458. The Plan Is Simple

“Graaaah!”

“Grrrrrr.”

“Gnah—”

Edithe covered her ears as she heard the whining. But the baby Wyvenrs wouldn’t stop. Even when Ismail Zuland tried to placate them. He was a [Beastmaster]. The best Edithe knew. Yet, nothing he did could calm the Novis, Bellum, and Oriur.

“Ugh, why are we on babysitting duty, anyway?”

The redhead groaned as she sat back on the wagon. Ismail glared at her. His Pegasus snorted behind him.

“I’m the one babysitting them. You are just sitting there and whining like they are.”

“Oh, uh, sorry.”

She shrank back as the [Beastmaster] went back to tending to the baby Wyverns. It was a rather large wagon they were gathered in. It was almost like a transportation cart for horses and the like, except it was repurposed for Ismail’s Pegasus to stay. Unfortunately, he and his trusty flying steed found themselves sharing a room with Novis, Bellum, and Oriur since the three of them couldn’t just walk the entire way to the Inoria Empire.

And that led to this situation. Edithe lay back against the cart where she sat as the three whining baby Wyverns continued to cry, unhappy that Salvos wasn’t here. Ismail Zuland tried his best to cheer them up, but it didn’t matter. A [Will O’ Wisp] followed after the cart, giggling in amusement at the scene.

“Willy, can you help us?”

Edithe turned to the Grand Spirit. He just stared at her, speaking in a blunt voice.

“No.”

She rolled her eyes in response. The redhead glanced over at the baby Wyverns as Ismail picked one up, only for it… him? Her? She couldn’t really tell. But the baby Wyvern the Ismail picked up spat at him.

“Why are they even going with us, anyway?”

Edithe asked. Willy answered.

“Because.”

“Because?”

“Salvos.”

“That’s… true.”

She scratched the back of her head. He snorted in response. Then she shook her head.

“I get Salvos is their mother. But don’t you think that it’s dangerous to bring these babies into a warzone?”

It was a genuine concern. A valid question that most normal people would ask themselves before bringing their children to the battlefield. But Salvos wasn’t a normal person. She was… well, as she’d put it: she was Salvos.

Which meant that such things rarely ever crossed her mind. And it was up to Edithe and the other adult Humans around the silver-haired girl to ensure that she was somewhat responsible. Well, in Salvos’ mind she was being responsible. But in any sensible person’s mind, she clearly wasn’t.

“I just wish Salvos were here so I can talk to her about it…”

Edithe trailed off. Unbeknownst to the redhead, the three baby Wyverns were saying the exact same thing. Except— in a language that she couldn’t understand. Willy’s flames flickered as he looked up.

“She’s here.”

He spoke simply. The redhead blinked.

“What?”

She glanced up just in time to see a blue glint descending from the sky. Salvos landed right before the wagon as Edithe blinked. The three baby Wyverns cheered, wrangling themselves away from the disgruntled Ismail Zuland. They rushed over to the silver-haired girl as Edithe got to her feet as well.

“Salvos—”

Edithe started. But Salvos quickly spoke over her.

“Hey, Edithe! Did you see Daniel around here? I’m looking for him.”

“Daniel? He should be, uh, over there with the forces from the Council of Cremont.”

The redhead pointed, and the silver-haired girl nodded.

“I see. Thanks!”

Salvos turned to go. But the baby Wyverns whined, calling out to her. They hopped up and down excitedly, glad to see that their mother was there. She glanced back quickly and waved.

“Hey guys! Hope you’re doing well! Edithe and Willy are taking good care of you, right? That’s good— I gotta run now, bye!”

And the silver-haired girl took off. Edithe blinked, staring on as Salvos flew towards where Daniel was. The baby Wyverns looked on in shock too. Then they deflated.

Willy sighed.

“Idiot.”

“I am quite surprised that you decided to pick [Trader] as your second Class.”

Mons Merryster smiled as she followed after the [Hero]. Daniel Song glanced back at the woman. He nodded slowly, offering her a polite smile.

“Well, as I explained to you earlier, it’s not something I really put a lot of thought into. I guess I just wanted something that didn’t have anything to do with fighting?”

Daniel shook his head. It was quite obvious that she was interested in him because he was a [Hero]. There had already been a swarm of other girls who had tried to take advantage of the young man from Earth— but he was already used to it. He had experience in this before, especially back when he had first been summoned. So, he rejected these women with ease.

Mons was different. He couldn’t be so blunt. He was trying his best to turn her down as kindly as he could. But he couldn’t figure out how to put it into words. Especially since this was Saffron’s sister. Still, he had to try his best to reject her.

“I do apologize though, lady Merryster—”

Daniel started. Mons waved a hand off dismissively.

“Please, Mrs Merryster is fine. I am no noble. I gave up that heritage of mine ages ago when I met my husband.”

“Right, Mrs— wait, what?”

He blinked a few times. That couldn’t be right. He was almost entirely certain she had been… but that—

Mons raised a brow at the [Hero].

“Is something the matter?”

“I…”

Daniel flushed at the realization. He had been misconstruing her… well, intentions. And that made him shift back uncomfortably. He wasn’t sure how to respond or even react, but fortunately, he didn’t need to say a word.

“Daniel!”

A voice cried out as he looked up. Mons glanced up in confusion as well, sputtering.

“What—”

“Sorry for interrupting!”

Salvos landed between the young man and the veteran [Trader]. Mons stepped back, nodding at the silver-haired girl.

“You’re… Saffron’s friend, aren’t you?”

“Yep! Can I borrow Daniel for a second?”

“...sure?”

