LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 226
After entering through the main gate, I temporarily entered a room on the third floor and lightly treated my party members along with Acella.
Everyone had almost no injuries.
“Let’s head back.”
As I casually mentioned this, Acella frowned as if displeased.
“What kind of doctor is so unfriendly?”
Lishe immediately took out a map and devised a strategy.
“The fortress is surrounded by a river, so enemy infantry can’t attack us directly. But it’s only a matter of time.”
I agreed.
“We need to focus on taking down the Spider Lord above all else. That powerful demon will be hard to defend against for regular soldiers.”
Tanya’s point had merit. However, my strategy from experience was a bit different.
“The undead army is in an enhanced state. Their stamina, speed, and defense are about 20% increased compared to normal. The Spider Lord is the same.”
“Is that really true? That’s terrifying. It was already a powerful demon.”
“It’s the work of the Ritch. The Spider Lord was summoned by the Ritch, so in the end, we have to take him down.”
Tanya agreed with the key point I emphasized.
“If the undead army collapses, the follow-up Demon King army will only have the demon race left, so it’ll take them some time to regroup.”
“If we defeat the Ritch, the allied forces will buy a lot of time. In the meantime, we can use the teleport gate to head into the Demon Realm.”
Lishe accurately assessed the situation.
“The Ritch is a 7th tier wizard. Comparable to a sage among humans.”
“Not an easy opponent…”
“Faust’s army seems to be very knowledgeable about the Demon King army,” Ambrosia questioned.
Since time was short, I rushed to explain, but it certainly seemed suspicious.
However, I had a good excuse.
“Gothberg informed me. Didn’t Gis also know the Demon King’s army quite well?”
“That’s certainly true. Gis the healer… fought his heart out.”
Lishe took a moment to honor him.
“If he’s a wizard who has reached such a high realm, don’t you think it should be you who faces him?”
That was Acella’s statement.
“How could you possibly lay a paralysis potion on someone like her? Faust, I will hold you accountable for your actions once this battle is over.”
Hmm, it seemed Acella’s first impression of Faust wasn’t very good.
Considering we would be hunting the Demon King together in the future, I needed to make up for it right now.
“It seems you still have symptoms left. Let me treat you a bit more. Everyone else, please step out for a moment.”
As the party members left the room, only Acella and I remained. I opened my item box and took out a vitality potion, enhanced vitamins, and a tonic.
I mixed them together to make it easy to drink and handed it to Acella.
“Drink this. You’ll feel much better.”
She looked at me with disdain for a moment, then took the flask and gulped it down.
She quickly felt the change in her body and took a deep breath.
“Hmph, I have to admit your skills.”
“Aren’t you his master?”
“But his judgment is lacking. If it were Lars, he would have done his utmost to support me in defeating the Ritch right there.”
“You speak as if you know Gothberg well.”
“Well, I…”
Acella trailed off, avoiding my gaze.
“…is nothing anymore.”
Acella sighed.
“But he would have avoided that position. He could have defeated it, but there would be no backup. Gothberg is a man who values his own life above all.”
“How can you be so sure about what I know?”
“…Haha, I do know. Just recently, I was with him in the former country. We even rode sleds together.”
“Sleds, you say?”
“I made a sledding area by clearing a hillside.”
“…That sounds fun.”
Acella stared blankly into space.
Maybe she was imagining the former country?
“It seems you haven’t sent any official letters to the former country. I understand there have been several cooperation requests from the allied forces to Mokhwi Palace. They also came from the kingdom and principality.”
Without thinking, I blurted out my personal curiosity.
In the past, the Moonlight Palace had never sent a letter to the former country.
I assumed it was Acella expressing her feelings to me since our engagement was broken off.
I could have contacted her first, but considering the succession and imperial internal affairs, she was likely busy, so there was no point in getting in the way. I thought provoking her further might harm the allied forces.
But looking at Acella here, I began to wonder if there was a different intent behind it.
I was curious about how she had been.
“What was it like in the Moonlight Palace?”
In response to my question, Acella narrowed her eyes. She was wary of me, Faust.
