It's either them or us. That's the choice the Grugach have been given. Elegast, though once a noble for the elven kingdom, now living harmoniously with the rest of the elves and others in Amleth, begins to give them his own two opinions. One, if they stay here, they will definitely die. Be it from discrimination or false accusations. The other is that they need to find a leader among themselves, not one who lives in seclusion and only depends on his own family, but a real leader who can make a decision for them.
"I can be your leader, but only temporarily, until you can stand on your own two feet" [Elegast].
"And when we do?"
"Either you come with us and be a subject to Her Highness Queen Amleth, or you try your luck in other lands" [Elegast].
"Be with us. We can't thank Her Highness Queen Amleth enough."
"Giant. Proud to serve Her Highness"
"Young Lady Diana Vars and her family protected us, and so you will receive their protection."
"Some of us Succubi also indebted to her"
"Besides, the elven community in Amleth is a good one. I'm sure they will welcome you with open arms" [Diana].
"I can confirm that" [Farhana].
They're a little reluctant, but, just a little more push and they're good to go. There's still something preventing them from switching sides and becoming Amlethian.
"Did they take your family?" [Sas].
"And if you don't succeed in attacking us, will they harm them?" [Nar]
"Ye... Yes..."
"As I thought" [Randy]
"Can't we just beat them?" [Diana]
"We can, but that will definitely be a different issue. If only Alaric or Aya is here, we can at least sniff out where they are holding the family and rescue them" [Nar].
"Well. I can do that too" [Diana].
"You are undoubtedly capable of doing so, but this could be a trap they have set" [Savel].
"In other words, they may have anticipated this outcome and prepared for you to fall into their traps" [Jean].
"Not a far stretch" [Linda]
If that's the case, that's really smart of them. So we turn back to Wandering Sage and ask for his opinion
"This is a tough one. Our first priority is certainly to rescue them while ensuring that this project continues. We're literally halfway there, and to stop this project any further would be a loss to everyone involved. Amleth, Philip, Indo and the Elven Kingdom will undoubtedly be furious with Kor, which in turn will make the Grugach even more reviled by the locals. Rescuing them will undoubtedly help, but it will also tamper the project. I can see that they will try to take over the core that we have installed, effectively disrupting the communications that we had planned to achieve. So, Sir Nar and Sir Sas... Can you just attack their castle?" [Joseph]
"Eeh!?" [Dana]
"May I join them!!" [Diana]
"Please don't" [Liya]
"A direct confrontation... Normally, that would be the last resort. However, given the stalemate we're in, it's not a bad option" [Sas]
"However, this will undoubtedly cause a further strain, especially towards our country's relations with Kor. However, I'm sure you wouldn't suggest something without considering every option. Wouldn't deception or diplomacy be better options?" [Nar].
"Deception will only make them bite us in this case. They're very well prepared to attack us, especially Diana because of what Merlin did. If we wait for them to attack, we will most likely put our new friends' family member in a more dangerous situation. At the same time, we need to make sure that this project is ongoing, which is what keeps us working. This will definitely be a disaster if something goes wrong, but I think it's the best option if we want to save our new friends as well as make sure the project is ongoing" [Joseph].
Basically, scare them. It's like announcing that you're going to go to war with the country. And if we do that, everyone here will be in danger too, which is why Wandering Sage needs us to keep working on the project so that we can leave the country as soon as possible.
"Of course, just take a letter from Her Highness Kara and Mara and tell them what's going on and that we're forming an alliance with the other monarch. Even if they knew it was a bluff, given our response and what we've told you, and based on your own wording and position, I'm sure they wouldn't risk it, but if they do, that's what I meant by attacking their castle" [Joseph].
"That's good, but will they really tell us where they are hiding the Grugach family member?" [Liya]
"They wouldn't. I will help and take a look myself. Diana, can you do the same?" [Joseph]
"What about the... I see. We can just blame them if something happens. They probably wouldn't replace her, but with international pressure, they would sooner or later. It pains my heart to do this half-heartedly, but if it's to teach them a lesson, so be it" [Einstein].
"Jean. Your whisper of the wind and your agility are good. Can you help me?" [Diana]
"All right. Then let's go." [Jean]