"We should force a march! The enemy is clearly weakened!"
"We've suffered too many casualties when taking this fortress. We should wait for aid from Mutual. Besides, where should our next target even be?"
"With the empire rifles, we should be able to take some undefended forts or cities. We could expand Litmus, gain new territory—new resources!"
"Sergeant, that's your greed talking. Such behavior is unbecoming of Litmus."
"…My apologies."
"Rebecca, Cecile," the general turned to them, "what do you think? Should we press on, or wait for reinforcements from Mutual?"
Rebecca, who had been deep in thought, looked up at him, slightly puzzled. She didn't expect to be questioned.
"Um… we should attack Evesys territory," she said while pointing at the map. "Only if resistance is light. Here. If we can take this town, and then this town, we will have direct access to the capital."
"That's a good plan."
"That area must be heavily guarded. We shouldn't act hastily. The path to Evesys is prone to ambushes," a soldier warned, and the general nodded.
"That's true."
"Most Latvin knights don't specialize in ambush tactics," Rebecca noted. "They might recruit militias or forest rangers for it, but I doubt they'd be as effective as our knights—though we're not the best either," she admitted with a shrug. "Still, they've had experience chasing bandits… and Vertia excels at ambush tactics."
"What are you trying to say, Rebecca?" the general asked.
"I'm saying that Latvin's strength lies in detecting ambushes, while Vertia excels at executing them. If Vertia is fully cooperating with Latvin, then we might run into serious trouble on our way to Evesys."
The previously vocal soldier fell silent. They wanted to march, but Litmus soldiers knew when to listen to reason.
"We'll march cautiously," the general concluded. Then he glanced at Rebecca again. "By the way, I couldn't help but notice the wings on your back. Is that Hiro's new ability?"
"Yes. They help channel mana more efficiently. Elysia confirmed it."
"Nice. Finally getting closer to your symbiote," the general said with a smile. "I noticed you were casting spells faster. It's nothing to write home about, but I'm glad you're finally catching up to Cecile and Nana."
"Thank you." Rebecca blushed at the praise.
Hiro rolled his nonexistent eyes at the cheap compliment. The general wasn't exactly lying—Rebecca had improved her spell speed and power thanks to the flower on her back—but both she and Hiro knew she was still far behind Cecile and Nana when they used Adrenaline and Amphetamine.
"We march at dawn. Felix will act as caretaker of the province in the meantime," the general continued, moving on to matters outside the battlefield. This newly occupied region would be governed by the military until a noble from Litmus could be appointed. Rebecca and the others were welcome to join the meetings, including the civil discussions, but they excused themselves. None of them were particularly interested in bureaucracy.
Litmus governed its people far better than Latvin. It wasn't perfect, but it was fair enough that Rebecca had no complaints.
Two hundred knights, along with the girls, scouted the path into Evesys territory. The army crept forward, checking every tree and side path for signs of ambush. When they reached a rural village on the outskirts of Evesys, a familiar messenger approached them. He wore the outfit of a chief servant—a butler from Evesys. Rebecca, wanting nothing to do with her former homeland, slipped into the tent and left the negotiations to Elysia and the general.
"Greetings. I am a messenger from Evesys. My name is Sebastian, steward to Count Evesys," the butler said with a polite bow.
"Greetings," the general replied. "It seems not all Latvinians are as impertinent as the last one. What business do you have here, messenger?"
"If we surrender to you," Sebastian said without hesitation, "will you allow us to keep our territory?"
"You would surrender without a fight?" The general raised an eyebrow. "One is a fanatic, and the other a coward… Latvin really is full of surprises." He sneered at the obsequious butler.
"We have lost, and thus, we shall bow to the strong. Besides, we are tied by blood. Cecile, Nana, and Lady Rebecca have joined you, have they not?"
"Why should we accept traitors?" the general snapped. "You shall be downgraded to the rank of commoners. We do not accept traitors within our ranks!"
"We can offer more than just territory," Sebastian said. "We also know how to manufacture the guns that have given you such trouble. All we desire is to maintain the current status quo. We are not traitors—the king himself betrayed us first."
"Is that so? I'm listening. How does your king behave these days? We've always known Latvin had an aversion to beastkin and other races, but they were never this brazen. First, they unleashed a dungeon break upon us, and now they dare to attack us unprovoked. Don't tell me the king wasn't involved and this was the fault of a few rogue nobles?"
"Of course not. We hold no ill will toward you, honored knight. The king did order the invasion. Now that Vertia has fallen, he wishes to expand our borders. With the new weapons, he believes we can conquer all of Litmus."
Hiro spat at the hypocritical butler. Count Evesys had been the first to attack Litmus. He was the one who ordered Jonathan to kill Rebecca.
"If I may ask," Sebastian said, glancing at Elysia's wings, "was that maid one who bears our Hiro's lineage?"
"Yours?" The general narrowed his eyes.
"Yes. I recall three adventurers from Latvin trespassed illegally into Litmus about a year ago. Our daughter, Rebecca, was among them. All three had a symbiote—Hiro, if I recall correctly."
"They sought asylum here in Litmus. They are now Litmus citizens."
"Ah, I see. We have no intention of reclaiming them. I merely wished to speak with them."
"Such a request will not be granted," the general said.
"Oh, but I'm sure Nana and Cecile's father and mother would love to meet their daughters again," Sebastian said with a smug smile. "Now that they've become symbiote users, I'm sure their parents would be so proud, don't you think?"
Hiro recoiled at the blatant emotional manipulation. How low could they go—trying to use Cecile's and Nana's families against them?
Hiss.
