37 The Way Forward

Sluggishly dragging my lazy body out of my tent, I greet the blazing afternoon sunlight with distaste. Usually, I'd always wake when the sun rises, no matter how little sleep I've had. It's a habit I've maintained through the years and I found it to be a good thing. However, it seems that I overdid it last night. I think I only fell asleep around the time the sun starts peeking out from the horizon. Haven't pulled an all-nighter like that for the longest time.

After showering in the sun, feeling just a bit more energetic, I turn back to the inside of my tent. There, lying beside where I slept, hogging the blanket, is Cecilia. I doubt she'll be waking up anytime soon.

Leaving Cecilia be, I go through the routines I would perform in the morning, washing up, checking in with Six and Toto, then with the princess. All appears to be normal today, that is, until I arrive at the war room.

"Good timing, Sir Aurelius."

The commander greets me with a grave countenance. Immediately, I feel the usual weight upon my shoulders. Can't a guy just get a single day in which nothing happens?

"I take it that we have bad news, commander?"

"What gave it away?"

"I'll go get the others."

"No need, I've already sent for them. They should be arriving shortly."

With nothing else to do, I stand around waiting, my foot tapping away in anxiousness as the minutes seem to stretch on forever. After some time, the firsts of the usual members arrived, them being Six and Toto.

"So, what has gone wrong this time?"

Seemingly more flippant and usual, Six appears to be less tense that he had been the last few times in these meetings. I suppose winning the fight yesterday had gained him some confidence. Seeing the effects of that experience have on him, I can see now why Cecilia doesn't want to tell him the truth.

"......"

In contrast, Toto is mostly silent, more than usual, as if worrying about something.

"Something wrong?"

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing, Aurelius, nothing at all."

Her mind seems to be in the clouds, but I'm sure whatever it is, she's figuring it out. She's quite smart after all.

Following Six and Toto, the princess, Merida, and the Holy Beast's priestess, Stella arrived. We nodded to one another as they came in, though the priestess gave me an odd look as she entered. Then against, she had always been giving me these looks. It's like she had taken an issue with me since day one.

Then, finally, Cecilia arrived, and with all the key members present, the meeting begins.

"I'll get straight to the point. Just now, a message had arrived from the north. The Dragonbroods, they're advancing towards us as we speak."

The Dragonbrood... The mention of them reminds me of what I was told just yesterday, the words told to me by the Bestial Champion. So it was true after all, that the Dragonbrood will be invading this land. But damn, they sure are quick. I know she said that they'll be coming soon, but I did not expect to hear from them the day after. That's way too soon.

"When will they arrive at our borders?"

The commander nods towards the princess, acknowledging her inquiries.

"Three days at most, or so the message says."

Three days, that's astonishingly quick, but I've heard that many of the Dragonbroods are swift with their feet and some even have limited flight capabilities. Of the four races in Elgardia, they are the ones with the greatest mobility.

"Three days!? That's not much time at all! We must mobilize at once!"

Looking at us, the Champions, the princess says so. Naturally, she expects us to reinforce the north. Unfortunately, I can't quite give her my answer, because I haven't decided on what to do just yet. The Bestial Champion's words aside, right now, I myself would like to prioritize purging the [World Devourer Woods] from our borders. With us having defeated their two Champions just yesterday, their losses should be quite substantial, both in their overall fighting prowess and, if they even have such an emotional capacity, in their morale. At the moment, we have the advantage and with luck, I'm confident that we will be able to push them beyond our borders. However, if we give them a chance to reorganize themselves and time for the forest to expand, it'll be sometime before we get back to where we are right now. If I can help it, I rather not have our fight with the forest drag on longer than it needs to be. But, in the end it's all just my assumption, we don't actually know how much of a lost the [Corrupted] Faefolks suffered or if their morale had taken a hit. What is for certain, however, is that if we don't do something, our northern borders will be overrun by [Demons].

So now then, what to do? One option we have is to send half our forces to reinforce the north while the rest remain and fight, once everything is taken care of on one side, we'll rejoin once more and focus on what's left. However, with half our forces, our effectiveness would of course be halved and there's no telling if that's enough on either ends. Another option is to leave the forest be for now and focus on the north, and once that's taken care of, we can turn our focus back onto the forest. However, there's no telling how long the fight up north will take, and by the time we're done, the forest may have already expanded far more than it had initially. In the end, should I just listen to the Bestial Champion and focus on defeating the [World Devourer Woods] before all else?

"Of course! We can't just leave those living up north to die, right?"

Readily, Cecilia agrees with the princess, and I can't help but want kick myself for not mention what the Bestial Champion had said to me sooner. If Cecilia had heard about it before hand, perhaps she wouldn't be so quick to decide.

