The second sun isn't a fuckin sun. It's some sort of metal structure that is on fire! Holy shit! 

- Random Astronomer after the invention of enhanced sun specialized telescopes

"Congratulations! You finally managed to stick a bayonet in me! Now how did you do it?" (Descal)

"Do what?" (Cecilia)

"Don't joke around. For the last week of sparring, I noticed that when we were fighting, you knew every move I was going to make in advance. It was only recently that your actions caught up with your thinking and eyes. Did you gain foresight?" (Descal)

"Let's go to the medical tent and get you patched up first." (Cecilia)

"No need." (Descal)

Descal removed the bayonet from his chest, and Cecilia watched in fascination as the wound flawlessly closed. As Descal was stretching to test the effectiveness of the healing, Cecilia couldn't help but ask.

"Your regeneration ability is astonishing. I wish our healers could heal wounds as if they never existed." (Cecilia)

"That's because they don't know anything about the human body. They simply think that stopping the bleeding and closing the wound is enough. Seriously, this world has gotten so backward I am just astounded. Alright. We're alone now. Did you gain a new skill with those magic eyes of yours?" (Descal)

"Yes. During the battle with the gold rank, when I thought I was gonna die, I noticed that I could see some sort of image that he followed. I soon determined that it was some sort of prediction, and it was why I decided to ram my shoulder into the sword. If I didn't, I would have gotten a sword through my head." (Cecilia)

"I see. Don't trust it too much. There are ways to counter it." (Descal)

"Really? Are you familiar with this ability?" (Cecilia)

"Yeah. One of the hero's companions was an Elder Dragon. She fell in love with the human hero somehow, and she shapeshifted to a more human shape as they traveled around being a pain in my ass. She had the gift of foresight." (Descal)

"How did you defeat her?" (Cecilia)

"When you are against an opponent who can see the future, speed is key. It doesn't matter if they can predict it if they can't set up countermeasures in time. The second is to set up countermeasures for the future sight itself. In other words, do an attack that is difficult to counter like explosions. That's how one of my generals defeated her. If you want, I can help you with training that particular skill of yours. I have a decent amount of knowledge about it." (Descal)

"I thought you said you didn't know anything about magic eyes?" (Cecilia)

"It's a half-lie. I never received formal education on it. Also, I only have some knowledge about magic eyes regarding foresight. I myself have a magic eye in which I can see someone's fate and a person's character. Although I try not to use my magic eyes so much because it tends to have some backlash if I use it too much. Fate doesn't like being spied on, and people with great amounts of power can change their own fate on a whim so..." (Descal)

"Well, what can you tell me about this new feature of my magic eyes." (Cecilia)

"Hmm. If it is anything like her eyes, you should be able to see a little bit into the future. She was able to see up to a full ten minutes, but since you are a human, I think your limit would be about three minutes. Now, it is important to set proper intervals with your foresight. For example, in a fight, depending on the speed of your opponent, you would want to change how far you can see into the future. Like, if you look two minutes into the future and you see your head go flying, it won't be helpful to continue seeing two seconds into the future, but look one second into the future instead." (Descal)

"Okay." (Cecilia)

"Now here is where things get juicy. There is a secret function of the magic eyes, in which you can train your eyes to see the best countermeasures for an attack." (Descal)

"Seriously?"

"Yup. Your eyes can actually recommend the best plan of attack for you somehow. That's what she told me."

"What? The elder dragon told you? I thought you were her enemy."

"I captured her. Then, I tortured her for information."

Cecilia immediately came to a halt and stared at Descal. Descal didn't have the courage to look her in the eye.

"You've been very truthful and mostly open with me these past few months. I think it is also fitting that I let you know a little bit more of my own brutal past."

"No, I am not rebuking you about the torturing. I would be a hypocrite about that. But ... You tortured an elder dragon. And you got information out of her. I thought elder dragons had insane amounts of willpower and pride. That's what the books say. They would sooner kill themselves than give information to their enemies."

