Ch.187186. Reunion (7)

# 186. Reunion (7)

“Why? What happened to make you like that?”

“You don’t need to know.”

“You make everyone curious and then don’t tell… Ah… I lost because of you.”

Elin looked at me instead of the finished game as she spoke.

Maybe because she was being subtly serious, I felt a bit tense.

“Tell me.”

“I said I don’t want to.”

“Then at least tell me which side.”

“That side.”

After saying that, I looked at her and Riel walking toward us.

Elin also looked in that direction.

“Ah… Is that the person you mentioned before?”

“Yeah.”

“But she didn’t do anything really bad, right? Or did she do nothing at all?”

“If she married my sister but couldn’t make her happy, that’s wrong.”

“Oh… that’s so charismatic…”

“What are you talking about that’s so interesting?”

Elin seemed to want to say that.

But she was perceptive enough not to tell her about our earlier conversation.

“It’s nothing. Anyway, you took quite a while.”

“Yes… it dragged on a bit… But why are you at an internet cafe?”

“Good question.”

I answered like that and looked at Elin.

Elin turned my head away and scratched her head.

“Time flies when you’re gaming at an internet cafe, and it was fun to watch, right?”

“Let’s say that’s true.”

“Hey! You used to love games! Play a little! You’re making this awkward for me…”

“I quit ages ago…”

It wasn’t just a matter of a few years, but hundreds of years ago.

But for Elin, it was only a few years, so even though she knew the secret, she spoke like that.

“Ah, now that I think about it, that’s true… But if it’s been a while, wouldn’t it be fun to play again?”

“Well, I’m not so sure.”

After hearing that suggestion, I shook my head and asked her and Riel, who seemed to know this place better.

“So what do we do now?”

“Good question…”

“Yeah, but why are you asking us?”

“I figured you’d know better than we would.”

“That’s true, but…”

Riel spoke honestly to us on behalf of her, who had completely turned her head away.

“We don’t go out much either, so we don’t know.”

“This is… frustrating.”

“Can’t be helped, with all the work we do.”

From what I heard, they only rest on weekends.

Since they were near the border where battles were ongoing, they couldn’t go far, shouldn’t go far, and always had to maintain a certain level of condition.

Especially elite forces like her.

“So you really just stay in your quarters on weekends?”

“That’s right.”

“We go to bookstores sometimes.”

“…”

They seemed to be such extreme homebodies that despite living here for over a year, they didn’t even know proper places to have fun.

Of course, my case wasn’t much different.

Riel looked at my reaction and the current situation and let out a deep sigh.

“At this rate, wouldn’t it have been better to just sit in the quarters and catch up?”

“But that doesn’t feel right either. It’s the weekend, and everyone made time to come here.”

“Doesn’t it not matter to you guys?”

Those who were asked that question looked at me as if I should answer.

It seemed like these people had mouths purely for decoration.

“I don’t mind either way.”

“What about you?”

“Why would I mind?”

It felt like a situation I’d seen before, but I pretended not to notice.

Then I made a suggestion to them.

“Let’s just stay here. It’s not bad.”

It wasn’t just an internet cafe but had a manga cafe attached, so it wasn’t bad at all.

Everyone nodded in agreement after hearing that opinion.

“That’s fine.”

“You can order coffee or fruit juice here, and there are lots of manga and books too.”

“Then, let’s stay here… But more importantly…”

She said that while looking at me.

Along with Riel.

When that happened, I somehow felt a chill down my spine.

‘This doesn’t feel good…’

Still, since everyone had serious expressions, I had no choice but to respond to those gazes.

“Why are you all looking at me like that?”

“We have something to talk about.”

“Can’t we talk about it here?”

“No.”

With those final words, she entered a closed space set up for groups to be together.

I followed her with Riel.

“Sit down.”

She was already sitting in a chair inside.

I sat down in one of the chairs just like her.

“What do you want to talk about?”

“You said that in a year, when Albert comes back here, they’ll invade, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

As she seriously brought up the topic, her violet eyes shone brighter than usual.

