The Strategist Knows Everything - Volume 3 Chapter 2
Part III: The Imperial State Edition
Chapter 2: Defensive Battle (6)
Translated by: Hiro02
Edited by: SevenTails
A place for negotiations between Fort Raire and the Albion forces was built at a rapid pace. Even though it was a negotiation site, it was just a tent.
The Albion soldiers were building it, and we were merely watching. I didn’t have the courage to order the soldiers who had just been fighting to work together. Of course, neither did Fio. If they were to, I know the result.
Blood was sure to be spilled.
With those thoughts in mind, a negotiation ground was quickly built between the Fort Raire and the Albion army. As soon as it was up to par, Charlotte came to my side.
“Are you really going to negotiate?”
Charlotte’s voice was as scary as ever.
It was probably a coquettish tone, but when it was done by a rugged old man with a thick voice, it felt a thousand times more creepy. In addition to that, Charlotte’s current appearance was not very good either.
His whole body was drenched in blood.
“You should at least wipe the blood off your face”.
“I’ll wipe it off later. And? What do you think?”
“I’ll respond to it. It’s the only way. After all, they’ve told us they’re ready to retreat.”
One of the reasons was that the soldier in the fort heard it.
If we didn’t negotiate and continue facing each other down, the other forts would just get captured. There was also the option of moving the main force to another fort without negotiating, but we would be immediately attacked if we were to do that.
In the end, if we didn’t negotiate, we’d be stuck. If the other side’s plan was to lure Fio and me into negotiating, we wouldn’t move forward without at least trying. The only ones who would be in trouble if the stalemate continued were us after all, so even though we knew it was an open invitation, we had no choice but to accept it.
The best thing to do right now was to minimize the number of wounds. Even with that as a premise, in order to win this negotiation, we needed to get the Albion forces to retreat in the Imperial State’s favour.
“We can take two guards. I’ll take Captain Ars, and Charlotte will take the other spot, okay?”
“Yes, I don’t mind. It’s my duty to protect Fiona.”
It was a good look but, with his waist crooked, it got ruined.
However, even with all the blood on his body, Charlotte had no external injuries at all. That alone left no doubt about Charlotte’s power.
Fio had left the selection of the two escorts to me.
If something happened in the negotiations, it would be close combat, so Mikana wouldn’t be a great choice. Of course, neither was Erica.
The other option left, Roy, was undeniably inexperienced, and more importantly, he was likely to say unnecessary things.
As a result, I chose Captain Ars as my escort, but we needed two guards to protect us. It would be safer to take a skilled person with us. That’s why the other one was Charlotte.
I was sure that Charlotte’s strong character would have some effect on the enemy.
“I’m counting on you, okay?”
“Oh? You’re planning to make it look tough? Then I’ll do my best to make it as rough as possible.”
Even though things could get rough, rough things should stay in rough people’s minds.
I admired Fio’s mental strength when she looked at Charlotte, who began to rotate her thick arms in some way.
I wouldn’t even last a day with this guy as my escort.
“Hey. Charlotte, can I ask you something?”
“What is it?”
“Do you like Fio?”
“What? Do you like me or something?”
“Absolutely not!”
What the hell is going through his mind? This guy…
I could understand if it was Fio. I don’t know what the hell drives him to think about himself like that.
“That’s too bad. I’m only interested in pretty boys and very pretty girls.”
“It’s not a shame at all, and you should know that few people meet your standards.”
“Oh? If I lower my standards, you’ll get in too, okay?”
“… I don’t care anymore.”
It was endless. No matter what I said, I always got a response.
If they were doing it on purpose, it wouldn’t matter, but the fact that it was almost unconsciously made it worse.
However, if the other side got stirred up from this, it would give us an advantage.
The most important thing in negotiations is to drag the other side into your ring. Fio and I have already been dragged out, and we’re already on the back foot in our response.
“I don’t like being taken advantage of.”
“The Four Wise Men are formidable, you know? Pix Randall is a crafty schemer who has been part of the Four Wise Men for quite some time. He has the greatest weapon of all, experience.”
