"...Esther, can we compete again?! I studied a lot, and I think I can give you a challenge!" I say, holding one of the war strategy books while eating a bunch of grapes. Esther looks at me as she closes the bedroom door.

"Challenging me to a match after just a month and a half of studying? You're pretty confident," she says, sitting down at the table where the game board is already set up. I set the book aside and sit across from her.

"Yes! I believe I've improved a lot!" I'm confident about the progress I've made! I'm also really happy with the hundreds of gold bars I've been winning along with my improvements. Esther has truly been helping me grow a lot on the path to becoming a strategist.

"Hmmm... Alright then, let's play... If you win, I'll give you 10,000 gold bars. And if you lose... I want you to go on a date with me," she says while turning on the board.

I see the light infantry, heavy infantry, shield soldiers, mages, archers, and cavalry materializing for the two of us. This time we're using more of the map, with the river and sandbanks in the way—an advanced game setup instead of just a battle on the plains.

"Great! I accept! You can start the game!" I take a deep breath, looking at the pieces on the board, the perfect 3D panorama I observe carefully. Esther is surprised by my haste but presses the button beneath the board, beginning the match.

"Mages, advance with the light infantry to near the river and create bridges with earth magic!!" I start giving orders right as it begins, stealing the first move.

"Mages, fire fireballs when the enemy gets close," Esther orders as a counter, probably expecting me to retreat while my light infantry advances with my mages.

"Mages, use barrier magic to defend yourselves and keep moving forward!" I give serious orders, trying not to lose reputation. My voice comes out confident and bold, just as a commander's should be.

"...Heavy infantry, move forward with the shield troops to the river," Esther orders something I don't quite understand. I wonder what she's planning.

'Shield troops? But my mages are there too... Doesn't she fear I'll attack? Shields won't defend against magic...' I think about whether I should attack while my soldiers and mages reach the river's edge and the mages begin forming earthen bridges.

'No... I shouldn't attack. It must be some plan of hers. I won't fall for tricks.' I watch as the bridges are formed—three large bridges—while I think about what order to give.

"Archers, split into two equal groups! One of you move forward to support the mages! Light infantry, begin crossing the bridge! Mages, defend the light infantry with magic!" I give daring orders without retreating.

"Interesting move, Evelyn... Heavy infantry, cross the river from within."

"!!!?" I'm shocked by that choice. My troops start running across the bridge while hers pass underneath through the water, which isn't too deep but still forces them to move forward slowly.

"Mages..." I hesitate. I think about ordering the mages to attack, until I realize her heavy infantry is too close to the bridge. If the mages attack, my light infantry will get hit, and the bridge will collapse.

'...Damn it, she blocked my options...' I can only watch as her heavy infantry manages to cross the river along with the shield troops.

'If they get close, my archers and mages won't be able to handle it...' I think about what to do. I take a deep breath, seeing that 5 reputation points dropped because I hesitated.

"...Mages, blow up the bridge." When I give that order, Esther is surprised. The mages immediately start firing fire magic at the bridge's foundational structures while dispelling the earth magic.

The bridge begins to collapse on Esther's troops while my troops fall too, and soon both are hit by fireballs. The water starts boiling as most die in the wreckage and explosions.

This way, I lose all my light infantry, but Esther loses all her heavy infantry and shield troops, leaving only cavalry, light infantry, archers, and mages.

"...Good move. And you're right. Sacrificing your own soldiers is also part of leadership..." I look at Esther's reputation. It dropped 2 points. Even though she lost troops, it wasn't exactly her fault, so the point deduction is small.

"Mages, use necromancy and the Berserker spell," Esther gives a strange order, leaving me confused. Immediately, her units that died revive as zombies and skeletons while her mages die.

"!!!"

"W-What did you do?!"

"Necromancy. A state where the player sacrifices one troop to revive another." The zombies and skeletons advance through the water, reaching the edge of the beach and running wildly toward my archers and mages.

"M-Mages, use earth magic and form walls! Archers, fire!!" I order quickly.

