Eureka

Inside Waldrova Castle.

All the young ladies waited quietly in one room for things to settle down, while the young masters held a contest to select a supreme commander.

Ferda had decided merely to observe.

He was better suited to excelling at tactics than devising an overall strategy.

Some renowned descendants of war-hero families from various regions had also joined the contest to build connections with Ferda.

The most eye-catching among them was a huge man.

‘Jonathan Sina.’

Jonathan Sina the Iron Wall, one of the twelve members of the expedition sent to defeat the Demon King.

He had inherited his ancestor’s exact name and looked so much like the statue of Jonathan Sina that one might think he truly was his reincarnation.

Jonathan Sina was the only descendant of an expedition member known to the public to any extent.

Ferda watched him, then suddenly grew curious and asked Isabella.

“As far as I know, Jonathan Sina isn’t very bright. Is that right?”

“That is correct.”

“What about his descendant?”

“He excels at tactics, but when it comes to strategy, he is an exact copy.”

Why did that idiot even participate?

Sina’s descendants were not the only surprising element.

An unexpected person was among them.

Olivia Arken.

The Imperial princess had joined as well.

She was the only woman in the contest.

She was not wearing the dress that usually exposed her cleavage.

It was armor made of a rare metal called altrium, light yet sturdy, with no pointless embellishments and designed solely for combat and practicality.

She had twisted up her long hair and arrived with an unpainted face.

They say seeing a woman without makeup ruins the illusion, but this woman did not give off that impression at all.

If anything, her air of purity was so strong that it felt refreshing, making the men around her sneak glances at her.

She walked a precarious line between her pure appearance and her role as a commander.

“Since this contest is being held during wartime, we will grade the answers and decide the results quickly. Each question will be worth 100 points, and there will be ten questions in total.”

Isabella conducted the judging.

That was only nominally true.

In reality, Mori, seated beside her, was in charge.

Mori was more objective than anyone when it came to hearing every answer, comparing it against the reference materials, and assigning points.

If the young men started arguing about why a mere little girl should be judging them, it would become troublesome, so it was better to borrow the dragon’s authority.

“Excuse me, Administrator. May I ask a question?”

Though she was merely the administrator of a single village, the young masters were deferential because she had dragon horns.

“Please, go ahead.”

“Where is that legendary adventurer named Eri?”

“Indeed. Rather than holding a contest, I think it would be more appropriate for her to take overall command of this operation……”

Eri was famous even among the nobility.

She had been offered numerous noble titles, yet vanished without even pretending to accept them.

It was rude, but she was so exceptional that even that was tolerated.

If they could only form a friendship with her, she would be the most dependable ally imaginable.

“She…… will be acting independently. She has been assigned a special operation with a small elite force for this incident. She will share strategic information with the supreme commander chosen today.”

To think this was an opportunity to stand shoulder to shoulder with a legendary adventurer.

The young masters’ enthusiasm burned even brighter.

“The first question: how do you handle limited supplies?”

How to utilize wartime supplies. How to deal with soldiers deserting……

The questions focused on matters knights were expected to know, so anyone who had studied warfare could answer them.

“This is the final question. You will be engaging in a full-scale battle with monsters……”

They were presented with scenarios for fighting monsters and offered their strategies.

“By charging to demonstrate the spirit of knighthood and break their momentum……”

“If we strike at their backs and sever their lifeline……”

Every one of them was disastrous.

They were talking about fighting humans or large-scale battles, without any understanding of monsters.

There were quite a few zeroes as well.

“Monsters must be fought in a different manner. We must rely on magical forces and move defensively, rather than on the bravery of knights.”

Surprisingly, only Olivia received an overwhelming score.

Ninety-eight out of a hundred.

It meant she knew not only textbook theory, but also that it had produced results when applied in actual combat.

After several more questions, the scores were announced.

“I will now announce the results. The chief of staff is Olivia Arken.”

Of course, they did not disclose the scores.

If they learned that Olivia had trounced them utterly, their pride would be crushed.

“I accept the Administrator’s decision, but may I hear what I was lacking?”

What he meant was that he could not accept it; he was simply making a prideful fuss.

They did not know that their opponent was a slave sage who possessed the Myriad Archive.

