Chapter 43

“Sir Swoen. You’ve done as I asked, so for now, I’ve prepared a modest altar for you to stand on…”

“Very good.”

Upon hearing Iren’s words, I checked the altar she had built near the fortress wall.

It had small stairs on both sides, and when you stepped up into the middle, it would surely be visible even from outside the fort.

Still, just in case, I thought I’d ask her about it.

“Um, Lady Iren.”

“What is it?”

She approached me closely.

Too closely, in fact – I could feel her body lightly brushing against mine.

Moreover, she wasn’t wearing her heavy armor across her chest to make transporting bricks easier.

Naturally, her absurdly large breasts pressed lightly against my arm.

Somehow, the distance between us felt different than usual.

But if she trusted me this much, it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

“Say, that hill over there – when soldiers come down from there, will they be able to see me clearly?”

“With the gentle slope of the hill…I think they probably would.”

“Good. Then that works.”

“…Though I am curious why you’re asking.”

Right.

Maybe I should explain to Iren…

Of course, I couldn’t tell her everything honestly.

But what mattered was that she recognized what I was doing.

“Lady Iren, can you promise not to be startled no matter what I say?”

Without hesitation, she replied instantly after hearing my words.

“I promise. Swoen, no matter what you say, I won’t be surprised.”

“…”

I slowly closed my eyes.

This is it.

I needed to act now.

First, I needed to convince myself.

From this point on, I was about to perform a miracle by summoning one of nature’s great phenomena – ‘lightning.’

However, it couldn’t appear in the form of magic. If it did, they’d start talking about proving I’m a mage or something.

Obviously, I don’t have the ability to cause natural disasters, so proof would be impossible.

While magic does exist in this world,

mages themselves only appeared very late in the game.

With not a single mage having revealed themselves yet, being branded as the continent’s first mage wouldn’t be wise.

My current lord, Lin Brance, didn’t like talents that couldn’t fit within his bowl.

If I became a mage, she might even turn against me.

Therefore, this had to be perceived as something other than magic.

So, with an expression of sudden enlightenment,

as if receiving divine revelation, I trembled slightly and said,

“Last night, I observed the sky. Seven stars were shining unusually brightly.”

“Seven stars…?”

“That’s right. And three of those stars…suddenly flared brightly before disappearing.”

“?!”

Iren tilted her head in confusion upon hearing my words.

Of course, she wouldn’t understand what I was talking about.

Truthfully, neither do I.

I’m just stringing together plausible-sounding sentences.

How could anyone understand what I myself barely grasp?

But…

That’s fine.

All this nonsense will be re-evaluated after the miracle occurs.

“The energy of the heavens is unusual. I believe, if we can interpret this flow correctly, we might achieve a miracle.”

“A miracle…? What kind specifically?”

“A miracle that could eliminate the Serpina Army all at once.”

“!!!”

Iren gasped in shock at my words.

“Could you explain further?”

Ideally, I wanted to boast, “I’ll summon lightning!”

But the weather was still clear.

With only vague predictions of a natural disaster, revealing my hand prematurely would be troublesome.

“In a few more days…I should be able to clearly read the flow of the heavens. That’s why I requested the construction of this altar. To communicate with the heavens.”

“Is…that so?”

Iren tilted her head again, clearly confused.

So cute, like a little animal.

But then she slowly closed her eyes, nodded gently, and said:

“Alright, Swoen. I don’t fully understand what you’re saying…but I don’t think you’re talking nonsense.”

Her words were appreciated, though it felt wrong to deceive her.

Still, showing results would be enough.

“Thank you for your trust. Starting today, I’ll be communicating with the heavens here for several days. If possible, could you bring me simple food during that time?”

“Not a difficult request.”

Great.

Now I just need to sit here for a few days, pretending to do something.

Let’s try communicating with the heavens, shall we?

I looked up at the sky.

Surprisingly, this time spent gazing blankly was incredibly refreshing for me.

Even though I wondered what exactly I was doing,

after checking my predictions and the rules of this game world multiple times, this was definitely the right answer.

“It’s fine. It’ll go according to plan. There were no other possibilities.”

Thus,

on top of the altar, I sometimes made mysterious gestures or quietly hummed lyrics of pop songs I remembered from my old world.

And this scene,

including Irene who brought me food,

was firmly imprinted in the minds of the soldiers in the fortress.

*

While Iren was overseeing affairs inside the fortress, a soldier rushed to her.

“Lady Iren, I have a question.”

“Speak.”

“Uh…Sir Swoen has requested two drums…”

“Drums?”

“Drums that can produce sound when struck.”

“I know what drums are…did he really ask for them?”

“Yes. He said even unfinished ones would be fine, but I don’t know where to procure them…”

Iren paused to think.

‘If I carve wood and overlay it with cowhide meant for food…I could make something similar.’

“Miss…Lady Iren.”

“Hmm? What is it?”

