"Alright… so we'll be responsible for getting the dragon distracted." I explained. "Your group will be trying to break the bond with the dragon."
Salicia nodded. "I have two other groups. One will be responsible for physically restraining Carmine. The second will be long-distance attacks on the dragon."
"Alright, so we have until you can break Carmine's bond to destroy the dragon, right?"
"Once I have my sister free, I will leave, with or without you." Salicia shrugged.
"Very well."
I walked over to my girls, taking them a distance from Salicia and her band. In the intervening time since we started this discussion, the Bandits in the city had successfully put out the fires and were now ransacking the town. They had allowed the remainder of the residents to flee unharmed. This didn't fool me into thinking they were good people. Most of those escaping only had the clothing on their back, and there were countless dead. Ultimately, they were thieves, not murderers, and didn't go out of their way to pillage or rape the town. That didn't make them the good guys in any sense of the word.
"So… what do you girls think?" I asked.
"We will follow Master, whatever he wants," Lydia said.
I smiled wryly. "I appreciate that, but right now, I want your opinions."
Lydia looked uncertain, but Miki stepped forward with a defiant expression on her face. "I don't trust her! She's definitely going to do something to betray us in the upcoming fight, just like her sister did!"
"I agree… does that mean we should just give up on the dragon and the dungeon lore?"
"Ah!" Terra suddenly looked like she was about to cry, but she lowered her head without saying anything.
She didn't need to say anything to show what she meant though. Defeating that dragon was what she had literally been built to do. She would follow my orders now that she was my slave, but her heart wanted to pursue and finally get vengeance on the monster. The other girls seemed to pick up on this as well and gave Terra sympathetic hugs and looks.
"Master…" Celeste said uncertainly. "When I leveled, I gained a new skill. You may be interested in seeing it."
I used the Skill Analysis to check on her skills. I immediately noticed the new skill that was listed under Master Magician. I raised an eyebrow.
"Master Magicians really do have it high powered."
As a 4th tier job, Master Magician was about as high as someone could get in this world. Evolving into a Sylph, Celeste automatically unlocked the Master Magician ability. Although it was powerful, without having gained the appropriate levels in Adept or Apprentice, she likely had a few holes. For example, she had the Haste spell, but it used a lot of mana and things like keeping it cast on everyone in the party was out of the question. At best, she could use it for a temporary speed boost when the need to use magic wasn't too vital. Her new skill was likely just as limiting.
"Celeste, I want you to target Carmine with this spell," I explained. "Hold off on initiating it unless we need to."
"Y-yes!" Celeste responded. "But will it really make a difference?"
I shrugged. "If Salicia and the bandits do choose to betray us… it's the least we could do in response."