On the bright side, Vittorio isn’t always in the Accursed Lands, so that helps. Speaking of, where the heck is he right now?
Designed to be uncontrollable by the Player, Vittorio was out and about running amok within Mynoghra’s domain, causing all sorts of trouble wherever he went. The power play between Takuto and Vittorio had safely reached its conclusion already, but Takuto knew Vittorio wasn’t the type to just fall in line.
What kind of crazy problem will he bring me next? Thinking about it was both depressing and exhilarating. As Takuto’s thoughts lingered on Vittorio, he noticed Atou’s downcast face. She seemed to be contemplating something. From the looks of it, she had hit upon a problem with Takuto’s plan.
“Back to what we were discussing,” she began. “I think it’s an excellent idea to send the Botchling as your stand-in, but don’t you think the conference itself may be a trap set by the enemy? It’s true that this conference might involve all the major forces, but if the host is considering going to war with the world, as we are, then it’s a golden opportunity to strike while everyone is gathered. If they do attack, we risk losing a very valuable Botchling…”
“Exactly. Being able to learn about our enemy means they can do the same to us. There’s a high chance they’ll be able to draw out information on our game and abilities, and if things go bad, we might even get stuck with a nasty debuff. And we can’t write off the likelihood of war being declared on the spot. But even with those possibilities, the benefits outweigh the risks.”
“How so?” Atou cocked her head, finding Takuto’s explanation confusing. She was genuinely curious.
Expecting this reaction from her, Takuto nodded and explained in terms his confidant would easily understand. “Simply put, we can produce another Botchling, but we might not be able to recover from the damages that will come from not knowing our enemies.”
Realization dawned upon Atou’s face. She was so wary of losing a Botchling and letting others learn about Mynoghra that she forgot the most important thing. A lack of information had caused Mynoghra to lose Isla, have Atou temporarily stolen away, and even led to Takuto’s loss of self.
It was thanks to Takuto’s genius that he had turned around situations where one wrong move would have resulted in certain defeat, but it would be foolish to assume that they would be fine the next time and the time after that. They needed to secure information this time, even if it meant jumping into the water with bloodthirsty sharks circling. Even in the worst-case scenario, it’d be worth losing a Botchling to get that information.
“Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?” Atou realized. “And if those gains mean the difference between Mynoghra’s future survival, then venture in we must…”
“Exactly,” Takuto said, nodding in firm agreement.
Takuto loved the way Atou was able to grasp the whole picture after he offered a slight explanation, even if she didn’t get it at first. He also cherished the time he spent talking with his greatest confidant more than anything else. Every time felt like a secret rendezvous, and whether they realized it or not, they were closer than ever.
“I now see the full picture behind your plan, King Takuto. I can’t deny we’ve suffered from being too passive, so it’ll be nice to go on the offensive to stir things up for once.”
With how close he felt to Atou, Takuto decided he would broach the next subject with her and her alone. “Say, Atou…have you ever seen god?” he asked out of the blue.
Atou blinked at the abrupt topic shift and took a good look at Takuto’s face. He returned her confused look with a serious one. “Uh…god, you say? That clown-who-shalt-not-be-named liked to call you god, King Takuto, but I take it you are talking about something else entirely, right?”
Takuto nodded and looked up at the ceiling. He waved his hand to send a signal.
“King Takuto…?” Atou called his name when she sensed the Botchlings receding into the distance. Having spent as long together—well, it was hard to judge how long exactly, but that was beside the point—as they had, Atou understood why Takuto would send his bodyguards away. What confused her was how this could be such an important and sensitive topic to warrant it. One that Takuto deemed it necessary to send away the NPC units that were loyal to him and had no will of their own…
Suddenly realizing she was only staring absently and hadn’t yet answered his query, Atou rushed to reply. “F-Forgive me! Um…I don’t think I know anything about this god. Probably…?”
The reason for her ambiguous response was that Atou only had vague memories about her origins. What in the world was I doing before I came to this world? she wondered. She certainly remembered spending time with Takuto in Eternal Nations. She undoubtedly had memories of the wonderful days they had spent together since coming to this world, despite the hardships and difficulties they had faced along the way.
But the memories in between were vague, as if there was a gaping hole there.
Should she reveal this to him? It was certainly a strange issue to have, but she felt like she was letting it bother her too much. Most likely, there was nothing in between at all. Probably.
As Atou was wrestling with this dilemma, Takuto had taken her answer and run with it, going on to explain his concerns.