Chapter 137: To Live Another Day, Another Way

Just as the newly outposted bastion was nearly fortified and stabilized, we continued our unified effort to kick the asses of Calamity Objects for another hour."Looks like their way of using pikes has gotten significantly better," I muttered to myself.

Was this the effort of Amelia's constant guidance and second-in-command to others beside Verina while I'm gone?

Just as I thought that I could finally rest my fatigued body until the sunrise, my ears caught something.

Verina watched the interaction of her crew and me with her usual stoic expression, though I could sense she was still meticulously processing all of this.

"Kuzunoha," she began, "Despite everything that I hear and perceive, my gut feeling still convinces me that you really failed to mention someone of character like Lambda right after Narcissus' action to settle vague and non-lingering things."

Ah, it seemed like tricking Verina's guts feeling was proven harder than we thought.

Kuzunoha waved a hand dismissively. "Oh, Verina, there are many things I've yet to mention. Lambda is one of those rare acquaintances who pops in and out of my life when the stars align."

Verina blinked, unamused by Kuzunoha's cryptic response. "I see."

Seeing that Verina appeared as if she wanted to push Kuzunoha even further regarding this, I decided to step in and just wane the overall hostility that these two exuded.

"Worry not," I added, out of nowhere. My stealth skill was still as impeccable despite my towering stature. "I won't be interfering with the work here. My presence is just... temporary."

Verina nodded slowly, her eyes lingering on me for a moment longer before she turned to address a nearby crew of the group. "Very well. We'll resume our usual tasks, then."

As Verina floated away, Kuzunoha leaned in closer, whispering in my ear. "That was close. She's dangerously sharp, that one."

"I can tell," I replied. "She's the kind that will become the most skeptical person when I'm not here."

"Good thing we're not fooling her, are we, darling? Just... redirecting attention," Kuzunoha winked. seaʀᴄh thё NôᴠelFirё.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

She wasn't even trying to fool her at the slightest!

"Let's just hope that redirection holds…"

As the night was only one hour away, I found myself watching over the bastion from a distance, observing how the recruits went about their assigned duties.

Kara and Naosi were working together, fortifying part of the camp's defenses as Verina was protecting and observing them.

Callista and Yora handled the scouting routes. Amelia was busy organizing the ration and needed supplies that Kuzunoha withdrew from her all-encompassing arcane pocket.

Meanwhile, Lydia seemed to be immersing herself with the content of the Yellow King's Script, now that we finally receive another down time from the relentless ordeal.

Kuzunoha appeared beside me, her parasol twirling idly. "Quite the crew you've gathered, Narcissus—well, Lambda," she corrected herself with a smirk. "They're amusingly more useful and hilarious than they appear, aren't they?"

Well, I did put a lot of effort into reading the painstakingly long information inside their Info tab, while also accessing their Highlighted Traits and what they showcased in front of me.

"They have potential," I admitted. "More than I initially thought."

"Ah, but with you here, they'll have someone to really look up to," Kuzunoha teased. "After all, who wouldn't be inspired by a towering, silver-haired warrior goddess?"

So you're saying that they weren't inspired by a beautifully stern and wise golden-haired angel?? Preposterous!

"You're not letting that go, are you?"

"Not in the slightest."

With the bastion no longer needing any kind of excessive protection, I mingled myself closely to Kuzunoha, playing off as Lambda, the acquaintance of the arrogant and prideful Animaphage.

In that timeframe, Kuzunoha reported her progress on the invention of the 'dimensional vessel', alongside the state of the Drowned Revenant and our plan about bending her to our will.

Before I knew it, the sunrise was careening from the horizon and into the sky, waving their orchestrated shadows of hope through the patternful clouds.

Then again, I began to feel doubtful that the light that was illuminated by the blinding ring of an eldritch black hole could be referred to as 'sunlight'.

Regardless, my fourth Ordeal was over, and the crew expressed their joyous gratitude to even live for another day in this fickle and unrelenting world.

Your next journey awaits at M V L

While some people like Lydia and Amelia were still as spirited to help around and take a look at the content of their pre-ordained Scripts, the majority of my eight buffoons had already claimed the shabby hut that I build with the help of Naois as their humble abode, barely caring that they were sprawling and snoring on the ground.

Verina also took this time to take a light nap as she leaned on the wall of the freshly deployed workshop.

She seemed to be extremely fatigued in particular, considering that she needed to use more of her brain power to cast higher level spells while commanding a rag-tag squad of nonsense.

"I want to look from a close distance, but I'm afraid that I will wake her."

It hadn't been long since I proclaimed Verina as my most adorable puppy in existence. She always wagged her imaginary tail whenever she was waiting for my order, and I also started to imagine a small shift of her expression whenever her tone changed or if she was saying something more emotional than usual.

She had also been protecting the cryopreserved head of Lupina like it was her own life. It was a little bit disappointing that Kuzunoha couldn't take a barely living head into her arcane storage, so Verina still needed to carry around that fragile head everywhere on her back.

I planned to craft a better backpack to accommodate that head of Lupina after this ordeal, but my hands weren't as crafty and divine as the original, so I decided to do it later when Kuzunoha finished with her most important experiment.

Still, I could somewhat feel their disappointment that Narcissus wasn't there when the sky changed into hope, after that terrible yet allegedly victorious encounter with the ever so-dangerous and mysterious Qliphoth Object.

"... Am I getting a little bit too sensitive or what?"