Ch.165Chapter 165

The meeting ended after only deciding on a general outline.

Since we were dealing with a being that had fundamentally altered human existence for quite some time, rushing in with a plan hastily assembled in just one day would have been extremely reckless.

Today, we only established a basic strategy for how to confront our opponent, leaving the details to be determined later.

As I was leaving the Knights’ headquarters, I noticed Muyeon following behind me. It seemed she wanted an answer to what she had said to me earlier.

Hmm.

If our numbers keep increasing like this, we might be in real trouble.

What Paura told me might work, but there’s no guarantee that others would go along with it.

Sigh.

Alright.

“Ms. Muyeon.”

“Yes, yes!”

Seeing her startled response and stiff posture made me feel a bit sorry, but this matter was something that needed to be addressed later.

After all, humanity needed to survive first before anyone could think about love or anything else.

“Let’s talk about that after this war is over.”

“…What?”

“Your mood might change depending on my answer, right? If I accept now, you might make mistakes out of happiness, and if I reject you, your morale would plummet.”

When the word ‘reject’ came out, I could see Muyeon’s body trembling violently.

Ahem.

It was truly sad to see someone so easily swayed by my words.

Muyeon was emotional, but she wasn’t thoughtless. Fortunately, after hearing me out, she nodded as if she understood my reasoning.

“You’re right, Tanthyn. I’m sorry… I was too hasty…”

“No need to apologize. I promise I’ll give you an answer when this war is over.”

I placed my hand on Muyeon’s shoulder.

Though she blushed and stammered in embarrassment, there was something I absolutely needed to say.

“So you must survive. Without fail.”

“…”

Perhaps my wish reached her.

Muyeon set aside her emotional side slightly and nodded with a serious expression.

“Yes, I understand. I’ll definitely survive!”

After saying that, Muyeon ran off, swinging her heavy axe back and forth.

Knowing her personality, she was probably heading straight to training.

“…You’re not rejecting her?”

Just then, a slightly chilling voice reached my ears.

It was Fiore’s.

“Ah, no. I explained the reason earlier…”

“You were so resolute with me, yet you’re so kind to that woman.”

Wait, no.

Hold on.

“Woof! You’re a discriminatory human, woof!”

“…I like Raedan even when he’s like this.”

“Wait a minute!”

It was just a strategic stance, but they’re making me out to be trash?

Well, I did act like trash, but still!

And Apta, don’t say such things taking advantage of the confusion!

Tap, tap.

Just then, I heard quiet footsteps approaching from behind.

This is it.

I found the only opening to escape the pressure from the gods!

“Neutrice! Where are you going?”

“…?!”

When I called out to her with exaggerated enthusiasm, Neutrice flinched and looked at me with a resentful expression.

Sorry, Neutrice.

To put out an urgent fire, someone has to go get the fire extinguisher.

“Hey, you trash!”

Unfortunately, Neutrice seemed to understand my intention and spoke through gritted teeth.

But it was too late.

The gods’ attention shifted to me at once, and they began to descend from me just as I had hoped.

“Come to think of it, I had business with her too.”

“I see. She was the one whose name was called before ours, wasn’t she?”

“Really? Hmm, that’s somewhat interesting.”

Fiore and Zumiya revealed a hint of killing intent, while Paura and Bell followed them with amused smiles.

Neutrice could only tremble helplessly.

Then Apta, who had been on my head, sighed and followed them.

“…Be gentle.”

Only after the four gods had descended could I feel relief.

And so, they say, I was able to extend my life for one more day.

#

I returned to the branch and rented the multipurpose room.

I needed to talk with the gods.

Neutrice sat between Paura and Bell, looking utterly dejected. Though I felt bad seeing her like that, it was thanks to her sacrifice that we could finally discuss the main issue.

A moment of silence for her sacrifice.

“So what did you want to talk about?”

Fiore sighed as she placed her hand on the paper I had spread out.

The paper on the table was a map of the Empire.

