--- Lillia's Perspective ---
That day, Erinalize was visiting.
She came to our house every few days to chat with the ladies of the household.
Even after getting married, establishing a home, and having a child, her husband had gone far away, so she must have been lonely. The ladies and I understood that feeling all too well.
However, her demeanor was always composed, showing no hint of loneliness.
Perhaps she simply had the self-assurance for it.
Because of that, the ladies often came to her for advice.
It ranged from what kind of education to provide children of a certain age, all the way to trivial complaints.
"When will Aisha ever learn to behave like a mature person?"
"She does have the ability, you know... I think she simply won't do it until she feels it's necessary herself."
"Until she feels it's necessary?"
"Like, if she finds a man she likes..."
"Wouldn't Rudeus-sama work?"
"You already know the answer. The reason Aisha behaves the way she does is precisely because she's Rudeus's sister."
"I had a feeling..."
"Then we need to find someone else. Someone who wouldn't give her the time of day unless she acted like a proper adult."
"Hmm..."
That day, I was the one seeking advice.
Erinalize looked younger than me, but her years of experience showed—she gave thoughtful, well-considered answers.
"Yes, well... someone younger, who seems unreliable, and who has an excessive admiration for mature women would be ideal."
"Excessive admiration?"
"Yes. If it's Aisha, she could satisfy that young man's admiration while also teaching him a thing or two about reality."
I knew perfectly well that Aisha wouldn't end up with Rudeus.
Neither Rudeus desired it, nor did Aisha.
Yet she also didn't want to bring in a marriage candidate for her.
"Well, things will go the way they're meant to go."
"Yes... hmm?"
I was nodding in response when Leo lumbered into the dining room.
On his back rode Lara and Lucy.
Were they playing horse?
"Bow-wow!"
Leo barked at me.
That was unusual. He was a smart dog and rarely barked without reason.
Could something have happened to Sylphiette...?!
"Bow-wow, bow-wow!"
Leo wagged his tail while alternating his gaze between the entrance and me.
No, wait. That happy demeanor—if something had happened to Sylphiette, he would have barked right here on the spot.
The entrance... a guest?
No, Leo didn't wag his tail for guests.
Oh. Perhaps Roxy had returned.
When Eris came back, Leo would wag his tail but stay quiet.
While pondering this, I stood up, and the sound of the front door opening came from the entryway.
Sure enough, it seemed to be Roxy.
Eris tended to throw doors open with enough force to break them.
I hurried to the entrance to greet them.
"Oh, Lillia-san. I'm back."
"...Welcome home, Rudeus... sama?"
Standing in the entryway was Rudeus.
Eris and Zenith were with him, along with Aisha.
But they were back much earlier than expected.
The plan had been to stay in Millis for about half a year, yet barely a month had passed.
On top of that, Rudeus's expression was more severe than I had ever seen...
I understood immediately.
Something had happened.
It was probably because of Claire.
Claire was not a flexible person.
On top of that, she had been somewhat harsh toward Norn and Aisha.
She was a devout follower of the Milis faith and certainly not a bad person, but calling her pleasant would be a stretch. And her compatibility with Rudeus was terrible.
They had probably clashed over family matters.
"Did something happen?"
When I asked, Rudeus's grim expression twisted even further.
I had thought Rudeus would manage, but it seemed some things just didn't work out.
"...Well, yes."
Rudeus answered evasively, hedging his words.
"Was it Claire?"
When I asked that, Rudeus looked momentarily taken aback.
"No, Claire and I did argue, but we made up, and I don't think she was a bad person."
Hearing that, I tilted my head slightly but also felt a measure of relief.
I had been worrying for the past month and a half about not going there myself—about not being the wall I should have been—but it seemed those worries were unfounded.
But then, what had happened?
"Then what was it?"
When I asked, Rudeus made a troubled face and averted his gaze.
Aisha stood beside him looking uncomfortable.
Something else had apparently gone wrong.
Judging from Aisha's expression, it was probably her issue.
"Did Aisha do something wrong?"
