ANTELISE showed up later that day as their tour guide. Caria was a little surprised that the mayor would take on that job herself, but given the situation both nations found themselves in, it was the appropriate response. Just as Mynoghra took steps not to offend Phon'kaven, Antelise also couldn't entrust her state guests to just anyone. At the end of the day, showing them around herself was the safest option, and she gleefully tossed her mayoral duties aside for this justified excuse to skip work.
"And there you have it!" Antelise trumpeted. "As someone who knows every corner of this town, I can give you the best grand tour! Ask me about anything you would like to know!"
"You're so peppy, Miss Antik," Caria observed. "Oh, come now, cutie. You can just call me Antelise!" "You smell of hooch," Maria observed.
"Ehehe, this is the real me!" Antelise giggled. "We're together for an informal occasion. What's the point of keeping things tense? The real trick to work-life balance is to skip work in moderation. This is advice from your big sister here, okay? But don't tell anyone about the booze."
After their initial meeting, Antelise had spoken with the twin girls enough to form a friendly rapport. Since she had already measured the amount of distance she needed to keep from them, Antelise determined it was fine for her to be herself, and so she immediately kicked her mask of professionalism to the side.
"By the way, are you sure you are okay being around me? Don't you have any qualms with me being an Elf?"
She threw down the hard question the second she decided to stop playing coy. This was an extremely delicate subject, but she purposely brought it up in this way. If she didn't figure out how they felt about it early on, it could lead to conflict between them later.
Antelise had no issues with them being Dark Elves, but there was no guarantee they felt the same.
"Nope. There are good Elves and bad Elves too. Besides, Big Sista and I came as Mynoghra's envoys. We aren't going to judge you because you are an Elf."
"Uh-huh!"
"That is very admirable of you both…"
"Does it not bother you, Miss Antelise?"
"I'm an Elf who ran away from home. I actually have Dark Elf friends, too, so it doesn't bother me one bit."
"You have Dark Elf friends? Introduce us! Pretty please!"
"I'd be happy to. They live in Crescent Moon, so it might take some time to get word to them, but I'll introduce you someday soon."
They chatted at ease with each other. Caria was especially happy to obtain information on other Dark Elves without trying to. Since they lived in Phon'kaven's capital, they probably couldn't meet up until the Barbarian problem was solved, but she was excited that this was good news she could report back to her esteemed King.
And yet, contrary to the delight of her younger sister, Maria was giving Antelise the evil eye.
"…What's gotten into you, Big Sista?"
Maria should be as open-minded about Elves as her little sister, and even if she had some reservations, she was smart enough not to let it show. So Caria was at a loss as to why her sister was acting the way she was. But the answer was revealed when Maria pointed…to the top-heavy blonde Elf's well-endowed chest.
"Big boobs are the enemy!" Maria exclaimed.
"Oh, you're right," Caria agreed. "I'm a tad envious."
Antelise's big breasts seemed to be a bigger problem than her race.
They really are HUGE, Caria thought as she ogled Antelise, who hastened to appease the girls.
"You girls are still growing. You have plenty of time to get bigger, so don't lose hope."
"The thing is, Dark Elves as a race don't have big breasts," Caria admitted sadly. "Every woman we've ever known has dreamed of getting bigger only to have those hopes eternally dashed."
"Everybody in our clan is flatter than a board," Maria lamented.
Yes, that was why Maria identified Antelise as an enemy, and Caria cast her envious looks.
"Th-There are a lot of complications that come with being bigbreasted."
"A luxury only somebody who has them can complain about."
"So sad…"
Most Dark Elves have a genetic disposition toward smaller chests, while Elves are more likely to have large breasts. Nothing can be done about genetics, and the twins were well aware that the Minister of Domestic Affairs' secret attempts to make her breasts bigger hadn't paid off at all.
The future was bleak, and their plight could never be understood by the well-endowed.
◇◇◇
"…BY the way, what kind of food do you usually eat?" Caria asked Antelise while being shown around the town's various facilities.
She'd never admit that staring at the older woman's melons made her think of food.
Dragontan's streets couldn't be called pretty by any standard. Clay houses made of a mixture of stone, clay, and dried grasses made up the majority of the buildings built evenly spaced from each other.
The climate in the Dark Continent differed greatly depending on the location, and it seemed like it didn't rain much where Dragontan was located, draining the land of vitality. No matter how Caria looked at it, she didn't think this was an environment where crops grew in abundance, so she wondered what the inhabitants usually ate.
"We live in a wasteland, after all. It's hard to get anything to grow here like it does to the north. We mostly live off of grains such as wheat and millet, although the yield is small. Also, we have an endless supply of edible cacti, but I hate the flavorless stuff."
They had some food production capacity. From the sound of it, while their options weren't the best, they were getting by all right from a supply point of view.
"We also make cheese from dairy farms," Antelise continued. "And during times of celebration, we roast up one of the henbel birds that grow nice and plump with minimal feed. You can see one there."
Caria looked in the direction Antelise pointed to see plucked birds hanging from several different eaves. Apparently, this was the shopping district.
"By the way, cactus cheese, which is cheese baked on top of a slice of edible cactus, is supposed to be a specialty of this town, but I don't recommend it because it tastes horrendous."
The owner of the store next to the one selling the birds shot Antelise a killer glare. When Caria spotted the piles of cheese and cactus beside him, she found herself feeling kind of impressed by Antelise's ability to say what was on her mind without caring who heard.
"M-Mynoghra has lots and lots of tasty food. We already agreed to a trade deal, so I hope you'll try it when you get the chance, Miss
Antelise."
Getting the feeling a fight might break out between the store owner and Antelise if she left them be, Caria quickly grabbed Antelise's hand and changed the topic as she dragged her away.
"Did you say tasty food?! Count me in! But your big sister here is more interested in Mynoghra's al-co-hol options," Antelise said with a lilt.
"Our liquor is extra tasty," Maria chimed in.
"His Majesty told us we can't have any, but all the adults who drink it look up at the sky and cry out, 'is this heavenly nectar?'" Caria said, mimicking the adults.
"Heavenly nectar?! Spirits smite me! I need to start saving up to buy some! Ahh, but I need to pay my tab at the tavern first…" Antelise trailed off, hanging her head.
"We'll ask His Majesty to gift you with some Miss Antelise…" Caria vowed.
"OH MY SPIRITS! You precious little angels! Connections make the world, and my booze, go round!"
Antelise was rapidly coming across a whole lot less impressive than when they first met. Caria strove to collect any information she could, all while despairing at the fact that this woman was very likely to cause her stomach to knot too.
Dragontan's shopping street was deserted because it was late in the evening. Seeing as there wasn't even much up for sale at the various stores, the town really was impoverished.
Meanwhile, guards were restlessly rushing past them. They were all headed outside town, with visible tension and exhaustion on their faces. Caria planned to ask about the Barbarians and how the town was faring later, but things looked worse than she'd assumed.
"My lady! I bought what you asked for!"
"Thanks."
Maria seemed to have sent one of the birdmen on an errand without Caria realizing it. The girls actually had ample funds because they'd exchanged the precious metals Takuto had given them for this mission for pocket money. He had also instructed them to randomly buy whatever caught their eye as a part of their investigation. But the girls had planned to do their shopping on the last day so they wouldn't have to be burdened by the goods.
Yet, Maria had bought something despite what they had decided. She might've just grabbed it on a whim, but Caria was curious about what had caught her sister's interest and tried to take a peek at what she was holding.
"What did you buy, Big Sista?"
"Something good."
Maria giggled and slid whatever she bought into her pocket as if she were up to no good.
◇◇◇
"OKAY, girls, I'll come to pick you up tomorrow morning," Antelise said.
"Okay! Looking very forward to it!" Caria exclaimed.
