The Temple sure reacts quickly. I have been waiting for them to pull a stunt like this, but it is slightly irritating to have it happen around this time.

We have just had a battle a few hours ago. We still have a lot of things to manage and it is putting pressure on Antares. The fact that it is Luxibrae helping the Light Elf, not Rectusomine, means that the Temple is still eager to snatch the "old Relic" that we extracted. If they are more ambitious, they are planning to take Antares down.

Their aim must be to weaken Antares' defense by forcing us to focus on the battle in Lysimork before striking Antares. It is impossible for the Warriors in Antares to not participate in the battle. Luxibrae consists of outstanding soldiers. We will only unnecessarily lose Warriors if we don't take it seriously.

Though, there is an easy way out of this dilemma. We could just ignore Lysimork's plea for help and let go of it. The loss will be insurmountable and we will forever lose the Dark Elf's trust. Even if there will be survivors, none of them will head to the Verniculos Kingdom. It is even highly probable that they will strike us in the back in the future.

If we don't want any trouble, we can get rid of them completely. It will be unsavory, but it must be done for the best outcome. We are cunning, opportunistic, and heartless. It is not out of the ordinary for us to do that. Does that mean we will do that? No, we won't. At least, I won't.

My heart is still not sensitive enough to weep at their death, but my conscience is preventing me from committing it. They are my friends. The moment I heartlessly kill my friends or stay still and watch as they die, I will be no different from a thoughtless killing machine. I don't want to play the good guy, but I also don't want to be an immoral monster.

It is quite bizarre and contradictory, but I want to be a bad guy with morals.

"You are deep in thought."

Aurelia's remark pulls me out of my mind. I return my gaze to her and find snow piling up on her head. The scene makes me slightly chuckle as I wonder whether she lets it be or she doesn't realize it has been piling up on her head. Judging from how she reacts when I point out the snow, it is the latter.

Dragons have far warmer bodies than any other species. The fact doesn't change even when they are in their human form, so it is not out of the ordinary for Aurelia to not register the snow's existence on her head.

After knocking the snow off her head, Aurelia asks me, "What were you thinking about? Is something the matter?"

"Nah, I was just wondering why you proclaim yourself as Genelos." I shrug.

"Well, it is mainly to honor my father. Secondly, it is to ward off any suitors." At my quirked eyebrow, Aurelia explains, "As you can see, I am blessed with beauty. Many Dragons met my father to ask for my hand in marriage even when I was still seventeen. It worsened after my father's death. Therefore, to stop them, I announced my transition to male. Other than that, it is also my surname."

"So, the reason why you proclaimed yourself as Genelos is..."

"To convince them that I have indeed become a male Dragon." As if sensing a question coming from me, she immediately elaborates, "This is my first time after a millennium to reveal my human form. Nobody knows I am still a female."

"Heh..nobody cared enough to look what is between your crotch, huh?"

"Ku-Ku-Ku. Nobody dared to approach me if they weren't asking for a fight. Also, what kind of pervert bothers to inspect what one has between their legs?"

"Exactly my words."

Aurelia who thinks she said something smart loses her smile. She realized the irony behind her words late. I shake my head in amusement and channel my Mana into my Sound Crystal. I input the Magic Code and it connects me to the person I want to talk to.

"Yes, Lord Layland."

"I want you to have your men take care of the scouting. Slip in some of your competent men in the army to help us fight the Luxibrae Army later."

Shanifa, the person I am talking to, remains silent for a solid ten seconds before drawing out, "My..influence hasn't covered that part yet. I don't think it will be possible, Lord Layland."

I was planning to have Shanifa's men deliver a fake espionage report to the top dogs of the Luxibrae Army. The scariest part about them is their spying network, so I want to render it useless in the upcoming battle by taking it over temporarily.

Alas, it doesn't seem to be possible since Shanifa doesn't have any influence on the decision that the heads of Luxibrae will make. If push comes to shove, I will have to order Shanifa to send her incompetent soldiers to the upcoming battle, so we can weed them out.

"Do you think you can invade it with some of your men? I only need them to render the scouting team useless, so you only need to send your men who are competent enough to take the entire scouting team by themselves."

"I think..that will be manageable."

Fortunately, we don't have to resort to that slightly unbeneficial way.

"I am sure you already know the risk."

"I am fully aware."

If the men Shanifa sends fail to eliminate even one member of the scouting team, Cresundia will fall. The current king of Cresundia, Solas dis Cresundia will be branded as a traitor and thus will be executed. Shanifa will lose her hold of Cresundia which will make Cresundia no longer under our control. The failure of Shanifa's men will have a big impact on our current standing.

Shanifa remains undeterred. Her tone is firm—she is sure she will succeed. I am not one to unnecessarily discourage people, so I accept her conviction. I end the call and trust her in what she said.

"Another war?"

"Yeah.." I silently gaze at Aurelia before patting her head. "We will unseal your power once this is over." It sounds more like me consoling myself instead of her.

"I am fine with it." Her nonchalant shrug supports the notion even further.

Offering her my hand, I get her to grab it. I briefly cast [Teleportation] and we appear in my office in the blink of an eye. My eyes are immediately planted on a stack of paper on my desk which was previously not there. Hadrian works as meticulously as ever. He already has the list of people I should be careful about in the upcoming battle.

As I sit down on my chair, Aurelia sits on my lap. I gesture at the sofa that is not far away from my desk; but she ignores it as she sits sideways, slinging her feet to my right and wrapping her hands around my neck. I wonder if she is trying to flirt with me, but her wondering look tells me she is just curious why the women around me like to do it. As she revels in the sensation, I indulge myself in the information Hadrian gave me.historical

The upcoming war will be joined by Centaurs and Beastmen. Centaurs are known for their calm and strategic way of fighting which is a stark contrast to Beastmen's impulsive way of fighting. I wonder if Luxibrae is serious about doing this. Expecting chaos to occur with this combination is not a stretch.

Then again, there is no merit in doubting the board of Luxibrae's decision. Luxibrae is formed under the willingness of each party. A certain party can not force the other party to help them if the matter they need help with is related to their interest, not the alliance's interest. The bizarre combination must have been formed because of this.

"Stavros Ark. One of the Nine Mentors will also join the battle, huh?" I muse out loud.

"Is he dangerous?" Aurelia asks.

"Who knows? I haven't been lucky enough to fight a Centaur."

As I am about to continue reading the file, the door to my office is opened. Maxine comes in and then widens her eyes in horror as she meets my unamused eyes. She forgot to knock. Though, I know she didn't knock because she couldn't sense me inside. I am to be blamed for hiding my presence, but she doesn't need to know that.

She hyperventilates for a few seconds before calming down as her eyes land on Aurelia. She immediately composes herself before speaking up.

"Commander, the Teleportation Gate to our mine has been built. The miners have arrived at the site and the fallen are in the process of being delivered to their families," she reports professionally.

"Good to hear that." I nod my head. "Where is Arieda anyway? Has she returned?"

Before Maxine can answer, the said Dark Elf makes her presence known. "I am still here!" She slides into the room as if it is the most normal thing ever. "Huh?" She becomes puzzled as her eyes land on Aurelia. "Is that Mr. Genelos? I thought you were a male!"

As expected of a Dark Elf; she can identify Mana well. Aurelia smiles lightly and waves her hand at Arieda. The Dark Elf waves back with a smile, but that smile freezes when I look into her eyes. I feel obligated to tell her what is going on. The Dragons that have been sleeping for all this time are coming out of their dens and are coming to her home.