Chapter 336: From End-Of-War To Consequences

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Soon after Dauna neutralized Rage with his authority, the Kingdom army was forced to retreat before the attacks of the Empire army.

The Kingdom army, which had originally been outmatched by the Empire army in terms of the quality of its troops but had been able to compensate with the power of Rage, naturally was unable to defend itself against the Empire with her gone.

The Empire army, which had almost unilaterally launched an offensive this time, was not about to let them get away, and was attacking into the Kingdoms territory to pursue them, but the adventurers were not taking part in this battle.

They were partic.i.p.ating only under the pretext of supporting the Empire forces, who had been under attacks. When the Empire force took on the offensive role, their cooperation was deemed to be over, and the adventurers began to return to the towns and villages they were based in.

In the midst of all this, Loren and his group still stayed in the town where the Empires army was based, with the main reason being, to hear Yuris stories about Loren.

Although Loren himself did not seem to care much about it, Lapis was interested, and since Yuri himself did not say that he would not talk about it, she was planning to ask him when the war was over.

However, this had proved to be unsuccessful.

General Yuri is in command of the pursuit of the Kingdom army and is currently accompanying the troops on the front line.

When the soldier in charge of guarding the base informed Loren and the others of this, Lapis looked as if she wanted to say Darn it!, but it was already too late.

If they wanted to try to force Yuri to talk, they would have to follow him to the front line, and if they did that, they would be drawn into the war between the Empire and the Kingdom, whether they wanted to or not.

Im sure hell get in touch with you sooner or later if he feels like talking. Its just how the Commander is.

Is this alright with you, Loren?

Loren thought for a moment and then asked Lapis in a slightly hesitant tone.

Suppose I were someone else that I dont even know. Would that change the way you treat me?

Thats an unexpected question.

Lapis, who looked genuinely surprised, nevertheless immediately answered Lorens question.

Itll be a different story if you are a mortal enemy of my family or something, but fortunately both my parents are alive and well, so that cant be it. And, Loren is just Loren, arent you?

Then thats good, isnt it?

It is. Yes, its all very good.

Lapis seemed completely pleased with Lorens question and her own response, so that discussion ended there.

However, there remained one more problem: Rage, who Dauna had neutralized on the battlefield.

The authority activated by Dauna had completely enclosed a corner of the battlefield in ice, and all of the Kingdom soldiers that were caught up in the ice had died. Loren thought that if they could be revived from that state, they could no longer be called human, but Rage was an exception.

As expected of an Evil G.o.d, the ice encasing Rage melted as soon as Daunas authority expired and ambient temperature returned to normal, and although she was unconscious, she was still alive. Not knowing what would happen after she woke up, if they just left her there, Lorens team brought her back together with Dauna, who had fallen asleep.

As for the damage to the soldiers that Daunas authority had caused, the Empire soldiers who had seen Lorens group fleeing were mostly spared; only a few who were unlucky and un.o.bservant were late in escaping. However, a good number of Kingdom soldiers were caught up because they were standing on the spot, and they remained standing there as cold, white ice sculptures even after Daunas authority had lifted.

d.a.m.n it Ive lost Let me go

After regaining consciousness, Rage was in a state of utter despondency that was unimaginable from what they had seen on the battlefield.

No one knew when she would use her power and unleash fires again, so she was imprisoned in a military facility on the outskirts of town.

Tied with a thin metal cable to prevent her from immediately burning it off, she sat cross-legged in the center of the prison cell, her face sullen. For some reason, it was left up to Lorens team to decide what to do with her.

General Yuris decision were the words of the soldiers, but Loren couldnt shake the worrying question of why him?.

Is this going to be alright?

Loren, who had been led into the prison to see Rage, watched her through the bars and asked. Lapis tilted her head while Luxuria shrugged.

Daunas blessing is very very bad, you know.

It was Gula who said this as she looked into the prison cell. And for some reason, Klaus was standing nearby.

As they were already present here, Loren and his team could not stop Klaus from coming to check on Rage. Of course, they would not tell Klaus about Evil G.o.ds, so they explained the authority of Evil G.o.ds as a blessing, similar to what Klaus himself possessed.

Loren thought it was a bit of a stretch, but so far Klaus seemed to be convinced without any particular doubts.

Simply put, the blessing is to demotivate all beings within the area of effect. When something is demotivated, it tries to stay where it is. And when everything stops, thats what happens.

So, you yourself are unscathed because of your abundant tolerance. Thats scary.

Dauna, the one who had caused such a phenomenon, demanded a place to sleep after, as if he had done a lifetimes worth of work, and now occupied a room at the inn where Loren and the others were staying and continued to sleep.

