Became a Strategist With an Intelligence of 100 and an Accuracy Rate of 100%

4 – Part 4. Building the Foundation (1)

*

“Ah, ah… Let’s rest a little.”

Panting.

I sat down on the roadside and called Luna, who was leading the way.

I don’t know how long it took, but I’ve gotten this exhausted.

I didn’t know that having a low power level would be this inconvenient.

“Ah, yes…!”

Luna, who was walking in front of me, approached me closely and sat down next to me, as if apologizing.

“I’m sorry for not being able to rent a carriage… If we go a little further, our territory will come into view, so you can rest enough. Oh, here’s some water.”

I accepted the water bottle she handed me and drank it greedily.

As the moisture entered my exhausted body, I could feel my head clear up.

Finally, she came into my sight and made a very apologetic expression. I spoke directly to her.

“That aside… Are you still using honorifics?”

“Yes? What do you mean?”

“From today onwards, I will be commissioned as Luna Lion in the army. It means that Luna will be my lord. As someone who has become a lord, I don’t think it’s necessary to use honorifics for every subordinate. I wanted to convey that it may be the right path to treat subordinates as subordinates, as a ruler.”

In the midst of receiving education on equality and having a basic aversion to social hierarchies, modern individuals would be praised as “true leaders” who lack a sense of authority.

But now, in the medieval era where social hierarchies were firmly established, and in the midst of uncertain situations, it was not the right action for a ruler to belittle themselves excessively.

Upon hearing my words, Luna… once again lowered her head with a defeated expression.

“I… I see. But, I just… have a grateful heart towards you, Swen.”

“Are you talking to me?”

Luna blushed slightly and said.

“Yes. Except for the colleagues who have been with me from the beginning… you’re the first one to join our army. So, if it’s okay with you, I want to treat you well. That’s my honest intention.”

“Does that mean I am Luna’s first subordinate in practice?”

I recalled the experience of playing as Luna.

The recruitment of subordinates was not easy.

Well, the country was mediocre and the prestige of the ruler was nothing special, so it was natural.

Except for those who played as the king concept, no one chose to play as Luna.

“Then let’s make a deal. When you and I are alone, whether you use honorifics or not, you can treat me comfortably. However, when there is a third person present, when there are other subordinates or when in front of soldiers, I hope you will treat me as other rulers do to their subordinates. What do you think?”

“Other rulers… Do you mean that?”

“Yes. In order to rule over many people in the future, it is important to appear as someone worthy, no matter how difficult it may be. The values may vary depending on the era, but wouldn’t it be natural for you to strive to appear as a leader suitable for this era, considering your ambition?”

Unfortunately, it was an era of savagery.

In order to provide a sense of stability to the numerous soldiers in this era, there was a need to be a strong leader.

But.

Upon hearing my words, Luna made a perplexed expression and said.

“Well… about ambition, it’s a bit… I just… I simply wish for everyone to live in a peaceful world. Rather than ambition, it’s more like a dream, isn’t it-“

“Your Excellency.”

I deliberately cut Luna off mid-sentence.

If I were an ordinary lord, a mere subordinate who had just been appointed would find it unpleasant to interrupt their leader’s words.

No, even beyond being unpleasant, if she had the mind to do so, she could have slit my throat.

“Yes, what is it?”

She didn’t show any signs of displeasure and simply waited for my words like a gentle lamb.

“Have ambition. In an age without dreams, having dreams will only lead to assassination. Didn’t you say you wanted to bring peace to everyone? A lord who clings to trivialities like what words to use cannot bring peace to the war-torn continent. Do you understand?”

“…The war-torn continent…is that what you mean?”

I looked straight into her eyes.

Her red eyes were shaking pitifully.

No matter how many times I looked, she didn’t seem to have the appearance of a ruler who could unify this continent…

But I, with my intelligence of 100, was 100% convinced.

“Yes. Don’t lose heart. If Your Excellency becomes a ruler capable of unifying the continent…I, Swen, will definitely fill that vessel called the Grand Continent.”

“…!”

She listened to my words…and her face turned slightly red.

It’s worth mentioning again, she really is a beauty. A delicate figure I want to protect.

She gave off an impression of a flower blooming alone on a cliff.

I can’t fathom how she came to think of becoming a leader in the first place.

“…I understand. If Swen says so…I will not shy away from having ambition.”

“That’s good to hear.”

To change the atmosphere lightly, I turned the topic casually.

“It’s quite a distance from where I’ve been, isn’t it?”

“What? Ah…well, yes. Although it’s not impossible to go back and forth in a day if you invest the whole day.”

Luna nodded in response to my words.

This woman.

She came to recruit me five times, they said.

So she made this long journey back and forth five times.

It suddenly made sense, the story from the novel that she hired me after she had come to me three times in the distant past.

It’s grateful that she keeps coming to find me when I don’t have much reputation.

“Well then. Since I’ve been appointed, I should do my best rather than doing a half-hearted job.”

I looked up at the sky.

The sun was still up… It would be best to return to the territory before it gets dark.

