The saltwater was poured out, the stove drove away the dampness, and the room became warm.
“I’ll tell you a story.”
Kagasha picked up a piece of charcoal and placed it closer to Zero.
“A hundred years ago, friction between the various races was constant. In order to welcome the bright tomorrow we longed for, we and other like-minded people from all over gathered together, forming a secret investigation squad to root out dangerous enemies for the humans.”
“Before setting out, someone suggested we choose a fitting name. After a simple discussion, Silent Sanctuary became our name.”
She took the cup from the stove and handed the steaming cup of water to Zero.
“My companions and I traveled through many places, from the Old Capital across the plains, over small hills, and finally arrived at Harbor City. Here, we saw the ugliest side of the Sea Demon Tribe.”
“A secret investigation was no longer enough to solve the problem, and it was too late to report to the Royal City. So, on that stormy night, we raised our blades for the first time.”
Kagasha met the astonished gaze of the young girl and slowly nodded, “Yes, we chose the path of ‘death’ on our own initiative. Everything came from our hearts. Only then could we be a true Sanctuary, and only a true Sanctuary could accomplish what is needed now. But..”
Her voice suddenly rose, and her kindly face turned stern.
“No one has the right to demand this of you, child. Not the Kingdom, not anyone. So, go back. Before the Ritual arrives, leave here, leave Harbor City, go wherever you want, and live your own life.”
***
After the girls returned to the inn, they didn’t hold a meeting, just quickly went over the information.
Afterward, Celes sat in the inn’s first-floor hall all afternoon, never letting go of her sword for even a second.
They had planned to move elsewhere, but the inn staff seemed unaware of anything, going about their usual tasks—cleaning up trash, preparing lunch and dinner.
With Miss Leah’s blessing, the Hero Squad never worried about food.
After thinking it over, they decided to stay here, since other places might not be any better.
Celes held her breath, keeping watch in the hall for a long, long time, until she saw a shapely figure walk by and couldn’t help but call out:
“Ella, what do you think…”
“You don’t need to be so tense. Harbor City doesn’t have an army.”
Without missing a beat, or even waiting for her to finish, Ella’s straightforward reply caught her a bit off guard.
But thinking about it, she had a point.
They were worried Dagon would run and the news would reach Governor Kelu.
If Kelu realized he’d been exposed, he might tear off all pretenses and lead troops to attack.
But the problem was, Harbor City didn’t have any soldiers.
As for those ferocious Sea Demons, they were a disorganized rabble in a fight.
Even if they couldn’t outlast them, they could always find a direction to break out and escape.
The only real worry was..
“That thing that suddenly appeared from the water, I suspect it’s a Sea Demon Priest. That power is extremely strange,” Celes said.
“Yes, I’m worried too,” Ella replied lazily.
Celes couldn’t help but glance at her a few more times at her casual demeanor.
But then again, so much happened today, and now they had to analyze all these strategic problems. She must just be tired.
What Celes didn’t know was that Ella wasn’t tired—she was even more worried, just in a different direction.
Harbor City didn’t have an army, but the Demon King did.
The problem was, her army was meant to crush the Sea Demon Tribe’s soldiers.
She thought it would be an easy sweep, but she hadn’t expected these cultists to really have an Evil God behind them.
That Poison Serpent Monster that had appeared from the water today—just from first impression, its combat power was about equal to Celes, but its Reality-Illusion Transformation ability was extremely bizarre.
Without the right countermeasures, there was nothing they could do about it. If something like that appeared on the battlefield, it would be devastating to the army—one slip, and the casualties would be uncountable.
Ella couldn’t accept that.
Every soldier under her command was precious.
And if everyone died, who would take over the city?
Wouldn’t all the fighting have been for nothing?
King against king, general against general—before the armies clashed, the Sea Demon Tribe’s upper structure had to be taken out first.
“We have to deal with those strange ones,” Celes suddenly said.
“Otherwise, I feel like something terrible will happen.”
Ella nodded.
“That’s right!”
Yes, they had to focus their strength and take out the elite units first—that was the right way to fight.
But then again.
“What about Governor Kelu?”
Celes said with a bitter smile.
“His influence on Harbor City is at least as great as Dagon’s.”
That morning, during Ella’s analysis in the Workshop Inner Hall, she had stood by and listened carefully.
Aside from marveling at the girl’s intelligence, she had her own thoughts.
For Harbor City to become what it was today—especially the solidity of the Pearl Shell Currency System—it couldn’t have been achieved by Dagon alone.
It must have been the result of full cooperation between the political, religious, and commercial factions.
“We have to go to him ourselves,” Ella said.
“There’s no such thing as a thief who never gets caught, but there’s also no such thing as someone who guards against thieves forever.”
Rather than wait here and wonder when he might come for them, it was better to strike first.
If they waited any longer, the Ritual of the Sea Demon Tribe would begin, and no one knew what might happen.
Celes agreed.
But the sun was already setting.
They needed to rest first.
At that moment, the inn’s hall door opened from outside.
The girl inside instinctively gripped her sword, but upon seeing who it was, immediately relaxed.
“Zero, you’re back~”
Ella waved and greeted her.
“How was your day?”
They hadn’t seen much of her these past two days.
Zero forced a small smile.
“It’s fine. I’m still in the middle of the investigation.”
Ella noticed her long, straight black hair and blinked.
“What happened to your hair?”
“I…”
Zero instinctively reached up.
“I lost my hair tie.”
After all the chaos in the saltwater vat today, she hadn’t noticed where she’d put her hair tie, and forgot it when she left.
“It’s okay, you look great like this~”
A ripple appeared in Zero’s eyes.
“Thank you.”
“No need to thank me, I’m just telling the truth.”
Ella stretched and yawned.
“But you look really tired. So are we, so let’s all get some rest early.”
This was the most constructive suggestion anyone could have made.
All the girls agreed at once, washed up, and went back to their rooms to sleep.
The sun set, darkness fell, and Harbor City gradually quieted down.
After a few hours, the pink-haired, thunderous beauty lying in bed suddenly opened her eyes.
She needed to sleep, sure, but she’d sleep after coming back.
The best plans are made at night.
As the Demon King who cherished her soldiers like her own children, tonight she was going to try to deal with a few elite monsters.
With the information from the first battle, that Poison Serpent Monster with its Reality-Illusion Transformation thought it was invincible.
But if she suddenly drew the Necromantic Sword and struck, maybe she could take it out in one blow.
She decided to act right away.
After making sure the others were probably asleep, Ella squirmed in her bed, getting ready to get up.
“Ella, are you asleep?”
Oh no!
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