Chapter 97: So Not Deployed?

The heavy golden light around Goddess Viona slowly died down, leaving small scorch marks on the cracked marble terrace.

Prime Minister Belis remained prostrated on the stone floor, his body shaking under his red robes. Nearby, the high priests stood frozen in place, too terrified to speak while their deity caught her breath.

Across the bay, the thick oily smoke from the thirty-two detonated cruise missiles was still drifting into the sky, smudging the clear morning horizon.

Ayanokoji stood calmly beside the shattered stone railing. He kept his hands loosely in his pockets, unaffected by the goddess’s screaming fit. Beside him, Miyuki was pale, her breathing shallow and uneven as she stared at the distant plumes of black smoke.

Ayanokoji waited a few seconds for Viona to compose herself before speaking up.

"Lady Viona," Ayanokoji said.

She turned to face the two students.

"Your purpose here is entirely different," Viona continued, crossing her arms. "You were summoned from your world for one single, divine mission: to slay the Demon Lord in the northern wastes. That mandate has not changed because an insolent discard threw a few fireworks at our harbor."

Ayanokoji listened carefully. "So our objective remains strictly tied to the Demon Lord."

"Precisely," Viona replied. "Your task is to grow stronger. You, Miyuki, and the rest of your classmates must continue your training in the sacred dungeons without distraction. Your levels must rise. You must unlock your advanced class skills, master your weapon arts, and prepare for the march to the north."

Belis pushed himself up from the floor and bowed low. "Lady Viona speaks with absolute wisdom. The divine heroes are the sword meant to decapitate the ancient evil of this world. Risking their lives on a naval expedition against heretics would be a gross misuse of sacred assets."

Viona nodded, pleased with Belis’s agreement. "Listen to the Prime Minister. While my grand armada crosses the ocean to turn John Smith’s little island into glass, you thirty-seven heroes will focus entirely on your combat drills. You will enter the deep floors of the royal labyrinth, harvest experience from high-tier monsters, and refine your magical affinities."

She stepped forward, looking down at Miyuki, whose shoulders were trembling slightly.

"Do not concern yourselves with iron weapons and flying arrows," Viona said in a haughty voice. "Leave the western barbarians to the imperial legion. By the time our five hundred galleons reduce their coastal base to ash, you will be powerful enough to march on the Demon Lord’s territory. That is how you will earn your passage back to your homeland."

Ayanokoji noted the phrase in his mind: By the time you defeat the Demon Lord, that is how you earn your passage. It matched the exact condition she had given seven months ago. The Demon Lord’s heart was still the promised catalyst.

"I understand," Ayanokoji said smoothly. "So we are to rejoin our classmates at the imperial academy immediately."

"Yes," Viona said, turning back toward her platter of candied fruits. "Report to the training grounds. Minister Belis will see to it that your equipment is updated and your daily dungeon passes are cleared. Do not waste my divine blessing worrying about petty skirmishes."

"Understood," Ayanokoji replied with a short, formal nod.

"Thank you, Lady Viona," Miyuki whispered, bowing her head before stepping back toward the golden exit doors.

Belis stepped up to the dais to receive further deployment orders for the fleet, while Ayanokoji and Miyuki walked out into the long, vaulted palace hallway. The grand doors clicked shut behind them, cutting off the chatter of the court.

The stone corridor was cool and quiet. Sunlight cut across the polished floor in bright golden bars, but the atmosphere felt heavy and suffocating.

Miyuki let out a long breath she had been holding for minutes. She leaned against a stone pillar, resting a hand against her forehead.

"Ayanokoji-kun..." Miyuki said in a hushed whisper, looking around to make sure no imperial guards were within earshot. "Are we really just going to ignore the war?"

"We don’t have a choice," Ayanokoji replied in a plain tone, walking at a steady pace beside her. "Viona views John’s military as a minor foreign annoyance rather than an existential threat. Her divine pride blinds her to the reality of the situation. Pushing her to change her mind would only draw suspicion onto us."

"B-But five hundred wooden galleons..." Miyuki’s voice shook. "They are sailing into a trap! You saw the American carrier. You saw the planes and the missile destroyers! If five hundred Solarian ships sail into that ocean, none of them are coming back!"

"That is correct," Ayanokoji said without emotion. "Against modern carrier air wings, anti-ship missiles, and long-range radar, a fleet of wooden caravels is simply five hundred large targets. The Solarian naval command is walking directly into total annihilation."

"Can’t we tell the others?" Miyuki pleaded, catching up to him. "Our classmates at the academy... they don’t know what’s coming! What if the empire drafts them later when the fleet gets destroyed?!"

"Telling them everything right now would create mass panic," Ayanokoji reasoned quietly. "If the students learn that John Smith is alive, commanding an American military force, and that Sato is already dead, the academy will fall into chaos. Some will want to rebel, some will want to surrender, and the church will simply execute anyone who questions the Goddess’s authority."

He glanced at Miyuki sideways.

"For now, we follow Viona’s instructions. We return to the academy, observe our classmates’ progress, and gather information. While the empire wastes its soldiers against the American fleet, our priority remains unchanged: survive, grow stronger, and find the cleanest path to return to Japan."

Miyuki bit her lip and slowly nodded. "Okay... I trust your judgment, Ayanokoji-kun."

"Besides," he added, his voice dropping low enough that only Miyuki could hear, "this war might work in our favor. With the imperial court fixated entirely on the western ocean, their surveillance over the academy will naturally weaken. That gives us room to operate without church paladins tracking our every move."

Miyuki glanced at him, surprised by how fast his mind found an angle even in the middle of a disaster. "Room to operate? You mean... preparing for when the empire falls?"

"Preparing for every outcome," Ayanokoji replied flatly. "If John Smith breaches the coastline, the capital’s order will collapse. We can leave."

They reached the grand front courtyard of the palace. Below the marble stairs, a pair of armored imperial carriage horses stood waiting by the iron gates. Across the city streets, bells began to toll in frantic rhythms, signaling the general call to arms for the Five Hundred Galleon Armada.

Ayanokoji stepped into the carriage, his brown eyes looking out at the noisy capital one last time before the door closed.

"Let the goddess fight her war," he said quietly, leaning back into the leather cushion.