AN: About the title, it's just a pun. Back in 2012 (or was it 2011? Whatever.), I read about this Light Novel called "The Circumstances Leading to Waltraude's Marriage" that although the story didn't give much impact to me, the characters does... especially Waltraude (I don't know if I got her name right) with her so many excuses in her "reluctance" in doing a wife's job(s); and Freya, the Goddess of Fertility, with her...... fertility (you know what I mean). It was a funny LN. But make no mistake, the contents of the chapter is not related in any way with this LN. I just recalled this LN in the spur of the moment because of the contents of the chapter and so decided to name the chapter after that LN.... but *disclaimer* the chapter contents aren't connected to that LN, it's only the title itself... but it's not a spoiler... but, oh well, yeah, whatever.....

Enjoy the read.

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Chapter 056: The Circumstances Leading to Providing Emails

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When Alice received the message, she was so shocked that she audibly gasped and pulled the attention of the Atropos members around her.

"What is it?" Paak approached her and asked.

"There's going to be a War. A huge one." she put it in simpler words but it still felt vague and very surprising considering the members of Atropos was not too trusting of an outsider like her.

Still, the colors on her face drained as she felt a true sense of fear for Baron's safety. "This is madness... this is just too....... this is... this is..."

If it was seen in a gamer-mode visual rendering, FlowerLord would've looked like a trembling cat with an emoji of being scared above her head.

But all of these people are pro-gamers.

To them, experiencing the game means turning off all unnecessary settings and just plainly living in it like it was 'real' reality.

"Efel, why are you trembling? You're scaring me."

FlowerLord looked at Waan and bit her lips.

"I just received a paid newsletter from a contact in the Terran-Human Alliance... they said that an entire Demon Armada consisting of trillions of Demons and eight Motherships the same size as the one that appeared in Jeremiah is coming to Terroa within nine months. Preparations for war are already undergoing its initial arrangements."

FlowerLord showed them the email but hid the other details from view and reading it made them all frown with some even gasping in surprise just like how FlowerLord did.

"I don't believe it. Tis gotta be a lie!" A member tried to say it without his voice trembling but he ultimately failed as his face was a look of panic.

He wasn't scared of the Demons. He was scared of not being able to go back.

"Stark, what about our mission?"

The man in question was silent.

He was still mulling over what he just read.

FlowerLord was also deep in thought. This event caused so much change in Terroa. Only a few hours had passed and yet Siva was already on a new task right after accomplishing something.

—Does he ever even rest?

Still...

There was no reason for Siva to scare them by sending a false message, especially when it was concerning the last family he had left.

And thus, just by that alone, she knew that the news was genuine and that Siva won't let the guy who told him this information go if he was lying.

Stark didn't let this news go and quickly tried to calm his members and asking FlowerLord, "Are you sure this is legit?"

FlowerLord replied, "Why would I lie about it? As far as I know, this is genuine news. I trust my source since I paid for it."

Stark narrowed his eyes and said, "Then we will also begin preparations for this war. All members are to mobilize your assets to make sure that we will be fully armed when it comes. Buy all items in bulk starting at the soonest."

{So that's why the prices of items are spiking up.}

{If it is indeed true, we have to prepare as well.}

{My guess is it's not only us who're ahead of the pack in this news.}

{By moving ASAP, we can avoid the spike in price of items in the market. An early bee gets more of the honey.}

{I'm arranging orders and bidding on items now.}

The Battle-AIs seemed to connect a few dots in the rising market prices of certain items.

"How do we even know that she's not lying?" it was an untrusting member.

Stark looked over at FlowerLord and then to that member and spoke stoically, "It's better to commit a mistake and be prepared for nothing by trusting her than be caught unprepared when she turned out to be correct. Now get the move in it. It's just a couple of Credits and Zentra... what's not worth spending it?"

At the last words he said, Stark surveyed all of his members with his gaze.

"Remember what we gathered here for." He left the words and then gave FlowerLord one last look before going back to the projector table.

Stark looked over the struggle for those warship remains and resources. It was also at this point in time that the Dwarf-AI on the side talked with his cigar lit on his lips and the grey smoke wandering off around him like mist.

{There are movements from the Haven Dust.}

Eyes began to point at the direction of the Haven Dust Company's location in their maps. More than 50 people wearing high-end equipments run at full speed towards the direction of the wreckage.

There was an obvious quarreling amongst their ranks and many members seemed to favor those departing figures' actions than listening to that guy who seemed to be their leader.

"Did you lip-read what they were quarreling about in there?" Stark asked the Dwarf-AI.

{The leader of the ones that departed spoke of pride and something whatever. The leader that remained said something about it not being their orders but the departing group's leader said that it was his orders, not theirs.}

Stark nodded and everyone also understood.

FlowerLord also agreed to the departing leader's point in there. Actually, she'd most likely feel the same way like him if she saw Siva pillaging their warship's remains after he destroyed it. That was actually an open act of provocation to their pride.

"Stark, should we help Siva?" the Analyst asked and because of her job that she knew that Siva is just acting out of necessity.

