Chapter 5

-- Suddenly.

This game, [Tactics Chronicle], is rich in fantasy elements, and as a result, it has several differences from ordinary historical war games. One of these differences is that, depending on how you raise your subordinates, it is possible to achieve a literal one-man army—essentially a "musou" game.

For example, a player who was particularly into role-playing once challenged a ten-thousand-strong army with just ten carefully raised subordinates and achieved a literal one-man army.

It seems there is a manga with a story about ten heroes conquering a country, and the player, being a fan of this manga, said:

"I just had to try it. I don't really have any regrets."

However, after annihilating the enemy's main force, he lacked the troops to occupy the enemy's city and was easily recaptured by the enemy's special forces. While attempting to retake the city, his capital, which was left defenseless, was overwhelmed by sheer numbers and ultimately became a vassal state. Reality can be cruel.

However, even a country that went for a gimmick managed to achieve a one-man army once. Therefore, it stands to reason that the military superpower [Alkymira] could do the same, with its military leaders possessing far greater power than the ten heroes of that country. Their combat capabilities are such that those skilled in wide-area destruction can take on over a thousand troops alone.

However, in [Tactics Chronicle], the king's combat ability is virtually non-existent.

His various physical abilities, starting with vitality, are on par with or even below those of a real-world human, and there is no way to train them. His attack power is set to zero by the system, and no matter how much he attacks, he cannot deal damage to the enemy.

In other words, in this game, the subordinates are strong while the king is the weakest entity. What I'm trying to say is that if a rebellion were to occur, Helian's fate would be sealed.

-- In other words, it's terrifying.

"Thank you for gathering, all military leaders."

He addressed the assembled military leaders with a calm demeanor, hiding his fear. He reminded himself that it wouldn't be kingly to stutter or look down and tried to project an air of authority that he didn't really have.

Incidentally, the wound on his palm had been treated by the third military leader before the audience began. It was now completely healed. When he felt unwell in front of Reive, he insisted it was just a sudden dizziness and that he was fine now. Even a simple examination by the third military leader found no abnormalities, so Reive didn't press the issue.

Moreover, it seemed that even the characters other than Reive had "personalities." The behavior of the third military leader who treated him was clearly that of an entity with a unique "personality," not a cheap AI.

"Although I would like to talk about various things, we don't have the luxury of time right now. Let's get straight to the point."

After a brief introduction, Helian turned his gaze to the assembled military leaders.

[Alkymira]'s army is composed of a total of eight legions, each led by a military leader.

The supreme commander of the army is King Helian, but in the absence of specific orders from the king, the discretion and detailed instructions are left to each military leader.

The number eight has no particular significance. Some countries have more than ten legions, while others have only five or six. In [Alkymira], it simply happened that the creation of appropriate legions for the operation of the state and, by extension, for war, resulted in a total of eight legions.

Currently, four out of the eight military leaders are kneeling before Helian.

First Military Leader:

The leader of a small, elite force responsible for various aspects of the king's support, known as the [Royal Guard]. Reive, the [Moon Wolf], serves as the king's aide and the overall military leader.

Second Military Leader:

The leader of the [Beast Knight Regiment], which primarily consists of beastmen and knights and is responsible for land combat. Balan, the [Sword Lion], is a knight in full white armor with a lion's head.

Third Military Leader:

The leader of the [Holy Spirit Corps], a group of specialists in healing and support. Eltina, the [Ancient Elf], is known for her golden hair that reaches her waist.

Sixth Military Leader:

The leader of the [Demon Legion], which is centered around demons and is responsible for intelligence and sabotage. Camilla, the [Nightmare Queen], has deep eyes and a seductive appearance.

These are the military leaders gathered in the audience chamber.

The first to third military leaders are reincarnated and evolved monsters that Helian had from the start of the game. They have relatively calm personalities, which is why they were summoned.

The sixth military leader, Camilla, was included because she specializes in the intelligence field.

The other military leaders, due to their strong personalities resulting from a focus on performance, were instructed to continue their tasks and were not summoned to the audience. Helian didn't have the courage to meet all eight at once.

"I have gathered you here for a reason. As you may already know, our country is facing an unprecedented situation. I would like to discuss how to handle it."

"---Yes, sir!"

Four voices responded in unison, perfectly synchronized, which gave him a slight sense of comfort despite the serious situation. ...They didn't practice, did they?

"First, let's talk about the phenomenon that has struck our country."

Recalling the speech techniques he learned in a university presentation class, he began to speak. He was glad he had taken the class seriously, even though he had thought it would have few practical applications at the time.

The four pairs of eyes watching him were a source of pressure, but he must not stutter or look down. He must face forward and speak confidently. This is the basic principle of speech.