We had just been discussing with Erinalize how this girl, despite having already turned fifteen, still refused to grow up. She had the ability, yet her heart remained that of a child no matter how much time passed.
She had once held her head high, saying she was a genius and could repay Rudeus with her skills—but she could only be a genius for so long...
"No, she actually did well."
"Then what was it?"
For a moment I wondered if I was being presumptuous, but I pressed on.
"Well... it's a long story, so it would be better to wait until everyone is gathered."
"Yes, I'm sorry."
"No... ah, but it's not all bad news. There's one piece of good news as well."
Rudeus said this with a faint, weary smile and headed briskly to his room.
Eris followed after him with a worried look.
Remaining behind were Aisha and Zenith.
Aisha was sulking, but Zenith actually seemed to be in good spirits.
"Aisha, did everything go all right?"
"...I made a small mistake."
I had been wrong.
She wasn't sulking. She looked dejected.
That was surprising.
Aisha had always been a child who rarely made mistakes.
Even when she did, she would try to brush it off casually.
To think she would confess so honestly... Perhaps she had grown a little, even if I still thought of her as a child.
"Was it a serious mistake?"
"No, nii-chan fixed it right away."
"..."
Then what had happened?
And for Rudeus to make that kind of face...
Well, he said he would tell us later, so I would wait.
First, I needed to see to Zenith, who had just returned.
"...?"
As I thought this, Zenith turned toward me.
Then, still radiating good cheer, she reached out her hand to me.
I took her hand and led Zenith to her room.
---
Later, after evening had fallen, the entire family was gathered.
At Rudeus's call, everyone came.
This included Erinalize, who was present, as well as Norn and Roxy, who had been at school.
Of course, the family did tend to gather whenever Rudeus returned, but it was unusual for him to specifically request that everyone be assembled. Usually it took Aisha or Sylphie taking the initiative for everyone to finally come together.
On top of that, Rudeus's grave expression.
Something was definitely going on.
Bracing ourselves, we listened to his report.
"Here's the report. First, our activities in Millis concluded successfully. Cliff managed to integrate himself well. That's a relief."
There had been some trouble regarding Claire, but Cliff had established his position in the Church as originally planned, and the founding of the mercenary group was also a success.
Furthermore, they had secured a significant favor from the Church and succeeded in making the Saint of the Millis Church an ally of Orsted.
It was no exaggeration to call it a great success.
Erinalize looked relieved to hear that Cliff had found his footing in Millis.
But, he said, the trouble came after that.
"Geese was an apostle of the Human God."
Geese.
He had been Paul's former party member—the Demon Race member.
He had caused the recent trouble, and in the end, had declared his intentions and departed.
Hearing that Geese had turned against us didn't quite sink in.
We had a long history with him, ever since we crossed the Begaritt Continent together. Even back then, he had constantly worried about Paul and Zenith.
I also remembered him being earnest and diligent in preparing for intelligence gathering and dungeon exploration.
Geese had worked desperately to help rescue Roxy.
He tried recruiting powerful warriors for the party, sold hand-drawn maps at rock-bottom prices, and quietly supported Paul when he was depressed and bitter.
So hearing that Geese had actually been working to undermine Rudeus and Roxy—my mind simply couldn't accept it.
"When we received the notice that a warrant had been issued for his arrest, I had a feeling... but could this perhaps be a misunderstanding?"
Roxy said that.
She too, as a veteran of dungeon exploration, had held Geese in high regard.
There was no one more dependable than him in everything outside of combat.
"I wish it were a misunderstanding..."
Rudeus gave a wry smile as he said this and produced a letter from inside his coat.
Roxy took it and read the contents, and her usual drowsy expression clouded over.
However, she quickly nodded as if she understood, and handed the letter to me.
That was when I finally understood.
The letter's contents were quintessentially Geese.
Whimsical, joking around, yet with a single thread of seriousness running through it—that was Geese through and through.
He hadn't hated Rudeus or Roxy, and he probably hadn't been trying to trap them from the start.
He had become an enemy, but not an adversary out of hatred, if that made sense.
