I Became the Strategist the Monarchs Obsess Over

TLed by NolepGuy

Chapter 4

The next morning.

Leonia von Arcadia was getting dressed, dark circles under her eyes.

“Your Highness, the Princess, you stayed up all night. Wouldn’t it be better to rest a little…?”

However, the Princess of Arcadia weakly shook her head.

“Even if I stayed up all night, there are still things that must be done. What about today’s Academy classes?”

“There are six of them.”

Each class was two hours long, meaning a total of twelve hours. Today was going to be a tiring day. Thinking so, the Princess rose from her seat.

“At the very least, how about skipping the first class? Taking even a little rest would be good for your health.”

“I appreciate your frankness, but I’ve resolved to complete every class at the Academy. If rumors start spreading that the Princess is unwell, won’t future talents avoid me?”

“As you wish.”

Yuria bowed her head, conceding her stance, and the Princess was satisfied.

In truth, the reason the Princess was so sleep-deprived was because of a book.

The book Yuria Russell had brought her last night. [Strategies of a New Era: How to Utilize Firearms? Volume 1]

Yuria had said she found it placed in front of the door when she returned to her room.

The fact that it was delivered to Yuria instead of directly to the Princess was likely due to the heavy security around the Princess’s quarters.

This implied that the author of the book did not want their identity revealed.

But the Princess had a rough idea of who the author might be.

“The recently published short thesis.”

The one discussing how firearms would change the world. The author of that thesis, whose arguments were so compelling that she couldn’t help but agree entirely.

The author of that thesis and the author of this book were likely the same person. Otherwise, it would be impossible to write with such a similar tone.

The content of the book was excellent.

It discussed which weapons should be used alongside muskets and what proportion of musketeers should make up an army.

The book stated that to protect matchlock soldiers, more long spear soldiers than musketeers were needed, and those long spear soldiers should be used to block enemy cavalry charges.

Upon reading that, the Princess was astonished.

Long spears.

She had never imagined that this weapon, which only appeared in ancient military history, would resurface.

The long spear had not been a prominent weapon on the battlefield for quite some time.

This was because, while it was good for defending specific areas, it was less effective for active maneuvers like direct attacks or pursuing enemies.

Moreover, it was vulnerable to enemy gunfire.

But what if it were combined with muskets?

If the long spear soldiers only “protected” the musketeers, while the musketeers handled the primary firepower, it would create a perfect division of roles.

The musket could compensate for the long spear soldiers’ weakness in ranged attacks.

When the enemy shooters advanced, the allied musketeers would step forward, and when the enemy shooters retreated, the long spear soldiers would advance.

Realizing this, the Princess felt an urge to bang her head against the desk.

How had she not thought of such a simple principle until now?

And she began to see other rulers as foolish.

Why had no ruler yet thought of such a straightforward principle?

Indeed, the weapon that complemented muskets best was neither the halberd nor shield bearers, but long spear soldiers wielding pikes with both hands.

The book detailed how to combine long spear soldiers and musketeers, as well as how to form the most efficient formations.

Many of the details were things one couldn’t know without direct experimentation. It felt like a book written by someone from a distant future.

Of course, cross-verification was necessary.

The book’s claims would need to be tested in real combat to confirm their validity. Only then could this book be deemed “authentic.”

But there was a certain feeling.

The precision and accuracy of the figures were too sophisticated for it to be fake. The fact that a short thesis on firearms had been presented at the Academy just days ago, and that it aligned with the Princess’s existing knowledge, added to her conviction.

It might just be wishful thinking, but Leonia von Arcadia firmly believed that this book, which detailed how to handle musketeers on the battlefield, was no forgery.

“Yuria.”

“Yes.”

“At dawn tomorrow, gather the soldiers immediately. I plan to test this ‘Tercio Formation’ described in the book.”

“Understood.”

“And don’t neglect to find the person who left the book.”

“Understood.”

Tomorrow morning, the soldiers would be assembled to experiment with this Tercio tactic.

If the tactic proved effective during training drills, she intended to implement it in real combat for further validation.

But there was something more urgent than that.

It was finding the author of this book.