Although my body hadn’t fully recovered, I couldn’t just sit and rest forever.

“Let’s start moving slowly.”

I slowly got up from my seat.

It still wasn’t easy to move my body, but adapting to this body was a problem I had to solve eventually.

“Ah, yes…!”

Upon hearing my words, Luna got up from her seat and started walking through the bushes once again.

*

“Huff, huff.”

Damn it.

My physical body, which had resolved to adapt quickly, was already putting me through trials.

This is how it is after climbing up a hill.

I couldn’t help but think that my power level might be lower than the estimated 10-15.

“We’re almost there… Are you tired?”

The sun was already setting.

It would be dangerous at night, and it would be a waste to camp out for a day.

From Luna’s perspective, not wasting time on this road, where enemies could appear at any moment, would be the best option.

“No… Let’s go quickly. It’s okay…”

I wish I could increase my stamina by doing something like exercise…

In this game, which seemed to follow the rules of a shoddy game, there were no commands to raise stats or anything like that.

It seemed like this world, despite looking perfectly fine, strictly followed the rules of the game… But until I knew how this applied, I couldn’t make a definite decision on how to act.

“…Hmm.”

After pondering for a moment, Luna approached me and spoke.

“Sir Swein.”

“…Yes, what is it?”

Looking at me, Luna turned around.

Then, she stooped down and casually spoke to me.

“Would you like me to carry you?”

“……Yes???”

What did you say?

Did I hear wrong?

“Swen-nim, you seem to be struggling a lot… If it’s okay with Swen-nim, you can rely on me. We’re almost there.”

“No, it’s not that…”

I want to say something, but my legs are trembling and I can’t speak properly.

I recall Luna’s Power Level.

It was definitely a little higher than average… Is she really okay?

After listening to her, I couldn’t sense any signs of her being tired.

Still, I’m a man and a servant.

It would seem pathetic to be carried by a lady master.

But…

“…Isn’t wasting time like this even more pathetic?”

If I think realistically, it’s better to just let her carry me here obediently, right?

With that thought in my mind, I leaned my body against her without hesitation.

“Please take care of me.”

“Yes!”

She carried me and successfully balanced herself before standing up.

Am I slightly lighter in weight?

Well, my arms are thin, my legs are thin… Overall, I feel quite light.

The food didn’t pass through much either.

I was carried on her back, looking at her side profile and thinking.

“I want to unify this continent for the sake of peace, don’t I?”

There might still be quite a few players who desire to unify this continent for the sake of peace.

However, there already existed a ruler in this game who embodied that concept.

Makana Karella.

She inherited the bloodline of the royal family of the fallen kingdom, Makana, which was destroyed for the sake of the previous unification, and now leads the Karella army as the current ruler of the now unified Serpina Empire.

She has long brown hair, giving off a feeling of being a rival and arch-enemy to Archina, who occupies the role of the “tyrant” in the game, with a very just personality.

If you do something like a tutorial, it would be an understatement to say that Karella was practically the protagonist country, as it was set up for players to learn the basics of the game while leading the Karella army.

Although the talent pool was small, all of them were SS-ranked, and if they could endure only the early stages, they could be operated just as impressively as Lynn Brandt, so it wasn’t necessarily a beginner-friendly country.

So, what I want to say is-

In this game, Luna is truly a non-existent entity.

There is nothing particularly outstanding about her, and she has never taken the lead in anything.

Even within the game where all the balance is randomly set, it was the same.

Just mediocre countries that always meet their downfall in the early stages. And Luna is among them.

Unless a user with a strange concept aims for her, she represents a small country that can ‘never’ achieve unification.

However.

I, or rather-

My brain with an intelligence of 100 is certain, numerous times.

That Luna will unify this continent.

Serpina, Brans, Asheas- the world unification that is considered impossible.

‘Although it’s hard to understand.’

My predictions are always correct in this world.

Whether it becomes a life-death situation or not, under the assumption that this prediction is valid, I had to stay by her side.

That’s how I safely entered the Lunaian territory, the small city-state ‘Zeilantr’.

*

“Is this the place?”

An old decrepit castle.

Dimly lit market streets with no vitality.

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A scenery emitting a gloomy atmosphere.

My first impression upon entering Zeilantr, which is just classified as a ‘city-state’ within the game, was as follows.

An abandoned town.

“Yes, that’s correct. The place where Sir Swen will reside is this house.”

She pointed to the old wooden house with a calm expression.

Well… I didn’t have any thoughts of living a luxurious life in a place like this, so I didn’t feel regretful or anything.

“When the day brightens, you can come to the castle in the center. Then… I hope you have a peaceful night.”

After bidding farewell to Lunaian, I entered the wooden house.

I heard a creaking, unpleasant sound and a very small room with a small window pouring in moonlight welcomed me.

Except for a worn-out bed where I could get some sleep, there was no other furniture in the room.

The house may be in this state now…

The larger the size of the city, the better the place you can stay in.

“For now, let’s go to bed.”

I laid myself on the old bed.

My first life as a book seller was about to begin.