---

<이거 전략게임 아니었나요 31화>

“Hey, bro, how have you been?”

Patriar greeted with a grin and a friendly tone. After sending his underlings away, the two sat down to chat. Patriar handed over a gift, claiming he dropped by while passing through.

“What’s this?”

“I just got back from a trip to the East. This is herbal powder I got there. It’s really effective for headaches.”

Kiris looked at the vial of powder he presented, then set it aside disinterestedly.

“Yeah, thanks.”

His tone didn’t sound grateful at all, but Patriar still kept smiling cheerfully.

They weren’t exactly the best of brothers, but they were siblings nonetheless, and Kiris didn’t despise or mistrust Patriar as much as he did Asmun. Unlike the scheming Asmun, Patriar had no ambitions for the throne.

In fact, Patriar seemed more like a hopeless slacker, coming back from a trip to the East with this cheap junk.

“Oh! By the way, have you heard the rumors, bro?”

When Patriar started, Kiris looked at him with little interest.

“About the Apprentice Priest from Haelv reading information on monsters.”

Patriar lowered his voice, as if he was sharing some big secret. But this was clearly something Kiris had already heard; his expression remained indifferent.

“I’ve heard, but no way does that ability exist. He probably just got a few scraps of info and pretends to know stuff.”

“But the Chancellor acknowledged him. He must have been verified.”

“What’s that guy, a jack of all trades?”

At the mention of Ibthan, Kiris frowned. Though he spoke dismissively, he knew well that Ibthan was a crucial talent for the Empire.

Kiris had been trying hard to pull him to his side for years, but Ibthan was as thick-skinned as they came. He showed no reaction at all and wore Kiris down to a pulp.

Ultimately, he had to give up on bringing Ibthan to his side, which only resulted in resentment towards him.

“If he really has that ability, it’ll be revealed soon enough. We’ll just have to wait and see.”

Kiris said this while scoffing. The idea of reading monster information was absurd; he had never heard of such a thing. And to think it was from an Apprentice Priest, no less. It wouldn’t be long before he was exposed as a total fraud.

Patriar nodded as if understanding his brother’s words, then suddenly stopped and leaned in with a conspiratorial whisper.

“By the way, do you know who that priest is, brother?”

This made Kiris raise an eyebrow.

“Isn’t he just some Apprentice Priest? He hasn’t even officially advanced.”

Patriar’s expression suddenly became intrigued. It seemed Kiris didn’t know this piece of information yet.

“You remember the priest who drew attention at the founding banquet?”

At Patriar’s statement, Kiris’s raised eyebrow froze in place. Suddenly, the clumsy face of the Apprentice Priest who had wrecked his plans popped into his mind.

The face of the fool who almost got eaten by Tannir instead of Asmun.

“That Apprentice Priest is the one who reads monster information. Isn’t that just hilarious?”

Patriar said it with a bright smile as if telling a genuinely funny story, and Kiris’s eyebrow contorted in an instant.

“…What?”

“Ah, the water’s cold.”

Eden was startled by how chilly the stream water was and flinched. As twilight approached, the temperature plummeted sharply.

But there was no other option at the moment, so she plunged her hands into the water and splashed her face.

“Ha…”

After washing her face thoroughly, she felt a bit refreshed.

Riding horses was incredibly exciting. Being able to control them with such ease felt like an amazing and enjoyable experience, but that thrill was fleeting.

“Ugh, how much longer do we have to go…?”

This world had portals and teleport scrolls, but it seemed they didn’t apply to knights like him, who weren’t royalty or nobility. After all, the amount of mana stones needed for so many people to move around would be insane.

Instead, the subjugation party, although small, included priests and mages. The priests were particularly high in divine power, serving as healers thanks to that.

‘Healer…’

Eden suddenly thought of Hagen’ti while gazing at the gently flowing stream.

「…Not a healer.」

Why did she even ask that question?

Hagen’ti even stabbed himself in the arm to test her.

Was there a reason for her to be a healer?

A perplexing thought trailed behind the image of Hagen’ti in agony. Come to think of it, why had he been in such distress?

Was he sick?

Eden furrowed her brows and replayed the situation in her mind. As she pieced together each part, her eyes suddenly froze.

