Gacha Preparation (2)

"No, Elly! Don't you trust me?!"

"Yona, your track record is a little too colorful for that."

"That's a generalization fallacy! Just because I use my charms on you all the time doesn't mean I do it to everyone else!"

"You just said 'charms,' didn't you?! That's basically a confession!"

Elly's shrill voice clashed with my indignant protests. Between us, Karen quietly raised her hand.

"May I interject for a moment?"

"...What is it."

Elly glared openly at Karen, but I welcomed the interruption with open arms.

"Inquisitor Karen! Please clear this up! I didn't do anything wrong, right? I just asked her to donate all her assets!"

"Agh! Yona, Yona! How does that even make sense—"

"It is the truth."

Elly blinked in stunned silence. Karen continued calmly.

"Even if it is my entire fortune, the amount is not particularly large. Since Yona said it would be used for a good cause, I chose to believe in everything I have seen so far and handed it over."

"B-but still, your entire fortune..."

"More importantly, thanks to Yona, Ian—who took the curse in my place—has survived. Considering the value of that life, I have no regrets."

"Ah."

Elly nodded as if something had finally clicked. She had probably heard the temple story while Rydia and I were briefly at the warehouse.

After a long, reluctant grumble, Elly let out a heavy sigh and slumped her shoulders.

"If that's the case..."

"Hehe. See? When have I ever done anything to make you worry, Elly? You should trust me more."

"No, you're worrying me right now."

"...Didn't we just finish agreeing that I'd go to the first floor?"

"We did. Rydia said you'd follow anyway even if I told you not to. ...Just in case, can you tell me why you're so desperate to face Those Who Swallow the Twilight yourself?"

"Why? Because it's something only I can do."

I tapped my chin, organizing my thoughts. Where to begin, where to end. That this world was built from my own settings? That there were too many seeds of tragedy scattered around, so I had to grow stronger to stop them when the time came? Or the vague sense of impending setting errors I couldn't explain?

Obviously, I couldn't say any of that. Even if I did, I'd just be treated like a lunatic. So I kept it vague—but hit the core truth.

"I need to tie up the loose ends."

"......"

"It's something only I can do."

"Is that so."

"Yes. Helping me doesn't mean fighting in my place. It means helping me finish what I have to do."

"Understood."

"I'm asking you again, Elly. Please help me. Even with one arm missing, you're still strong, aren't you? Use that strength for me."

"...Fine."

Elly nodded, then scratched the back of her head and added,

"But there are conditions."

"Conditions? What kind?"

"No matter what happens, don't leave anyone else's side. Mine or Rydia's is fine, or even that inquisitor's. Never charge into danger alone, and come back without a single scratch. ...Can you promise that?"

"Yes. I'll do my best."

"Don't try. Just do it."

"But if you're in danger, I'll have no choice but to rush in, you know?"

"That won't happen, so relax."

"If you're safe, then I won't have any reason to charge in either. ...Ah, this only applies to fighting Those Who Swallow the Twilight, okay? I'm definitely going to fight the Floor Guardian, so don't try to stop me. I want to get my hands on an Authority too."

"What? Why is the Floor Guardian suddenly coming up? You said we were going to the first floor."

"I mean the first floor's Floor Guardian?"

"???"

"???"

Elly and I stared at each other in confusion. Only then did I notice Rydia—who had carefully closed the warehouse door—and Karen, who had been fiddling with the goddess statue, both staring with wide eyes.

"Huh. Did I not mention that?"

"This is the first I'm hearing of it?!"

"Yeah. First time."

"Don't tell me those heretics are after..."

I nodded at the three horrified faces.

"That's right. I don't know where they learned it, but it seems they've figured out the summoning ritual for the first floor's Floor Guardian. They're still in the trial-and-error phase, but it won't be long before they actually summon it."

"...That's seriously bad news. This isn't just some temple power struggle or simple corruption."

"Elly's right. Every time Those Who Swallow the Twilight get their hands on another Authority, the consequences have been too severe to ignore."

"But how did Yona figure this out? Don't tell me you already knew the summoning ritual... O-oh?"

Karen placed the goddess statue on the table with a look of sudden realization and began to pray. Right, she probably thought the Goddess of Love had whispered it to me because I was a Saint.

Since I'd already decided to lean into the whole "Saint (not really)" act, I smiled mysteriously even though it wasn't true.

"Haha. It just ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠appeared in a dream for a moment. I wasn't even sure if it was real."

"......"

"......"

Elly and Rydia stared at me in silence. They clearly didn't believe a word. Which was fine, since that was the point.

Enjoying their blatant skepticism, I tapped the table.

"So, shall we work out a concrete plan for how we're going to charge in?"

"...Yeah. Either way, your role is already decided."

"Yona. The baggage carrier. Agreed?"

"Yona does not need to put herself in danger."

The three of them spoke in unison, pushing me out of the discussion. What was with this princess treatment? In a matriarchal world, maybe ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it was prince treatment. Either way, being doted on felt warm, but also made me wonder if they really didn't trust me. A complicated feeling.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

So this is how the female knight felt when she said not to underestimate women. You really do have to be in the position yourself to learn.

I sniffled dramatically.

"That's too much. You all gathered to help me, but now you're not even going to let me join the planning?"

"Don't be like that. We just decided what you can do in advance. It's not like we're moving without you."

"Well, that's true. If I'm just going to follow along while being protected anyway, there's no need for me to attend the strategy meeting, right?"

"Huh? Uh, yeah?"

"Then just tell me once everything's decided. I don't know anything about raid plans anyway, so I'll leave it to you all and follow along."

"...Compared to how much you whined about coming along, you're being awfully obedient. What's your goal?"

"That's harsh, Elly. You already jumped to the wrong conclusion earlier, and you still don't trust me? I just want to watch Those Who Swallow the Twilight get crushed right in front of me and take down the Floor Guardian. That's all."

"Well... I guess that's true."

Elly reached out and patted my head firmly.

"Yeah. You're right. Focus on staying safe tomorrow."

"Yep. That's why I volunteered to go ahead in the first place. There's a lot I need to prepare."

"Is that so."

I grabbed Elly's hand resting on my head and pulled it down, then lightly kissed the back of it.

Smack.

"Thank you, Elly. You're fighting for me even after retiring, aren't you?"

"If you know that, then behave yourself from now on."

Elly smirked, but her face had turned bright red from the hand kiss. Her lips trembled, and her tail wagged furiously. I chuckled at the sight, told Rydia and Karen I'd be upstairs and to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠call if anything happened, then headed to my room with Karen's hefty coin purse in hand.

Preparation? Of course I had to. Absolutely had to.

Gacha preparation, that is!!!

The moment I closed the door, I dumped today's earnings onto the desk. Not only had I cleaned out an entire hobgoblin village, I'd also received compensation for moving the man addicted to the weak drug to the temple, plus Karen's entire fortune. Unfortunately, it was all silver coins with not a single gold among them... but this much piled up was still a considerable sum.

I didn't bother counting. It was all going straight into the gacha anyway... or rather, an investment.

The goddess statue was with Karen, but I prayed with all my heart anyway.

"If you're any kind of decent person... you know what to do, right?"

"Watch over me!!"

I screamed and slammed the multi-draw button repeatedly. The pile of silver coins vanished rapidly amid the sound of clinking coins. In their place came a flood of miscellaneous junk and message windows.

"???"

Wait. That wasn't what I meant when I asked you to watch over me...?