Chapter 372: Lucky Day (3)
“I’m sorry, I couldn’t meet you. I’ve had so many things to do. The report was delayed because I heard that you were coming back earlier than expected. In fact, I’m also busy sorting everything that happens in a day. I thought you would be okay, but you look even better than I thought.”
“It’s a compliment, right?”
“Sure.”
When I opened the door, Lee Jihye immediately stood up. Although she was pleased with the feeling of having seen me after a while, she didn’t dare say it.
Her appearance was the same. She still had a small stature and an outward appearance that didn’t fit her age.
She recently looked a little bit blank, almost as if she hadn’t slept well, but seeing that she was still holding on to her spirit, it seemed she had escaped the worst of the worst.
“Sit. I’ll serve you a cup of tea. You must have been really surprised, by the way.”
“Of course. I had an idea but never imagined it would really explode like this. What the hell is this… no, more importantly, why are you here?”
“I’m here because I think this is the safest place.”
“…”
“…”
‘She is a real trash.’
It was no wonder that I felt instantly speechless with the confidence in her expression. I already thought that Lee Jihye had a trashy quality similar to mine, but her actions proved to be faster than I thought.
It was obvious that it was safer to be here than to be at Dawan, Castle Rock, or Laios. There was a basic defense system here called the World Tree, and at least there was no direct threat, so here was the right place to pick as the safest.
What surprised me was that she felt overly confident. Her face without any shame was so great, even from the gaze of the Light Kiyoung.
“What’s with that look? It’s rude. You know how hard it is to live as an ordinary person in a place like this. The physical shock that can be felt like a minor injury to others is also the least fatal injury to me. You have to understand this much. Honestly, even if it were you, you would have come running here.”
‘I can’t deny it, but…’
“You’re agreeing with me right now, right?”
Although I flinched for a moment, it was natural to stay as expressionless as possible. I could see Lee Jihye opening her mouth, as if she thought this was the opportunity.
“Well, actually, it’s not really just for that reason. At least I had something to do. If you saw dwarves on the way, you’ll know why I am here.”
“Oh. That’s right. How did you harass them?”
“I appealed with tears.”
“…”
“It was effective to use the tears while showing edited videos that were circulating during the Laios incident and the things you had been struggling with. Dwarves are simple. They actually get very affectionate. Of course, that wasn’t the only reason, but perhaps the tears worked rather better than the gains or interests they would get. What do you think? This was a pretty good speech. Want to see it?”
“No… I’m good.”
“Oh. And one more thing. Wouldn’t I meet you quickly being here? It’s easier to listen to it here than in a hard situation room. Hmm. I don’t know where to start from… how do you want me to start?”
“Of course, from the beginning.”
Right after I answered, I could see Lee Jihye Lee tapping her finger on the desk. This was the gesture she did when she had something to think about. I patiently waited for her to start.
She kept hitting her desk, and somehow it felt good to hear.
However, the sound flowing from Lee Jihye’s mouth wasn’t a pleasure.
“The first was Dawan. In fact, opinions on this part are a little divided, but the issue is whether the State or the Republic started. Of course, from our point of view, it is true that they came in first. From their point of view, they are arguing that this side first picked a fight. Anyway, the little friction that happened there grew a little… and burst out with a bang, that’s all.”
“Wasn’t there any declaration of war?”
“There was right after that. They said that some of them died in the front line of Dawan, but our side also had some casualties. No matter how you look at it, they intentionally picked a fight first. There was no talk of any other conditions or compensation. They just came in with the troops right away that night. I guess they were preparing for it, right? Of course, we could prepare for the surprise attack, but as a result, we were forced to pull the Dawan Front back in a matter of days. After that, it also affected the Castle Rock…”
“…”
“Did you know that Castle Rock is currently isolated?”
“Roughly. But could things get worse like this?”
“Because some kingdoms, including the Mado Kingdom, came in from the other side. In the meantime, Castle Rock has been isolated and has remained like that so far. Castle Rock is also a strategic point that cannot be discarded on our side. Knowing that support will come, the Republican Alliance decided to press the Elven Kingdom…”
“That’s why you were sent as a special envoy to persuade the dwarves.”
“Yes. It’s similar. Even though Castle Rock is holding on as much as possible, anyone knows that the expiration date is running out. The State and Laios are also trying various things to reduce the burden as much as possible, but it cannot be denied that Castle Rock is in danger. If you think so, it means that you and the party arrived just at the right time. It was at the point when I was thinking we should push it out.”
“…”
“Our purpose is to send reinforcements to Castle Rock in at least ten days. If we fail, things will get worse. If we lose Castle Rock, soon we’ll be cornered in Lindel.”
