It was impossible for us to transport Garms giant body ourselves. That was why we had hired Supporters in advance.
The Supporters, who had been waiting outside, ca as soon as the Abyss was cleansed. Then, they skillfully dismantled Garm so that it could be loaded onto the many loading platforms that the Supporters had brought.
Garm's blood had solidified due to the poison, but by using a special anticoagulant on the blood, it had returned to its original state for the most part. With this, its value as a material would probably not be reduced significantly.
As they were interested in it, Alma and Kouga had been observing the Supporters dismantle Garm the entire ti. It wasnt due to simple curiosity though. It seed like their aim was to get a better understanding of the structure of Garms body and utilize that knowledge the next ti they fought it.
While gazing at the two of them observing studiously, Leon, who had finished paying the Supporters, ca over.
We managed to win sohow
With a perplexed smile, Leon sat down next to .
Noel, youre amazing after all. I had thought that defeating Garm was a feat that was only possible for further down the road
Its the teams victory. We wouldnt have won if any of us were missing
Thats true. Wild Tempest is a good team. It has the potential to rise further. But, with todays battle, Im certain of it. No matter how outstanding everyone is, I think that its impossible to beco one of the Regalia in six months after all
I see, can you tell the reason for that?
At my urging, Leon continued.
First, our fighting strength is simply too small. Even if everyone becos A Rank within six months, its aningless with just the four of us. Ive tried looking for excellent Seekers as well, but there doesnt seem to be any that we could potentially recruit. Having said that, its not like we have the ti or energy to spare for nurturing novices
Thats not a problem. I have a prospective talent in mind
Hugo Coppelius, huh
I had already shared the matter of Hugo with Leon. Unlike with Alma, the risk of Leon inadvertently blurting out secrets was low, so I didnt feel uneasy about sharing information with him. Above all, I couldnt possibly keep the person that I had entrusted with the role of sub-master in the dark about such an important matter.
As far as I can tell from the information youve gathered, I believe that Hugo has been unjustly accused as well. But will he really beco our ally?
He will. Ive a good grasp of his character
......Ill believe those words. Certainly, if he becos our ally, our problem of lacking sufficient fighting strength will probably be solved. But there are also other problems. It's a matter of money. As a special privilege, the Regalia are given the right to possess an airship, but it conversely ans that one of the requirents of becoming one of the Regalia is having the financial power to build that very airship. The minimum amount required for building one is--
80 billion Fil, right?
After I interrupted him and answered first, Leon nodded.
Yes, at least 80 billion Fil. However, the reward that well receive as a result of our desperate struggle to subjugate Garm is 100 million Fil. And the money we'll get from selling the materials at their current market price is 300 million Fil. Even if all of that money goes into the clans funds, using simple calculations, well need to do it 200 tis. We obviously dont have enough days for that. Above all, if we keep on fighting tough battles like the one we had today without taking any breaks, our bodies wont last
How did it go with the bank loans?
I went around and sounded them out, but if its the current Wild Tempest, it appears that well be able to pull together a total of 8 billion Fil. Therefore, if we work every day without taking a break, theres a chance that we might just barely reach the 80 billion Fil required. But isn't sothing like that impossible?
No matter how you think about it, its impossible, isnt it?
I got up and stretched.
Doing the best we possibly can, our limit is around 30 billion Fil, isnt it? Ill do sothing about the remaining 50 million Fil. Ive got a plan to raise funds
A plan, you say
Leon muttered coldly and fixed with a stare.
Noel, to be frank, I cant co to like your thods. I also dont have the goodwill or loyalty for you like those two do. The reason why Im following you despite that, is because Ive determined that aiming for the top together with you is the surest way to leave the na of Sky Winged Knights for posterity. Therefore, Im only following you purely from a business standpoint. And, speaking from that standpoint, its dangerous to rely too much on plans. Even if you can overco the problems for now, theres no point if we dont have the appropriate level of ability
What Leon said was correct. Eventually, it would all boil down to our real ability. Even if we used tricks and sches to get an assessnt that was above our real ability, we wont be able to maintain our organization if we didnt have the substance to back up that standing.
Your goal is to gain the title of Regalia at the assessnt six months later, then earn even more achievents in the fight against the Variant, right? Is that sothing that you can achieve only using plans?
I t Leons gaze and smiled.
Leon, why do you think I made you an ally?
You wanted to inherit Sky Winged Knights' achievents, right?
Theres also that. But the main reason I wanted you, is because Seekers like you that have both strength and righteousness are rare. Then again, I suppose that righteousness is also the reason you were cast out by the other Seekers
What do you an?
Ive said it before already. The noble path and the immoral path, light and darkness, Wild Tempest will make use of these different attributes as we aim for the top. An organization can only grow if it has diversity. If I surround myself with only yes-n, Ill eventually hit a wall and be unable to proceed. In order to prevent that from happening, I need a talented individual like you who can think in a way that's opposite to mine
Not even Alma and Kouga would have the sa opinion as on anything and everything. But the two of them tended to be submissive to . That would likely lead to abandonnt of thought. In other words, should I ever run into a wall, the two of them would probably not be able to co up with an idea to solve the problem. That was why I wanted Leon, whose values were radically different from mine.
