Chapter 307 – 307. Everyone’s Second Countermeasures Meeting (3)

– One –

By the time everyone fell asleep in their respective bedrooms after having a fun dinner for the first time in a long time.

Thrum, thrum.

Only the sound of a thrami echoes around the mansion.

At that time,

Zap, zap.
Zap, zap.

The sound of someone’s footsteps begins to break the stillness of the quiet mansion.

The sound of his footsteps sounded somehow weak.

Zap, zap.
Profit.

Footsteps stop in front of someone’s bedroom and open the door there.

At that place,

Squeak, squeak.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.

Monohorn and Urmama were asleep hugging each other.

The shadow dies down the sound of footsteps and approaches them.

“…”

The owner of the shadow looks down on them and is silent.

“Woo -woong, niah ah … Champion, Hui Ying ~ ♬”

Swoop.
Tup.

Ur Mama sleeps and twists her body.

As she kicked off her covers, exposing her bare skin,

Squeak.
Tok, tok.

The owner of the shadow takes a step closer and covers the blanket right away.

Pat them

“You…”

A muddy voice leaked from the mouth of Slammer, the owner of the shadow.

His voice was hoarse, as if he hadn’t talked much in a while.

But there was no sign of illness in his voice.

“Haa… I’m sorry…”

It made it clear, in Ada’s opinion, that his condition stemmed from a psychological problem.

There was a deep guilt in his voice.

“I wanted to apologize while confessing honestly, but why didn’t I wake up from a deep sleep…”

It is revealed more clearly by the youthful moisture in the muddy voice.

He lowered his head,

Patter.
Drop, drop.

“I mean, I want to apologize to you…”

He was sobbing as he confessed his sins to Mono Horn.

He seemed to be mentally exhausted because he had been plagued with guilt.

“I, I am… I didn’t believe the words that your powers were beyond human… No way. I imagined you before, and I thought it was arrogance mixed with bragging…”

Squeak.
Tup.

He shrugs his shoulders as he covers his face with his hands.

Was it because he was worried that his own monologue might wake Ur Mama?

The sound that came out of his mouth was very small.

“I didn’t trust you guys. So I was just looking at the thought of withdrawing at any time… How can only 9 people achieve victory against a large army of over 200,000 according to common sense?”

He confessed his disbelief.

Also, he confessed his own cowardice at the same time.

“I was prepared to run away at any time while pretending not to be well on purpose, and I even thought about getting immunity as a reward after revealing your whereabouts to the Imperial Army…”

“…”

No answer came out of Monohorn’s mouth.

No sarcasm, no reprimand, no resentment, no sadness.

That made Slammer even crazier.

“When you and your wife, who are much younger than me, were bleeding, when your comrades were risking their lives to survive the onslaught of a large army, I was cowardly trembling… Isn’t it?”

Dump.

Slammer sits on the floor.

He was sobbing with his whole body, his hand on the bed.

“I watched from a distance as you struggled to protect everyone, including me. What an outrageous miracle you were working on. Do you know what I was thinking when I saw that?”

Whoops, whoops.
Whoops, whoops.

Monohorn’s even breathing sounded like it was gently urging Slammer to continue.

Slammer bites his lip.

“Aren’t you a god, if you thought so, would you believe it…?”

“…”

“What a childish and complacent idea is this…? Because of you being so unreasonable, it became like this… I was busy blindly looking up to…”

Drip.
Patter.

Thick tears flowed from Slammer’s eyes.

The vibration from his shoulders grew louder.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry I couldn’t help you, I’m sorry I was cowardly and clumsy…”

That was the root cause of his guilt.

Slammer’s pursuit of Monohorn, which might have reached faith, came back with extreme guilt due to the self-sacrificing Monohorn.

And those feelings were forcing Slammer to confess to Monohorn.

He was truly repentant.

“You are still fighting hard by the side of the Goddess in order to recover as quickly as possible, right?”

He raised his head

He was looking at Monohorn’s hand with determined eyes.

Tup.
Woo woo woo.

And hold on to it

His eyes radiate

“Until you return, I’ll do my best to buy time. You know that my hair is the best on this continent, the Empire, aren’t you?”

“…”

“Believe me. Along with your comrades, this time I will be of assistance. Even with all my hair, I will definitely protect you, your wife, and your comrades.”

Whoops, whoops.
Tok, tok.

Slammer wipes away his tears and gets up.

