I barely got any sleep st night, as I was busy formuting a pn for us to follow. It was a bit improvised, but it was leagues better than anything that fraud of a tactician could come up with. Remembering his face somehow managed to piss me off first thing in the morning, but I couldn't dwell on his foolishness for too long. I heard from the adventurers st night that the commander was a padin, and that he had gone to secure some supplies on their way here. If I could just speak to him...

  "Daphne, why do you look so worried?" Phildina asked, still a bit groggy from just waking up.

  "I want to speak with the commander, but I don't know if he has arrived yet."

  "Is it because of that Arnaud the whatever his name was?" I compined about him to Phildina before she fell asleep, so she knew what this was all about.

  "Yep, that fraud will kill us all if we follow his strategy."

  "Is it really that bad?" She asked, her eyes beginning to sharpen.

  "Yeah, he wants us to charge the Fort with our full forces, and mind you, this is a thousand-strong Battalion with hundreds of Archers and Mages that we're going up against," I answered with an exasperated look.

  "That's suicide!" She excimed, and I couldn't agree with her more.

  "I just hope the commander has enough sense to recognize the folly of it and adopt a better pn," I said as I stood from the bed.

  "Won't you give me a good morning kiss before you go?" Phildina asked with a cute pout. I was surprised she still had the energy to tease me first thing in the morning, but I couldn't let her take all the initiative.

  "After we win this battle!" I answered with a smile. From there, I walked out of the room with one goal on my mind, and I happened to bump into Matilda.

  "Tch," She clicked her tongue and continued on her way to her room. I'd only ever spoken to her once, and although I did say some pretty terrible things to her, I felt like there was more to her attitude towards me, as she had been avoiding me ever since we met. Hmm... weird, I thought to myself, but I couldn't afford to waste time like this, so I continued on my way till I saw Sarde come out of his room. Perfect! I needed someone to follow me!

  "Sarde, I need to speak to the commander—"

  Before I could even complete my sentence, he bowed and said, "I will follow you wherever you want to go, master."

  Master?! I screamed internally but said, "O-okay, then. Let's go!" to maintain a calm front. As we ran, I couldn't help but remember Sarde before the Wujia re-educated him. He'd always be seen flirting around with one beauty or another. I would've loved to ask him for advice on how to deal with the dies, but now, he was more celibate than a priest. And we were stuck in a master-servant retionship, which would make bringing it up more awkward. The look in his eyes told me that he'd probably lick my boots if I ordered it. Ah, what a shame. I'll have to figure everything out myself...

  A devilish thought crossed my mind at that moment. I could always ask him anyway. He wouldn't be able to refuse me... But that was distasteful. After that experience, he'd probably developed a fear of women ingrained deep into his psyche, and asking him about that would only lead to more pain for him. I wanted to let him heal, so I rejected the thought as we spotted a padin guarding a merchant's caravan. There he is! I thought to myself before running up to him, and saying,

  "Excuse me for my rudeness, sir, but you must reconsider that strategy!" He turned to me with a puzzled look and said,

  "I have a daughter about your age. What are you doing on the battlefield?"

  "I'm older than I look," I countered, but he didn't seem to buy that.

  "Arnaud is one of the best knights I've personally trained! He's not only strong but also smart, as he's read hundreds of strategy books!" First pages of strategy books I'd imagine, I quietly corrected him but still let him continue, "I have full confidence in his pn and will not entertain another!"

  "What about the Archers, Mages, and their numbers?"

  "We'll destroy every single one of those threats with our strength!" He decred with a loud voice. "Take your weapons from the caravan and follow me!"

  This guy is hopeless, I thought to myself but still answered, "Yes sir!" like a good soldier. Welp, if you want to die, I won't stop you. Just don't get in my way Mr. Musclebrain commander. As I collected the weapons in the caravan and handed them to Sarde, I could only smile, thinking, I have other pns...