“It’s between me and Lars. It’s none of your business. If you’re really curious, just speak up first.”
Acella hesitated for a moment and then asked me.
“How is Lars… doing?”
“He’s doing well.”
“…I see, that’s good. …Is there any chance that another woman is proposing to him?”
“I’ve heard there have been several marriage offers from the nobility of the empire or royalty from small countries.”
At my answer, Acella’s face contorted.
“…Has Lars accepted?”
I shook my head.
“That ring on the princess’s hand.”
Acella looked down at her left hand.
The simple design of the ring shone subtly.
“A ring of the same shape is still on Gothberg’s ring finger.”
“…Is that really true?”
For the first time since we met again, a blush came to Acella’s face.
She had always been soaked in irritation and anger, but this was the first smile I had seen from her.
“That’s true. At least from what I’ve seen, he never once took it off.”
“Hmm, tell me more.”
Acella showed interest, crossing her legs and resting her chin on her hand while focusing on my story.
“He told me a secret about the ring.”
“What is it?”
“You must have heard about the functions of the ring regarding Gothberg.”
“Yes. I was told to scratch this slit with my fingernail in case of danger.”
“The ring is quite a rare artifact. It has a function that lets the wearer communicate their location to another person.”
“…So it has that function.”
Acella gazed longingly at the ring.
“The moment you use that function, Gothberg will immediately know the whereabouts of Her Royal Highness. If you’re in trouble, use it. Who knows, he might even come to your aid.”
“Ha.”
Acella scoffed and grabbed her wand.
As she put on her mask and stood up, she tied her hair up, making it sway like a ponytail.
“Don’t talk nonsense. Do you think I’d rely on him even jokingly?”
Acella turned to me with eyes full of venom and commanded.
“Until we take down the Demon King, you must keep me safe. I must return alive no matter what.”
I lightly nodded.
“I accept.”
After Acella left, I checked my disguise once more and stepped out of the room.
“Faust, can I talk to you for a moment?”
Standing in front of me was Tanya.
Tanya had a good sense; I thought she might catch on to my identity.
“It’s good timing. Come here.”
I immediately took her behind the corridor.
After confirming that there was no one around, I spoke to her.
“Commander, I need your help.”
“Teacher, what are you doing here?”
Tanya’s eyes narrowed into slits.
I couldn’t cover this whole situation on my own. I felt I could trust Tanya and ask for her help.
“Did you expect this?”
“A little bit. You’re suspiciously competent.”
“I am a bit competent. Regardless…”
“Was there really a need to hide your identity?”
“It’s a political issue. I wanted to inform the Hero party, but why is Acella here!”
“Oh.”
Tanya fell silent and puffed up her cheeks.
“I couldn’t relay it at all. The magic of the pact turned out to be stronger than I thought.”
“You’re right. No tricks work. Anyway, it’s good to see you. You’ve worked hard during this time.”
We fist-bumped. It felt like I had returned to the old days seeing her again.
“I’ll be with you until we take down the Demon King. I realized that leaving it to others won’t work out properly.”
“I knew you would do that with your personality.”
“Now I’m a hospital director.”
“Congratulations. If I had known it would be this hectic, I should have gone to the former country.”
“You’re a Swordmaster now. Hang in there.”
I patted Tanya on the shoulder and handed her a bag of candy. Tanya pulled out a candy from the bag and popped it into her mouth.
“It’s cinnamon flavor.”
“It has a defense increase effect. Other people shouldn’t know, but Acella must not know. If she finds out, it’ll definitely affect her mentality, and there will be problems in the party.”
Tanya stroked her chin, deep in thought, then nodded.
“That seems to make sense. I should have delivered that earlier somehow, but she probably wouldn’t have noticed just from her physique or stride.”
“Then that’s a relief.”
“But now that you’re here, the odds of winning have greatly increased. Let’s finish off the Demon King and head to the beach for a vacation.”
“Are you footing the bill for that?”
“I’ll just bring the alcohol.”
Tanya confidently smiled as she tightened her armor at the neck and walked away.
I stuffed candy into my mouth beneath the mask and followed her.