Became a Strategist with a 100 Intelligence and 100% Accuracy

"Sh-should we begin...?"
"Yes. Please proceed."

We were at the back of a mountain not too far from Valharat Castle.
Standing before a massive lake, Reika and I were conducting an experiment of sorts.
"T-then...!"
Closing her eyes, Reika conjured a fireball in her hand once more.
I checked the rapier in my grip.

...No reaction.
'What’s going on?'
No matter how long I waited, nothing seemed to change.

I turned to Reika and decided to go over the situation.
"That’s enough, Miss Reika. I don’t think we need to go any further."
"Ah, y-yes…!"

Reika easily dispelled the fireball from her hand.
What I had wanted to test just now was whether this rapier, if it truly functioned as a magic amplifier, would activate regardless of the circumstances.
And I had just received my answer.

Coming all the way to the lake in case of any unexpected results had turned out to be pointless.
Honestly, I had anticipated this outcome to some degree. If the weapon had reacted to magic, it should have shone when Reika demonstrated her abilities in front of me.
'Does it require specific conditions?'
If there were conditions, then what exactly were they?

I considered asking Reika, but since this wasn’t directly tied to national affairs, her answer would likely be something vague like "I don’t know."
"Um..."
"Hm?"

Lost in thought, I turned as Reika approached with a worried expression.
"What… What’s happening right now?"
"I was hoping to get the same reaction as before, but it’s not working out."
"…"

Reika seemed to recall what had happened before and suddenly looked frightened.
"Miss Reika?"
"Sir Swen... I think magic might be far greater than I ever imagined. Can I... really control this power...?"

She opened her pale hands and stared at them.
Her voice trembled, and so did her slender arms.
Up until now, magic for her had likely been nothing more than conjuring fire or ice from her hands.
But going into battle… meant using those powers against living people.

She must have accepted that fact in some way to have come this far.
Her childhood as an orphan had surely taught her how the world worked, and she had survived against all odds.
If she had any hesitation about this path, she wouldn’t have learned magic in the first place.
But what if that same firepower had been directed at a group of soldiers instead of a castle wall?
With just a flick of her wrist, she could snuff out dozens of lives in an instant.

Now that she had confirmed her power exceeded her own expectations, her anxiety was understandable.
I gently placed a hand on her trembling shoulder.
"It’s okay, Miss Reika."

"Sir Swen..."
"Your power is meant to protect others. As long as you don’t forget that, you’ll always be able to control it."
"The desire to protect..."

Reika remained silent for a while, deep in thought.
Then, slowly, she nodded.
She didn’t say anything, but I could tell her trembling had subsided.

'Regardless, it’s going to be difficult to figure out the activation conditions right now.'
It seemed like a weapon that could be incredibly useful if we figured it out—but as I stared down at the rapier in disappointment—
"Um… Sir Swen."

"Yes?"
"Could you… hand me that sword for a moment?"
"This?"

I pointed to the green rapier.
She nodded.
The blade wasn’t exactly dull, but it was an ornamental weapon at its core. There wasn’t any real danger in letting her hold it.

"Here you go."
"Thank you…!"
Reika carefully took the rapier with both hands, holding it respectfully.

She then gripped the hilt and closed her eyes.
I watched as she took a deep breath… then, after a brief pause, slowly opened her eyes.
"There’s mana inside it."

"What?"
"This sword… I think it absorbs mana."
It absorbs mana?

"How can you tell?"
"When I close my eyes… I can feel something flowing inside the sword. When my fireball was drawn to it earlier, I sensed something similar. So I tested it just now, and…"
"Then why isn’t it working now?"

Reika hesitated for a moment before replying in a cautious tone.
"I can’t be sure… but maybe… it hasn’t gathered enough mana yet?"
"It hasn’t gathered enough mana…"

Just as I was about to delve deeper into thought, I noticed her fidgeting.
"Is there something else you want to say?"
"Ah?! N-no, I mean…!"