“…Did I show up and that’s when it stopped?”

The moment she showed up, Hagen’ti had fainted. His pain must have stopped right at that moment.

So maybe Hagen’ti thought that her appearance was why his suffering ceased. That’s why he mistook her for a healer.

But…

“That was just a coincidence…”

It was just as Eden mumbled this when a thick shadow loomed behind her.

“What are you thinking so deeply about?”

Startled by the low voice, Eden turned around to find Asmun standing there. She jumped up, and Asmun glanced around unimpressed.

“You shouldn’t be alone after sunset, especially in a place like this.”

His indifferent tone felt almost like a scolding. Eden frowned. Now was not the time for reprimands.

“What are you doing here?”

Surprised by the sudden question, Asmun fell silent and stared at Eden blankly. His red eyes shone cold, like the setting sun.

Uneased by his expression, Eden quickly became defensive and began to explain.

“Well, what I mean is… this isn’t the time for that. If you keep wasting time like this…”

“Has a divine oracle been given?”

Asmun abruptly interrupted Eden’s speech with that question.

“Huh? Ah… No, not yet.”

“Then my only job right now is to ensure that you, Priest, survive and receive the oracle safely.”

With his emotionless voice, Eden let out an exasperated sigh.

So that’s why he came here.

Asmun was as direct as ever. It was as if he had no intention of hiding his purpose at all.

Obviously, if she died in vain at this point, it would mean significant losses for both Asmun and Ibthan. And since she was in a strategic game, judging people solely on their utility was only natural. Eden was just as much using Asmun.

“Don’t worry. I won’t die until His Majesty becomes Emperor.”

Eden said this boldly, adding a hint of bravado like it was a joke, and Asmun’s red eyes deepened even more.

A moment of silence settled between them. The setting sun illuminated his face, rendering his handsome features almost bathed in crimson.

Indeed, Asmun must have been the main character the production team put the most effort into crafting. While Kiris and Patriar were also handsome, none of them had that grand, mysterious aura.

As Eden found herself momentarily captivated by that picturesque sight, Asmun suddenly spoke up.

“You’re merely following the will of the divine, then?”

“…Huh?”

“Is there no will of your own in that?”

That was a strange question. Her own will? Eden looked at Asmun, who was asking such an odd question with confusion.

All she needed to do was make him Emperor; why would her will matter?

In this place, her will equated to the will of the divine. She had chosen Asmun.

“Of course, I want you to become Emperor.”

Eden replied nonchalantly, but more probing questions followed.

“Why?”

The quiet inquiry left Eden speechless. The answer was obvious. Because that’s how she would clear the game. But she couldn’t say that out loud.

“Well…”

Just as Eden was struggling to articulate her thoughts, Asmun stared at her as if he could see right through her.

“I just have a feeling you’ll make a great Emperor.”

With that statement, the surrounding atmosphere subtly shifted.

The peaceful sounds of the gently flowing stream, the chirping of nocturnal insects, and the pleasantly rustling breeze blended into the tranquil night air.

“It’s just that gut feeling of mine, you know? No, I’m sure of it. You will be a good Emperor.”

As night finally descended after what felt like an endlessly long day, Asmun gazed intensely at the person before him, who seemed to exist solely for him in this moment.

“You’re leading the charge against the monsters even now, aren’t you?”

Eden offered that obvious remark with a smile. It was a feeble attempt to flatter him, yet his expression remained eerily emotionless.

“…”

“…”

With an atmosphere as rigid as stone, it felt so embarrassing that Eden quickly retracted her smile.

“Well, that’s that.”

She murmured, trying to avoid his persistent gaze.

The sun was almost gone, and it was getting dark around them. In that darkness, Asmun was staring in her direction with an unreadable expression.

The awkward vibe made her skin crawl. Fearing he would ask for a more convincing reason to satisfy himself, Eden fumbled to speak.

“I, um, I’ll just head out first. I have a lot to prepare. You take your time washing up.”

Even though she had nothing to prepare since she wasn’t directly involved in the fighting, Eden hurriedly fled towards the camp, leaving Asmun behind.

“……”

Unbeknownst to her, Asmun was gazing at her retreating figure with eyes burning through her back.

 

---