“We’re talking about their strength... as humans, of which there are very few left in this world.”

“...Ah.”

Ariella opened her mouth blankly.

Corporal Jeon Gwangil shrugged.

“It’s true that their forces are impressive. But... to be honest, if we wanted to suppress them, we probably could have done it any number of ways.”

Right.

If it were something that could be solved by force, they would have done it long ago.

Because, after all.

“We have Lieutenant General Kim on our side.”

“That’s right.” 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Our unit currently had Lieutenant General Kim Hyeon-seok.

‘Lieutenant General Kim’s command ability right now is... honestly on a completely different level.’

It was an ability with a one-day time limit.

But while that ability was active.

Lieutenant General Kim Hyeon-seok’s command ability transformed into something greater than that of any general whose name had gone down in history.

If the objective difference in strength were severely large, as in Ariella’s case, that would be one thing.

But if their objective strength was similar.

From that point on, tactics and strategy would decide victory or defeat.

And.

‘There is no way the Legion, with Lieutenant General Kim in it, would lose that fight.’

In other words.

They were not refraining from suppressing them because they lacked power.

“If we tried to suppress them, even with Lieutenant General Kim’s command, both sides would suffer losses.”

“...Ah.”

“Their strength was greater than we expected, so no matter how overwhelmingly we beat them with incredible strategy and tactics, even if we set ourselves aside, they would inevitably take heavy damage. And.”

I took over his words and said,

“Humanity’s fighting strength is far too scarce to burn through it like that.”

That was why.

We had even been coaxing monsters who belonged to the invaders into becoming our allies.

‘Just because we’re taking other races into the Legion doesn’t mean we can throw away humanity’s strength.’

If anything, it was the opposite.

I had fought the grand duke on Chinese soil...

And in the process, I had seen the grand duke seize the system’s power.

‘The system’s power may be stronger than we thought.’

No matter how much the grand duke had conquered every territory of a nation.

That power had still been enough to satisfy even the condition needed to push the grand duke to the next stage.

And also.

‘The system... betrayed the grand duke in a way so cowardly it seemed cruel even to me.’

It was a relief that it was on our side.

Honestly, if I had been the one it did that to, I would have thought it was unspeakably vicious.

...The system was by no means an existence that belonged to “good.”

If I had to define that existence... rather than good.

‘An ally of humanity.’

A mysterious power that supported only the indigenous species of this Earth.

Humanity.

If the system’s power grew stronger as we carried out the Conquest War.

Then the more humans received its support, the greater that efficiency would become.

With numbers and strength like theirs, we had to find a way to keep them alive and turn them into allies somehow.

Even if, right now, they were forces Ariella could clean up on her own.

One day, when the system’s power grew stronger and they became able to receive its support... things might change.

“That was our judgment. We could not afford to lose that much strength here.”

In that sense.

Their decision not to enter a full-scale battle had been correct.

It was probably Lieutenant General Kim Hyeon-seok’s judgment.

“Ariella. If you stepped in to suppress them, would you be able to minimize the loss of their forces?”

“...There is not no way, but.”

“Other than turning them into your retainers.”

“......”

No matter how strong Ariella was.

In the end, to push back a force of that size, she would have no choice but to inflict considerable damage.

That might be a victory in terms of a battle between the Legion and the Church, but from humanity’s perspective, it was only a major loss.

“The fortunate part is that they are not attacking places with defensive troops stationed there. Which means.”

“They don’t want a full-scale armed clash either?”

At those words, I could not help tilting my head.

They were trying to expand their territory whenever they saw an opening.

But they did not want a full-scale armed clash.

If there was a reason they were doing this, then perhaps.

“There’s... something else they want.”

Through the territory they secured.

Maybe they wanted something from us... something like that.

“Actually, we know what that is too.”

“Huh? You do?”

And.

It seemed they already knew what the other side wanted.

“Yeah. They said that if we resolved one condition, they would be willing to talk as much as we wanted and cooperate on the issue of territory too. But...”

“The condition they demanded was something we absolutely couldn’t resolve on our end. That’s why we ended up in this standoff.”

“What condition did they ask for?”

Just how difficult was the condition they had proposed?

How had these guys, who had wanted so badly to come save me, been unable to resolve it?

I found that strange, but.

“...We told you we were sorry for dragging you here as soon as you arrived, didn’t we?”

“Hm?”

The people’s gazes turned toward...

None other than me.

“There was a reason we had to do something that deserved an apology.”

“...Don’t tell me.”

At Lee Sanga’s words.

I realized one thing.

The condition the other side had presented to us.

And the condition they had been troubled over because no matter what they did, they could not resolve it.

“Only if Private First Class Shin Youngjun personally appears at the negotiation table.”

“They said they would actively cooperate in talks.”

That condition.

Was me.

***

-...I am still worried.

After that.

A voice spoke to me as I moved somewhere.

“I told you. If we think about future strength, we need to minimize the damage caused by a civil war between humans.”

-This one understands that as well. However...

The sound of a sigh.

-To think they would specifically demand Master be handed over... Is this not far too dangerous?

...True.

It was exactly as Ariella said.

For a place that had called me because there was urgent business.

The battle situation here seemed quite deadlocked.

It did not look as though some incident would break out immediately.

Yet they had summoned me in such a rush.

I had wondered what the reason was.

‘And the thing needed to break that deadlock is me.’

Honestly.

I had never imagined this.

Because.

‘...Does this even make sense?’

In a fight between factions.

They had named none other than me as the person who had to appear for negotiations.

This was quite strange.

After all.

