Episode 397 – Companionship That Breaks Walls
“A festival? A grand and extravagant one at that?”
Samuel, who had been too absorbed in tea and dessert to pay much attention to the discussion, perked up at the word festival.
“Why? Are you interested in festivals?”
“Who isn’t interested in festivals?”
“That’s a relief. I was starting to get uncomfortable with everyone’s strange reactions.”
“Festivals are great. I’m in favor.”
Without hesitation, Samuel raised his hand in support.
Arthur chuckled and glanced around the room to gauge the mood.
As expected, sothing felt… off.
Realizing he’d misread the atmosphere, Samuel lowered his raised hand sheepishly.
The Elders were giving him particularly sharp glares. Perhaps because of Lily, Samuel seed especially weak to witches.
“Samuel, I’m disappointed. A real man sees things through.”
“Knowing when to compromise is also a virtue only true n possess.”
“Seems like the line between a real man and a coward is paper-thin.”
Samuel cleared his throat and avoided everyone’s eyes, sipping his tea, and Arthur’s declaration of a festival lost montum once again.
It was understandable. Just monts earlier, they had been discussing the fate of the Allied Army. To suddenly propose a festival did feel strange.
Eventually, Dorneth sighed and asked,
“You’re seriously proposing a festival?”
“It’s absolutely necessary.”
“And why is that?”
“Any ti you reset the board, you need a release. Nothing does that better than a festival.”
“In a situation where we’re facing both Demtor and Pri Root as enemies?”
It was hard enough just to focus on defense right now—preparing a festival seed absurd.
No one could understand Arthur’s thinking. The others were no different.
Seeing that, Arthur hesitated for a mont before asking a question.
“Dorneth, if you had to choose between defending Beneta and the Ordor Forest, which would you choose?”
“Well…”
Dorneth trailed off, glancing at the witches.
It wasn’t even a real question.
He was the lord of Beneta.
He’d obviously choose Beneta without hesitation.
“Then let ask this: would Tobaron’s army be willing to lay down their lives to protect the World Tree?”
“And what does the Tobaron region an to the witches? Would they be willing to give their lives for it?”
Arthur’s question exposed a weakness in the Allied Army that none of them had realized.
“Ah…!”
The first to understand was Nella, the elf. Having once unified Tobaron, she imdiately grasped Arthur’s point.
Why all of the Allied Army’s forces needed to gather in the city of vagrants to hold a festival.
“To give everyone a reason to protect each other. Because they’re not truly united yet.”
“Exactly.”
Arthur nodded with a smile at her answer.
“If the World Tree falls into enemy hands, the Allied Army is finished. Everyone will fight to protect it.
“For the races that call the Ordor Forest ho, this war is a matter of survival. But to Tobaron’s army, it might feel like a aningless sacrifice.”
“So through the festival, you want to give them a sense of purpose. Like making it clear that if the World Tree falls, so does Tobaron.”
“Precisely.”
Humans and dwarves, elves and witches—
The leaders of each group were present in this room.
Though they had shared battles and forged strong bonds, the rank-and-file soldiers still lacked the cohesion needed to truly call themselves a united force.
There were cultural gaps.
And awkwardness.
Arthur wanted to unify the Allied Army through this festival.
“I see…”
As they processed the exchange, the others began to understand just how important the festival was.
Having accepted that, they started offering their own ideas.
“We should select people to spread the ssage of how important the World Tree is.”
“Let’s give everyone a chance to make good mories. Let it happen naturally.”
“You can’t bond without alcohol. We’ll need so strong stuff.”
Ideas for the festival began pouring in enthusiastically.
However, Nella, who had been listening carefully, gradually furrowed her brow.
Having run the Blue Rose tavern, she understood the terrifying financial risks of a festival.
They were expecting tens of thousands of participants, maybe more.
A festival was nice, but could they afford the cost?
If Fenry heard about this, she might actually try to kill Arthur. Nella was determined to stop this part at least.
“Wait a mont. If this festival is for the entire Allied Army, it’ll cost a fortune!”
“It will. But we’ll have it soon. Fenry’s working hard.”
“You said earlier that you’re also preparing that massive wall construction fund…”
“Fenry’s handling that too. She’s busy scraping together every bit of unclaid money she can find.”
Arthur answered with a completely relaxed expression.
It’ll work out sohow.
Picturing the master’s face, Nella shook her head and backed off.
With the group aligned on the main purpose, discussion took off like wildfire.
That’s when—
“Is this festival really going to be safe?”
The question fell like a bucket of cold water on the heated discussion.
It ca from Samuel, who had been quietly sipping tea the entire ti after Arthur’s earlier rebuke.
He stood up and walked to the map.
The sharp stares returned.
But this ti, he didn’t flinch. He calmly stroked his mustache and looked around.
“If we’re holding this without proper precautions, we might want to rethink it.”
“Didn’t you just say you were in favor of the festival?”
“That was before I understood the situation. If Demtor and Pri Root are our enemies, that changes everything.”
Samuel had served as a courier for the Black Market, frequently traveling between Demtor and Pri Root.
