Bavanshi, Are You a Genius?

[Guiliniweier successfully defeated his opponent.]

"Eh? How is this possible? He actually won?!"

Seated in the theater's viewing stands, Bavanshi exhaled in relief yet felt puzzled:

"According to previous simulations, he lost terribly. Why is this simulation's result suddenly different?"

After thinking it over, she decided to ask someone:

"Riko, by all logic, Guiliniweier's strength should be far below his opponent's... so why did he win?"

"Lady Tristán, I am merely a maid; how could I know the answer to that?" Riko replied with a helpless shake of her head. Seeing Bavanshi's confused expression, she sighed and added:

"I only noticed that during the fight he seemed extremely angry—perhaps that surge of emotion gave him courage."

"Oh! Anger!" Bavanshi lightly pounded her palm with a fist, as if suddenly enlightened:

"Could it be because of what I said to him earlier, causing this change? In other words, did I make him very angry?"

"That's uncertain, my lady. Perhaps you also need to pay attention to how you interact with him, especially since you value him greatly?" the maid gently suggested.

"R-Really?"

After a brief moment of guilt, Bavanshi pondered and then slapped her forehead:

"But—if his anger made him win, then this victory might be credited to me. After all, if I hadn't provoked him, he wouldn't have won, right?"

"...Lady Tristán," Riko's smile deepened, "do you truly think that always provoking others to anger is a good thing?"

Under Riko's examining gaze, Bavanshi averted her eyes guiltily:

"Uh, no, I suppose not."

—This felt very strange.

Normally, if anyone else dared speak so boldly to her, Bavanshi would have flown into a rage and killed them on the spot; at least outwardly, she would show anger, because when she got angry, Mother seemed slightly relieved. But facing this kindly maid, she simply could not bring herself to be angry—in fact, she found herself worried the maid might become upset with her... as if the maid were her mother herself.

Hmph—no, there must be some mistake. She had always been that foolish, after all, always making Mother angry. Yet at the same time, she wondered: if Guiliniweier's victory wasn't due to her having provoked him, then what was the real reason?

Meanwhile, Artoria (in her own perspective) suddenly had a bold idea:

"Could it be that Guiliniweier also has a simulator?"

If so, many things would make sense: not only that he won an unwinnable fight, but also some of his earlier odd behaviors: for example, he tried to flee before even properly knowing her. Though he explained that a clingy woman frightened him into running away... but a normal person might instead try to drive her off, not abandon his abode. Of course, one might argue he's just gentle—but the hypothesis that he had foreknowledge via a simulator explains it better.

The more Artoria thought, the more plausible it seemed.

"Yes—when he returns, I must secretly test him."

"And indeed! He won; soon we'll both be freed—then I will test him thoroughly!"

[After defeating your opponent, Fairy Knight Tristán orders you brought to her lordly hall, then asks for your wish.]

"As I promised: since you achieved victory, I will grant you one request within my power. Even if it's to set you free, I can do so. What do you wish?"

—Although, if Guiliniweier asked to be released with Artoria, she would certainly break that promise. She had made that promise before, but breaking it isn't a huge matter—she had often promised freedom to victorious slave gladiators, then reneged and killed them, as Berill suggested it produced a delightful expression in their final moments.

But...

"Lady Tristán, you wouldn't break your word, right?" Guiliniweier asked cautiously before stating his request:

"You are a lord and heir to Queen Morgan. As future queen, one must keep promises, else subjects cannot trust you. I believe you understand this, don't you?"

"Uh... I-Is that so?" Bavanshi felt uneasy, turned her head, and asked Riko, the maid beside her:

"Is that really so?"

For some reason, in moments of confusion she felt compelled to seek the maid's opinion.

"...By common sense, what he said is correct: if one cannot trust a queen's promise, who in Fairyland can be trusted?" Riko agreed.

Bavanshi's expression darkened.

—True: reneging on promises to free slave gladiators was Berill's suggestion, and obviously wrong. This was awkward—she didn't actually intend to toy with Guiliniweier and kill him, but she also didn't want to set him free. If she honored the promise to free him, all her prior efforts would be wasted.

"No matter; my lady," Riko suddenly spoke: "Though a ruler must keep promises, your mind need not be so constrained—you may release them, then re-arrest them afterward."

"Oh, really?!"

Guiliniweier's blood pressure soared. Speaking of reneging in front of me—is this acceptable? Does she not respect me? This is humiliating! How is it even possible?

No way!

No wonder New Darrlington, under Bavanshi's rule, is in such a state: anyone could mislead her at will; with such a fool in charge, how can the city be managed?

Oh, right: perhaps New Darrlington truly lacks competent governance. Since I no longer wish to follow Artoria on that tragic path, New Darrlington might be a good destination.

"I have decided my wish, Lady Tristán." Guiliniweier said slowly:

"I wish to remain and assist you in governing New Darrlington, if that's acceptable? I believe I have some confidence in administrative matters; you may trust my ability."

Meanwhile, Bavanshi saw this message pop up:

[Guiliniweier wishes to join your faction. Do you agree?]

"All right, all right! I agree!" she declared.

[You joined the New Darrlington faction as a subordinate of Fairy Knight Tristán.]

[She values your joining highly and soon entrusts you with many key administrative positions in the city.]

"Anyway, you managed the Round Table army well before, right? Wait—you say you don't know what the Round Table army is? Never mind, I know you're good at management. Since you're capable, I'll hand everything to you."

"Huh? Would previous holders of these posts be dissatisfied... what are you saying? Before you joined, no one managed these matters—if you hadn't mentioned it, I wouldn't even know these things needed management!"

"Huh? The army? The treasury? What are those? I don't quite understand... I always ask Mother directly when I need something. Why bother managing these?"

"Huh? Livelihood? Trade? What's that... never mind, I'm tired of explaining; I'll just entrust it all to you."

"Huh? Intelligence? Research? Also unclear... but since you'll handle it, I'll leave it all to you!"

...

"What is going on?"

Watching the ever-growing list of administrative items under his authority, Guiliniweier was dumbfounded.

[You are astonished: Fairy Knight Tristán has handed over management of the entire New Darrlington to you within three days.]

Truly, she trusts without questioning.

"Well, if she's willing to give me power, is that necessarily bad?" he thought. But then: subordinates?

Looking at his sprawling responsibilities, the subordinate list was empty. He felt his scalp tingle.

No subordinates at all? If Tristán herself didn't provide them...

—How has New Darrlington functioned until now? Wild growth, ungoverned?

Thus, when he saw New Darrlington's output lagging far behind Lentienne, he was not surprised. Though a century-old city, larger in scale, history, and population than its neighboring human outpost founded less than a year ago, it was weaker. That said, given its chaotic, ungoverned growth, it was a miracle the city still stood.

Oh, wait: viewing a certain policy, Guiliniweier pushed up imaginary glasses in shock. It mandated all realms under the queen to regularly send population, funds, and troops into New Darrlington. What treatment is this? A second-capital-level privilege? And yet she managed it so poorly?

Another buff read:

[Population Flight: Due to Lady Tristán's long-term harsh rule, residents' happiness is extremely low. Whenever possible, they flee New Darrlington for other cities.]

This described "deep-rooted disorder." Guiliniweier felt the weight of his new duties: if he could turn this city around, he might as well write a "Memorial on Emerging from Darrlington" akin to Zhuge Liang's "Chu Shi Biao"—after all, the old leaders had nearly ruined it.

Thus, with mounting blood pressure, he dove headlong into New Darrlington's governance, working around the clock.

"However... I feel I've forgotten something important?"

As he immersed himself in reforms, a lingering question nagged at him.