Chapter 132
Eureka
Inside Valdrova Castle, the young noblewomen remained together in a single chamber, waiting for the unrest to settle.
Meanwhile, the young noblemen held a competition to select a supreme commander.
Ferda chose to observe rather than participate.
Large-scale strategy was not to his taste.
He preferred fighting on the tactical level.
Among the contestants were the descendants of famous war heroes from across the continent, all eager to earn Ferda's favor.
One man stood out immediately.
A Jonathan Sina.
One of the Twelve Heroes who had set out to defeat the Demon King had been Jonathan Sina, the Iron Wall.
This young man had inherited not only his ancestor's name but almost his exact appearance.
He looked so much like the original Jonathan that one might mistake him for his reincarnation.
Among the descendants of the Twelve Heroes, Jonathan Sina's bloodline was one of the few still widely recognized.
Watching him, Ferda casually asked Isabella,
"If I remember correctly, Jonathan Sina wasn't particularly bright."
"That's correct."
"And what about his descendant?"
"An excellent tactician."
"But in terms of strategy..."
"He's exactly like his ancestor."
Then why is he even competing?
Yet Jonathan wasn't the only surprise.
Someone entirely unexpected had also entered.
Olivia Arken.
The Imperial Princess was the only woman participating.
She wasn't wearing her usual revealing gown.
Instead, she wore armor forged from Altrium, a rare metal that was both lightweight and durable.
Its design contained no unnecessary ornamentation.
Everything about it emphasized practicality and combat efficiency.
Her long hair had been tied neatly back.
Without makeup, her face looked almost impossibly pure.
People often claimed a woman's bare face ruined the illusion.
Not Olivia's.
If anything, she looked even more graceful.
The men around her couldn't help stealing glances.
She walked a delicate line between gentle elegance and commanding authority.
***
"Since this competition is being held during wartime, we'll grade everything quickly."
"Each question is worth one hundred points."
"There will be ten questions in total."
Isabella served as the official judge.
Officially.
In reality, the person truly evaluating every answer sat beside her.
Mori.
She listened to every response, compared it against countless records, and scored each participant with absolute objectivity.
Explaining that a little girl possessed the knowledge of an entire grand library would only invite arguments.
It was much easier to let everyone believe the judgment came from a Dragonspawn.
"Lady Administrator."
"May I ask a question?"
Although Isabella was technically only Hestia's administrator, the dragon horns upon her head ensured every noble addressed her respectfully.
"Go ahead."
"Where is the legendary adventurer Eri?"
"Indeed."
"Wouldn't it be better if she simply took command herself instead of holding a competition?"
Even among nobles, Eri's fame was immense.
Countless aristocrats had attempted to grant her noble titles.
She had refused every one before quietly disappearing.
Ordinarily, such behavior would have been outrageously disrespectful.
Yet no one held it against her.
Her accomplishments eclipsed all etiquette.
If someone could simply befriend her...
They would gain an incomparable ally.
"Eri..."
"...will be operating independently."
"This crisis requires a small elite force for special operations."
"She'll coordinate strategy later with whoever is chosen as Supreme Commander."
To fight alongside a legendary adventurer...
The young nobles' enthusiasm flared even higher.
***
"The first question."
"How do you manage limited wartime supplies?"
Questions followed one after another.
Resource allocation.
Maintaining troop morale.
Handling desertion.
Everything centered on the basic military education expected of knights.
Anyone who had seriously studied warfare could answer.
Eventually Isabella announced the final problem.
"Last question."
"You are about to engage monsters in full-scale combat."
"Describe your strategy."
The contestants eagerly responded.
"We'll charge bravely and crush their morale!"
"If we strike their center and cut them in half..."
The answers were dreadful.
Almost every participant approached the problem as though fighting humans.
Or conventional armies.
Very few understood how monsters actually fought.
Several contestants even earned zero.
"Against monsters..."
"You must abandon knightly bravado."
"You rely upon magical firepower and maintain a defensive formation."
Only Olivia gave an outstanding answer.
98 out of 100.
Her response went far beyond textbook theory.
She demonstrated genuine understanding of how such tactics worked in real combat.
After several more questions, the scores were finalized.
"I'll now announce the results."
"The position of Chief Strategist goes to..."
"Olivia Arken."
Naturally, Isabella did not reveal everyone's actual scores.
Learning they had been utterly crushed by the princess would only wound their pride.
"Lady Administrator."
"I accept your decision."
"But could you explain where I fell short?"
He claimed to accept the result.
In truth, his pride simply wouldn't allow him to admit defeat.