Stark remained silent, staring intently at the huge mess that just now unfolded. The Haven Dust Company saw Siva's actions as not giving them their due respect. It was the remains of their own warship and yet he was openly looting them while knowing that they were there outside.

The fight escalated quickly than they thought and casualties piled up —only— those casualties are on the company's side. Siva's lackeys still haven't lost a single member.

"Look at them... Siva's underlings are strong."

"They're all martial artists... strong!"

"Look! That Gunslinger... he's mixing martial arts with his guns... it's scary how accurate he can hit the enemies around him. He can even cover his allies without looking back."

"That Swordsman is scary... he can swing that big swo—WAIT! Did he just cut a spell midair?!!"

"HOLY SH—these guys are crazy strong!"

"They're insanely fast!"

"What perfect coordination!"

"It's like they have eyes at the back of their heads with that kind of perfect team work!"

FlowerLord already knew just how cheating of an 'item' Siva's BM-Puppets were. They move and act like people, even speak like people along with accents and perfect 'character' intonation... but all of them were mere programmed reactions and their mode of communications were through their embedded Communicator Devices.

His BM-Puppets were almost human, except that all of them were still dependent on the fact that Siva should be there to provide output.

The Atropos members were surprised at just how strong Siva's lackeys were. They aren't weaker than the members of their already elite team!

Stark commented, "Although they're strong, the guys from Haven Dust Company aren't weak as well. Those who fell are those weaker members of their organization. Look, they're already being pushed back. I think it's better to help Siva. Make him owe us a favor by helping him gather these resources."

"But we can use these resources as well for ourselves though..."

Stark glared at the commenter.

"Do you want to go back or what? These are just temporary things... what's important is that we'll go back. Siva is our key to that. It's better to get his favor than to antagonize him... don't you get it at all?"

The member shut his mouth and retreated at the far back of their little gathering. Stark addressed the rest of the Atropos team:

"Remember this. Siva is our closest key and the most secure ticket into getting back to that era. I will not tolerate any act of aggression that will put us on a hostile position against him in any way in this mission. Always do your best to draw the line between us and his enemies. When you see his subordinates, help them. Get all those resources for him and if you can help it, provide support as necessary if one of them gets injured or are about to be injured. Do you understand?"

"""We copy."""

"Good. Move it."

When Stark gave the command, 80% of the men and women in the room departed and only Stark and the core members of Atropos were left along with Paak and Waan who came with FlowerLord in the large sofa.

Stark approached FlowerLord. "Was there any reply from him?"

"I told you already... I don't think it would be him that would be replying. It should be one of his allies or one of his friends. I'm not so sure. Last time, I was told 'bout this but this time, I'm actually sure that this is already the case."

Paak and Waan snuggled with FlowerLord while Stark pulled back while giving the twins a glance.

Waan whispered at FlowerLord, "Efel, tell me the truth, aren't you a friend of the Fairy of the Lake that was close with Siva?"

FlowerLord's expression almost crumpled but a thought entered her mind and she knew she can only lie at this point.

"We're not that close but we're okay, I guess. I also got all the info about that auction of the True Dragon Blood from her, anyways. I'm pretty sure our relationship is not on the level of being best friends. Hell I'm not even close to Siva like her!"

Paak snuggled from her other side, "How much did you pay for the True Dragon Blood? Do you know just how hard it was to increase your stats the usual way? You gotta repeat boring stuffs in a daily basis and after a week, you only get to up your stats by one point. It's tiresome and boring!"

Waan added, "And you know what, I'd also gotten a contact from Panorama who told me that it was supposed to be three years later where Dragons should be appearing in the game. But the way the game is developing now was actually too fast and too early according to their predictions. And it all happened because of Siva!"

FlowerLord looked at her, "I thought you guys knew Siva is an NPC? I only met the guy once but I myself also thought he was one since his actions and replies to questions were fixed and even repetitive. It was one of his friends who met me when I paid for that boost up. I'm pretty sure those guys are players but I'm not sure they're all from Panorama Corporation."

Of course she was just faking. FlowerLord was looking and studying any Intel she might be able to grab from this Atropos.

She actually felt sorry for the twins.

Paak chuckled, "You're still too inexperienced in a game, Efel. How many hours has it only been since Siva posted a live feed when he fought that NPC? I'm pretty sure he's still online right now and that he's only choosing not to reply to your messages."

"What do you mean?"

"He's both an NPC and a Player." Waan said and Paak explained: "Think of it this way... Siva...... is controlled by the game's publishers themselves!"

FlowerLord's heart skipped a beat.

The imagination of these guys sure is sky-high in scale and intensity. How did they think of this kind of theory? For someone like her who knew of the truth, everything they're saying is actually a little funny.

Paak continued "Look. No kind of player could be this strong in just a short amount of time. We've researched Siva's history and I can tell you that he's only ever made an appearance around three or four months ago in the Central Continent. And based on our Intel, from day one, he's already so strong at that time that it was like cheating! Many witnesses said he hunted entire packs of Herons by himself. Someone that strong ain't normal and more so not a casual player. If he was, he'd have been cashing in a lot of dough just from all those game and resources."

—the guy's desperate, what can you expect?