"That's why about a month before kidnapping her, I spiked her food with some drugs to increase the likelihood of her getting pregnant. Then, I spiked the hero with some aphrodisiac."

"You what?!!!"

"Yeah. Her face when I told her that she was pregnant just before I began torturing her... Now that I have regained much of my sanity and some of my humanity... It's not easy existing with the atrocities I have committed."

"Descal. You... at least... spared the child right? You at least allowed her to give birth to the child right?"

"..."

"Descal. You son of a... I know I did some really questionable things, but this is on a whole new level. You know how much dragons as a species treasure their young."

"I did much worse Cecilia. This is just the tip of the iceberg. There is a reason why I was so feared. Why there were species that would rather submit to me than face me."

 "I think I know why you refuse to tell me about the past. You don't even want to think about your past do you?"

"No. I would rather not. I am also the reason why dragons are so rare, and why many species of dragons are extinct. I sort of showed the hero his dead wife, and I tore out the fetus to show him his lost future as well. He went mad, and he lost the protection of fate. I killed him then. The problem was that the other Elder Dragons heard about it, and the entire dragon race declared war on me. I proceeded to kill every last one of them. I have committed massacre after massacre, genocide after genocide, but it is because of these genocides that the human race is flourishing like this. There is no way in hell that the humans would even be so powerful and widespread if I hadn't eradicated so many species."

"Let's stop with this depressing talk. We're almost at the command tent."

With a heavy silence, they trudged onwards with a couple short curt greetings to those passing by. When they reached the tent, the three commanders and Felix was waiting there, arguing over the best course of action. 

"I am telling you that it is better to take the fight to them. If we intercept them at the plains, I am confident my cavalry can corral them into tight formations so that they will be easy prey for the mages." (Cornelia)

"As if they would leave the mages alone while you are running around.  It would be far better to simply wait it out on a siege." (Derecha)

"As tempting as that sounds, going on the defensive never wins any battles. You have to remember that the traitors still outnumber us. They could easily tie us down in the Fortress City of Punto and start attacking other cities." (Felix)

"Then, the best place to intercept them would be this river right here. There is only one bridge, and..." (Finus)

"Don't bother. She'll think of a way to cross it." (Descal)

 "General. How was the spar today?" (Felix)

"She's getting good." (Descal)

"May I ask that you refrain from giving her black eyes though?" (Felix)

Descal took a quick glance at the two black eyes that Cecilia had, shrugged and replied:

"It suits her." (Descal)

"If it was not for that contract, you would have been arrested long ago." (Felix)

"Then, we wouldn't be able to get mad drunk with the gang and wreck the taverns." (Descal)

"Please. Don't mention that. I don't plan on getting drunk ever again." (Felix)

"Alright, Fetish Felix." (Descal)

Felix groaned and facepalmed as the other commanders including Cecilia gave Felix a weird look. Already, people had an overactive imagination as they tried to think of what Felix did that warranted such a nickname. Descal was about to clarify what really happened, but he suddenly remembered his promise so he kept his mouth shut.

"Okay, I read the reports. Now, I see why we are all so worried. The general this time is General Sheela, also known as the Ice Siren. Famous for ice spells, excellent at tactics. Outstanding mage. She is famous for the Battle of the Dass, in which she defeated an army of 10,000 warped ones with only 1,000 trained soldiers and 3,000 conscripts." (Cecilia)

Stolen novel; please report.

