"All right, soldiers!"
Every eye turned toward me.
"The Whale appears early midnight! A dense fog will form! Be close to each other and do not falter when the fog attacks your minds!"
Excellent.
A thousand people waiting for instructions from a guy whose military experience came entirely from anime and strategy games.
"The Soldiers who excel at magic will use large-scale spells to damage and restrain the Whale!"
The soldiers raised their weapons and roared their approval like Barbarians from Clash of Clans.
They're actually listening.
"The Soldiers and Knights will engage in melee combat with swords, lances and ranged weapons like bows to weaken it!"
The Soldiers listened intently this time.
"When the Whale appears, do not panic! Act as you were trained for the past two weeks!"
The formation remained silent.
Hundreds of faces stared back at me.
Waiting.
Trusting.
This is insane.
These people genuinely believe I know what I'm doing.
HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHAHAHAHA! THIS FEELS SO GOOD COMMANDING AN ARMY! But also scary if the Whale doesn't spawn...
"I will monitor the movements and actions of the Whale, once it splits into three bodies, I will fire a signal flare. Julius Juukulius will then use his quasi-spirits to illuminate the true White Whale in the sky"
"Ricardo and the rest of the Iron Fang will focus their long range artilleries on the illuminated Whale!"
Ricardo grinned.
Several mercenaries slammed their weapons against their shields.
The sound echoed across the highway.
Good.
The psychopaths were enthusiastic.
That's usually a positive sign in military operations.
[ ─── ❖ ─── ─── ❖ ─── ─── ❖ ─── ]
Orders were repeated.
Signals were checked.
The massive coalition army gradually transformed from a crowd into a machine.
I let out a slow breath.
So far, nobody had realized I was making this up as I went.
A remarkable achievement.
"...Subaru."
I turned.
Emilia stood a short distance away, silver hair swaying gently in the cold night wind.
Puck floated beside her shoulder.
"What?"
She stared at me for several seconds.
Not speaking.
Why was everyone in this world allergic to getting to the point?
"...It's strange."
There it is.
A statement.
Not a question.
A statement.
Excellent.
I had no idea how to respond to statements.
"Okay."
Emilia blinked.
"That's your answer?"
"You said it was strange."
"It is strange."
"Then I agree."
For some reason, that seemed to make her even more confused.
Humans truly were fascinating creatures.
Emilia looked past me.
Toward the countless soldiers preparing for battle beneath the shadow of the Flugel Tree.
"Just a month ago, you were completely lost."
"Still am."
She ignored that.
"You barely knew anyone."
"True."
"And now..." She hesitated. "Now there are thousands of people here following your plan."
I immediately pointed toward Crusch's camp.
"Thousands of people are here because Crusch has money, authority, and an actual reputation."
"That's not what I mean."
Of course it wasn't.
Nothing was ever what people meant.
Emilia folded her arms.
"I'm serious."
"So am I."
She sighed.
I considered that a tactical victory.
For approximately three seconds.
Then Emilia smiled.
A small one.
The kind that meant danger.
"You're impossible."
"I've been informed of that repeatedly."
The smile widened.
"...Still."
Her gaze drifted toward the army again.
Toward the knights.
Toward the mercenaries.
Toward the giant shadow of the Flugel Tree waiting in the distance.
"You act like you know exactly what you're doing."
That almost made me laugh.
If only she knew.
I knew enough about Lugunica to avoid exposing myself as an outsider.
Enough to blend in.
Enough to fake confidence.
Not enough to actually belong here.
Most of what I was doing amounted to taking information from a future nobody else remembered and pretending it was strategy.
A surprisingly effective leadership technique.
"That's because if I look uncertain, everyone else starts getting uncertain too."
Emilia looked at me.
"...So you're pretending?"
"Constantly."
"You're admitting that so casually."
"I don't see the point in lying about it."
The corner of Emilia's mouth twitched.
For some reason, that seemed funny to her.
"Whatever happens tomorrow night..."
She paused.
Then continued more quietly.
"I'm glad you're here."
...
That was significantly more difficult to respond to.
Because unlike most conversations, I actually understood what she meant.
Which was inconvenient.
After several seconds, I settled on the safest answer available.
"That makes one of us."
Emilia stared.
Then laughed.
Actually laughed.
I had no idea why.
But the tension in her shoulders eased.
Which probably meant I'd accidentally said the correct thing.
A rare occurrence.
One that should be documented for future research.
[ ─── ❖ ─── ─── ❖ ─── ─── ❖ ─── ]