Became a Strategist with a 100 Intelligence and 100% Accuracy

A soldier guided me to the audience chamber within the royal castle.

"Lady Serpina will be here shortly. Wait here," he instructed before taking a position nearby.
I stood in place, casually glancing around the chamber.
The furnishings… were minimal, just enough to give the room a formal appearance.

Well, this wasn’t Serpina’s actual capital, so there was no real reason for excessive decoration.
As I stood there lost in idle thoughts, the soldier, who had been watching me with suspicion, spoke up.
"What do you think you’re doing? If you’re an envoy, act with proper decorum."

"Proper decorum, you say?"
"Kneel."
…Really?

I was tempted to argue—shouldn’t I kneel after Serpina arrives, not before?—but this was the heart of enemy territory. There was no point in creating unnecessary trouble before negotiations even began.
So, I complied and kneeled.
"Good. If you’re here as an envoy, then wait with the appropriate respect."

Yeah, yeah, whatever. I swallowed the words before they could escape my mouth.
I wasn’t really angry. The soldier was just doing his job.
More than that, I was impressed.

Every single soldier in Serpina’s army seemed to radiate an intense, almost fanatical loyalty. Even a low-ranked guard carried himself with the pride of one who served an absolute sovereign.
So, what kind of person was Serpina, really?
Since coming to this world, I had learned a painful truth—the characters I once knew as mere data had far more depth and individuality than any game script could capture.

I never expected Airen Juliet or Reika Nighhardt to have the personalities they did.
Serpina was known as a tyrant, a ruler despised and feared by many. But was she truly the same as the figure recorded in history?
Would she be the cold, ruthless woman I knew from the game’s data?
As these questions swirled in my mind, I remembered my past encounter with Serpina—the one that had ended in my death.

I had gone as an envoy, proposing an alliance based on Jinor’s near-perfect prophecy.
Serpina had imprisoned me and then executed me by beheading.
And now, here I was—once again, an envoy standing in Serpina’s domain.

…
I swallowed dryly.
Nothing bad would happen… right?

I had come here because my 100 Intelligence insisted this was the optimal move.
Based on what had happened at the northern fortress, my life wouldn’t be put at risk unless there was no other choice.
Even so, one thing still bothered me—the oracle’s words.

"It will be up to the will of the heavens."
Why was my choice the deciding factor?
What power did I, as an envoy, even have?

As I pondered these questions—
Creak—
The sound of an old door opening cut through my thoughts, followed by the distinct rhythm of approaching footsteps.

I kept my head lowered, waiting.
One step.
Another.

And then, the voice of the woman who was both feared and despised by the world—the so-called tyrant—echoed through the chamber.
"Raise your head."
I felt a slight jolt of surprise at the sound.

Her voice—
For someone branded a tyrant, it was… unexpectedly soft and beautiful.
Yet beneath that beauty, there was something fragile.

A charisma that could dominate the room, but at the same time… an unsettling sense that if nudged in the wrong way, she might shatter.
Slowly, I lifted my head to look at her.
…What?

If I had been my usual self—
I would have thought, "She’s beautiful."
No, more than that. She was stunning.

Up until now, I had only encountered a handful of women whose beauty could be considered exceptional.
Lunarian Iniang.
Airen Juliet.

Reika Nighhardt.
They were all breathtaking in their own right—undeniable beauties with a presence that left a lasting impression.
But this woman—Serpina—was on an entirely different level.

She was unfairly beautiful.
So much so that the others seemed merely ‘pretty’ in comparison.
If the concept of beauty could be given human form, this was what it would look like.

Golden hair that shimmered so brilliantly it was almost blinding.
Perfectly balanced, striking facial features, enhanced by accessories that seemed made solely to accentuate her radiance.
Soft pink lips that effortlessly drew the eye.

No words I knew could fully describe just how beautiful she was.
Lowering my gaze slightly—
She wore attire suited for a commander heading to battle.

It was far from the lavish robes of a typical monarch, yet the aura of authority she carried made it clear—
This was not a knight serving under someone else.
This was a ruler who commanded knights.

And—
Well, honestly, it was impossible not to notice.
She had a rather large chest.

Not as exaggerated as Airen’s, but about the same as Reika’s.
Given how unmatched Airen was in that regard, this still qualified as very well-endowed.
I did prefer women with a fuller figure, and by that standard, she was certainly attractive.

Yes—
If I had been my usual self, my thoughts would have been completely consumed by her looks.
She was breathtakingly beautiful, in a way that clashed with her reputation as a ruthless tyrant.

But—
That wasn’t what mattered right now.
What mattered was—

I had seen her face before.
"…The woman from my dreams…?"
It was certain.