"Always so carefree, but every now and then he pulls something like this gentlemanly gesture. That's so like Geese..."
Erinalize sighed as she spoke.
Come to think of it, this sort of thing had happened frequently back in the royal harem of the Asura Kingdom.
In that country, where power struggles were fierce, people who didn't even hate each other would end up on opposing sides all the time.
However, there was a prevailing sentiment that once you became enemies, you should fight fair and square.
Perhaps this letter was written in that spirit.
"I'm sorry to those of you who were helped by Geese, but I will most likely have to fight... and kill him."
Rudeus's face, as he made this declaration, looked pained.
I believed that Rudeus, for all his strength, had also held Geese in high regard.
According to Eris, they had been close enough to call each other "Senpai" and "Newbie."
Geese, for his part, had spoken of Rudeus's exploits as if they were his own accomplishments. He had truly liked Rudeus...
Perhaps the one hurting the most was Rudeus himself.
"Rudy..."
Sylphie saw Rudeus's expression and seemed at a loss for words.
Roxy wore a grave expression as well.
She, like myself, had been part of a party with Geese and had received his help.
But Roxy's decision came quickly—she didn't seem particularly conflicted.
If anything, she wore a look that said if Rudeus was going to hesitate, then she would step up.
"In any case, I'll likely be away from home again for a while.
Even with Leo's blessing, I can't predict what Geese might do.
Everyone, please be vigilant and take care not to put yourselves in danger."
Rudeus concluded with these words.
Naturally, we had no intention of becoming Rudeus's weak point.
We planned to protect the household while coordinating as a family, so that Rudeus could fight with peace of mind.
The fact that he couldn't quite sense this resolve and kept glancing back at us was endearing, but it also made me feel a little wistful—as if we weren't truly being relied upon.
Perhaps in Rudeus's presence, we did seem fragile.
"Understood. Rudy, if Geese has become our enemy, I can't exactly just go about my daily business. Call me if you need anything."
"I can't move around much right now either, but I'll do my best to help."
Roxy and Sylphie spoke as they always did.
Eris and Aisha nodded matter-of-factly.
Norn looked anxious but gave a strong, determined nod.
"Thank you. I'll continue discussing things with Orsted starting tomorrow, so for now, this concludes the family meeting..."
"Oh, nii-chan."
Just as Rudeus was about to dismiss everyone, Aisha spoke up.
"You should tell them about Zenith."
"Ah, right."
Zenith.
Hearing this, I felt my body stiffen.
At the same time, I remembered that Aisha had alluded to a mistake she'd made but we hadn't addressed it.
My tension rose.
But Rudeus simply smiled gently.
"Actually, I've learned something about Mom's curse."
It seemed it was the good news rather than the mistake.
"It's a curse that reads the other person's heart, but apparently it doesn't read everything... It does seem to understand our situations quite clearly, though."
Rudeus then told us what the Saint had revealed.
From there, he described the world Zenith had been seeing.
When I heard this, tears spilled from my eyes.
At the same time, memories of our life together came flooding back like a torrent.
Come to think of it, there had been many clues.
She had taken the initiative to tend the garden, and when Lucy was still very young, Zenith would sometimes act preemptively, as if she knew her daughter was about to cry before she even started.
And more than that...
Zenith had known about Paul.
We had assumed she didn't know that Paul was already gone.
We had thought that when her memories returned, the pain would be devastating.
But Zenith had known everything.
And despite that, she had accepted it and kept looking forward.
When I thought about it, the tears wouldn't stop.
"Lillia-san..."
"I'm sorry... Rudeus-sama..."
While everyone else was on the verge of tears, I alone buried my face in my hands and sobbed.
Lately I felt like all I did was cry.
When I was young, I could barely remember shedding tears at all.
I had thought of myself as an unemotional person.
Is this what it meant to grow old?
Aisha patted my back as I wept, and right after I had finally stopped, Zenith stroked my head, which made me cry all over again.
--- Rudeus's Perspective ---
The family report was done.
As always, I received favorable responses—or rather, responses I could count on.