The Princess was convinced that discovering the identity of the person who had invented these new-era strategies would give her a significant advantage over other factions in the realm of firearms.

—–

Meanwhile, I was reading a letter.

The letter was from home. It was from Charles Jean Rochefort’s mother.

Charles Jean Rochefort was from a fallen noble family. Though he technically had a territory, it had been unlawfully occupied by a foreign noble, leaving him to live practically as a commoner.

The letter from the Rochefort family read as follows:

[To Charles, I’ve read the letter you sent last time. While I admire your determination to leave school and start working, the Rochefort family’s financial situation is not as dire as you think. We can fully support your tuition and living expenses until you graduate, so don’t worry and focus on your studies. What the family truly desires is for you to graduate from Arcadia Academy and elevate the name of the Rochefort family.]

As I read the letter, I felt a lump in my throat. So this was Charles Jean Rochefort’s situation. To summarize: the Rochefort family, a fallen noble house, was struggling to survive like commoners. They were pinning their hopes on Charles Jean Rochefort to restore their family’s honor by sending him to Arcadia Academy. Meanwhile, Charles was being bullied by other students for being poor… What a hopeless situation.

Charles was just a minor character in the game, so I had no idea he had such a backstory. It felt heavier than I had expected.

And so, I picked up a pen.

[Dear Mother, Please disregard what I wrote in my previous letter. It was just a moment of weakness. As the eldest son of the Rochefort family, I will do my utmost to overcome these challenges.]

Wouldn’t this reassure Charles’s mother to some extent?

Just as I thought that and was about to send the letter, someone knocked on the door.

-Knock, knock.

When I stepped outside, I found Yuria Russell standing there. She was the Princess’s Guard Knight, a future Duke, and a future Sword Master, known for her unwavering loyalty.

‘Quite the big shot has come to visit.’

Thinking so, I asked nonchalantly.

“Miss Yuria Russell. What brings you here?”

“I wasn’t entirely certain until I knocked, but your calm reaction just now confirms it. You’re the one who left the book, aren’t you?”

What? She figured it out already? I thought it would take at least two or three days, but she was incredibly fast.

“Why do you think that?”

“First, you were on the list of people who visited the second floor yesterday. Second, there are witnesses who saw you carrying a certain book. Third, and most decisively, most people gasp when they see me, the Princess’s Guard Knight, but you calmly asked why I was here. It suggests you were somewhat expecting my visit.”

Indeed, an excellent deduction. It was also an obvious one. I hadn’t even tried to hide the fact that I left the book, so I had left plenty of clues. The fact that she pieced it together in just one day was impressive, though.

“So, what do you want from me?”

“So it really was you.”

She spoke as if amazed.

“Her Highness, the Princess, wishes to meet you. Tonight at 8 PM, at the innermost terrace of the Party Hall.”

“The Party Hall is usually locked on days without events.”

“Her Highness will have it opened.”

As expected, for royalty, getting a key or two from the Academy was no big deal. I nodded in admiration.

And at 8 PM.

I headed to the Party Hall as instructed.

The Party Hall, located several hundred meters away from the Academy, was used to teach nobles social etiquette.

In other words, it wasn’t just for actual parties but also for lessons on party manners.

However, despite there being no classes today, the Party Hall was open.

Creak.

As I approached, two knights opened the door.

Following the knights’ escort, I entered the Party Hall.

Beautifully maintained landscaping trees and flowers.

But the emptiness of the place gave it an eerie feeling.

And as I stepped onto the innermost terrace of the Party Hall.

At the center of the terrace was a small table with expensive tea and snacks laid out.

The Princess paid no attention to the tea or snacks, engrossed in reading my book.

[Strategies of a New Era: How to Utilize Firearms? Volume 1]

Even now, I couldn’t help but admire the title. It was perfectly crafted to captivate the Princess.

Watching her engrossed in reading the book while ignoring me, I picked up one of the snacks in front of me and ate it.

A sweet and smooth flavor spread through my mouth. It was an extraordinary taste, even hard to find in modern times.

At that moment, the Princess spoke.

“Strange.”

What could be so strange? Let’s hear what she has to say.