Wasn’t This Supposed To Be a Strategy Game? Chapter 72

「Pardon? Ah, yes, of course. I had people look into it further, but apparently, it’s not a slave trade after all… It’s just that we need to find that child as soon as possible. I hate to impose again, but there’s no one else I can ask but you, Grand Duke.」

Zephar stared at Eden for a moment before readily nodding and smiling.

「Very well. I’ll look into it.」

And he had indeed found the answer.

As Eden read through the letter, trembling with excitement at how close they were to locating Ella, her expression gradually hardened.

“……!”

When she finally read the last period of the letter, Eden dropped it from her hands and covered her mouth with both palms.

“…….”

Asmun, who had been watching her, picked up the fallen letter, his expression as if he had anticipated what it might say.

“This can’t be happening…”

Eden let out a breathy, shocked whisper before whipping her head up to face Asmun.

“We need to find Ella. Right now!”

Asmun calmly read through the letter.

【As you suspected, the Eloch Trading Company has indeed been purchasing kidnapped children. The trafficking appears to be part of the Tuma business, and it is believed that the purpose is to feed the children to the monsters participating in Tuma. It is presumed that when monsters consume humans, they experience a temporary spike in magical power, thereby maximizing Tuma’s effects.】

They’re insane! These lunatics!

Monster feed?! The horrifying reality—one she hadn’t even imagined—sent chills crawling up Eden’s spine.

She no longer remembered this was a game. Her mind was spiraling with only one thought: This nightmare has to be stopped.

Suddenly, everything fit together perfectly.

The quest to find Ella, the Eloch company, the unofficially hidden Tebel at sea, and the new “Tuma business” they had started…

Reblum had gone terribly off the rails, and now was their only chance to set things right.

“We have to go to Badelnut immediately!”

Eden shouted urgently, but Asmun remained composed.

“It won’t help to go now. We still have two days.”

“Even so, we should search the area! They must be near Tebel—maybe they’ve already set the ship afloat. It has to be a massive vessel if it’s meant to host a Tuma!”

“But if we do that, we’ll miss the most direct evidence—the scene itself. This is a new operation, and there’s no previous record. Without hard evidence, we’ll lose the best pretext to take down Eloch.”

Asmun’s tone was as calm and methodical as always, as if he had known this situation would come.

“We won’t even be able to secure the Tuma list.”

“That’s true, but…!”

Eden had been about to lash back but froze when she met Asmun’s unnervingly rational eyes—unchanging and cool, even in a moment like this.

It felt like someone had struck her square on the head. A shiver spread down to her toes and left her heart stinging.

“…You knew, didn’t you?”

Faced with the abrupt question, Asmun didn’t bother to answer. A thin betrayal and a creeping dread flooded Eden’s chest.

“Why… why didn’t you tell me? You knew everything!”

“Because I thought you’d react like this.”

His matter-of-fact reply left Eden speechless.

“If we were to set priorities, pinpointing Tebel’s location is first. Then, capturing the Eloch Company, the owners of Tebel. For that, we need solid proof—and the only evidence we can obtain is the Tuma event itself.”

That cold logic grated on her nerves. Eden struggled to keep her voice steady as she pressed him.

“Did you forget that Hamyun told me to find Ella?”

“I suspect Hamyun meant for you to go through all of this in order to find Tebel. We’ve located it now, and in two days, we’ll catch the perpetrators. That’s essentially the same as finding the child.”

Damn it. Eden couldn’t speak. Asmun didn’t understand.

He didn’t know this world was a game, nor that finding Ella was a critical quest given specifically to her.

“Don’t worry. They’ll wait until the last moment to feed them. That’s the most efficient method.”

Asmun remained disturbingly composed, even as he said something so horrific.

“We’ll strike the site before that happens.”

His eyes made it clear—he thought that was enough.

Seeing that look, Eden was overcome with a dizzying sense of despair. The part of Asmun she had feared most—his trait—was now glaringly obvious.

‘Damn it. So this is what “90% chance of becoming a tyrant” actually means.’

It wasn’t just about probability. It meant she had to overcome this part of him.

He could become Emperor—but if left unchecked, this man would become a tyrant. He would pursue results by any means, unconcerned with the process or cost.