Lillia and Roxy in particular must have had complicated feelings about Geese, yet neither raised any complaints or objections to fighting him.
Next up was the executive meeting with the great Orsted himself.
Executive meeting, though—Ariel, Cliff, and the Saint were all absent...
Still, I asked Eris, Sylphie, Roxy, Aisha, and Zanoba to attend.
We traveled using the mercenary group's carriage, picking up Zanoba along the way, and headed to the office.
"Right then, Zanoba—the Autore armour. I'd like you to proceed in that direction."
Along the way, I briefed him on the power-up plan for the Magic Armor.
Restarting development of the "Type Three."
On top of that, I decided to prepare one more ace up my sleeve. Geese had seen my Magic Armor and seemed to have figured something out, so I wanted to make a move of my own.
"Understood, Master. Our craftsmen have increased in number, so it should be feasible."
"Then let me help as well."
Zanoba thumped his chest in confidence after hearing my plan.
It was Roxy who cut in.
"I've also accumulated more knowledge about magic circles over the past few years. Perhaps I could be of assistance."
Help, huh.
That was certainly welcome, but would she be all right?
Honestly, the current Magic Armor was so complex that even I could barely handle assembly and maintenance.
"Are you sure...? It's quite advanced; even someone who's dabbled a bit might find it difficult."
"My, Rudy. Who exactly are you speaking to?"
"I-I'm sorry!"
I had fallen back into old habits!
There was nothing Roxy-sensei couldn't do!
What was I saying?
I was an idiot! Truly. I should just die!
"Even so, I've been studying all this time for Rudy's sake.
I looked through Cliff's and Zanoba's research materials, so I could assist with maintenance and improvements..."
"Sensei..."
Come to think of it, back in Shiroon she had been able to draw even fire sage-level magic circles.
She hadn't always been able to do that—it might well be the result of practicing magic circles after returning to the Magic University.
"Understood. I entrust the Magic Armor—the very thing that safeguards my life—to you, Sensei!"
"Consider it entrusted."
I had thought that without Cliff, the research wouldn't progress any further, so this was a welcome surprise.
An armor forged by Roxy was worth a hundred men.
Even if it was made of cardboard, I could take on three Orsteds and smash them to bits.
"Though, of course, I'm not on Cliff's level, so please don't get your hopes up too high."
Even as she said this, Roxy held her head high.
She was confident. Perhaps she even had ideas for improvements.
"Haha, no one can match the master of my master!"
Zanoba's remark filled the carriage with laughter.
"..."
Amid all this, one person sat quietly.
Eris.
She gazed out the window, lost in thought.
Was she recalling what had happened with Geese too?
When all was said and done, back when they first met in the Great Forest, Eris had actually taken quite a liking to Geese.
I remembered her even asking him to teach her how to cook.
Eris got along poorly with most people, but Geese had been the type who could adapt to her.
"...?"
Suddenly, Sylphie, sitting beside me, gave my hand a firm squeeze.
"Rudy, are you okay?"
"...Huh? Yeah, I'm fine."
I wasn't sure exactly what I was fine about, but that was my answer for now.
The shock of Geese's betrayal was enormous, but there were things that were still okay, and those things were okay.
Sylphie's belly had grown a little bigger since before Zenith's return to the Holy Millis Kingdom.
We had discovered the pregnancy around three months in, and another month and a half had passed since then... at most, she was about five months along now.
"And you, Sylphie? How are you feeling?"
"I'm not like the rest of you—I don't really know Geese that well."
"I see."
That wasn't quite what I had meant, but the fact that she wasn't particularly affected was a relief.
This was her second pregnancy, so she probably had more composure.
Still, one couldn't let their guard down.
The Human God had once said something about that.
That during pregnancy, fate became ambiguous, making it easier to kill.
Those were the Human God's words, and Orsted had indeed summoned a guardian magic beast as well.
So I thought we'd be fine, but the worry remained.
What could I do?
I wanted one more source of reassurance.
Was there anything I could do?
I thought I had done everything in my power, but...
Oh.
"Until I deal with Geese, I'm going to abstain from anything lewd."
