Chapter 1: "The Tactician Escapes into a Poetry Collection. Worried About Love and the Hardness of the Chair"
「……Another tactics book?」
In the library bathed in moonlight‚ Selina Noctia called out from behind Yug Sarion.
Her voice was soft‚ yet carried a faintly teasing resonance.
"This isn't a tactics book. It's a poetry collection. Though I suppose you could call it a tactical poetry collection."
Yug did not lift his eyes from the book‚ nor did he stop turning the pages.
His profile was the picture of seriousness‚ but the tips of his ears were tinged faintly red.
"Mixing poetry and tactics is something only you would do. You probably even approach romance like a military formation."
"Love is more complicated than war. Enemies can be predicted‚ but your smile is utterly unpredictable."
Selina giggled softly.
"Is that a compliment? Or are you being sarcastic?"
"Neither. It's simply an observation."
"Hehe‚ then please include me in your tactics book as 'the Unpredictable Smile.'
'The Mage Princess's Smile That Disrupts Enemy Morale.'"
「……That smile doesn't just disturb the soldiers' hearts—it disrupts the tactician's focus as well."
Yug finally closed the book.
On its cover‚ the ancient script read "Embers of the Six Stars."
"Hey‚ Yug. You really don't want to fight‚ do you?"
Selina's voice suddenly grew quiet.
She sat down beside him and gazed at his profile in the moonlight.
"I don't want to fight. I just want to win. Preferably without anyone dying."
"That's a magical sort of ideal‚ isn't it?"
"It's harder than magic. Magic can be granted if you pay the price‚ but ideals sometimes remain unfulfilled even if you do."
Selina remained silent for a moment.
Then she gently rested her head on his shoulder.
「……I like your ideals. Even if they never come true‚ I like them."
Yug's eyes widened in surprise‚ but he quickly looked away.
「……You sometimes have more destructive power than a bombing raid."
"Is that a compliment? Or are you being sarcastic?"
"Neither. It's simply an observation."
"There you go again! Find a new line already."
"Then…… 'Your words are magic bullets that strike straight into the tactician's heart.'"
"Yeah‚ that one actually makes me a little happy."
Just then‚ the library door opened quietly.
The black-robed shadow mage—Lumina Valtia—silently watched the two of them.
「……The strategy meeting is about to begin‚ Lord Yug. Lady Selina‚ it's almost time to prepare for the priestess ritual as well."
Her voice was not cold‚ yet it showed no emotional inflection.
Her eyes‚ illuminated by the moonlight‚ looked somehow lonely.
"Thank you‚ Lumina. I'll be right there."
As Yug stood up‚ Selina slowly rose as well.
In that instant‚ Lumina's gaze turned toward Selina.
「……Your smile really is unpredictable‚ isn't it?"
"Huh? Is that a compliment? Or are you being sarcastic?"
"Neither. It's simply an observation."
Yug couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"That line's really catching on‚ huh?"
"Yes‚ it's your influence. A tactician's habits tend to spread to his subordinates."
Selina laughed and tugged at Yug's sleeve.
"Shall we go‚ then? With the Unpredictable Smile‚ the idealistic tactician‚ and the shadow mage who hides her emotions."
「……Tactically speaking‚ that's the worst possible combination."
"But narratively‚ it's the best."
Yug gave a small smile.
It was a quiet‚ peaceful expression he would never show on the battlefield.
Chapter 2: "The Tactician Escapes into a Poetry Collection. Worried About Love and the Hardness of the Chair"
「……This chair is hard. My butt's going to break before the tactics do."
The moment Yug Sarion sat down in the meeting room chair‚ he muttered under his breath.
It wasn't directed at anyone; it was simply a solitary remark that dissolved into the air.
"Then shall we prepare a feather-stuffed chair for the esteemed tactician next time?"
Selina Noctia replied instantly.
Her smile was light and breezy‚ like a spring wind.
"Feathers burn on the battlefield. My butt would go up in flames."
"Wouldn't that be rather fitting for the Crimson Lotus Kingdom?"
「……Sometimes your idea of 'fitting' is life-threatening."
Lumina Valtia watched their exchange in silence.
Her fingers traced the map on the table.
The Mage Empire's forces were slowly closing in around the Flame Castle.
「……The enemy army has deployed in the southwest canyon. They are predicted to begin their advance within three days."
Lumina's voice was calm.
But for a brief moment‚ her eyes flickered as if searching Yug's expression.
"A canyon‚ huh? Narrow terrain will let our magic cannons shine.
However‚ if we can't evacuate the civilians in time‚ victory will be meaningless."
While staring at the map‚ Yug unconsciously stroked the six-star emblem pendant with his fingertips.
「……Are you really a tactician?"
Selina murmured softly.
"What do you mean?"
"You prioritize no one dying over winning.
