Do I Have a Choice?

Before I could even speak, Lina eagerly pulled me towards the back hall.

"Quick, quick, let's go, let's go! It'll get cold if we wait any longer, and cold tea doesn't taste good!"

Who was it just now who said there were still people suffering outside?

Who was it that so solemnly lectured me!

Look at me, you goofball!!

I... really wanted to say those words aloud.

But I could only think them internally.

Regardless, Lina was truly here to help me.

With such an elite force, plus a Saintess in her prime, against the demon army lacking its main forces, the chances of victory had significantly increased!

Arriving at the back hall, Lola had already prepared the tea, set up tables and chairs, and even arranged for the music ensemble.

Normally, a Saintess would have a music ensemble play during every meal.

I imagine this was to mask any potentially ungraceful eating habits of the Saintess.

Of course, the music ensemble was in a corner of the room, separated by a screen.

No peeking or direct staring was allowed when Her Highness the Saintess was dining, as this was also one of her most vulnerable moments.

The sound passed through a magic barrier, entering my side unilaterally, while my voice couldn't be heard on their side.

One couldn't help but marvel at the convenience of magic.

Melodious and elegant music slowly began, echoing through the back hall, drifting gently and uplifting the spirit.

As I rarely listened to such music, I wasn't quite sure what the piece was.

But Lina, however, immediately named the music.

"It's the Saintess's Musical Canon, Chapter Three! Is this to bless our military fortunes? Her Highness Luo Li is truly thoughtful."

Saintess's Musical Canon, Chapter Three?

I glanced back at Lola in surprise, and Lola gave me a look that said, 'You understand, now don't say anything.'

I instantly realized this was Lola's arrangement.

Compared to a Saintess like Lina, who had been trained since childhood, I, a Saintess who joined halfway through, was not only lacking in strength.

I also couldn't compare to her in various other qualities.

Take this music, for example; I had no idea what it was.

Lina, however, looked utterly blissful, closing her eyes and tilting her head to listen.

I didn't particularly like symphonies.

To be honest, I didn't really understand them, but I did get erhu, pipa, and suona music. When a suona plays, it's either a grand celebration or a solemn farewell, always direct and clear.

At least I managed to get through the morning tea.

The music had stopped, and now only the freshest, most exquisite, and smallest desserts remained on the table.

Each one was smaller than my fingertip, gone with a single press of the tongue.

Yet, every single dessert was incredibly delicious and exquisitely crafted to an outrageous degree.

I didn't understand why Lola had made these desserts look exactly like me.

Lifelike.

And by coincidence, that very dessert was popped into Lina's mouth.

It felt as if I was being devoured alive.

I shot a glare at Lola, who seemed equally surprised by the turn of events and lowered her head, saying nothing more.

"Your Highness Lina, why have you personally come this time?"

I'd settle the dessert matter with Lola later; for now, the priority was to find a way to get this big fish on board.

Currently, she wasn't quite on the 'pirate ship,' but given her personality, the process of guiding her shouldn't be too difficult.

"Of course, it's to kill the enemy! Wiping out the demons is the ambition of all races across the entire continent!"

Lina's response was swift and decisive, without the slightest hesitation, and the sincerity in her eyes assured me that she spoke from the heart.

"Your Highness Lina... no, Lina."

I stared intently into her eyes.

"Speaking of which, it's true. For a thousand years, we humans have been closest to the demons. Every hundred years or so, we're subjected to their frenzied attacks, and countless civilians suffer massacres. Alas..."

Hearing this, Lina's brows furrowed, and her eyes filled with rage.

"Damn it!"

Bang! Her fist slammed onto the table.

"Why didn't His Holiness, the first Pope, wipe out the demons completely!"

She really seemed angry?

What she was angry about, I didn't know, nor did I need to know. I only needed to understand that her indignation was useful for my baiting strategy.

"Lina, I recently had an idea, I wonder... would you like to thoroughly crush the demons?"

Lina paused slightly, then abruptly looked up, her gaze fixed on me with burning intensity.

"What idea?"

