“Lunetta,” Vyce called. The girl fumbled around in her bag before pulling out a magic gem.
“Can everyone hear me?”
“We sure can, Lady Lunatietta!” Booming back in reply was a crowd of men. The voices cheered and called Lunetta’s name, only for a calm voice to chime in as the others subsided. “Can you guys get any louder?”
“Lady Lunatietta, how’s our king doing out there?”
“He’s...mad.”
“I see. Sounds like it’s brewing up to be the proper shitstorm I knew it would be.”
The man was at a loss for words, staring at the magic gem in Lunetta’s grip in disbelief. His eyes were wide open and bloodshot, an unsettling sight.
“That’s why I told you not to misjudge the situation in a fight,” Vyce said. “That god or whatever he is on the wrong end of your spell? That was all a fake. The moment you realize you’re the one who fell into the trap is the moment it’ll start makin’ sense.”
“I can practically see that self-satisfied smirk on His Majesty’s face after a zinger like that!”
“You tryin’ to get your ass fired, Phel?”
“If you know of another retainer who can deal with your eccentricities, then by all means, please do, Your Majesty.”
“Blegh!” It went without saying that last groan that sounded like a croaking frog hadn’t belonged to Vyce. It was the man at his feet groaning after a swift, sharp kick from Vyce’s black boot. The man was on the reaping end of “you reap what you sow.” Vyce wasn’t throwing his anger in every direction—he was directing it all toward the sharp-tongued man. Please, by all means, do continue!
Merely watching from the sidelines, Sophie wasn’t qualified to write the man off as evil, but she’d seen more than enough to recognize that he was an enemy to both Lunetta and Azuello. You show him what’s what! That’s what the first plan was for!
“Can’t imagine him going on his merry way after lettin’ a big catch like that slip through his fingers.”
Vyce was the one who’d suggested that they spring a trap for the man since he had to still be in the forest. Livio had said that they’d need a decoy in that case. And it was Sophie and Lunetta who looked at Azuello.
Azuello made a sour expression as the two stared at him. “Come now,” he said, lifting his fluffy little muzzle. “I am a god, you know!”
“And you are. But it seems we have a miscreant trying to capture a god on our hands,” Sophie replied. “Would the god in question allow him to get away with such?”
“What a terrible way to put it...”
My apologies!
Sophie had spent her life treading through the muddy waters of the castle, so that was just how she was. I do beg your pardon!
“Sorry about that,” Sophie said, apologizing without really meaning it.
Lunetta tilted her head to the side. “You’re not so weak as to be bested by a foe you know will attack you, are you, Azuello?”
“Of course not!”
“So there’s nothing to be scared of then, right?” Lunetta asked.
“Of course not!”
“So why not then?”
Azuello simply looked back at her blankly.
This side of Lunetta was almost certainly au naturel. She could be one hundred percent organically rage-inducing. When it came to bringing people’s anger to a rolling boil, this was actually the most effective way. While it might be possible to calm down and refuse to go along with it if you thought someone was trying to make you angry, when it came to individuals that just naturally had a way of infuriating you, that didn’t quite work out. They were actually being serious, after all! If Azuello turned her down, she’d just say something along the lines of “Oh, so you are scared then,” apologize, and start getting worried.
She was the type of person who could make your blood boil more than anything else.
They’d make your blood boil, but they didn’t have any bad intentions at all, so they wouldn’t have the slightest idea about what you were upset over. People like that were the toughest foes to fight. In other words, in times like this, the only option for people like Sophie and Vyce was to keep their mouths shut.
Just as expected, Azuello bristled—no, fluffed?—with anger. “Then let us put this fool in his place...!”
Their strategy was exceedingly simple.
Azuello would lure him out. Vyce and Livio would beat the shit out of him. The end.
Simple strategies were the best strategies—especially since they could get cracking on it even in the middle of a forest like this. The prep was a piece of cake too.
First, you’d get a god that had taken on the form of a monsteresque bear.
Next, a ridiculously powerful witch would cast a spell on said god.
Finally, you’d just get two guys strong enough to bring the whole world to its knees. Done.
How simple could it be? It was a villain-snatching strategy that anyone could use! Well, I don’t know if everyone has access to a god, a ridiculously powerful witch, and two guys strong enough to bring the whole world to its knees.
“Are all of your men all right, Sir Vyce?” The one who’d tilted his head in doubt at such an extraordinarily simple plan was Livio. “They have deep-rooted ties to you and Lady Lunetta, do they not? Then if the incident in town was just the test run and that villain was really after you and Lady Lunetta... Don’t you think they might be attacked? Your men will be making their way along the large main roads, correct?”
“Exactly,” Vyce answered. “They’re the real decoy here—and I’ve had them ready for a time like this. I’ve equipped them with a magic gem that allows us to communicate.”