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Chapter 71: Counterplan Meeting

"Alright then, let"s get this counterplan meeting started."

"Right, got it."

"Okay."

"You can count on me."

"Um… Should I really be here?"

Once I"d made my proclamation, each and every one of the counterplan members responded with a varied volley of answers. And since it was absolutely no exaggeration to call Tena the voice of reason for this place, yes. She really had to be here.

"But before we can begin…"

"Let"s start by introducing ourselves."

Since the members that had come to gather here were mostly made up of individuals that weren"t all too familiar with one another, I really wanted to start it all off by having each of them have a solid grasp of the others" profiles.

"We"ll take turns, clockwise. Each of you can tell us their name and position, then you can tell the others which weapons or skills you specialise in."

Having said my part, I turned the purple-haired girl sitting to my left at the round table. I stared at her for a bit.

"O-Oh, do I start?! Well, um… My name"s Orlaine. The Holy G.o.ddess gave me the Holy Bow, and I"ve been a Hero ever since. I"ve been directly ordered by the Holy G.o.ddess to cooperate with you all. I"m pretty skilled at marksmanship, and I can use Light Magic."

"Currently, she"s without her bow. She"s working as a carpenter"s apprentice and is considering a change in occupation."

With the apparent lack of information, I simply felt the need to add something from the sidelines.

"No I"m not! I"d never change jobs! And that reminds me, would you please give me back my bow?! For this plan, at least?! I can"t really fight without it, you know…"

She had a point. With her bow gone, it would be a stretch to say that she was even at half her full battle potential. I take the Holy Bow out of the item box. That was when Orlaine"s line of sight became completely glued to my hands.

When I pa.s.sed the Holy Bow from my right to my left some times over to verify my suspicion, I could see Orlaine"s gaze following it intently, moving as it did.

It was a little fun to watch.

"You"re sure you won"t just run away when I give it back?"

"O-Of course I won"t! Anyone who"d call themselves a Hero would never toss a promise aside once they"ve made it!"

"But you did think about running away just a little bit, right?"

"Just a little bit - No, no that"s not true! I never thought that, ever! Please stop confusing me!"

Well, the construction work for this mansion wasn"t really a piece of cake. If she had wanted to run away, then I really wouldn"t have blamed her for it. Well, whichever the case, the worth her battle skills could bring to the table were a matter of course. I thought it best to give her back her bow, at least for now.

"Here you go."

"Aaah, thank you so much!"

The second I held the Holy Bow out to her, she practically s.n.a.t.c.hed it out of my hands and hugged it close, seeming almost adamant to never let go of it again. It was like looking at some beast that was h.e.l.l-bent on protecting its child.

Looking at her like this made the prospect of taking the thing back once the matter had been settled seem all the more heart-breaking…

Once I"d spent enough time looking over her with warmth creeping into my eyes, I let my gaze fly to the next person in line.

"I"m next, am I? My name is Leonora Romaliel. I"m the daughter of his Majesty, the current Demon Lord. I was sent here by the will of the Dark G.o.ddess. I"m skilled at hand-to-hand combat, as well as Fire Magic and Dark Magic."

"She"s always holding her favourite doll close, and that earned her the nickname "Doll Princess"."

I had no doubts that there were at least a few people curious about the doll on her lap, so I thought I"d be nice enough to add a little to her introduction.

"It"s not my favourite, and I"m most certainly not keeping it close by choice! Which reminds me… Get it away from me already!"

While I wasn"t sure I could say the same for the "divine me", there was little I myself could do about it.

"Hold on, are you Mr. Eligore"s daughter?"

Having found a point of interest in her introduction, Orlaine came at her with her own questions.

"Hm? Yes, that I am… I see. If I recall, you were one of the members that accompanied either his Majesty or Lenarve when they took up the challenge of capturing a dungeon."

"Oh yes, they helped me out a lot back then. Is Mr. Eligore doing alright?"

If my memory wasn"t too far off, Orlaine joined Leonora"s father during the Three G.o.ds War and helped him take on dungeons for the sake of conquest. While most circ.u.mstances would paint Heroes and Demon Lords as sworn enemies with no love lost between them, I"d heard that the cultural integration with demons had already spread plenty of roots. In conclusion, there hadn"t been much animosity, if any at all.

But all those nuances aside, she should probably have been a little more careful with the way she looked at a certain part of Leonora"s body like a foe of her father"s would. There was a huge dissonance between this and whatever const.i.tuted a calm meeting.

I should have mentioned that Orlaine"s body type was on the slender side. That put her in the same boat I was in.

"Honestly, he"s doing so well it"s worrying. He just keeps complaining that he never managed to conquer that dungeon. He"s even entertained the idea of deferring his position to me just so that he can try to challenge it again. I"m doing my best to rein him in."

"A… Ahaha…"

Uncle, I really didn"t expect you to be this much of a sore loser.

Still, Leonora"s presence among us meant that there wasn"t anyone left to keep him in check. If she didn"t hurry on back, then it might just have been possible that his abdication of the throne to her would become certain the minuted she got back home.

I briefly played with the idea of telling Leonora just what her absence entailed, but the realised that the conquest of the Evil G.o.d Idol was much more pressing and needed our full attention. So I just deliberately swallowed what I had to say, deciding to keep quiet.

My eyes wandered to the third person in line. The blonde young man clad in he most luxurious priestly robes responded to my gaze with an understanding nod mingled with great reverence.

"My name is Harvin, devout servant of the Divine Lady Anri. I am most humbled to carry the role of Pope to these, the religious lands of Lady Anri the Divine. By her will, I have been instructed to join you in the fray of battle. I specialise in any form of close combat that involves staves. Wile I am incapable of using sorcery, I have received Lady Anri"s divine protection. There is nothing for me to fear."……………………….