'What the hell kind of game allows necromancy like this!!?' I'm indignant. I skimmed the game rules before we tried again, but I hadn't seen this magic that the mages had.

"...Huh?" I see Esther's reputation has fallen to 80, and then I understand. She didn't just sacrifice the mages, but part of her reputation, showing she was shaken by my strategy.

"Hmmm..." Esther seems to be thinking about the orders she can give while her undead crash into my defenses. The problem is they're breaking through and managing to kill some of my mages.

'They seem to have fragile bodies, but they don't stop just because they took damage.' The undead quickly start killing my mages and archers. I'm glad I didn't send all the archers, though I've lost my mages.

"..." I look at Esther's reputation. It's falling 1 point every 50 seconds. It seems necromancy has a high price. So if I drag out the fight as long as possible, maybe her reputation will drop so much that no one obeys her orders anymore and I win.

"Truly a good move, Evelyn. I didn't expect you to sacrifice your troops like that... I underestimated you and paid a steep price... Who would have thought that in a month and a half you'd have the courage to throw away the lives of hundreds of people," she says, making me shudder.

"I-I didn't..."

"After all, those soldiers had families, friends, dreams, and hopes. And you ordered them bombarded with magic, dropped them to certain death. Being killed by boiling water and exploding fireballs sounds terrible."

"Truly lamentable. Such a cruel commander who treats them like pieces. Fitting for a puppeteer." Esther's words destabilize me. I look at my reputation, seeing it has fallen to 76.

"...They're not real..." I try to make excuses, but Esther narrows her eyes.

"Really, Evelyn? They're not real? Then what about the people around us? This world? Do you know why I've kept this game board since my childhood? It's because it represents this world we live in well."

"A game, watched by superior beings who control the fate of others. To me, everyone who exists in this world outside of you and me, who see the truth, are just pieces in a game."

"To me, everyone in this world is like this toy, living in a false world to entertain others. And you and I are the special ones who broke out of that pattern."

"So tell me, Evelyn. What if the demons in this game board are also like everyone in this world? Is it still just a game?" When she says this, with that logic, I become destabilized.

I look at the board, seeing the pieces killing each other, the screams, the "blood" splattering on the battlefield—something so well-made it seems too real.

"...T-That..." My reputation drops to 50. She managed to destroy my morale with mere words. My lack of commands allows the undead to eliminate 100% of the mages and archers near the river, and they begin advancing toward my castle.

"...H-Heavy infantry... advance along with the cavalry..." I murmur. My low command is ignored by half the soldiers, with only some of the cavalry and shield soldiers advancing.

When I see them reaching the zombies and starting to die, I just stand there. I can't give any more orders after what Esther said.

This world here, before, was just a game to me. In my first life, this world was just a game. And when I appeared in this place as Evelyn, the game became real. So what's to stop the beings on this game board from really being real?

"...I-I surrender..." I see I can't win anymore. Not because I lack the ability, but because I'm too unstable to make good decisions now. My reputation has decayed too much. I'm afraid to give orders, and continuing will only drag out the inevitable. Esther deliberately undermined my confidence with words.

"..." I push the board away and stand up from the table.

"...Evelyn, don't be angry. I did this for you. You need to understand that difficult orders need to be given, and that words can completely destabilize an unprepared opponent."

"A war isn't just about commanding troops. It's a mental game, where you must find and attack any weakness of the enemy."

"You're smart, Evelyn. Really smart. Your growth is remarkable in such a short time. I think you have as much strategic potential as I do, or the Demon King's war generals."

"Which is a truly rare rarity... But you're too... emotionally fragile. You need to evolve that, or you'll never be able to become truly strong." She turns off the game.

"...That's... too cruel," I say as she comes over to me, hugging me from behind.

"Don't like it?"

"No..."

"That's a shame, Evelyn. But that's life. Life is cruel. If you don't like it, then change it. Because life won't change for you... Or else, become so powerful that life will have to bow to your desires," she says provocatively.

"Now you owe me a date, because you gave up." She holds me firmly as I sigh.

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