in the low 90s in intelligence, so she wouldn't have noticed this strategy.
In the real world now, it's possible that the Charam and Aleffel armies might have given gold as a sign of goodwill, but my 100 Intelligence was predicting the usual scenario. The ga’s standard patterns couldn't be ignored.
However, to fully explain this hypothesis, I would need a crucial piece of information:
The existence of a tactician with an intelligence of over 95 and the [Betrayal] ability in a small nation like Charam.
'In a small country like that? What for?'
It wasn’t entirely impossible, but the odds were extrely low. Still, my 100 Intelligence couldn’t dismiss anything out of hand. Maybe if I asked, I could get an answer.
"Excuse , Airen. I have a request."
"A request?"
Airen, who had been lost in thought, tilted her head curiously and asked. Despite her serious tone, her actions were endearing, almost like a playful girl.
But...
'It feels a bit awkward to ask right now.'
I hesitated, unsure how to phrase my question, when Airen spoke up first.
"Swen?"
"Ah... Yes."
"Is sothing wrong? You’ve gone quiet all of a sudden..."
She looked at with concern, and I quickly pushed away my thoughts and answered.
"...It’s nothing."
Instead of pressing further, she nodded and began explaining again.
"Anyway, let’s move to the south. There aren't really any threatening countries down there, except for four."
The southern countries were familiar to .
Roland, Hesna, Karelia, and Ohana.
In the ga, with the AI controlling things, Karelia had a high chance of surviving and conquering the south, but it was also common for Ohana or Hesna to take control of the region. Roland rarely ever won, and the other smaller countries were destined for destruction unless the player took charge.
"Up until here. And lastly—"
She pointed to the northern part of the continent.
"The north is entirely controlled by Serpina’s army. You know that, right?"
"Of course."
Any small nations that aligned with Serpina’s army were destroyed within a year in the ga. In this world, without any deploynt restrictions, those nations would have likely fallen even faster.
With Airen’s help, I was able to confirm the current territorial setup. Checking the layout gave a small but valuable insight.
"Thank you."
I nodded my thanks and took out a new sheet of paper, grabbing my pen again.
"Hmm? What are you doing?"
"I thought I might as well sketch a map of the surrounding area."
Having played the ga for over 10,000 hours, the battlefields from the ga were still fresh in my mind, even after a few months in this world.
It would be helpful to organize them, especially since I had nothing pressing to do.
Airen nodded and placed a hand on my shoulder.
"Leave the lantern on. Just turn it off before you go to sleep."
"Is it okay? Won't it be too bright?"
"I’ve slept by campfires before, so I’m fine."
She said that with a light smile, then moved to lean against the wall, likely preparing to give up her bed again. It was a familiar gesture, but I appreciated it.
"Good night."
I planned to start with the eastern border of Aishus' territory. Slowly, I picked up the pen and began drawing.
The next evening, Airen left the house for a while, and I continued working on the maps of the nearby battlefields alone.
'There are more mountains here than I thought.'
Although they weren’t treacherous cliffs, there were many hills. The area around Arnel Castle had wide plains, but oddly, the border area seed to be filled with difficult terrain to cross.
Once I finished organizing the battlefields, I would keep checking it occasionally. You never knew when you might need that information for sothing important.
At that mont, the door opened, and Airen returned in her armor.
"You're back?"
"Mm."
She carried sothing in both hands and placed it on the desk. I looked at what she brought.
"This... this is at, isn't it?"
Fresh at, including several pieces of beef, along with various other foodstuffs.
Airen smiled at and said,
"I thought about it and realized that now that you're part of the household, I should offer you a proper welco."
So she bought at?
I was caught off guard by the unexpected kindness.
"You didn’t have to go this far..."
"It’s fine. It makes feel better. Besides, you look like you’re in pretty poor health. Is that right?"
"..."
I honestly didn’t have much to say. If I followed her routine, I would probably tire out within two hours.
The reason I accepted her offer to sleep in the bed wasn’t just out of politeness—it was because resting in bed helped recover, given my weak constitution.
"Don’t be discouraged. No one’s born strong. When you’re in this condition, at is the way to go. It’ll give you strength. Sit down, I’ll prepare it for you."
Airen said this while removing her armor. Her large chest swayed as she did so, and she changed into more comfortable clothes for cooking before starting to prepare the al.
'...'
As I spent more ti with her, I realized that Airen had an unexpectedly high level of resilience. No matter how dire her situation was, she didn’t let it break her spirit. Honestly, when I arrived as a male in this world, she must have felt humiliated.
The lord had sent her new male subordinate to live with her. It had to be a humiliating experience for her. Yet, she didn’t show any of that, and instead, she bought at to cook for .
'Why?'
Even with all the animosity from Lyn, it was hard to understand why she was treating this way.
Maybe it was because Lyn’s inability to treat Airen properly was the reason she could never beco a unifying ruler? Her narrow-mindedness and gloom seed to be what held her back.
Lost in thought, I heard Airen say,
"All done!"
She brought the dish to the table with a proud expression. It was amazing how much more sophisticated the dish looked, just by adding freshly cooked at to the usual rye bread and dried fish.