“Experience can’t be lost. However, the people who live the longest are not necessarily the most experienced either. It’s all about how profound it is.”
“That’s not the same as complacency, is it? Is it confidence? Or is it that you know you’re going to win no matter what happens?”
Well, what did I think?
I smiled vaguely at Charlotte and caught sight of the tent that was almost finished.
We needed to get ready soon. Since both of the commanders are leaving, we needed to prepare for whatever happens after that.
“Mikana.”
I called out to Mikana, who has been behind me ever since before Charlotte arrived.
She was in a somewhat bad mood, probably because I chose Captain Ars as my escort, but she didn’t refuse to answer me.
“Yes, sir.”
“Gather the captains. Let’s discuss what happens next.”
“It sounds as if there’s a chance you won’t make it back.”
“We’re dealing with the Four Wise Men. We have to be ready for any situation. There are a lot of people behind us who don’t have the strength to fight.”
Our situation was similar in that we cannot lose.
No, the Albion side’s feeling is that they want to win, while the Imperial side cannot lose. We were the ones trapped in the first place.
The chances of winning this war were slim from the start. If we could negotiate with the enemy from there, then we’ve done well.
So we had to try making things a little better.
“Well, don’t worry. I’ll take care of myself this time, too.”
■■■
“Oh, here they come. The Great Wings of Eitel and…”
As I entered the tent, I heard the croaky voice of a short old man sitting on a chair. He looked at Fio at first but then shifted his gaze to me beside her and said, “Military Strategist of Veris. I am one of the Four Wise Men of Albion, Pix Randall. There is no need to refer to me as one of the Four Wise Men. Just think of me as an ordinary old man.”
His head was balding, his hands and face wrinkled. From the outside, he looked like an old man who might as well be in a nursing home.
However, only his green eyes have not aged. I thought I was going to choke the moment I made eye contact with those eyes.
“… You must be jesting, Lord Randall. If you were just an old man, then the people of the entire continent would be nothing more than mediocre,” I said as I activated my skill. His status appeared before my eyes, and as expected, they were all high numbers.
The combat power was in the 90s, intelligence over 120 and magic power also over 100.
I’ve seen that kind of status before. There was only one person, except for Dio-sama, that I have ever confronted with such a high level of intelligence.
Admiral Arnold.
Randall’s combat power and magic power were slightly higher, while Admiral Arnold’s intelligence was superior, but they are still similar. That meant that the two of them are close in strength.
When we confronted Admiral Arnold, we on Veris’ side had the upper hand against the Empire from the very beginning. It was why Admiral Arnold couldn’t get the better of us.
But now, the odds were stacked against us.
Status doesn’t lie. If it were a battle of wits under the same conditions, the one with the higher intelligence would win.
We also had Fio here, but it was not a battle of skill. Having the advantage in numbers is not always better.
“I think I’d be happier if I were less than mediocre. It would mean that nothing is expected of me, and I wouldn’t be sent to a battlefield like this.”
Laughing, Randall suggested that we take the seats he had prepared for us.
After saying a few words of gratitude, Fio and I took our seats, with Charlotte and Captain Ars standing behind us.
There was only one guard on Albion’s side. He had a fighting strength of about 50, and his other stats were not high either. It was not so much an escort but more of a caretaker for Randall.
“I think it’s a luxury of the fortunate. I have no self-confidence, so I always want to be better than others.”
“Don’t lie to me, Kurei. You don’t want to be better than others, do you? You want to be better than… your enemies, don’t you?”
Randall’s eyes slightly squinted as he looked at me.
Before coming here, I had told Charlotte that experiences were all about profoundness. Having had the experience of comparing wits with Admiral Arnold, I thought that even if Pix Randall were the wisest of the Four Wise Men, he would be no match for me.
I was shallow.
I felt a heavy pressure that was trying to crush me. I’m not sure if Fio felt it too, but she was sweating a little.
The atmosphere that Randall gave off now was similar to that of a fiercely battle-hardened warrior. He wasn’t just a strategist that stayed behind. He himself has been through a lot, and he had something to back it up.