Isabella already knew the flaws in their answers through Mori, so she pointed them out sharply, leaving them unable to make any more unreasonable arguments and forcing them to keep quiet.

Olivia put on the chief-of-staff’s insignia and delivered her inauguration speech with a triumphant expression.

“Although I have become chief of staff, I have no intention of disregarding any of you individually. What we need now is a united will. Let us become one in that regard!”

Some admired her abilities, but there were still those who privately disliked the sight.

That was only natural.

A princess had inexplicably taken the position of their dreams, one they had devoted their lives to attaining.

No matter how much they adored the princess, if she stepped into their domain, their pride would inevitably be wounded.

Today’s events might make some of those who had held an idealized image of her question her.

‘But I can understand why she stepped forward herself like this.’

If they handed the reins to those substandard fools, they would have crashed and burned before things even began.

Trusting Olivia’s judgment, Ferda offered her his congratulations.

“Congratulations on becoming chief of staff.”

“No. This is only the beginning.”

Ferda read her gaze.

She seemed to want something.

“Regent, we are allies, aren’t we?”

“Since we share the same goals, I suppose we are.”

“I should put it another way. How much do you trust me?”

Since she had asked so suddenly, he could not give a clear answer.

She had been a reliable ally until she taught him to dance and offered a solution to the rumors.

But from the moment she suddenly broke her script, he had begun to wonder.

Could he really trust this woman?

“What is it you want?”

“You’re planning to operate soldiers using magitech rifles, aren’t you? You intend to move forward in earnest with this monster-subjugation operation as well.”

“That is correct.”

“Hand command of those forces over to me.”

First chief of staff, and now command of the army?

“Why?”

“My intentions are exactly what you see. I am standing here because I proved myself superior to the other men. This is the time to spur things on, not proceed halfheartedly.”

She tapped the table with her slender finger.

“I want to prove my abilities as both chief of staff and commander. I want to return home after earning merit in this crisis.”

She did not hesitate to reveal the ambition held by every young master who had participated in the contest.

“What do you think we can gain from each other? If I achieve great results in this subjugation, even the Empire will not dare ignore me.”

“A political career.”

“Exactly.”

Olivia smiled faintly.

But Ferda was not entirely pleased.

“Weren’t you trying to become a saint to enter politics?”

“Of course, that is one way. But this is already a good opportunity, isn’t it? I have to seize it while I can.”

Like everyone else, she had expressed her desire to turn this crisis into an opportunity.

Yet Ferda sensed a strange impatience in her words.

He knew why.

‘Becoming a saint is not ordinarily a simple matter.’

Reaching the Fifth Enlightenment was a level not even nuns who devoted their entire lives to convents could attain.

‘And Olivia failed to become a saint.’

She had not even reached the Fourth Enlightenment—in other words, the Fourth Circle.

As a last desperate struggle, she became a wicked witch who brought down the country and plunged the Empire into chaos.

Perhaps it would be better for her to enter politics as a commander.

She was genuinely well versed in tactics, and her eloquence was enough to impress even Erika.

But how wonderful would it be if he could accept all those abilities at face value?

She had once said it herself.

That she was like a jewel put up for auction.

If that jewel grew legs, more people would dislike it than love it.

‘Even so…….’

Her abilities surpassed anything Ferda could imagine.

He sensed the possibility that he did not know how to influence her in a way that would allow those abilities to flourish.

If the princess gained standing and Ferda gained merit as well, it would be a good thing; even if they gained nothing, it would never be a loss.

“It won’t be easy.”

“I know. What in my fate has ever been easy?”

Olivia smiled.

Ferda decided to hand command of the forces over to her.

“William, the current captain of the guard, is studying force deployment. I’ll appoint him as your adjutant, so discuss it with him.”

“He’s a knight cadet of House Yurei, correct? Understood. Come to think of it……”

Olivia casually tossed out a question.

“I don’t see the young master of House Yurei. I assumed he would participate, since his family has produced commanders……”

Why bring that up specifically?

It was uncomfortable, but he answered while pretending to be calm.

“I don’t know, either.”

“I suppose he may have run away or gone to another territory.”

Knowing it was an uncomfortable subject, he brushed it aside.

Although he trusted Olivia’s abilities, he decided it was still too soon to tell her about Marcus Yurei’s death.

