Terrifying Enlightenment

After a while longer if utterly thrashing Bodhi in terms of swordsmanship and giving him useful pointers, Xander returned to their tent where Falael had already prepared quite the feast.

Currently, everyone was in the living area of the tent, with a ground table which held the food along with floor pillows for each of them.

Mia was also there, but she was stuffing her face with the food already, and no one

"Took you long enough." Falaek, unsurprisingly, was the first to speak.

Xander just stared at them.

"I saw you rushing into the tent as you finished cooking. Stop acting like I took time." He called out the half-elf instantly, making the latter stiffen, but Xander ignored them and sat at the table.

As soon as he did, Keir hopped off his shoulder and buried his head into one of the bowls, while Mary also fluttered down and entered her humanoid form, standing dutifully behind Xander.

"Oh, I... didn’t make anything for you." Falael scratched their head when they say Mary.

"Worry not. I’m not required to eat physical food." She said simply, and the half-elf nodded, but they didn’t seem particularly happy about it.

After that, the squad fell into easy conversation, mostly just talking about what they thought of Landor, the people, and the overall situation. But one thing Xander noticed was that no one really complained about the atmosphere in general, which told him that Avoma had done its job in conditioning them.

Soon enough, the food slowly vanished, and for a moment, the group feel into easy silence. Then Xander sighed.

"Mary, if you will." Giving her the signal, Mary nodded, and a faint breeze suddenly blew through the room. The other three were perplexed when Aubrey realized that she couldn’t extend her senses past the four walls of the tent, while Falael and Curtis realized that the sounds from outside had ceased abruptly.

"Alright, now that we don’t need to worry about anyone listening in. Let’s get down to business." Xander said seriously and leaned forward. However, Curtis suddenly chimed in, confused.

"Um... if you wanted a private conversation, we could have just used telepathy. That was like... half the reason we learned the corresponding spell."

"..." Xander was silent for a moment, then he deadpanned.

"In case someone has the ability to listen into telepathic conversation."

’Yeah, he definitely forgot×3.’ The others just sighed.

Clearing his throat, Xander continued.

"Anyway, I’m pretty sure you guys noticed my strange reaction when Sparrow talked about the ant colony, correct?" He asked, and they all nodded.

"Yeah, you seemed almost flustered. So it was a bit concerning, I will admit." Aubrey adjusted her glasses, and the others nodded.

"I will admit, it was a disconcerting to see you lose your usual composure." Falael also added, and Xander exhaled.

"Yeah, well, if my guess if correct, then it’s a surprise I didn’t react stronger." That got their attention.

"What guess? They’re just ants, no?" Falael frowned.

To that, Xander asked.

"What impression do you guys have of ants?" The question made them fall silent, and in that brief silence, Keir, who had eaten his fill, found his way to Xander’s shoulder, while Mia crawled over and kay in his lap, both of them falling asleep almost simultaneously.

"... Honestly? Not much. I know they appear quite organized for insects, but they are small and aren’t particularly strong. Easily crushed, and so on. They aren’t that much of a threat, as far as I’m aware." Curtus was the first to speak, and the other two nodded in agreement.

Xander didn’t even bother hiding his sigh.

’This is how cities get devoured before they know what hit them.’ At that point, Falael got irritated.

"Alright, spit it out. What’s so terrifying about ants that’s making you act like this?" Their ears twitched with obvious displeasure, but the way their finger tapped the table betrayed their nervousness. Xander wasn’t one to exaggerate the severity of certain issues, so if he was acting like this...

"Phew. Fine, here’s the gist." Xander leaned forward and gave the group a general explanation of how ants worked. To how their numbers grew exponentially as long as there was enough time or food, to their organization, and so on.

He didn’t say everything and kept it grounded enough to adhere to Tatonia’s logic, but he got his point across. And by the end of it, the trio was silent.

"... So you’re saying that ants are actually a group of highly organized creatures that can grow to obscene numbers, of which there are different variants that make them far more complex and difficult to deal with?" Falael finally spoke.

"And according to you, it doesn’t matter if the ants the people here kill regularly aren’t that strong because they are simply ’workers’, not including the ’soldier’ ants that actually excel at combat." Aubrey added, suddenly looking pale.