"I want meat," Maria said.
"Hehehe. Then shall we splurge on meat tomorrow? I can count it as a work expense, so I'll pay!"
"Meat! Meat!"
The twins waved goodbye to Antelise.
Since the five of them were national guests, they were given a small, vacant house managed by Dragontan to stay in. It was fully furnished, so it was the perfect accommodation for them. The twins were genuinely pleased by Antelise's considerate choice because an ordinary inn would've forced them to be wary of being overheard by the other people staying there. Most of all, they were enjoying what felt like their first sleepover.
"Very good work, everyone," Caria said, clapping her hands together.
Nevertheless, the girls had come to Dragontan under the name and flag of King Takuto Ira. Caria understood this, so she moved things along for them to discuss and examine the day's events.
"Miss Antelise is a very free-spirited woman, but she was also incredibly kind. As far as her having a hidden agenda—" "She doesn't," Maria asserted without missing a beat.
"If she did, she's an amazing actress," Caria agreed.
The birdmen trio hummed in awe of Maria's confidence. Apparently, the slow older sister possessed an observational ability they did not.
"The townspeople looked more worn to a frazzle than we expected. The soldiers seemed especially frazzled. How did they look to you, Big Sista?"
"Scared," Maria declared with certainty again and then continued with unusual verbosity. "No food. Scary enemies outside. No help coming. Not knowing what the future holds."
"That's something we understand all too well," Caria said sadly.
Maria could understand the heart—or to be more precise, she could read another person's emotions. They didn't know when this ability manifested in her. But both of the girls remembered having a miserable life because of it.
She intended to keep it forever sealed. Maria had no desire to use this ability that only brought her misery and despair, and Caria had no intention of ever asking her older sister to use it.
It was Takuto who had changed their minds.
Maria decided to use this power again to repay him for healing their tormented hearts and giving them hope and new values to aspire to. And Caria had secretly vowed to support her sister in any way she could.
"UuuUooooOOOOOOOOOoOOhhHH!!"
"EEK?!"
One of the birdmen broke the moment between the girls with his ungodly shout.
"What's wrong, Ichiro? It's not like us to let out such a strange cry."
"Our little ladies are growing up so fast! I'm moved to bouts of shouting, Jiro!"
"I see! This growth is a picture of HUEMANITY! And it is we Huemans who must support the little ladies in their Hueman growth!"
"Yes, you said it, Jiro! For we are HUEMANS!"
The meeting suddenly derailed into the birdman trio's usual loud antics. From the bottom of her heart, Caria was grateful that they were given a house to themselves that should have better soundproofing than an inn room.
"What am I to do with these Hueman-lovers?" Caria sighed.
"They were pretty awesome during greeting time, though," Maria pointed out.
"Ack. You're right."
Maria made a valid point. Drawing a complete blank during the meeting with the mayor was entirely Caria's blunder. Maria had actually tried to assist her younger sister in her moment of plight, but it didn't amount to much. It was these crazy birdmen who'd offered them the help they needed when they needed it most.
Caria was apprehensive about bringing them at first, but at the end of the day, it was the birdman trio who'd helped the girls instead. Even though she had made up her mind to do anything and everything in her power for the King, she ended up tongue-tied when it really mattered. So, despite heading up this mission, she didn't feel right scolding the birdmen for talking loudly against her orders when they had saved the day.
Except…
"Oh, no, no. We actually just parroted the words His Majesty told us."
The second she felt grateful to them, she wanted to take it back.
"Don't let it get you down! Cheer up. Up! We may be HUEMANS, but even we haven't reached that godly negotiating skill level."
"On the contrary, it's disrespectful to think we could ever reach His Majesty's level. It is proper HUEMAN behavior to accurately convey the King's words as-is."
"Indubitably!"
"Now that's being HUEMAN!"
The birdmen's spontaneous confession came out of nowhere. Why, it was Takuto who'd spoken through them to save the girls in their time of need. Caria's heart was warmed by her king's boundless kindness and his resourcefulness to come up with just the right thing to say to turn the tides.
But learning that made her suddenly question something else.
"Hold on, then what were you three doing all day?" she asked.
If Takuto was the one speaking through them, then did they actually do anything to help?
"Boo!" Maria booed her. "It's mean to make them answer that!"
"Huh? I'm the one at fault here? Is that the wrong question to ask?"
Caria couldn't figure out why Maria was scolding her. Meanwhile, the birdman trio was chortling away. All the laughter eased the tension out of Caria's shoulders, and she found herself giggling along with them.
"This really is no different from a sightseeing trip," Caria said. "Right? Trouble doesn't really seem to be afoot."
"We can go home soon."
A lot had happened, but the day was peacefully coming to a close. They only had two days left of their stay. The rest of their trip was bound to be easier than today, given they had finished meeting
and greeting Antelise. As long as they didn't neglect their investigation, they should complete their mission in a way that satisfied the King.
Caria thought of the day to come as she dove into bed. She wasn't as big of a glutton as her older sister, but she was also looking forward to enjoying some meat tomorrow too.
But it seemed fate had other plans for them.
"Oh dear, I fear that's not the case, my ladies."
"Be ever cautious."
"Something unsettling is in the air."
The birdmen abruptly ceased their wild laughter and began warning the girls, who were their superior officers on paper. Caria scrunched up her face in displeasure as she was about to go to sleep with happier feelings.
"The town's enervation is affecting public order. Things appear to be functioning fine on the surface, but many people were sizing you girls up. There may be kidnappers and dissenters hiding in the shadows."
"Yes, but you needn't worry, because if anything should happen, we will put our bodies on the line like HUEMANS to protect you girls!"
"We will do exactly that!"
The birdman trio rarely listened to Caria and would frolic about with Maria whenever they got the chance. But they were terrifyingly skilled and undoubtedly King Takuto Ira's vassals. With that in mind, she needed to take their warning to heart, especially since they never joked or fooled around when it came to anything regarding Mynoghra's national interests.
Caria needed to report this news back to Takuto posthaste. She also needed to be more aware of her surroundings and potential danger from now on. She had to get word about the deteriorating public order back to the troops that were going to be dispatched for the combined defense operations in the near future too.
"Here."
As Caria was writing down what she needed to report in the notebook she'd pulled from her pocket, Maria pulled something out of her pocket and waved it in front of her.
"What's this, Big Sista?"
"Grass."
"…Grass?"
This was likely what she'd sent one of the birdmen to buy during the afternoon and stashed in her pocket without letting Caria see it. Caria closely examined it, since her sister had shoved it in her face as if to say take a closer look, and then she gasped.
"Is this…Popil Grass? It even has the fruit attached."
Caria remembered seeing it somewhere before, and she frowned as she recalled its side effects. Curiosity piqued by her grimace, the birdman trio noisily gathered around her.
"Do you know what that is, Lady Caria?"
"…The juice from the Popil Grass fruit gives a strong sense of euphoria and has hallucinogenic effects. It's also highly addictive," she explained.
"Oh, it's a drug then. You mustn't contaminate yourself with it,
Lady Maria. Throw it away."
"Away!"
Maria tossed the Popil Grass onto the floor. Caria scooped it up and examined the condition it was in.
"It's in surprisingly good condition without any bug damage.
Somebody must be cultivating it."
"Someone is distributing it throughout Dragontan? That's the opposite of peaceful."
The birdman trio began consulting each other in an unusually serious manner. Their mission was to escort and guard the twins. It was as if they knew there was no room for tomfoolery as long as they had concerns about the town's safety.
"There will always be people who only think of themselves no matter the time or place," Caria remarked, thinking back on that afternoon as she spun the Popil Grass in her fingers.
