After sleeping soundly in my bed at home, the next day came.
I asked Yukari to use "Spirit Summoning" to call for Windfield and ask her for advice.
"...Only for a bit."
Yukari twisted her mouth and reluctantly called out Windfield.
That's jealousy, I understand exactly how she feels. I would also hate it if Yukari were to meet someone who clearly has feelings for her.
She's a particularly possessive person, and she probably doesn't think too well of my trip alone with Anko, even if it was just a one-day trip. No, I don't think it's only Yukari. Silvia may also feel lonely.
I'll have to make it up somehow soon for both of them. Ahh, I totally feel like a scumbag that's dating many girls at once. Well, it's technically just three-timing, but let's not think about that, still... That barely categorizes me as a scumbag, right? Who am I kidding, I am a scumbag.
"Hi, Hi, Second-san. I wonder what you want～?"
"Can I get straight to the point?"
"Oh, please do. Is it a way to collapse the Sacred Country of Kamel? How to get back the saint? Maybe both? Perhaps another way～?"
"Yes! As always, you pretty much read my mind..."
"That's not much～."
I swallowed my "not much, my ass" response. Come to think of it, Yukari told me that Windfield was using a team of maids to conduct a reconnaissance survey around the Sacred Country of Kamel. She must be doing a lot of work in places I don't even know.
"There are many ways to attack the church, but what do you want?"
"I want one that's easy as possible, as safe as possible, and with the least problems as possible."
Seems like she has lots of ideas, so I'll try to consult while keeping Renko's opinion in mind.
"Hmm. Then, let's go with revolution."
"Revolution?"
"Yup. There are anti-church forces hiding west of Old Joh. They call themselves the revolutionary army. But they consist mostly of armed peasants."
Guerrilla? Resistance? Partisans? Well, I'm not sure but it's probably a force like that.
"And we're going to use them?"
"Yeah. We'll make the revolutionary army rise and take advantage of the chaos they create to take the saint. Let's go with that."
I see, that would certainly make things easier. It would mean that the troublesome work that Anko and I were going to do alone can then be entrusted to the revolutionary army to some extent. However...
"Will it really go that easy?"
"Obviously, you will work behind the scenes, Second-san, while cooperating with the revolutionary army. However, that army is very weak. So, if you could assassinate the Pope at the same time the uprising is happening, that would be great."
To assassinate the Pope. I get the feeling she's asking me to do that just as casually as one would order "one more beer". Will it really be that simple? Or could it be that the Pope is the root of all evil in there?
"In the first place, what crimes has the Pope committed?"
"He's bad news. His name is Pope Black, and he's taken over the Sacred Country of Kamel. He has robbed everyone of their wealth and power and has taken away the people's knowledge. It is preached that everyone is equal before the God Kamel, but in fact, that's just a plot to keep people from rebelling. They purge the people who seek knowledge, as well as the people who try to make more money and the people who pursue the learning of skills, among many other things. Ohh, and by purge what I mean is execution. He rules over the church with fear and forces the people to believe in his lies. The doctrines he makes up are those that suit his needs and make his believers work for free."
Wow, how nostalgic. I remember the name 'Pope Black', he used to be a thing. If my memory serves me right, I believe he was an NPC who died rather early in the story. I wonder why he's still the pope here. And I got to admit, even in the story of Mobius, he was the worst, the scum of the world. But it seems that Pope Black in this world is even scummier.
"I see what you mean. And it'd seem that assassinating that guy might be quite effective."
"Indeed. However, the timing will be the key. Otherwise, if you were to simply assassinate him, it would do nothing more than stir things up and won't be as effective. A successor might come into play."
"You mean the revolutionary group has to come to power at the same time as the assassination?"
"Yeah, just like that. And it mustn't be known that you were moving things behind the scenes, Second-san. Otherwise, it would be troublesome later on."
If the revolution fails, it might turn into armed conflicts here and there...And well, if it succeeds, I will be seen as a hero by some, but resented by others.
In addition, it will be stupid to let the fact that "the ambassador of Zipang in the Castall Kingdom interfered in the internal affairs of the Sacred Country of Kamel" be known to the public. I will be placed on an international watch list as a person of interest, and my credibility will be destroyed. What's more, if then it's known that the Saint moved to my state, I would be in a place where making an excuse would be virtually impossible.
If it was just me it would be one thing, but just thinking that it would involve the whole Firstest household makes my head hurt. Indeed, that would be nothing short of a pain in the ass.
"I get it. Still, is there a way to ensure they don't find out I'm the one..."
A ragged robe obviously isn't enough. It might be a good idea to let Anko lose and have her take care of everything, but that would then make it difficult for me to summon her in public later on. Maybe I can have her wear a mask and a robe? But still, I believe people will likely know it is her after the dust settles...We were lucky in the monastery that she wasn't exposed since it wouldn't be surprising that people closer to the upper echelons of the Sacred Country of Kamel might be more familiar with information like the winners of the title tournaments and the summon that one used.
"Second-san, could you tame a Wraith?"
As I scratched my head, looking for an answer, Windfield suddenly asked me.
A Wraith! There was also that hand to play, however...
