And Frondier brought up the story of the Manggot.

The details were slightly different, but the overall content was almost the same as what he had told Philly.

The difference was that the current Frondier had nothing to offer in exchange.

The Manggot are coming, and the threat will be the Empire's greatest crisis, comparable to the past war with the monsters. All the Empire's forces are needed.

After hearing this explanation, the three fell silent for a moment.

Then,

"Ahahaha."

Lily laughed first.

"It's not realistic, Frondier."

Her eyes curved like crescent moons. It was a smile, but it was terrifyingly chilling.

"Frondier, if you had said such things to other Zodiacs, you would have been beheaded for trying to deceive the Empire. Right now. Actually, you know what? We're showing you quite a bit of consideration right now? Every second that we don't kill you, our consideration for you deepens."

Monty and Ludwig remained silent at her words. Although her words were a bit harsh, they both agreed with Lily.

To them, Frondier's words were too much to be a joke, and if they were serious, he must be out of his mind.

"The story that we need to pour in all the forces of the Imperial Palace, involve all the Zodiacs, and even bring out the troops of the prestigious nobles to barely save the Empire, who would believe it? Frondier, who are you underestimating? The Imperial Palace? The Zodiacs? The nobles? What's so funny, our Frondier?"

Lily's words now carried a murderous intent. Her fingernails turned red. Her gaze sharpened like a knifepoint, as if she were about to tear Frondier apart.

"...Lily, calm down. Frondier is still young. There could be mistakes in his judgment or words,"

"Ria Lis-nim, if you believe me."

Monty tried to stop Lily, but it was Frondier who interrupted him.

Lily's smile deepened.

"If I believe you?"

"On the day the Manggot attack the Empire and we defeat them all."

"On that day?"

"I will become your knight. For a month."

"Knight... Huh?"

Lily's smile faltered awkwardly. Along with it, the murderous intent dissipated vaguely.

"Huh, wait, what?"

"For a month, I will follow any order. If you tell me to be a dog, I will be a dog, and if you tell me to die, I will die."

Frondier looked at Lily with a straightforward gaze.

Lily completely withdrew her murderous intent and rolled her eyes quickly. Her thoughts began to spin in a different direction in an instant.

Ludwig, who had been listening, hurriedly glanced between Frondier and Lily.

"W-Wait a minute. Lad. Do you even know what it means to be Lily's knight..."

"Okay! Deal!"

Ludwig tried to stop Frondier, but Lily shouted even faster.

"W-Wait a second! Ria Lis!"

"No! The deal is done! There's no waiting, canceling, or changing! It's over! Verbal agreement, two witnesses, you proposed it first! Frondier!"

"Yes."

As Frondier nodded, Lily clenched her fists and trembled with excitement for some reason. Her face, with her eyes tightly shut as if trying to contain her joy, looked incredibly happy.

"Lily-nim seems to have agreed, what about the remaining two?"

Frondier looked at Ludwig and Monty. Ludwig let out a sound of disbelief, and Monty shook his head and sighed.

Ludwig spoke.

"Frondier, you do understand exactly what the statement you just made means, right?"

"Of course."

"With that much resolve, and with confidence in your own judgment, you said that?"

"Otherwise, I wouldn't be here with three Zodiacs, telling this story."

Hearing that, Monty opened his mouth this time.

"Frondier, I have a condition too."

"What is it?"

"Become my disciple."

"..."

Frondier fell silent for a moment at those words, and Lily immediately growled.

"Ah! What! Frondier is going to be my knight from now on!"

"Lily, it's not from now on. It's after this whole thing is settled, right? And it's only for a month."

"Hmph. In that one month, Frondier will have no thoughts of becoming your disciple."

"...Anyway, Frondier, you will become my disciple. What do you say?"

At Monty's words, Frondier took a deep breath.

This offer obviously had no time limit like one month. There couldn't be such a limit for a disciple.

But Frondier said,

"Alright."

"Hoho."

"I think I'll need my father's consent though."

"Hahaha! Of course! Enfer will also be pleased if you become my disciple!"

Monty laughed heartily.

Normally, Frondier would have thought the same. If he became Monty's disciple, it would be a happy event for the Roach family. Enfer and Azier would also be satisfied.

...But why did he feel like that wouldn't necessarily be the case recently?

"What about Ludwig-nim?"

"I don't want anything from you. Just answer one question."

"What is it?"

"Give me one reason why we need to pour in all the Empire's forces. I won't ask about the source or credibility of that reason. Just one word will do."

Ludwig said.

In his eyes, Frondier was a man who harbored all sorts of schemes behind his languid face.

A shady guy who used the expression of being bothered by everything and lazy as a mask while accumulating all sorts of information and judgments like a deep sea in his mind. There was no point in questioning him, as he wouldn't get a proper answer anyway.

But if Frondier was truly sincere, he should be able to answer this one question properly. Right now, Ludwig needed certainty.

"...They have a god."

"Divine power, you mean? Most Zodiacs have that. Some of the students in your Constel probably have it too."

"It's not divine power."

Frondier's face became the most serious it had ever been.

"They are on the verge of their god's descent. A god who desires the complete annihilation of humanity exists."

"...A god who desires the annihilation of humanity?"

The three Zodiacs momentarily fell silent at Frondier's words.

In a way, it was an even more absurd statement than the story about the Manggot that Frondier had told them earlier. Ordinary citizens of the Empire would have scoffed and ridiculed it.

But they were Zodiacs.

"You all must know. The battles over the past few years, and what you have felt as you rose to the position of Zodiac."

"..."

The three remained silent at Frondier's words. He continued,

"A god is just a god."

Even at Frondier's near-blasphemous words, the three remained silent.

"The belief that a god will naturally protect humans is human arrogance."

"...Alright. Stop it, it's suffocating."

Hearing that, Ludwig shook his head.

"Yeah, if that's true, then the Zodiacs must move with desperation. That's right."

Having obtained Ludwig's final consent, Frondier let out a sigh of relief.

He had originally planned to visit them one by one, but he had succeeded in persuading three of them at once. It was a rather risky method, but it had worked.

...The conditions he had to fulfill to achieve that were heavy, but it couldn't be helped.

But it wasn't over yet.

"Lily-nim."

"Yes? Why?"

Lily looked at Frondier with a much brighter and warmer face than before.

"Lily-nim, you have one of the best information guilds in the Empire, right?"

"One of the best? We're the best."

Lily was active in an information guild in addition to being a Zodiac.

Given her specialty of seducing men, gathering and managing information was, in a sense, a very suitable occupation for her.

If women lived on vanity, men lived on bravado. It was overwhelmingly easier to get men to talk than women.

"There's one thing I'd like to ask you. It's not an easy task."

"Sure, sure. What's with that kind of talk now? I'll do anything for you."

Frondier pursed his lips for a moment at Lily's overly kind demeanor, but then he spoke.

"Please find out where Renzo is right now."