She didn't bring it up with the woman, but she noted the dark bags under Antelise's eyes. She distinctly remembered the cloying scent of alcohol and slight body odor that wafted her way whenever Antelise patted her on the head for one reason or another. She likely hadn't taken a bath in days. Contrary to her bubbly personality, the state she was in spoke volumes about the crisis her town was in.
All the inhabitants residing in the town of Dragontan were standing at death's door. They were on the verge of becoming Barbarian fodder. And even amid that crisis, there were still people who lived madly pursuing their desires. That disgusted Caria.
"I know you are probably already prepared for this even if I don't ask you to be, but please be ready to take on the enemy at any time."
For the first time ever, the birdmen bowed deeply in response to Caria's orders. At the same time, they shrugged and started complaining like they were dissatisfied.
"What a bother… I would rather refrain from conflict," one of the birdmen grumbled.
"But Humans love conflict."
"They certainly do," Caria said, wryly agreeing with her older sister's offhand remark.
◇◇◇
IT was early during the next day's tour that the twins learned their wish to spend their last two days without incident would not come true. Oh, it wasn't a big deal—just a Barbarian attack.
Naturally, the mayor couldn't play hooky at a time like this, so she apologized to them for having to call it a day and ran back to town hall looking frazzled. Caria and the rest of Mynoghra's envoy were left standing there with nothing better to do, so she asked Jiro to check on the state of things outside while they explored the residential district.
"We didn't see this area yesterday," Caria noted.
She'd been following after her older sister as she meandered aimlessly from place to place until they finally came across an area they hadn't seen yet. The twins looked around them with curiosity.
The vacant land, which spread out like an empty clearing in the middle of the town, was filled with a kind of refreshing air that made them feel revitalized. When the girls looked down, they noticed gorgeous blue crystals were growing under their feet.
"Wow!" Caria exclaimed, crouching to cautiously stroke it. She yanked back her hand from the surprisingly cold sensation. "It's so pretty…"
"Please look over there, my lady."
One of the birdmen placed his hand on Caria's shoulder and pointed into the distance. She pried her eyes away from the crystals at her feet to see that they covered the entire clearing.
"This is what we call the Dragon Vein Mine," the birdman said. "They tried to cleverly hide it under the earth and sand, but it's not the kind of thing you can conceal easily." It was a fantastic and magical sight.
If this counted as them concealing it with earth and sand, did that mean innumerable crystals were buried beneath them? What kind of scenery would welcome them if they dug up the mine?
Before Caria knew it, her sister was holding her hand. The twins held hands and shared in the breathtaking scenery.
The world was full of new things for them to discover.
They felt like they had discovered one of the things their mother used to tell them about during bedtime stories. This was the scenery dreams were made of. They couldn't go home and tell their mother about it anymore, but they knew she was watching over them. And they had King Takuto and a whole city of people they could share their impressions with when they got home. There were so many people waiting for them to come home and who wanted to ask about their trip.
The twins were no longer the same girls who cursed their wretched circumstances and longed for death.
"…Popil Grass grows exceptionally well here," a boorish voice called out to them from behind.
Caria took a deep breath and slowly turned around. She wanted to pummel the man for shattering their special moment but put a lid on her anger because there was no guarantee he had ill intentions. Besides, the girls knew full well that causing any problems here would only sully their king's name.
"I apologize for speaking to you out of the blue. I'm Vesta Kruklain, and I run a trading company in this town. Am I right to assume you are members of Mynoghra's delegation?"
The slender man with nervous-looking, dodgy eyes seemed far from trustworthy. His overly flashy and wasteful attire attested to his profession as a business owner, but the fact he calmly brought up the Popil Grass proved he dealt in shady wares.
Caria made that snap judgment about him and looked to her sister to confirm her suspicions were correct. Maria was staring at the man the same way she might filth piled up on the side of the road, which told Caria everything she needed to know.
This man was likely the person behind the rampant spread of Popil Grass in Dragontan.
"Thank you very muchest for your polite introduction… So? What business do you have with us?"
"Oh, it was nothing. And the only business a businessman could possibly have is to discuss doing business together." "Doing business together?" Caria repeated.
She wanted the obnoxious man to just cut to the chase. She had no intention of listening to anything such a shady man had to say, nor did she have the authority to make a business deal. Whether he knew that or not, the man named Vesta launched into a confident business spiel.
"That's right. I've heard your country possesses outstanding food and goods. I would like you to prioritize doing your trade through my company. Of course, this will be a mutually beneficial transaction.
Both sides will benefit immensely from it."
"…All matters pertaining to the trade agreement are being done at the state level, sir," Caria said. "You should consult Mayor Antelise about this instead."
The birdmen maintained their silence, and Maria was entirely uninterested in the man. Caria seemed to be the only person capable of handling the situation, but she had already grown so bored with the businessman that she begrudged her sister for getting to turn her attention back to the stunning crystals.
"A little lady such as yourself might not realize this yet, but that mayor is unacceptable. She doesn't understand the subtleties of business and has placed worthless regulations that obstruct perfectly good trade."
"Are you speaking about the Popil Grass?"
Vesta sneered. "As you said, the land where these crystals grow has a mysteriously high crop yield, especially for crops with unique effects like Popil Grass."
"…Go on."
"Thank you. Our goal is to take control of this town. Under the current mayor, we can only grow so much in secret, but if we can turn this entire clearing into a Popil Grass field, then we would churn out a huge profit."
"The town will cease to function if you do that," Caria pointed out.
"We have already taken that into consideration. We plan on selling it to a different country… Like, Qualia for example. We are guaranteed to sell well in such a vast country. So well that even the productivity of this land won't be enough to meet demand."
"…How does this benefit Mynoghra? What should I tell my king?"
"I have already worked out the details regarding that. You will receive part of the proceeds from the sale of the Popil Grass and complete ownership of the town. Of course, that's on the condition that you make it comfortable for us to do business… I would like to further flesh out the details with you tonight. How about it? You have an open invitation to visit our trading company."
"Where is it?"
"I drew a map on this paper. The clerk will show you the way if you come to this location after nightfall… Oh, and be sure not to let that drunkard mayor find out."
"I will keep that in mind."
Caria accepted the paper Vesta handed her, briefly scanned her eyes over it, and stuffed it into her pocket. Vesta nodded with satisfaction and bowed with a sly smile.
"I'm certain your king will be pleased. I look forward to seeing you tonight. Goodbye until then."
The man named Vesta turned around and disappeared into a nearby alley that led out of the clearing. As soon as she sensed he was gone, Maria suddenly stood up from where she'd been staring at the crystals with disinterest.
"You going?"
"Obviously not," Caria said as if any other answer was implausible.
She had feigned interest while planning to completely ignore him. She knew full well that snakes like him would do anything to satisfy their desires, even betray their own family with a smile, and he also had nothing to do with her mission from the King. With all that in mind, he was nothing more than a waste of time. In the one in a million chance he actually had some sort of value, it was someone else's job to decide that and take appropriate action.
Thus, leaving him be was the only choice. She actually wanted him to be grateful to her for even hearing him out.
"But, my lady, you appeared awfully interested to me?" one of the birdmen said.
"I pretended to be interested to make him go away faster. I wouldn't thoughtlessly walk into that viper's den."
"Well, he did use cheap pick-up lines that hold no value to a lady," the birdman responded.
"Honestly, I can't see it benefiting us much," the second birdman added.
The reason she pretended to be interested was because she thought it'd make him go away faster rather than the argument it'd start if she outright turned him down, and she used it as a chance to gather more information. Sure enough, she learned what designs the man named Vesta had for this area and where his base of operations was located. She'd also obtained the information that some crops grew faster than others around the Dragon Vein Mine. Playing along with his worthless spiel had netted her good results.
"Cary and Big Sista aren't easy women," Caria declared.