I had received this map when I previously encountered The Chronicler.

I don’t know where he gets these things, but I couldn’t help but be grateful for how helpful it was.

“I wanted to strategize before we go to stop The Princess.”

“Because that Knight Commander told you to?”

“Yes.”

Since I was knowledgeable about the gods, he asked me to come up with a strategy.

In reality, the gods just happened to appear normal to me, and I was merely on friendly terms with them. I wasn’t particularly intelligent enough to do this kind of planning.

Like how a math professor might not solve high school math problems quickly.

“Actually, Paura and Neutrice’s roles are clear. Neutrice can recover knights who have been incapacitated by mental contamination, and knights can recover physically and enhance their abilities by eating Paura’s food.”

Paura and Neutrice nodded in agreement.

Their abilities were more impressive as healers than as combatants.

I knew this from personal experience.

With their support alone, I believed none of our fighters would die.

“But how should we deploy ourselves to fight most effectively?”

I nodded at Fiore’s question.

I had never seen their full combat capabilities.

I had only seen Fiore attack clumsily when trying to drive me away.

Zumiya didn’t fight at full strength against the White Mask due to some guilt.

Bell was always too busy playing around.

Apta couldn’t participate in direct combat.

This meant that if I carelessly positioned them and told them to fight freely, some of our knights might disappear without a trace.

It would be like inputting incorrect coordinates for artillery fire and causing friendly fire.

Each of their attacks had a wide area of effect, which required particular caution.

“Can we even fight in our true forms to begin with? I heard that The Princess getting close to humans alone can be quite lethal.”

“Neutrice will handle that. She can recover them by manipulating their unconscious…”

“Wait! That’s overworking me too much!”

Neutrice, who had been quietly listening, suddenly stood up and slammed the table in frustration.

I understood her complaint.

But if we didn’t do this, something like what happened during the snow mountain expedition would surely occur again.

As if understanding my thoughts, all the gods glared at Neutrice.

She froze under their gaze.

“So you’re not going to do it?”

Fiore’s pressure was especially tremendous, causing Neutrice to shrink back into her seat.

As a regular visitor to The Gardener’s garden, Neutrice couldn’t risk being banned by getting on Fiore’s bad side.

Sigh, I really feel sorry for her.

I made a mental note to get her a gift later.

“Woof! Let’s just smash everything!”

Bell made an unhelpful suggestion, but it was a pure thought typical of her, so I just gave her a gentle smile.

She tilted her head, finding my reaction strange.

“Raedan wants to save that child too, Bell.”

As Apta stroked Bell’s head while explaining, Bell opened her mouth with a blank expression.

She probably thought we were just going to fight and win since we were talking about battle and war.

“Hmm, this is too difficult.”

Bell scratched her head with a sad expression.

I know.

There were too many factors to consider, making it hard to know what to do.

“Hmm. But have you thought about this?”

“About what?”

When I expressed confusion at Fiore’s question, she sighed.

“Judging by your reaction, you haven’t thought about it. Who’s going to approach The Princess?”

“Me, for starters.”

“You’re not going alone, are you?”

“Um… I guess not?”

Fiore nodded and gestured for me to hand over paper and writing utensils.

I quickly gave them to her, and she began scribbling something while muttering.

“First of all, the Knight Commander is out. He needs to lead the knights. And sadly, we’re out too. We can’t leave our posts even for a moment if we’re going to support all those knights in battle. Your maid can accompany you part of the way, but her abilities will be on par with that crazy woman’s, so she’ll ultimately need to stay and add to our forces. That leaves us with only these options.”

By “crazy woman,” she must have meant The Advisor.

On Fiore’s paper, only three names were written.

The Huntsman.

And Apta.

…Interestingly, these were the people who had been with me from the beginning in the underground prison.

Fiore handed me the completed paper and said:

“Well, now that we’ve decided, let’s get to it.”

Fiore shook her head toward the window and said:

“Call him over, The Huntsman.”