Chapter 6. Recharging

Andrei Komarov was in a great mood when he shoved Viktor, that thorn in his side, into solitary confinement.

He hated seeing a mere commoner rise to the position of commander-in-chief and act so haughty, and it made his stomach churn to hear people praising him as superior to everyone else.

Although he had never been to the battlefield himself, Andrei was convinced that if he went to the battlefield, he would be far superior to Viktor.

He always won overwhelmingly in war games with other officers of the kingdom, and later, everyone refused his proposals for war games or duels, making all sorts of excuses, perhaps out of fear.

To Andrei, Viktor was nothing more than a lucky commoner.

He thought that the imperial army's defeat by Viktor was simply due to their incompetence, and that if he had been in command, the enemies wouldn't have even seen the capital city of the Rus Kingdom.

Because he looked down on Viktor like this, Andrei was furious at Viktor's seemingly relaxed attitude even as he was being dragged away.

He disliked everything about Viktor - the strange questions he kept asking, his pretense of being kind and obedient.

Locking him in solitary confinement was Andrei's arbitrary decision, filled with his emotions.

Of course, Count Savinkov, who gave the order, had only said to keep Viktor confined in a suitable place until the negotiation team arrived, but from Andrei's perspective, it sounded like he could put Viktor wherever he wanted.

Excited, Andrei put Viktor in solitary confinement to break his spirit.

He thought that after suffering in solitary for a few days, Viktor's shell would crack and his true nature would be revealed.

"They say the meals being put in aren't decreasing."

"Is that so? Let him do as he pleases. We're going to release him in a few days anyway."

Andrei didn't think much of the report from the guard on duty.

Not eating for a day or two wouldn't cause major problems, so Andrei didn't want to bother Viktor further, who was already suffering unnecessarily.

Leaving orders with his men that there was no need for further reports, Andrei attended a party hosted by the nobles.

---

'General Viktor has been arrested by the Royal Guard!'

The rumor, which started spreading from the soldiers who directly witnessed the arrest, had a greater impact than the kingdom's nobles had anticipated.

Since most of the troops were gathered in the capital city, the rumor that Viktor had been taken by the Royal Guard spread instantly among the soldiers.

Although rumors of a ceasefire negotiation being concluded also spread, the military atmosphere was not good because the causal relationship could be easily understood from the fact that these two rumors spread together.

Everyone knew.

How many officers had been replaced and how many troops had died before he became commander-in-chief.

In contrast, the 1st Corps, which General Viktor had commanded from the beginning, was famous for having few casualties, to the extent that it was nicknamed the Immortal Corps.

Most of the troops were conscripts, young men who just wanted to survive and return home, and the lower-ranking commanders were those who originally had high mortality rates.

Viktor was loved by almost all soldiers except for the high-ranking commanders of noble origin.

The imperial army had become a fearsome entity due to numerous defeats in the early stages, and Viktor, who had achieved overwhelming military results against this imperial army, became the last hope of the Rus Kingdom.

Coupled with the country's need for a figurehead, he was almost revered as a hero in both the military and civilian sectors.

When such a Viktor was suddenly imprisoned, discontent began to erupt among the soldiers.

The rumor that began to spread at the same time, that he was arrested to be handed over to the empire, added more fuel to this.

When it was even reported that General Viktor was locked in the underground prison of the royal palace and wasn't even eating, voices arose saying they should storm the palace and rescue him immediately.

In fact, many people attempted to approach Anna, who was considered Viktor's de facto successor, and even some of the noble-born commanders who had been friendly to Viktor made contact with her.

Although Anna declared a temporary hold due to concerns about security and the possibility of success, those who were already prepared to draw their swords began to check their authority and the troops under their command, preparing for what was to come.

The situation was so serious that the word 'rebellion' was openly mentioned in places where they gathered.

The nobles and the Royal Guard members who carried out the mission were not entirely unaware of this situation, but they didn't take it seriously because officer purges and the resulting discontent were frequent occurrences.

In the end, only a minority harbored discontent, and it was easily resolved by purging them or suppressing them by force.

The nobles were only afraid of Viktor not accepting the arrest at all, and didn't care much about the spread of discontent.

They thought that all problems would disappear if they removed Viktor's subordinates, including Anna, after the heat had cooled down a bit, and then handed over Viktor, the central figure, to the empire a few days later.

