Wasn’t This Supposed To Be a Strategy Game? Chapter 63

Eden, thinking she was making a joke, added a pointless comment—but there was no need. The cookies were a disaster. One glance told you they were definitely the work of a beginner.

Only then did Ivatan realize the bandages wrapped around Eden’s fingers were likely covering burn marks.

As he stared at the cookies, Ivatan suddenly spoke.

“There is a way to escape the First Prince’s suspicion.”

It was an oddly timed remark, completely out of place for someone who had just received a gift.

Startled, Eden looked up at him. Ivatan was staring straight at her with a calm, emotionless face.

“As I suggested before—step down from your priesthood and devote yourself to extermination.”

“……”

“And sever your connection with the Third Prince.”

The cold words drew a silent sigh from Eden’s chest.

‘Here we go again.’

Ivatan didn’t understand. That Eden and Asmon’s fates were intertwined. It had nothing to do with the mark etched on her chest—it was a law of nature that couldn’t be changed.

“There’s a better way.”

Eden answered in a clear voice. Ivatan gazed at her.

“His Highness the Third Prince must become the Crown Prince.”

She smiled confidently.

Ivatan’s gaze grew colder by the second. The sparkle of trust in her eyes whenever she spoke of the Third Prince was beginning to seriously grate on him.

“You truly believe His Highness has the qualities of an emperor?”

“Absolutely.”

“On what grounds?”

Eden paused briefly. There was only ever one reason.

Because he’s the one I chose.

“Chancellor, you admit that my abilities are special, don’t you?”

“……”

“Then surely you can trust the one I’ve chosen—His Highness Asmon.”

It was a reply that lacked all logic, and Ivatan’s eyes hardened once more.

“You’ll see. He’ll prove it soon enough. You’ll understand then.”

Despite the nonsense she was spouting, Eden kept smiling brightly—only further irritating Ivatan.

The fact that Eden had been saved by Asmon during the hunting competition was, to Ivatan, a surprise. But she had only been in danger that day because of Asmon.

He couldn’t understand why Eden had to bear such risk.

What would Eden gain from Asmon becoming emperor?

Ivatan couldn’t see the benefit. But right then, Eden did see it—crystal clear before her eyes.

Ding.

With perfect timing, a notification chime rang out, and Eden, who had been eagerly waiting, immediately turned her gaze toward the air.

『【!】Basic Quest

: Find “Ella” living in the small village of Horun in Reblum.』

Eden’s eyes sparkled with determination. The game was progressing normally. She was advancing through the quests without issue.

She wasn’t wrong. Asmon would become emperor—and eventually send her back to her original world.

‘Ella, from the village of Horun in Reblum…’

She didn’t know who Ella was, but if her location was Reblum, that meant the Reblum episode had finally begun.

With a relaxed smile, Eden looked back at Ivatan.

“Want to make a bet? If His Highness Asmon successfully purifies Reblum, you grant me one wish.”

It was such a childish bet that it almost made him laugh.

“Have you considered how immature this sounds?”

“Not if you’re afraid to lose.”

At that, a faint vein appeared on Ivatan’s temple. It was strange. This priestess in front of him was provoking him far more than she should have.

No—what irritated him more was the fact that he was being provoked at all.

“If I win, what do I get?”

Eden rolled her eyes in thought for a moment, then answered with a crisp tone.

“I’ll resign from the priesthood and join the palace full-time, dedicating myself entirely to monster extermination.”

At that, Ivatan shut the open ledger on his desk with a decisive thump.

“Deal.”

Their eyes met, stubborn determination flickering in both.

Soon after finishing her task, Eden walked out of the office without looking back. Ivatan, too, didn’t watch her leave—simply remained behind, tidying up the remaining documents.

As always, he skipped dinner and worked deep into the night. It wasn’t until a palace attendant arrived with a tray of food that he stirred.

The Emperor had given strict orders to ensure the Chancellor never skipped meals, no matter what.

“Chancellor, here’s your dinner. Please eat before continuing.”

 

Despite the arrival of an uninvited guest, Ivatan didn’t so much as blink. He continued reviewing the documents in front of him.