Leon, you should keep on believing in your righteousness. Thats the role you should play. But, so long as youre the sub-master, believe in . My plan is not just for overcoming our current situation. Thats why I was able to win against you
Leon was dumbfounded by my words, but he eventually nodded with a smile.
Got it, Master. I don't agree with your thods. But Ill believe in your brains and continue to support this clan
That's right, youre fine the way you are. By the way--
I pointed at Alma and Kouga. The two of them had started quarreling again.
Go stop the fight between the two of them. If you leave them alone, theyll cause trouble for the Supporters
Eehhh Im the one who has to stop them?
That's also the job of the sub-master
Ill take this opportunity to push all the troubleso things that aren't related to work to Leon. Since hes a serious person, hes just the man to take care of all the botherso stuff.
W, wait, I get the feeling thats wrong Well, its fine, but
Even though Leon could actually have refused, he stood up with a sigh. It really helped that he was a convenient person.
Oh, and tell Alma to co over here. The two of us need to have a talk in private
Does that talk have anything to do with your plan?
Yes. Do you want to hear it?
Ill pass. I get the feeling that my stomach will hurt if I do
I purposely held back from retorting: Even if you don't hear it now, youll find out about it eventually.
Showing his tired back, Leon went to the two of them, and interceded in their dispute. Then, after receiving my ssage from Leon, Alma ca over.
Noel, Kouga is an idiot after all. Hurry up and fire him
Shut up. You're as much of an idiot as he is. Rather than that, stand next to
Huh, what? Even for your big sister, it's really embarrassing to do lewd things in a place like this Can't you wait until weve returned ho?
Die. Stop saying silly things, and co here quickly
Noel is so cold recently. Even though you were so much nicer when you were little
You couldnt possibly know what I was like when I was little, could you!? Was what I was on the verge of retorting but I swallowed it back in ti. This useless-boobies-idiot-woman was incorrigible as she would try to falsify history without batting an eyelid.
When Alma stood next to , our height difference beca clear. I was on the shorter side too, but, asuring by eye, the height difference between and the even shorter Alma was about 30 centiters.
A difference of 10 centiters would be ideal. But I cant ask other people, can I Well, itll probably work out fine if you wear high heels
I'll say for the record that Im still in my growth period. I can still grow taller
You're 21 years old, arent you? Your growth period has long since passed
I an, why are you concerned about my height in the first place?
When Alma tilted her head, I laughed.
Wild Tempest is going to host a party. A grand party where well invite the rich and famous. Alma will be my partner at that party
Party? ......I don't quite get it, but its one of your usual evil plots, isnt it? Noel is really evil. You can live your life only thinking about evil things
I dont want to hear that from a person who only thinks about sexually harassing others
That's a misunderstanding. I can live my life only thinking about sexually harassingNoel
That's even worse! Don't pinpoint as your target!
All jokes aside, itll be the worst if she seriously made a move on . She really had a bad personality.
To begin with, as I said before, there isn't a kinder and more sincere man than , you know? Its preposterous to call a villain
Noel, such words are passed down by assassins: Plots are aboutSincerity. In other words, it teaches us that sincerity is indeed the best tool for deceiving people
After Alma spoke those words with a cynical smile, I burst out into laughter.
Indeed, they were words that encapsulated the true nature of people. Certainly, you couldnt fool anyone with malice alone. Those words also applied to today's battle. We had been able to deceive the cunning Garm only because we had honestly given it our all.
As Alma had suspected, this party that I was going to throw was a part of my plot. This gambit would probably push Wild Tempest even higher.
Ill make all the guests that I invite to the party my pawns. But I wont move them using malice. No one would move if I used malice. Even if they did, itll only be because of self-interest. Thats why its necessary to move them with sincerity. No matter the tis, it was always good, rather than evil, that moved peoples hearts.
Then, Ill let all the suckers who got completely taken in beco the foundation for my path to hegemony.
It was really starting to sound inspiring until that last line, wasn't it lol.
"A convenient person is soone you can take advantage of unfairly without any feelings of guilt or remorse. Most fitting definition ever! (credits: mykwyner) I guess even a hard worker like Noel wants to foist all the troubleso stuff off onto others. XD
If youve forgotten about why Noel is terrified of Alma making a move for real, please refer to his traumatic experience in chapter 18. (^^;)
Its the second ti that a short chapter ca when I was incredibly sick, which Im so grateful for, it gave a chance to rest for half a day. No, not COVID-19, thankfully. But, as is usual for this author, the next chapter is long to make up for it. Who will make their appearance as Noel starts his preparations? How is he going to raise the money he needs? What is this arc going to be about? Stay tuned to find out!
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