Unfortunately for him, he had no idea he was challenging someone whose knowledge rivaled an entire Grand Library.
Thanks to Mori's analysis, Isabella calmly pointed out every flaw in his answers.
Her criticism was so precise that he could only lower his head in silence.
***
Olivia accepted the insignia of Chief Strategist.
Standing before everyone, she smiled confidently.
"Although I've been appointed Chief Strategist..."
"I have no intention of looking down on any of you."
"What we need now..."
"...is unity."
"So let us stand together."
Many admired her brilliance.
Others did not.
Naturally.
The position she now occupied represented the dream many of them had pursued their entire lives.
Suddenly...
An Imperial Princess had taken it from them.
No matter how much they adored her...
Having her step into what they considered their field bruised their pride.
Some who had idolized Olivia until today might now begin seeing her differently.
Still...
I understand why she stepped forward herself.
If command had been left to those utterly unqualified men...
The campaign would likely have collapsed before it even began.
Trusting Olivia's judgment, Ferda approached her.
"Congratulations on becoming Chief Strategist."
"No."
"This is only the beginning."
Ferda met her gaze.
She clearly wanted something more.
"Lord Regent."
"We're allies, aren't we?"
"We do share the same objective."
"I suppose that makes us allies."
Olivia smiled faintly.
"Then let me ask differently."
"How much do you trust me?"
The question caught him off guard.
Until she had taught him to dance and helped resolve the rumors surrounding him...
She had seemed like an utterly dependable ally.
But after she unexpectedly shattered the original scenario...
He had begun to hesitate.
Can I really trust this woman?
"What is it you want?"
"You're planning to deploy soldiers equipped with magitech rifles."
"This monster campaign will be their first true battlefield."
"That's correct."
"Then..."
"Entrust command of those troops to me."
First the position of Chief Strategist.
Now the command of his newest military force.
"Why?"
"My intentions are exactly what they appear to be."
"I've already proven that I surpass every other man here."
"I didn't fight my way to this position just to proceed cautiously."
"This is the moment to press our advantage."
Olivia tapped the table lightly with one slender finger.
"I want to prove myself."
"As Chief Strategist... and as a commander."
"I want to distinguish myself in this campaign and return in triumph."
She voiced, without hesitation, the same ambition every young nobleman who had entered the competition secretly harbored.
"What do you think we stand to gain from one another?"
"If I achieve great success in this campaign, even the Empire won't dare ignore me anymore."
"So... you're aiming to enter politics."
"Exactly."
A faint smile appeared on Olivia's lips.
But Ferda wasn't entirely comfortable with the idea.
"Weren't you trying to become a Saintess to enter politics?"
"That was certainly one path."
"But isn't this also an incredible opportunity?"
"I have to seize it."
Like everyone else, she intended to turn this crisis into an opportunity.
Yet something about her words made Ferda uneasy.
He knew why.
Becoming a Saintess is no easy feat.
Even nuns who devoted their entire lives to the church rarely reached the Fifth Enlightenment.
And Olivia never became a Saintess.
She hadn't even reached the Fourth Enlightenment—the equivalent of the Fourth Circle.
In the original future, her final desperate act had transformed her into a seductive calamity who threw the Empire into chaos.
Perhaps...
Entering politics as a military commander would be a far better path for her.
She genuinely possessed exceptional tactical insight.
Even Erika had been impressed by her powers of persuasion.
Still...
If only it were that easy to accept everything she showed at face value.
Once, Olivia had described herself as a jewel displayed at an auction.
And if that jewel suddenly grew legs and walked away...
Far more people would hate it than admire it.
Even so...
Her abilities exceeded anything Ferda had imagined.
Perhaps she really could carve out a place where those talents could flourish.
If the Princess secured political influence while the Princeps's Dominion gained military achievements...
Everyone would benefit.
And even if she failed...
The Dominion would lose nothing.
"It won't be easy."
"I know."
"When has anything in my life ever been easy?"
She smiled.
At last, Ferda nodded.
"I'll entrust command to you."
"The man currently studying how to organize those troops is William, the captain of the town guard."
"I'll appoint him as your deputy."
"Discuss everything with him."
"The former knight apprentice of House Yurei?"
"Understood."
"...That reminds me."
Olivia asked the question casually.
"I haven't seen Duke Yurei's eldest son."
"Considering his family's military background, I assumed he'd naturally participate."
Why bring that up now?
The question made Ferda uncomfortable.
Still, he forced himself to remain calm.
"I'm afraid I don't know."