"We're difficult women."
The twins puffed out their flat chests and gloated.
Aren't they promising?
The birdmen were so impressed by their temporary superior officers, they wished they could serve under them forever.
…When they returned to the inn, the birdmen couldn't resist asking the girls to remain as their superiors, but unlike Maria, who happily agreed, Caria so adamantly refused that their proposal was swept under the rug.
-x-X-x-
Chapter 8: True Evil
ON their last day in Dragontan, Mayor Antik, who looked as overwhelmed as always, treated the girls to grilled cheese with cured meat while they were souvenir shopping in town to make up for skipping out on her promise the previous day. The twins then spent their last few hours in the town hall's reception room since they'd already finished gathering enough information. They felt a little sad to be leaving so soon.
"Three days went by so fast, huh, girls? Did you enjoy your time in the town of Dragontan?"
"Yes, ma'am. We are ever so grateful to you, Miss Antelise," Caria said.
"It's all good. I made a good connection with you girls, and I have your word that I'll be receiving a fine bottle of booze soon," Antelise chuckled.
"Cary and Big Sista don't have that much power to speak of, but please do come to us if you ever need anything."
"Oh my, that's promising! By the way, how important are you girls, anyway?"
"Hmm…good question. Probably around sixth and seventh place."
"…Excuse me? Doesn't that make you hella important?! Er, did I do all right welcoming you? I won't have my head chewed off, will I?" "You won't get chewed up and spit out," Maria assured.
"We just have a rank with no real authority, so please don't worry," Caria stressed.
There was no clear hierarchy in Mynoghra. However, the unwritten rule was that the closer a person was to the King, the higher their rank, which was why the girls ranked where they did.
Antelise was definitely startled to learn they ranked in the top ten of their country, but she quickly got over it. The more important they were, the more likely she could go to them to get a problem solved. More importantly, they had formed a relationship that didn't revolve solely around their status. Although their time together was short but sweet, Antelise had grown really fond of the twins.
"Okay, I hate to see you girls go, but it's almost time. Make sure you pass my good wishes along to Mynoghra's King. Be sure to talk about me in a positive light! Oh, and you two are always welcome to come back and play."
"Thank you very muchest. Mynoghra's territory is oozing with miasma, so we can't invite you over, Miss Antelise, but I promise we will definitely come back to play."
"Come to play!" Maria repeated after Caria.
"Thanks. But, uh, can you please not say such scary things the same way you'd talk about the weather?" Antelise requested, although she sounded quite happy. If they kept this up, they could talk the rest of the day away. With that in mind, she slapped her thighs and hopped to her feet to draw their meeting to a close.
"Would you mind giving me a bit of time before you go?"
It was Vesta Kruklain who suddenly opened the reception-room doors and soured their goodbye.
"You are…the president of the Kruklain Trading Company. Who gave you permission to come here? Leave. Or I will have you forced out," Antelise warned, leveling him with a glowering look.
Considering the flow of magic activating around them, it wasn't an empty threat. To Antelise, he was a dangerous man who threatened the safety of her town.
Intimidation, assault, rape, murder, fraud—he had dipped his hands into every possible vile crime yet never gave himself away. On the contrary, he'd even created a trading company to commit organized crime with. It was strange that this man who never let himself get caught would brazenly show up now, but Antelise really started to feel the danger when several gruff-looking men followed him into the room.
She didn't care if her head was on the chopping block—she needed to prevent them from harming Mynoghra's envoys no matter the cost. If worse came to worst, she would sacrifice herself to protect the girls. With that determination burning in her chest, she moved into position to protect them.
But then, the most ridiculous statement came from the displeased-looking Vesta.
"Little lady from Mynoghra, care to tell me your response to my offer from the other day? I've been waiting patiently for you ever since."
"Ah, you mean the matter concerning taking over Dragontan and cultivating Popil Grass together?" Caria asked blandly.
"Is that true?!"
Antelise's eyes bulged with shock as she swung her restless, questioning gaze toward Caria. The girl in question raised her teacup to her lips with indifference, and Maria happily munched on the teacakes like a small forest animal.
"It's very true. If I'm not mistaken, the young lady here seemed very interested in my proposal. Just as I was eagerly awaiting pounding out the details with her, I noticed she was going back home without getting in touch with me first, so I went out of my way to come to her instead."
"What happened to town hall's staff and the soldiers on guard?" Antelise asked.
"How cute, you still believe you are in a position to ask questions… Well, not that I mind. All the key players in this town have already come to our side. You might say there were a few who didn't listen to reason, but there are plenty of ways to make even the unreasonable reasonable," Vesta said with a spine-tingling laugh.
Showing his true colors here and now meant he'd already laid all the groundwork. A man who never let his tail show was taking open action against Antelise and the town. In other words, he had enough cards on hand to have a sure-fire victory.
Antelise trembled in that knowledge. What gutted her most was the fact that the girls whose company she'd enjoyed so much the past few days had brutally betrayed her.
Antelise's knees buckled, and she looked pleadingly to Caria. Caria glanced at her and…blinked owlishly.
"Why are you making such a funny face, Miss Antelise?"
"…What?"
"Anyways, I wanted to ask you whether there would be any trouble if we take out these people. I could never face His Majesty if my excess actions here hurt our friendship with Phon'kaven."
Antelise was having a hard time processing Caria's blunt question. But that was enough for her to realize the girls hadn't only not betrayed her but were also still on her side.
"G-Go right ahead!" Antelise responded with her usual vigor. "Take them down however you like! Y-Yeah! You girls have an escort, right? That's a relief, then! These pigs have been making a real mess of my town! It would've been more problematic if they hadn't shown their true colors here, but this is the perfect opportunity to get rid of them!!"
Antelise rapidly regained her confidence and took the opportunity to turn the tides on her enemy. What they were doing counted as a rebellion the moment they stormed town hall with weapons.
They'd reached a point where neither could back down now. A battle was about to begin and would continue until one was defeated, with the winner becoming the ruler of this town. That was the trajectory they were on.
"What a harum-scarum thing for you to say. Did you forget things have only stayed this peaceful because we have maintained this town's public order? You have a lot of audacity, Elf," Vesta said with venom.
"You call threatening weak women and children and then forcing them to pay up for their safety protecting public order? You did whatever the hell you wanted just because we're far from the capital! Do you know how many all-nighters I've had to pull cleaning up after you?!" Antelise shouted, and the band of thugs let out a round of jeers in response.
"You really disappoint me, little lady from Mynoghra. And here I thought we could become good friends with benefits."
"I never once thought we could be friends," Caria said outright.
A blue vein bulged in Vesta's forehead. But he took a deep breath as if to still himself from being provoked and signaled his men to surround the girls.
"You do realize attacking us here is making an enemy of
Mynoghra, right? Do you comprehend how stupid that is? I may be but a powerless child, but the King who sent me on this mission is the mighty and powerful King Takuto Ira."
Indeed, that was the one surprising element to Caria. She never imagined there could be someone so stupid they would consider harming her and her sister. That was why she played along with Vesta when he first approached them and promised to meet up with him later. She'd determined it wouldn't be a problem to give him the boot when he could never turn his fangs on her.
But things played out differently in reality.
It's no wonder Caria found herself thinking there were better ways for him to commit suicide than this.
Instead of answering her question, Vesta put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a small pouch. He took a tiny vial and a syringe out of the pouch. The elaborate glasswork was a luxury item. It was easy to see just how much money this man possessed and how confident he was in the contents of that little vial.
"What's that?" Antelise asked.
"Most likely a distilled and refined liquid taken from the Popil fruit," Caria answered. "I've heard that after being injected with it once, you won't be able to live without it for the rest of your life."
