Rebirth in a Ruined Nation! The Life of a New Strategist Starting From Now - Chapter 91

Zetta Great War (6) – A Play*

I suddenly claimed that if we waited for four days, it would snow, and the enemy would retreat, creating a somewhat tense atmosphere in the room.

Everyone’s expressions varied, but most had a doubtful look.

“Roa-chan~ why do you think heavy snow will fall in four days~?”

Fortunately, Hogg-san asked about my reasoning. I expected my words to be ridiculed and ignored.

I had two reasons, but I couldn’t share both.

One was my knowledge of the future. At that time, the 4th and 10th Divisions, cornered by the Gorber army, regained momentum with the arrival of the 2nd Division, seven days after the war began. Records indicated light snow started falling on the battlefield at that time.

Then, a blizzard occurred the day after the 2nd Division arrived, leading to the Gorber Kingdom withdrawing their troops the following day.

My second reason was my belief that Sakuri, the enemy’s strategist, could predict the weather. After the painful event at Hakusha Plain, I trusted Sakuri’s ability as a military strategist.

In my past life, the snow should start falling in 7 days. However, in the current situation where the Gorber Kingdom sent the majority of their army, risking their own kingdom, Sakuri wouldn’t create a plan taking 7 days for the Gorber army to capture our fortress. The longer the battle, the riskier it would be for the Gorber Kingdom.

So, the limit was 3 to 4 days. If the Gorber Kingdom failed to capture the fortress in 3 to 4 days, they would retreat, and the only safe way for them to retreat was if the snow fell. I assumed in my current life, for some reason, the snow would fall in 3 to 4 days, rather than in 7 days.

In other words, my reasoning was based on my memories of the future and trust in the enemy’s strategist, whose existence was still unclear. No one would believe me if I told them the truth. Heck, if I were them, I wouldn’t believe my words either.

So, I needed to create a believable excuse.

“I don’t know how many of you know this, but I was originally a court official at the capital. Did any of you know that the capital has weather records for each region?”

No one said they knew. To be honest, I also never saw a weather record of this area, or rather, an area with nothing but a fortress probably didn’t have a weather record.

“I’ve looked at the weather records of this area several times before and had also rechecked the record before I departed from the capital. According to the record, an interesting phenomenon happens around this area every year.”

“An interesting phenomenon~?”

“On roughly the same day every single year, snow falls in this area. That day is in 3-4 days. Well, knights of the 4th Division should also know about this, right?”

If I asked this question this way, one or two people might think I was right. After all, no one remembers which day it snowed every single year. As long as even one person believed my words, it would be enough.

As I expected, a captain murmured, “Ah, now that he’s mentioned it…”

With that captain’s words, everyone naturally started leaning toward believing me.

“Of course, I can’t say for sure that the snow will fall. But there’s no reason why it won’t fall just this year.”

“If it’s only for 4 days…it’s possible…” One of the captains muttered.

My plan succeeded.

People like Hogg-san and Boltras-sama must have realized my words were nonsense, but understanding the effect of my words, they stayed silent. Because what my words brought to the captains and the soldiers was hope. In this situation, heavily outnumbered without any prospect of reinforcement, the effect of hope on the soldiers’ morale was immense.

“Plus, in 3-4 days, the 10th Division might come as a reinforcement. It’s Rays Stein we’re talking about; who knows what kind of surprise he might bring us~~.”

With Hogg-san’s words, it seemed like everyone believed in my words.

“Well then, next is Rufa-chan’s turn~,” Hogg-san turned his gaze to Rufa who was quietly watching us from the corner of the room.

“Me?”

“It would be better to say we received an oracle from the Goddess of Fate, but that will be taking Roa-chan’s credit~. Are you okay with that, Roa-chan~?”

“I don’t mind.”

“Thank you~~ then, Rufa-chan, let’s dress you up prettily so that the soldiers will believe you’ve received an oracle.”

“We will–”

“–also help!”

The Yuimei twin, who were quiet, suddenly became motivated and stood up.

“Huh? Huh?” Rufa backed away, but she couldn’t escape anywhere. In the end, Hogg-san and the twin took the struggling Rufa away.

“Well, since we will be busy preparing Rufa-chan, I’ll leave gathering the soldiers to you all.”

But then, Hogg-san stopped in front of the door.

“Ah, right, Roa-chan, let me borrow either the Luzel Unit or Frein Unit later~”

After saying that, he finally left the room.

***

The soldiers gathered in front of the central building once again, all waiting for their general to speak, with curious expressions on their faces.

It was natural for them to be curious since they were called for the second time right after the army’s commanding officers finished their meeting.

The moment Boltras-sama informed the soldiers that 20,000 Gorber soldiers would attack Kitsar Fortress and we couldn’t expect any reinforcement for a while, the soldiers became visibly agitated.

Still, when Boltras-sama spoke again, the place fell silent.

“We will be facing a tough battle, but luckily, the war maiden, Rufa-sama, is here!”

So what? That was the question many soldiers began to ask.

“Rufa-sama can control the sky!”

The place became quiet again, but I could see the disbelief on the soldiers’ faces.

“Listen carefully! Zackhart-sama has recognized Rufa-sama’s talent and thus has adopted her as his daughter!”

Surprised voices could be heard from the gathered soldiers.

“And at the request of Reis Stein of the 10th Knights, she became the war maiden of the 10th Division!”

This time there was a bigger commotion than before. Many soldiers looked skeptical.

The actual circumstance between Rufa’s adoption and her becoming the war maiden was vastly different than Boltras-sama’s words, but in the current crisis, we had to use whatever we could.

“Rufa-sama has also received an oracle from Goddess Waldowart!

Boltras-sama stepped back, and Rufa stepped forward. She was wearing white silk-like clothes, giving her an air of divinity.

Of course, what she was wearing was probably just some modified curtain, bed sheets, or whatever white-colored fabric that could give her the look of a war maiden.

Still, she did look like a ‘divine person’ from the perspective of the crowd, so Hogg-san and Yuimei looked satisfied with their works.

Even with such hastily created ‘divine’ looks, the soldiers paid attention to Rufa thanks to her connection with Zackhart-sama and Rays-sama.

“I had received an oracle from Goddess Waldowart.”

Everyone listened quietly to Rufa’s voice.

“Four days later, heavy snow will fall. If we can endure until then, the Goddess will grant us victory! It will be a tough battle, but please don’t lose hope!”

“OOOO!!!”

A second after Rufa’s words ended, the ground shook due to the soldiers’ cheers.

(T/N: The title was referring to how Roa and co created a ‘play’ of Rufa receiving Waldowart’s prophecy.)