"...It might be a bit difficult. I'd say it will take about a week."
"I see."
Wraith is a monster that specializes in transforming into other things, and even while not in combat, they wander around while disguised as other monsters. I know the location where those monsters appear, but the area is quite large, around the size of a mountain. Moreover, Wraiths are considered rare monsters, so even then it is very difficult to actually find them.()
Furthermore, the taming method is highly challenging. Since they have inherently low HP and VIT, it is easy to fail the requirement of "taking out 80% of their HP", which is the condition to use Tame, and kill them in a single blow. With my current stats, even the lowest damage 16th class "Soldier Spearmanship" might one-shot them. There's also the option of hitting them with my bare hands, and that would be all well and good if not for the fact that, while it will not kill a wraith, if it turns out to be another monster, I will be really hurt by their counterattack.
"Well, there's nothing but to try. Please do your best trying to tame a Wraith until the last moment. If that plan doesn't work out, we can always leave the assassination to the weapons the other party is giving us."
"The weapons from the other party?"
"I'm talking about Renko, our point of contact. Isn't she pretty strong?"
"So you also saw through that..."
As Windfield said, she is quite strong for an average person. Most likely Fran has secretly trained her and nurtured her by teaching her the conditions to learn skills and the efficient ways to earn experience.
In other words, Fran wants to use Renko――Or rather, wants us to use Renko in order to free himself from the grasp of the Kamel Church.
...Yeah, that makes sense. And it would make things easier for me to let her handle the assassination. However, I just cant feel good about leaving that matter to her.
Ideally, I would tame the Wraith and get a perfect disguise.
"Alright, I get a general idea. I'll inform Renko about the plan to tame a wraith in tonight's secret meeting. After that, I'll focus on taming a wraith until the day of the revolution."
"Well then, I'll get in contact with the revolutionary army."
"Great, that'd be a lot of help. Thanks, Windfield."
"Hey, I'm the one who's feeling grateful. This is going to be interesting and exciting."
After expressing her gratitude, Windfield laughed with a happy expression.
As usual, she seems to think of stuff like political disputes like some sort of game or something.
Seeing her smiling like that, I can help it when the corners of my mouth also rise.
"That's what I like about you."
Shit, my mouth slipped.
A small "Eh...?" escaped from her lips, and after her eyes darted around for a second in silence, her face turned bright red.
"Okay, that's enough! Bye! You too, Master, go tame that monster already!"
With the consultation with my strategist over, Yukari quickly used "Unsummon" while having a quite scary face.
Yeah. Thinking about it again, I believe I'm really a scumbag...
"The young mistress!?"
Before leaving to tame the Wraith I had something else to do.
I called Cubero to give him a brief update and told him about Renko's situation.
"Yeah. But there seem to be some special circumstances. She said the woman named Rei was already dead."
"Is that so...No, for now, I should be glad that she's safe and sound. Second-sama, I would like to express my gratitude in the name of the whole R6, and especially this servant of yours, Cubero...!"
Cubero has a look of relief, then bowed to me.
He's a bit louder than usual, unlike his normal self. But he has finally found another survivor since Besaid, so I'm sure he is feeling overwhelmed.
"Well, thanks aside. Do you know any reason why she said something like that?"
"A reason...for her change?"
"Yeah. Why did she abandon her name Rei and decided to live as Renko? If I know that, I might be able to find a way to bring her back."
If possible, I'd like for them to meet each other at least. And so, while thinking so, Cubero fell silent for a moment with a pose of consideration, then after a few seconds, he opened his mouth.
"The young mistress has always been a straightforward person. You could say she's more chivalrous and kind-hearted than most people, and she also has a strong sense of duty. I suspect this sense of duty has something to do with her calling herself Renko."
"Sense of duty?"
"Yes. Even if she were to abandon her identity as Rimusuma's daughter, I'm sure her sense of duty would remain the same. A debt of life should be paid with a lifetime of work. I'm sure the young mistress is thinking along those lines."
"I understand...I kind of see what you mean."
"...In any case, please let me show my gratitude for all your consideration towards the young mistress."
"No worries."
I left the house behind with a Cubero that still had his head bowed down.
...Duty, huh?
And that sense of duty, that responsibility she might be feeling it towards the Saint, Raspberry Bell.
Now then, will this go smoothly, or...
"――Did I keep you waiting?"
"No. You were actually one minute faster than yesterday."
"Hmph. I hate guys who obsess over such petty matters."
"Well, I think that's better than a woman who can't keep proper track of time."
Right now it was a minute past midnight.
I met up with Renko in the same forest as last night.
Eh? Do you want to know how the Tame went? Shut up, I'm not in the mood.
"So? What did Saint-sama say? I bet something like: You should listen to what senpai says, right?"
"Tch! I really don't like you; you know..."
Seems like I hit the mark.
"Anyway, I've got a plan and I've come to share it with you."
I decided to get right down to business and tell Renko about the plan I discussed with Windfield this morning.
However, before I could continue, Renko interrupted me while clicking her tongue.
"...Can I say something before we start talking?"
This was the most serious expression I've seen from her.
And then, she uttered a phrase that surprised me.
"Fight me."
......
Eh? But why?