He looks down at Mono Hon and Ur Mama one last time, then raises his head and mutters quietly:

“Estrus. I know you’re there.”

“Huh~♬ Slammer oppa is really quick-witted~♬”

Shashak.

Estrus quietly lands behind him.

Slammer noticed that a dagger had gone up her sleeve, but he wasn’t embarrassed or frightened, as he naturally assumed it was.

“Is everyone awake?”

“Ugh~ The moment Slammer oppa stood in front of Monohorn’s room~ Everyone was awake~ Only Praffin oppa was sleeping soundly~”

“Um… I’m sorry I woke you up, but since this happened, would you like to talk with me?”

“Yeah~☆ I’ll ask everyone to come to the meeting room~ Go first~♬”

“Thank you.”

Tumble, Tumble.
Kikiik, sweet.

Silence falls in Monohorn’s bedroom.

Neither Estrus nor Slammer woke Urmama.

– 2 –

Facing Ada, I bowed my head deeply enough to feel servile,

“I’m sorry, saintess.”

Swoop, thump.
Thump, thump, thump.

Slammer hits his head on the floor.

His face was stained with guilt as thick as when he confessed to Monohorn.

“I’ve been feeling better, but I’ve been faking sickness trying to figure out how to escape.”

“Slammer…”

“I deceived the saintess by using her delicate and kind heart, and above all, shed her blood and used Monohorn and others to fight as a shield, hiding her body and devising a way to escape. “

“…”

Silence hangs over the conference room.

Although Slammer was confessing his guilt, he found it difficult to punish or forgive him.

He had never done any direct harm to his comrades, and he only made plans, but never put them into action.

However, it is true that he acted selfishly to deceive his colleagues and take care of himself.

Because of that, it was difficult for those who heard the sins he confessed to open their mouths easily.

“Can’t that be forgiven by Monohorn later?”

After a long silence, Estrus offered his opinion.

The eyes of her colleagues, and of the slammer, turn to her.

“It’s not like there was even a bit of damage anyway~ I just tried to run away by myself and didn’t even put it into practice~ To be honest, Monohorn suffered the most! Isn’t that what you should do well?”

As she opens up a conversation, others nod at her.

Demosi opened her mouth.

“I don’t think Slammer did much wrong. It’s true that I’ve always wanted to run away from the battlefield. Standing in a battlefield where people die and die isn’t something an ordinary person can easily do.”

“Mosi is right. Besides, the situation is urgent, so isn’t it our fault for not properly informing Slammer of our preparations, our level of force, and so on? So you don’t have to be too sorry for that fact.”

As Octopoda assists her, Jose nods her head and opens her mouth.

However, his expression was very hard.

“Octopoda and Demosi have a point. But I agree with Estrus. If I can’t be forgiven by my brother who took the lead in shedding blood, I don’t think I can forgive Slammer either. I will leave the punishment for the crime up to you.”

“I agree with Honey.”

Even Margarita expresses her opinion.

Bennison seemed unconcerned with their opinion.

But,

Squeak.
Took.
Woo woo woo.

“Uh, what? Sir, saintess…?”

Ada got down on her knees and hugged Slammer.

Then,

Pat, pat.

“Ah…”

I patted him on the back and comforted him.

Tears begin to well up in Slammer’s eyes.

“I understand, Mr. Slammer.”

“Saintess…”

“How can a human live only a heroic life? If that is possible, he must be born with the qualities to become a monarch or a god. And…”

Swoop.

Ada confronts Slammer.

Turning my head slightly, I looked at the place where Monohorn’s room was.

“Even Monohorn, who showed off his most heroic appearance in the last war, is usually like a pampered and delicate youngest brother?”

“Ahhh…”

Slammer lowers his head.

Hearing Ada’s comfort, it seemed as if he had been saved.

“Slammer is only very human. Everyone knows that real people, not fairy tales, are sometimes cunning and sometimes selfish. So don’t feel too guilty.”

“Go, thank you, saintess…”

Slammer shrugs his shoulders and sobs.

For a long time he sobbed, and Ada silently soothed him.

He finally calms down and gets up from his seat.

Swoop.

He bows his head towards everyone.

All of his colleagues look at him with solemn eyes.

“I will definitely apologize to Monohorn for being so cowardly and cunning until now. Until then, how about trusting this cunning brain?”

Chuck.

He raises his head and meets the eyes of the others.

There was will in his eyes.

“I agree~☆”

Estrus is the first to comment.