If I leave him like this, something terrible will happen for real.

This unexpected hurdle left Eden reeling.

Of course, Asmun wasn’t wrong. To resolve the Reblum episode effectively, his plan—to catch the act at the Tuma site—was the most strategic path. Everything she’d worked for pointed to that.

Maybe it was that clear foresight and icy execution that made Asmun fit to be Emperor.

But…

“…What if something happens to Ella before that?”

Her voice trembled with fear. Asmun gave no answer.

Eden felt her heart sink.

With a face full of betrayal, she turned her back on him and left without another word.

Even as she stormed past the garden and disappeared into the palace, Asmun didn’t stop her.

***

Back in her room, Eden didn’t emerge for the rest of the day. She remained buried under deep thought.

“‘Tyrant’ wasn’t just a throwaway label…”

Remembering Asmun’s unnervingly calm expression made her chest ache. Her mission was far greater and more serious than she had ever imagined.

“Just watch. I’ll make sure you become a benevolent ruler, no matter what.”

Eden clenched the blanket and stared at the ceiling.

But there was something even more urgent than reforming Asmun right now.

“Ugh… Come on. Think. Think…”

She had to figure out a way to both rescue Ella and catch the Tuma operation in the act—a way to persuade Asmun to depart for Badelnut immediately. But no such plan came to mind.

『【★】Event Quest Achieved!

: You have successfully obtained a hint through <Reblum’s Secret Trade>!
A ‘special reward’ will be given.

Would you like to receive the special reward now?』

Hoping it might be a decisive item, Eden had accepted the reward the moment she returned to her room.

『Special Reward: “Map of the Badelnut Coast” has been granted.』

The reward was… a map. Just like during the hunting grounds incident, a large ship was drawn on it—with the name Eloch marked clearly above.

The Eloch was anchored in a different location than the dock listed on the invitation. Thanks to the map, she now had the ship’s precise coordinates—but this wasn’t going to be enough to persuade Asmun. His plan was focused solely on raiding the Tuma event at the scene.

“Ha…”

Eden tried to calculate the odds that Ella was still alive. No—Ella was definitely alive. A quest failure notice hadn’t popped up yet.

But the real question was—

“Can I still say the same thing by tomorrow evening…?”

She muttered weakly, burying her face in the pillow. When she closed her eyes, Teteth’s tear-streaked face, begging her to save Ella, came to mind—and her conscience ached.

Now she knew exactly where Ella was and why she had been taken—yet she still couldn’t do anything.

The quest was important, sure, but Eden genuinely wanted to save Ella. She wanted to rescue not just her, but the other poor children who were likely imprisoned alongside her.

‘Monster feed?! No. Absolutely not…!’

She even considered going alone—but that was far too reckless. If she got caught by Eloch before clearing the quest to find Ella, she might die and lose everything.

“Ugh, I’m seriously losing it here.”

She couldn’t believe there was still an entire day left. Her insides were burning with anxiety.

Asmun was probably busy right now organizing the forces for the raid on Badelnut.

Eden, though half-sick with worry, had already sent a message to Karon. Now that all the puzzle pieces were in place, capturing the culprits wouldn’t be difficult. But if their timing was even slightly off and something happened to Ella—

“No…”

Eden clenched her eyes shut.

“Haa…”

Letting out a long breath, she opened her eyes and stared absently out the darkened window.

Exactly 24 hours remained until the Tuma began. Which meant those bastards were probably already loading their cargo onto the ship.

Was Ella inside it…?

“……”

Eden bit her lip hard and gazed up at the night sky—then frowned when she spotted the full moon.

‘So it’s already a full moon…’

Seeing it made her think of Hegenti—whom she’d been trying not to worry about.

「…When will you come?」

Recalling his lonely, longing expression made her chest twist with pain.

“I hope he’s holding out… I mean, he is the Grand Sorcerer after all…”

Even telling herself that, she couldn’t shake the image of him collapsed and writhing in pain. But right now, there was nothing she could do—for Hegenti or for Ella. All she could do was pray the medicine she gave him was working.

Eden shuddered at her own helplessness.

And just then—

Ding.

『【!】Main Quest

: Locate “Ella,” who lives in the small village of Holun in Reblum.

03:00:00』

Three hours remaining.