The words that came out of my mouth didn't sound like they were mine at all.
Sylphie looked puzzled, Roxy looked stunned, and Eris glanced sideways at me.
"Um... if that's what Rudy wants, I'm fine with it."
"I don't mind, but... is this some kind of vow?"
"I may have mentioned this before, but apparently when you're carrying a child, the Human God can target you more easily. Geese might be aiming for that, so I'm going to stop for a while."
They all looked at me blankly.
Had I not told them before?
Maybe I had and they forgot.
"You're so dramatic."
Eris was displeased, but she didn't object.
She turned her gaze back out the window and muttered,
"But I don't think Rudeus could keep that promise."
A cutting remark.
My lower half apparently had no credibility.
I couldn't trust it either.
Right now I was calm, but once the bullet was loaded, a man's heart wanted to pull the trigger.
And once the hammer was cocked, there'd be no holding back.
"I don't think Sylphie could refuse him either."
"Hmph... if Rudy says he wants to, then I can definitely hold firm."
"Sure you can. If Rudeus says 'just a little,' you'll go along with 'just a little,' won't you?"
"...I probably would."
Light touching might be all right. If it was just hugging to recharge energy...
"Just a little" could be fatal.
"So I'll always stay by Rudeus's side, and if he tries anything, I'll punch him to stop him."
He'd try to do something lewd.
Eris punches.
I lose consciousness. When I wake up, I've forgotten.
Perfect.
"I'm counting on you."
All right. Starting today, I, Rudeus, would be an abstinent man.
I was strong.
---
We arrived at the office.
The building emanated an unusual atmosphere reminiscent of a demon lord's castle, which told me Orsted was in residence and in his relaxed state—no helmet.
Well, I shouldn't judge by atmosphere alone.
Maybe he wasn't here... ah, I sensed the atmosphere shift slightly.
Yeah, he was here, after all.
"Ah, President Rudeus! Advisor Aisha! Welcome back!"
The moment we entered, a girl sitting in the lobby sprang to her feet and bowed vigorously.
She was a girl of mixed blood—Long Ear Race and Human.
She carried the blood of the long-lived Long Ear Race but was still young.
She had been selected from among numerous candidates through rigorous screening to serve as Orsted's secretary.
During the day, she sat here continuously, communicating with Orsted—who was seated in the inner room—exclusively through written documents, serving as his liaison and handling all administrative work without ever seeing him face to face.
What was her name again...
"Good work. Is the director in?"
"Yes, he's been here continuously for the past month."
A month—that meant he'd basically been here the whole time I was in Millis.
He apparently hadn't been going outside much lately.
Was he becoming a shut-in?
Or perhaps he had been watching over my household.
According to the Saint's reading of Zenith's memories, he had been coming over regularly...
"But having me as president and Orsted as director makes it sound like I'm his superior, doesn't it?"
"Hah... then what should I call you?"
Hmm.
If Lina was the leader, Aisha the advisor, and I the president...
"Commander-in-Chief... would that work?"
"...You're asking me?"
"Right, yeah—just go with whatever works."
In any case, she seemed to be handling things well.
No major problems had arisen so far.
Wages were set on the generous side, so perhaps people were willing to tolerate minor inconveniences.
"Any other issues?"
"No, everything is fine."
"Good. If anything comes up, let me know right away. I'll do my best to address it."
"...Wha—!?"
She was surprised.
Why was that surprising?
True, we didn't have labor standards laws here, but I aimed to run an extremely fair company.
"I apologize. Orsted-sama said the same thing to me."
"Oh, did he..."
"He's already made many accommodations for us."
Normally, even an indirect proposal like that would make me wary—as if it were some kind of devil's bargain...
But thanks to the helmet Cliff had made, the mitigation of Orsted's curse was apparently working well.
Good, good.
"It's such a shame that despite all his help, I can't even see his face."
"That's because of his curse. The moment you see his face, the gratitude you're feeling now would be twisted into resentment and suspicion."
"That's terrifying."
"Yes. So when Orsted-sama is working in the inner room, you must never, ever open the sliding door."
