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CHAPTER 255 – EMERGENCY MEETING OF THE TEKIRANA ALLIANCE 2

The atmosphere around Heil shifted—his voice calmer, but carrying a different weight—as he slowly began to speak.

「You’re all misunderstanding something, aren’t you?」

「What…?」

「This is war, you know? It’s only natural to do everything within our power to improve our odds of winning. If, even after hearing this, you still can’t trust Tekirana, you’re welcome to walk away. Just know that in doing so, you’re forfeiting any claim to the spoils of victory once we’ve won this liberation battle.」

「Mind if I ask something? Clans like ours—healing specialists—don’t have many members who can fight on the front lines. That means we’ll inevitably end up in the rear, providing support. Will that come back to bite us when it’s time to divide the spoils?」

「Of course not. Participation doesn’t only mean fighting on the front lines. Supporting from the rear might seem safe or easy, but in reality, you burn through tons of potions, and both financial and magical burdens are heavy. So, just like your clan, ‘Mertzen,’ dedicating yourselves to support and healing is a perfectly valid contribution. Naturally, the distribution will be handled fairly.」

「Our clan doesn’t have many high-ranked members. That means we’d likely be only assigned to the Advanced-rank dungeon, and we won’t participate in the battle inside the Supreme-rank dungeon. Is that still acceptable?」

「Yes. As long as your members have cleared the Advanced-rank dungeon before, that’s fine. And of course, the rewards will be divided based on the danger level, number of participants, and overall contributions.」

「But if we lose, we’re in the red. And if we go around picking a fight with Calvados in public, we’d better be ready for some serious retaliation if we fail.」

「That’s true. But you all understand why we have to act now, despite those risks, don’t you? If we can’t break Calvados’s monopoly on resources and influence, then the second and third-tier factions will just wither away over time. If you’re okay with that, then feel free to decline participation.」

Yeah, that’s the end of it. From this point on, Heil’s got the room in the palm of his hand.

That smirk earlier—Heil raising just one corner of his mouth—it wasn’t just because he’d predicted how this would go. Or maybe it was. Hard to say. I’m no Kinu.

In any case, with the flow of things like this, I’d guess over 80% of the clans present are going to join in.

And then a thought struck me.

Man… I really don’t mesh with this bunch, only the guys from Tekirana have what it takes.

Everyone here probably wants to beat Calvados. That much we’ve got in common.

But the reasons they want to win—those are all over the place.

Some want the spoils. Some don’t want to lose their position in the postwar alliance. Some are reluctantly joining to keep their clans from falling behind. Others figure that if they put up a decent enough fight, Calvados might recruit them even if they lose…

But among them, aside from Ciel and Heil, the number of people here who genuinely want to grow stronger by liberating the upper levels of the Supreme-rank dungeon? You could count them on one hand.

「Well, we’re done here. Ciel, just so you know, as far as Seiha goes, we’re sitting this big liberation battle out. Oh—but we’ll be starting our solo assault on the Dragon Tower that morning, so if Calvados tries anything, we’ll smash ’em hard enough they’ll never walk again.」

「Whoa, whoa, whoa! Are you insane!? Taking on Calvados alone!? And aren’t you guys part of the Tekirana Alliance!?」

「Huh? Nah. We don’t belong to anybody. And we don’t plan to, ever. …Wait, who even are you?」

「I’m Mojito! Master of Heavy Ram! Then why the hell are you even here!? If you ask me, these guys are the biggest leak risk of anyone! Hey, Ciel! You’re the head of this alliance, aren’t you? Say something!」

Ciel, unfazed, responded in a cool, matter-of-fact tone.

「If there’s even a 1% chance that Seiha would work with us, it’s only natural to reach for that possibility, right? Aun and his team are worth that. And come on, do you really think they’d do something as lame as leaking info?」

「We don’t know a thing about this Seiha clan or this Aun guy! For all we know, they could sell us out to Calvados for the right price—」

Before Mojito could finish, Shinku—who was standing behind me—let out a chilling wave of bloodlust.

「Hey, worm… I’ve been keeping quiet, but you’re really testing me. Keep running your mouth about Aun-sama, and I’ll drag you out from here and grind you into mincemeat.」

「N-No, I didn’t mean any offense…!」

「Think about it. Why do you think we of Seiha are tackling the uppermost towers without joining any alliance? Are you really that dumb? How can’t you figure out something so easy? Did you exchange your brain for a goblin’s? Maybe you are a goblin in disguise, should I exterminate you?」

「Shinku, that’s enough. And watch your tone.」

「Ah—my apologies! I let my emotions get the better of me…」

Honestly, Shinku probably snapped because the guy insulted me—but I’m guessing there was another reason, too. She was covering up the bloodlust that Curu released from the ceiling, keeping it from being noticed.

Ciel stayed as cool as ever, but Heil looked a little like he was thinking, Whoops. Yeah, we kinda disrupted the room. I’ll just leave it to them to smooth things over.

「Well, anyway, we’re heading out. I’ll leave the rest to you guys!」

「Man, you never change, Aun-san. But no worries—we’ll take care of the rest. You just kick back and enjoy the show.」

「…Hey, Aun. Once we beat Calvados, let’s have a real fight for once, okay?」

「Hell yeah! Good luck out there!」

Heil flashed a smile full of meaning. Ciel’s words were simple and sincere.

Neither of them even entertained the idea of losing. Seriously… these two are the best.

But based on what Nelfie told us, Calvados is gearing up seriously, too. Their manpower, supplies, and overall strength make the Tekirana Alliance look like a joke in comparison.

Which means, in the end, the key is probably going to be Curu.