So I was right.
"You can speak freely."
"It’s just that… it’s only a guess, not real information…"

"I make a living off guesses, you know."
Reika’s voice shrank as she responded.
"I-is that so…? But Sir Swen, you’re incredible…"

"And yet, here I am, wanting to hear your thoughts. Isn’t that enough?"
"Uuugh…"
Her face flushed red, as if embarrassed by my words.

"Well, um… maybe the meditation helped?"
"Meditation?"
"You always practiced it with me, didn’t you…? Every time we meditated together, I could feel the mana inside me flowing more clearly. So, since you carried this sword around… maybe it was influenced by your meditation… or something…?"

Huh?
Now that she mentioned it, that actually made a lot of sense.
For me, meditation was just a way to pass the time.

But I had done it regularly.
And every time we meditated, Reika, a mage, had told me she could feel the mana gathering.
Not to mention, she had mentioned multiple times that the mountain was overflowing with mana whenever we visited.

'So… could it be that the sword works like a kind of "battery"?'
I still needed to conduct a few more tests, but—
At the very least, I had found a lead in what had previously been a complete mystery.

I stepped closer to Reika.
She looked up at me, her expression strangely adorable.
Before I knew it, I reached out and gently ruffled her hair.

"As expected, Miss Reika. You were a huge help."
"A-ah… y-yes, of course…!"
Her head lowered, and her ears turned bright red as she mumbled multiple thank-yous.

Watching her like that, for the first time, I found myself wondering—
If she were my wife, would this be what it felt like?
*

And Then, a Few Days Later
That morning was slightly different from the usual.
"The lord has issued a summons?"

"Yes. A soldier I met on the way to the barracks delivered the message."
It was still early, before the day had fully begun.
Airen, who had been heading to the barracks for her duties, spoke to me just as I was preparing to leave my home.

"What’s the reason?"
"I don’t know yet… but the soldier who came to me looked anxious. It seems serious. Swen, do you have any guesses?"
‘Guesses, huh.’

To be honest, I couldn’t say I had none at all. A faint sense of unease had already begun creeping in—
'Let’s just go and see.'
If the lord was calling, then the only thing to do was head there.

"Let’s go. We’ll find out once we’re there."
"Hm. That’s true. It’s been a while since we’ve gone to the capital together."
"Were you looking forward to spending time with me?"

"W-what? L-looking forward… I didn’t mean it like that…!"
Airen’s face turned noticeably red at my words, making me smile leisurely.
"I was looking forward to it, though."

"…?!"
"Was it not the same for you, Lady Airen? I’ve been feeling rather lonely. Lately, we’ve barely had time together, always acting separately."
"B-but… after missions, we always… w-we’re always together at night…!"

"So, we’re always together at night?"
"That’s not—! I-I didn’t mean it that way…!"
Airen, completely flustered, was at a loss for words.

On the battlefield, she always carried herself with a fearsome presence, yet in front of me, she could be this unguarded.
It was… utterly endearing.
"T-this is no time for this, Swen…! I will deal with you later, but for now, we must go to the capital…!"

I could have teased her further, asking if she really meant to ‘deal with me later,’ but there was no need to push it.
I simply chuckled and walked with her toward the capital.
Along the way, we exchanged more lighthearted banter, each remark helping me suppress the unease that was steadily growing inside me.

*
When we arrived at the capital—
Something unsettling lingered in the air, pressing down on me with increasing weight.

"The atmosphere is unusually heavy."
Airen, seemingly sensing the same unease, spoke in a grave tone.
"We may need to brace ourselves."

With that, we carefully made our way to the audience chamber.
Inside, gathered were all the generals stationed at Valharat Castle, including Jinor.
But Yuri was nowhere to be seen.

Minutes passed.
Then, Yuri finally appeared.
Her expression was grim as she walked toward the throne and took her seat.

And in that moment—
The vague sense of unease that had been lingering in my chest solidified into a stark, undeniable reality.
"Anima… has been captured by Serpina’s forces."

Yuri’s trembling voice delivered the words—
And a suffocating silence filled the audience chamber, pressing down on us like a crushing weight.