Chapter 150: Collision

I woke up inside the Kingdom, a little later than usual, and way more tired.

Somehow I still ended up waking to two girls by my side, although not the ones I was used to.

One of them was still hugging my arm in her sleep. She would usually be up at this hour but... she had quite a taxing night, so it would still take a while for her to get up.

As for the other one, she was tracing her fingers on my chest, acting smug while waiting for me to say something.

I shouldn't have focused so much of my attention on the nun.

Bea still holds the most dangerous weapons in the Kingdom, considering my personality.

Although I've done a good job resisting her ever since we had our night together, as her approaches become more earnest, I've found myself having a harder time denying her, even though I still suspect her of expecting to get something out of all of this, even if it's just a simple feeling of reassurance.

This last play of hers was unfair though.

There are billions of men on the planet, and you'd be hard-pressed to find one that wouldn't fall prey to this scheme.

Bea: "...No comments?"

Was there even a need for one?

We had gone at it for hours, our only interruptions were for dinner, which we had in this very room.

I did my best to not give her the answer she was waiting for. After getting drunk on the ecstasy of yesterday, this was the little I could do to preserve an ounce of pride.

I was going to need at least this small victory if I had any hope of ever fighting back.

However, she didn't want to grant me even that, and her smug smile gave way to an exaggerated frown.

She was leaving me without options, so, instead of words, I guided her hand to a lower place, so that she could find the answer for herself.

Bea: "...Still?"

Miwen: "Yeah."

She was surprised, but admittedly, so was I.

Perhaps my son has been getting ahead of himself, expecting something to happen every morning thanks to Cassandra's... antics.

Bea: "Do you want to go again?"

Miwen: "...I have things planned today."

Although I could make time by skipping breakfast, I knew it wouldn't be able to stop after a single round with her, and... that could very well be my end.

Still, I never expected that leaving paradise would be so hellish.

Miwen: "I have to help Licia and Mei, Ellie..."

Ellie: "Hmn... they can handle themselves... just a little longer..."

I was being tempted on both sides while they were still wearing the bunny suits.

I might have to make a law against this in the future, or else, I'll lose all my productivity.

Miwen: "You're becoming so selfish~"

Ellie: "Have you seen what I'm wearing? You'll have to dote on me for a thousand years to pay for this."

Such a small price, I must've gotten a sale.

Miwen: "I don't have a thousand years though. How about this in exchange?"

I brought both of them even closer to me.

Bea: "What are you doing?"

Miwen: "Headpats. Being lovey-dovey is very important."

Bea: "...Noted."

I might've ended up giving her more ideas, but since she's so studious, it might take a while before she employs them.

Miwen: "So... is there anything you want to ask?"

She wasn't the only one who knew how to exploit others' weak points. I knew she wasn't that used to this type of interaction, and while she was relaxing, I took the opportunity to ask her directly about the reason for her last scheme, since I was expecting her to want something in return, even if a small favor.

Hopefully, this would make it harder for her to push too strongly, and I'd be able to just deny any requests that might be bad for her or the other residents.

Questions such as "How many rankers would be needed to win against this army." or, "Would this party be able to defeat this weak country's army" have been interesting, but only theoretical for a while given that both adventurers and governments keep some secrecy over their full potential.

However, my bet for the future of warfare aligned with the AOTG's. I believe the philosophies developed on Earth will still hold, but instead of relying solely on machinery, we might rely on a combination of individuals' Gifts, or make do with them entirely.

I couldn't see a proper, full-scale battle during the Snow White Wolves war, but the tests I did against the Monster Horde that invaded the Kingdom and the scene unfolding before my eyes show that such ideas were not so far off.

As much as I hate to admit it, the invading worlds' militaries are quite refined, and they seem to have brought the cream of the crop, as I can't imagine that a wyvern, dragon, or giant octopus can be awarded to just any common soldier.

And that's precisely where the problem lies.

