Chapter 1: Resume
A period of peace was about to arrive in Mynoghra after all the strife surrounding Takuto’s loss of consciousness that had culminated in Vittorio’s machinations and a battle with the Scribe Saint. Or it should have.
It seems fate just loves to mess with us. Takuto sensed a new disturbance was hot on their heels as he attempted to parse the intentions behind the bold and fearless declaration given by the latest enemy to confront them—Chaste Witch Vagia.
“So, it seems that the invitation from the other day was the real deal.” Takuto’s words echoed through the Throne Room.
“It does,” Atou replied, confirming the reports in her hand as she stood beside his throne. “It seems official missives have been dispatched to every country, including Phon’kaven, requesting their participation in the conference. We don’t have enough information on Qualia to say they were contacted for sure, but we have received reports that the request has been sent out to other countries on the Dark Continent.”
Witch Vagia had made a bold and ridiculous declaration on a global scale the other day. A few days had passed since then, and information giving legitimacy to her claims had begun to trickle in at Takuto’s fingertips. He’d finally obtained some information on the Succubus Army behind the proposal. But the information only went so far.
Under normal circumstances, they should have also looked into what had happened to the Elves and the El-Nah Alliance of Elementals. But since their resources were tied up in the various conflicts plaguing Mynoghra, they lacked information.
Takuto was frustrated that he’d been slow to act because he’d been preoccupied with bigger problems. Alas, he didn’t have time to regret the past. He thought of the cards he had on hand and lightly tapped his armrest as he formed his next strategy.
“Hmm, what’s her angle?” Takuto murmured.
Atou silently watched over her master as he pondered the matter. She knew commenting would only disturb her king. Whether she commented or not, he would eventually come to the answer he sought on his own. It wasn’t simply Atou’s faith in Takuto that made her think that, but a proven fact.
“A conference inviting all countries and powers… An All-Faction Conference, perhaps?” Takuto continued to pursue one line of thinking.
If he took the proposal from the Succubus Army—from Witch Vagia—at face value, then she was putting on a grand summit for all of Idoragya’s major powers. Regardless of the intent behind the invite, they must have wanted Mynoghra to participate after making such a lofty and showy proposal to the whole world. But the truth was, Takuto wasn’t keen on the idea.
It didn’t take a genius to know that it was stupid to enter enemy territory without first knowing your enemy. It had been incredibly risky for Takuto to invade the Divine Nation of Lenea to get Atou back. A nation’s vassals wouldn’t be able to sleep well at night if their ruler kept haphazardly wandering into enemy territory. Besides, a ruler—a Commander—should not be fighting on the front lines, period.
Takuto often had to remind himself of that. He told himself he should not mistake what he was good at—what his strengths and weaknesses were. Moreover, since Mynoghra’s policy of pursuing an Ascension Victory included reviving Isla, compromise and change just weren’t an option for them.
In other words, their end goal involved becoming hostile with every faction anyway.
Setting aside what motives the other factions had for participating, the peaceful negotiations advocated by Witch Vagia were nigh impossible for Mynoghra to adhere to. At the very least, to get the Ascension Victory, the other Players would have to surrender to Mynoghra.
With all that in mind, the conference was not very appealing for Mynoghra.
“But with such a dearth of information, it’d be a shame to miss the opportunity to learn more about our opponents,” he reasoned. “Honestly, I’m curious what interesting games are participating, and that’ll be crucial information for forming future strategies too. That said, it is risky.”
Atou responded with a soft smile and a nod that seemed to suggest he should do what he thought best. Seeing her smile, Takuto responded with one of his own—the one he’d started getting a little more used to using as of late. Then he took a deep breath.
“It’s a conundrum, all right. What’s the right move here?” Takuto voiced his concerns, sounding more than a little like he was enjoying himself.
It had already been long decided that Takuto and Mynoghra’s policy was world conquest. But there was good enough reason to think twice about just upping and declining to participate in a world conference so they could go about running their empire in isolation.
The enemies they must someday defeat were powerful. They all utilized different abilities, and each one brought about changes to the world that were equivalent to working miracles.
In the matchup against the Game Master, Takuto’s clever strategy allowed Mynoghra to snatch up victory in the end, but it might’ve ended in utter defeat had he not known about TRPGs. With this in mind, he was taking a serious risk by continuing to give the first move to an opponent he had no intelligence on. He still didn’t know how many people in this world were in the same position as him—how many Players were out there.
If possible, this is where I’d like to gather intelligence—without the risk.
“Looks like the best option here is to use the Botchlings…” Takuto slowly lifted his gaze to the ceiling. He made eye contact with the baby-like monstrosity clinging to the beam; it had been trying to get his attention for a while now.