"Isn't that a contraband drug?! What's it doing here? And where'd they get a syringe from…? Don't tell me you used that on the town?!" Antelise fumed.
Antelise had been skeptical of how he could've possibly gotten everyone in town hall to join him, but now it finally made sense. It wasn't realistically possible for him to convince every member of the large staff to switch sides. She thought there was more to it, and it fit if he had somehow found a way to inject everyone with a drug made of purified Popil Grass. He had created a bunch of convenient pawns intensely addicted to the drug only he could provide.
"Give them a good shakedown, boys. Be sure not to kill them. There's two, so we just need to make one obedient to us. Then we'll have that little-girl-loving perverted bastard king Takuto Ira under our finger… Oh, I know. I'll give you boys the retarded one as a present for a job well done. You can kill the guards behind them.
They're just gonna get in our way."
The band of thugs drew their weapons. The girls were already outnumbered by the gruff men in the room, yet there were even more outside, and their numbers continued to grow.
Antelise had provoked them earlier, but she couldn't slow her galloping heartbeat or the nervous sweat dripping down her back.
"Don't ya worry, darling. One shot, and you're mine. I'll take you to heaven, girlies."
With a sickening sneer coming from his cocksure confidence that victory was his, Vesta swung down his arm, giving his goons the goahead.
◇◇◇
"…I never thought units with such finicky abilities would be so useful in this world."
Takuto was busy running things back at Mynoghra's Palace. He'd finished giving his approval to multiple projects and was enjoying some hot coffee during his break when he muttered that comment aloud.
"What do you mean?"
He was just talking to himself, but Emle was curious to hear more, so Atou stepped up to explain in her king's place.
"They serve as Medics in Mynoghra. Their primary role is to accompany the troops, healing soldiers who are sick or injured." "Oh, yes, I knew that," Emle said, pushing up her glasses. "They serve a very important role in my opinion… Am I mistaken?"
"You aren't. They really are important. They just have a…unique set of abilities."
"Unique…abilities? Like your ability to steal your opponent's skills, Lady Atou?"
"Correct, although their abilities are nowhere near as strong as mine. Mynoghra's Medics possess three abilities:
1. Granting a bonus to maintaining the public order in Humanoid-run towns and cities.
2. Granting an increased Attack bonus to Humanoids.
3. Granting an increased Resilience bonus to Humanoids.
Humanoid is used as a general overarching term to refer to the Human race and races closely related to Humans, such as Demihumans.
Do you see the problem now?"
Emle groaned at her question. Their skills sounded so useful she couldn't understand why Takuto and Atou called them finicky. With such special abilities, they could contribute much to the empire during peacetime and wartime.
"Well, it's definitely a con that their abilities are limited to Humanoid races, but I still think they are quite powerful. It's not a smart move to send Medics into battle, so even if we take the second ability out of the picture, the first and third should still be of constant use…"
If the King dubbed them finicky, then there must be some issue Emle hadn't figured out yet. Although she knew she'd arrived at the wrong conclusion, Emle still voiced her opinion.
"You have the right idea. The only problem is that it wasn't plausible for Humanoids to live in the empire of Mynoghra until you guys came along." "Oh…"
All of the pieces finally came together in Emle's mind.
"Mynoghra's main race, the Homunculus, don't count as
Humanoids."
Mynoghra's main race didn't fall under the Humanoid classification. And even its Hero, Atou, wasn't remotely Human despite taking that form. In other words, the Medics' abilities couldn't work in their own empire.
Their first ability only granted a bonus to public order in towns and cities run by Humanoids, so it wouldn't do anything for Mynoghra's cities. Moreover, even if they occupied a Humanoid enemy empire, the forces of evil and their units frighten Humanoids, which adds a huge penalty to citizen Happiness and public order.
An increased Attack buff for and against Humanoids also wasn't useful for a Medic unit, so two was out as well.
And increasing the Resilience of Humanoids was worthless when there wasn't a single Humanoid belonging to Mynoghra.
The King wasn't exaggerating when he called them units with finicky abilities nor for seeing their value now that Mynoghra had Dark Elf citizens and an alliance with Phon'kaven. Their abilities came
to life only once they could establish friendly relations with Humanoid races.
What whacky and confusing abilities they had. And what in the world were these Medics that they were so specialized in Humanoid races despite serving the forces of evil?
"Lady Atou…erm, what are they?" Emle asked Atou in a trembling voice, a chill creeping down her spine.
"They are called Brain Eaters. They are that which adores humanity but failed to become human, so they love all humanoids instead," Atou said with a laugh, giving Emle an indescribable chill.
◇◇◇
"MARVELOUS! YOU COULDN'T FIND A BETTER SPECIMEN OF
HUEMANITY!"
"INDEED! O, THE FOLLY THAT IS BEING DEVOUT TO ONE'S DESIRES AT THE EXPENSE OF ALL ELSE IS TRULY HUEMAN!"
"WITH THAT SAID, JIRO, SABURO—"
"IF WE WEAR THEIR SKIN, WE CAN BECOME EVEN MORE
HUEMAN!!!" the three birdmen screeched in unison, their voices so loud it made everyone want to cover their ears. They suddenly struck tacky poses like overly excited children and removed their black robes.
"Aaaah!"
Antelise shrieked before anyone else did. After all, she had the best view of what was concealed beneath their robes, vividly driving home just how disturbing of an entity they were.
Asymmetrical, convulsing humanoid bodies. Large, rolling eyes that darted about the room. Shriveled flesh covering limbs bent the wrong way at the joint. Swollen lumps covering the darkened skin and ferocious claws that looked more like dulled blades.
But their grotesque appearance paled compared to one other point they had in common—the birdmen monsters—the Brain Eaters had one particularly revolting trait.
"Wh-What the seven Saints are they?! What the hell are you monsters?!" Vesta thundered, his knees buckling as he realized what exactly the trio was wearing under their robes.
Several of his faint-hearted goons blacked out as soon as they realized what they were looking at too.
Yes, for the birdman trio was wearing— "WE ARE HUEMANS!!!" they chirped in unison.
—the raw flesh they had skinned off of someone.
"TAKE A GANDER AT OUR BEAUTIFUL, CURVACEOUS BODIES!"
"WE'RE HUEMAN NO MATTER HOW YOU LOOK AT US!"
The pungent smell of herbal fluids filled the room. The human skin, prevented from decaying with herbal preservatives, had been forcibly tied onto the Brain Eaters' flesh with a string, and the excess skin bounced every time they struck a big pose.
Strangled cries that didn't even count as screams rose from every corner of the room.
Maria gently hugged Antelise, rubbing her back like she might a child, as the Elf was so terrified by the sight of them, she started hyperventilating.
"It's okay. Shh," she soothed. "It's not scary. They aren't scary."
Caria warily eyed the Brain Eaters and thrust her chin out toward the pathetic sacrificial thugs as if to say "What are you waiting for?
Finish them already."
"YOUR SKIN MUST BE PEELED TO COMPENSATE FOR THE HARM
YOU CAUSED OUR SPECIAL LITTLE LADIES!"
The Brain Eater trio eagerly nodded after receiving the signal from Caria and drew the black-stained blades fastened to their waists. Delighted beyond delight, they slowly shuffled over to the men paralyzed with fear.
"W-Wait! Vesta sputtered. "We haven't done anything yet! Let's strike a deal! I'll apologize too. If necessary, I'll even prepare more money and goods than you could ever want. I'll even withdraw from Dragontan! You can have my stash of Popil Grass as well! I can have lots of flesh prepared for you! So, so, won't you please put away your weapons?!"
"NU-UH!!!"
The three monsters rejected Vesta's proposal in overly enthusiastic, loud voices.