I lowered my head in thought for a moment, making her eagerly urge me on:

"Don't dawdle, tell me already!"

And just like that, the fish took the bait.

To deceive such a naive young girl, and yet feel a sense of pleasure in my heart.

I truly am a villain!

"This method is a bit dangerous, but in our current situation, we have no other choice. Perhaps you don't know, but the demon army has already invaded the Kingdom of the Sun."

"What did you say!?"

Lina abruptly stood up from her chair, ignoring the thump as it fell to the floor behind her. She leaned her hands on the table, her upper body practically reaching my face.

"You said the demons have already invaded the Kingdom of the Sun!? How is that possible!? Aren't demons unable to travel long distances by sea!?"

"Indeed, relying solely on the demons themselves, they cannot develop normally. But do you remember why you came this time?"

Even if she was naive, she wasn't truly foolish. I believed a fool couldn't become a Saintess.

At the very least, the aptitude to become a Saintess was beyond what ordinary people possessed.

It required immense talent, and intelligence was precisely a necessity.

"Are you saying... the Garnet family provided ships to the demons?"

Lina's eyes darted, and she almost instantly understood my meaning.

As expected... she wasn't stupid, it was just that Lina's upbringing had been too sheltered, leading to her naivety.

"Yes, the demons haven't invaded the continent for two hundred years. Now, they've suddenly invaded, bringing so many ships. This is the only possibility I can think of, and I've already received accurate information."

I looked up and met her gaze.

"Lina, what do you think... we should do in this situation?"

Lina's brows were tightly furrowed.

Then, she looked up at Lola.

"Hey, you, bring the map!"

Lola blinked, feeling an urge to speak her mind, but she thought better of it and held back, lest she ruin Her Highness's grand plan.

Soon, someone wheeled over a map.

The map was currently hung on a wooden stand with wheels, allowing it to be moved freely.

The enormous map was placed before us. The center point on the map was the Holy See, with its upper border adjacent to the beastmen, and its left border adjacent to the dwarves.

Now, Lina walked to the lower right corner of the map.

There... looking at the map, one could see four large islands, located in the southeastern corner of the map.

The combined area of the four islands was probably no smaller than Australia.

Lina raised her hand and pointed to Brilliant City, then gestured towards the coastline of the Kingdom of the Sun.

Her brows were tightly furrowed.

"No, it's too late. From here to the Kingdom of the Sun is at least three thousand three hundred kilometers. Even my Black Armored Knights would need at least three to four days."

Three to four days?

My goodness!

Setting aside her tactical genius to roughly estimate the distance by hand.

Just her calculation alone, three to four days... to travel three thousand three hundred kilometers?

That's a thousand kilometers a day?

Are they even human?

Those black horses I just saw, they weren't actually black horses.

They were black horse motorcycles, weren't they? Weren't they?!

A thousand kilometers a day? Are you really not joking?!

However, this was indeed very magical.

Moreover, the Kingdom of the Moon didn't have flat roads at the moment.

She must have calculated for various terrains to arrive at this final result.

Indeed... elite troops are elite troops.

Even on a highway, a thousand kilometers would take eleven hours.

Her Black Armored Knights, even without sleep or rest, would need to continuously advance at nearly fifty kilometers per hour to arrive in three to four days.

If they rested midway, that speed would have to increase even further.

Such endurance, such willpower, was absolutely a top-tier army on the continent.

"Don't worry about that. The Pope has already agreed for the Kingdom of the Sun. He will use magic airships to transport the army as quickly as possible. They probably departed last night."

After our communication last night, I believed that with Diocletian's strategic vision, he wouldn't stand by and watch the Kingdom of the Sun fall.

He would certainly dispatch troops as quickly as possible.

Coupled with a Sacred Knight, in my opinion, although the Kingdom of the Sun would undoubtedly suffer heavy losses, it wouldn't be annihilated.

"So that's how it is, that reassures me."

Lina let out a long breath, but her recently relaxed brows immediately furrowed again.

"The Kingdom of the Sun has a total population of about 300 million. A sudden demon attack would surely leave them no time to counterattack, forcing them to fight while retreating."