The Serpina before me was identical to the woman from my dreams.
Ever since I had been brought into this world, I had dreamt of her from time to time.
In those dreams, I was always speaking happily with a golden-haired woman.

I could never remember what we talked about. Even within the dream, the conversation itself was never clear.
But one thing remained constant—I would always reach out for her as she drifted away, only to wake up, desperately calling out a name I could never recall once awake.
This wasn’t my first time seeing Serpina’s face.

But the version of her I had known was nothing more than pixelated graphics from the game.
Many of the characters I encountered in reality looked different from their in-game portraits, so I had never considered that the woman in my dreams could be her.
I recalled those dreams again.

The details of the events varied, but the ending was always the same.
I would always… in that dream… desperately call out ■■■■’s name.
No—

I always called out Serpina’s name in those dreams…?
And then—
"…Swen…?"

"…!!!"
Snapped out of my thoughts, I finally saw her properly.
Her golden eyes were wide, her pupils shaking violently.

No—her reaction wasn’t just surprise.
The real problem was that—
She had called my name.

I hadn’t introduced myself yet.
And for some reason—
A fleeting image flashed through my mind—

Serpina, crying.
…Why?
Why did I have this memory?

"Ah…"
"…"
For a long while, we simply stared at each other in silence.

Minutes passed, and my initial shock gradually faded, allowing me to think again.
‘Yeah. There’s definitely something here… but without knowing exactly what, there’s nothing I can do right now.’
If I remained logical about it, the only concrete fact was that Serpina was the woman from my dreams.

For some reason, she knew my name… but after the meteor incident, my name had become well-known.
She was a ruler—it wouldn’t be strange for her to have heard it.
Right.

No need to overreact.
Focus on the task at hand.
I broke the silence carefully.

"…I have come to deliver a message from our ruler, Yuri Aishus."
Bowing my head, I finally moved on to the main point.
Serpina, who had remained silent for a long while, eventually spoke—

Returning to her usual commanding tone.
"…Speak."
I glanced at her expression.

The panic on her face had settled into something unreadable.
I was still bothered by how shocked she had been—but first, the negotiations.
"Anima Ingram is an irreplaceable asset to our army. I plead for her release."

"You request the release of a prisoner?"
"Yes."
"Under what terms?"

"Naturally, we do not ask for this without compensation."
Lifting my gaze, I met her golden eyes directly.
Now that she had regained her composure, her presence as a sovereign was undeniable.

She carried the aura of an absolute ruler—the kind that could make a man’s breath catch in his throat.
But I couldn’t afford to back down.
"Seven thousand nine hundred gold. We have prepared what we believe to be the most generous offer for the release of a prisoner. We trust in your wisdom as a ruler to accept this reasonable exchange."

"Hmm? Seven thousand nine hundred gold."
It was, without a doubt, overpaying.
The usual ransom for a prisoner ranged from two to three thousand gold, with exceptional generals going for five to six thousand.

Anima was capable, but she wasn’t exactly top-tier.
Serpina surely knew this, so this price should have satisfied her.
That was our army’s assessment.

As for me?
I had disagreed with that assessment from the start.
Because if I were in Serpina’s position—

"I’m afraid I cannot accept that offer."
"…What do you mean?"
"Laccline Castle."

Serpina spoke without hesitation, her expression as firm as ever.
"I cannot release Anima unless Laccline Castle is handed over. Gold alone is not a sufficient trade."
Exactly.

If I were Serpina, I would have demanded Laccline Castle too.
She must have realized that, regardless of Anima’s individual worth, she was immensely important to the Aishus Army.
And the biggest gain Serpina could extract from this situation was Laccline Castle.

Even though Jinor’s prophecy had not been fully realized, Aishus was still struggling to maintain control over three territories.
If Serpina demanded one castle in exchange for a prisoner, it would be a chance to claim what had previously slipped through her grasp.
It proved that she wasn’t sitting on her throne purely because of her bloodline.

If she was reaching the same conclusions I was, then—
She understood how to navigate this world efficiently.
But we couldn’t afford to give up the castle.

And more importantly—I had no authority to make that decision as an envoy.
So did that mean I had to leave empty-handed?
But then—

Serpina’s lips curled slightly as she spoke again.
"…That was what I had intended to say."
"…What?"

"To be honest, I was planning to begin negotiations by demanding Laccline Castle. However, I have changed my mind. Laccline Castle… no longer matters."
She met my gaze directly.
For a moment, I had the illusion that her golden eyes—

Burned like a sun about to swallow everything.
"You request the release of Anima Ingram? Hm. That is not impossible. However—"
Her next words—

Made me understand.
I understood why the oracle had said this would depend on the will of the heavens.
"Swen. If you come to me."

"…What?"
"I mean exactly what I said."
Her lips curved into a soft smile.

For the first time—her expression shifted.
"I want you."