"You insulted our precious little ladies. This is an unforgivable crime. Words can be sharper than any blade, and your blades
continue to cause our young mistresses grief. This is not proper HUEMAN behavior. YOU CAUSED THE GIRLS TO WEEP AND WAIL!!" "No, we never wept or wailed," Caria corrected.
"Yep, no weeping here," Maria added.
"Then you pardon them?"
"Not in a million years." Caria also sentenced the foolish men to death most painful with a callous smile. "These men insulted His Majesty. That is the mostest unpardonable crime of all. I, Cary, made a vow to do whatever I mustest to show my gratitude to the King who saved Big Sista and me. And that I would live freely in a way that would make His Majesty and Mother proud."
Caria spoke of the convictions that shaped her. Of the new person she'd become thanks to Takuto Ira. And of the impulses brought forth by the evil soul that had manifested within her when she joined the forces of evil.
"I, Cary, will never forgive Mynoghra's enemies.
I will never pardon anyone who threatens those I care about.
I will never pardon anyone who hurts Big Sista.
And I will never forgive anyone who insults His Majesty.
His Majesty told me that evil people are free to do anything. They can get away with anything. That's why I give this order to the birdmen with the freedom approved of by my king: you have my permission to have your way with them."
What she said was an extreme case of self-justification. An evilminded assertion formed by carefully mixing a child's innocence with the vindictiveness of a scorned woman. But there was some level of legitimacy to her convictions, making it hard to dismiss as selfrighteousness and insanity gone too far.
"Oh, but you can all rest assured," Caria said as an afterthought. "His Majesty just contacted me. He has seen everything that has transpired here and has given the okay to go wild." Their time was running out.
Sheer glee burned in the Brain Eaters' eyes when they heard they not only had the king's stamp of approval but also that he was watching over them. Why, they could even declare they would never encounter another skinning this enjoyable and inspiring.
Several of the thugs tried to flee, but they were glued to the spot by a mysterious power that increased the town's public safety.
Vesta had been screaming something or other the whole time, consisting of begging for his life, negotiating, groveling, and surrendering. But none of it got through to Caria.
"All right, hop to it, please," she said dryly.
And so, the curtain rose on an exquisitely fleshy feast.
"IN THAT CASE…!"
"WE WILL PROMPTLY…!"
"SKIN THEM!"
"Go get 'em, boys," Maria cheered.
"COME AND MAKE US HUEMAN!!!" the Brain Eater trio trilled.
◇◇◇
HELL—the room had become hell on earth.
The familiar table, cupboards, and couches were dyed in a gory red, and what used to be Human was splayed here and there as crimson, skinned husks.
"HUEMANS!!!"
"Human!"
The three Brain Eaters wore the still steamy, sweaty flesh of their fresh kills and comfortably chatted amongst themselves like teenagers shopping at a clothing store on their day off. The older twin, Maria, hopped about with glee, causing the puddles of blood at her feet to splash with every hop.
Antelise was staring at them in disbelief when she felt a tap on her shoulder that wrenched a tearful scream from her lips.
"Eek!"
"Um, Miss Antelise, I'm really, really sorry about what my subordinates did."
The girl ruefully bowing her head to Antelise was the one and same younger twin sister she'd joyfully reunited with a few hours earlier that day.
"They went a little tooooo far. How do I put it? I also didn't think the birdmen would take things this far."
The young girl lowered and raised her head so many times it almost looked like a click beetle jumping. Looking at her reminded Antelise of how she used to bow her head like that to her elders when she made a big mistake, too—going down memory lane was her way of escaping reality.
"So, um, you see…I don't have the money to pay for cleaning this room, so I would be ever so grateful if you could overlook it this once." Caria pressed her hands together.
What in the Spirits is she saying? Antelise honestly didn't understand. What is this adorable little girl apologizing for in this hellscape?
The answer came easily.
"I'm so, so sorry for getting this pretty room dirty after you invited us over and all."
Caria was apologizing for making the room dirty.
"And, um, may I impose upon you to…uh…explain things in a more positive light to your higher-ups?" Caria implored her, batting her eyelashes like she was trying to mimic an adult woman's way of being cute.
"I-I can take care…of that," Antelise barely squeezed out. And when she did, Caria's whole face lit up like a sunflower after sunrise. "Yay! Thank you ever so muchest, Miss Antelise!" Ahh, she thinks nothing of it.
It suddenly all clicked into place for Antelise.
This was evil in the truest sense.
Taking pleasure in making people suffer? Feeding on despair? Satisfaction at the sight of other's misery? All of those things depict evil as told in stories, but true evil isn't so simple.
True evil treads the thin line between good and bad intentions and never doubts it's wrong. Someone who can kill a person with the same feeling they brush their teeth with in the morning and whisper their affections to someone that very same night as if suddenly adoring the fleeting brilliance of life. Someone who calmly lives out their days harboring the ultimate contradictions within themselves— that is true evil.
What exactly am I looking at? Antelise wondered.
Girls who giggled and smiled.
Girls who happily blushed when Antelise patted them on the head.
Girls whose eyes filled with tears when they tried the foul food Antelise warned them not to touch.
Those girls from the past few days and the girls splattered with blood in front of Antelise looked so remarkably similar, her brain struggled to accept reality and tried desperately to reject what she was seeing.
Ahh, they're one in the same. They embody both sides.
That thought plagued Antelise.
How in the Spirits should I interact with these girls from now on? What's the right answer?
"LADY MARIA!"
.
-------------->
.
As Antelise was absently brooding, sunken down on the cold, hard ground, one of the Brain Eater escorts staring at her started shouting.
"Mayor Antik has had a bout of incontinence! She requires
HUEMAN consideration, no?!"
His loud comment finally forced Antelise to notice the warm feeling between her thighs. As an adult woman, this was an embarrassment that would haunt her for the rest of her life. But even that paled in comparison to the bloody scene before her.
"I'm sorry! I'm so, so, so, so SORRY!"
Flustered by her escort's insensitive remark, Caria resumed bowing and apologizing with a vengeance. Apparently, she also worried about things like that a lot too. Somehow, that fact struck Antelise as oddly funny, making her feel like she needed to say something to calm the girl down before she broke her neck.
"N-No…i-it's okay. H-Hehe…hehe…I guess I can't get married now, can I?" Antelise bluffed with a dry, cracked laugh.
She felt as if she'd faint if she didn't laugh at herself. She might lose her mind if she didn't make light of the situation.
Did she actually manage to laugh? Or was that more like a strangled breath catching in her throat? She didn't know, but the sheer fact the girls cared about her as a friend was the only thread holding Antelise's shattering mind together.
"As decent HUEMAN beings, we should also all have a leak so as not to let the beautiful young lady be ashamed!"
"Why, that's a marvelous idea!" "Sounds plenty HUEMAN to me!" "Leaky-leak!" Maria cheered.
Antelise didn't even have the energy to stop them, but at least she regained enough of her mind to think of what she'd like to say to them.
Meanwhile, she thought she heard something snap beside her. She looked to see Caria fuming with a terrifying smile. They had awoken a sleeping, raging dragon.
"I'm sorry, Big Sista, can you step aside?"
"…Hm? Okey dokey."
"All right, I want all the Brain Eaters to line up right there. No, not that way…from front to back. Yes, yes. Now please stay that way," Caria ordered her escorts with that bone-chilling smile of hers. Once she had finally succeeded in getting them to stand in a straight line in front of her…
"STOP FOOLING AROUND, YOU BIRDBRAINS!"
She charged forward and landed a flying kick on all three Brain Eaters.
"GUUUAAAAGH!!!"
"My Huemans!" Maria cried.
The three horrifying monsters went tumbling backward.
The older sister tended to the monsters with tears in her eyes.
The younger sister resumed bowing her head like a broken doll.
