Four days had passed since we returned from the labyrinth, and now my companions and I were gathered in the airship for one last strategy meeting before setting out for the empire early the next morning. For the past few days, we’d had countless mock battles against Lionel in the underground training facility Dhoran had built for us, with the goal of helping him sharpen his combat skills against human opponents. I’d initially claimed I would only participate as a healer, but my companions had insisted I join in on the fights, which I ended up doing.
Of course, I hadn’t only spent the past four days fighting. I’d used the rest of my time productively, mostly by researching magic with Estia. I had hoped the Spirit of Dusk would help us, but alas, she hadn’t. Still, these four days had felt quite fruitful, perhaps thanks to the combination of physical training and magic study. The only hiccup was when Pola, Lycian, and Rina almost killed us all with their experiments, but aside from that, it had been a pretty fulfilling time.
As my friends settled into their seats at the airship’s dining table, I began our strategy meeting.
“Our plan is to reach the imperial capital before the sun rises tomorrow. Then, we’ll jump down and the others will immediately take the ship back to Ebiza. Dhoran, you’re in charge of that second part.”
“I’d prefer fightin’ with ye, but I suppose I don’t really have a choice this time, eh? But I ain’t goin’ back to Ebiza. We’ll stay over the capital,” Dhoran answered.
“Do you really plan on fighting the wyverns? The ship has cannons now, but still...”
“How are we supposed to rescue ye if ye fail without a means of escape?” he shot back.
“That’s a valid point, but I don’t want you to do anything too crazy.”
“Don’t worry. Leave it to me.”
I was worried, especially because it was Dhoran we were talking about. But there wasn’t anyone else I could put in charge of the mission, so I’d just have to trust him.
“If the imperial army tries to stop us, we’ll have Lionel make a speech to them. Then, if everything goes to plan, we’ll head straight to the imperial palace.”
As I outlined the plan for my companions, I thought back to the request Lionel had made to me that morning, going as far as to lower his head to me. My initial plan had been to show off by jumping from the airship as we reached the capital and fight the wyverns midair. But Lionel had pointed out that the beasts falling from the sky might damage nearby buildings and that he’d prefer avoiding making too grand an entrance so as to avoid dragging civilians into the conflict. When I’d said that we might need to fight demons in the city while he made his speech and that it would put the citizens at risk no matter how careful we were, he had replied that it was fine and that the people needed to know about the current situation in the empire.
“I understand that I’m asking a lot of you, but can you please not kill any of the demonized people on the spot?” he’d asked me next.
That was an insane request, but I didn’t think he would have asked it of me without good reason.
“You’re aware that what you’re asking is completely unreasonable, right? Why shouldn’t I kill them?”
“I believe you can manage it, despite how impossible it may seem.”
“C’mon, that’s not an answer. And it’s easy for you to say that,” I replied lightly.
But Lionel didn’t stop looking at me for a single second. That was when I realized he was serious: He truly believed that we could achieve our mission without me killing any of the empire’s demonized test subjects. I didn’t know how to respond to that.
“It’ll help you gain the trust of the capital’s citizens. Please consider it, sir,” he said, lowering his head to me.
It made me want to lower my own head, which was weird. He was obviously aware that there was a limit to what I could do, but he still believed that I could pull this off.
I let out a sigh. “Under normal circumstances, I would have refused right away. But you’re the head of my followers. If you trust that I can carry out our mission without killing anyone, then I’ll do my best to make it happen.”
“Thank you so much, sir.”
“In exchange, I’m putting you in charge of the whole thing. All I’ll do is heal the citizens and weaken the demonized people. Oh, and I’ll need you to protect me as well.”
I couldn’t possibly give directions to all of my companions in the heat of the moment, and it would be impossible for me to do what Lionel was asking without someone to ensure that no enemy got too close to me.
“Yes, sir. I will put my life on the line to do what needs to be done.”
And so, I decided to entrust command to Lionel once we were in the empire and follow his plan, and I announced as much to my companions.
“I’m aware this will make the mission more dangerous to everyone involved, and I’m very thankful for your understanding, sir,” Lionel told me, bowing his head for the umpteenth time.
I felt a bit embarrassed by his earnestness and decided to change the topic. “Still, I can’t believe you used to wear such intimidating armor...”
“Yup! Sir Lionel used to sweep through the battlefield in that red and black armor. He looks just as full of vigor as he did in the past, so I’m sure everyone will know he’s the real deal!” Ketty said, putting her stamp of approval on the armor I’d had Dhoran craft for him—a perfect copy of the armor he used to wear back when he was the Lion of War. She nodded, pleased, claiming that he looked just like he used to back then.
Imagining him charging across the battlefield in that scary armor, with the same wild look in his eyes as when we’d fought the empire’s special forces in the labyrinth, I totally got why his enemies were so scared of him. The beard we’d had him grow also did a great job of masking his new youthful appearance.
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“We intentionally left his helmet open so that people could see his face, but I’m sure some will still try to shoot arrows at him. Do you think he’ll be able to handle that? And are you absolutely sure people will recognize him?” I asked Ketty.
“For some reason, arrows never seem to hit him. And with his beard, he looks just like he used to back then! I’m sure the people of the capital will listen to him.”
I idly thought how great it would be to have a skill that made me immune to arrows, though I knew the reason Lionel’s enemies always missed their shots had to be that they were so nervous to be facing him. Regardless, I was a tad surprised by how adamant Ketty was that Lionel’s facial hair was our key to success. I decided to trust her, but I was a bit nervous about what would happen.
“All he needs to do is talk to the citizens using this voice-amplifying artifact, right?” I asked Rina, who was the one who’d come up with the item in question.
She nodded. “I made it so that it would barely cost any mana. I just completed the testing phase, and it seems to work fine. All Nanya and I can do now is pray for your success.”
“Thank you. But I have to ask, are you two sure you want to come with us to the empire? You seemed so against the idea when we first arrived in Ebiza.”
“Yes. I was scared at first, but I really want to see my Lil Tempels blow away some wyverns.”
I figured her “Lil Tempels” referred to the two smaller magic cannons on the airship, since Dhoran had built the big one.
How many times do I have to tell them that I do not have any intention of fighting the wyverns?
I thought about reminding her of the plan, but I just couldn’t do it when she was smiling so innocently despite the dark circles under her eyes.
Nanya stood beside her, seemingly on the verge of crying as she looked at Rina.
“Nanya, you can stay back, you know?” I told her.
“No. I’m too scared to stay alone in a town where I know no one, so please let me come with you.”
I hesitated before replying with a simple, “Okay.” I felt incredibly guilty seeing her like this, so I decided not to probe any further.
“Let me remind you of the plan one last time, everyone. The only ones who will be raiding the palace are me, master, Lionel, Ketty, Kefin, and Estia. We’ll absolutely need the airship later on, so Dhoran, make sure you don’t miscalculate when to leave.”
My words were met with a chorus of “yeses” and “yes, sirs,” some more enthusiastic than others. Pola’s monotone reply in particular made me grimace.
With that, our strategy meeting came to an end. We all sat down for dinner, promising each other that this wouldn’t be our last supper before heading off to get some rest for the journey ahead.