"...Sl-Sliding door?"
"Ahem."
Well, when he was wearing the helmet, it should be somewhat manageable.
Orsted couldn't wear it all the time.
"Anyway, I'll need the meeting room from now on."
"Understood."
After the secretary let us through, I opened the door.
---
Orsted was, as always, writing at his desk.
Helmet on.
"Rudeus."
"I've returned."
When I bowed, Orsted shut his thick leather notebook with a snap.
"What were you writing today?"
"Same as always—organizing information."
"I see."
That notebook—I had once peeked at it when Orsted was away, but it was written in Dragon Tongue, and I couldn't read it.
He did share the information I needed, but Orsted sometimes left out important things.
On the other hand, if it was something like a diary, reading it would be an invasion of privacy...
"Weren't you supposed to go to the Dragon King Kingdom next?"
"Before that, I need to give you a proper report and hold a meeting about future plans."
"As far as I'm concerned, I told you everything via the stone tablet. There's nothing new on my end."
"Since I've returned and our plans are changing, a report is obligatory."
"...Fine."
Orsted sighed heavily and sat back in his chair.
I asked the five people I had brought to take seats as well, then sat down myself.
"Why did you bring them?"
"Some of them are connected to Geese. They might have input."
I glanced at the five of them, but they sat composedly.
They no longer radiated the obvious hostility they once had.
Eris looked irritable at best.
"Then keep it brief."
I cleared my throat.
"As I mentioned via the stone tablet, Geese appears to be gathering forces powerful enough to kill me head-on.
I don't know how much of that is true, but I plan to counter by recruiting strong allies."
"Right."
"For now, I'll secure the allegiance of the Death God in the Dragon King Kingdom, then move on to Atrof, and after that the North God... Do you know where the North God is?"
After Atrof, I planned to approach figures from the top of the Powers ranking.
Fifth—the "Death God."
Sixth—the "Sword God."
Seventh—the "North God."
That was the order on the list, but according to prior discussions with Orsted, the North God was actually easier to reach out to.
So I would prioritize the North God over the Sword God.
"Don't know. They're wanderers. The slightest change in history, and they could appear on the opposite side of the world. With the amount of change happening now, I can't pinpoint them."
"What's their usual location?"
"The Second North God was on the Begaritt Continent, and the Third was supposedly in the conflict zones of the Central Continent."
Both were far away, and there were no landmarks to go by.
In that case, maybe it was better to skip the North God for now.
"If combat is going to be the main focus, the Ore God can wait. He can mass-produce quality weapons when it comes to war, but he's not great in a fight."
"Got it. So next would be the Sword God, then."
For now, it was the Death God, Atrof, then the Sword God...
I really wanted to reach out to more people.
Like the top-ranked Powers...
The top of the rankings went: "Skill God," "Dragon God," "Fighting God," and "Demon God."
All except the Dragon God were either sealed away or missing, weren't they?
Wait...
"Come to think of it... would the Skill God not join us? He split into two with the Demon God, right? So if it's a fight against the Human God, wouldn't he cooperate?"
"It's useless."
"His memories are vague, you said? Then couldn't you, like, reunite him with the Demon God Laplace to restore his sanity? Ah, but then Pergius might get angry... Well, we could work around that..."
"Stop."
The force in his words shut my mouth.
"I have no intention of making any of them my allies."
Any of them.
With that, I vaguely understood.
Orsted viewed both Laplace and Pergius as being in the same category.
Probably not just the two of them, but the others called the Five Dragon Generals as well.
"...But, well, wouldn't Pergius object if it involved Laplace?"
"If he becomes hostile, I will deal with him."
"...Understood."
I could guess at his stubbornness.
Orsted's curse didn't work on Pergius.
Yet despite that, Orsted refused to get close to Pergius.
An unyielding rejection.
The answers that followed from this were limited.
But I hesitated to ask.
For some reason, I couldn't bring myself to ask.
This was not the time to ask.
If I asked, "Is the 'Dragon Treasure' that leads to the Human God... the lives of the Five Dragon Generals?"