He knew Hell Gri’s terrain and intelligence better than anyone, and he imdiately sensed the risks.
He pointed to Demtor on the map and said,
“Don’t forget—Demtor is a city of mages. Magic can strike without sound, sign, or warning. If their major towers decide to act, they could wipe out the entire city of vagrants.”
The city of vagrants was that close to Demtor.
“If I were them, I wouldn’t miss this chance. And Pri Root’s no different.”
“You know about Pri Root?”
“Of course. I’ve dealt with their guerrillas. I know how terrifying they are.”
In response to Arthur’s question, Samuel nodded grimly and continued.
“Their elite forces, built around the Black Star, are guerrilla specialists. They know how to fight in crowded places. A festival with tens of thousands is the perfect battleground for them.”
One mistake could cost them the entire Allied Army.
With his in-depth knowledge of the enemy, his concerns were valid.
Samuel’s warning brought a heavy silence over the room.
Everyone wore thoughtful expressions, weighing the importance of the festival against the potential danger.
His concern had struck ho.
“It’ll be fine if we prepare.”
“Prepare? Is that even possible?”
“It is, for now. Though we’ll definitely need your help, Samuel.”
“…My help?”
“I’ll explain privately later.”
Samuel shivered under Arthur’s gaze but forced himself to ignore it.
He resolved to refuse whatever Arthur was planning to ask.
Arthur simply smiled and finalized the decision to hold the festival in the city of vagrants.
He understood the risks Samuel had warned of better than anyone.
That’s why he couldn’t afford to focus on the festival himself.
He entrusted the preparation to the others here. Now that he had explained and convinced them, all that was left was to believe and delegate.
“The deadline is fifteen days. We have to complete everything by then. That’s when Tobaron’s army is expected to arrive.”
“Fifteen days… That’s tighter than I thought.”
“I’ll contact Notura and the head of the Lenon Workshop, who are in charge of the city. With their help, we can get it done quickly.”
“Alright. Let’s prepare properly. Can I trust you with the rest?”
Arthur nodded at Dorneth’s question.
He had already devised a way to divert Demtor and Pri Root’s attention.
“Please make this the most dazzling and aningful festival in history.”
Thus, the World Tree Conference ca to an end.
All the necessary matters had been addressed.
Though Arthur would have liked to chat and catch up through the night, he exhaled and stood up.
deia’s eyes widened.
“Wait—are you leaving already?”
“I left sothing important in soone’s hands. I need to return quickly.”
“You’ve only just recovered. You haven’t even rested a full day…”
So much had happened in less than a day.
Arthur wanted to rest too, but taking a day off could cost them ten later.
“Samuel?”
“I’m at my limit.”
“See?”
Samuel’s ntal capacity for maintaining the spatial portal was nearing its end.
He looked calm on the outside, but he wasn’t one to lie about sothing like this.
As everyone turned to him, Samuel removed his hat and stood.
“Well then, I’ll see you at the festival.”
With a slight bow, he gave Arthur a subtle signal and vanished into thin air as if dropping through the ground.
Arthur exchanged brief farewells with the others.
Cordy’s expression was full of regret as they shook hands.
“You’re going to be in trouble with the witches tomorrow. Plenty of them are dying to see you.”
“Elves are the sa.”
“You think only a few people want to see him? Contact us if anything happens.”
“See you on the day of the festival.”
Arthur gave everyone a final nod and left the residence.
He headed directly toward the spatial portal where Samuel was waiting.
He had just started walking when—
“Arthur.”
He hadn’t gone far when Nella cautiously called out to him.
When he turned, she hesitated before setting her expression as if making a decision.
“There’s sothing I want to ask you. Personally.”
“?”
“Yes. I want to confirm sothing I’ve seen—or haven’t seen. It’s a sensitive question, so I didn’t want to bring it up in front of the others…”
During the eting, they hadn’t really locked eyes. But now that he looked closely, her eyes sparkled like stars.
Ah—that’s right. He had forgotten about her ability: [Companionship That Breaks Walls].
An ability that allowed her to see into soone’s heart and unite with them through empathy.
Arthur beca curious—what had she seen that made her feel the need to confirm it?
But what she said next was completely unexpected.
“I can’t see anything.”
“...What?”
“I can’t see your heart, Arthur. This is the first ti I’ve experienced that. I had to check.”
“What do you an?”
She stared at him for a mont, then gently closed her eyes.
Her ability was to break down the emotional walls of her target.
So what kind of wall did Arthur have—one so complete she couldn’t even perceive it?
After a mont, she opened her eyes and asked,
“What drives you, Arthur? What are you fighting for?”
“Well, obviously to protect the World Tree…”
“No. Even when you said that, I couldn’t feel anything. No emotion, no change. What I want to know is sothing more personal. Sothing more essential.”
“Why do you want to protect the World Tree?”
Why did he want to protect the World Tree?
In that mont, Arthur felt like he’d been struck in the head with a hamr.
“That's…”
He was speechless.
This wasn’t a world he had chosen.
From the mont he fell into this world, there had only been one objective:
Survive.
That was all there ever had been.
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