"Her army right now according to preliminary estimates is up to 20,000 troops: 10,000 infantry, 5,000 cavalries, and 5,000 mages." (Descal)

"I have to say. Those scouts you hired did an excellent job. They got who the general was, a good estimate, and the path of the army." (Cecilia)

"Well, let's say that I knew of a mercenary group from some time ago. One of their members was able to introduce me to the guild, and I managed to hire some high-quality scouts." (Descal)

"You'll have to introduce me to them sometime." (Cecilia)

"*cough* May I redirect your attention back to this issue. What are your thoughts General? Where should we engage the enemy?" (Derecha)

"What are our numbers again?" (Descal)

"We received reinforcements as Queen Cecilia was able to convince more nobles to invest in our cause. We will have about 15,000 in about three days. 5,000 cavalry, 9,000 infantry, and 1,000 mages." (Derecha)

Descal's mind raced furiously as he tried to think of some counters to this new threat. His first thought was replicating the Battle of Salsu from Earth. One of his friends was Korean, and his father was a Korean history professor. He remembered a lecture about a particular battle. In the year 620, Goguryeo (now known as Korea), and Sui (now known as China) went to war. When the Emperor of Sui failed to penetrate a defense at this city, he dispatched a force of 300,000 troops to the capital. Goguryeo General Mundeok built a dam at the Salsu River and broke the dam when Sui troops arrived at the river. Of the 300,000 troops, only 2,700 men survived.

However, there were some weaknesses to this plan. First, any idiot would notice if the river's water level was suddenly low. Considering General Sheela's reputation, she would immediately notice a trap, and the whole thing could go down the drain. As for anywhere else... Descal knew that he couldn't rely on traps anymore because Sheela was sure to have made some countermeasures for it. Second, he had no faith in his tactical abilities to help him if he faced Sheela on a fair field. Anything "tactical" he could pull out of his ass would be from his very limited experience from playing Total W*r. He highly doubted a game's knowledge could help him in real battle. 

That really left only one option, and people were not happy to hear it.

"That is the stupidest idea I have ever heard." (Cornelia)

"Seriously. Are you addicted to fire or something?" (Derecha)

"... Your mind terrifies me." (Finus)

"Descal. Remember what I said about refrain from stupid ideas? THIS is a stupid idea." (Cecilia)

"It's the best one I've got. How many of you are confident in outsmarting Sheela? I don't have that confidence too. That's why this is the best plan." (Descal)

"Descal. We are going to be evacuating an entire city for this to work. Not only that, a single screw up and we will be the laughingstock of the entire world." (Cecilia)

"It's either that or risk a heavy loss. With this strategy, I can reduce our own casualty and maximize the deaths of the enemy. We have already dealt a heavy blow with the first battle. I highly doubt your uncle can handle a second heavy blow. If we can pull this off, your uncle should immediately go on the defensive, and we can march directly to the castle, and end the war in three battles. The other two generals aren't really that dangerous regarding tactics. A quicker end to this war the better. Also, the city isn't that big, to begin with. Just 30,000 people to evacuate. Imagine if it was the capital." (Descal)

"Uggh. Descal. You are helping with the paperwork." (Cecilia)

"I know. I know. On the bright side, we can end this stupid civil war really quickly!" (Descal)

"Commander Finus, Cornelia, Finus, and Derecha. Hammer out the details of Descal's crazy plan, and get a rough draft on my desk by tomorrow morning. If we are evacuating the entire city, we are going to need some time." (Cecilia)

"Yes, your majesty." (Commanders)

"You, Descal, expect a crap-ton of paperwork this afternoon." (Cecilia)

"Yeah. Yeah." (Descal)

"Dismissed." (Cecilia)

 Descal and Cecilia left the tent and began walking toward the area reserved for royalty. They didn't speak and simply watched as people went about completing their duties. When they finally got to the tent, Descal invited Cecilia over for some tea at his tent, which Cecilia accepted quite enthusiastically because that meant it was possible for her to eat some of Descal's cookies. As Descal was placing a silence spell around the tent as well as a detection spell, he began to rebuke Cecilia.

"You didn't need to accept so eagerly. People will get the wrong idea." 

"Descal. It has been far too long since I tasted some of your cooking. I want those cookies." 

"I hope you get fat."

"Thank you, and don't worry. I exercise plenty every day because of you."

"Does the black eye still hurt?"