Then Pergius—or perhaps Orsted himself—would become my enemy.
For now, I had to keep this knowledge at bay.
"Then... let's move on to the next topic."
"Right."
I decided to change the subject.
Nothing good came from pushing something when told to stop.
I was Orsted's subordinate, and I had to respect his judgment.
"This whole affair has had us running around in various ways, but I felt Orsted's 'authority' was a bit lacking, so I have a proposal."
"...What is it?"
"I've gotten somewhat used to calling myself the 'Right Hand of the Dragon God,' but...
it doesn't really intimidate people, you know? They don't quite grasp how terrifying the 'Dragon God' is...
So I was wondering—could I use a more straightforward title? Something like 'Dragon King'?
Just something simple, like the Mud Dragon King, or whatever."
It was just a name, after all.
Orsted's reputation was low, but Pergius's was well-known.
If people thought he was on the same level as Pergius, his power would be easier to convey.
"No."
Huh?
"The title of Dragon King is not permitted."
He was glaring at me.
Glaring at me fiercely.
I could feel his rage even through the helmet.
This was bad, this was bad—my legs were shaking.
"They live freely with petty pride and die for meaningless causes."
"..."
"You are different. Do not use that title. Rudeus Greyrat."
"Ah... yes..."
That was unexpected.
I never thought the rejection would be this strong.
I had assumed he'd say, "You're free to call yourself what you want."
This was bad—the trembling wouldn't stop.
"Tch..."
"Eris, stop it!"
Eris clicked her tongue and was about to lunge forward, so I held her back.
It's fine, it's fine. He's not angry at me. We're not falling out.
I just said something completely contrary to the boss's management philosophy and got chewed out for it.
So please, stop reaching for your sword while half-rising from your seat.
"That was an overreach. I apologize."
"It's fine."
When I bowed my head, his anger dissipated.
Even for Orsted, who operated on the assumption of looping, there were things he would not yield on.
I had blundered right into one of them.
It wasn't like the title mattered anyway.
Authority could be established in other ways.
For instance... borrowing the prestige of Ariel and the Asura Kingdom.
Right, that was the direction to go.
"Then, as for authority, I'll have Ariel handle that... after the Sword God, who should we recruit next?"
"...The Biheliru Kingdom would be good. There's the God of Fighting there."
The God of Fighting.
Oh, right—there had been talk about recruiting him alongside the Ore God.
"We should recruit the God of Fighting?"
"No. He's extremely likely to become an apostle of the Human God. If Geese is gathering pawns of his own, it's best to eliminate him preemptively."
The God of Fighting was the type who was prone to clashing with Laplace, I recalled.
Since Laplace was the Human God's enemy, the God of Fighting could easily become his apostle.
Take him out before that happened.
I see. That was another way to play it.
Increase our own numbers while reducing the opponent's.
Hit them with five people at once to prevent them from ganging up, and take them out one by one.
"Anyone else likely to become an enemy?"
"Let me think... aside from the God of Fighting, there aren't many major players... but the 'Underworld King' Vita, who lives in the 'Hell' dungeon on the Sky Continent, and 'Demon King of Discomfort' Keburacabura on the Demon Continent—these two should be eliminated. Though the former would be troublesome to reach, so save him for last."
"I see."
Those sounded like pretty terrifying names.
Would I have to fight them?
They were said to have a "high probability" of becoming the Human God's apostles—but only that.
As of now, they hadn't done anything.
They weren't apostles yet.
Then it wouldn't hurt to recruit them first.
It wasn't a case of beggars can't be choosers.
If recruitment failed, we could fight then.
Actually, going around killing people whose connection to all this was uncertain felt kind of wrong.
"So we'll either recruit them or neutralize them."
"That's right."
For now, the plan of who to deal with was set.
Next came the details.
"Then, on to the next item. Regarding the visit to the Dragon King Kingdom—"
After that, we hammered out the preparations for the Dragon King Kingdom visit, and the meeting adjourned.
Still, I hadn't expected Orsted to get that angry over the Dragon Clan.
I'd have to be more careful next time.