He is a master of his craft. As a general of Albion, surrounded by enemy nations, he seems to have a few quirks.
Well, there’s no point in being scared here. Negotiation is also a battle. The first move is very important.
“I’ll leave it to your imagination. Now, I don’t have much time here, so would you like to move on to negotiations now?”
“I suppose so. It’s the only place where the fighting has stopped. Macefield is now marching with the 40,000 rear troops to capture the two forts. If we take too much time, then that girl will probably take down the other forts as quickly as she can.”
Even more refreshingly, he talked about his army’s strategy. If it was unintentional, how happy I would be…
But this old man was leaking information on purpose. He had no problem with us knowing, or maybe he thought that by telling us, he could pressure us, so he told us their plan.
“… That’s a big deal. If the fort is captured, there will be no truce or peace. If the front line collapses, the Imperials will make their final stand.”
I didn’t know why, but Randall wanted to stop the war. Well, that was if we believed his words.
If it was true, he would react in some way, and if it was false, he would react in another.
“Yes, yes. I want to go back to Albion, and I want a truce now. Isn’t that what you want?”
“Yeah. I would be very happy if you stepped down. It would save a lot of bloodsheds.”
“Indeed. Especially if there is someone who would benefit from us fighting.”
Those were meaningful words, but I can guess who would benefit from it.
I know people who are good at keeping themselves safe and letting others do what they want.
“… Yuri Stratos?”
“That’s right. He is the one behind this war. Thanks to him manipulating our King.”
Randall’s eyes, which were as undisturbed as the water on the surface of a lake, shook a little.
It was probably anger. However, it quickly disappeared, and he began staring at Fio and me again.
“If you know so much about him, then why don’t you… take him down?”
“Because that’s what he’s after. He has two objectives: to start a war and to drive the heroes of the world to the battlefield to become his pawns.”
That was enough for me to understand why Randall didn’t want to fight.
If I fought, I might be seriously injured, and if he was attacked by Stratos’ magic, he would not be able to resist.
There are probably many who have already fallen into his hands like that.
I see. Those who are injured, weakened, or exhausted indeed have more openings in their minds than those who are clearly conscious. It’s more efficient to manipulate them.
“And the other one?” Fio, who had been silent beside me, asked, but it sounded more like a confirmation than a question.
Randall, in response to my question of killing Stratos, answered, “That’s his purpose.”
What I got from his answer was…..
“To use those who come to kill him as his pawns. The King is already surrounded by his minions. If we go to defeat him, he will only have one more pawn.”
It was horrifying to think of the Four Wise Men becoming Stratos’ pawns.
Well, the fact that Kaguya-sama was in such a state must mean that the situation was pretty bad now that I thought about it.
In any case, Kaguya-sama was more troublesome than Randall, who was right in front of me now. His combat power as an individual was high.
It may seem safe to think that way, but they were still the Four Wise Men. If all four of them were to become the pawns of Stratos, a man of Randall’s calibre, it would be a real threat to the entire continent.
The previous king of Velis was also a dangerous person, but Stratos is no less dangerous in terms of his ability to control almost anyone. Both of them were the same in the sense that they both ignored the wills of others, though.
“I see. So we have to fight. Your objective is the fan that I have in my possession, right?”
“Thank you for being so understanding. It is the national treasure of our country, a treasure that denies Albion, the land of magic, from its very foundation. The divine fan Klarus. If possible, can you please return it to us?”
[TL Note: 神扇クラルス or Kamiogi Klarus means divine fan Klarus]
Is that the condition for withdrawal?
However, Klarus is a counter-weapon to Stratos, and by extension, to all those who deal with magic.
It is a powerful deterrent just by having it, and those who entrust it to me must have a certain amount of trust in me.
“This is something that Sophia entrusted to me because she believes in me. I’m sorry, sir, but I can’t just say I agree with that.”
“Well, I suppose you’re right. If I were in your position, I wouldn’t give it to you either. I don’t expect you to give it to me.”
“So, what do you intend to do?”
Randall smiled gently, like a good old man. And said…
“I’m taking you to Albion.”