"Black eyes. And yes. They do." 

"You want me to heal them?"

"... You son of a bitch. Your healing abilities aren't restricted to yourself?"

"Nope. Now hold still."

"So all this time. All those injuries I got from sparring you. You could have healed them this entire time?"

"Yup."

"I am tempted to spill this tea on you."

"You would look more threatening if your face wasn't stuffed with cookies."

"Itsch dericious."

"Oh. SO Queen like. And people wonder why I don't call you by your proper title."

"It's refreshing to act childish at times."

"Anyway, you did want to meet my scout so in about a few minutes they will be coming with a message."

"Wow. You work fast. I only brought it up today, and already you have a meeting ready for me."

"Better get it over with. Anyway, wipe off those crumbs. She's here."

Cecilia stood up and began patting her clothes to wipe off the crumbs. Descal walked over to the left back corner of his tent and revealed a small flap that opened to a bush. From the bush came a humanoid figure completely dressed in camouflage with twigs and leaves attached to the green-brown patterned clothes. 

"So. Did you get the information I wanted?" 

"Yes. Here is the report." (Ninja)

"Thanks. Do you want some tea? I think I also have some... yup... I managed to find some rice so I also made some rice cakes."

"Really?? Thank you so much!!! Do you mind if you tell me where you found the rice? I've looked all over for..." (Ninja)

"I am right here you know. If you could kindly stop hugging my subordinate, I would like for you to introduce yourself. Also, I also believe it would be the proper courtesy to show your face." (Cecilia)

"Oh... Sorry about that. I am Descal's friend. We met some months ago when a colleague of mine introduced him to me. You will have to forgive me for refusing to remove my hood, or revealing my name for security reasons. I have trust issues." (Ninja)

"Well. Then, what should I call you?" (Cecilia)

"My nickname is Yang. May I ask who you are?" (Yang)

"I am the Queen of the Ruhan Kingdom, Cecilia Tennesley the Third." (Cecilia)

"야. 이 것이 뭐야. 너의 야자 친구가 예쁜 여왕이야? 어떻게 이 여왕을 여자친구로 얻었어?" (Yang) *What? What is this? Is your girlfriend a pretty queen? How did you get a queen as your girlfriend?*

"아니. 아니! 사실이야! 나를 믿어! Cecilia는 내 여자 친구가 아니야!" (Descal) *No. No! It's true! Believe me! Cecilia is not my girlfriend!*

"Uhuh. You guys do know that I am still here." (Cecilia)

"Oh. Sorry about that your majesty." (Yang)

"You can drop your majesty part in private. She doesn't care that much." (Descal)

"I do care, but I can make exceptions. How exactly did you guys meet?" (Cecilia)

"Well, you know how when I first came to this world, I teamed up with a couple mercenaries." (Descal)

"Wait. She knows about Earth? Is she a transported like me?" (Yang)

"Wait. What? A transported?" (Cecilia)

"Shut it! I'll get to it. Yes. Cecilia knows about Earth, but she hasn't been there. She is a resident of this world. I told her everything." (Descal)

"You sure that it is okay to tell a royalty about us?" (Yang)

"Yeah. It's fine. I can make sure that Cecilia doesn't do anything stupid." (Descal)

"Okay. If you say so." (Yang)

"So anyway, one of the mercenaries Les asked me if I could go check on one of her friends. Apparently, Les heard about me moaning about some food that was very similar to what Yang once had cravings for. She got suspicious that Yang was also an other worlder so she sent me to tell Yang that Les was mad that Yang kept a secret from her for so long. So, I found her in one of the cities and became quick friends due to similar circumstances. Since she was trained in the art of stealth, I decided to hire her recently as my scout and spy." (Descal)

"I see. I have seen a glimpse of your work, and I am truly impressed. I hope that you will continue providing your services to the crown." (Cecilia)

"Sure. The pay is good. It's better than solo mercenary work." (Yang)

"You are a solo as well?" (Cecilia)