‘The external head of our unit is Lieutenant General Kim Hyeon-seok.’

After the events in Seoul.

First Lieutenant Kim Hyeon-seok had gone around introducing himself as a lieutenant general.

‘They must recognize him that way too.’

We had the form of a military unit.

Common sense would tell anyone that the highest commander was the lieutenant general.

And yet they had called me instead of Lieutenant General Kim.

‘Me, whose external position is nothing more than one mess-hall cook...’

If they had investigated the Legion’s system.

They might know that I, one of the few private first classes, was not just a simple cook.

Even so, that was no reason to call me while passing over First Lieutenant Kim and even the other private first class, Sergeant Lee Minjae.

-...They called me instead of Lieutenant General Kim?

At that fact.

I had asked the question with doubt in my mind.

-Yes. Rather... during that Conquest War, it seemed they communicated with Lieutenant General Kim several times, but after that, they became extremely unwilling to speak with him.

-...Not just that they didn’t call him, but they °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° outright refused communication?

-Yes. That is also why Lieutenant General Kim is staying on Bimana right now. They will at least try to communicate with the other soldiers, but as for Lieutenant General Kim... they seem to be extremely reluctant to even have him near the front line.

After hearing the answer.

My doubts only grew stronger.

‘A reason to call me instead of Lieutenant General Kim...’

Hmm.

I recalled the time I had encountered someone from the Church in the past.

‘It’s not like I have... absolutely no idea why.’

As I frowned.

“To be honest, I don’t like this.”

At that moment.

A voice came from beside me.

***

“To be honest, I don’t like this.”

At those words.

I looked at the soldier who had said them and spoke.

“Jeong Sua... Are you saying that because of the danger too?”

Ariella, who was inside my shadow, had already mentioned the danger.

Jeong Sua was also currently in a position responsible for my safety.

So I wondered if she was saying it from the same position as Ariella.

“That is not it.”

“Hmm?”

“No matter how dangerous it may be, every decision is yours to make, Benefactor. I cannot be dissatisfied with something you have decided. However...”

Jeong Sua spoke with a displeased expression.

“I am a little unhappy that the other side is ordering Benefactor to come and go as they please.”

“Ah.”

If Ariella was unhappy because of the danger.

It seemed the reason for Jeong Sua’s dissatisfaction lay somewhere else entirely.

“They may not know that Private First Class Shin Youngjun is the Legion Commander. Wouldn’t it feel to them like they were calling over a single soldier?”

Hearing that.

Corporal Jeon Gwangil, who was also riding in the vehicle, tried to soothe her.

But Jeong Sua still spoke with a frown.

“Even taking that into account... to be honest, I did not like them much from the beginning.”

“From the beginning?”

“From the moment we met them in Seoul.”

At those words.

I tilted my head and said,

“...Nothing really happened back then, did it?”

I remembered every repetition in Seoul.

But the other unit members did not.

After the repetitions ended.

As far as I knew, we had parted ways not long after encountering them.

There had not even been time for resentment to build in the first place.

I wondered which part of them had caused her dislike to take root.

“They call themselves the Church.”

That part.

Was something I had not expected.

“They probably did not choose that name without thought... so they are likely a religious group.”

“Uh, yeah. From the way they talk, I figured they might be an organization derived from Catholicism or Christianity.”

“Which religion they belong to is not particularly important. The fact that they are a religious group itself is the problem.”

She looked at my face.

And offered serious advice.

“As you know, Benefactor, history has no shortage of problems caused by religion. Blind faith in a false existence paralyzes reason and turns people into beings who will use any means and methods for the sake of that faith.”

“Uh? Yeah.”

“Historically, many religions did not hesitate to commit brutal massacres to force their beliefs onto others. Normal mass religions were no exception.”

Then.

She crossed her arms and frowned.

“Especially a group united by religious conviction in an age like this... Perhaps they may even hold a dangerous cult-like faith.”

And.

At her words.

“...Cult?”

“Hmm...”

For some reason.

The squad leaders riding in the vehicle with us looked at her with strange expressions.

They stared blankly with their mouths slightly open, as if they had heard something absurd.

“Even if it is a normal religion, that is still a problem. If an existence like God existed, the world would not have become like this. Rather than serving an illusion that does not even exist... it would be better for them to look at reality.”

“......”

“It is not enough even to believe in and follow something that truly exists in reality... Yet they are bound by such false faith. Well, if I assume they simply never had the chance to gain that realization, I do feel somewhat sorry for them, but...”

“......”

The longer she went on.

The more the expressions of the squad leaders listening to her gradually twisted.

I too felt a little puzzled as I listened.

‘Wasn’t this girl supposedly running something like a religious club in the unit...?’

And yet.

She seemed rather negative about religion and gods.

Maybe she was not on the side of believing in a god, but had a Buddhist-type club instead.

I thought that side supposedly placed more importance on attaining enlightenment oneself than on faith in a transcendent being.

...Well.

It was true that the other faction had betrayed us.

It was only natural for the unit members to be dissatisfied.

“That.”

The important part was.

“Don’t say that to their faces, okay?”

“...I know.”

In the end.

As long as she did not say it in front of them, it was fine.

Screeech...

“Private First Class Shin. We’ve arrived.”

“Yeah, all right.”

In the end.

What I had to do had already been decided.

Clunk.

After getting out of the vehicle.

I scratched my head and looked around.

Whoooooosh...

A rough wind blew past.

And there was not a single building to block that wind.

In truth, that was only natural.

‘A bridge.’

This place.

Was a bridge built over a massive river.