Ch.91Trust and Leave It to Me (1)

While Icarus remained silent due to the quest requirements, watching them as they were told to hold a meeting for 1-2 hours…

The four superhumans who had popped out of his gacha(…?) – Ignis, Berial, Pashtra, and Griyanar – decided to exchange opinions on how to resolve this matter.

They entered the conference room that Icarus himself had always considered mere ‘decoration’ until now and began exchanging ideas.

But despite maintaining the outward appearance of a ‘meeting,’ once they actually entered the conference room…

“In the end, our Commander has been working too hard alone, to the point where his mind has become so exhausted that he’s asking for our opinions.”

“Hmm… I suppose that’s right.”

“I agree. I’ve even seen him occasionally dozing off despite having just woken up, so he must be tired.”

“It’s truly unfortunate…♡”

The four quickly reached a conclusion about the meeting’s premise, as they didn’t want to see the Commander suffering as described in the quest Icarus had received.

“So regarding the topic our Commander mentioned…”

“You mean dealing with the suspicion from the monster faction?”

“Personally, I think it’s better to just be straightforward about it.”

They were suggesting the exact opposite of what Icarus had thought should be kept secret.

If Icarus himself had been watching this, he would have been reduced to tears, but unfortunately, because of the quest, not only could he not intervene in the meeting regardless of what they decided…

He couldn’t even see what was happening in the first place.

The superhumans were using 100% of their intellectual capacity to reach the optimal conclusion, putting in tremendous effort.

“Honestly speaking, is there really any need to hide this?”

“Pashtra’s right. From the monsters’ perspective… it would actually be more convincing if they believed the Commander has the ‘Pirate Alliance’ under his command.”

“I agree with Griyanar.”

“I’m glad everyone thinks the same way.”

After the three expressed their agreement in turn, Berial nodded and tightened her black leather gloves before continuing.

“As Griyanar said, I don’t know why… but the mere fact that our Commander Icarus has the Pirate Alliance, specifically the Pirate Empress Marian, under his command should clearly eliminate any doubts they have.”

“But if we just say that, won’t they find it hard to believe?”

Of course, Ignis raised a reasonable question to Berial’s statement.

“Well, if it comes to that, we could just have Marian demonstrate complete submission in front of the Commander…♡”

“…Excuse me?”

Hearing Pashtra’s somewhat ambiguous answer, Ignis showed a look of confusion.

At the same time, Berial also questioned Pashtra as if asking whether she had some method in mind.

“Just out of curiosity, Pashtra, do you have some kind of solution for this?”

“Of course, but first I’d like to hear your opinion, Berial♡”

As Pashtra answered a question with another question, a vein momentarily popped out on Berial’s forehead, though it was hidden by her hat brim.

Barely containing her anger, Berial nodded and responded.

“Is there really any need to do anything special? Just showing them the numerous requests resolved by the pirates for our Commander, along with what we’ve been witnessing, should be enough.”

“But you must have felt that wasn’t sufficient, which is why you asked us for our input, right?”

“…You’re not wrong, but then what’s your solution?”

Seeing Berial’s blank expression, Pashtra chuckled and presented her “method.”

“It’s nothing special. I just provided some appropriate ‘education’ before she grew into what she is now.”

“…”

“…”

“Ah, that.”

The three women who heard Pashtra’s words realized what she meant and showed different reactions.

Regardless, Pashtra continued to elaborate on her “method.”

“Fortunately, Marian had a tremendous affection for our Commander from the beginning…♡”

“Hmm.”

“When she was still in her growing phase, I gave her a little help in her efforts to serve the Commander♡”

“And after returning here, I occasionally helped her by administering various substances. Hmm.”

“…”

“So if Oxianor and the monsters don’t believe our words…”

“…You mean the ‘Pirate Empress’ would demonstrate submission in front of the Commander, something like that?”

When Berial interrupted at the end, Pashtra and Griyanar reacted as if to say “you already know what I mean, so why ask?”

Seeing the combination of one mad scientist and one cunning woman, Berial could only shake her head.

And after wrapping up the discussion about “verification” in that manner…

Their meeting was nothing short of smooth sailing.

“If you look at it this way… we could even create a secret alliance between the pirates and monsters on this occasion.”

“That’s right… though it’s somewhat underhanded, having them cooperate behind the scenes while appropriately keeping the other two factions in check seems like a good approach♡”

“I think so too. Especially if we want to keep the Earth Federation in check, the monsters and pirates definitely need to form an alliance.”

“Exactly. Just the number of Commanders affiliated with the Earth Federation exceeds 35,000, doesn’t it?”

The four of them effortlessly calculated the numbers, proposed solutions accordingly, and continued their discussion.

Ignis, who was specialized in close combat and could be described as a “warrior”…

Pashtra, a long-range firepower-focused character who used 90% of her intelligence for her love for the Commander and her firepower enthusiast tendencies…

Even when these two found it difficult to articulate certain points…

The combination of the versatile Berial and the intelligent Griyanar would instantly break through any obstacles, conducting the meeting without hesitation.

As a result…

Excluding various miscellaneous aspects, the original purpose of this meeting – “How do we persuade the monsters and resolve the trust debuff?” – was addressed by bringing up additional opinions, combining them, and discussing further.

As expected of superhumans, they finished surprisingly quickly…

“Then let’s finalize our recommendations for the Commander.”

“Yeah, looks good.”

“I agree.”

“Me too♡”

“Let’s see, the time is… only 20 minutes have passed.”

After reaching their conclusion and checking the time, they realized that only 20 minutes had passed.

“Oh my, we finished earlier than expected?”

“Excellent♡”

“Since we finished quickly, the Commander will be pleased!”

“Indeed. Then we should go report to the Commander right away…”

After checking the time, Berial was about to leave the conference room to report the meeting results to her Commander Icarus.

But at that moment…

“Wait, Berial. Are you going to talk to the Commander right now?”

“Isn’t that obvious? The sooner we explain, the better.”

Berial responded casually to Griyanar’s call as she stood up.

She turned around and headed toward the entrance of the conference room, but…

“But if we leave right away like this, how do you think the Commander will view us?”

“…What do you mean?”

Leaning back in her chair with her feet fidgeting on the table, fingers interlocked, Griyanar’s words made Berial pause in her tracks with a questioning look.

To this Berial, Griyanar – who had been stroking her “pet tentacle” that she had “cut” and cultivated with Oxianor’s permission – did more than just stop her action.

She turned her body from her position heading toward the exit and, looking directly into the eyes of the hesitating Berial, calmly spoke.

“I can assure you, if we leave at this time, the Commander will be very disappointed.”

“…Explain in more detail, Griyanar.”