"First, one thing. No matter how strong the people you gather, without a commander who can bind them together, the group will be weak as a group. Conversely, even an assembly of the weakest individuals will perform adequately if the commander is competent."
As I listened to the Third Generation's words, I was working on the plan document. In the office, white steam had been rising from an empty cup left on my desk since morning.
Perhaps it was because the room's air hadn't fully warmed up yet, but the drowsiness was blown clean away. The Seventh Generation picked up where the Third Generation had left off.
"However, groups are fascinating things. Being capable as a commander doesn't necessarily mean you're strong. But without strength, the soldiers won't follow their commander. 'There are no weak soldiers under a brave general' — that also means an unreliable commander will cause the troops to waver. ...Well, I'm sure you grasp what I'm getting at, Lyle?"
Monica had finished adjusting my attire and stepped out to prepare breakfast, so I was now alone in the room.
"That's results, isn't it?"
The Third Generation answered in a pleased tone.
"Precisely. Having proven results is a powerful thing in itself. We cultivate a commander whose results are recognized by those around them. In my case, I only have experience with small-scale groups. That's why this time, the Seventh Generation took the lead in drafting the plan."
The Seventh Generation's voice sounded somewhat pleased. Unlike the other Successive Heads, he had commanded armies in the tens of thousands — that was probably where his confidence came from.
I waited for the Seventh Generation to continue, but—
"Heh. Let me be blunt. ...Training an improvised commander is virtually impossible."
—He shot the whole idea down in one fell swoop.
"...I don't need that kind of joke."
"Hey, hey! Hold on a minute, Lyle! Listen — the larger the scale, the more there is to learn! On top of the rules governing groups, those in command have to handle other things as well... Someone leading a few dozen soldiers and someone leading several thousand can't operate on the same instincts!"
"Huh? Aren't the fundamentals the same?"
I leaned back against my chair as I felt the room gradually warming up.
"The very basics are the same. But we're overwhelmingly short on time. There's no room to train from scratch. So we'll bring along squad leaders who've experience commanding at a decent scale and enter the Dungeon. Inside the Dungeon, you stay purely in a support role. You issue orders and send messengers to each squad to coordinate. Put House Walt's methods into practice inside the Dungeon and let it sink into muscle memory."
Once inside the Dungeon, I would stick strictly to a support role while making sure everyone else could fight without the aid of Skills — that was the idea.
I brought my right hand to my mouth and—
"How much would the win rate actually go up with just that?"
Third Generation said in a nonchalant tone.
"Who knows? But if we don't do it, we'll lose for certain. Lriel is a Skills specialist, while Maisel is the type who fights with sheer base power—the exact opposite. On top of that, not letting the opponent use Skills... it's a pretty unfavorable situation."
Seventh Generation shared that concern.
"Walt has generations of accumulated history behind it. Their soldiers fight with tactics drilled into their very bodies. And on top of that, an army tailored specifically to Maisel's fighting style... Even a stopgap measure needs to be executed, or we'll be overrun for sure."
It seemed that without Dungeon training, there was no chance of even putting up a proper fight.
"Putting Baldoa aside for now—shall we have General Broa accompany us?"
As if the two had already been considering this, Third Generation added another condition.
"It wouldn't hurt to discuss various things with them beforehand. That said, there's no guarantee every person we bring along will gain something from it. At best, ten to twenty percent succeed. If the rest come out of the Dungeon having accomplished nothing, well—there's nothing to be done about that."
Seventh Generation offered her opinion on the matter.
"Simply give them a clear objective. Tell them that anyone who demonstrates a sufficient grasp of the fundamentals and achieves their goal inside the Dungeon will be promoted. Knights and soldiers alike—make them compete. Not as individuals, but by squad evaluation, and they'll be far more cooperative."
Third Generation responded to that idea.
"Compete not as individuals, but squad by squad. Hmm, I like that. We'll also need people to manage several squads, and those managers can compete against each other as well. Hmm, this is getting interesting. At this rate, we might be able to drag the situation from 'overwhelmingly unfavorable' back to just 'unfavorable.'"
Either way, the reality that they were at a disadvantage hadn't changed.
—While Lriel was busy preparing to head to the Dungeon.
Novem was within Rufence's territory. A group had been camping at a site dedicated to village development and infrastructure work within the domain—inside one of the tents there, she was receiving a guest.
Innis, who was normally stationed in South Baim, had come along to oversee the transport of supplies and had ended up at Novem's location.
"I didn't expect you to come all the way to see me, Innis. Rauno already has me handling a separate commission, you know."
Inside the tent, Novem seated Innis in a chair and prepared a drink for her. Rufence's territory was riddled with all manner of problems, and Novem, who excelled at magic, had been leading a unit to expedite reconstruction.
Even moving troops required maintaining the roads, or travel times would balloon. Rest stops along the way also needed to be secured.
That was why Novem was leading the engineer corps.
As Innis accepted the drink from Novem—
"They also had training for the transport unit we'd prepared in South Baim, so I accompanied them. I went back and forth on who to ask, but... in the end, I felt you were the best person to turn to, Novem."
Novem settled into a chair as well, watching Innis with an unchanged expression. She was smiling, but inwardly, Innis was terrified. Not because she found Novem scary. It was because looking at Novem always made her feel safe no matter what.
(I can't imagine she has some skill that makes people like her for no reason...)
The skill Innis possessed, [Information], was an ability that used gathered intelligence to make predictions about the future. Its accuracy was high, and Rauno had relied on Innis's skill many times before.
After running that skill, Innis had concluded that to fulfill her wish—no, to make Rauno a knight again, Novem's assistance was essential.
Among the many women close to Lyle, Innis had chosen Novem.
Innis spoke to the smiling Novem.