It was almost hilarious…as if Antelise was watching a comedy. It reminded her of the time she saw a clown show in Qualia. It was a stupidly funny performance that invited laughter.
"A-Ahahaha…you guys are silly…"
Except the more their group fooled around, the more the pools of blood splashed, forcing Antelise to face reality and muster what little energy she had to crack a strained smile.
<-x-X-x->
Chapter 9: A Time of Reflection
THE day after the twins had successfully finished their first mission and returned to Mynoghra's Imperial Capital, Takuto found himself kneeling and begging Atou for forgiveness for the first time in a while.
"King Takuto!" she bellowed. "Why did you let those girls go SOOOO far?! You were telepathically watching them, right?! You ignored your other work to watch over them, didn't you?! Then you had plenty of opportunities to caution them!!"
Just yesterday, Atou had wondered why the girls had come home wearing Phon'kaven clothing, and it was that very morning that she'd caught the twins trying to wash the blood and gore out of their regular clothes in secret. And it was only now that she'd learned the twins and the Brain Eaters went so wild in the town of Dragontan with Takuto's blessing that it caused the Elf mayor to soil herself from the trauma. The whole sticky ordeal was being quietly mopped under the rug by the authority of the King of Mynoghra.
Just the other day, Atou had turned into an affirm-everythingTakuto-says machine, but this situation transformed her into a nagging machine instead.
"I couldn't do that…I mean…" Takuto started mumbling, "I don't want them to hate me for taking them to task, you know? They're at a sensitive age. I want to give them as much freedom as possible so they can become more independent—"
"What? Are you their father or something?! Huh?!"
It was hopeless. Utterly hopeless. Everyone involved in this incident was hopeless. Atou had hoped Caria was capable of taking the extenuating circumstances into consideration, but the second she hopped on board Takuto's little plan to cover the whole thing up, she became guilty of the same crime.
To make things worse, the King of Ruin was the biggest troublemaker of them all. He pampered the twins so much, he didn't interfere in their reckless behavior. This was too great a blunder to overlook.
Atou despaired that her hunch about things not going well turned out to be painfully on the mark.
"So, what are you going to do about it?!" she pressed him. "From what I heard, the town mayor had a bout of incontinence after witnessing the Brain Eaters skin a few dozen people alive! If this were a manga or an anime, we would totally be classified as the villains for that! We're on the path of a villain who acts all strong in the first half of a story only to be easily defeated by the main character in the second half after they've powered up from lots and lots and lots of training!!"
"Th-This world isn't a manga or an anime, though—" "Which makes it even WORSE!" Atou snapped.
It worked out fine because the people they killed were the members of a rebellious organization working against Phon'kaven. Atou had no complaints about getting rid of them. The issue was that they had painted the welcoming mayor's reception room walls red with blood and viscera, resulting in traumatizing the woman.
This whole mission hinged on the condition that the envoy must not behave in a disrespectful manner, per what they'd discussed in the meeting before they sent the girls. The result? Their envoys caused such a big, grievous incident it went above and beyond being disrespectful.
"I guess the Brain Eaters were a bad influence on Caria and Maria…"
"It was those TWO who had HAPPILY sicced the birdmen on those people!!"
"Our girls strayed from the right path…" Takuto moped, his shoulders slumping.
He was acting like this was the end of the issue, but Atou was still fuming mad. In the end, all the people, including the Brain Eaters, involved in the Dragontan Recon Mission, also known as The Traumatized Mayor incident, received a stern lecture from Atou, and the matter was closed for the time being.
◇◇◇
"ALL! RIGHT! THEN! Let's begin discussing how to handle
Dragontan!"
Atou's loud, angry voice and her hand slamming down on the documents piled up on the table signaled the meeting's commencement. The usual members had gathered, joined officially by the twins who were steadily becoming more recognized as future leaders within Mynoghra.
"Have some candy."
"Thank you very muchest, Your Majesty!"
"Yippee!"
Yes, they had joined the meeting…all while being ridiculously spoiled by King Takuto.
"Have any of you reflected on your actions yet?!" Atou promptly smacked them with her complaints, her anger palpable.
"EEP!!!" Takuto and the twins gulped in unison.
The three of them understood they were acting out of line and huddled together in silence, their bodies trembling. The twins were one thing, but even Mynoghra's King had become a disgrace with the way he was acting.
"L-Lady Atou…you should let them off the hook," Gia said, a little frightened.
"You really should," Emle added. "It's more important to continue the meeting… Not that I don't completely agree with you."
"Nay," Elder Moltar chimed in. "It is not my place to question the King's judgment, but I still believe we failed to properly educate the twins."
The Dark Elves rushed to smooth things over in their own way. Even Atou must've sensed the awkwardness in the room because she shook her head and tempered the agitation showing on her face.
"HMPH! …Fine, I'll let it pass. I am willing to admit I lost my temper a tad there. Discussing Dragontan comes first."
Everyone understood how she felt, but they'd already covered the mistakes Takuto and the twins made. Constantly bringing up something that had already been dealt with would only waste precious time and prevent everyone from moving on. In the end, the most important thing was Mynoghra and the peaceful life Takuto aspired toward. Atou never once forgot that, and so she strove to bring them back on topic.
"All right, Elfuur Sisters, is it safe to assume your investigation's findings were accurately covered in the report you wrote?" Elder Moltar asked to be sure.
"Yes, Elder. His Majesty looked over it for us already, so it shouldn't have any mistakes," Caria said. "You can ask us about anything you don't understand."
All the details of the things the twin sisters saw and heard in the town of Dragontan had been written down and turned in as a report.
Everyone had already read their report, and the primary purpose of this meeting was to decide on their next policies based on that information.
"Hrm," Elder Moltar hummed contemplatively. "The town seems to be in a state of disrepair on a people level. I must say that while our attention was mostly drawn to the twins' radical conduct, we can't necessarily blame them given the state of things."
"You have a point there," Emle agreed. "Considering the situation in Dragontan, some sort of chaos was bound to ensue sooner or later."
"Sounds likely." Gia nodded along.
They were evaluating the situation in Dragontan as they looked over the documents in front of them. By staying in the town themselves, they could see the whole picture that had been limited by their long-distance scouting. This also showed them the town in question was in more dire straits than they'd imagined.
"The townspeople are considerably on edge and scared for their lives, so I believe if things go well, some might even want to immigrate to our great empire," Emle suggested.
"That reminds me, we were able to learn some of our Dark Elf clansmen reside in that country. This is most fortuitous news!" Elder Moltar exclaimed. "If you leave the task to me, I guarantee I will get them all to join our empire instead!"
Elder Moltar made promises there was no guarantee he could keep, and Gia and Emle were enthusiastic about the idea. Their desire to reunite with their clansmen made perfect sense, but things must be handled in order.
"You're putting the cart before the horse," Atou said, reining in the Dark Elves before they completely derailed the meeting. "I won't deny that it is great news, though. It's also wonderful to know of somewhere we might be able to obtain immigrants from."
"Between the Dark Elves located in Phon'kaven's capital and anyone who wants to immigrate from Dragontan, we might actually have a population boom."
"You're right, King Takuto," Atou said. "We were able to establish a connection with Mayor Antik, so I believe future negotiations with Dragontan should proceed smoothly from here on."
The Dark Elves looked delighted to have Takuto agree with their assessment. His comment was essentially the same as him saying he'd welcome their estranged clansmen with open arms. All they had to do was get rid of the problem at hand. Unfortunately, the problem in question was still a complicated one for the Dark Elves to solve even after getting a motivation boost.
"What about the Barbarians?" Takuto asked.
Indeed, the biggest problem facing them right now was the sudden and random appearance of Barbarians attacking Phon'kaven and the potential threat they might eventually pose to Mynoghra.