"I don't know, I mean, we can't just leave the forest alone to expand either, can we? Everything we did up till now will be going down the drain!"

Six appears to disagree with Cecilia's sentiments. I suppose he never really give much of a damn for those in this world to begin with. For him, the priority is to end it all and go home.

"......"

Toto on the other hands remains silent, she hasn't made a decision it seems, but knowing her, she'll probably align with Cecilia in the end.

"I feel sorry for the northern frontlines, but I believe we should place our priority upon ridding the forest from our land first."

Like Six, the garrison commander is against reinforcing the north, an understandable decision since his station is over here, and if the Champions leave, him and the troops under him will have to fend for themselves just like before, and they weren't doing all that well at all before we came.

With that, it's two against two, two votes for reinforcing the north with two against it. Now, the eyes of all those present fall upon Toto and yours truly, us two who remain undecided. So then, what will it be? Frankly, I have the answer. It seems like no matter which I choose it can only be a mistake, that only bad things would come these choices. Yes, that's right, no matter which of the two paths I'll choose, we only stand to lose grounds, it's just a matter of losing it to the Dragonbroods or the forest. Either way we do it, we still lose, it's a situation that we simply can't win. What if we just split the troops? Send half of us to the north and half of us will remain? The best of both worlds. But, will it work? Or will it simply make it so that we lose both fronts. As they say, the lion that chases two hares will catch neither, something along those lines.

"Give me a day- no, just rest of the day would be fine. I need time to think about it."

"I'm the same as Aurelius, I need time to think this through."

Neither Toto nor I were able to make the decision on the spot, and though I could see that Cecilia and, especially, the princess were feeling rather nervous about the situation up north, in the end, they allowed us time to properly make up our mind.

***

To go or not to go, the question really isn't so simple and straightforward. The problem here is deciding which path will result in the least losses that would undoubtedly occur and what steps should be taken to minimize said losses. If possible, I'd like a choice that would result in no loss at all, but having only today to decide, I suppose it's hoping for too much.

"Champion."

From behind me, I hear a usually disdainful voice calling out to me. Oddly, today the disdain seems to be lessened somewhat.

"Stella, was it? It's rare for you to approach me on your own."

"I rather not if I can help it."

"You don't like me very much, do you?"

"Trust me, it is for a good reason. Though, I will admit that lately I've gained some new perspectives. For good or ill, I do not know yet."

As always, her stare bores into my being and her currently stoic expression makes it difficult for me to read her. Even her bestial traits remain as stoic as her face, her cat-like ears always upright and rigid and her tail always still.

"Hear me out, Champion. I will go to the northern frontlines. I will use all of my strength to hold back the [Demon] horde. I won't be able to stop them, but I'll be able to buy you time."

I quirk a brow at her words. Why tell this to me specifically? Wouldn't the princess or Cecilia be better choices to bring this proposal to?

"How much time?"

Regardless, I'll consider it. More than anything, what we need is time, in fact, we never seem to have enough of it these days. Everything needs to happen quickly, always trying to get a step ahead of the enemy, always short on time. That's war for you, I suppose. But damn, what would I give to take a nice long break now and then.

"Three more days, with my current capabilities, I'd say three more days is the most time I'll be able to give you."

"Three days!? What in the world can be done in such a short time? We'd barely be able to destroy the next [Demon Flower] and make it back in that time."

"That is up to you to figure it out. I am only stating what I can give you."

"I'll think about it. I'm not sure if I'll be able to do much with it, but I appreciate it nonetheless."

"I hope you'll find a way, truly I hope so."

With a polite bow, Stella leaves me to my thoughts. I watch her walk away, her slender tail swaying as she goes. From here, her back seems so thin, her shoulder so small. Can she really hold back a horde of [Demons] for three days? I suppose she won't be alone, there are going to be troops alongside her as well. I'll have to take her word for it, but even so, what can be done in just three more days? What can be done to improve our situation for the better in such a short amount of time?

***

The sun begins to set. At this rate, the day will be over. Yet, I have not come up with anything. There's nothing that comes to mind at all, nothing but the understanding of how helpless I am against the changing tides the world.

Beneath the amber glow of twilight, with the green meadow turned reddish gold by the setting sun, I run into Toto, returning from her testing field. Maybe it's the sunset, but for a moment there, I thought I saw fire in her eyes.

"Aurelius, hear me out."

The sun continues to set, the lights beginning to fade and darkness approaches. The day is ending, and though the beginning of the night was to be the call for me to finally give in to my helplessness and accept the inevitable, from Toto, I see a glimpse of light.

At times, I forget. Even though I say it to the others often, I myself get caught up with my own narrow views and let it slip my mind from time to time, that I am not by myself, that I am not moving forward alone. There are the others too, each finding a way forward. At times like this, I need only to reach out.

***

End of Chapter 37