"Our country, which was once surrounded by grasslands, is now covered by a deep forest. This phenomenon has never occurred since the founding of our nation. Therefore, the top priority is to understand the current situation... Reive, explain the [current] [situation]."

"Yes, I will explain in order."

He used <Key Language> just in case, but Reive's response did not include <Key Language>. It seems that insisting on <Key Language> is meaningless. Helian shook his head internally and changed his thoughts.

From this point on, it would be better to act as if he were dealing with a player character rather than an NPC.

"Some of the content I will explain has already been conveyed to you, but is that acceptable?"

"...Have the other military leaders been briefed?"

"Yes, the information I reported has been shared with them."

"Then time is precious. There's no need to repeat the results of security and reconnaissance. Just explain the other parts."

"Understood. I will begin."

He nodded calmly in response to the inquiring gaze.

(...Is this how a dignified king should act?)

He was unsure but had no choice now. He had to stick with this style.

"First, as I have already reported, the outside of the city is completely covered by a forest. The well-maintained roads that should extend from the main gates of the city walls are completely gone."

According to the investigation, this is true for all four main gates. The roads are not just buried in the forest but are neatly cut off at the boundary of the city walls.

"Therefore, it is highly likely that the capital has been cut out and transported somewhere—essentially a transfer phenomenon."

This almost confirms that it is a transfer. Transfer phenomena are one of the rare bad events that occasionally occur.

During a certain war, a unit that was crossing a mountain in a snow march to launch a surprise attack was transferred hundreds of kilometers away. The loss of the elite unit was a significant blow.

"Next, regarding the situation within the city, there is almost no damage to buildings. There were only a few small fires caused by residents mishandling oil. A few people were injured in the commotion, but they have all been treated by the medical team of the third legion."

This means that the situation within the country is relatively stable for now. It is easy to imagine that various problems will arise over time, but there are no urgent issues to address at the moment. Therefore—

"The immediate problem is the outside world."

"Yes. To avoid provoking the outside, we have limited our investigation to long-distance observation, but the forest itself seems to have an illusionary effect, making it difficult to gather information. Both magic and skills are being interfered with. According to long-distance vision without using skills from the air, we have identified some kind of artificial structure in the northeast direction, but the rest is covered by the forest."

"...I see."

He crossed his arms and pondered. Without a clear understanding of our current situation, he did not want to take rash actions. He needed information to decide how to interact with the outside world.

"Let's assume that the fact that our country is here has not been discovered by the outside world."

More than an hour has passed since the transfer, and there has been no contact from other forces. It is likely that [Alkymira]'s existence has not been noticed by other forces at this point.

"Being undiscovered is a significant advantage. I do not want to give up this advantage carelessly. In this situation, where we do not know what forces exist outside and how much of a threat they pose, it is even more important."

In [Tactics Chronicle], countries that neglected information often perished. Any action requires reliable information.

"Acting on the assumption that we can do as we please without anyone knowing our existence, such as there being no threats around us, is dangerous. Therefore, our immediate goal is to investigate the current situation while keeping our existence hidden and to gather information about the surroundings as quickly as possible. Do you have any objections to this?"

He looked at the military leaders, hoping they would understand that he was not being cowardly. Fortunately, no one raised any objections. He held back a sigh of relief and continued in his kingly mask.

"Then, let's proceed with this in mind. The fourth legion was supposed to handle long-distance investigations using magic. How is that going? The forest has an illusionary effect, but can't the fourth legion, a group of magic experts, break through it?"

"Yes. According to the fourth military leader, the basic structure of the illusionary effect's spell is completely different from what we know, and it will take time to decipher it."

He had no idea about the specifics of the spell, but he understood that there was nothing he could do immediately.

The fourth military leader, who specializes in magic, has the characteristic of being [Confident]. She rarely says "can't" in the field of magic, and when given a problem that takes time, she usually specifies the time required to solve it, such as "I will have the answer by tomorrow."

Since this [Confident] leader cannot determine when she can solve the problem, it is unlikely that a quick investigation through a magical approach will be possible.

Incidentally, subordinates can have up to eight [Character Traits], which deeply influence their personality and behavior. Good traits come with bad ones. For example, a good trait is [Serious], and a bad trait is [Selfish].

"However, if we use brute force, it can be done. When I asked, she said, 'If we dominate the surrounding mana with ritual magic or overwrite the forest's properties with a more powerful enchantment, we can do anything...!'"

This is a brute force approach, essentially breaking the lock by destroying the lock itself.

However, the preference for brute force is not limited to the fourth military leader. Most military leaders, due to their overwhelming power, tend to solve problems by force when they encounter difficulties.

Even Reive, when dealing with minor nuisances, tends to use physical force. For example, she once said, "I silenced a complaining dragon by hitting it."