“Is this…appropriate? That is…how should I put this…”

The soldier spoke very cautiously.

As if it was extremely embarrassing to even bring this up.

“Sir Swoen’s actions…I cannot comprehend them at all. The Serpina Army is about to invade this fortress soon, isn’t it? We don’t even have enough time to check defenses and make more arrows, yet…he’s up on that strange altar, singing in an odd language and dancing…I, a humble soldier, cannot understand what Sir Swoen intends to do.”

Though choosing words very carefully, the conclusion was clear.

They don’t understand Swoen’s actions.

Being just a soldier while Swoen is a commander, they’ll follow orders for now – but they wanted clarification from Iren, who outranked Swoen.

And Iren immediately understood what the soldier truly wanted to ask.

An explanation for these incomprehensible actions.

“I understand your concerns. I haven’t been able to figure out exactly what he’s trying to do either.”

“But-”

“However.”

Iren slowly closed her eyes, then nodded gently before opening her eyes and looking directly into the soldier’s eyes.

“I’ll vouch for him. Swoen is not a man who does meaningless things. Think of this as following the orders of me, Irene Julieat.”

“Orders from Lady Irene…you mean…”

Exactly.

Though Swoen is somewhat enigmatic,

if Iren, who bears responsibility for everything, supports this,

then the soldiers can follow.

Who is she?

Isn’t she the one among all Branse Army commanders who cares most for even lowly soldiers like themselves?

“Understood.”

“Ah, while we’re at it, I have another request.”

“Anything, General Iren.”

“I’d like you to prepare some wood and cowhide.”

“Understood!”

The soldiers had eyes too.

They had witnessed all of Swoen’s strange behavior.

Not just this particular soldier, but quite a few had approached Iren with similar questions, which she managed to resolve each time.

Had Iren not intervened to mediate, given the lack of trust between the soldiers and the new commander Swoen, the altar likely wouldn’t have been built at all.

‘Swen. I trust you. Now…I won’t hesitate anymore.’

In this way, she firmly protected the man she had chosen to support.

* * *

Sure enough,

after a few days, the skies began to darken as if on cue, without obstructing visibility.

‘Just as predicted!’

Apparently, lightning, the second most probable natural disaster after landslides, was about to strike the Serpina Army.

Since I had based my story to Iren around lightning, I felt relieved internally.

Thus, while continuing to perform seemingly meaningful but actually empty actions like muttering aimlessly, selecting two soldiers to beat drums as I wished, placing paper with appropriate patterns on the altar floor and weighting it down with stones to prevent it from blowing away,

around that time,

“Hard work today, Swen.”

“Lady Iren.”

She brought me daily rations again.

Not luxurious, but just the right amount to satisfy hunger.

“Always very thankful.”

“No, you’re the one working hard. So, how’s the communication with the heavens going?”

“Progress is smooth. Before the Serpina Army arrives, I think it might be possible to alter the flow somehow.”

“I see.”

During all my antics,

Iren never questioned me once,

instead bringing me meals and tending to various matters in the fortress that I neglected.

Training soldiers, persuading or disciplining those who questioned my actions,

and even caring for the wounded – she was undoubtedly busier than I was with my pointless activities.

“I’d like to boil tea, but unfortunately this fortress lacks tea leaves.”

“Make it when we return home.”

Hearing my words, Iren smiled faintly again.

Lately, she seemed to smile much more often.

“I will. We’ll definitely return together.”

Seeing her smile, I genuinely wanted to perform a miracle.

Though I already planned to do so…still, having somewhere to return to fills a person with fulfillment.

‘This will work.’

Like this, I repeated to myself several times that it would succeed.

*

The enemy forces appeared

just as the sky darkened, ready to unleash rain at any moment.

“Enemies are coming!”

“The Serpina Army is in sight!”

Even without the soldiers shouting, it was clearly visible.

“Swen! I heard the soldiers, but surely…!”

After hearing the news, Iren rushed over and stood beside me, looking toward where the enemy was approaching.

“They’ve arrived.”

The army of Serpina was advancing.

At a glance, the number of soldiers appeared overwhelming, along with an astonishing amount of siege weapons.

One would wonder why they brought so many siege weapons just to attack a single fortress.

Normally, the fortress walls would crumble in less than a day. The defensive capabilities of fortress walls were nowhere near those of a castle.

When the soldiers reached near the walls and the catapults launched boulders at the perfect distance, it would essentially be the last moments for this fortress.

Therefore.

If my predictions are correct. And if my assumptions hold true.

‘It’s now.’

Now, at this distance, lightning will strike the Serpina Army.

What happens next will be crucial.

I slowly stood up from the altar.

“Swen…?”

I quietly said to her.

“Lady Iren. I will surely bring you victory.”

Then I looked toward where the enemies were advancing.

‘Come on.’

Thinking this, I spread my arms wide.

The grand performance of my lifetime, betting everything I have, was about to begin.