I took the fork and knife and began cutting the at.
This feeling. How long had it been?
After cutting it and taking a bite, I could really feel the life in .
"It’s delicious."
It was perfectly seasoned and cooked just right. She smiled brightly at my complint.
"I’m good at grilling at. When we camped out, I always handled the cooking."
"Really?"
"Yep."
She said, giving my back a playful pat.
"Swen, I know it must be uncomfortable living in a house with a different-gender officer, especially after seeing things you didn’t want to. I’m sorry I can’t fix that right now, but once a vacant house cos up, I’ll move you there. Until then, just bear with it."
She sincerely apologized, and I couldn’t help but feel her genuine nature.
I replied smoothly,
"What are you talking about? If you’re okay with it, I’d love to continue living here with you."
And about the things I’ve seen... well, that was the best view. But I decided to leave that unsaid.
"You’re really good at flattering . As I’ve said before, it won’t get you anywhere."
"No, I an it."
I said it sincerely. After all, it was true. Living with her was the best way to build a good rapport. Lyn may have sent here to tornt her, but for , this turned out to be a much better situation.
Plus, she was beautiful. Seeing her large chest every day was sure to extend my life.
Airen blushed at my words and awkwardly scratched the surface of her at with her fork, then sheepishly said,
"...Ahem, ahem. Let’s just finish the al."
She ate the at roughly without saying anything more. Her embarrassed expression was rather cute.
"Then, let’s eat."
I first thanked Airen for preparing the al, then I silently expressed my gratitude to Lyn for sending here—though, this situation was anything but bad. Then, I continued eating.
***
Three days had passed since I had been assigned to Brans' Army.
That ant the day had arrived for to participate in the Brans Army’s regular monthly eting. Although I had been floating around without much to do, I expected that I would be assigned so tasks starting this month.
I woke up early to find Airen, already in her armor, approaching .
"Are you ready to leave?"
"Just a mont."
I slowly got dressed and wrapped the outer cloak Airen handed around my shoulders. The front pocket of the cloak bore the emblem of Brans Army. Wearing it made feel a stronger sense of belonging than I ever had before. In the small nation of Lunarian, we never had uniforms like this.
I guess it’s true that it’s better to serve in a large organization.
"I’m ready."
"…Ah, one last thing."
"What is it?"
"It might be better for you to avoid getting involved with if possible. I’ll head out first, and I suggest you follow in five minutes. You know the way to the royal castle, right?"
"…"
I quickly understood the aning behind her words. She was probably suggesting that, given her strained relationship with Lyn Brans, it might be better to keep a certain distance, even from . I couldn’t help but admire her for saying this to soone like , who was practically a guest.
"Why would a newcor like understand anything? Rather than starting to get involved in politics right away, wouldn’t it be better to show a pure, innocent side?"
Airen smiled slightly, as if amused, and we were closer than I expected after just three days.
"You really don’t hesitate to speak your mind. I almost want to learn from you."
"If I get the chance, I’ll teach you."
She chuckled lightly before opening the door and stepping out. I didn’t wait five minutes, of course, and followed her imdiately.
The morning at East Arnel’s estate was peaceful. The sounds of the lively residents and the carts carrying goods filled the air. What stood out most was how many people wore uniforms bearing the sa emblem as mine. Were they all people working under Brans Army?
It seed like even soldiers and low-ranking mbers like servants wore the sa emblem. In the ga, only generals used these, but to manage such a large organization, there were probably many "Jas" types—people who worked behind the scenes but were essential to the army’s function.
It was a thought that left a bittersweet feeling, but I didn’t have ti to dwell on it.
Soon enough, we arrived at Arnel Castle. The sounds of people greeting each other echoed through the air. By this point, people should have recognized Airen and greeted her, but surprisingly, no one approached her.
The few who did greet her were all low-ranking staff, like her servants or attendants.
‘So this is what it ans…’
Was this because people saw interacting with Airen, who was disliked by Lyn Brans, as pointless? A strange sense of resentnt filled , and I stepped closer to her.
Fortunately or unfortunately, no one paid any attention to , assuming I was just one of Airen’s attendants. While how others viewed us didn’t matter much, it was interesting to note.
After walking a bit longer, Airen and I entered the eting room inside the castle.
Inside the castle, there were a lot of people standing in a line on either side. Just the people I could see imdiately numbered in the dozens. Comparing this to the five people in the royal castle at Zeilant, it was clear—this was a far larger operation.
It seed that Lyn hadn’t arrived yet, as the throne was empty.
"This way."
I followed Airen’s directions and positioned myself behind her to the right. Not long after, a loud cry echoed from the soldiers.
"The lord is coming!"
With the echo of footsteps filling the castle, the footsteps grew louder, and I saw her.
Lyn Brans, the absolute will of Brans Army—her long blue hair and beautiful appearance masked the cruelty beneath it.
She entered with Parfalle in tow and ascended the throne with graceful steps. Then, in a tone that was surprisingly solemn for soone known for being sowhat frivolous, she addressed her subordinates.
"Alright. Is everyone here? We're starting the monthly eting of Brans Army. No objections, right?"
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