Became a Strategist with a 100 Intelligence and 100\% Accuracy-Chapter 289: When You Convey Your Heart, Do It Clearly
Neither Swen nor Airen says a word as they return to where everyone else is.
Of course, they may not have spoken out loud—but inside Airen’s mind, a massive storm was raging.
'......'
She’d done it.
Something she’d only ever imagined—she had finally gone through with it.
It had been half an impulsive decision, but that didn’t mean she had just acted on the mood.
The reason she came to feel this way—went back only a few days.
***
“How are you holding up, Reika?”
“Lady Airen...!”
Unlike Swen and Serpina, who rode side by side on horseback, Reika—unable to ride—was being escorted by soldiers at the rear of the procession in a carriage.
In particular, Reika wasn’t used to traveling for such long stretches. She tired even faster than Swen, who himself was known for lacking stamina.
Though she’d been sitting the whole time, Serpina thought she might still be exhausted from the extended march and sent Airen to check in on her.
Reika’s condition was of great importance to Serpina’s army.
As a mage, she essentially served as their ultimate weapon in most battles, and so their liege, Serpina, paid her special attention.
“Our lord asked me to check in on how you’re doing.”
“I’m fine. A-And what about Sir Swen...?”
“Swen’s fine. He’s pushing himself a little, but... he doesn’t look like he’s in any real danger yet.”
“I see... That’s a relief.”
Reika said that and curled her knees slightly, then—
“Um... Lady Airen. Could we talk for a moment?”
*
“It’s smaller than I thought. Looks like it’s built just for two.”
“Thank you so much...! For taking time out of your day...”
Seated in the carriage, Airen waved it off as if it were nothing.
“It’s nothing. I’m sure our lord will understand. So—what is it you wanted to talk about?”
“It’s not anything else, it’s just... I have something I absolutely have to tell you, Lady Airen...”
“Something you absolutely have to tell me?”
“Y-Yes...!”
Reika’s face was full of conviction.
Airen, curious at this rare display of emotion, tilted her head slightly and asked,
“What is it?”
Of course.
At that moment, she had no idea what kind of weight that answer would carry.
“I... I did it.”
“Hmm?”
“With Sir Swen... I did it...!!”
“...?”
Slap!
The sound echoed through the carriage as Reika clutched both of Airen’s knees with her hands.
“A k-k-k-k-kiss...!!!!!”
“!!!!”
“I kissed him...! With Sir Swen!!”
Silence.
After the loud smack of her hands, an almost indescribable silence filled the air.
Reika, grabbing Airen’s now-frozen shoulders as if begging, cried out,
“That’s why! I had to tell you—of all people!”
“W-Wha...?”
“You like Sir Swen too, don’t you, Lady Airen?”
“Wait, no, that, I mean...”
Still stuck back on the “kiss” part, Airen couldn’t even begin to process the conversation.
And Reika, practically dumping the whole story out all at once, pressed on.
It was the first time. The first time Reika—who always hesitated and hid behind others—had ever made herself so clearly present.
“I didn’t want to be petty about something like this...! I... I love Sir Swen too. I want to make him my husband. But I also... I also love you, Lady Airen. If I could live together with both of you, serving you both and building a family together... I would be truly happy...”
“Reika...?”
“So please, Lady Airen... If you also have feelings for Sir Swen... Don’t hold them back... If you miss the right timing, it could really...”
Only then did Reika slowly release her grip on Airen’s shoulders.
“...really end in a difficult situation...”
“......”
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
“If you have feelings you want to share, you need to share them while you can... If you wait too long, you could lose everything that matters to you... And once the threads of fate are tangled up the wrong way, it takes a very long time to untangle them. So please...”
“You must tell Sir Swen how you feel...!!”
Those words seemed to pull her wandering mind back into focus.
Is that it...?
If I don’t tell him, then it’s no good?
“But...”
Swen had asked her to wait.
If she forced her feelings onto him now, when he still had so much to do—wouldn’t that just burden him?
“I...”
Wouldn’t that just be selfish?
He already had his hands full with everything going on with Lunarian. Would she only make it worse?
“I can’t... I can’t be a burden to him...”
Reika, watching Airen stumble and fumble with her words, gently took her rough, battle-hardened knight’s hands in her own.
