"As long as I do this, then everyone… Falin, Laios, Senshi, Chilchuck, and Izutsumi—they can all live longer!" Marcille said with rising excitement. "And that way, a lot of conflicts in the world could be resolved too!"
"No…"
Laios had just begun to speak when a voice came through the gathering voice chat from the Hunters: "Laios, don't say anything! Let Marcille finish! Don't contradict her!"
When Laios had approached the treehouse, he had already activated the gathering voice channel, allowing the other Hunters—though busy with their own affairs—to listen in and offer advice on handling Marcille.
"Don't reject her right off the bat!" shouted Kairo Retsu through the voice chat. "Starting with 'no' immediately denies her idea! That'll just make her dig in deeper! In situations like this, you need to go with the flow!"
"That's right! What you need to do now is praise her…"
"Hmm… but if you praise her too much, won't it make her more extreme?"
"Hey! Now's the time to shift the emotional tone, isn't it?!"
"Should we prepare a little surprise for her?"
"HEY!!! Aren't we supposed to be convincing someone to give up becoming the dungeon master?! Why does it sound like we're trying to flirt?!"
"How is that any different?"
The Hunters began bickering loudly over voice chat, leaving Laios with a splitting headache.
"Laios?" Marcille asked, noticing that he seemed a bit distracted.
"...It's nothing."
Laios shook his head, took a moment to think, and ultimately decided to take the Hunters' advice only as reference—then he began speaking to Marcille in his own way.
"Marcille, how exactly do you plan to wrap the world in the dungeon?"
"That is…"
Marcille abruptly fell silent. Up until now, her ideas had just been conceptual. She hadn't worked out the concrete steps to realize them.
Laios looked at the surrounding monsters that had refrained from attacking him just now and made his own judgment—right now, Marcille was only increasing their numbers for a sense of security.
She hadn't decided to attack outsiders yet. She hadn't committed to using force.
If she had, the monsters here would be far more aggressive. They wouldn't have just blocked him with their bodies even after he approached the treehouse—likely Marcille had ordered them only to retaliate, not initiate combat.
Marcille hadn't yet resolved to unleash her monsters on the elves outside…
Just like Kairo Retsu had said in voice chat—denying someone's words outright would only provoke resistance.
Like with those elves earlier—flat rejection stokes resentment. If Kairo Retsu and the others hadn't stopped him, Laios would've likely rejected Marcille's idea on the spot and made things harder to talk through.
"The Canaries outside have already begun preparing to seal the dungeon," Laios said. "Marcille, what are you going to do?"
"I…" Marcille hesitated under the question.
Just then, the Book of the Winged Lion—resting to the side—floated up and opened. From its pages, beginning at the feet, the upright Winged Lion was slowly released back into the world.
"If you help her, Laios, then everything can be resolved," the Winged Lion said, pointing at him. "As you can see, Marcille doesn't understand monsters or the dungeon. Whether she wants to maintain the status quo or change the world, the level of monsters she's creating now isn't enough to stop the elves."
"If she gives up now, the elves will break into the dungeon, Marcille will be killed, and I will fall into their hands," it said with a smile. "Just as they've done with other dungeons in the past."
"So, Laios."
With just a few brief words, the Winged Lion once again threw a dangerous choice in Laios's face. "Help Marcille. If you do, she won't be killed by the elves—and her dream might have a chance to come true."
"I…"
Laios instinctively wanted to refuse, but when he saw the look on Marcille's face, he immediately recognized the danger in doing so.
Marcille was looking at him now… full of hope.
"I know this script," Kairo Retsu shouted in the voice chat. "Basically, the implication is that if you don't help her, then you're rejecting her dream—and by extension, you're okay with her getting killed by the elves. That puts you against her ideals! It's manipulation!"
"Taking words out of context, blowing things out of proportion—the Winged Lion is hiding its entire agenda inside the way it tries to 'help' Marcille achieve her dream. That's what makes it a demon!" Kairo Retsu went on, "It knows we're targeting it—that's why it's playing it like this. Laios! It's on you now!"
"Just remember one thing!" Kairo Retsu's voice took on a grin. "If you want to guide her, then what you say has to seem like it's all for Marcille's sake. Your actual goal should be just a tiny, incidental side note."
"Of course!" he added quickly, "If you really can't think of anything to say—then just speak your mind! We'll back you up! In true Hunter fashion!"
"..."
Laios just felt a migraine coming on.
Interpersonal relationships had never been his strong suit, and now they felt more tangled than ever.
Had Kabru been wrestling with these sorts of issues all this time?
Thinking that gave Laios a newfound respect for Kabru.
But… Laios truly didn't know how to persuade Marcille.
If someone more eloquent were here, maybe they'd already have figured out what to say.
Still, after weighing all the possibilities, Laios decided to follow Kairo Retsu's advice.
"Marcille."
He stepped forward and suddenly grabbed her by the shoulders, making Marcille jump.
"I think your idea is wrong!"
Laios knew full well that Marcille wouldn't listen just because he said that. But he also couldn't let her be manipulated by the Winged Lion's tactics.
"Your dream… shouldn't be realized this way."
Laios began expressing his views as best he could.
Meanwhile, the other Hunters—having located Marcille's direction using their Scoutfly Lanterns—were already making their way toward the treehouse.
Inside the gathering voice chat, Laios requested support from the Hunters.
"I don't think I can talk Marcille down. She's already been misled by the Winged Lion."
"So at the very least—we need to stop her from remaining as the dungeon master, stuck in such danger!"
"Understood." The Hunters, unified in purpose, all began moving toward Marcille's treehouse.
Their current objective was clear—
To replace Marcille as the dungeon master!
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