Only a very small number of people seriously worried about what was to come.

The nobles, having set aside their worries, were satisfied with easily pulling out the thorn that was Viktor and enjoyed the relief.

They even held a party in the royal palace with the young puppet king seated, and rumors that the nobles who had sold out General Viktor were enjoying the party spread again, adding fuel to the soldiers' anger.

Although the war had stopped, tension was rather escalating in the capital city of the Rus Kingdom.

---

[Heroic Victory!]

[Imperial Army Strength: 1,500

Imperial Army Casualties: 724

Rus Kingdom Army Strength: 6,200

Rus Kingdom Army Casualties: 5,882]

"Hah."

It was a tough battle.

It was a scenario of defending against the Rus Kingdom army's counterattack with city guards, but when I set the difficulty to maximum, the enemy Rus Kingdom army was much stronger than the actual kingdom army.

The initial kingdom army would run away even when winning if not strongly encouraged, and would scatter in panic when imperial knights appeared, but in this simulation, each soldier of the kingdom army was a warrior who fought to the death.

I was able to win through desperate individual battles because the kingdom army was weak in cavalry and firepower and attacked in scattered groups, but if they had all gathered and rushed in at once, it would have been difficult to defend with poorly armed guards.

As the tension eased after ending the battle, a tremendous hunger, as if I hadn't eaten for days, overwhelmed me.

"I guess I've been starving for a long time."

I had taken care of business and drunk water in between, but I had roughly filled my hungry stomach with water because I didn't want to waste time eating.

I feel a bit tired, probably because I haven't slept at all.

It had been quite a while since I had been so comfortably immersed in a game.

Come to think of it, this is who I originally was.

Before coming to this world, when I didn't want to waste holidays, I would sit in front of the computer for days without eating or sleeping, and now those memories were coming back vividly.

When I opened my eyes and removed the cloth I was using instead of an eye mask, I could see bright midday sunlight coming through the window.

After the sun first rose and I forcibly opened my eyes, I had completely covered my eyes with clothes, so I had no sense of how much time had actually passed.

"...I don't know."

With just the information that the sun had risen, there was no way to know which day it was.

I had conducted too many battles to calculate based on the time spent in simulation, and I hadn't counted them one by one.

It doesn't really matter how many days have passed.

I'm trusting Andrei's eye corners that trembled when I mentioned the expected date, saying it was three days.

It could be a bit problematic if Andrei was mistaken, but anyway, I can just enjoy a few more days of simulation.

Seeing bread crumbs rolling on the floor, it seems they're properly providing meals, so in some ways, this might be more comfortable than when I was struggling as a commander.

Although seeing the food made me feel hungrier, I put it back where it was originally because I didn't want to get drowsy after eating.

"Let's do a bit more, just a bit."

When I go to the empire, I'll surely be busy.

I'll have to work hard to secure my position and for my postponed dream of world conquest.

Not knowing when I'll have another chance to enjoy this comfortably without risking people's lives, I slightly eased my hunger by drinking water and lay back down on the bed.

As I covered my eyes with the eye mask again and was about to start the simulation,

-Click. Click. Creeak.

Hearing the sound of someone opening the door, I removed the eye mask and sat up on the bed.

After waiting for a moment, the door blocking the entrance opened wide.

"Ha. You're tough, really tough. How did you handle the ropes... Ah, never mind."

A now somewhat familiar silhouette walked in through the open door.

"Andrei."

"I hear you didn't eat a single meal. What are you so dissatisfied with, huh?"

Andrei, who had been scanning the interior of the solitary cell, looked at me with a slightly disgusted expression.

The Royal Guard members standing behind him were also secretly glancing at me as if looking at a strange person.

"What do you mean?"

"For all three days, you just lay still and only drank water. Is this some kind of protest?"

It's already been three days?

Hearing that, I do feel extremely tired.

"Is that so?"

"...Let's go. Pull him out."

Perhaps because the life of just running simulations without any worries was too enjoyable.

I felt a bit regretful when they said they were letting me out of solitary confinement.

"I think I could stay a bit longer."

"...He's out of his mind. Quickly take him and tie him up."

"Understood."

Two Royal Guard members came in and supported me.

"Ah... It's a shame, a shame."

"...Pardon?"

Leaving my regrets behind, I was led out of the solitary cell by the arms of the Royal Guard members.