The maid, who was collecting the teacups, watched him with a mix of admiration and exasperation. As she tidied up the desk, her eyes landed on the package of cookies sitting alone on the tabletop, and she tilted her head curiously.

‘The Chancellor doesn’t eat cookies…’

Just as she was about to pick it up and remove it—

“Leave that.”

Ivatan’s voice rang out suddenly, halting the maid in her tracks. She turned around to see him still staring at his paperwork.

“Pardon? These cookies…?”

She looked down at them, clearly puzzled. One glance told you they were a disaster—visibly lacking in both nutrition and flavor, they looked like they could be laced with deadly poison.

“If you’d like cookies, sir, I could bring you something better. Shall I fetch—”

“No.”

His voice was firm and immediate.

“That will do. Leave it.”

“Ah… but it hasn’t been checked yet—”

Then, finally, Ivatan lifted his head to look at her directly.

His gaze was sharp, the kind that warned he’d had just about enough interruptions for the day.

The maid took a startled step back.

“N-No, of course! I’ll leave it right away!”

She hurried to gather the tray and left the office in a flurry. Once the room fell quiet again, Ivatan looked back down at his paperwork, only to sigh in frustration and lift his gaze again shortly after.

Spending the entire day locked in his office poring over overdue documents had brought on a headache.

“……”

Pressing at his temples, his eyes landed on the package of cookies Eden had left behind. After a moment of hesitation, he reached for it and picked it up.

The misshapen cookie—a star gone horribly wrong—sat inside, and for some reason, a strange pressure tightened in his chest.

After glaring at it for a long time, as if it were the cause of his headache, he opened a desk drawer and shoved the package inside.

***

Asmon slowly guided his horse through the ruined village.

Even though it was still daytime, the village felt shrouded in shadow. Debris from collapsed buildings and charred remnants littered the area, casting a bleak, desolate atmosphere.

“This village was attacked by bandits twice in recent weeks,”

Reported Ronpel, who followed close behind with a grim face.

Located along the coast, Reblum had once thrived as a prosperous fishing town—but in recent years, it had become infested with pirates and criminals. In no time, it had transformed into a city overrun with lawlessness.

The palace had dispatched agents multiple times to locate the source of the corruption—but all efforts had failed.

Up until now, Asmon had only known the surface-level details.

But Eden had revealed something deeper.

“Your Highness, there’s another reason Reblum fell so far. There’s an unregistered tevel in Reblum.”

Asmon had realized then how the city had been so quickly overtaken.

“That’s why even low-level mages with low-quality magic stones can produce high-grade narcotics. Since unregistered tevels offer the best prices for low-grade stones, pirates and bandits flocked to Reblum.”

Tevels were dangerous precisely for this reason—and had to be kept under the Empire’s strict control.

Eden had operated one herself in a past playthrough, so she knew their danger well.

A tevel strong enough to corrupt an entire city like this one was surely more powerful than any she had previously encountered.

“So if we can just locate the unregistered tevel, we can solve Reblum’s problem.”

The issue, of course, was that Eden didn’t know the tevel’s exact location.

When playing as Kyris, she’d only gotten a notification after completing a few quests and minigames: “You have found the unregistered tevel!”

Even the prophetic book she’d received as a reward merely confirmed what she already knew—that there was a tevel in Reblum, and it needed to be found.

But since this was her first playthrough as Eden, she’d just have to keep clearing quests until she uncovered more clues.

“Soon the divine oracle will come down. Until then, please focus on tending to the people of Reblum and gaining their trust. We will succeed.”

Asmon recalled the way Eden had smiled as she’d said those words.

The divine oracle.

He had never believed in gods, but if one truly did exist—he could now understand why they would choose Eden.

Not him, but her.

The realization left him feeling strangely anxious. As though, once her sacred mission was fulfilled, she might suddenly vanish.

Just then, Ronpel shouted sharply and drew his sword.

“Your Highness!”

But Asmon was faster. The bandit hiding behind a tree hadn’t even swung his blade before Asmon’s sword sliced cleanly through the man’s arm.

“Gyaaagh!”