Hiro unfurled his tentacles, forming jagged bone teeth along their length, and snarled at Sebastian as he approached Elysia. The general looked up from the letter he was reading, eyes widened as he saw Hiro's aggressive stance.
"…It seems this symbiote needs a bit more discipline," Sebastian said smoothly. "We have potions to teach such unruly children, if you wish. I believe Litmus isn't like Mutual. You don't worship your symbiotes, do you? A symbiote that disobeys its master ought to be punished."
"A symbiote is a citizen of Litmus," the general replied. "We don't need your potions or your so-called training regime. If you have nothing more to say, begone."
"Ah, but I do have something more." Sebastian pulled out a sealed letter. "This is addressed to the King of Litmus. I suggest you deliver it. After all, he's the one making the final decisions, is he not?"
"The King has entrusted me with matters regarding the counterattack against you invaders," the general said, his hand twitching as if he was about to tear the letter apart. But reason prevailed. There is truth in his words. The king at least deserved to see it.
"…I see. Very well," Sebastian said with a slight bow. "Surely, neither of us desires further bloodshed. Farewell. You may send a messenger at your leisure. And don't worry—we won't behave as shamefully as the previous lord. Your messenger will be safe."
With that, Sebastian turned and left.
The general's frown deepened as he stared at the letter in his hand. It bore the Evesys family crest, but the seal had already been broken. He opened it anyway, scanning its contents before passing it to the other captains.
Each of them reacted differently—some frowning, others scowling outright.
"We shouldn't trust this letter," one of them said at last, summing up the room's sentiment.
"But we could seize a large amount of territory. Moreover, they have tin, copper, and other valuable metals in Vertia's territory."
"We might conquer Latvin, but we will not conquer Vertia," another officer countered. "They should be freed. We are liberators, not conquerors. These mines and gold should be returned to the people of Vertia."
The last piece of advice echoed Litmus' proud traditions, but Hiro noticed it had gained the least support among those present.
The letter claimed there were untapped gold and copper mines in Vertia's lands, nestled near the forested mountains. It also listed deposits of sulfur, marble, and even saltpeter.
"Saltpeter has been confirmed as a primary ingredient in gunpowder. Our alchemists verified it," the general added. This detail had been kept top secret. Latvin did not know Litmus was already planning to mass-produce firearms. Meaning, Evesys' butler hadn't lied—at least not entirely.
"So? Once the war is over, we won't need much of it, right?"
"We could use it to expand toward the Forest of Tentacles in the north… or even the Goblin Kingdom in the south," another officer offered.
There it was. The lure of riches. Even among Litmus' most disciplined citizens, greed never faded. Hiro sighed inwardly as he saw the general begin to entertain the idea seriously. Nobody even questioned whether Count Evesys might lie—or betray them later.
"…Let's ask Rebecca and the others," the general finally said, rubbing his temple.
When the general summoned Rebecca and the girls to the command tent and explained the situation, Rebecca frowned.
"This is a trap," she said. "There's no evidence that any of this information is real. It's entirely possible that Count Evesys is feeding you bait to get you to lower your guard."
The adjutant and the general widened their eyes, realizing how dangerously close they had been to walking into a trap. Blinded by gold, they had almost ignored the obvious. Rebecca's warning snapped them out of it.
She knew her father better than any of them. She had been betrayed not once, but twice.
Hiro, pleased, extended one of his tentacles to pat Rebecca on the head. As a bonus, he gave her a soft hug around the neck.
"Hey! Everyone's watching!" Rebecca whispered, blushing furiously.
"Ahem. Thank you, Rebecca. We had forgotten that this information might be false. Even if there is a gold mine, there's no reason to let Evesys hoard it. We considered keeping this matter a secret, but I think you deserve to know. That butler hinted that Cecile's and Nana's families might be in their grasp. We could negotiate for their freedom, but not much. We're willing to release up to ten Latvin POWs per family member." The general turned to his comrades, who nodded in agreement.
"I don't care about my family! You can just kill them! I only care about Hiro!" Nana snapped. The flower Hiro had placed on her head had since been moved to her chest, and she hugged it, her embrace strong.
The general blinked, visibly stunned by how uncaring she sounded. Rebecca stepped in to clarify.
"Her family were merchants. During her academy days, they planned to sell her off as the twentieth merchant guild leader's concubine. Luckily, she met Alex, a nobleman who took a fancy to her, and she escaped that fate."
"Human trafficking is illegal! Twentieth? That's insane! Even Latvin wouldn't stoop that low. They'd even do that to fellow humans?" the general called out.
"They called it an 'arranged marriage,'" Rebecca said. Her mouth smiled in a ridiculing manner at the hypocrisies.
"Let us stop cursing, gentlemen. That's one issue resolved. What about you, Cecile? Do you share a similar experience?" the general asked.
"I lived in a small farming village," Cecile said. "They were poor, so I left. Um… they had certain traditions. So I don't think they'd be welcomed in Litmus, even if you saved them."
"Traditions?"
"They absolutely hated demihumans, nobles, and symbiotes. So… yeah." Cecile looked away, uncomfortable.
Hiro frowned, wondering how such villages could exist—but if Cecile said it, he believed her.
"I see. That village is probably destroyed, and its residents turned into homeless refugees by now. We shouldn't waste effort helping them," Rebecca said. No matter where you go, Symbiotes need to be respected. They are country's hero.
"Good work, ladies. I'll write to King Angus with your input in mind. Meeting dismissed." The general gathered his notes and rolled his eyes, more at the absurdity of the situation than the people in it.
Turns out… it wasn't a problem at all.