"Not a high level though. The reason for not being in a team is... I have trust issues... When I first came to this world, I couldn't speak any of the languages, and yeah. Bad things happened until I was rescued by a dojo that was founded by someone who was also from Earth. It was at that dojo that I met Les, and learned the skills necessary to survive in this world." (Yang)

"I see. Were you from this country called America as well?" (Cecilia)

"No. That's where Descal was from. I came from a country called Japan." (Yang)

"So the language you were speaking wasn't English? Then, was it a language from Japan?" (Cecilia)

"Uhh. No. It wasn't Japanese. It was Korean." (Yang)

"So is Korean the common language on Earth?" (Cecilia)

"Nope. English is the most spoken language on Earth. However, Yang here slept in her English courses so she can't speak English very well. However, she gained an interest in other Asian languages and loved to travel so she is fluent in Mandarin, Korean, Vietnamese, and etc. As for me, I learned some Korean from one of my friends while English was my primary language. I also picked up some Spanish as well. So the only language we share from Earth is Korean. We sometimes speak that language for nostalgia sake." (Descal)

"I see. Well, it is good to meet someone who is in a similar situation to Descal. I hope you will find me to be a trustworthy person, and I hope we can be good friends as well." (Cecilia)

"Sure. It's nice meeting a blue blood who isn't stuck up. I'll consider it. I mean if Descal is working for you, you can't be that bad. Well, I have to go now. Payment is still the same place right?" (Yang)

 "Yeah. Stay safe. Tell me if you change your mind about my proposal for becoming my secretary." (Descal)

"Well... only when it is obvious that you are winning. It is still quite shaky right now. I don't want to place my bets on the losing sides you know." (Yang)

"Yeah. After the coming battle, it will be obvious." (Descal)

"Good luck." (Yang)

Yang slipped away into the bush, and Descal closed the flap and reapplied his wards. 

"She has no idea who you really are." (Cecilia)

"No. She thinks that I am a simple Earthling." (Descal)

"Although that's surprising. I didn't think that mysterious girls were your type." (Cecilia)

"First her. Now you. No. I don't love her. I am only offering that position to her cause she is not a good mercenary. Yeah, her skills are top notch, but it is not really fit for solo mercenary work. Also, I trust her. She has a good set of morals." (Descal)

"Why didn't you hire her before your promotion? She would have been very useful during the planning phases of the war. I am sure that your pay as the Captian of the Royal Guards would have been enough." (Cecilia)

"Two reasons. One. I wouldn't be able to use the information. People would ask where I got the scouting information so I would have to introduce Yang to everyone, which is something she would never agree to. Second, my protection would be limited. Now that I am Commanding General, I am essentially second in command of this entire army. I have the authority to protect Yang with my authority if something goes wrong. In fact, Yang actually refused to work for me until I mentioned that I could protect her from political fights that she might be dragged into because of my position." (Descal)

"Well, if she is going to be your secretary," (Cecilia)

Cecilia leaned in front of Descal, stared at him in his face, and demanded that she teach him Korean. 

"Why?" (Descal)

"I don't like listening to people talk about me in a language I don't understand." (Cecilia)

Descal felt a shiver run down his back when he heard this. It was obvious that Cecilia was very angry about that earlier incident. 

"Also, it is for convenience. I looked at the report that she just gave you, and it is written in what I am guessing is Korean. Which is smart since Korean isn't a language in this world. I think it would be a good code." (Cecilia)

"Yeah... That's a good idea, but since there is a possibility of another transportee, no matter how small, we will still need to make a proper code with it." (Descal)

"Well, good enough. I can think of a couple ways. It will be difficult for a transportee to crack, but impossible for anyone of this world. Hell, a transportee might not even notice that we used a language from Earth as the basis for a code." (Cecilia)

"Yeah. Well, get me the paperwork. I made a promise to one of the Royal Knights that I would help him with some magic tonight." (Descal)