"Um... it's about Rauno. Rauno used to be a knight... a knight of Cartaffs. But he was stuck doing undesirable work, and in the end, he was driven out of Cartaffs..."
Innis had thought of more she ought to say, but once she stood before Novem, the words suddenly wouldn't come. No—she was feeling resistance at the act of lying.
"I see. For an information broker, there was always something solid about the way he carried himself. So that's what happened. And then... what exactly is it that you're asking of me, Innis?"
When Innis looked at Novem, she found herself unable to look away.
"Ah, um... please, make Rauno a knight again! Rauno says he doesn't mind anymore, but he still has lingering regrets and sometimes grumbles... So I want you to put in a word with Lyle... with Lord Lyle!"
Novem took a single sip of her drink, then spoke to Innis with her smile still in place.
"Do you understand what that would entail? Say I heard your request and went to Lord Lyle on your behalf. If word gets out that anything can be achieved by asking me, all sorts of troublesome people will start showing up. There are other women around Lord Lyle as well. Some might grow wary of my actions and begin rallying others."
...In other words, Novem didn't want to upset the current balance. Innis understood that too. That was precisely why she had turned to Novem.
"Just meeting with me like this will spark rumors."
"I imagine so. But I won't put in a word. If Lord Lyle determines it's necessary, he'll handle it himself."
Innis looked at Novem, whose expression hadn't changed—
"I have a Skill. A special Skill, one that will never develop. It has no combat power. But it's a very troublesome Skill."
Novem's smile vanished, replaced by an expressionless face. Innis, wiping away cold sweat, continued speaking to Novem.
"Information. It's a Skill similar to precognition. The way to use it is—"
Innis had only spoken the name of the Skill when Novem made her decision.
"Very well. If you use this Skill for Lord Lyle's sake, then I will personally see to the matter regarding Rauno."
She spoke as if she already knew all about Innis's Skill. Then, Novem rose to her feet, approached Innis, and leaned in close to her ear.
"As long as you use that Skill for Lord Lyle's sake, I will protect you. However, should anyone else request you to use this Skill, you must understand that I hold the final decision. As compensation for that, I will guarantee Rauno a suitable position."
Innis felt as if she were being gripped by an immense, invisible hand. Her body wouldn't move at all. She felt terror, but still, she desperately tried to nod over and over again.
Seeing Innis like that, Novem pulled back slightly. As if released, Innis began to breathe heavily.
"...You must absolutely never teach this Skill to anyone else. It's troublesome enough if it's misused, but you could also become an assassination target for our enemies. Innis, you will come with me to the royal castle of Lufence. And also—"
Innis looked at Novem's face. She looked a little concerned.
"...Please, stop doing things like this. Rauno is exceptional. Even without him saying anything, Lord Lyle had already begun to bring him in."
Innis spoke to Novem.
"But he specializes in work that doesn't see the light of day, doesn't he? I'm not saying that's a bad thing. Rauno also thinks it's fine if he can put his Skills to use. It's just, Rauno is in a position like that, and... he has no backing."
Novem seemed to understand what Innis was trying to say, and she said nothing more.
Upon arriving at the royal castle of Lufence, Novem led Innis toward Lyle's room.
They chose a route with as little foot traffic as possible, but heading to Lyle meant guards, as a matter of course. In addition to the Valkyries, there were knights and soldiers. And there were also many civil officials bustling about inside the castle.
Furthermore, they happened to encounter a troublesome opponent.
The one who met Novem and Innis was Lianne.
"Oh my, how unusual. You were Innis from Nome, weren't you? I thought you were in South Baim?"
She knew about Innis, and as expected, it was clear that she had also investigated Rauno's connections.
Lianne was likely gathering information about the people surrounding Lyle as well.
"…Since Lord Lyle requested an audience, I guided him to the royal castle."
Once Novem said only that, Lianne seemed to understand. She looked slightly disappointed.
"Is that so? Then Rauno is also under Miss Novem's... what a shame. He was such a capable person. If I hadn't been so busy, we could have met directly."
She had probably been considering recruiting him. Innis didn't know what to say—she looked troubled, wearing that kind of expression.
Seeing her like that, Lianne let out a soft chuckle.
"If you ever need anything, please rely on me too, Miss Innis."
Saying that, Lianne moved away from Novem and the others. It was almost as if she were saying she'd still accept Innis even knowing Rauno had joined Novem's faction.
Novem watched Lianne's retreating back.
(She's truly capable. However, having Miss Innis at her side seems like it could become troublesome.)
Lianne was aiming for the position of primary wife. Many others were not, but Lianne and Ludmilla were the most overt in their pursuit. Miranda had stepped back somewhat, but even she would likely make a move for the position if an opportunity arose.
Novem hadn't considered it to that extent, but Gracia and Eliza were in a similar position. With the number of people increasing, maintaining balance had become extremely difficult. If they carelessly started hoarding talent, it would end up hindering Lyle's progress.
At the very limit, everyone was wary of that. Lianne, upon seeing Novem with Innis, hadn't pressed any further involvement.
(…Princess of the Kingdom of Rolfis. I was glad we managed to prevent that marriage. I was worried since she wasn't inside the royal castle, unsure of how things would turn out.)
It was unlikely that Lyle would be swayed by sentiment. However, considering the ties between nations, it was entirely plausible he might compromise.
(No, rather, it was the Successive Heads within the Jewel who…)
Just as she thought that, Innis called out to Novem. In the meantime, Lianne's figure had disappeared from view.
"Um, Miss Novem?"
"…Pardon my distraction. Come now, let's go to Lord Lyle."
Novem set off walking, and thought to herself—
(There's no way I can trouble Lord Lyle with something like this. Now then, what should I do...)