"I suppose he may have fled."
"Or perhaps he's already returned to another territory."
Apparently sensing the subject was unpleasant, Olivia let it drop.
Ferda trusted her abilities.
Even so...
He decided it was still too early to tell her about Marcus Yurei's death.
After exchanging farewells, Olivia departed to prepare for the coming war.
***
"What about Yurei?"
Ferda asked Luri.
"We buried him."
"I thought it wiser to preserve the body with preservation magic rather than erase every trace of him."
"And his troops?"
"They've joined Count Consilus's forces to prepare the fortress defenses."
"I see."
"...By the way."
Luri glanced sideways at him.
"Lord Ferda."
"Are you aware that Princess Olivia is incredibly beautiful?"
"I am."
He wasn't blind.
He simply wasn't interested.
"Not everyone is as dense as you are."
"I know that too."
"So you've already considered the possibility that she might persuade those soldiers to defect to the Empire?"
"Yes."
He had already imagined William, captivated by Olivia's beauty and eloquence, accepting a commission as an Imperial knight.
"If he falls for something like that..."
"...then that simply means he was never worthy of greater trust."
All Ferda could do was hope William wouldn't betray the convictions he believed he possessed.
***
After Olivia's appointment, strategy sessions and mock battles continued under her leadership as she prepared countless battle scenarios.
During the busiest part of the day, Erika came looking for Ferda.
"Lord Regent."
"Do you have a moment?"
He nodded.
"How are things on the adventurers' side?"
"Very well."
"I'm organizing an elite unit for a special operation."
"That's actually why I'm here."
"What do you need from me?"
"I'm looking for someone."
"Neither Isabella nor anyone else seems to know where he is."
"I thought perhaps you might."
"Who?"
"The Armored Knight."
The Armored Knight.
The man who had contributed more than anyone else to Hestia Village's construction.
"I've heard he displayed unbelievable speed and strength during the monster attack."
"Is that true?"
"It is."
"I'd like to ask for his cooperation."
"I want him serving on the front line."
"Hmm..."
The Armored Knight.
He seemed a little slow-witted.
But fundamentally...
Ferda considered him a decent man.
As Erika said, someone like him would be an enormous asset in a special operations unit.
"Unfortunately..."
"I only spoke with him once."
"If anyone knows where he is, it would be the administrator."
"I see."
As far as Ferda knew, the man had disappeared about a week before preparations for the festival began.
Hanson, his closest associate, had guessed he'd briefly returned to his hometown.
But since the Armored Knight barely spoke at all...
That was only speculation.
"I suppose it can't be helped."
"I'll leave him for now."
"Perhaps I'll ask the descendant of Jonathan 'the Iron Wall' Sina instead."
"That would be wise."
***
Although their business had concluded, Erika didn't leave.
Finally, she spoke the words she'd been holding back.
"Bella told me."
"Yes?"
"...About the drinking water."
"That's right."
"Do you truly not need our help?"
The situation in the village was becoming increasingly dire.
"Burnell asked me for three days."
"And now it's been four."
Burnell had failed to meet his own deadline.
He remained locked inside his workshop, endlessly poring over books and crystal devices.
"If you're thinking about morale..."
"This is your last chance."
"People aren't fools."
"They've already realized the water is running out."
"And once resources become scarce..."
"...morale will inevitably collapse."
She was right.
Preventing disaster was always better than trying to repair it afterward.
Ferda would have been lying if he claimed he wasn't anxious.
He no longer knew whether he was walking toward salvation...
...or merely deeper into a labyrinth with no exit.
More than once, he wondered whether choosing the safe option and accepting some political losses might have been wiser.
Hope and courage.
Ferda had always believed both were largely meaningless.
Yet...
"I'll wait."
Even so...
He continued moving forward.
"Do you really believe Burnell will succeed?"
"I don't know."
Ferda had no idea what Burnell was doing behind those closed doors.
Nor what kind of solution he was chasing.
But he knew one thing.
"He never said he had failed."
Burnell had not given up.
"So this isn't over yet."
As long as the man who held this territory's future in his hands refused to surrender...
Ferda would continue believing in him.
"If you cling to pride when the outcome is uncertain..."
"...the damage only grows."
"Even now—"
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!!"
A burst of manic laughter cut Erika off.
It echoed thunderously through the corridor.
Both of them turned toward the open doorway.
A man came running down the hall.
His hair was greasy and disheveled.
He wore nothing at all.
Like a madman, he sprinted toward them, shouting at the top of his lungs—
"EUREKA!!"