"One glass of the cheapest, please."
At my words, the stout tavern lady brought over a cup filled with cheap liquor.
Thunk!
The sound of the glass hitting the table briefly shook the noisy tavern.
"Always asking for the cheapest, huh? Here you go."
It was midday.
I was drinking at the tavern.
It might've looked like the life of a loafer, but so what?
After all, I had been forced into the world of a video game.
I didn't think a little indulgence like this was so bad. I really meant it.
…Anyway, to summarize.
I had entered the world of a game I liked, Garland Eternity Saga.
The moment I arrived, I desperately called for a status window.
But, true to its clunky old-school roots, nothing as convenient as a pop-up window appeared.
Still, I could figure out a lot of information without much difficulty.
Rather than saying I "figured it out," it would be more accurate to say that by possessing someone, I came to feel this body's memories as if they were my own.
My name was Swen.
I was twenty years old this year.
I wasn't a noble, so I had no surname.
No special family either. I was basically in the perfect form for a body swap—a nameless extra.
The only way to return to my original world—
Was for this continent to be unified.
To be precise, if the country I belonged to succeeded in unifying the continent, I would be able to return home safely.
'This much is a pretty standard cliché.'
I couldn't change what had already happened.
Next was checking my stats.
Since I couldn't confirm exact values through a status window, I had to test them with my own body.
I got winded just climbing a small hill—so I figured my strength and combat stats were pretty low.
Even though I'd gotten 8 years younger, I felt even more fragile than in my old body.
Probably somewhere between 5 and 15.
As for charm… honestly, I wasn't sure.
Looking in the mirror, I didn't think I was ugly, but I wasn't handsome either.
Aside from having nearly pure white hair, I had no standout features.
Just very plain.
Since this was a medieval fantasy game, it wasn't weird for characters to have all sorts of hair colors.
In fact, there was no line in-game saying charm was tied to appearance at all.
It was just something I assumed.
In the game, charm affected persuasion and diplomacy.
I figured mine was around 50 to 60.
There were other stats too—
Politics, leadership, and so on.
But I had no way to measure those just yet.
I'd probably be able to see them once I joined some army.
And the most important of all… intelligence.
Over the past few days since my possession, I had run several experiments.
And I became sure—
'My intelligence stat is… definitely 100.'
"Ah, you're here again today, I see."
Next to me, an older man I'd gotten familiar with over the past few days approached with a grin.
He was just a local uncle. As far as I knew, not a named character or anything.
"Hello."
"So, have you heard? Brance Army just retook Heisel Castle."
"Is that so?"
As expected.
The Brance Army ruled the territory this city was part of and was the nation led by the named character Lynn Brance.
Lynn Brance. A genius from the Brance family, the most talented of the three siblings.
Despite being the third child and a woman—disadvantages in this world—she inherited the position of ruler from her father purely through ability.
Both her elder brothers now served as generals under her.
If you had to sum up the Brance Army in one phrase:
'Beginner-friendly ruler!'
It didn't have many weaknesses and had a solid talent pool. With basic knowledge, it was easy to unify the continent with them.
Once cleared, it became boring fast, since no real strategy was needed.
That's why players quickly moved on from the Brance Army.
"Really incredible, you are."
"Me?"
I answered with mock humility.
"You predicted Brance would lose Heisel Castle to the surprise attack by Walnut Army, and now you got it right again—that they'd recapture it the very next day with barely any preparation."
Walnut Army was, by all accounts, an ordinary nation.
A bland mid-tier country. Seemed to have spawned next to Brance in this world.
Poor guy. Walnut's ruler would probably meet a quick, grim end.
Unless a player took control, they'd never unify the continent.
Power balance from the game had been directly imported into this world—
Even ordinary townsfolk like this uncle believed, "Walnut Army can't win against Brance."
But when I looked at it, I saw that the Walnut Army could take Heisel Castle.
No idea why. I just couldn't come to any other conclusion.
And they really did win.
That alone was rare enough. Then Brance Army—without even reorganizing—rushed back in with scattered troops the next day to retake it.
This uncle, convinced Brance wouldn't win this time, had explained all his reasoning to me.
But again, for some reason, I couldn't see any result but Brance Army winning.
I didn't know why. I just felt it. No—knew it.
And the result came out just as I predicted.
Not just those two times.
I'd talked with many people about current events, and each time, things unfolded just as I expected.
After dozens of verifications, I could say it for sure.
It defied logic, but the entire universe seemed to be backing me up.
And if this really was the world of Garland Eternity Saga, there was only one explanation.
My intelligence was 100!
"Well, I just had a feeling."
"You some kind of prophet or what? I'm heading to the gambling den later—think you could tell me if I'll win?"
The uncle grinned at me.
I replied with casual small talk.
"Haha, well… sir, you probably shouldn't gamble."
"True. If I go again, my wife really will leave me."
Would he win or lose if he gambled?
Unfortunately, I couldn't predict that.
Apparently, my 100 intelligence could only foresee things that fell within this game's "rules."
"If I could really guess everything, I'd be gambling myself."
Even with 100 intelligence, I hadn't become super smart overnight, with genius strategies popping into my head.
However, my predictions for questions always hit 100% accuracy. No matter what, that was the correct answer, and it always led to the optimal decision.
Just like how characters with 100 intelligence in the game always gave perfect advice.
'Is there no way I can abuse this somehow?'
After bidding farewell to the uncle who had just left, I once again drifted into thought.
The truth was, my ability had a drawback—if you could call it that.
My predictions only worked if someone asked me a question.
If I just sat around thinking to myself, like "Can Country A win against Country B in War X?" nothing came to mind.