"The Brain Eaters reported on them. At a glance, they aren't much different from the Barbarians we know of. Goblins, Orcs, and sometimes even Hill Giants appear to attack."
"I know how to handle Goblins and Orcs, but Hill Giants are a whole other kinda beast," Gia groaned unexpectedly.
The Hill Giant, with its huge body and superhuman strength, was considered a big threat in this world. It was common practice to avoid battle with them to prevent massive losses to an army. But conflict couldn't be avoided when they were coming to wreak havoc on towns and cities. Relatively weak Barbarians, such as Goblins and Orcs, could be easily dealt with by the Dragontan Town Defense Force, but losses were inevitable when they were up against Hill Giants.
"A few to a few dozen seem to attack every day," Elder Moltar said, looking over the Brain Eaters' report. "There are some days without an attack, but looking at the overall trend toward increasing numbers, I believe it's dangerous for us to idly sit by and do nothing."
The standard strategy would be to wait for the town and its defense force to recover and then pour resources into production to further strengthen its defense capabilities, but that wouldn't work in Dragontan while under daily raids. It was clear as day what would happen to the town if they continued not to get supplies and reinforcements from Phon'kaven, and it was practically a miracle that they'd run into Mynoghra and were able to receive aid at such a critical time.
"With all of these factors in mind, does anyone have anything to say about how we should proceed with defending Dragontan?" Atou asked, looking around the table.
Silence reigned until Gia eventually spoke up.
"One thing's for sure: the twins and the Medics won't be participating."
"Aw…"
"Too bad…"
"Shhh!"
The girls adorably protested against Gia's assessment. But since Takuto fully understood the precarious position he and the girls were in, he hurriedly held his index finger in front of his lips and shushed them. Takuto wanted to avoid poking that sleeping tiger all over again.
"Warrior Captain Gia is right. I'm against splitting up our forces, but we'll run into a different set of problems if we send the wrong people…" Emle groaned. "It's hard to find the right balance."
"Oh yeah, I'm participating, no questions asked, so plan with that in mind," Atou said casually.
As Emle was stunned into silence, Elder Moltar began to rub his beard, instantly understanding why she would participate.
"You want to make use of your special ability, no?"
"Yes, my ability to steal my opponent's skills. Even weaklings like Barbarians have some useful skills worth snatching. Now's as good a time as ever to obtain them. Isn't that right, King Takuto?"
"Yep. You can count on some great enhancements from it."
Atou's unique Hero ability allowed her to steal the skills of her defeated enemies. Because she has this ability, she can eventually reign as the strongest Hero. Put another way, she wasn't living up to her potential if she didn't snatch skills. She was only living up to the name Sludge Atou by seizing others' skills.
Neither Takuto nor Atou had any intentions of missing out on this wonderful opportunity.
"Then we just need to pick out your retinue then," Elder Moltar said. "Hrm…we want to refrain from overwhelming Dragontan's townspeople, so the Long-legged Bugs are out."
"If we count them out, that only leaves Captain Gia's Warriors as a proper escort…" Emle pointed out.
"Nay, they are to remain and guard Mynoghra. I plan to take these old bones out into the action."
"Oh?"
Everyone looked at Elder Moltar. They were all surprised by his unexpected proposal.
"I'd certainly be happy to leave all the annoying negotiating and boring talking to you, but…don't we need a few more people for this?" Atou asked.
It was a great idea for Elder Moltar to go on this mission. They were going to Dragontan to offer military aid, so there was no need to worry about the political repercussions of sending their most influential people. But, as Atou said, two people couldn't protect an entire town on their own.
"I'm thinking about bringing my apprentices along," Elder Moltar said. "I was training them to run the Magic Research Institute once it's finished being built, but they are as capable of fighting Goblins as they are pushing papers. If their numbers aren't satisfactory, we could borrow a few of the Warriors too."
"Well, I'll basically be handling all the enemies myself, so I don't mind a little company," Atou said with a shrug.
"Combined military operations between allied nations are likely to be fraught with complications. Please use my apprentices for all the tedious miscellaneous matters, my lady."
In other words, they were trying to make it look like they had the numbers to match the devastation Atou could inflict on her own. Takuto and Atou held firmly to the policy that they wanted to avoid casualties at all costs, especially while they had a limited population.
Atou felt there was no problem if they were just coming along to handle the tedious things, so she glanced at Takuto to see how he felt. Judging by his satisfied expression, she determined her king was of the same mind as her.
"Very well. I'm counting on you to make things easier for me."
"Then please leave Mynoghra's defense to our Warriors!"
"But I have concerns about our defenses…"
They had finished selecting who they'd dispatch to Dragontan, but Emle felt the need to voice her concerns about their defenses. Atou eagerly nodded as if she were waiting for someone to bring that up and flashed a confident smile that seemed to say "All eyes on me!"
"We have naturally already thought that through. We will make the Hero Isla the cornerstone of our defense."
"Ooooohhhh!!!"
The room was filled with oohs and aahs.
Isla, Queen of Bugs was the name of one of Mynoghra's Heroes who stood alongside Sludge Atou, and now it was finally time to bring her into the conversation.
"Isla's production is nearly finished at the perfect time," Atou continued. "It's almost as if everything lined up perfectly for us! You were right to speed up her production, King Takuto! That's our genius king for you!"
"A new Hero, eh? We can rest easy with her around! His Majesty's discernment has paid off once again!" "His Majesty is amazing!" Caria cheered.
"Hip hip hooray!" Maria clapped her hands.
While it was a complete coincidence, Isla's production was finishing at the absolute best possible time. Atou could leave Mynoghra to hunt Barbarians exactly because they had sped up Isla's production. Of course, it was Takuto who'd made that call, and he was who they praised for it. He felt kind of shy being so grandly praised for something he hadn't actually put much thought into, but he still made a big show of it by confidently nodding along.
Takuto had recently learned that role-playing as the Absolute was necessary sometimes. He risked getting found out later, but he lived by the rule not to worry about future problems—also called postponing a problem until it hits you in the face.
"We will enhance our forces by pairing Isla, who strengthens any insects, with the Long-legged Bugs. We will also have the Warriors stationed here, so I think that should be a strong enough defense."
Mynoghra's military might would increase tenfold with the addition of Isla. In addition to her physical prowess as a Hero unit, all Bug units would gain buffs to their Strength with her present. Naturally, the several Long-legged Bugs they already had would also benefit from these buffs, transforming them from weak scouting units to powerful, speedy units with high mobility.
They also had the upper hand with their city being built upon Cursed Terrain that gave massive bonuses to evil-aligned units. Dark Elves gained bonuses in Forest Terrain too. With all these factors put together, any half-baked attempts at an attack would end in failure before their various defenses.
After that, they discussed a few more things in detail, but their overall policy didn't change.
"What do you think, King Takuto?" Atou asked him. "Please let us know if you have any suggestions or pointers."
Takuto's approval was needed to finalize anything, but he had no complaints about the decision they'd come to. He was especially glad that Elder Moltar suggested his apprentices join Atou. Now he could redirect some of the Warriors he'd planned to send with her toward defending Mynoghra. Takuto was further convinced of the value the Dark Elves provided by participating in these meetings because of the different ideas that came out of it, like this one.
"Hmm, sounds perfect to me. It's a good strategy."
With his approval, everyone bowed and immediately moved to make their plans a reality.
"In that case, I will sortie the moment Hero Isla is complete," Atou said.
And so, they had decided which troops to dispatch to Dragontan.
"I'm looking forward to how many skills I'll be able to plunder."
Atou becoming stronger would make Mynoghra stronger, which in turn would help them achieve Takuto's aspirations.
Atou giggled with glee, for she couldn't hide her excitement at the potential powers the Barbarians might net her.