FlowerLord only said that to herself. She didn't show any sign that she was covering for the lie and prompted her instead, "What's your point?"

Waan answered, "It's a GM's avatar, Efel. Siva is both an NPC and a [GM] at the same time! This explains why all of his actions were supported by Panorama and the reason why he's abnormally so strong for a single person. He is connected to the game's storyline, don't you get it?"

"Oh!" FlowerLord reacted as if she only realized.

She had her own share of gamer-IQ and so knew what a GM (Game Manager) is like in a game. But of course, she knew the truth behind it.

And of course, according to conventional logic, a [GM] will be, one way or another, knowledgeable to the game's story line. They'll be there to either promote the game or manage it from within.

But...

He is not an Ai. Period. And he is definitely not a Game Manager or whatever.

He is strong because circumstances needed him to be. Period.

Thinking about it all now, in fact, made the girl named 'Alice' behind the game avatar FlowerLord feel a little pity for him. From the very beginning, Rex was never a normal boy. Having parents as contemporary geniuses were both a boon and a curse... where right now, the curse was plaguing his and his brother's lives and the boon nowhere to be seen at the moment.

"Right! If its Panorama Corp., it's not impossible to create a GM account like Siva that will act like a bot when there is no player controlling it."

(AN: these are all gamer terms, guys, where GM is a person on conventional MMORPG titles that watches out and search for cheaters, MOD (Moderator) loopholes, and bugs in their game's programming that can affect the gameplay or the experience of the game; while a "bot" is an AI, in simple terms, having limited reply patterns and unsophisticated reaction protocol)

FlowerLord made a face as if she's been saying the truth all this time, "So there you have it. The reason why he can't reply to my messages all this time is probably because he, as a GM, can't."

According to gamer-logic, GMs cannot provide preferential treatment to normal players. They're there for the company, not to play the game.

It was this 'idea' that FlowerLord thought was the one plaguing Atropos' mindsets.

For Siva, nothing was more perfect of a cover to his goals than this one. She'd have to get him to owe him a favor with this one. Hmp!

—maybe I can use this to pull him away from Mandy? Hmp!

"Efel, can't you really give us his contact info? I can perhaps do something about the GM."

FlowerLord looked at the twins wearing a pained expression, "You guys, please don't use that face at me. You know it as well... we're both part of The Circle.....unlike you, I only now have this as my career after I quit my job as a Med-Tech two months ago. I can't compromise my only way of earning my income. I'm sorry. I signed a contract and made a Vow to not divulge any information I paid for from them to anyone."

(AN: For those who don't know; a Med-Tech is that 'assistant' kind-of-thing for Nurses. While the Nurses are assistants for Doctors, Med-Techs are assistants for Nurses —or at least in some general sense since I'm not sure of how their exact designation goes on hospitals. (Source: my neighbor who was once a Med-Tech so don't trust me on this. Just giving you some idea?)

The twins sighed. They understood it when there was a Vow involved in a contract.

While it does not restrict the players, the system will still constrain any information that will directly violate the rules documented on the contract.

Paak insisted, "But you can send me an email of it in real life, right?"

Waan added, "Right... maybe... maybe.... we can do that? We'll pay you!"

"You guys..."

FlowerLord was both hurt and confused by her friends' attitude. But she also understood at one point or another that because they're somewhat similar to Rex, they were almost forgetting their relationship as friends just to get what they want.

Yet for some reason or another, Siva had already anticipated something like this happening for the members of the Asgard and that's why he made a few bogus email accounts specifically for those instances that the members are being pushed at the ends of their patience and wits, or is being coerced or forced into providing his contact info.

Many emails, many different scenario uses and purposes. There are 180+ of them emails and all of them have their many kinds of conditions on each of them. If Siva gets an email on a certain email.add, he'd know what's happening on that member and will know how to treat their situation.

Still, Siva had specifically warned them that they would only use these emails for emergencies.

—this IS an emergency!

Since she was already pushed to the limits, why doesn't she use this chance to get some cash?

FlowerLord had already used the options and all guidelines to brush off people out of their backs that Siva had provided them.

But the enemies right now are formidable (they're her friends) so she lost and had no options left but to compromise.

—in the end, we're even.

FlowerLord bit her lower lip and looked at the two of them, "How much are you going to pay for it?"

"Oh Efel, you're the best!"

"Waaa!! You're so cute, I'm gonna die!"

The twins were jubilant and embraced her with a tight hug. Paak and Waan gave her the email.add she'd use to send Siva's contact details to while FlowerLord checked her "list of emails" with the correct scenario description to provide to the two of them.

Meanwhile, in the middle of their 'negotiations', while the fight between the Haven Dust Company and Siva's minions were intensifying with fatalities minimized to one employee (for members of the Haven Dust Company) per two or so minutes, an unexpected change occurred in Dragona.

*****

Terroa Day Today Channel, Brad Goldini hosted the show alone since a few months ago, his co-host and daughter-of-the-CEO, Kathleen Brew, had quit everything and became a hermit.

Nobody knows where she was —not even her dad or any of her so called friends.

But they all thought that she was crazy.

She was always crying and screaming a name...