As she watched Slammer confess to Monohorn, she was sure that what he said was sincere.

She agrees first, and then the others nod her head.

After getting everyone to agree, Slammer nodded her head in gratitude to them,

Swoop.
Dump.

He sat down in his seat prepared for the meeting.

He looks down at the map prepared on the table.

“From what I heard during dinner, I was wondering whether to choose between fleeing and holding on, but I heard that no decision has been made…”

He looks at Octopoda and Jose.

They nod their heads at the same time.

They want to listen to Slammer’s opinion, so they listen to him with their eyes shining.

“In my judgment, you should choose to sit-in unconditionally.”

“Why, Mr. Slammer?”

Margarita questions him, and Slammer’s head turns to her.

From the title she puts on her lips, Slammer notices her crush on herself.

He was somewhat relieved by it.

“It’s a simple logic. The news that the northern part was already engulfed in war and that the imperial army was annihilated by unknown rebels must have hit the entire empire. No matter where we settle down, when things are turbulent like these days, It is obvious that it will be difficult to avoid the gaze of a suspicious group of outsiders.”

“Ah…”

Slammer pinpoints the point they overlooked.

Ichae lingers in their eyes.

“Even if we go to an uninhabited island or a remote area, it’s obvious that it won’t be a makeshift solution. Shamans and wizards belonging to the Imperial Army aren’t that incompetent. Besides, uninhabited islands are places that must be avoided.”

“Is it because the terrain is not advantageous for defense?”

When Octopoda asks, Slammer immediately nods.

He glanced at Monohorn’s room and continued.

“Yes. If Monohorn and Urmama are both conscious, they will be able to use algae in the sea to block the landing of the Imperial Army. But even so, when cannons and magic tools fired by the Imperial fleet It is certain that it will be difficult to defend up to this point. If we are surrounded and beaten from all sides, there is no way for us to stop it, right?”

“Umm… Is the firepower of the artillery and magic tools possessed by the fleet belonging to the Imperial Army that strong?”

Demosi tilts his head and asks a question.

It was because she had never lived outside the inland before she came here, and she never knew how brutal the cannons and magic tools fired by the Imperial fleet at sea were.

For her part, it was very difficult for her to imagine penetrating the solid barrier created by the Mono Horn with the firearms of the Imperial Army.

She was also largely to blame for trusting Mono Horn.

“That’s right. When I was a child, I had the opportunity to spy on the Imperial fleet clearing out pirate bases on the coast. At that time, the targeted pirates were very strong, so they completely fortified the base they had built on an uninhabited island off the coast. It was not a poor wooden fence, but they carved a huge rock and built a wall with bricks. But even they couldn’t withstand the wave of the Imperial fleet for less than half a day.”

“Ah…”

Democi sighs.

Because, if Slammer was right, it seemed obvious that no matter how Monohorn constantly repaired her wooden walls, she would soon be at her limit.

“The navy is far less constrained than the army in transporting siege-class heavy weapons. Therefore, when facing an enemy at sea with a small number of men, a sit-in based on a stronghold is a strategy to be avoided at all costs. I don’t know if you can detect it in advance and keep running away, but it’s not easy to run away right now, so didn’t we come to a conclusion in the previous meeting?”

“You’re sharp as well, Slammer.”

At Slammer’s guess, Octopoda marvels.

The facial expressions of the others were no different.

“Now, it is clear that neither the sit-in nor the run-off is a very favorable situation. However, in this situation, it is more prudent to avoid the more disadvantageous and choose the lesser evil. And the losses that come with it, but if you choose to flee, you’ll have to give up everything you’ve been preparing for a long time, and that’s the biggest loss. Besides, if you try to escape and are surrounded by the enemy, you’ll have no chance of winning. Isn’t that right, José?”

“That’s right… We can’t move everyone at once, so we have to split up and return to our destination several times. No matter how small the risk of being discovered by the enemy in the process is, once we are discovered, we must take a huge risk.”

Nod, nod

Slammer listens to him and organizes his thoughts.

A cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

“Then, I’ll settle the matter. First, we have to wait until the Monohorn regains consciousness. Second, we have to keep our shelter undetected. Third, we have to give the Imperials an excuse to provoke them so that reinforcements don’t come. Do.”

Everyone opens their eyes wide.

Although they never said it, Slammer was already figuring out the problems with a head-on collision.

“Then, the solution is simple.”

Everyone’s eyes are stained with anticipation.