Wasn’t This Supposed To Be a Strategy Game?

“Do you know anything more about that sorcerer?”

There was far too little information. Eden held onto Rita once more and asked earnestly.

“Know anything?”

“Anything is fine.”

Though she found it odd that Eden was so persistently asking about the suddenly vanished Grand Sorcerer, Rita thoughtfully stroked her chin and answered.

“Well, I only heard about it when I was a child… I think I heard that if you get close to Hegenti’s castle, you die.”

“What? Where is Hegenti’s castle?”

At Eden’s question, Rita shrugged.

“I don’t know that. I think there were rumors that it was in the north.”

“…Why do people die? Does Hegenti kill them?”

“Hmm, probably?”

“……”

And on top of that, he was a sorcerer with a nasty temper. Eden’s frustration only deepened.

“Oh, there was one more thing.”

“What was it?”

“If Hegenti hadn’t disappeared, half of the monsters on the continent would have been wiped out, and the other half wouldn’t have dared to set foot in the empire.”

Wow. Eden furrowed her brows, trying to interpret that statement.

“That means Hegenti could cast a shield over the entire empire?”

Rita flinched in alarm and waved her hands.

“T-That doesn’t mean he’s stronger than the High Priest! It’s just… that’s what people say!”

Rita hastily tried to explain herself, but Eden didn’t care about the High Priest’s abilities. The important one was Hegenti.

Eden didn’t know how this game would unfold from now on, but since she had entered it, she had the authority to directly influence the game. And with this authority, she absolutely had to turn the game on its head.

Before Hegenti went berserk, she had to find him and stop it.

But where could she possibly find someone who had been missing for fifty years? Eden clutched her throbbing head and let out a deep sigh.

“Haa…”

“Seriously, even if he’s a Grand Sorcerer, there’s no way he could put up a shield stronger than the High Priest! The High Priest is Hamyun’s representative!”

As Eden stared blankly at Rita, who was passionately defending the High Priest, a notification sound suddenly rang out.

A quest window popped up beside Rita.

Reading the quests, Eden’s face went blank again.

Thirty monsters…

“……”

“Eden, are you even listening to me?”

****

At that moment, Asmun was dealing with Kyris, who had come with an excuse to demand ownership of Pasaram, just as Eden had predicted.

“His Majesty has granted permission for this.”

Kyris, having created a plausible justification and even persuaded the emperor, arrogantly presented a document with the imperial seal. Asmun looked down at the paper on the table with an indifferent gaze.

“To be honest, I could proceed without your approval, but that wouldn’t be proper. So, I came to get your consent and follow the official procedures.”

Asmun lifted his head and looked at Kyris again. The smirk on his brother’s face, as if he had already won, made the murderous intent deep within him stir.

“Of course, I understand that Pasaram is your mother’s legacy. But, dear brother, isn’t it better for that land to be developed and put to use for the empire rather than left to rot? Your mother would have wanted that as well.”

“……”

“Why aren’t you saying anything? Or… is there something hidden on that land?”

Kyris probed as if joking, but he had clearly already found out about Tebel.

Asmun stared into those snake-like eyes before flashing a smile.

“That’s not the case. It’s just that, as you said, it is the only land my mother left behind, so I hesitated to hand it over so easily.”

“I understand, of course. But as I said earlier, rather than letting it sit there uselessly…”

“Go ahead and take it.”

“Hah, that’s what I—… Huh?”

“I will hand over Pasaram to you, brother.”

Kyris, who hadn’t even expected Asmun’s consent, let alone his complete surrender, was momentarily taken aback. He had intended to push forward with or without Asmun’s approval, but now, Asmun had given in without a fight.

“…Are you serious?”

“Yes, I will give you Pasaram, brother. However.”

As expected, when Asmun added a condition, Kyris’s eyebrow twitched.

Of course. There was no way this sly bastard would hand over that land so easily.

Kyris pressed his lips together, preparing to reject Asmun’s offer outright.

“Give me Lebeim.”

At that, Kyris found himself dumbfounded once more.

Lebeim?

“Lebeim? Why would you want that barren land?”

Lebeim, located in the northwest, was cold, barren, and treacherous, making it completely useless. On top of that, it had been uninhabitable for over a century due to the periodic appearance of monsters.