"Plus the fact that their numbers grow exponentially means the number the people here have killed probably doesn’t even mater since it’s just a drop in the bucket. And the fact that the colony has existed for years means their true numbers is... far beyond imagination." All of them suddenly shuddered.

"Not to mention," Xander continued. "These aren’t ordinary ants, but ants that have been tainted by the Hell Gate, making them demonic beasts. Who knows the sort of mutations or strange new abilities they could have developed." He leaned back.

"My hope is that such a thing actually put a dampener on their reproduction, but I don’t wanna trust such a thing." Hearing this, Falael suddenly slammed their hand on the table, making the various plates to shake.

"Well, what are we waiting for?! If you’re right then Landor is sitting on a very overdue bomb!" They exclaimed.

"Y-Yeah. I’m pretty sure this wasn’t what Avoma had in mind when they sent us here." Curtis added, his nervousness suddenly coming back full force. Aubrey, however, shook her head.

"Xander probably thought of that. The issue is evidence. Right?" She glanced at him, and Xander nodded.

"You guys are taking my words at face value because you trust me. But to everyone else, I’m just an particularly talented student from a prestigious military school. I lack the influence or authority to make them believe my words." Hearing this, the other two boys grimaced.

"So... what? We just keep quiet and hope this doesn’t explode in our faces?" Falael grumbled.

"And... all these people too." Curtis pursed his lips

"I wasn’t finished." Xander calmly paused his hand.

"Actually, I was simply informing you guys this because of what I intend to do next," He looked at all of them. "I intend to go and investigate." That gave them a pause.

"Uh, what?" Curtis’s brows rose.

"... Sorry, but I think you forget that we’re in a town-turned-military-base. They’re gonna be on guard a LOT. Plus, lots of eyes will be on us since we’re the newbies who seem more competent than they thought." Falael also protested.

"And even if you somehow managed to get past all of that, the whole reason this is an issue is because you suspect the colony to be far worse than we think. Wouldn’t that be absurdly dangerous?" Aubrey finished, also frowning, and Xander smiled slightly.

"All of those are things I have considered, and to answer that... You guys seem to forget who, or what, my maid is." At that, their eyes shifted to Mary who stood behind Xander, the taciturn maid showing no reaction to the conversation.

"... Right, you intend to exploit the fact you have an Elemental Spirit as a maid." Falael said in sudden enlightenment and unabashed envy.

"Well... If you take her with you then maybe..." Curtis mumbled, chewing his fingernails.

Aubrey spoke at that moment.

"Seeing as you kept silently glancing at me this whole conversation, I get the feeling you want something from me." She looked at Xander pointedly, and he snapped his fingers with a smile.

"That’s why you’re our strategist. Excellent observation."

Aubrey: (–_–)

Xander forced a cough.

"Anyway, I intend to bring you with me." Falael and Curtis perked up at that.

"Whoa, that’s kinda..."

"Isn’t that a bit..."

But to their surprise, Aubrey just nodded.

"Alright. I’ll do it."

This time, even Xander was surprised.

"Just like that?" He asked with raised brows, and Aubrey shrugged.

"My abilities are specially suited to this type of things, which is why I’m guessing you want to bring me along. It’s only logical.

Moreover, we’re on an active battlefield defending a town that’s being attacked from three fronts. One of which we are actively losing and another which might be much, much worse than initially anticipated." She closed her eyes.

"I just got here, but this is still a place with people who have lives. If... if I can do something to help prevent them from getting blindsided and killed just like that. I’ll do it." Hearing this, Curtis and Falael suddenly seemed conflicted.

Meanwhile, Xander stared at Aubrey for a few seconds.

’She’s scared.’ He noted the way her hands trembled on the table. But her eyes were firm.

He smiled.

"You know, women with resolve are pretty attractive." Aubrey blinked, then her face went bright red.

"Wh-What...?!" She sputtered, and Xander just laughed as he stood.

"We leave in an hour. Get your stuff ready by then." Then he entered his room, leaving Aubrey, whose brain failed to compute his words, Falael who looked oddly annoyed at the comment, and Curtis who just covered his face with his hands and groaned.