242 That's why I choose.

"Raheit's here. Then let us begin our discussion.

I was summoned by Nektokhar along with Ritual and Arkreal. From a practical standpoint, it would have been better to have T'Dwali here as well, but Nektokhar probably wanted to proceed with just the four of us. This man does not like to share information with a large number of people, and prefers to share information with a minimum number of people. Unlike Ritual, who can dilute information and pass it on to his subordinates, I don't like to get along with others, and I'm not sure if Arcturial, who can't remember information properly to begin with, is included in the count.

I'm not sure if I'm counted in or not. I'm not sure what to make of this, but I'm pretty sure that if Tudori is here, he can't reach this place even if he knows where it is. If the research on Nektohar is on track, why don't we just hunker down with a large supply of food?

The power of the Ts'doari, it is said that the Ts'doari themselves will not be able to recognize the place where they have been crafted. The place can only be reached by a special key made by Ts'doari himself. The key is not affected by the magic seal stone, as it is a property of magic that is fixed through the use of magic.

Don't worry, all the keys taken from Solide are only usable at the base in Torin. Only the four of us here and Tudori have the keys to enter the Selende base, including this location. In other words, as long as we don't go outside, we won't even have to worry about the key being stolen.

Whether or not the people of Yggra will be able to conquer T'Dour's power, that is not certain. "I'm not sure if the people of Yuggraa can conquer the power of the Tudori," he said, "but even with the power of the Solide, he still managed to defeat it. It's best to move as if you might be defeated.

That's cautious.

Only Arclial thinks that Ritual is too cautious. It's not only me and Rithyal, but also Nektokhar, who has the capacity to listen to Rithyal when he says so.

"Then let's move the research facility to that location. It will be inconvenient to get in and out, but it will be harder to attack and easier to defend in that location.

"That place? In that corridor, we can prepare enough ambushes and traps, so it's easy to prepare.

I mean, I can defend that place by myself, can't I? There may be a fork in the road, but it's a straight path to the end.

ARKREAL. We've never been worried about you losing. But we're worried that others might slip through while you're stalling.

I can't imagine Arcreal being defeated in battle at all. However, it's also inconceivable that this dumb man won't be able to outsmart the people of Yugra except in battle. Of course, their greatest strength will be blocked by Arcreal, but it's not like there are only one or two troublesome opponents.

"You're assuming I'll screw up. That's terrible.

We'll do everything we can to make sure this doesn't end up being your fault, so you can thank us, but you have no right to complain.

Raheit is right. The battle ahead will be a matter of how we can deal with what Ark Real can't control.

Letting Arcreal protect the most important place is an unavoidable path. In terms of the strength of the people of Yugra's planet, Ilias-Ratzel and the Shiro Subhuman would probably come into conflict. In other words, they'll be able to move through the gaps and we'll be able to deal with them.

The only knight of Tarz to come is that woman Ilias? I'd like to have a fight with Sylvette Ragdoll. I'd like to have one fight with Salvette-Ragdor.

"Maybe Salve and Gradna will come. Salve and Gladna might come, but Taze won't be able to spare much energy.

Why is that?

It's nothing. It's just that we've left traces of what we're trying to do in each country. Those who know that we've been using Leitis' people to overthrow the country have no choice but to leave some extra power if they find any suspicious traces at home.

I thought Solaide was just biding his time while he did his own thing, but that's not the case. From the perspective of the people of Yggra's planet, this act could be read as a bluff. But as long as there is even the slightest possibility, the nation cannot do anything rash. If they put all their energy into Selende, the people of Rhaetys or I, possessed by someone else's body, can simply go on a rampage in that country.

It's a reluctant strategy. The enemy will be faster at increasing their numbers.

We just need to buy time. Nektohar's research is coming to a close, isn't it?

Yeah. In fact, Raheit's talent as a bastard gave him a surprisingly close path to resurrection magic. The only thing left to do is to find a way through the wall left by Yugra. ...... This will not be long in coming.

At these words, I felt something deep inside of me stir. In a few moments, I'll be able to use full reanimation magic. If it's only about constructing magic, I can figure it out by analyzing necromancy and my talent as a bastard. But that's not enough to make the humans of this world reach for the taboo.

