Chapter 209: Three options

"And how are you going to do that?" After the initial shock-based silence passed, the prince asked.

"Well, there are three ways in which I can achieve that." Resting my back against the side of a small watchtower embedded into the embankments, I looked to the skies. "First one is simple, kill everyone that opposes the idea."

Even though there was a possibility that thia kind of solution would only end up failing my mission and turning all my efforts so far into nothing, it was still something that I had to consider.

"The other option is on the other end of the extreme. And it is centered around getting rid of the top brass of the northern Federation so that Dearie could just sweep out and take their place in one fell swoop." I uttered after a long pause. In fact, both the second and the third options that I was about to reveal, were nothing but just some random ideas that I came up with on the spot.

In other words, right now, I was completely clueless about what I was supposed to do next.

Even if I put up a tough front so far, there was a limit to how far my bullshiting could take me. With the huge army right below me, eradicating it was the most obvious answer, hence the first solution that I proposed.

The second option appeared when I just reversed the idea of killing everyone and attempted to find a way that would have the smallest number of potential casualties.

As for the third option…

"So? What's the third solution?" This time, the break before I get to speak was long enough for not even the prince, but Teria herself ask about it.

"Do I really need to spell it out loud?" Still unable to figure out what I should propose as the third solution, I decided to just play dumb and force my way with it. "How about you guys will do the thinking for once? I'm not going to be around here for long, so relying on me when it comes to every single decision-making process…" I took another pause to let my words sink in. "Wouldn't that cripple your ability to advise the princess once she will become who she is bound to become?"

By putting the weight of the responsibility on the prince and Teria's shoulders, I managed to achieve nothing else but actually buying myself some time. But thanks to this unsavory tactic, I could feel my mind slowly getting back on its usual track, slowly chipping away at the unpenetrable wall of ignorance in an attempt to produce the solution I announced.

"Wait, your first option was to kill everyone, and your second option was to kill only those at the top. Does that mean your third option won't involve killing at all?" the prince suddenly proposed. And while his thinking was perfectly aligned with how I was trying to dissolve this one, menstrual problem of turning Daerie from just a legend into an actual ruler, ultimately it was nothing but the direction of the solution, not the solution itself.

"I'm not going to tell you. To be honest, I'm tired of being the only one putting the effort." Shaking my head, I moved away from the stone walls of the tower before casting a scrutinous glance at both of my companions only to move my face away from them the next moment.

The message was clear. I wasn't going to give them the answer served on a silver plate anymore. This time, they had to figure it out themselves.

"I don't think that's the case. Option of just killing the brass…" Teria shook her head while attempting to explain something when her words suddenly ceased to flow in the air. At first, I thought she just lost her point, then, after a few moments during which she didn't speak anything at all,  I had no other choice but to turn around and ask.

"Option of just killing the brass… is?" Looking sternly at the girl, I initially hoped that my hurrying her up would have an effect… But rather than finishing her sentence from before, Teria simply blinked her eyes twice before extending her hand towards one of the points further down the valley.

"Look there. Do you recognize them?" Hearing Teria's question and following with my eyes where she wanted me to look, I froze myself as well. For a moment, it was hard for a single word to come to escape from my mouth rather than ending stuck in my throat.

"I do. To be frank, I completely forgot about them!" As bad as it was for my image to admit to any kind of fault, I no longer had the willpower to try to bullshit my way out of this. Because right now, the potential third solution was no longer necessary, and to be frank, no longer possible for me either. In terms of possibility, killing everyone also instantly turned into a no-go zone for me.

Because the team that I left behind when I hurried up ahead to meet with Teria, finally caught up to us. Because once I looked along Teria's arm, Longinus and his friends came to my view.

And to make matters even worse, they stood motionless on the spot, with their eyes directed exactly at our position.

"Well, that solves our quandary." After the momentary shock passed, I decided not to linger on the things that didn't matter anymore. Just like the color of the last year's snow didn't bother me, the options that Longinus appearance erased from the pool… There was no longer any use in bothering with them either.

"Solves? What do you mean guys?" As the only one left out of the topic, the prince turned pretty anxious.

"Those guys… Well, there is a group of people from the northern federation. We used to travel with them and unless they changed their mind, they should still be kinda on our side…" Shaking my head, I stopped mid-sentence. "Well, it doesn't matter now. What matters, is that we can push the entire problem on their shoulders."

Not waiting for anyone to react to my words, I bent my knees before jumping forward with all the strength I had. Using the phasing right away, I quickly gained just enough momentum to land somewhere near the group of my former teammates.

After a few moments in the air, I came crashing down towards the ground. Using the phasing one last time to kill my downward momentum right before I would crash against the ground, I then softly landed on the ground before smiling towards the familiar faces.

"It's been a while." Keeping myself at a safe distance from Longinus and his party just in case they had some kind of change of mind, I greeted them. 

"Indeed. How long was it, a month?" Slightly diffusing my worries, Longinus smiled as well before extending his hand for a greeting.

But I didn't take his hand. With how chaotic everything was right now, I just couldn't get the sight of that system message from before out of my head.

'Danger to the system detected.' The light ray that caused that message. And the possibility of their betrayal, that would turn my life on its head.

Right now, even if it meant making Longinus and his group dislike me a bit, I couldn't be as open and free around them as I used to be.

"To be honest, I have no idea. There was an instance during which time passed for me in a different way than for everyone else." Taking a step back, I explained. Then, after a moment during which neither side said anything, I finally gathered the courage to push forward the agenda that appeared in my mind the moment Teria conveyed their presence to me.

"But let's stop with the small talk now." Filled with determination, I clenched my hands before making a step forward. "Longinus, tell me. How far are you willing to go to stop this pointless war?"

Even if I wanted to reveal my idea right away, I had no idea what happened to this former teammate of mine while we were separated. Maybe he was still on my side? Or maybe someone convinced him to change sides?

While I couldn't answer those questions of mine, I could still try to sound the man off.

"Can you stop with the games? I can tell what's going on." Rather than answering my question, Longinus shook his head before releasing a long, exhausting sight and replying with a question on his own.

"Well, since you asked so politely…" Putting a small smirk on my face, I shook my head before looking the man right into his eyes.

"What I need you and your group to do, is to kill every single one of the leaders of the northern federation. They are the ones responsible for this entire campaign and I know for a fact," I lied a bit as I had no way of knowing such things with any certainty, "that they sent all those poor souls here, not to fight some devil lord, but to prevent the true ruler of both human tribes from taking the power that's rightfully hers."