Fiore quickly took charge, and none of the divine beings interrupted her.

Everything she said was logical and completely reasonable.

As a result, the number of people at the table increased.

For one, Asti, who would accompany us halfway.

And, of course, the Hunter.

The Hunter, who always reeked of the sharp, metallic scent of divine blood, now carried a strangely pleasant fragrance.

I assumed it was because she hadn’t been hunting recently, and the stench had faded.

"...She really is a woman, after all."

"A woman."

"A woman, indeed."

Fiore, Zumya, and Pawra muttered as they stared at the Hunter.

Naturally, the Hunter, unable to make sense of what they were saying, pointed a finger at them and turned to me.

"What the hell are they babbling about?"

"...It’s probably better if you don’t know."

When I said that, the Hunter twisted her lips but sat down for now.

"Asti, you sit too."

"I’ll stay right here."

Asti remained firmly planted behind me.

Her hair, now fully turned brown, no longer bore any trace of her former identity as the Torturer.

The only remnants of her past self were subtle hints of maturity in her demeanor.

The divine beings didn’t bother to hide their displeasure, glaring at Asti for standing so close to me.

But Asti, with a face as if she were wearing an impenetrable mask, simply closed her eyes and endured their stares.

Her strategy was clear—she knew any outburst would annoy me, so she held her ground without reacting.

The divine beings ground their teeth at Asti’s cunning, but since she wasn’t openly displaying affection, they begrudgingly let it slide.

...If things were already this tense, would I even make it out of this war in one piece?

"Alright, now that everyone’s here, let’s get started. Oh, and Tanthan, you’ll need to explain things to her since she probably won’t understand."

Fiore pointed back at the map as she spoke.

"I can understand, so don’t bother explaining," the Hunter cut in abruptly.

Her words caught everyone off guard, and they stared at her with dumbfounded expressions.

The Hunter simply shrugged.

"When the foreign entities flooded into Lontan, and that bastard saved me, I started hearing the voices of the others. Don’t know why. Maybe I was affected after being around them for so long."

The Hunter spoke nonchalantly, sipping the tea Asti had prepared at some point.

...Affected by being around me?

No, it probably had more to do with her growing stronger and gradually opening her heart to the divine beings.

After learning the truth about them in Lintpia, most of her anger toward them had likely subsided.

"Pointless speculation. Just keep going."

The Hunter cut off any further discussion about her past.

Fiore snorted at her bluntness.

"Refreshing. Alright, let’s continue."

Fiore began sketching directly onto the paper, adding more details since the Second Princess’s territory was drawn too small on the map.

Once the rough outline was complete, she added a figure representing the Second Princess at the center.

"Alright. From here, let’s start the real planning."

Finally, we began drafting the actual strategy.

***

"The Commander will lead the knights and take them into the territory."

The Knight Commander hadn’t finalized a detailed plan yet.

He was probably waiting to follow the strategy I prepared.

Considering even the Vice Commander hadn’t raised any objections, it was practically guaranteed.

"Before entering, they’ll eat Pawra’s food. That should alleviate most of the freezing effect caused by the Second Princess. As for the ones completely frozen, Her Majesty the Empress will handle that."

"The Empress…?"

Asti tilted her head, clearly unfamiliar with the topic.

Well, she hadn’t been there when it was first brought up, so it made sense that she didn’t know.

"I’m talking about the Empress from before the Empire froze."

"...She’s still alive?"

"Of course. Her Majesty was a divine being too."

Asti covered her mouth with her hand, startled by the revelation.

It wasn’t surprising.

That fact had been hidden so thoroughly that her reaction was natural.

"Then are you planning to bring the Empress with you?"

Fiore’s question seemed to imply accompanying me to approach the Second Princess.

I shook my head.

"No, I doubt we’ll do that. The Second Princess became this way precisely because she never received proper love from her mother. Taking her along would just be throwing fuel on the fire."