Loren thought it might be a backlash from using his authority, but Gula told him that Daunas power as an Evil G.o.d had weakened somewhat because he had worked despite being Sloth, who should not work at all, so he now had to laze around to regain his power.

You mean she is still under the influence of Daunas blessing?

Yes. Its going to be like this for a while.

Loren thought that if the authority Dauna had displayed were to be used too often, it would be horrible, particularly because it was almost impossible to defend against it. Even if you tried to defend with magic, it seemed that magic itself would lose its own motivation and become ineffective.

If there was any saving grace, it was that Dauna himself was the embodiment of laziness, and almost never made a move on his own.

G.o.dd.a.m.n you Remember what you did to me

She is indeed Rage, still cursing this much despite being under Daunas influence.

Loren wondered what to do with Rage, who was still continually swearing despite being completely listless.

The easiest and safest way would be to dispose of her right here and now.

Normally, they would have had to prepare for a lot of resistance, but now that she had lost her willpower, he felt that they could do it without too much trouble.

But, Loren turned his attention to Gula.

Loren expected that Gula, an Evil G.o.d, would not feel very good about disposing of Rage, who was also an Evil G.o.d. He could sense that Gula, who was peering into the prison cell, was asking him to somehow spare her life.

He considered pa.s.sing Rage over to Gula, but then he wondered if it would be a good idea, since she would be too much for Gulas group to handle once she regained herself.

Hey, Klaus, you did hit on her once, right?

Its a mans duty to hit on a pretty woman.

As Klaus answered Lorens question clearly and decisively, Lapis and Gula glared at him with disgusted eyes while Luxuria looked at him admiringly.

This child sure has got a lot to offer, doesnt he?

It makes me shudder just to think that hes in the same league as Luxuria.

I wonder if it would be possible to seal them together somewhere.

While each of them proclaimed their different sentiments, Loren pondered for a moment, then made a suggestion to Klaus.

Well then, why dont you take her to your place and take care of her?

Lapis and Gulas eyes widened as if saying What are you talking about.

Luxuria, however, clapped his hands as if saying Good idea, and Klaus, who was the one who had been told to do so, replied instantly with fiery enthusiasm in his eyes.

I-Is it really alright?!

No, wait a minute, Loren. This is the man who was almost killed because he tried to seduce Rage.

Talking rapidly, Lapis tried to stop them in a panic, but Loren responded by pointing to Rage in the prison cell.

Thats true, but she almost fell for Klaus, didnt she? So, if he talks to her properly, it might work out better than you think.

B-but

I dont want to take care of her, and with how things are, we cant dispose of her in good conscience, can we? So, I think it would be best to let someone who had the best chance to succeed to persuade her and take care of her.

Klaus already had the skills to turn the girls in his party into his companions, even though they might say otherwise. Lorens argument was that, even if a fourth person were added to the group, he would somehow manage to make it work.

The underlying reason, however, was the idea that handling it by themselves would be too much trouble and should be left to Klaus, who seemed to be good with women. But Loren never mentioned this.

Ange and the others will resent you for this.

Lapis, perhaps reading his thoughts, leaned in close and quietly whispered to Loren, who also answered in a whisper.

It was not as if there was no merit; if Klaus could successfully persuade Rage, his party could expect a huge boost in strength. And even if there was no merit to it, Loren believed that Klaus would not refuse if he was asked to take care of a pretty girl like Rage.

Shes going to be like this for a while. Convince her before things get out of hand.

Leave it to me. There may have been some unfortunate misunderstandings, but Im sure that if we talk courteously, she will understand.

As Klaus answered with a needlessly sparkling smile, Loren looked relieved to hear the trouble had been taken care of.

He patted Lapis, who still wondered if it was really okay, on the shoulder and looked at Gula, who nodded, albeit slightly.

Hey, Rage. Ill leave it up to you whether or not you want to accept his offer. If you dont like it, you can ask Gula for help. You can contact her, cant you?

Dont tell me what to do

Im not telling you what to do. Its just a favour. In any case, you lost to us once, so be a little more accommodating, okay?

Thinking that she would become stubborn if he forced it on her, Loren used the word favour instead.

Hearing that, she stared at him through the prison bars.

I understand.

After a few moments, Rage nodded reluctantly despite being seemingly out of it.

Although he did not know how effective the verbal agreement, they had made on this occasion would be, Loren thought from Rages behaviour that she would not revoke it.

Were done with the clean-up here. Lets go back to Kapha. We should do some work and make some money.

Seeing that their job here had ended, Loren tried to sound cheerful, but Lapis whispered.

Thats true. And your debt is not decreasing. How about just give up and marry me?

Reminded once again of the huge debt he owed, Lorens expression turned gloomy, and he lightly poked Lapis on the head with a wry smile.

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