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Chapter 178: Victory Conditions

～Aun’s point of view～

≪Master, I made all the enemy soldiers food for the zombies as you ordered.≫

≪I see, well done.≫

It was less than 30 minutes after I issued the order when I received a brief report from Yaou via telepathy. I had thought that with Yaou’s personality, he wouldn’t use magic that would wipe everyone away in an instant, but it seems that the difference in power between Yaou and the enemy soldiers was greater than I thought.

Also, according to the report from Irs, there were [Tempest Cloud] members among the rebels. I used to think about them in the past, but it doesn’t matter now.

However, for some reason my emotions have remained unstable ever since Plainevelt became a target for the attack. While I was aware that I was somewhat irritated, I was still able to keep my composure just by looking at it objectively. I felt like something inside me had changed because of this incident, but I can’t imagine that it’s a negative change for me.

Perhaps I am just overreacting to the sense of danger that something could be taken from me for the time after I became a monster.

「Aun, you’re overthinking again…」

Kinu’s words brought me back from the sea of thoughts while under the pouring rain.

「My bad. It’s becoming a bad habit.」

「Nn. What’s wrong?」

「I feel like something’s changed inside of me because of this incident… I was just thinking about that.」

「I see. But when I evolved, you told me that “Change isn’t a bad thing”. And you told me that I will always be Kinu to you no matter what, right?」

「You’re right…. Alright! Let’s think about recapturing Alraine for now!」

Kinu brought me back to my senses.

When I slapped my cheeks with both hands to fire up myself, Nelfie spoke up.

「I have a proposal regarding that.」

「Oh? What is it, Nelfie?」

「How about I teleport to the Alraine dungeon for now and conduct intelligence in advance?」

「Indeed. With your stealth, you won’t be found unless it’s someone on the level of Zoa or No Face.」

If we continue flying on Drake at this rate, it will take another hour and a half to arrive. If Nelfie conducts intelligence work during that time, we should be able to get a fairly accurate picture of the situation. 　

「Alraine is probably on a fairly high alert right now. Moreover, the information we have is too fragmented and is not precise. If we’re going into enemy territory, having more information would be the best, no?」Nelfie.

「Indeed. It will be dangerous, but… can I count on you?」

「Of course. The information I should focus on is…」

「Ah, I’ll leave that part to you, Nelfie. But please don’t be too reckless, okay?」

「You’re kind as always. … But please don’t underestimate me. Despite my appearances, I am the scout of the SS-rank party Black Thunder.」

「Haha, yeah. I shall leave the intelligence gathering entirely to you.」

「Leave it to me.」

As soon as I said that with a slightly shy smile, Nelfie disappeared as she teleported to the Alraine Dungeon.

Now then, let’s summarize the information we already have before arriving in Alraine.

First, the current situation is that the royal capital has been completely occupied by the rebel army of Fernando’s faction, and the king’s condition is unknown. It is also unclear what the situation is for the residents. However, Nelfie should gather information about this before we arrive, so let’s leave it for now.

Next, all 3,500 enemy soldiers who tried to invade Plainevelt were transferred to the Phantom Castle, whereupon Yaou annihilated them. Given the circumstances, it is difficult to imagine that this information will be communicated to Fernando accurately. Assuming that the enemy forces are sharing information by communicating with magic tools, the information from the side invading Plainevelt should not be received. As a result, we can consider that the enemy’s strategy failed. Also, it would be better to assume Fernando already knows that we’re flying to Alraine right now.

Lastly, Ruzark is currently in a meeting in the capital of the Ibrudia Empire. Even if he turns home after the meeting ends tonight, he would probably reach Alraine tomorrow morning at the earliest.

Considering that the conditions for our victory are Fernando’s death or Ruzark’s declaration of victory to end this civil war, it is necessary for us to gain some advantage in this battle before Ruzark returns. And the soldiers gathered by Sparz and Earl Stedrius arriving at Alraine as soon as possible is a better strategy that can be considered at present.

Thinking this far, a question suddenly popped into my mind.

「By the way, what are the victory conditions for Fernando?」

「Indeed… Wouldn’t it be to kill all the other members of the royal family except himself?」Shinku.

「Hmm? Why would he want that? Even if he becomes king by causing a coup, wouldn’t it cause those who are dissatisfied or hold a grudge to cause another coup and eliminate him?」

「This is just my guess, but Fernando’s faction must be so powerful that it would be possible for it to suppress such insurrections. They had been the main force in national affairs for more than 10 years, so they must have accumulated ample funds in that period.」

「But after the ranking battle, the territories and assets of the Fernando faction were confiscated, and wasn’t there a house among them that was demolished?……Ah! Is it the thing called “Tax Evasions”?!」

This is quite an illegal thing, but I’ve heard that some nobles suppressed their tax revenue by hiding their property. If this had continued for generations, the funds would surely be enormous…

When I was a human and working as an adventurer, these issues felt so far removed from me that I simply thought “there are bad guys among the nobles too” and didn’t spare another thought.

Even Ruzark couldn’t have gotten to handling all of these since a lot of incidents have been happening in quick succession after the ranking battle. Well, there’s no point thinking about it now. It is simply too late!

「That means that it is possible that Fernando is expecting Ruzark to return to the capital. Actually, it would be rather convenient for him…」

While feeling poor for Ruzark, who was caught in a deep whirlpool, I was dragged into my own sea of thoughts again until we arrived at Alline, wondering what I could do for my pal.