Their levels should be high, and while there was some variation, the girls said that only strong people were awarded tamed monsters and mounts like that. Their predictions put the invading force's levels at anywhere between level 50 to 80, which matched my own estimation.

The only thing contradicting that was that quite a few of them were falling to common infantry fire, which should not be possible.

The girls and I had just played with guns the other day, and aside from sensitive areas like the eyes, getting hurt by them was a non-factor for us.

While the quantity of fires being shot was massive... I felt like this wasn't adding up. Too many lucky shots for it to be just that.

However, the guns themselves didn't seem modified. This phenomenon was happening on different fronts and places, so the effect of a Gift was doubtful.

With these two out of the picture, I could only think of the ammo as the biggest suspect.

Unlike the more visible guns, unless we were there in person to examine them, it was impossible to see the bullets and determine whether or not there was something unique about them.

But I couldn't think about anything else that could be causing this.

Especially since I already had a theory of what might be going on.

There's a bunch of materials found inside a dungeon. Some of them have more demand, such as monster cores and mana orbs. Since they can be turned into energy, there's always demand for them. Even those dropped from the weakest monsters.

Other drops from monsters vary in their demand since they are either used for research or sold to other adventurers in the case of weapons.

There is, however, one resource in the dungeon that should have higher demand by the government.

The crystals found in the Dungeon floors... We know they can be used to make weapons and to strengthen structures, such as walls.

Crystals found in the hardest floors are usually harvested by rankers who turn them to the government for profit, or to a blacksmith to make a weapon.

But making a profit out of them is not as easy as monster cores. Harvesting them is already harder than simply killing monsters until you get lucky with a drop. You need someone high level enough to enter the floor and then be prepared to defend them while they harvest it. Not to mention, you need enhanced or magical tools to even mine any crystal worth a damn.

And that's the most suspicious thing about them. It's only really worth going for this if you're a high/top ranker, as crystals of lower quality are rarely in demand by the government, and when they are, their price is too low to be worth the trouble.

If these crystals could be turned into bullets, and maintain their proprieties, then I could see them being used as a special ammo designed to kill enemies with high levels.

The problem is that this has never worked. Putting them into, or making armor and weapons out of them is already difficult, and all the tests have shown that the smaller the fragment of the crystal, the less effective it will be.

If the government found a way to make effective bullets out of them, surely they would use them against monsters and spread this discovery...

Or maybe not.

Especially if they also realized the danger that rankers may pose. Keeping this a secret for as long as possible could be the only way to ensure enough of a stockpile to prevent... a revolution.

... Their use seems limited. Maybe they are still experimental, or the process cannot be upscaled so easily.

They certainly change my predictions, and if I was in a position of power... While they might not have it completely figured out yet and have their hands tied... this would be the best moment to strike.

Even more so considering it would make the offer of maintaining/increasing rankers significance in society more enticing.

Huh...

Liz: "Should I set up around the house?"

Miwen: "The battles are still far from here. And if a stray comes, we can deal with it."

The odds were incredibly low though.

Miwen: "I'll make a quick trip with Liz and Bea, once we're back, I want everyone reunited in the Kingdom. Licia, you keep me updated on anything noteworthy."

She's the one who knows the most about the area surrounding the city, so if anything happens close by, I'm confident she'll be able to notify me before it comes to our home.

Before going, Bea asked to change.

This prompted Claire to let a comment about their clothes since no one was saying anything about it. Everyone was doing it out of sympathy for them though, and once Ellie felt everyone's gaze toward her, she spammed me with requests to retreat back to the Kingdom.

Seeing this, everyone reprimanded Claire, but I thought it was cute so I allowed it. Instead, when I talked with her, I asked if she could tell Mia to pay attention to the news with her and Licia too since I valued their experience with warfare.

Especially one with magic and Gifts. Something that hasn't been seen on Earth yet.

Truth be told, I also wanted to pay attention to get some ideas for ourselves, but meeting Erika at a later date might be difficult since we won't have many options for communicating.

As such, I ended up placing her as today's priority.