“If they reach Lindel, they can get to the capital soon.”
“Right. Do you have any other questions?”
“I’m curious if the United Kingdom has all turned around.”
“No. Several key kingdoms, including the Mado Kingdom. Of course, it’s not exact. I’m guessing they’re split in half, but is there a lot you can trust in this situation? I’m just thinking.”
“If it’s true, it’s okay to say that it’s a fortune among misfortunes?”
“Sure. In fact, I am curious about the reason why the Kingdom Alliance participated in the war… the State is judging that they’re wary of the spread of the revolutionary thought. There’s no way it wouldn’t have been a problem internally when something like that went off right in the country next to them. They would have been annoyed. As the Republic burst right then, there is a feeling that they ran in taking that as a chance.”
“I think the same way, Nuna. Other reasons may be intertwined, but we can see that that the interests were entangled. It’s understandable why they continue to hold Jin Qing, the demon summoner trash. If they thought they would start a war anyway, there is no reason to defeat us while taking a big loss. The Republic is not sensitive to black wizards…”
“Well, right? Anyway, this is a report. It’s not just as concisely as I just explained. It’s probably written in a little more detail. I’m not sure, but it contains all the information. Take a look…”
“Oh, one more thing I’m curious about.”
“Please, ask.”
“Who’s in Castle Rock?”
“Yuno Kasugano.”
“And?”
“Count Castle Rock, no, it’s Congressman now. Our Guild Master is also in Castle Rock. One of the Eight Seats of the State, Cheon Gwan-wi, is also in Castle Rock. It’s not going to collapse right away. Because the squad isn’t that bad, some people can at least withstand it.”
‘It’s not bad.’
It was difficult to say that the Shaman Yuno Kasugano, the Mist Summoner Cheon Gwan-wi, and the individual’s armed forces were overwhelming, but these were people who ranked in the Eight Seats of the State. They also specialized in defense.
The question of how Castle Rock was holding up under such circumstances had been resolved. After mulling over this, I began to peruse the report given by Lee Jihye. Reading the detailed progress made me feel a little more flustered.
‘They really wanted to start a war, huh?’
It really seemed like they had been planning this since the start.
At this point, I thought they had already combined with the Magic Kingdom. They thought that they had the upper hand and immediately turned the card over.
What I expected before had partly been right.
Of course, I couldn’t be happy about the war or that I was right about that.
What was more important now was the context rather than the beginning. What I could see was a huge map. It felt like a mini-map with all the statuses of the troops.
“Nuna, this is…”
“Oh. I should show you this, too. This is the most updated map. The situation of the troops is also the latest.”
“It can’t be said that it’s the worst.”
“It must be said that there is a hole with a way out.”
As she said, the situation was not as bad as I had imagined.
On a larger scale, it was true that the Dawan Front was pushed and Castle Rock had gotten isolated, but I could see that we were gaining an advantage, too.
Except for the two fronts, the eastern front wasn’t bad, and the western front was even pushing itself forward.
‘Right. The State is not so incompetent.’
The key was whether or not it was possible to take the troops and supplies of the kingdom of Eberia to Castle Rock.
If this supply route was in place, it would be of great help to lead the future situation.
The most important thing to do was join the interracial coalition forces, which was intuitive enough for a child to see. Now, all we had to wait for was whether or not they would have a breakthrough or not.
‘This is a little familiar…’
It was similar to the strategy simulation we did last time.
It was a technique of slowly tightening from place to place and trying to take advantage of it.
Masked trash, demon summoner Jin Qing, this was definitely his work. What I felt a little curious about was that there were significantly fewer troops in Laios.
It was certainly disconcerting to deploy the least troops without covering up the enemy allies. I couldn’t understand the current state of the Laios front.
“Why is Laios like this?”
“Oh. I forgot to tell you. There is a brief ceasefire there. Mercenary Queen is there.”
“But what does that and have to do with…?”
“It’s all about attacking the enemy’s allies.”
‘They’re out of their mind.’
“The Mercenary Queen lost her mind when she evacuated their people, and now it’s in that state. We think there’s going to be a loss of troops when we enter, so both groups are not taking any chances. In the current situation, it is extremely burdensome to subtract a few named and go there.”
‘There must be a time limit.’
Cha Hee-ra’s attribute Blood-thirsty Madwoman clearly had a time limit of one hour.
Her presence in Laios so far could not be explained by her status window as seen by my Mind’s Eyes.
“How long Laios, no, Hee-ra has been in that state?”
“It’s been eight days.”
‘Something is not right…’