After the girls set out, the first person they informed was General Glengo.
As the highest-ranking officer stationed at the Northern Frontier, he had already received the order to relax defenses and permit illegal crossings yesterday.
So the kingdom really plans to do this.
I wondered yesterday why such an order was issued.
General Glengo sighed.
So that’s the reason.
Like Celes, he had fought alongside the Demon Army and visited Demon Cities.
He had a certain empathy for the demons.
More importantly, he had to consider a retreat route for his daughter.
“General, can you spare a unit to head to Bright Cross Star City again soon?”
Ella asked directly.
“I’m planning to hold a Victory Parade.”
Glengo agreed readily.
The same message was sent to the Elves.
Elder Romery also agreed without hesitation.
“The Alliance is just beginning. We should organize more group actions, let everyone participate, and strengthen collective honor.”
The Elves still didn’t know about the fire element situation.
It was simply that life had calmed down lately, and their inner social needs had resurfaced.
“Then see you then~”
Ella was grateful for the existence of Dragon Hawks.
In less than a day, she had flown to various places and arrived smoothly at Bright Cross Star City by evening.
Half a month had passed since the girls last returned to this city they called their own.
Not much time had gone by, so there were no drastic changes.
Everything was pretty much the same as when they left.
On duty at the Huai Mountain Outpost today was Yanpo, so three other generals came to greet them.
“Lady Ayla, welcome back.”
“During your absence, we followed your instructions and carried them out without deviation.”
“Please review us!”
Ella cleared her throat.
“First, these are not my instructions, but a democratic decision by the Bright Society.”
“Second… There is no second. Hey, let me see…”
Her gaze swept over the three generals and finally settled on the one who looked the smartest.
“Gumu, come here for a moment.”
He had no hair left.
Wouldn’t that make him clever?
Gumu cautiously approached the windowsill.
“Lady Ayla, what are your orders?”
“Do we have people arranged in the city?”
The people arranged in the city referred to allies disguised as ordinary citizens.
“We do!”
“Good. Remember, starting tomorrow, spread the following messages throughout the city.”
A few minutes later, Gumu nodded his smooth head vigorously.
“Understood!”
After organizing so many things in a single day, Ella rubbed her eyes and yawned.
With so much in place, the people of Dark Star City couldn’t possibly ignore it.
Now, all that was left was to wait for them to take the bait.
As for now, good girls need sleep.
She woke in the morning to the news of tragedy from the Royal Palace of the Human Kingdom, spent the morning in mental struggle and finally made a decision, rode the Dragon Hawk all afternoon to rally allies, and returned by evening to her loyal city to finalize everything.
What a full day.
Z…
She couldn’t z out, because she heard footsteps approaching—neither light nor heavy, not hurried nor slow, just right.
Within the Hero’s party, only one person had such footsteps: the perfect knight, the genius Sword Saint, Celes.
“El… Ella.”
She said.
“I came to find you. Do you have time to talk now, like we agreed this morning?”
She sounded a little nervous.
“Yes, I’m free.”
Ella replied gently, but rolled her eyes inwardly.
You’re already hugging me from behind—how could I not have time?
Wouldn’t that leave an empty space?
Come to think of it, Lala thought she was used to all sorts of hugs, but being hugged from behind by a girl like this didn’t stir much emotion anymore—she just sighed silently in her heart, “Medium-upper cup.”
“What do you want to talk about?”
“It’s about something my master said a few days ago.”
Celes spoke softly.
“I wanted to discuss it.”
It wasn’t shifting responsibility—just quoting wisdom.
After all, her master was the former Chief Sword Saint of the kingdom; any words spoken by such a person would carry weight, at least in the eyes of others.
Ella was successfully bluffed.
She blinked in curiosity.
“What did the elder say?”
“Well… Our current state, always acting together whenever something happens, stopping disasters before they happen.”
Celes’s voice, pretending to be calm, came from behind.
“But because of that, we end up spending a lot of time together. In some sense, it’s like we’ll be together for life, right?”
“Yes, that makes sense.”
“So, then, since we’ll always be together…”
The girl’s voice grew a little excited.
“Shouldn’t we make some preparations for a lifetime, in terms of certain relationships and such?”
Ella thought, that’s true.
Otherwise, why did she agree when Lia joined, not refuse when Zero tried to backstab, and not object strongly when Vina did a small knock?
Wasn’t it because everyone was going to be together for a long time?
Hmm.
Is something missing?
“Do you also want to…”
Before Ella could finish, she heard a soft “Mm” from behind.
Mm?
What do you mean, mm?
Do you want to join, stab, or knock? Say something! Don’t make me ask!
As a good girl, Lala couldn’t bring herself to ask such an impure question.
After waiting for a while with no further explanation from the girl, she tried probing.
“But we still have important things to do now. There’s not much time or energy.”
“I understand, I understand.”
Celes said quickly.
“We can focus on business first and talk when things settle down. There’s no rush.”
“I’m not saying we have to become that kind of relationship right away—just take a step beyond friendship, try it out. After all, we still have a long time together. That’s all, really…”
Because she was too excited, the girl didn’t notice the “also” in the pink-haired girl’s earlier sentence, nor could she guess what it meant.
She just said excitedly,
“I’ll go back to sleep now. Good night!”
“Good night…”
Ella felt the medium cup girl leave from behind, heard the door open and close, and blinked in confusion.
What was all that about?
Is it to join, stab, or knock?
Which step is “a step beyond friends”?
Couldn’t you just say it plainly?
You’re not me; you don’t have to act so pure.
But she had already left, so there was no way to call her back and ask.
Forget it.
Sleep.
Zzzzz.
The night passed.
The next day, the world didn’t seem to have changed much.
From that morning, certain rumors began to spread through Bright Cross Star City.
On the streets, alleys, market stalls, and fish stands, people everywhere were talking.
“Did you hear? Dame Succubus is planning a big move to counterattack north, bringing light to every corner of the demon lands.”
“Really? Weren’t we just defending last time?”
“Yeah, but we won! A great victory. You don’t understand military tactics—this is called striking while the iron is hot, using the momentum of victory to pursue the fleeing enemy.”
“I also heard from my soldier relative that there’s going to be a drill in a few days, all to prepare for the North Expedition.”
“But isn’t our army a bit small to attack the north?”
“That’s what you don’t know. Dame Succubus went to the Humans and established cooperation, preparing some sort of Secret Weapon.”
Such conversations spread quickly throughout the city.
In a nearby alley, demon soldiers disguised as commoners listened and wiped cold sweat from their foreheads.
When the orders were first passed down, it was “Lady Ayla”.
How did it become Dame Succubus after just a few retellings?
You really can’t blame them.
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