That sounds less like a tactician and more like a poet."
"Poets are useless on the battlefield.
Yet a poet's ideals become the tactician's torment."
Lumina quietly spoke up.
「……However‚ tactics that abandon ideals are nothing more than slaughter."
Yug looked at her.
His eyes held an emotion that words could not express.
「……Thank you‚ Lumina. Your words sometimes weigh heavier than steel."
"Is that a compliment?"
"No‚ it hits me right in the gut."
Selina burst out laughing.
"You two are supposed to be a tactician and a shadow mage‚ yet your conversations are practically a comedy routine."
"Comedy is tactics. It disrupts the enemy's focus."
"Then I'll join the fray too. As the Mage Princess who confuses the enemy army with her smile."
「……You're already disrupting our own side's focus."
Lumina's finger stopped at a point on the map.
"Here. At the northern end of the canyon lies an ancient ruin still imbued with magic power.
With Lady Selina's magic chanting‚ there's a chance we can unseal it."
Selina's eyes widened.
"The ruins…… you mean the 'Altar of the Moon's Prayer'?"
"Yes. If we can draw out its power‚ we can delay the enemy advance."
Yug remained silent for a moment.
Then he said softly‚
「……With you two here‚ tactics become poetry.
For me‚ that's salvation."
Selina smiled.
Lumina lowered her eyes for just a brief moment.
"Then‚ oh poet tactician.
How about naming the next operation 'Concerto of Moon and Flame'?"
「……If the enemy laughs‚ we might actually win."
"In that case‚ I'll make them laugh. For the sake of your ideals."
Lumina said nothing in response.
She simply folded the map quietly and handed it to Yug.
「……Two days until the operation begins.
Prepare as meticulously as a poet. As calmly as a tactician."
Yug nodded.
In his eyes‚ fear of battle and hope for his ideals coexisted.
Chapter 3: "The Mage Princess‚ the Shadow Mage‚ and the Tactician's Stomachache and Hopeless Odds"
「……My stomach hurts. My organs are going to collapse before the tactics do."
Yug Sarion grumbled while glaring at the map in the Flame Castle's strategy room.
Beside him‚ Selina Noctia offered him a cup of magic tea.
"Then shall we add 'despair resistance' to your stomach medicine?"
"That would work too well and turn into escapism. Side effects include delusions and hope."
"Is hope a side effect?"
"In this country‚ yes. Hope is what causes stomachaches."
Lumina Valtia began her calm report.
"The Mage Empire is advancing from the north. Estimated troop count: forty thousand.
Our available forces total three thousand four hundred and twelve.
Excluding terrain and magic support‚ our odds of victory are…… incalculable."
Yug tapped the map with his finger.
"In other words‚ we'll fight with stomachaches and terrain. The idealist's tactics are about to begin."
At those words‚ the atmosphere in the room shifted slightly.
The newly assigned swordsman captain‚ Valdo Glenhardt‚ folded his arms and growled.
"Three thousand against forty thousand? Are you sane?
I'm good at swinging a sword‚ but fighting with ideals isn't my thing."
"Don't worry. I'm not good at fighting with ideals either.
But fighting with reality makes my stomach die."
Selina laughed as she spoke.
"Yug is the kind of person who turns ideals into reality. He's got a stomachache problem‚ but he's a genius."
A young mage muttered under his breath.
「……Can that guy really win?"
Lumina answered quietly.
"He is flawless.
However‚ in place of having no flaws‚ his stomach takes the hits."
Yug clutched his head.
「……Your trust is so heavy it's crushing my stomach."
Valdo laughed.
"But you know‚ your tactics somehow make me want to believe.
Winning without killing? I don't hate that crazy ideal."
While sipping her tea‚ Selina said‚
"Hey‚ Yug. The enemy is the Mage Empire‚ right?
I hear their 'Magic Weapon Corps' is coming too."
"Yeah. My stomachache is reacting to the magic weapons."
Lumina pointed at the map.
"By using the canyon terrain‚ we can split the enemy advance.
Lady Selina's mist magic will block their vision‚ Valdo's unit will strike the flanks.
Lord Yug will command from the center."
Yug took a deep breath.
「……Three thousand against forty thousand.
To win without killing‚ we'll need a miracle."
Selina smiled.
"Then shall I brew some miracle tea?
Side effects include love and delusions."
Yug turned his face away. His ears were red.
「……You sometimes have more destructive power than a magic weapon."
Lumina said nothing.
She simply drew her sword quietly.
"One hour until the operation begins.
Take your stomach medicine now."
Staring at the map‚ Yug murmured‚
「……The Crimson Lotus Kingdom is a small‚ weak nation.
But our ideals are strong.
To prove that‚ we'll fight with stomachaches and delusions."
Then he stood up.
To lead three thousand soldiers against forty thousand enemies.
