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Arcadia Alliance Frontline—
The wooden doors to the council chamber swung open, and Leticia stepped inside.
The room itself wasn't large. At the moment, Ryo was discussing supply logistics with old Garol. He turned when he heard her enter.
"Well? Nothing happened back in Little Garden, right?"
"Nothing unusual." Leticia shook her head, though her expression was strange. "Ryo... about what you said earlier, about those black clouds and golden light over Little Garden. Was that really true?"
Ryo rolled his eyes. "I might lie to anyone else, but be honest with yourself. Would I ever lie to you, my woman?"
"That's true." Leticia immediately looked convinced.
Garol coughed loudly. A reminder that there was still an outsider in the room, and the young couple might want to keep it down.
Ryo shot him a deadpan look, then turned back. "Forget that for now. Did you finish making arrangements for me to return to Little Garden?"
Sneaking in had been easy enough.
Sneaking out was another matter.
The battlefield of the Divine War wasn't a place people casually came and went from.
If not for the war being underway, and recent supply transfers loosening entry restrictions, Ryo wouldn't even have been able to slip in with Leticia's shadow authority.
Getting in was simple. Getting out meant using one of Mars' fixed boundary gates.
Earlier, Ryo had sent Leticia to handle the paperwork for his departure. It was a little suspicious for the frontline commander to leave in the middle of things, but after seeing him kidnap the Greek commander and drag her back, the Alliance had been surprisingly understanding.
Or maybe they were just desperate for him to leave with Eunoemia as fast as possible. Otherwise, who knew what Greece might do to get their commander back?
Better to let Ryo drag her into Little Garden and argue there. At least that kept the frontline safer.
"I was just about to tell you." Leticia lifted the parchment in her hand, her expression complicated. "By the time I got there, Thousand Eyes had already handled the paperwork for you. Shirayuki-hime took care of it."
"Shirayuki-hime?" Ryo muttered. "I'm feeding her, and she's still doing side jobs for Thousand Eyes? Unbelievable."
When he got back, he'd make that freeloading dragon girl cry a few more times.
Dragon tears sold for absurd prices as strategic alchemy materials. Might as well stockpile some for Arcadia.
Seeing him play dumb, Leticia could only sigh, "... isn't it obvious? Lady Shiroyasha wants to see you."
"…"
Ryo glanced at her and sighed. "Leticia, that makes you less cute. If you know I already know, why say it out loud?"
Leticia looked at him, then spoke in an odd tone, "That's because I've never heard Lady Shiroyasha use words that harsh before..."
Ryo understood immediately.
Algol had definitely made a huge mess.
And not just a normal mess. Big enough to make even Shiroyasha furious.
That lunatic... don't tell me she robbed Thousand Eyes' headquarters?
No, that didn't make sense.
If Algol came back for revenge, shouldn't Olympus have been her first stop? Or the Cross. Or Buddhism.
Wait. The black shadows and golden light over Little Garden earlier...
Ryo's eyelids twitched.
'Oh, hell.'
That crazy woman didn't actually go and attack the Buddhist pantheon... did she?
Was she seriously that reckless?
Before he'd come here, he'd thought Algol had mellowed out.
Mellowed out, my ass. She'd gotten even crazier.
"No, I need to get back. Right now."
He stood up immediately. With Algol back, the balance in Little Garden had shifted too much. He needed to return to Arcadia, regroup with that disaster of a woman, and figure out why that idiot had returned ahead of schedule.
If he didn't get answers, they'd be at a huge disadvantage.
"I'll see you off." Leticia opened the doors at once and turned to Garol. "I'll leave things here in your hands for now."
"Relax." Garol thumped his chest with a grin. "This old cat might not be good in a fight anymore, but watching over a few people? Easy."
With Ryo's earlier show of force wiping out Mini Olympus, Greece would be too busy cleaning up their own mess to make any moves for a while.
...
..
Soon, they flew at full speed toward the nearest boundary gate. At their pace, it took less than half an hour to cross the war zone and reach the peaceful transit area.
"That's far enough."
They were approaching the no-fly zone.
Ryo landed and looked at Leticia. "You're the real commander of this alliance right now. If you go too far, I won't feel comfortable."
Leticia smiled faintly and stepped closer, fixing his collar.
"It got a little messy." She adjusted it carefully, then leaned in and kissed his left cheek.
After stepping back two paces, she bowed calmly, "Please be careful on your way."
Ryo touched his cheek and laughed. "Don't worry. I'm way too attached to my life to let anything happen."
He waved without turning back and headed toward the boundary gate.
But Thousand Eyes personnel were already there waiting for him. Leading them was Shirayuki-hime.
When she saw him, she froze.
Her eyes bounced between Ryo and Leticia.
Then she stared in disbelief. "When did you two become that close? What about Lady Kurousagi? Isn't this cheating?"
Ryo gave her a flat look.
Didn't even bother answering.
This airhead spent all day lounging around Tritonis Falls, eating and drinking, and somehow still found energy to act shocked at everything.
It was exhausting.
"You should spend a few days out here toughening up," he said. "Shiroyasha handed you over to me and you've made zero progress. All you've done is put on weight."
Shirayuki-hime turned pale. "Wait, Ryo, you're not going to silence me, are you? I swear I won't tell anyone! Please spare me!"
"Get lost."
Ryo kicked her with a dark expression, sending her straight back into her original form. A giant white snake with horns.
Then he climbed onto her back.
"Hurry up. Take me to your boss."
"You bully..." The giant snake whimpered pitifully, then obediently slithered into the boundary gate.
Behind them, Leticia smiled and waved as they left.
Then, in a calm and gentle tone, she said, "When Shirayuki-hime comes back, assign her some frontline work. If she can't fight, she can at least haul supplies."
The remaining Thousand Eyes members who heard that shuddered violently.
They lowered their heads and fled.
Seriously. Who said Arcadia's executives were all good people?
Every single one of them was terrifying.
...
..
The discomfort from spatial transit faded quickly.
Riding the giant white snake, Ryo arrived at Outer Gate 3345. Thousand Eyes' main branch in the lower layers.
Looking at the familiar streets, he took a deep breath and nudged Shirayuki-hime with his foot before blending into the bustling crowds.
He knew plenty of spies were watching him. But he wasn't worried.
He wandered the streets at a leisurely pace, stopped at a roadside stall for some pudding, and only then lazily continued on.
This was a four-digit Outer Gate.
People riding magical beasts through the streets weren't unusual.
So Ryo slipped right into the crowd naturally and made his way to the Thousand Eyes compound.
Under the attendants' respectful welcome, he entered the rear courtyard.
The moment he stepped into the reception hall, he was met by a dark-faced Shiroyasha.
Her expression was terrifying as she asked, "Where's Algol?"
Ryo blinked.
Anyone who knew him well would recognize that look.
He was about to start talking nonsense.
.
.
.