“If I’m totally honest about it, I’d like to just crush them and move on. We don’t need a big, protracted war,” I said. Then Mamoru put up his hand.
“I’d like to talk to the Bow Hero from Piensa,” Mamoru said. “Ask him if he’s really going along with this immoral plan of theirs and whether or not they should really be using methods like these, even in wartime.”
“If this was just a war of technology, we probably wouldn’t have a leg to stand on, but timing-wise, this is just too suspicious,” I said. “If all the heroes abandon Piensa, that would change the way the wind is blowing.” Sending heroes into war was not allowed. They were, from one perspective, weapons of mass destruction. Conflict in this time period was about making use of these trump cards without actually playing them outright. But what if your enemy didn’t have any hero cards in their deck, just some powerful new weapons? Without righteousness on their side, Piensa would descend to the level of a conquest-hungry enemy that needed to be defeated.
That strategy relied on being able to bring the Bow Hero to our side. It wasn’t going to work if he was like Itsuki used to be. But during the previous invasion, he had abstained from the fighting. There was a good chance we could get through to him.
“We need an attacking force to go into Piensa and a defending force to protect the sanctuary,” I surmised.
“That sounds right,” Melty confirmed.
“Leave the infiltration to me,” Mamoru said. “But if you have anyone who could help out, we could definitely make use of them.” Someone good at infiltration? Shadow had already been taken out.
“Mr. Naofumi,” Raphtalia said to me. “I think I would be suited to infiltration.” She was from a race skilled at illusion and concealment magic. From an abilities perspective, Raphtalia was best suited to the task.
“I’m not sure . . .” I said. I didn’t really want to send her into enemy territory when those enemies had such deadly weapons.
“I’m not going alone. I’ll have the Raph species helping me out,” Raphtalia assured me.
“That’s not all,” Rat said. “Even if we can’t heal the wounds, we can think up ways to escape those attacks. I might be able to make some single-use bio-armor, based on the body of Mikey Holn modified.”
“That sounds promising,” Holn agreed. “I’ll have it look like a robe or something. When it’s attacked it can swell up and prevent the attack from landing.”
“Sounds convenient,” I said. “That thing has multiple bodies?”
“It has slime characteristics, meaning it replicates by corrosive fusion,” Holn explained. I wondered if I was meant to understand that. I imagined a powerful slime for a moment, absorbing prey into itself, consuming it, and increasing in mass as a result. Part of that slime could then be turned into a robe. It probably would survive an attack.
“Mikey can use illusions and concealment, too, due to his Raph species heritage,” Rat continued. “He should be pretty well suited to infiltration.”
“I’ll go along too,” Natalia said, raising her hand as though to cut off Raphtalia. Natalia was both a pacifier and a hero and could do pretty much the same things as Raphtalia, so she should be fine. “I need to check for myself whether the Bow Hero has stepped off the path. His priority has to be protecting this world from the waves, so I need to ensure he isn’t involved in this foolish Piensa war.”
“Dafu!” said Dafu-chan. It sounded like the past Heavenly Emperor (the future Natalia) was praising her. This was a moment for tension in the air, but Dafu-chan seemed to be ignoring that completely.
“Curse-inflicting injuries that can’t be healed?” Filolia said with a chuckle. “What an exciting development! I’m going to send all who use such twisted means to the depths of hell!” She was off in her own head again. “Mamoru! A true hero can’t back down from this! Heroes must lead by example!”
“Filolia . . . you’re right. Let’s start by making contact with the Bow Hero,” Mamoru replied. This seemed like the moment to share the information the past Heavenly Emperor had given me last night and propose a full recon of the sanctuary.
“Okay. We’ll let Mamoru take charge of infiltrating Piensa, and everyone else will go take this ‘sanctuary’ they are so keen on and turn righteousness in our favor,” I said. Piensa’s supposition was that the heroes would gather to the side who held the sanctuary. If Siltran took the sanctuary, then Piensa would probably say it didn’t count because Siltran was an “evil” country.
“That’s not really the kind of place to be used in these games,” Mamoru said. “But I guess it would be worth you taking a look, Naofumi.”
“Okay, Mamoru! Leave Piensa to Filolia and her band of Dark Braves! And you take Naofumi and his allies to meet the folks at the sanctuary!” Filolia said loudly. Natalia had an instant frown on her face; maybe it would be better not to include her in the “Dark Braves.”
“The folks at the sanctuary?” I asked.
“That’s right. The ancestors of those who acted as allies to the original heroes still live in the vicinity of the sanctuary to protect the place. Lizard men, uhnte jimna, and races like that,” Mamoru explained.
“Ren.” Eclair chose this moment to address the Sword Hero.
“What?” he replied.
“I’m becoming interested in the sanctuary myself. Could I join you?” she asked.
“Naofumi, what do you think?” Ren asked me.
“You didn’t need to ask him. Just ask me,” I said. Such a waste of time. I guessed that from Eclair’s perspective Ren was the more approachable of the two of us. “Something on your mind?” I asked.
“Something personal, maybe. Like with Queen Melty or the former queen,” Eclair said. I waited a moment. “The warrior who was my father’s right hand . . . I was told he was the last direct descendant of the lizard men who allied with the Shield Hero. Unfortunately, he fell alongside my father, protecting the people during the first of the waves.”
“He was important to you?” I asked.
“Someone I respected as a warrior and teacher, yes. He often looked after me when my father was busy and is the reason I have such compassion for demi-humans. My father helped him build his own family. I can only presume . . . they were lost too . . .” Eclair trailed off. There was a moment of silence. That was a sad story, for sure. I could see why she might want to meet others of his race. I had been filled with malice toward Ruft when he sent his minions to attack Lurolona, but after I learned he was just a decoration—basically a prisoner—I had started to want to save him.
“There’s a portal located close to the sanctuary,” Holn said.
“No time to waste, then. Good. Eclair, Ren, with me,” I said.
“Thank you,” Eclair said.
“I’ll head over with you to check out the sanctuary, Naofumi . . .” Ren started.
“Leave defense of this nation to me!” Fohl said, raising his fist. This was the land that would eventually become Siltvelt, so I could understand Fohl wanting to protect it.
“No big risks, okay? Everyone else from the village, that goes for you too! If you see any suspicious weapons that could be this new type, don’t get hit by them! Understand?” I shouted. Shouts of general agreement came back.
“You bet, Bubba!” Keel replied happily. I still wasn’t sure she had conquered her trauma, but Keel and the others would form an important part of pushing back Piensa’s attack. We didn’t have enough justification for the heroes to fight. That was a pain, but we’d only be able to act if they played the hero card first.
Melty stood up and spoke too. “I’m interested in the sanctuary as well. Ruft, what about you?” she asked.
“I’m going along. I want to be ready to fight, no matter where the fighting breaks out,” he said.
“Okay. Naofumi, let’s get going,” Melty said.
“Off we go,” I agreed with her. We finished our meeting and set out on our separate ways to prepare for the conflict ahead.