Antagonist Protection Service

By the time the former love interests arrived at the secret hideout I and Lucretia had been staying in, a few days had passed.

They said there had been a bit of a delay because they decided to gather some information around the city first, and the result was simple.

"―I'll be frank. The situation is rather grim."

Saying that, Joádin plopped down on one of the room's seats as if exhausted. The others followed suit, taking their seats wherever was free, appearing equally drained.

It was my first time seeing the Saint and the red-head since I had last been in Drakon-Rasa, but there wasn't the luxury for me to greet them and catch up leisurely, and I also didn't really want to, so after making do with a simple nod to the both of them, I returned my attention to the conversation.

"They're all after me, right?"

I asked that, but I wasn't really fishing for any particular answer. The question itself was sort of rhetorical, because after all, we all already knew what the answer was.

Only, I thought I might as well ask in case there were any new or unexpected elements that had arisen. Since neither I nor Lucretia could go outside without being immediately recognised, we had both simply stayed inside this hideout for the past few days.

"Naturally. Not only did you escape your punishment, but you also kidnapped the Imperial Princess, and now, the suspicion that you were one who summoned the Demons to attack has already solidified and accepted as truth. It's apocryphal, really."

"Mm. Well, that's no surprise."

If there was one silver lining, it was that at least the emperor would know the truth.

Although, even if it was the emperor, if all the citizens of the city thought I was the bad guy, then I was the bad guy, regardless of the truth.

"Anyway, we don't need to waste time thinking about how to save my public image and absolve me. I really won't be coming back this time after it's all over, so it's irrelevant."

Turning to face Lucretia for a moment, I then added.

"I appreciate that you wanted to make me look good, but this really didn't turn out too well, and we have more important things to focus on."

"..."

She didn't say anything in response, and her countenance also remained unchanged, but I realised she was probably feeling a little down, so I gave a small smile before continuing.

"The two problems we need to clear up are the Pr-- Liam Tichá, who is possibly being protected by the Black Fang, and then the Demons."

Ideally, I would have liked to take out the Protagonist quickly first so I could invest all my efforts into the bigger matter, but unfortunately, the strength of the Black Fang makes that... difficult.

With my awakened Blessing and the transformation of the Holy Sword, I was undoubtedly stronger compared to when they effortlessly beat my ass last time, but there was no way of actually confirming if I could stand up to them until it happened. It would be the smartest and safest to deal with them as a group.

As for the Demons, I could only imagine that was something the whole force of the empire would be mobilised to fight.

Of course, I would also help as much as I could, but I didn't think it was very plausible to work directly alongside the knights and soldiers when my reputation was as bad as it was.

I also wasn't particularly effective at fighting multiple opponents at once, most of my arsenal being purposed for single targets, but regardless.

If the Demons were as big a threat as they were suggested to be, the force that interrupted my execution before being only a fraction of the real deal, then I imagine a lot more than just the Imperial Army would be sent to fight.

"What I'm thinking is we use the both of them to put a burden on the other."

The emperor would naturally want as much fighting power as he can muster to fight the Demons. Of course, this would include the Black Fang.

If both were on opposing sides on the battlefield, they would each weaken the other.

"And if they're both weakened, we can take them both out in one go."

That way, rather than simply killing two birds with one stone, it was more like pitting the two birds against each other only to smash them with the stone once they knocked themselves to the ground.

"I'll need to continue the training for my magic energy until then, but it'll probably take a while in order for everything to get ready anyway, right?"

Shooting a glance at Lucretia, I thought she might be the one most qualified to answer since she knew the most about such details, but surprisingly, it was the red-head.

"The longest it would take is a few months, the soonest about a week or two. Getting all the small details out of the way and mobilising the entire Imperial Army is a process we've tried to make as efficient as possible, particularly in emergencies, but it still takes a while."

Jumping my attention to the former love interest Kran Vyckard, I slowly nodded.

'That's right, he was the Army Commander's son or something, wasn't he...'

Incidentally, he himself looked far stronger than when we had that duel last time. I was confident I still wouldn't lose if it were to happen again, but I could feel his strength through his powerful presence alone.

Continuing, he briefly gestured to Lucretia.

"Considering Your Highness' "predicament", I'm certain many of the knights and soldiers would find it harder than usual to prepare even if His Majesty demanded it. If we need more time, pardon my words, but we can keep you here until we're ready to go."

'He's a hell of a lot more good-mannered, too...'

"Well, it shouldn't take that long. I don't think it's a good idea to have you missing for so long, either. We need everyone to focus on the Demons, not me."

After I said that to both him and Lucretia, Kran abruptly put a hand to his chin.

"Ah... In that case, if the belief solidifies even more that you are working alongside the Demons, they might conversely work even harder to prepare to fight them to try and rescue Your Highness."

'Oh, wait. Damn, I didn't think about that...'

"...Let's just return her in a few days' time."

In the end, I thought what we should do was that simple.

In my opinion it was a bad idea to have Lucretia go missing for too long, for various reasons, but I also needed her here until we ironed out all of the kinks and worked out the gritty details of the plan.

Once she was returned to the Imperial Palace, it would then also become even easier to manipulate everything to go the way we wanted.

Organise the army to fight the Demon threat with the support of hired adventurers, including the infamous Black Fang.

Then, assigning the Black Fang to fight on the frontlines, wait until they grow tired or weakened. Maybe give it a while, perhaps all the way until the Demon threat is almost fully eradicated, at which point the Black Fang will undoubtedly be debilitated, or at the very least, mentally enervated.

Needless to say, it's not certain those guys would end up like that, but regardless, there's no denying that I would be able to use the opportunity to take them by surprise.

"Yes, I suppose we can ensure that. If you remain hidden until the vital moment, I shall teleport you into the battlefield. However, I cannot guarantee it will be safe for you."

"Oh, of course it won't be. But everyone will be too preoccupied to notice I'm there, and before they'll realise it, I'll be gone."

'I can also just use the White Death to take them out from afar.'

"...There are many concerns I have about that plan."

Faced with Joádin's sigh and evident reluctance to believe everything would go so smoothly, I sensed a similar sentiment from everyone else in the room.

It's not like I couldn't understand why.

The plan could more or less be boiled down to 'just go there and kill them', and when vital details like the location of the battlefield, the timing of anything, methods, or anything like that hadn't even been made clear yet, it was perfectly reasonable to think that a plan so shoddy should immediately be discarded and not even considered.

So, although it's not like that would change my mind... Well, the vote was three to one.

I really didn't think it was so complicated, but anyway, if they were all so worried about it, I guess I could leave it to them to figure everything out.

Lucretia and Joádin were far more intellectual than me in general anyway, and Kran had probably studied for years about military strategy and the science of war, so I wouldn't argue that they were all way smarter than me, at least when it came to this.

"Don't worry, I believe you can succeed no matter the threat, Sir Enki!"

Glancing at the Saint, Mikhael Avalon, who was silent pretty much the whole time until now, he suddenly said that with a great smile, as if trying to console me.

'...At least this guy hasn't changed much.'

Sighing internally, I felt like the conversation was pretty much over for now and rose to my feet, immediately being called by Lucretia.

"Enki, a moment. There is one detail I should inform you about regarding the Winter Mother's divine energy."

"Hm...?"

Raising an eyebrow, her words instantly grabbed my attention.