If there were a [Character Trait] called [Muscle-Head], more than half of the military leaders would have it.

Why did I end up with such a group of military leaders? He wanted to scold his past self for not being more careful.

He suppressed a sigh and responded to Reive.

"Brute force is out of the question. If there are threatening forces around, we will reveal our existence. Even if we are already exposed, we don't need to confirm it by creating a conspicuous marker. We will consider it if we have more information, but for now, we can't take such risks."

"As I expected, I told her to 'restrain herself, wise muscle-head.' I will formally inform her that the order to prohibit brute force has been issued by you, Helian."

"...Umm, yes."

For some reason, Reive's tail started wagging. Although her expression remained calm, her fluffy tail was wagging back and forth, making a slight sound, which reminded him of a large dog eagerly seeking praise. Incidentally, the second military leader, Balan, who was kneeling next to her, looked annoyed.

...Well, at least it's helpful that emotions are easy to read. It makes it easier to determine the appropriate response.

Since Reive and he were in agreement, it was likely the right decision for the country to avoid brute force.

"From the air, we saw something that looked like an artificial structure in the northeast direction, right?"

"Yes. From the height within the capital's barrier, the details were unclear, but it appears that there are buildings in the forest."

He nodded, placing his hand on his chin in a thoughtful pose. Reflecting on his actions so far, he wondered if he had been acting kingly enough.

(I've been acting like a king, right...?)

He glanced at the four military leaders, but none of them seemed upset. However, this was just his hopeful thinking and not entirely reliable.

He was sweating nervously, his nerves frayed.

-- There is a reason why Helian is so concerned about his subordinates' reactions. In this game, [Rebellion] by subordinates is a system feature.

Unlike a certain famous game where captured monsters become loyal companions, there is no guarantee that once they become allies, they won't betray you.

If their happiness is extremely low for a prolonged period or their loyalty drops below a certain level, they can rebel without mercy. If a rebellion occurs and the rebel faces Helian one-on-one, Helian's death is almost certain.

As mentioned earlier, the player, as the king, is designed to be the weakest entity with no combat ability. Apart from a few kingly abilities, he is just a weak human who can be easily killed by monsters.

The reason these "powerful monsters" are bowing to Helian, a "weak human," is likely because he is the "king." In other words, if Helian is deemed unworthy of being king, a rebellion could occur at any time. Naturally, he has to be very careful in his role-playing as king.

Even though they have been together for a long time, he wants to believe they won't betray him so easily. However, since the transfer, he hasn't had a proper conversation with any of the military leaders except Reive. There is no guarantee that their personalities are the same as in the game or that they are still loyal. ...No, wait, this is a game. Or maybe just a dream. So, it should be fine. It has to be fine.

Further thoughts were dangerous, and Helian shook his head to clear his mind.

"I understand the general situation. If we want to avoid the risk of provoking the outside world and conduct further investigations, we need to use our feet. Sixth military leader, can I entrust the investigation outside the country to you?"

The sixth military leader, the Nightmare Queen Camilla, raised her head.

A female-type monster dressed in Victorian Gothic attire, exuding a seductive aura. Despite her youthful appearance, her demeanor is entirely that of a woman. Her crimson eyes are deep and alluring, and her facial features are more demonic than beautiful. Her chest is disproportionately large for her height, and the loosened laces of her top reveal a tight cleavage. If she were to wrap her arms around someone with a smile, no man could resist her.

However, she now had a slightly troubled expression, her eyebrows slightly lowered.

"My lord. If it is your command, my legion and I will do our utmost. That is a given... However, if asked whether we can explore the forest, I must admit there is a problem."

Problem?

Camilla's sixth legion is specialized in intelligence and information gathering for other countries. In terms of information gathering, they are unmatched by any other legion. The problem she is referring to...

"I apologize for admitting my limitations, but none of the monsters in the sixth legion, including myself, have experience in exploring uncharted territories. I cannot confidently say that we can do it..."

She said this hesitantly, looking apologetic. Helian, on the other hand, felt like tearing his hair out.

(I messed up...)

Indeed, they are specialists in intelligence and information gathering, but in a different direction.

The sixth legion was created more than fifty years after the founding of the country. By then, most uncharted territories had been mapped, and the world map was almost complete. The purpose of creating the sixth legion was for espionage during the Cold War era.

In other words, the sixth legion's activities were focused on espionage against hypothetical enemy countries, with a primary focus on human-mediated intelligence. Their espionage and information gathering skills are specialized in this area, and they have no experience in exploring uncharted territories.

Focusing only on the keywords "intelligence" and "information gathering," Helian made a mistake by entrusting the task to the sixth legion.

"Ah, no, I understand the difficulty of the situation. If there is no one else suitable, I will do my best with my sixth legion—"

"No, your