If he meddled with it and failed to conquer it, he would be labeled incompetent. But attempting to subdue it was far too dangerous, so even Kyris had left it untouched for years.

“Yes, Lebeim is a harsh and inhospitable place. It holds no value for you, does it, brother?”

In truth, anyone taking it off his hands would be beneficial, but the fact that Asmun was the one requesting it made Kyris suspicious.

Asmun’s recent movements had been unusual. Hadn’t he cleverly avoided the trap involving Count Retten? Asmun claimed that he realized Retten’s scheme after noticing Tanttiano’s disappearance, but Kyris found that hard to believe.

So, his plan was to cut off Asmun’s financial resources completely—but what trick was this bastard trying to pull now?

“Well, yes, but… You must have a reason?”

Kyris probed persistently, and Asmun silently gazed at him. He had already anticipated that Kyris wouldn’t hand over anything willingly, not even a worthless piece of land.

Feigning mild hesitation, Asmun finally revealed the excuse he had prepared.

“It’s embarrassing to admit, but I showed an unsightly display at the founding ceremony.”

Kyris raised an eyebrow again.

More accurately, he almost showed an unsightly display—but managed to avoid it.

Asmun had not suffered any harm that day. In fact, rather than fleeing in terror at the sight of the monster, he had remained composed. Rumors had even started to spread, suggesting that if not for that foolish priest, Asmun might have been able to take down the monster himself. The very thought of it infuriated Kyris.

“As a prince of Hesmore, I was deeply ashamed of my lack of ability. It was a wake-up call.”

Kyris scrutinized Asmun’s expression. He was saying he was lacking, yet his face remained unreadable. Still, it wasn’t unpleasant to hear Asmun admit to his own shortcomings.

Yes, you

lacking.

Feeling momentarily pleased that the arrogant Asmun seemed to have realized his place, Kyris smirked in satisfaction.

“So, I’ve been searching for a place to train for a while. As you know, I don’t own much land, so it hasn’t been easy.”

“Training?

?”

“Yes. I heard that monsters appear frequently in Lebeim.”

Kyris barely held back a laugh. Over half the monsters in Lebeim were mid-to-high-ranking.

This fool.

It was true that Asmun’s subjugation force had been showing good results lately, but that was only against easy-to-defeat monsters. Lebeim’s monsters were a completely different matter.

But suddenly, an idea flickered in Kyris’s mind. If that idiot injured himself trying to train against monsters, wouldn’t that be a good thing?

Or better yet, he could just die.

“Alright, fine.”

Having quickly made his calculations, Kyris readily agreed with a broad grin. He intentionally neglected to mention that even high-ranking monsters sometimes appeared there.

“Then let’s draw up the contract right now. I’ll report it to His Majesty.”

Seeing Kyris’s blatant scheming reflected in his expression, Asmun smiled faintly.

“Do as you wish.”

****

“Haa…”

Eden trudged along, sighing. It was one obstacle after another.

Even killing

monster would be a challenge, yet the quest demanded thirty. On top of that, they had to be ‘western’ monsters. As a trainee priest in the ever-busy Grand Temple, she had no reason to go west.

“Maybe I should raise my magic power first…”

—But even that was easier said than done. She had no idea how to increase her magic power.

In her previous playthroughs, her character had either started as a mage or had the wealth to hire one for lessons. But now, she had neither a home nor money.

She couldn’t afford training fees, and even meeting a mage was impossible.

And on top of that…

“Trainee Priest Eden Lilliette. I’ve come to clean again today.”

As a novice priest—the lowest rank in the temple’s hierarchy—she had far too many duties. Today, as usual, she had arrived at the East Tower to clean the High Priest’s office.

“The High Priest is inside today, so be especially careful not to disturb him.”

Eden’s eyes widened. She had been cleaning the High Priest’s office for days, but this was the first time he had actually been present.

The High Priest was as busy as the emperor, so he rarely stayed at the temple. She had assumed he wouldn’t be there for the remainder of her two-month cleaning duty—but that small hope had just been shattered.

‘Ah. This is going to be annoying…’

Unaware of Eden’s inner frustration, the guard rang the bell at the door. After a brief pause, the office door opened by itself.

“You may enter.”