Fiore nodded in agreement.

"Hmm, I think the opposite."

Pawra raised her hand.

I turned to her, waiting to hear her reasoning.

"Wouldn’t it be better to bring the Empress to break down all the resentment? If we show up claiming to persuade her, but the person involved isn’t even there, it might come off as insincere."

Everyone fell silent, stroking their chins as they considered Pawra’s point.

She wasn’t wrong.

If someone came to convince her to listen, yet sent a stranger instead of someone significant, it might only lead to disappointment.

But taking the Empress along made the situation tricky in terms of combat power.

Just protecting the knights was already a burden.

If the Empress was removed from the equation, casualties would be unavoidable.

"With the limited forces we have, it’s safer to stick with the original group…"

"I’ll go."

As I tried to wrap up the conversation, a voice interrupted from behind.

I turned toward the source, and my eyes widened.

The Princess stood there with her hand over her heart, looking straight at me with unwavering determination.

"If my mother can’t go, then I’ll go myself."

***

And just like that, the meeting gained another participant.

Of all people, it had to be the most powerful figure in Lontan.

"Your Highness, how did you…?"

"I heard from the Commander. I heard you were making plans with these people about what to do next."

The Princess smiled warmly at the divine beings.

Pawra returned the smile, but the others greeted her with sour expressions.

It was probably because the Princess had proposed to me, and they were still upset about it.

Even so, despite their sulky faces, they were clearly focused on me, waiting for the discussion to continue.

"But what do you mean by going yourself?"

"Exactly what it sounds like. I’ll go with you and approach my sister. What happened to her is partly my responsibility. I have to talk to her."

Ugh. This was a problem.

Turning her down outright would be far too rude, especially with that determined look on her face.

"But doing so would put Your Highness in danger."

"You’ll protect me, won’t you?"

She smiled and even winked at me.

Her behavior was so blatantly suggestive that the divine beings immediately turned their burning stares toward me.

She’s doing this on purpose.

She knows exactly what she’s doing!

"…What do you think, Hunter? Are you okay with this?"

"Why ask me? If the high-and-mighty Princess wants to go, we have no choice but to escort her."

Despite her words, the Hunter’s voice carried a hint of irritation.

Seriously, what’s wrong with everyone today?

Even if it’s not a big deal for them, I feel like I’m going to suffocate!

"So it’s decided, then?"

"…Yeah, sure. If everyone’s fine with it."

"Thank you, all of you."

The Princess bowed her head gratefully.

...Well, this might actually resolve the concerns Pawra mentioned earlier, so maybe it wasn’t a bad idea after all.

"By the way, how did you manage to convince your mother?"

"We used a method similar to how I was revived. We’re going to bring Her Majesty back as well."

Hearing that, the Princess’s eyes widened, and then she gave a soft, sentimental smile as she nodded.

"I see. If Tanthan succeeded, then my father can too."

She reached out and took my hand.

The room immediately erupted into chaos.

"What?!"

"Oh my!"

But the Princess ignored the commotion and kept looking at me with an intense gaze.

"Thank you, Tanthan. I’ll never forget this debt—"

"Ack! Your Highness, that’s enough!"

I quickly cut her off, recognizing her attempt to make this sound like a done deal.

No, this isn’t a misunderstanding. She’s absolutely doing this on purpose!

Even after I managed to shake her off, I could still feel the divine beings’ oppressive auras circling me, sending chills down my spine.

"There are a lot of restrictions when it comes to us interfering in human matters directly, but there’s a way around them."

"And… what would that be?"

"We require compensation."

Fiore smiled, but there was something chilling about it.

"And the standard for that compensation? Whatever the target desires."

"T-That means…"

"Hehe, I’ll be looking forward to it, my dear."

Their idea of compensation was obvious.

Knowing that only made me feel even more resentful.

I fiddled nervously with the map, desperately hoping this meeting would end as soon as possible.