Freya straightened slightly.

The falcon female spoke more cautiously this time.

"I will focus entirely on preserving agricultural production."

She wanted to diverte the river directly toward the remaining farmland.

"The damaged grasslands will temporarily remain unused until conditions improve. I will avoid direct conflict with the southern territory whenever possible."

Freya’s expression remained calm and practical.

"Any hunters entering my lands will simply be driven away."

She paused...

"And finally, water consumption throughout the settlements will be rationed immediately."

Mirabelle frowned.

That...

could become dangerous very quickly.

Not because the strategy itself was terrible.

Actually, it was fairly reasonable.

But severe water rationing often led to another problem entirely.

Poor hygiene.

And poor hygiene during drought conditions...

could turn catastrophic frighteningly fast.

Especially if disease entered the territory.

Still, Mirabelle kept those thoughts to herself.

Advisor Seraphel allowed the shifting ink across the map to finally settle.

Then he folded his hands calmly behind his back.

"The round is complete."

His sharp fox eyes slowly swept across the table.

"Now let us observe what your decisions produce."

Advisor Seraphel turned his attention toward the map once more.

Green ink changed across the parchment.

Freya immediately straightened in anticipation.

At first, her territory appeared more stable than before.

The farmland remained alive.

Water channels spread across the fields while several crop markers brightened with renewed color.

"Lady Freya’s redirected irrigation successfully preserved much of her agricultural production," Advisor Seraphel explained calmly.

Several livestock markers also remained stable.

"Her livestock population likewise continues surviving through the drought."

Freya visibly relaxed slightly.

Then the map continued changing.

The forests darkened further.

More and more wildlife markers disappeared entirely from the woodland.

"The heavy diversion of water away from the surrounding environment," the advisor continued, "has unfortunately accelerated the drying of the forests."

The green forests faded into brittle gray-brown patches.

"As a result, wildlife populations have now almost completely abandoned the territory."

Freya’s expression tightened.

"And because significantly less water now continues southward through the river..."

The southern border began glowing red.

"The conflict with the southern territory has intensified."

More enemy markers appeared.

Small skirmish symbols spread along the borderlands.

"The worsening desperation in the south has escalated previous tensions into open conflict."

Freya immediately began looking uneasy.

Then additional warning symbols slowly appeared near the settlements and several military markers dimmed slightly.

"The prolonged drought conditions have also weakened the population.

And due to strict water rationing, exhaustion and sickness have begun spreading among both civilians and soldiers."

Now the map shifted again.

Dark markings spread through several villages.

Advisor Seraphel spoke calmly:

"With too little water available for cleaning wounds, washing cloth, and drinking..."

He gestured toward the spreading dark symbols.

"...illness begins spreading more rapidly wherever many people gather closely together."

Freya’s face slowly paled.

Then the green map finally settled.

Freya stared silently at the map for several long seconds.

The falcon female’s fingers slowly tightened around her pen while her gaze remained fixed on the spreading sickness markers across her territory.

Earlier, she had looked calm.

Confident.

Now something much heavier sat in her expression.

Not humiliation...Realization.

"...I didn’t even think about that," she admitted quietly.

For the first time since the exercise had begun, her voice lacked certainty.

"I focused entirely on food production and military stability..." Her brows pulled together faintly. "But I completely overlooked how one decision affects everything else."

The tiger Beastman beside her finally spoke up.

Until now, he had mostly remained silent throughout the trial, observing far more than participating.

"That is normal," he said calmly.

His golden eyes rested on the map.

"The Academy of Zazar offers entire strategy courses centered around exactly these kinds of cascading territorial consequences."

Freya looked toward him.

"There are actual classes for this?"

The tiger male nodded once.

"Political management. Crisis simulations. Resource logistics. Military economics." A faint smirk appeared on his lips. "Some noble heirs spend years studying territorial administration before ever inheriting land."

Mirabelle’s ears twitched slightly at that information.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

"If a female chooses an appropriate mate from Zazar," the tiger continued calmly, "she may gain access to those courses as well."

Freya visibly brightened slightly despite the disastrous state of her simulated territory.

Meanwhile, Mirabelle quietly stored that information away for later.

An academy dedicated to governance, economics, logistics, and strategy?

That sounded absurdly useful.

Especially if she truly intended to survive in this world long-term.

Beside her, Lucien noticed the thoughtful look appearing in her eyes.

Then purple spread rapidly across the parchment.

Nessa immediately smiled smugly.

Beside her, Garruk crossed his massive arms confidently.

"This," the buffalo Beastman rumbled proudly, "is what true strength looks like."

The map shifted violently.

At first, Nessa’s military forces appeared dominant.

Large groups of soldiers pushed aggressively southward while supply markers were seized and transported north.

Then—

the southern border exploded with red.

Everyone at the table visibly reacted.

An enormous number of enemy markers suddenly flooded across the map.

Nessa’s confident smile froze.

Advisor Seraphel remained perfectly calm.

"One critical error was made during Lady Nessa’s calculations."

More red markers overwhelmed her forces.

"She assumed her territory possessed military superiority."

Several black symbols suddenly appeared where her soldiers had once stood.

"The southern territory, however, possessed significantly larger military reserves."

Nessa sat up straighter::"No—"

"The prolonged conflict rapidly depleted both manpower and supplies."

Now new red markers bypassed the battlefield entirely.

Straight toward the settlement.

"Because most available males had been conscripted into the military..."

Several village protection symbols vanished.

"...very few defenders remained behind to protect the civilian population."

The village markers began darkening.

Raid symbols appeared.

Looting.

Civilian casualties.

Garruk’s expression became more serious.

Meanwhile, the drought worsened further across the territory.

"The continued water shortage and food scarcity have significantly weakened both civilians and soldiers."

More sickness symbols spread through the settlements.

"As exhaustion, hunger worsen, disease spreads increasingly rapidly among the population."

Then the map darkened further.

The forests turned gray.

Then black.

Because Nessa’s reservoir had completely blocked the river flow...

almost no remaining water reached the southern woodland at all.

"The forests have now dried beyond recovery."

And then—

orange-red symbols suddenly erupted across the map.

Fire.

Mirabelle inhaled sharply.

"The dead forests ignite."

The flames spread frighteningly fast across the dry landscape.

Toward the grasslands.

Toward the farmland.

Toward the remaining food stores.

Nessa stared at the map in disbelief as entire sections of her territory blackened into ruin.

Within moments...

almost everything was gone.