All of my answers so far had only come because someone had asked me a clear and direct question.
Which made sense, since in the game too, the characters wouldn't offer advice until asked.
That said, once I had received a question, I could continue predicting it multiple times.
Anyway.
This was the world of a game, and things did follow game logic—
But I wasn't just some avatar.
I was a real, breathing person.
This was an era of chaos. Making a name for myself wouldn't be a bad thing, but getting too flashy would definitely put my life at risk.
In-game, players could conscript 2,000 soldiers with the click of a button and march off to siege a neighboring castle.
2,000 soldiers meant 2,000 HP, and battles played out as hard-numbers war.
But in this world, those 2,000 HP were 2,000 real lives.
When the numbers dropped, it meant people were dying.
And me? I wasn't some god overseeing the battlefield. I was one of those 2,000, just another recruit.
A stat value of 1. That was my reality.
Sure, if I became a servant of the unified nation, I could return home.
But who knew how long unification would take? And I could easily die before that.
So instead of chasing glory, I decided to try and live a stable life as a retainer for the Brance Army, drawing a modest salary like a civil servant.
If they happened to unify the continent, great. If another country seemed more likely, I'd just switch jobs.
That was my survival plan.
Which was why I spent my days at the tavern, drinking in broad daylight.
In this game, talented people were recruited from taverns. And with 100 intelligence, someone had to come scout me eventually.
But after a full week, only one leader had come looking for me.
In the game, if a character with 100 intelligence was unemployed, the CPUs would fight to recruit them.
This was unthinkable.
'In the game, you could check characters' stats, but... now that it's real life, it's hard to be sure.'
Even that uncle I'd just chatted with wasn't some in-game asset.
The cheap beer I was drinking wasn't in the game either. No way this game had such detailed descriptions.
So... does that mean if I just keep sitting here, the Brance Army isn't going to come for me?
'Maybe I have to make a move myself?'
Do I need to act to make something happen?
It might be dangerous, sure... but better than getting conscripted as cannon fodder.
Even if I was weak, I was still a man. And conscription pulled from the entire adult male population.
I could easily end up dying as a front-line foot soldier.
I emptied my cheap glass of liquor and started thinking about how to join the Brance Army.
"Um... Sir Swen. May I have a moment?"
"Hmm?"
I turned my head toward the voice that called my name.
Short, cream-colored hair.
Bright red eyes like strawberries on a strawberry cake.
A classy outfit that, while elegant, looked a bit worn from use.
Her name was Lunarian Iniang.
In-game, her nickname was "Luna," and she was one of the most difficult rulers in the game—strictly for advanced players.
She started off as a fallen noble with a laughably weak army and territory that barely qualified as a nation.
Her potential was insane, but her early game talent pool was close to useless.
Still, those who stuck with her through the early stages would end up commanding an army of SSS-tier units. She was known for the so-called "Return of the King" playthrough.
Earlier, I'd mentioned only one leader came to scout me this week.
That was Luna.
"You're back again?"
"Y-Yes, I just really wanted to talk to you... May I? I'll buy you a drink."
"No need for that."
Having played her route before, I knew just how broke Luna's faction was.
Might as well try to milk a flea.
"Then..."
She sat down carefully.
I remembered being shocked when I first met her.
The dated pixel graphics didn't do her beauty justice.
If I'd known Luna was this pretty, I might've played her route more often.
"Um... Sir Swen. I apologize for disturbing you again... but would you please consider helping me?"
"As I've said, I don't believe I'm talented enough to serve under you, Lady Luna."
To my polite refusal, she shook her head vigorously.
"That's not true! I've heard you're incredibly wise, Sir Swen. It's embarrassing, but... our army doesn't have a single strategist. We desperately need your help."
"..."
If I refused her now, it would be the fifth time.
She had already come to see me four times this past week.
Three rejections should've been enough. But she kept showing up, personally, and always speaking formally.
I felt bad, but I didn't have a spare life.
I couldn't join Luna's army—it would soon disappear from the map alongside Walnut.
'Maybe I've been too polite in turning her down.'
Maybe it was time to be blunt.
"...Lady Luna. May I speak frankly?"
"O-Of course! Please say what's on your mind."
"Why did you raise an army, Lady Luna?"
"To... to unify the continent, so everyone can live in peace—"
"So you seek to become an empress?"
My words caught her off guard.
"Y-Yes."
"Then something doesn't add up. For someone aiming to become an empress, you're bowing to everyone, including me."
"T-That's because..."
She couldn't finish the sentence, clearly shaken.
In the game, this was her personality too, so I already knew. But she must be wondering how I saw through her so easily.
"You are kind to all. I won't say that's a bad thing. But kindness is not a virtue needed in times like these, I do not believe you are a ruler who can unify this continent. That is why I cannot serve you."
"..."
Surely, she won't come back again after this.
Sorry, but I already have a plan.
As I downed another cheap drink, I heard her trembling beside me.
"I... I see..."
Lunarian Iniang was a gentle soul.
She loved peace and raised an army in the name of it—but she was utterly unsuited to the chaos of founding an empire.
In the game, if you left her to the CPU, she always got wiped out.
Her tears shook my heart a little... but it couldn't be helped.
I only had one life.
"Sir Swen... Do you truly believe... I cannot unify this world?"
"..."
Well...
…
…
…
In that moment.
My world stopped, just for an instant.
"...Huh?"
Luna's question echoed in my mind.
"Do you truly believe... I, Lunarian Iniang, cannot unify this world?"
And then—
The conclusion, from me, a man with 100 intelligence:
That last statement… was wrong.