She seemed to be using magic to prevent this conversation from leaking outside.

‘How thorough…’

I thought it might be unnecessary, but it never hurts to be careful.

She, always cautious, spoke in a very solemn voice.

“So I was thinking… what if we strike first?”

“You mean our side and the Emperor’s side would attack simultaneously?”

“If we do it, that’s how it would be.”

It wasn’t a bad idea.

But there was a major problem with that plan.

“If that happens, Agareus would face our side, and Bael would face the main force.”

“We wouldn’t lose…”

“That’s true since we have Lilith. The problem is the main force.”

Even with the Emperor in normal condition, victory would be hard to guarantee.

Of course, we couldn’t be careless given who the opponent was.

“Is it that bad?”

“Yes, to be honest, the main force winning is practically impossible.”

“That’s shocking…”

“If they could just avoid losing, it would be fine… but that’s almost impossible.”

If Merlin were here, things might be different, but without him, it was problematic.

Still, there was a way.

“If the goal is just to hold out, we could do it by borrowing some power from the Persian Kingdom.”

Though not as good as Merlin, the Persian Kingdom had many capable wizards.

And there were quite a few skilled warriors like Diabolica.

“We could hold out if we tried, though not with average personnel.”

We need strong people.

At least strong enough to withstand Bael’s ranged attacks.

“It would be extremely difficult, but I think it’s possible.”

“That’s really ambiguous…”

“But isn’t this decision not yours to make, sister?”

“That’s true… but I suggested we try it because I thought it would work… but now that I hear more, I’m not so sure…”

It was truly an ambiguous situation.

Of course, there was no need to rush. Time was always on our side.

Still, in terms of military strength, we were gradually falling behind.

They could form a decent army without even needing to fill it with soldiers.

“It might be good to strike them a bit, even if we can’t take territory or push the front line.”

“What would Albert do if you were me?”

Her voice was slightly tearful.

I spoke to her as she felt the weight of her position.

“If it were me, I’d say attack, but you’re different from me.”

“…”

“But don’t forget that.”

She tilted her head.

I told her:

“I’ll follow whatever choice you make.”

“…”

“That’s true now and will be true when you become Emperor.”

That’s how it’s been until now, how it is now, and how it will be in the future.

Because I am her sword and right hand.

Hearing those words, she raised her head while hiding her face.

“You can just cry if you want.”

“I’m not… crying…?”

“Anyway, talk a lot with the Emperor and the people around him. I’ll look into things on my end too.”

We have quite a bit of time.

Of course, we need preparation time too, so we can’t delay the decision too much, but we have at least a year.

It could be even later since we don’t know exactly when.

“And you know from experience, a year is really long.”

Riel spoke on behalf of her, who couldn’t answer my words.

“You’re good with words… In the end, you’re saying ‘I don’t know, so I’ll leave it to you, sister!'”

“I’m helping, aren’t I? I’m not leaving everything to her.”

And originally, there’s not much I can decide.

I don’t have the position or ability yet.

All I can do now is help her make better decisions and carry out her orders as best I can.

That’s all.

“I still have a long way to go.”

“But by then, you’ll be in the special forces…”

“That’s for then. I’m still far from it now.”

“But you’re really… getting insanely strong? Oh! And that skill… what was it?”

“What?”

“Don’t play dumb.”

Her eyes turned red, but she was still interested in that skill.

She seemed very curious.

“But why didn’t you say anything then?”

“I was going to ask… but I forgot… because of that last thing…”

“So what is it?”

“What do you mean? You already know.”

“Is it really… [Transcendence]?”

I nodded.

Riel, mouth agape, asked another question.

“How did you get it!? Is that possible?”

“There’s a way to get everything.”

“What kind of person is he…”

In the case of [Transcendence], I used it quite well this time.

And in the next battle, the one a year from now, I’ll be able to use it even better.

“Everyone, look forward to it. Next time, you’ll be even more surprised.”