Daniel stared on as Salvos and Mons quickly conversed, before the veteran [Trader] excused herself in confusion. The young man watched as Mons left, whispering to himself.

“Fuck, that was embarrassing.”

He was just glad he didn’t accuse her of anything she wasn’t actually doing. But before he could luxuriate in his relief, Salvos interrupted him. The silver-haired girl grinned, turning to the young man.

“Daniel!”

“Salvos?”

He eyed her, slightly grateful she helped abate that embarrassing situation, but also flummoxed.

“Do you need something? What happened?”

“Oh, it’s nothing too urgent.”

Salvos smiled as she sidled close to Daniel. She patted him on the shoulder a few times.

“I was just checking up on you, my companion!”

“Right…”

For some reason, the young man didn’t trust her tone of voice. He leaned back, trying to give himself some distance from her.

“And?”

He pressed her. Salvia tapped a finger innocently on her chin.

“Well… I was just wondering— do you still have the Sword of Alexander on you?”

“I do.”

Daniel gestured towards the blade sheathed at his side. Salvos eyed it, a finger still on her lips.

“Can I take a look at it? Just to see if it’s still in tip-top shape, you know?”

“That’s… uh, sure?”

The young man wasn’t really sure what angle she was going for. But he’d rather indulge the silver-haired girl than try to understand what she was going for. Especially when she was being purposefully reticent like right now.

He unsheathed the Sword of Alexander and handed it over to her. Salvos’ eyes grew wide as she held onto the Mythical Grade artifact. The iridescent glimmer of the blade reflected in her eyes as she admired it.

“Huh.”

“It seems perfectly fine to me.”

Daniel drew closer to inspect it. The silver-haired girl swiveled around away from him, nodding.

“Yep. It seems perfectly fine to me. Just like how I found it.”

“So there is nothing wrong with it?”

He scratched his cheeks. She nodded.

“Nope!”

Her answer was simple yet cheerful. The smile on her face didn’t waver, even as she turned back to Daniel. He reached forward, sighing in relief.

“That’s good—”

And he frowned as his hand passed through the air. Salvos had taken a step back, holding the Sword of Alexander just far enough away from his reach.

“Salvos?”

“Yep?”

She cocked her head at him. He hesitated.

“Everything’s fine, right?”

“Yep! Everything is perfect!”

Salvos nodded enthusiastically in response. Daniel was still uncertain.

“No chinks in the blade? The Sword of Alexander still works, right?”

“It does! I can feel its power coursing through me!”

“...”

“...”

Neither one said a thing, even though they held each other's gaze. The [Hero] bit his lower lip.

“Is that all you needed?”

He asked, uncertain. She met his gaze, nodding once again.

“Yep!”

Still, Daniel felt something was off. There was a moment where he did nothing. Then he stepped forward, reaching for the Sword of Alexander.

“I’ll be taking this b—”

“AlsoI’mborrowingthisforabitbye!”

All at once, Salvos jumped back and flew away. Daniel froze mid-step. He didn’t move, even when Mons Merryster returned, confused about what happened. She looked at Daniel, utterly befuddled.

“What just—”

“I don’t know.”

He sighed. Then he shrugged.

“Salvos happened.”

“Now I just have one more thing I need…”

I flew away from the marching army as they crossed through the forest at impossible speeds… well, they were slow compared to me. But even I could acknowledge that they were moving fast for such a large group.

Anyway, I didn’t care. I landed a ways away from the army, making sure that no one was following me and doing whatever I could to hide my trail. When I knew I was completely alone, I called out to the person I was searching for.

“Belzu.”

And from the darkness, the Primeval Demon emerged. He looked at me with his bulbous eyes, clearly annoyed.

“Salvos. You’re not supposed to be here. Do you wish to ruin my cover?”

“Hey— you’re the one who wants to do that!”

I pointed accusingly at him. He shook his head.

“That is what you wish to believe. For now, I would prefer to remain in my disguise.”

“For now.”

I crossed my arms. He didn’t comment on that. Instead, Belzu clicked his mandibles together at me.

“Why are you here?”

“I want the Boots of Alexander.”

I spoke simply, cutting to the chase. He stared at me, affronted.

“We had a deal—”

He started. And I cut him off.

“Yep! We did! But I just want to borrow the Boots of Alexander for a bit. I will return it to you soon.”

Belzu eyed me suspiciously.

“You—”

I rolled my eyes.

“If I wasn’t going to keep to my promise to you, I wouldn’t have given you the Boots of Alexander in the first place. I’d have attacked you together with Helena Warshade. But I didn’t. So, just hand it over.”

I raised ah and expectantly. The Primeval Demon hesitated. Finally, he acquiesced.

“Hmph. Very well.”

He produced the Boots of Alexander, tossing it at my feet. I picked it up, grinning.

“Thanks!”

“What is it that you are planning?”

The Primeval Demon asked, now more curious than anything. I raised a finger.

“Well, I just thought about it, but honestly I don’t think we’re doing enough to deal with this whole grand ritual thing.”

“Humankind is incompetent as always. So what?”

Belzu harrumphed. I smiled, raising a hand as if I was grabbing something out of the air. The world began to twist as I laughed.

“So, I’ll help them be a little bit less incompetent!”

With that, the world around me vanished. For just a moment, I saw nothing but a bright flash of light. Then when I opened my eyes, I was standing in my Lair by myself. Belzu was nowhere around me. All I saw were scattered books and artifacts I didn’t use.

I stepped out of the little hovel, shaking my head as I saw a tall spire in the distance. Mavos Academy. The magical school city. My lips curled up as I wondered aloud.

“Now, then, how can I get you to join the fight, Clayton Skyshredder?”