Chapter 65
Claude had been summoned by Brother Fahrenheit and had come to his brother’s room.
In the center of the room, a desk had been set out, and on it was a board mimicking complex terrain.
The two were in the midst of a contest of strategy and tactics on the board, exhausting the limits of their intellect.
“Claude, your formation is solid. But what if I make a move like this?”
Brother Fahrenheit casually placed a unit of infantry.
Normally, one would take the bait, but knowing Brother Fahrenheit, he must have some sort of scheme.
“In that case, I’ll make this move.”
He placed an infantry unit in a position that, no matter how you looked at it, seemed like a bad move.
“Do you have something in mind? Still, I’ll take this piece.”
Claude grinned and revealed his hidden piece.
“Brother. Here, I will deploy the Ambush Squad I had hidden.”
“To think you had them hidden in such a place. You got me there.”
Normally, there’s no point in deploying an ambush unit at such a location, but it’s precisely because it’s unpredictable that it has meaning.
He merged the unit he had played as a bad move with the Ambush Squad, and with these two units, he attacked the bait unit Brother Fahrenheit had just played.
“Brother. With this, I’ve gained an overwhelming advantage. What will you do?”
“Hmm… This is bad if it stays like this. I need to somehow recover.”
Having gained the advantage, Claude didn’t let up on his offensive, relentlessly cornering him.
“This is… I’m beaten. I’ve completely lost.”
In the end, Brother Fahrenheit couldn’t overturn his disadvantage, and Claude achieved his first victory.
“I finally managed to win.”
“If I lose in this field, I’ll lose my standing, you know. Shall we play one more game?”
After that, they repeated cycles of winning and losing, and time passed quickly.
“Mm. Claude, you’ve really gotten strong. At this rate, once you enter the academy, you might even be able to join the Strategic Research Institute.”
“The Strategic Research Institute?”
“I used to belong to it too. It’s a place where strategists from all over the country gather to research strategy.”
“That sounds interesting.”
“It seems you’re interested. Many of its members are in command positions, so if you think about times of emergency, building connections there wouldn’t hurt. I recommend it.”
“Times of emergency? If it’s against monsters, that’s one thing, but I still dislike wars against people.”
“That’s true. No one wishes for wars between people, but if we don’t fight, our citizens will suffer. It depends on other countries, but you should be prepared.”
This wasn’t a conversation for an eight-year-old child like Claude, but as an independent noble, if an order came from above, he would have to obey.
His Majesty the King would likely show consideration for his age, but nobles who found him troublesome probably wouldn’t.
With these complex feelings, he began the next board game.