Hearts of Iron 4 Player's Guide to Save the Isekai World

Unreliable Narrator

Base Camp, On a hill South of the Meuse River

Aurelia dwelled on a thought before her fingers wrinkled to make sense of the hot water streaming down her body from the dangling water stone coated in a heat spell. Erich added something to her dinner last night. Waking up with a positive daze felt wrong on days that asked too much of her.

Leaving a mark on every conquered settlement, saying, "Yeah, the Hero's with us. Give up," while wary of that madman who'd jump from the crowd during a victory march took its toll. If that wasn't enough, it must be everything in the dark. The march. The attack. The job. The anxiety should've got her on the eve of the Vitrosart Raid.

She wrapped her bath, dried, dried the ground with a hot haze, and dressed before going out to the frigid morning air and the sight of the river, Meuse, defaced with the sabotaged old bridge and the pontoons with soldiers and baggage trains in transit. She squinted her eyes. Dirt rained around long brown lines running across green pastures as sappers continued digging ditches and trenches.

Erich sat by the nearby tree, jotting his brainstorming ideas on a notepad. He hasn't noticed her yet — he seemed keen enough not to. Aurelia walked towards him, half-expecting a bland remark, and put her back against the tree, catching glimpses of the Artillery Hero's indecipherable language.

Bf-109/Fw-190 Deviation: Economic Early Variant Firepower Enhancement (13mm TuF) -- Block I version 1— 4x wings -- Block I version 2 — 2x nose, 2x wings -- Block I version 3 — 1x propeller, 2x nose, 2x wings. (Aircraft size-adjustable necessary to Block configuration. Retain 20mm and 30mm configuration for bomber-sized targets)

E-1 variant original configuration delegated to light [ground-]attack (stopgap?) fighter to replace Ju-87 original configuration with the possibility of explicit integrated close-air support. Strengthened wings for bomb racks feasible?

Bf-110 Deviation: Schnellbomber/Mosquito reconfiguration-redesignation -- Delegate heavy fighter and interceptor roles to other capable aircraft (see Air Addition #4 "Bf-109Z") -- Materials: Test I — metal; Test II — wood -- Feasibility test versus 1-seater configuration. Feasibility of internal payload. (Possibility of multirole capability but focus on Deviation configuration.)

"You're awake."

"Good morning to you, too. May I?"

He waved, and Aurelia curled on her knees, pressing her shoulder against his. It became a habit of theirs because of an inexplicable phenomenon that enhanced his powers. It's so gimmicky. One time, Erich snidely remarked it as the peak example of a Paradox Player getting out of the house to touch grass, experiencing the good things in life through the physical and intimate contact with a woman, which prompted the need to develop social skills.

"So, did you drug me?"

Cold-hearted people prefer their hearts cold not out of malice but to cope. Strangers call it heartless, and it becomes the truth because they won't notice whatever they did for them.

Aurelia remembered Agent Schmidt's words. She let herself believe the politics in his world turned him, and she's right, if not too vague. Killing someone; Gathering nobles and the aristocracy to coerce them with summary execution and justice that served as a prelude to war; Manipulation; Politics taught them to survive by never trusting anybody, even themselves. The chains holding him chipped by the day, and Cascadia could only watch and see if her treatment of him spared her. Yet, his smile whenever he cooked for the peasants; When he pushed for welfare and reforms; When Erich became flustered after Aurelia offered herself; When he told Annalise the truth.