The Colorless Demon King, Yugra, has given me the role of deterring those who reach for the forbidden. However, this man's deterrent only works if he reacts to a ward that detects the forbidden, built into the logic of the world. As long as he is not trapped by those wards, the colorless demon lord, who cannot act against him, cannot do anything.

You still haven't found the person who has the talent to interfere with reason that you missed when you attacked Taze before, have you?

"As I said before, if we can analyze the way he interferes with other talents, we can get some results. If we had that man, we would have achieved our ambition a few years earlier.

I'm glad to hear you're doing so well.

I'm not brilliant. I've been studying magic for many years as a demon of the Blue Demon King. For over a hundred years, from the day I became a demon until just before I left. Since that's how I finally got there, I guess you could say I'm still in the realm of ordinary genius.

Indeed, the one who can truly be called a genius is Yugra. Yugra appeared from another world, learned the concept of magic, and quickly took control of the world. Ritual analyzes that Yugra's ability to understand other people on the planet was fostered by the differences in his environment. However, no matter what the differences in environment and thinking, Yugra's feats are far from being accomplished by ordinary people.

I think his persistence is extraordinary. That's why I and Lahite trust you.

"Yes, it is. I had all the information I needed to determine that it would be more effective than trying to do it on my own.

I'm not used to being praised, I'm afraid. But I'll give you both the results of my research to date, just in case.

Nektohar hands me and Ritual a magic stone. Based on Solide's ability to interfere with memories, it's an application of technology to implant memories of necessary information into objects. Nektohar has no intention of outsmarting us at all. He has no intention of outsmarting us, and this is what he is doing to prove it.

"There's a lot of knowledge flowing in at once. It's a lot of knowledge coming at you at once, so you'll have to figure it out as you go along.

"Well, for now, your priority should be to prepare to meet the people of Yggra's planet. So how do we disperse the forces of the other bastards and Rhaetys?

"You don't need me. I'm pretty sure I won't get along with anyone else.

I don't need you either. I don't feel like trusting my back to people who might betray me at any moment.

I'm not going to trust my back to people who might betray me at any moment. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do it, but I'm going to have to.

"Hey, hey. Don't be too hard on him. You're dealing with a guy who's the equal of Lytal.

I was arrested once, but I didn't turn.

You think you're special?

You're the one who doesn't need a collaborator, aren't you? In the first place, it's Ritual who's giving you special treatment. You trust him too much because he's your bastard.

I'm sure you're a good judge of talent. However, he has a soft spot for the bastards. He should have trained them to never betray him, but he's satisfied with the uncertainty of loyalty. And this is the result.

I'm not denying it. I don't deny it, but even if you hadn't betrayed me, it wouldn't have made much difference if you had exposed Jestiff and the others' activities and Jastet and the others had leaked the information, would it?

"......, let's put it that way, shall we?

It's a waste of time to reason and argue with this man, just to satisfy your boring self-satisfaction. In the first place, it will not be satisfied by such a cryptic monster. There is no point in accepting my fault, even if it is a small one.

"Don't make things too heated, you three. If we part company just before the fulfillment of our aspirations, I'll be the one to outsmart you.

"Does that include me?

You're the one who interfered in the first place, Arreal. I'm going to start my preparations then.

I left the room and manipulated the magic stone to decipher the approximate information. I see, we are indeed one step closer. If I can do this, we may be able to finish before the people of Yugra prepare to invade us.

"...... Let's not get too hopeful, shall we?

I've never been able to get the results I wanted. We may have achieved our goals, but the feeling of accomplishment was always far from what we had envisioned. Still, there are things that must be accomplished. That's the only reason I've been struggling in this swampy life.

I can predict what Nektokhar and Ritual will do once they have the Resurrection Magic. It's doubtful that Arcreal will be interested, but he will eventually get in the way.

The time will come sooner or later.

The time for choice will soon come. I will choose a life with more difficulties ahead. To make a choice is to have already decided what to choose. When you understand that there is a choice, the consequences of your choice certainly exist. Then there is no need to hesitate, but only to go straight ahead on the path you want to take.