Divine Luck: SSS-Rank Battle Maid Harem

Zach and the barbarians held the funeral until the bonfire burned out and the dead warriors had turned into ash, releasing their spirits into the starry sky. He was surprisingly tired afterward. It had just been a bunch of dancing in circles, nothing that should have tired him out that much, but fortunately, it was a good tired.

He would have slept well if not for being tied up at the post again. At least the knots were a little looser this time, which gave his wrists some breathing room.

He would have also slept better if the barbarian woman hadn't visited him when morning came a couple of hours later.

Zach opened his eyes and squinted at her, silently asking what she wanted.

"Visla Maura," she said.

"?"

"That's my name."

"Nice to meet you, Visla Maura. Any particular reason for introducing yourself at this moment?" She had talked to him several times without seeming to care about telling him her name. If it was because they had gotten closer after he participated in the funeral for their fallen warriors, was there any need to wake him up at dawn to do it?

"Let's do it," she answered with a resolute nod.

Zach only grew more confused.

"By 'it' you mean?"

"Let's end this war."

Zach did not need to be convinced. That was why he had left Yan to become the barbarians' captive. He was a little curious about what had made Visla change her mind, but he wasn't going to question her in case she changed it again.

Visla untied Zach after he nodded.

"So, what's the plan?" He asked, massaging his wrists, who weren't in any discomfort since he had used a barrier to give them even more breathing room. He just felt like he had to after being tied up.

Visla glanced around.

"First, I want to arrange a ceasefire between this camp and Rittel. We can talk about what comes next after that."

Zach nodded.

"Sounds good. But it also sounds more like a goal than a plan," he commented.

Visla crossed her arms and looked at Zach before ignoring his comment.

"The three tribes in this camp, the Giri, Burian, and Kanh tribes have, first of all, never been much for fighting. They lived further away from the border before this all went down. Secondly, they have now lost a majority of their warriors. If they were willing to lose the rest, especially with you here, they could take Rittel. But…" Visla trailed off.

There was no way they would do that as they were now. If they lost all their warriors when taking Rittel, they could never hold the city if the Empire tried to take it back. They would have to rely on support from other tribes.

"Are they waiting for other tribes to support them?" Zach asked.

Visla hesitated.

"You promise that you only want to end this war, right? You are not pretending to get information and then going back to the Empire?"

"My family, the Evandiels, have been branded traitors to the Empire. I was in a state of limbo, neither innocent nor a traitor since they couldn't find any evidence or anything connecting me to that. And then I walked away from the guy meant to keep me leashed to the Empire to enter your camp."

Visla's eyes widened. Three sentences, yet Zach had revealed a lot. She frowned. She was curious about that part with the Evandiels being labeled traitors since they also wondered why the family who had made the Empire's borders an iron wall for so long would suddenly disappear.

By the looks of it, neither the Empire nor the barbarians knew anything about it. Not even Zach, a member of the Evandiel family knew. Visla had questions.

Visla put a comforting hand on Zach's shoulder. Now was no time for questions that most likely didn't have the answers she sought. They would just have to look for that together while they tried to broker peace between the different sides.

"You may feel like you are alone, Zacharia Evandiel, but—" Visla began saying to try and comfort Zach when he interrupted her.

"Why would I feel like I'm alone?" He asked, glancing toward Nora, Yanael, Alzara, Soara, and Mandra. He was far from alone.

His family, while they loved him and he loved them, hadn't always been reliable. The incidents in his childhood and being stuffed into a separate mansion with staff that mistreated him had already warned Zach. In this world, he only had himself.

But now, he had Nora. Zach didn't want to doubt her, even if she called him Young Master, was the daughter of his mother's personal servant, and was technically on the Evandiel payroll. So, he didn't doubt her.

He also had Yanael, Alzara, Soara, and Mandra. They were his familiars. They couldn't leave him even if they wanted, which they didn't. They were also extensions of him in the way that a summoner's familiars were counted as the summoner's strength.

He had never been this surrounded and crowded by people he loved and trusted before.

Soara and Alzara, who had been struggling with themselves after what happened in the fight against Ugor, somehow felt Zach's trust in them through their connection. It wasn't enough to cure their insecurities, but it alleviated them.

"I see. Then, let's get started right away. I struck while the iron was hot and talked to the chiefs while you were asleep. The Giri tribe was a little uncertain. After all that they had sacrificed, they didn't want to give up on Rittel. Burian didn't want any more losses. Kanh…The chief wants to talk to you before agreeing to anything," Visla quickly brought Zach up to speed. She had been busy while he was busy resting after a little dance.

Zach nodded and gestured for her to lead the way. He was a little curious about what the Kanh chief would want to talk to him about since the other two seemingly hadn't cared.