She raised her hand and pointed at the outermost, smallest of the four islands.

"If my deduction is correct, the demon army must have already besieged Kyushu Island. With Her Highness Momoka there, as long as she hasn't fallen and the Demon Emperor hasn't been deployed, there shouldn't be a problem."

"Demon Emperor?"

I looked up at Lina in surprise. She paused slightly, then turned to look at me.

"Huh? You don't know? That's the demons' highest combat power."

Highest combat power, level sixty is a demon marshal.

Is level seventy called a Demon Emperor?

"However, as far as I know, although the Kingdom of the Sun isn't large, it has many strong individuals. For the short term, there shouldn't be a problem. Besides, Her Highness Momoka had mentioned something similar to me before; she had made preparations."

"She told you?"

I asked curiously, and Lina patiently explained.

"Yes, although we Saintesses can't meet directly, we occasionally have tea parties. Once, when no one else was present, Her Highness Momoka told me about Hiroyuki Amazawa's situation."

She looked at me, seemingly noticing my confusion, and quickly explained:

"Hiroyuki Amazawa is currently the strongest general in the Kingdom of the Sun, and he commands the largest army. His garrison is on this outermost island."

I followed the direction of her finger. That location, if nothing else... was the inevitable path for the demons to land in the Kingdom of the Sun.

"This Hiroyuki Amazawa seems to have rebellious intentions. Her Highness Momoka told me that she had prepared a lot of supplies on Kyushu Island. At a critical moment, she would take her father... oh, that's Ryuichi Yamazaki, the commander of the Kingdom of the Sun's army, to take refuge there and await rescue."

"Why... would she tell you all this?"

Lina shook her head.

"Perhaps she hoped I could help her at a critical moment?"

Saying this, she returned to her seat, kicking her chair back into place with her toe, then sat down, her eyes carrying a hint of inquiry.

"But Your Highness Luo Li, what was that about you wanting to crush the demons?"

"Well... actually, it's like this."

I laid out the entire plan I had discussed with the Pope.

Since she was so frank, pretending any longer would only cause trouble for myself. It was better to just tell her directly.

"You actually want to go to the demon's outer island alone!?"

As soon as I finished speaking, before I could even catch my breath, Lina's astonished cry rang in my ears.

The sound was so clear it made my ears ring.

This young girl's voice was truly resonant.

Yes, a good voice for singing.

"Lina, don't rush. Sit down and let's talk."

"Talk about what!? Do you know you've been a Saintess for less than a year! You're only seventeen!"

Hmm?!

I didn't like the sound of that.

"Your Highness Lina's words are truly interesting. It's as if you're older than me."

Lina nodded seriously.

"Of course I'm older than you. I'm already level fifty-three. Don't look at how small I am... Hey!! Where are you two looking?! I'm not talking about there!"

Lina was speaking when she suddenly noticed that both the Cardinal and Her Highness Luo Li were looking at her chest.

Realizing this, Lina instinctively covered her chest, her face flushing crimson as she angrily shouted.

"You two, that's enough! I'm not talking about here!"

"Oh, oh~ My apologies, it was involuntary."

She said she was small, and I instinctively looked at that... pitiable area.

I couldn't help it. I had met all seven Saintesses of the Eight Nations of the Holy Church, and the second-to-last, Momoka, was at least a B. But this one, at most, was an A.

Very possibly just an AA.

Forget cars, even planes could take off from there.

Lina's face was flushed with anger, and seeing her like that, I quickly averted my gaze.

Hmm, though pitiable, I shouldn't be superficial about it. Maybe I should ask Camilla for some breast enhancement medicine later?

"Luo Li!! You're still looking! I'm going to get angry!"

"Sorry, please continue."

After much effort to calm her down, Lina huffily returned to her seat, then turned to look at me.

"Enough about that. What I'm curious about now, Luo Li, is what exactly are you thinking? Don't you know that by doing this, you're gambling with the entire Kingdom of the Moon?"

"Of course I know, but Lina, right now, do I even have a choice?"