Olivia took her leave and went to prepare for the war.

“What happened to Yurei?”

Ferda asked Luri, who was beside him.

“We buried him. Rather than erasing all trace of him and causing trouble, I thought it would be better to use preservation magic and bury him.”

“What about his army?”

“I asked, and apparently they’re preparing to defend Count Consilius’s territory with the others.”

“I see.”

“By the way……”

Luri glanced at him and asked,

“Did you know that Princess Olivia is beautiful?”

“I know.”

It was not that he lacked interest; he simply was not blind.

“Not everyone is as wooden as you, Lord Ferda.”

“I know that, too.”

“You did consider that Princess Olivia might take those troops and have them defect to the Empire, didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

He had imagined William becoming bewitched by her eloquence and beauty and joining the Imperial knights.

“If he falls for that, it will mean he is no more than that kind of man.”

Ferda could only hope William would not disappoint his faith in him.

* * *

After the position of chief of staff was created, they began building various scenarios through strategy sessions and mock battles centered around Olivia.

Erika came to see Ferda while they were in the middle of their busiest preparations.

“Regent Ferda. Are you all right?”

Ferda nodded.

“Are things going smoothly on the adventurers’ side?”

“Yes. I was in the process of organizing an elite unit for a special operation this time. That’s why I came to see you.”

“How can I help you?”

“It’s nothing else. There’s someone I was looking for, but I can’t find him. Isabella said she didn’t know, either…… so I thought perhaps you might know.”

“Who is it?”

“A man called the Armored Knight.”

The Armored Knight.

The man who had been the greatest contributor to the construction of Hestia Village.

“I heard he displayed incredible speed and strength during the monster attack. Is that true?”

“It is.”

“I thought his reputation might prove useful. I want to put him in the vanguard, so I was going to ask for his cooperation.”

“Hmm…….”

The Armored Knight.

Though he seemed a little foolish, Ferda thought he was a decent man at heart.

If he was there, as she said, he would be a great help in Erika’s special operation.

“Unfortunately, I only spoke with him once myself. The administrator would know his whereabouts best.”

“Is that so?”

Ferda did not know for certain, but he had heard the man had gone somewhere a week before preparations for the Beginning-of-Spring Festival.

When he asked Hanson, his closest aide, Hanson said the man had gone to visit his hometown for a short while.

But the man never said a word, so that was merely Hanson’s guess.

“It can’t be helped. I’ll put that aside for now and ask the descendant of ‘Jonathan the Iron Wall’ whether he is willing to try.”

“Please do so.”

Even though that was the end of her business, Erika did not leave.

She brought out the words she had been rolling around in her mouth.

“Bella told me.”

“Yes.”

“She said there’s a problem with the drinking-water supply.”

“That is correct.”

“Are you really sure you don’t need our help?”

The village’s situation was growing increasingly serious.

“Burnell asked for three days.”

“It’s been four days now.”

Burnell had missed his deadline.

He was still shut up in his room, fiddling with a crystal ball and books.

“If you’re considering morale, this is your last chance. People aren’t fools; they’ll notice that the water is running short. As resources dwindle, morale will naturally break.”

It was a sound argument.

Preventing a crisis was better in every way than dealing with one after it erupted.

It would be a lie to say Ferda was not anxious.

He was walking through a situation where he did not know whether this was the exit or whether he was sinking deeper into a maze.

At times, he found himself wondering whether he should have chosen the safe path and accepted a small loss.

What an adventure required was hope and courage.

Ferda was a man who believed both were useless.

“I’ll wait.”

And yet Ferda continued moving forward.

“Do you think that man named Burnell will succeed?”

“I don’t know.”

Ferda did not know what Burnell was doing now or what he was up to.

But there was one thing he did know,

“He hasn’t said that he failed.”

Burnell had not given up.

“So it isn’t over yet.”

As long as the man holding the lifeline of this land had not given up, Ferda could only trust him.

“If you stubbornly insist on taking a pointless gamble when the situation is uncertain, you’ll only increase the damage. Just look at what’s happening now--.”

“Wahahaha!!”

A voice suddenly laughing like a madman cut off Erika’s words and rang through the corridor.

Erika turned toward the open door.

There, a naked man with matted hair was running around like a lunatic.

He shouted,

“Eureka!!”