| Author: Starving Wind | Original Source: Joara | Word Count: 2497 characters |
| Translator: Anonymouss | English Source: Re:Library | Word Count: 1552 words |
| Editor(s): Silva | ||
[Ellie, we eliminated all of the enemy forces on the Bath frontlines!]
Not long after we finished the enemy forces in Bermingham, I received a whisper message from Katalina.
[Great work. How much damage did the allies suffer?][The Empire guild suffered quite some damage, but compared to the enemies which we had nearly annihilated, it’s nothing.]
[I see.]
Since I had successfully defeated enemy forces in three locations without much difficulty, I thought that it was similar to me having destroyed one-third of all enemy forces at this point.
On top of that, the Storm guild which was one of the cores among the enemy forces had suffered so much damage that it was on the verge of collapse, so the damage we dealt was pretty considerable overall.
[Guess now would be a good time to stop doing any more battles.][Yeah. We don’t need to end the whole war today anyway, and the enemy forces are showing defensive maneuvers so we don’t have to overdo ourselves. Leave the minimum amount of soldiers fit for defense, and tell everyone else to log out and rest. I think that’s a better tactic to have right now.]
[Let’s do that then.]
[Okay.]
Since the army had been repeating marches without proper rest the last three days, everyone was extremely tired. Not just their character, but in real life as well. This must be the case for the enemy as well, but since the pizza thing happened and our side was at an advantage, I judged that we shouldn’t need to stretch ourselves too far.
“Lucas, we should stop our battles here for today.”
“But if we are to keep pushing against the enemies at this rate, we’ll be able to easily conquer two or three enemy territories…”
Lucas spoke as if he saw letting go of this chance for continuous victory a pity.
“We can simply conquer them tomorrow. The army is exhausted right now, so I think letting them rest instead is a much more efficient decision.”
Hearing my opinion, Lucas looked around at the allied soldiers for a moment then nodded.
“It’s as you say, my lord. I had overlooked the fact that everyone should be very fatigued at this point.”
Of course, I wasn’t dumb enough not to notice that he was lying. Because someone at his position in a guild would definitely have known just how much fatigue his forces, as well as enemy forces, must have built up by now.
It appeared he couldn’t win against the pressure of the guild members who all stared at us with bright eyes as they listened to our conversation.
“Thank you for understanding.”
“Don’t mention it. Please just understand that I was also considering what’s best for the guild.”
I nodded at Lucas’ reply. He must have desperately wished to finish this war as soon as possible, which was why he made that suggestion.
But he’s still a human after all, there was no way that he wouldn’t think about wanting some rest sooner or later.
“Then let us leave the minimum number of soldiers here and dismiss the rest.”
“Yes, my lord.”
So I handed over the control of the troops to Lucas and ripped a return teleportation scroll. Even though I could have directly dismissed them myself, it was Lucas that had control over the army located in Birmingham, so it looked better for him to be the one announcing the end of the battle himself.
“You’re here!”
“Yeah. Now, let’s log out.”
Once I returned to the home office within the Liverpool castle, Katalina was already there and greeted me while waving her hand. I waved lightly back at her, and recommended logging out right away.
It was because I had not only overlooked the fact that we skipped breakfast but because it was way past lunchtime already too.
Rumble…
The first thing that greeted me once I had logged out of Blue Sky was my stomach grumbling to tell me it wanted food. Though the game had implemented nearly everything that real life was, something basic like the body’s metabolism was still different from real life. So if you weren’t careful and played the game too long without realizing how much time had passed, you’d usually find yourself in a situation like this.
Thankfully, because of the implementation of the fatigue system, you weren’t allowed to completely immerse yourself in the game all day long, preventing one from starving to death or dying of malnutrition. Though it wasn’t perfect, if you had any serious pain or desire that needed to be tended to, it would prevent you from logging into the game. This allowed it to stop anyone from hurting themselves further.
Of course, some people would just relieve themselves inside of the capsule if they couldn’t control it.
The most important thing for me right now was to fill up my belly, so Katalina and I finished off a quick shower and then went down to the dining room downstairs.
“Whoa… I didn’t realize until now, but after having a shower I don’t even have the strength to walk.”
Katalina was full of energy back when we were showering as she kept teasing me with various pranks, yet once we got ready to go down to the dining room she looked as if she was dying.
Because of that, I had to help her get down the stairs even though my body was extremely weak too.
Of course, as we walked down the hallways all the employees came up to Katalina in order to help her walk, but she would send them deadly glares and emphasize that she only wanted my help, so I ended up accompanying her all the way down to the dining room.
Though it was a little tiring, the feeling of softness pressing up against my shoulder didn’t feel bad at all so I didn’t complain much as we walked.
“A… Aren’t you tired?”
It seemed like she was a little apologetic for making me do this, since once we were almost at the entrance of the dining room, she asked me cautiously.
I didn’t want to carry her all the way here and look like a fool by finally crying about how hard it was, so I endured the pain that had been traveling down my legs as I forced a smile.
“Yeah, it’s fine.”
“Hehe.”
It appeared she was happy to hear that as her lips formed a beaming smile. Sometimes I found what she did to be a little annoying and she would often get very jealous… but the smile she showed me at these times was truly beautiful. It was a smile that purified my heart.
Seeing that smile I naturally smiled back at her.
Inside the dining room was food ready for us to eat. In the past, I would always have to do something myself or order for delivery, but now I don’t need to.
The two of us sat down on a table for two that’s been specially set aside for us and soon the maids that had been following behind us started to carry food to our table and set it down.
Though appetizers were already laid out on the table beforehand, it was still a western dining style full course which meant that soon soups and other appetizers started to come one after another.
It’s slightly disappointing that the amount of food is quite small, but it’s also fun to enjoy these as we wait for the main dish. So I savored each of the appetizers as much as I could while making sure I filled my stomach with only a moderate amount.
“Come on, slow down on your eating. It’s not like someone is chasing after you right now.”
Katalina sounded like she was about to cry as she told me to slow down, perhaps due to the fact that I was often always the first one to take the most delicious-looking appetizer before she could have a taste.
Instead of replying, I gazed into Katalina’s eyes. It was a clear answer even without words.
“Ha!”
Realizing the obvious meaning behind my gaze, Katalina became enraged.
Clash!
Just as a maid set an appetizer down in front of us, both of our forks clashed in mid-air above it as we both went directly for it at the same time. We kept our eyes fixated on the food as if neither of us was willing to lose out on the chance to have it.
The one who moved first was Katalina. She quickly pushed aside my fork and stabbed down her own on the food, but unfortunately, I was a little faster.
I managed to snatch it from her just a moment before her fork hit the appetizer and then put it right into my mouth.
“Fufu.”
“Tsk.”
I smiled smugly knowing that I had won. Katalina glared back at me angrily as she bit her lower lips. However, the sweetness of my victory didn’t last long.
“E… excuse me, if you believe that there isn’t enough food, should I bring some more?”
As the maid asked us both with bewilderment in her eyes, Katalina and I blushed as we hung our heads in shame.
