Became a Strategist with a 100 Intelligence and 100\% Accuracy-Chapter 256: The Second Magician (2)

This place is the large mansion where Lunarian Iniang resides.

In a small sitting room, Tifa and Violet sat facing each other across a desk.

"Thank you for taking the time today, Tifa."

"No, no. It's not every day Violet looks for me, so I couldn't help but come, curious. You don't even use swords, right? Or, are you trying to walk the same path as your sister and brother and follow the Way of No Arms?"

"That's not it... I just have something I'd like to ask."

Violet said this as she expertly poured the tea.

Tifa drank it heartily, making a subtle face before speaking.

"Ugh... it’s just hot. I still don’t get what the appeal of tea is. Next time, you could just bring beer or something."

"If I bring alcohol in the morning, Luna will scold me."

"Haha!"

After a few trivial exchanges, Violet spoke again, cautiously.

"Um... this might sound a little out of the blue, but could you tell me about the strategist who used to be in charge at Zeilant Castle?"

"Hm? You mean Swen?"

"Yes."

Tifa was one of the only three people who knew Swen, alongside Luna and Cain—though Jinor had met Swen, Violet felt much more at ease asking Tifa, who had spent a longer time getting to know him, rather than an outsider.

"I can tell you, but... why do you want to know all of a sudden?"

Violet considered briefly whether to just honestly say, "It seems like Luna is overly conscious of Swen," but she instinctively realized that discussing this openly at that moment wouldn’t be a wise decision.

"I heard from Luna that Swen was quite an important figure in our Lunarian Army... but I feel like I only know him in fragments. I think it’d be good to learn more about him."

If Violet were any smarter, she might have questioned, "Why would knowing about a subordinate be valuable?" but Tifa was more of a doer than a thinker, so she simply took Violet’s words at face value.

"Swen... what can I say... he was really something else. He was the kind of person who could make everything he said come true."

"Make everything come true?"

"Yep. For example... he’d just say something out of nowhere. Brans' army could easily take over our castle with their massive forces, but he'd just say, 'I'll negotiate with them, hold on until then,' and actually come back with a deal. That's the kind of person he was. Oh, and do you know what the most amazing part was?"

As Tifa explained about Swen, there was a sparkle in her eyes.

In fact, Luna was the same. Anyone who knew Swen spoke about him with such excitement, as if they had met someone extraordinary.

"He got Brans' army to pay us money during the negotiations."

"...What?"

"I'm telling you! He got them to pay us gold as part of the deal! Of course, we were the ones begging for peace, but Swen got them to give us money instead! We didn’t pay them for peace—he made them pay us!"

If this was true, it sounded like a ridiculous feat. And it was probably true. Tifa wasn’t the type of person to boast about outlandish things.

"When I think about that... I used to think that wars only needed strong people, but I realize now that in wars that aren’t fought with strength, you need someone who knows how to use their head."

"I see..."

"I wish I could’ve stayed with him longer to see even more of his amazing side. I don’t know where he is now or what he’s doing... why isn’t he coming back?"

"Isn’t Swen under Serpina’s army now?"

Violet cautiously asked, probing the situation due to Luna’s response, but Tifa didn’t react as strongly as Luna would have.

"That’s just a rumor, though, isn’t it? I’ve decided I won’t believe anything unless I see it with my own eyes."

"Is that so..."

Violet slowly lowered her head, carefully observing Tifa’s expression. This was fine.

While Tifa was indeed fond of Swen, she didn’t appear as obsessed with him as Luna did.

Violet briefly considered asking about Luna but soon dismissed the thought.

Tifa was a good person, but she didn’t seem like the right person to discuss such matters with.

"Oh, right, I almost forgot."

"What about?"

"You know, Swen."

Suddenly, Tifa spoke seriously, making Violet tense up and swallow dryly, but the words that followed were—

"He's incredibly handsome."

"...Excuse me?"

"I’m serious! I thought maybe Luna had just brought him in because of his looks and was following him blindly, you know? But turns out, she listens to him because he’s actually amazing."

Violet let out a small, forced laugh and replied,

"Is that so?"

"Yes! You know your brother, Francis, right? He’s definitely good-looking. I’ve heard that all the men from the Aingart family are handsome, but he’s definitely quite easy to look at. But let me tell you, even your brother has to step aside for Swen. Seriously."

"...Really?"

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

This time, Violet couldn’t help but feel a little self-conscious. She knew her brother was good-looking, but... more so than Swen?

"I’m telling you! Even if he’s been trained as a strategist, he’s still a teenage girl who should have been at the academy, so for a moment, I was interested—but..."

'...How stupid of me.'

In a time when people were dying left and right, what difference did it make if someone was good-looking?

Still, Violet didn’t mind having such conversations with Tifa.

She was a fierce woman who could swing a massive weapon on the battlefield, but talking to her was entertaining, and in these times, silly jokes had their value.

After that, Violet continued to hear various stories about Swen from Tifa.

Aside from Luna’s over-the-top obsession with him, it seemed that Swen was, indeed, a good person.

***

As rebels, everyone had accepted that peace could not last forever, but witnessing that undeniable fact firsthand was undeniably a shocking experience.

"So, you're saying... the Karelia Army has moved?"

"Yes. Their total force is estimated to be over 203,000 men."

The soldier, wearing a bright red armband on one arm, reported the situation with a somber expression.

A massive force, essentially scraping together all the soldiers from the entire nation. To securely occupy Tepello Castle, with its force of just over 90,000 men, they would need at least double that number.

Luna sighed softly, then turned to look at Jinor, who was standing beside her.

"It seems the rumors about the non-aggression pact with the Roland Army were true."

"That seems to be the case. With such a large force gathered all at once, their other territories must have essentially been left undefended."

As Jinor had said, it was inevitable that the Karelia Army had struck a non-aggression pact with the Roland Army. While it would cost them something, in their position, this was the only ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) way to wipe out the Lunarian Army in one fell swoop, in Jinor’s opinion.

"What about the possibility that Roland didn't sign a pact and tried to take Karelia's territory?"

"It’s highly unlikely. Karelia is a cautious type."

"In that case, what do you think about the possibility of Roland ignoring the pact and trying to seize Karelia's land?"

"That, too, is highly unlikely. For Roland, the best option would be to extract as much as they can through diplomacy with Karelia. Moving troops would only risk losing their homeland to Hesna, so from their perspective, it would be a decision that’s neither beneficial nor detrimental."

"Indeed..."

Luna quickly came to accept Jinor’s reasoning. Even if she were in Roland's position, she felt that simply negotiating and taking whatever they could from Karelia would be more advantageous than risking a military conflict that could lead to significant losses.

But now, the battle was inevitable. And it would be the first spark that ended the peaceful times of the southern region.

"Jinor."

"Speak freely."

"Do you think we have a chance of winning this battle?"

"..."

Jinor hesitated for a moment, then looked Luna directly in the eyes and asked,

"Would it be alright if I give you an honest answer?"

"I want your honest answer, which is why I brought you here as my strategist, even for a short while."

"..."

Jinor closed his eyes for a moment, maintaining silence before finally, with a sense of resolve, he gave Luna the harsh reality.

"At least, based on the information I have, the likelihood of our army winning this battle... is none."