“I may not know what’s going through your mind. But I know this much—Sir Swen could never hate you...!”
“R-Reika...?”
“Sometimes I even got jealous... When Sir Swen speaks to you, Lady Airen, he becomes more charming than any man I’ve ever seen... He looks happier than when he talks to anyone else... So many people talk with Sir Swen, and he’s always so kind and warm to me too, but... but still... That expression he makes—that’s something he only shows when he’s with you.”
“...!!”
“So that’s why... There’s no way Sir Swen would be burdened just because you share your feelings.”
As she listened, Airen remembered what Serpina had once told her.
That only she could bring out that kind of smile from Swen.
Both Serpina back then, and now Reika here and now—they were saying the same thing.
That when Swen was with her, he smiled his most wonderful smile.
“Really...?”
Airen’s face flushed a deep red, and Reika smiled gently and nodded.
“Of course... You’re the one I love so, so much, Lady Airen. I’d never lie to you... So—”
***
‘She said I must be sure to share my feelings...’
Airen cautiously glanced back at Swen, who was walking behind her.
...The bewildered look on his face was obvious.
His cheeks were faintly flushed. What about me? Is my face red too, like his?
She didn’t have a mirror to check, but considering how hot her face had felt for a while now, she figured she probably wasn’t much different from Swen.
‘...Haah.’
What was she thinking, doing something so bold? What was she supposed to do going forward?
Even though she’d expressed her feelings, the truth was—she had no idea what to do next.
It was just... when Reika said she had kissed him, she vaguely thought—maybe I could do it too.
From the start, Swen had been the first man she’d ever gotten close to. She’d never learned how a woman was supposed to behave when conveying her feelings to a man.
And on top of that, in her own eyes, she had no feminine charm whatsoever.
Compared to Reika—sweet, delicate, and endlessly supportive—or Serpina—so beautiful she seemed more like a goddess one would want to devote their life to—Airen considered herself more like a tomboy.
Swen would probably be horrified to hear her say it, but Airen was so pure when it came to such things that she had absolutely no awareness of the destructive power of her own figure.
Still—
‘He didn’t say no...’
If Swen didn’t dislike it, then maybe it was okay.
She didn’t know if her feelings had been conveyed properly... but even so, two things were becoming clearer.
That she wanted to become Swen’s wife.
And that if Reika became his wife as well, the three of them could live happily together.
Living alongside both of them, what Airen felt more than anything was—a sense of belonging, a bond.
It was exactly what she had once longed for so desperately back when she was in the Brans Army, and had never been able to find.
***
Starting with Jogg Castle, it didn’t take much time to seize the rest of the territory.
The problem was, not just Jogg Castle—but the rest of the territory had all been set ablaze.
Of course, our side had gotten much faster at responding. There’s a huge difference between walking into ruins unprepared, and walking into ruins knowing what to expect. And our army had grown far more efficient and responsive as a result.
The greatest success to come out of that, without a doubt, was that Lady Serpina had finally begun to win over the hearts of the people in the central continent.
Back when she opened a relief camp, it had been limited to “those with family in the northern continent.” And from the perspective of the locals, it was a long journey to reach it—so it had limited influence.
But now, she had plunged straight into the heart of the central continent and was providing aid on the ground. Naturally, it was drawing the attention of far more people—
And in this situation, no matter how long someone may have lived under Brans’ rule, it was clear as day that they’d favor “those who entered the ruins to help” over “those who burned everything and fled.”
“Thank you, Lady Serpina...”
“We’ll never forget this kindness.”
After bringing some level of order to the chaos left behind in Chel’s territory—
Our army was finally able to gather our forces near Alkanwood Castle, where Chel had entrenched himself for one last stand.
Countless siege engines. Reika the mage. Well-fed, well-trained troops. Forces that vastly outnumbered the enemy.
Standing before what seemed like a battle we couldn’t possibly lose, Serpina carefully posed a question to me.
“What do you think, Swen? Do you believe we’ll win this battle?”
“......”
I figured we would win unless something unexpected happened, but still, I copied her question exactly as it was.
‘Can our army defeat Chel’s forces in the battle at Alkanwood Castle?’
The answer came out instantly.
And—
[We will win the battle itself.]
‘...?’
The result that appeared left me with a strange, lingering unease.
