These groundbreaking ideas seemed so obvious to him in hindsight, but it was frustrating in the heat of the moment when he was trying to come up with something. It was like the Egg of Columbus.
Normally such innovation was the realm of geniuses with the ingenuity to smash through commonly-held ideas, but Yuuto instead was leveraging knowledge from the future. That’s why, to him, all he was doing was meeting each challenge that came his way by cheating.
He flicked through numerous pages until he found one that was relevant. He had long ago memorized what was written where.
“The best thing of all is to take the country whole and intact; to shatter and destroy it is not so good. So too is it better to capture an army entire than to destroy it. Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.”
Putting it simply, fighting and winning was only the second best strategy; forcing total surrender from the enemy was the best strategy. Yuuto gave a nod, reflecting on each word as he followed the text with his fingers.
“Figures,” he said. “We have no choice but to strike a deal.”
Hearing his words, Sigrún and Felicia quietly bowed their heads in assent.
It wasn’t like the Wolf Clan had much choice. They had already seized one-third of the Horn Clan’s domain. That was more than enough for the spoils of war. Trying to cut deeper into enemy territory would be dangerous, and dragging the state of war out for too long would exhaust their country’s own resources.
This seemed to be the right time. However, the problem remained: what kind of agreement should they reach?
The fighting had started a month earlier with an invasion by the Horn Clan, and the Wolf Clan had suffered significant losses as a result. Though killing the sovereign would come with its own problems, Yuuto’s people would be expecting some significant trade-off from the Horn Clan for all the fighting.
Yuuto folded his arms and gave a frustrated groan as he considered the problem. “Considering the situation, we could normally have them trade food and minerals or some other goods in exchange for the return of their sovereign, or perhaps have them cede territory to us. But if possible, I’d really rather have her accept my Chalice.”
Even if the Horn Clan’s food or territory were taken, the root of the problem would still remain. Yuuto wanted the warring between the Wolf Clan and the Horn Clan to go no further than this. He had no territorial ambitions. He had only one guiding principal as sovereign, and that was to bring the people of the Wolf Clan lives of peace and abundance.
To that end, this world’s custom involving the Chalice was extremely convenient. It was so sacred and revered that to go against the Chalice even once was taboo; to break one’s vow would cause any faith placed in that person to fall to ash.
One couldn’t select the parents that give birth to them or the siblings they were raised with... but with the Chalice, they were granted the choice of whether or not to accept this new bond. To betray the person you had chosen to honor as parent of your own free will was thought of as the most despicable, base act.
In other words, having the enemy sovereign accept his Chalice and become a child or younger sibling of his would mean that the Horn Clan could not oppose Yuuto — or, by extension, the Wolf Clan itself.
Paradoxically, because of that, a sovereign with the duty to protect their own clan would simply not allow themselves to accept the Chalice and end up subordinate to another sovereign. They couldn’t accept it.
“In that case, it’s kind of cheating, but I guess we’ll need the same strategy we used with the Claw Clan?” Yuuto thought back to that time, and snorted derisively at his memory of himself.
In all honesty, he didn’t want to do it. Still, he was the sovereign. His position required that he put the needs of the clan over his own needs.
The words of Sun Tzu began to play back in his mind.
Two years ago, when he had been swept into this world and left to wander helplessly, the Wolf Clan, which had in no way been prosperous, had still taken Yuuto in and fed him, and so he had come to care deeply for them.
He had made several friends like Felicia and Sigrún, who had stuck by him through the good and the bad. He wanted to protect them somehow. He didn’t want to see those close to him die, or to watch them suffer any more sadness.
Yuuto heaved a long, drawn-out sigh. As long as it meant that the loss of human life would be diminished, enduring something personally unpleasant was a price he’d be more than willing to pay.
“All right, set up the tent. Prepare for our meeting.”
“Hey, don’t push.” A young girl was being led into the tent. “I can walk on my own!”
“Huh?” A vapid exclamation of shock slipped from Yuuto’s lips. Rubbing his temples with his index fingers, Yuuto gave Felicia, who was seated at his side, a perplexed look. “...This kid is the sovereign patriarch?”
To be sure, the clothes she wore were far more elegant than those of a typical soldier, and a golden circlet glistened on her forehead. There seemed to be no doubt that she possessed social standing. Even though he knew that, he couldn’t help his surprise at her age.
Seated at his side, Felicia gave a solemn nod. “Yes, this is Lady Linnea, the sovereign patriarch of the Horn Clan.”
“But she’s still just a kid.”
“You look about the same age as me, boy!” the Horn Clan sovereign shouted, displeased with Yuuto’s brash words.
Returning his gaze to her, he saw she was glaring at him, her eyes filled with rage.
Her hair, trimmed short and neat around the nape of her neck, gave her a boyish appearance, and she was actually a very cute girl. She was probably about one or two years younger than Yuuto. Seeing her little body bound up in all those layers of rope made him feel a bit sorry for her.
Yuuto had heard that the current sovereign of the Horn Clan was female. Though just a girl, she had risen above and taken control of the wild and rowdy warriors in her clan to become their sovereign, a feared and valiant woman known as Hildisvíni, “the Crimson Lady Tiger.” But the girl who was before him, growling and making threats, gave him less of an impression of a lady tiger than of a wild cat.
“Well, I guess in this place, that isn’t so strange after all,” he said.
In truth, a young man like Yuuto was serving as the Wolf Clan sovereign as well, and though both Felicia and Sigrún were girls still in their teens, they were both placed in respected positions within the clan.
In Yggdrasil, strength was everything. If you had strength, then being young or female was irrelevant.
“Anyway, I suppose introductions are in order. I am Yuuto, the sovereign of the Wolf Clan.”
“...Hmph.” Linnea responded to Yuuto’s introduction by averting her gaze and planting herself firmly on the ground.
But Yuuto could see through to her rapid trembling. Acting so brave was likely a ruse to divert attention from her fear.
“I care not for useless overtures. Let me get straight to the point. Will you become one of my subordinates — one of my children, that is?” Yuuto said, putting on an air of arrogance.
“I refuse! Why would one of the Horn become subservient to one of you Dogs? Cease this nonsense!”
Without the slightest hesitation, Linnea refused his proposal outright. And calling them dogs showed that she clearly viewed them with contempt.
“True, we may have suffered a defeat this time! But the national prowess of the mighty Horn Clan still far exceeds that of you Dogs. Such a miracle won’t befall you again. Now, if you’re going to kill me, then do it! But your head will be next to roll. So go wash off that neck of yours and await your fate. Ha ha ha ha ha!”
“Heh heh... aren’t you the one who should cease speaking nonsense?” Felicia touched a hand to her cheek and asserted that with a long sigh, as if dumping a bucket of cold water on Linnea at the height of her amusement.