第１８５１堀：いつものように敵の狙いを利用する (Part1)
Chapter 1851: Utilizing the Enemy’s Intentions as Always
Side: Yuki
"Brother, can you hear me? Is the video feed coming through?"
Vilia’s voice drifted in from the monitor.
"Yeah, both the audio and video are clear. Be careful out there. I’d love to keep an eye on you at all times, but things don't always work out that way."
I wish I could accompany Vilia while she’s on this operation, but with my regular duties and a dozen other things, I can only check in sporadically.
Well, there are competent support staff in the command room, so it’s not a problem, but still.
"Yes. I’m fine. Please don’t overwork yourself, Brother."
Vilia’s concern for me is touching. She knows exactly how hectic things get around here.
"Nina, Kishua, Sia—I’m counting on you all, too."
"Leave it to me."
"Yeah, leave it to us. You just worry about your own work over there."
"Indeed. I’d prefer not to be attacked because of some blunder on your end."
"Haha, I’ll handle my side."
I pulled my gaze away from the screen and turned my attention to the documents on the table.
These were the details from my conversation with the King of Giadana and his Chancellor the other night.
For the time being, Baron Siana and his group are waiting in the royal capital while we reconsider our future strategy, including how to deal with the Clearstream Church.
Even selecting the forces to send to Oue isn't something that can be done in an instant.
Thinking about it, the defeat of Marquis Toruru was a foregone conclusion.
It seems the Clearstream Church loathed him that much.
Of course, the results came in faster than expected, which played a part.
Thanks to that, the Clearstream Church’s movements seem more sluggish than anticipated.
Well, it’s only natural, seeing as their puppet, Marquis Toruru, is no longer in the picture.
They likely intended to send their own personnel into Oue—which they believe they’ve already subjugated—with the goal of "liberating" the demi-humans...
"Hm? Is that an opening?"
Listening to the King of Giadana and the Chancellor, I realized the Clearstream Church’s true aim was to topple the Giadana Kingdom, a troublesome power in the north.
After all, the claim that they are harboring demi-humans within their borders isn't something you can just lie about.
If we were their enemies, they would have leaked that to the Clearstream Church immediately, and we’d be in a world of trouble.
There’s a non-zero chance they’re trying to lure us into a trap, but since it’s not an immediate threat and they have plenty of other, more efficient methods, the information holds high credibility.
It goes to show just how cornered the King of Giadana—or rather, the pro-demi-human faction—really is.
This isn't the kind of information they’d share with a newcomer like me or the hostile King of Oue.
In short, if they dither too long, the administration of the King and his Chancellor could collapse.
With time running out, the best way to gain the information needed to secure victory is to extract it directly from the source.
"Did you come up with something?"
As my thoughts reached that conclusion, Ria brought me some tea.
Canaria, whom Ria had been looking after, has seemingly found her footing, so Ria has returned to her role as my personal guard.
Initially, I had considered having her join Vilia in exploring the north, but Ria holds the troublesome title of "Hero." If her presence were discovered in the north, it would likely cause massive complications, so I’ve kept her back.
"Yeah. It’s better than having Deryu establish a Demon Lord faction, at least."
"Haha. Deryu really hated that idea, didn't she?"
Right. One of the options we discussed was having Deryu step out as a Demon Lord if the Hero route failed.
Not necessarily as a faction, but as a singular disaster capable of tearing everything down.
As Ria noted, Deryu seems to dislike being treated as a "rambunctious disaster," so she refused.
Besides, we discussed it calmly and realized that if it came out later that Deryu was acting under our orders, our relationship not only with the Clearstream Church but with other nations would deteriorate significantly. So, for now, that’s off the table.
In the worst-case scenario, we could deploy not just the Demon Lord Deryu, but also the Hero Ria and the Hero King Taiki to argue for the legitimacy of Weed—or rather, the Giadana Kingdom.
Though, we haven't told them yet that we have multiple Heroes and Demon Lords in our deck.
It would only invite chaos.
"So, what did you think of?"
"Right. I’ll let you and the others hear it too."
I decided to voice the idea I’d been mulling over, wanting to hear their opinions.
"There’s talk of sending troops—or rather, people—into Oue, which the Giadana Kingdom is mistakenly believed to be controlling, right?"
"Yes. If they are controlling it, they have to send people to govern it, right?"
"And the plan is to exclude the Clearstream Church because we don't want them to know, but that’s difficult given how deeply Marquis Toruru was connected to them."
"Exactly. The discussion has been about how to fend off the Clearstream Church, as they will inevitably try to interfere with the governance of Oue. Well, on the surface, the territory is occupied by the Giadana Kingdom, so the Church shouldn't have a say. But..."
"Those surface-level arguments can be bypassed by them just sneaking in," Orelia added, stating the facts with her usual composure.
"Exactly. If we refuse them, they’ll only be more desperate to follow. They’ll pretend it’s a coincidence. Then they’ll infiltrate Oue and leak information. Well, that much is fine."
"Is it really?"
"Yeah. Information is meant to be leaked, and this was just a stalling tactic anyway. Even if we completely purged their spies, if the Giadana Kingdom stubbornly refuses to accept the Clearstream Church, they’ll find out eventually. It’s just a matter of sooner or later."
"Oh, I get it. If it’s just a matter of sooner or later, we shouldn't refuse them—we should welcome them."
Ria, for once, hit the nail on the head.
"Um, what does that mean? 'Welcome them'?"
Yayui tilted her head, clearly unable to keep up with the logic.
"Simply put, if they’re going to sneak in, we might as well invite them in through the front door."
"Eh? Won't that just let the enemy in to steal information?"
"True. However, if we welcome high-ranking officials from their headquarters, it means we can gather information on them, too. And we can restrict the flow of information in and out. Especially their messengers."
"..."