I narrowed my eyes while staring at Mehrad sitting on the sofa in front of me. His red hair was messy and had spider webs dangling in it. Even his black attire had webs and moss in them.

Seriously though, where has this guy been hanging out lately? Caves?

Sitting next to him was Leo in their usual spot. Leal was sitting on the sofa next to them, he was looking down while his knees were fidgeting.

Calm down, Buddy. We're not going to roast you or something.

On the sofa on the other side of the room was Tanya crossing her arms while staring at me. She's making an 'I already know what's this all about and I don't like it' expression on her face. I smiled at her but she just responded by narrowing her already narrowed eyes.

Next to Tanya was Karoon extending her neck while staring at Mehrad on the other side of the room. From the look of it, she was enjoying seeing Mehrad's messy, sleepy face. But immediately looked down when Tanya gave her a narrowed-eyed stare.

As I scrutinized Karoon, I couldn't help but notice the wounds on her body, especially in her arms and hands.

She's been doing magic training with Tanya lately while at the same time working on the Gatling gun. She's been multitasking like hell! And based on what I have been seeing, she's doing a very good job in those training sessions! Of course, it's Karoon we're talking about so it's not surprising. This girl is a freaking prodigy!

Anyway,

I cleared my throat. "Thanks for immediately coming here despite the short notice."

"I don't mind, I don't have anything I'm currently working on at this moment," Mehrad said as he flicked the web dangling on his shoulder. "So, what's the reason for calling us here, Casimir?"

I crossed my arms and slowly exhaled. I remained silent for a few seconds while looking down before facing them again. "Ahm... it's about the kingdom of Erela."

The entire room instantly turned awkwardly silent for a few seconds because none of them showed any reaction. Except for Leal who finally stopped fidgeting, but still looking down.

I expected this reaction from them anyway.

I cleared my throat. "Leal, can you tell us what happened to the barrier of Erela? I heard that the barrier of Erela is known as an extremely durable line of defense of that kingdom. What happened?"

Leal raised his face and wandered his eyes to the people in the room before answering me. "The barrier of Erela is the main form of defense of the kingdom. It is believed to be so durable that this is just the 2nd time the barrier collapsed. It can only be destroyed by an extremely powerful physical attack coming from outside... and I believe no human can perform such a devastating attack that can demolish the barrier with just their raw power. Just like what happened 80 years ago, the only set of people I know who are capable of doing such a feat are the meru-"

"Does that mean one of them has possession of a specific skill that can deactivate the barrier?" Tanya asked while staring at Leal.

For a few seconds, both Leal and Tanya stared at each other as if they were talking using their eyes.

Leal raised his shoulder and nodded. "I don't know the full detail, but based on the information I've got from Prince Hien and Prince Alric... one of the warriors of the kingdom of Nardia used a skill to collapse the barrier."

"The kingdom of Nardia? One of the 3 main kingdoms of humanity?" Mehrad asked while his face was leaning on his fist over the armrest of the sofa.

Leal slowly nodded. "Yes."

I put my hand on my chin. "Wait, if that's what happened. That means one of them used some kind of magic nullification skill. So, bringing the barrier back isn't a viable option because someone can just easily collapse it again."

Leo raised his hand while expressing a genuine confusion on his face. "Boss... so, you called us here to talk about the current situation of the kingdom of Erela? May I ask, are you planning to help them in their battle?"

As if Leo's question united them all, all of them stared at me while waiting for my answer.

I clenched my fists. "Yes. That's what I have been planning to do."

Leo repeatedly nodded while slowly leaning against the backrest of the sofa. "Oh, I see. Now, It's finally clear... continue." Leo's eyes veered at Tanya and Leal staring at him with disbelief in both their eyes. "What?"

Leal stood up. "What do you mean by what? Casimir just decided to join a war that has nothing to do with this town." Leal stared at me. "Forgive me, Casimir. I know that you're just doing this to help me, but sacrificing the safety of this town for a single person is a foolish decision coming from a leader. I can't see any merit for this town in that decision… I know that I have no right to say this to you..." He smiled at me, but his eyes were filled with pain in them. "But, aren't you a little bit being driven by your own emotions, Ruler of the town of Agrona? Don't forget that I am not your friend... we just happened to have a common goal, but we are no allies. I am just using you for my own advantage and so should I be to you... we are here just because we have an agreement...You are nothing to me but just a means to attain my goal. After all, I don't have any sentiments for you or anyone in this place."

I smiled. "I am fully aware of that. And I fully agree with you, Leal."

He nodded. "Then, don't meddle into something that you don't have something to do with." He exhaled. "I'll be leaving tomorrow morning. You can have the Marionette corps while I'm still gone. Just don't forget that Kuro is one of the most important parts of it..." He stared at me. "I'll be back soon to fulfill our agreement... until I returned... Take care of her."

What a liar...

I chuckled and watched them all as they stared at me with confusion. I covered my forehead with my palm and glared at Leal while smirking.

"Leal... aren't you thinking a little bit too highly of yourself? You are wrong... very wrong. I'm not doing this for you. Why would I? I am too self-centered for that. Me? Being driven by my own emotions? Honestly, even if you die in that irrelevant place, it won't bother me at all. Even if I want to feel sympathy for you, which I don't... I can't... because I was born with an inability to feel such unnecessary emotions and I am pretty sure you know that pretty well. Sentiment you said?" I chuckled. "I have no such emotion."

His eyebrows furrowed as he stared at me. "Casimir."

I raised my head. "I can't believe it, you are widely known to be very intelligent but you couldn't see through me. You have been believing too much in the facade of a face I have been showing that you have already forgotten what kind of a terrible person who's in front of you." I smiled at him. "As much as possible, I really don't want to say this to you because I don't want to end up looking like the bad guy, but you're forcing me to."

I shrugged. "Welp, so listen carefully. I have a plan that involves your currently on the verge of ruination beloved kingdom and it just happened that the opportunity has arisen before me to take... so I will. There's something I want to acquire from that kingdom and knowing how prideful your race is, I think, this is the best time to get it. In their very moment of desperation while on the verge of their approaching demise. Helping you is the least of my concerns, Leal... You've just happened to have an important role in that plan of mine. Just like what you said earlier, we are each other's means to attain our goals. So, let's properly do our roles, shall we?"

Too bad, I am much bigger of a liar than you are.

I smiled and wandered my eyes through the people in the room. Almost all of them stared at me with great awe on their faces, except Leo who was smiling while staring at me and didn't even flinch at my top-notch acting skills.

I unleashed a loud chuckle and clapped my hands. "Man, don't look at me like that. It's embarrassing, you know? So, with that said, should we continue the meeting now?" I stared at Leal while expressing the most wholesome smile I could make. "Go back to your seat, Leal. Hear me out first then decide if you want to be part of my plan or not, would you?"

Leal slowly nodded and sat back on the sofa. "Fine. I'll hear it first."