Chapter 28: Forging a Plan
Freya sat at the head of the table.
Settled into the grand armchair, one leg crossed over the other, an elbow resting on the armrest and her fist propped against her cheek, she let her cold gaze slide slowly over her four subordinates.
Each of them waited in her own way.
Laïa was simply smiling, radiating a quiet joy for life that belonged to her alone. Naïa had already put her serious mask back on and was staring at Freya, ready to catch her every word. Mei, for her part, had pulled her helm back on, one last rampart between herself and the rest of the world. And finally Aria, her face more closed than usual, was still wondering whether she had truly disappointed her mistress earlier.
Silence reigned in the chamber, and tension with it, all of it hanging on the gaze that weighed on them.
None of them dared break it. The fire crackled softly in the hearth, the only sound in the room, its peaceful murmur almost out of place as the seconds stretched on. Freya said nothing. She simply looked at them, one after another, in no hurry, letting that silence alone do all the work for her.
A little aura-farming never hurts every now and then.
Freya held back an inner laugh, let it hang a second or two longer, then resumed a normal posture and broke the silence.
"Right! First things first. Aria, what was that beast, that Faceless Devourer? And what the hell is that world under our feet? And most of all, why don’t those things come up and attack the human world?"
Aria’s expression turned serious at once.
"Faceless Devourers live in zones of very high mana density. They’re normally rare beasts — the world holds very few of them, around three thousand two hundred and ninety-eight, from what I know. Their power rests essentially on physical force, with a reduced magical core that mostly serves to—"
Freya raised both hands.
"STOP!"
The cry escaped her despite herself.
"Uh... sorry, Aria, but like last time, keep it short, please. Just tell me the most likely theory about the world below, if you have one. And the same for why the monsters don’t come back up."
Aria seemed to think. Her eyes began to scroll across the empty air, as if she were seeing and cross-referencing, in that instant, thousands, maybe millions of things none of the others could perceive or even imagine.
For an instant, the devoted, possessive servant vanished, giving way to something far vaster, something that carried within it a part of the world’s knowledge.
"The legend of the demigod and the dragon king seems to hold a grain of truth. Their clash must have generated such a quantity of mana that an ecosystem built itself all around it over the centuries. And it’s possible that one of the two came out of it alive, or something of that nature, and that it refuses to be spotted from the surface, for some reason I couldn’t say. Given the information I have, that’s the most likely and realistic line of reasoning."
Freya took her time absorbing the words.
"I see. That would explain why it doesn’t want what dwells down there coming up to the surface — and the other way around too."
"It’s the most likely, at any rate," Aria replied.
"And if that’s really it... could you beat a demigod, or a dragon king?"
"If it’s a pure one-on-one, with no outside interference or anything of the sort, yes."
Outside interference, or anything of the sort? Is she talking about having to protect me?
Either way, it was reassuring to know she could come out on top against an entity of that level.
"Good. That settles that." Freya moved on. "Now, the matter of Baron Frarken. The way I see it, we need to go on the offensive in human lands. We stayed passive last time, and it cost us dearly."
To her great surprise, Aria nodded without reservation.
"I agree. We need to start drawing closer to human society, for your grand design."
"Then it’s decided. The question is how to go about it." Freya settled her chin into her palm. "I’d like us to get close to the baron without just killing him. To find out who the anonymous one behind him is, first."
This time, it was Naïa who spoke up.
"Why not simply capture him, to make him talk?"
Aria answered her with all the gentleness and patience of a tutor.
"The problem is that his disappearance, or his death, might alert the anonymous one — the one I told you and Laïa about — and make him flee. On top of that, nothing guarantees he even knows the identity of the one who hired him. It’s entirely possible that party has stayed anonymous even to the baron himself. And if that’s the case, the move would be fatal, because it would bring us no information at all while warning our real target."
Naïa nodded at the thorough explanation.
"I see. I understand better now. Best to stay cautious in situations like this, and not rush things."
"Exactly."
Aria gently rubbed the top of her head, and a smile bloomed on Naïa’s face at the simple gesture.
They really are adorable, those two, like that. They almost look like a mother and her daughter...
Freya softened for a moment, before the relentless logic of her brain caught up with her.
But wait. In that case, wouldn’t that make me the other mother?! Then I have to say something too! For our daughter’s sake!
"On top of that," she launched in, "even though we already have Aria’s information, we can take the chance to verify it on the ground and dig deeper. Get to know our surroundings better, and forge a few useful connections along the way."
Naïa nodded again.
"I understand."
There. I’ve done my share of mothering too.
"So that settles the matter. There’s only one point left to cover: how to infiltrate the human town, gain influence there, and get close to the baron."
They were interrupted the very moment someone came into the chamber.
It was Jūyon. Her little cap was glowing a brilliant pink, the pure color of joy, and she trotted straight toward Freya, looking terribly proud of herself.
"Kyu! Kyuu! Kyu~~~"
"You want to show us something, and you want us to follow you?" Freya translated, just to confirm.
"Kyu!" Jūyon agreed emphatically.
Freya rose at once.
The strategic problem could wait. Jūyon couldn’t. Nor the Mycofoxes. Nor those dear to her.
And so, with the girls, they crossed the dungeon in the little fox’s wake, until they came out in front of the Forge, where Jūyon proudly pointed at a sword laid there.
Freya stepped up and lifted it. The blade caught the light in the hollow of her hand.
[ Novice Mithrite Sword — Rank C ]
[ A sword forged by a beginner smith, yet of high quality thanks to the mithrite-and-iron alloy it was cast in. ]
She must have taken the bandit swords from the Storage Vault, along with some mithrite, to manage this.
And honestly, for a first try... it’s quite the achievement. Far better than anything we had until now!
"Jūyon!" Freya leaned down toward her. "Did you make this? It’s magnificent!"
The little cap flared to an incandescent pink, and Jūyon rose up on her paws, swelling with pride, letting out delighted "Kyu!"s. Around them, the girls drew closer to admire the work.
"It’s really beautiful..." Laïa breathed, eyes shining, not daring to touch it.
"The work is clean. Even." Naïa nodded with a connoisseur’s air she almost certainly didn’t have. "Truly fine work, Jūyon."
Even Mei extended a hesitant hand, took the blade, gave it a single turn through the air to test its balance, then set it back down with a small approving nod, without a word.
Jūyon drank in every compliment, her cap flickering with happiness at each new bit of praise.
It was then that Aria spoke up.
"What if we used the mithrite market as our foothold?"
Freya lifted her head. The gears started turning at full speed, and as she untangled what the proposal implied, a smile came to her lips.
Of course. Her gaze settled on Aria. We start by moving mithrite on the black market. That gives us a glimpse of the underground network, its players, its rules. We weave our web into it little by little, we take control of the underside, and when the day comes, we’ve become a force the baron simply won’t be able to afford to ignore anymore.
The plan unfolded on its own in her head, crystal clear, each piece slotting into the next.
"Jūyon." Freya bent down, scooped up the little fox and hoisted her overhead at arm’s length. "You’re a genius. A genius!"
And under the dumbfounded stares of the girls, the Calamity of Greed began bouncing around the Forge with a smith Mycofox brandished above her head, laughing like a kid who’s just found the last piece of her puzzle.