Grin rolled his eyes, considered for a moment, and then nodded.
"Alright!"
He raised his hands towards the void, silently chanting in his heart: Giant Crown.
A strong light flashed, forcing everyone to close their eyes.
The light bloomed like flower petals, finally coalescing into a bronze crown covered in fine cracks in Grin's hands.
The moment the Giant Crown appeared, the flow of mana in the entire room began to become chaotic.
The web-like cracks shimmered with a dark golden light. From the ancient patterns, faint roars of giants seemed to emanate, causing the teahouse window frames to tremble slightly and creating tiny ripples in the tea within the cups on the table.
Emilia subconsciously tightened her grip on Grin's sleeve.
The Great Spirit Puck sensed the danger and materialized in mid-air on his own.
"Lia, what's going on!"
A faint blue light shimmered around him, and icy mist unconsciously swirled around his fingertips.
His pupils were fixed intently on the bronze crown in Grin's hands, his tone full of wariness.
"This power... it's actually the aura of an Origin Giant!"
Felix had just entered from outside carrying food. Hearing this, his cat ears shot straight up in fright, the tray in his hands wobbling as he exclaimed.
"An Origin Giant? That's a being from legends, meow!"
Even the giant bloodline within the legendary Sloth Witch Sekhmet was not one ten-thousandth of what this race was at its peak.
Anastasia's smile deepened, her shrewd eyes filled with both shock and delight.
"This is truly eye-opening, Green-kun. You can even produce such ancient relics."
"Just a fluke." Grin flipped his palm, storing the crown back into the dark fairy tale book, then looked at Crusch.
"Have you considered it, Duchess Karsten? Let me make this clear beforehand: if you are unwilling to form an alliance, I will have no choice but to seek other allies."
Upon hearing this, the first to become anxious was the Sword Demon, Wilhelm, who quickly stepped forward half a pace.
"Lady Crusch..."
In Grin, he saw the hope of subjugating the White Whale.
Crusch gave Wilhelm a reassuring look and smiled with relief.
She took a deep breath, slowly stood up, extended her right hand towards Grin, and spoke in an extremely solemn tone.
"Lord Gelin's power is indispensable. The Karsten family hereby swears to form an alliance with the Mejereis Household and the Hoshin Merchant Guild to jointly subjugate the White Whale! For this battle, I will spare no effort!"
Grin nudged his chin towards Emilia beside him and joked:
"Crusch is quite mischievous. My lady here is still by my side; she is the center of our faction."
"My apologies, I was inconsiderate."
Crusch nodded apologetically and turned her hand towards Emilia.
Emilia's cheeks flushed slightly. She hurriedly reached out for a light handshake, her fingertips soft with a touch of fluster. "It's, it's fine. I will do my best to help everyone."
Puck hovered by her shoulder, his tone somewhat worried.
"Grin, the White Whale is a Witch's familiar. It's inevitable that people from the Witch Cult will be watching there. I'm not comfortable with Lia going."
Crusch and Anastasia frowned in unison; this was a point they truly hadn't considered.
Grin's expression turned grave: "That's exactly why I said the more allies, the better. My instructions to Otto weren't just to invite Ana. By now, he should have already gone to mobilize Priscilla."
If the wielder of the yang sword could also join, the pressure would be much less.
However, Grin didn't hold much hope for the arrogant Priscilla.
Anastasia shook her head helplessly, taking the black tea and biscuits handed to her by the cat-eared crossdresser.
"That woman won't agree. Not only that, she might even humiliate your friend before throwing him out."
After all, Otto's identity was merely that of a merchant; Priscilla naturally wouldn't give him the time of day.
Crusch's mind had already settled on the Witch Cult behind the White Whale. She spoke in a low voice:
"Judging from Lord Gelin's reaction, it seems you already knew the Witch Cult would appear. If you have any related information, I hope Lord Gelin will be forthright. Many battle plans will need to be redeployed."
Grin had prepared the relevant materials on the way to the capital, a good ten pages worth.
After pushing them in front of the women, Grin picked up his teacup and took a sip to moisten his dry throat.
"It's all here. My handwriting on the dragon carriage is a bit messy; please bear with it."
Crusch looked up seriously. "Before that, I hope Lord Gelin can look me in the eyes and guarantee the authenticity of this information."
Grin put away his smile and responded solemnly: "Everything I have written is fact."
Crusch focused intently on Grin, scrutinizing him repeatedly before closing her eyes with satisfaction. "No lies."
Anastasia asked curiously: "Crusch really trusts Green-kun, doesn't she?"
Felix proudly lifted his little face.
"Not exactly, meow. Lady Crusch possesses the 'Blessing of Wind Sight.' No one can lie in the presence of this being without being discovered."
"I see. It seems Crusch is deeply loved by this world."
Anastasia smiled with sudden understanding, casually pulling out a piece of intelligence to examine carefully.
Crusch and Emilia also each took intelligence reports to read, quickly becoming absorbed in the words on the pages.
For a time, the room fell into an eerie silence.
It was only after a long while that Felix's horrified voice ended this pantomime.
"This is too outrageous, meow! After killing the White Whale, a full three Archbishops of Sin will appear!"
"Don't panic, Felix. Since Lord Gelin requested an alliance, he surely has corresponding preparations."
Crusch soothed in a deep voice. The page in her hand clearly recorded the abilities of the three Archbishops of Sin—[Sloth], [Gluttony], and [greed]—as well as their estimated times of appearance.
Anastasia lightly tapped the table edge with her fingertip, drawing everyone's attention, and waved the paper in her hand.
"Green-kun's battle plan and required materials are all listed here."
The content on the paper outlined the White Whale's weaknesses and the items that needed to be prepared:
Large-scale wind magic tools to disperse the mist.
Giant siege crossbow bolts with chains to restrict the White Whale's movements... After reading for a while, Crusch pointed to a line at the bottom of the page, her brow slightly furrowed, her tone full of confusion.
"All the preceding items target the White Whale's weaknesses, but I don't quite understand this last one."
"Lord Gelin, what do you need a Symphony Orchestra and Bard for? These entertainment units don't have any combat power."
Grin grinned, deliberately acting casual as he scratched the back of his head, his tone nonchalant.
"To use as background music. Fighting alone is just too monotonous."
Crusch's brow furrowed tightly, her expression growing increasingly grave. The Blessing of Wind Sight quietly spread out as she stared intently at the airflow around Grin, her tone serious and devoid of any jest.
"That's a lie. I also don't believe Lord Gelin would do something as absurd as listening to music while fighting."
With his lie exposed on the spot, Grin slumped back helplessly into his chair and sighed softly.
"Then what if I said it's to deal with the Witch Cult? Would you believe that?"
Crusch's expression became extremely complex, because this absurd statement from Grin was actually true again.
No matter how hard she racked her brains, she couldn't figure out what use these entertainers could possibly have.
She could only raise her hand to massage her temples, even beginning to doubt herself a little.
"Many times I wonder if my Divine Protection is malfunctioning. Lord Gelin, could you explain in detail?"