Chapter 4: "Three Thousand Ideals Challenge Forty Thousand Realities"
"Mist deployment complete. Vision blocked up to fifty paces ahead."
Selina Noctia's voice echoed through the magic communication stone.
The canyon was enveloped in illusory mist; neither friend nor foe could see each other.
"Shadow magic‚ flank disruption initiated. Enemy formation successfully divided."
Lumina Valtia's report was calm.
Yet beneath her voice lay a quiet trust in Yug Sarion.
Yug stood before his three thousand soldiers and spoke softly.
「……The enemy numbers forty thousand. We number three thousand.
Normally‚ we couldn't win. So we'll win using an abnormal method."
The soldiers nodded silently.
They were entrusting their lives to Yug's tactics.
They were betting on the ideal of winning without killing.
"First unit‚ archers. Use sound to guide shots through the mist.
Second unit‚ mages. Use illusions to lure the enemy.
Third unit‚ swordsmen. Avoid contact; aim for their legs. Do not kill. Stop them."
「……My stomachache is getting worse."
Someone muttered quietly.
Yug smiled.
"That's the fate of a tactician. I'll distribute stomach medicine later."
Selina's voice came through again.
"Enemy in chaos. They've abandoned the central breakthrough and are scattering left and right.
Your plan is as beautiful as poetry."
"Poetry is useless on the battlefield.
But poetry-like tactics protect the heart."
Lumina's voice continued.
"Enemy commander is shaken. There's a possibility they're misjudging our numbers.
This could be called the situation of 'Three Thousand Ideals.'"
「……I kind of like that."
Yug drew his sword.
He rarely fought himself. But by standing before the soldiers‚ he showed them his ideals.
"We will let no one die.
Neither enemy nor ally.
That is the pride of a tactician."
In the mist‚ arrows flew‚ illusions danced‚ and swords struck the ground.
There were no screams. Almost no scent of blood.
Only confusion and quiet suppression spread.
Selina whispered into the magic communication stone.
"Hey‚ Yug. Your ideals are really reaching them.
In this mist‚ no one has died.
Your 'delusions' are becoming reality."
Yug did not answer.
He simply stood in the mist‚ watching over the movements of his three thousand.
Lumina gave the final report.
"Enemy army beginning retreat. Zero fatalities.
Our side: thirty lightly wounded.
Operation name 'Embers of the Six Stars'—success."
Yug quietly sheathed his sword.
The stomachache remained.
But that pain had turned into pride.
「……This isn't a miracle. It's proof of our ideals."
In their respective places‚ Selina and Lumina smiled quietly.
And within the mist‚ the footsteps of three thousand echoed.
Chapter 5: "The Mage Empire Is Forced to Retreat by the Idealist"
「……Retreat‚ sir?"
Vice-commander Reina Vals asked carefully‚ choosing her words.
Mage Empire Army‚ Fourth Regional Force. Troop count: forty thousand.
Opposing them: the Crimson Lotus Kingdom‚ roughly three thousand.
By common sense‚ victory was assured.
But reality was different.
"That's right. We're retreating."
Commander Glaus El-Valdo answered while glaring at the map.
His face showed not the color of defeat‚ but irritation at the incomprehensible.
"The enemy is the Crimson Lotus Kingdom. A minor nation.
Their military strength and magic resources are less than a tenth of the Empire's.
And yet we…… were constantly outmaneuvered."
Reina furrowed her brow.
"The enemy commander is Yug Sarion.
According to reports‚ he's a stomachache-plagued idealist.
A man who talks about delusions more than tactics."
"Delusions? No. That man is—a ferocious magical beast."
Glaus clenched his fist.
"He manipulated mist‚ used illusions‚ and divided our army's advance.
He read the terrain‚ struck at our soldiers' psychology‚ and anticipated our moves three steps ahead."
"Almost as if he were using ideals as weapons……"
"Exactly. He kept spouting nonsense like 'win without killing.'
But in reality—he eroded our army's morale‚ broke our formation‚
and made our soldiers lose sight of the 'meaning of fighting.'"
Reina said quietly‚
"The soldiers were calling him 'the Demon.'
They couldn't see his form‚ nor hear his voice.
Yet the very air of the battlefield had been dyed by his ideals."
Glaus sank back into his chair.
"We should have been able to win.
But that man fought not with tactics‚ but with 'conviction.'
And that stole the hearts of our soldiers."
"Next time‚ we should kill him."
"If we could. But that 'Demon' wins without killing.
That's why he's terrifying. That's why retreat was the best choice."
Reina stared at the map.
Mist still lingered in the canyon.
「……His ideals turned the battlefield into poetry.
And that shattered our reality."
Glaus closed his eyes.
"Next time we meet‚ we'll strike him with reality‚ not ideals.
But——I wonder if reality works on a stomachache-plagued magical beast."
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