Wasn’t This Supposed To Be a Strategy Game? – Chapter 99

Author: B0ucha

“Huh?”

Chediak blinked, staring at Eden. She truly seemed moved, her eyes shimmering with emotion.

And beside her…

“…”

Eh?

The young mage who, moments ago, had been looking at him like some germ… now seemed just a little sharper, somehow.

“It’s not easy to step into others’ affairs this much. I respect that.”

Was he mocking him? No—the face was sincere.

Chediak blinked, bewildered.

“D-don’t I look like a fool? Meddling in matters that don’t concern me…?”

“Not at all.”

“But you just said I was nosy…”

“For this kind of thing, your nosiness could be a hundred times bigger and it still wouldn’t be too much.”

Something heavy dropped in Chediak’s chest. He froze, staring at Eden in shock.

‘No one’s ever said that to me before…’

Until now, whenever he got hurt or chased for sticking his nose into others’ problems, everyone only ever treated him like an idiot.

“Mr. Chediak, you’re truly remarkable.”

Eden added earnestly.

And she meant it. Eden respected those who meddled for good.

She herself had gotten involved in all sorts of incidents since coming here, but always for the sake of clearing the game.

Chediak, though, wasn’t possessed by a player, nor was he driven by any hunger to clear a scenario. He was helping others purely out of selfless will, even at his own cost.

To be given a quest to aid such a man—this was a mission she genuinely welcomed.

“So how about letting me meddle a bit too? I really, sincerely want to help now.”

Eden smiled brightly. Chediak looked at her, eyes brimming.

***

“So then… I first discovered that mine about half a month ago.”

Now calmer, Chediak began to explain everything.

His stomach rumbled from a day of fasting, so the three of them found a spot, lit a small fire, and shared his bread while he talked.

“I found the mine by accident—I’d taken the wrong road.”

“You get lost often?”

“…A little, yes. Anyway, I stumbled across it, and as you saw, it was clearly forced labor.”

Eden nodded.

In the Hesmore Empire, while social classes existed, legal slavery did not. Shackling workers and exploiting them that way was outright illegal.

That site was obviously criminal. Likely, the entire mine was unregistered, hidden from imperial notice.

“There were even children inside.”

Chediak’s voice trembled with anger. Eden’s face hardened.

“Children? Are you certain?”

“Yes. I saw them with my own eyes. After watching for days, I realized the children were sent into narrow shafts, and only allowed out once every three days.”

“Those sick bastards!”

Eden exploded in fury. Chediak flinched, startled.

Hegenti, however, paid no attention to her outburst—his eyes were fixed on Eden’s dwindling piece of bread.

“S-so, yes. I couldn’t just walk away. I devised a plan: to blow up the mine when it was empty.”

“…Blow it up?”

“Yes. Ah, but of course, none of the workers would be harmed.”

“How? Does such magic even exist?”

“It’s complicated, but with the right materials, it’s possible.”

Eden frowned, then widened her eyes as realization struck.

“Then what you found earlier was…”

“Yes. Correct.”

With satisfaction, Chediak pulled a stone tablet from his robes. Strange runes were carved across its surface.

Even Hegenti’s gaze turned toward it.

“You know this forest is steeped in ancient magic, don’t you? The sorcerers of old left much behind here.”

“Oh… I see.”

“This shard contains ancient power. With it, one can trigger an explosion to collapse the mine while simultaneously teleporting every person inside to safety without a scratch.”

Eden studied the slab—then glanced at Hegenti.

“Our Choco could do that without a tablet.”

At that, Hegenti’s eyes slowly shifted to her. Eden only looked back with innocent eyes.

“Right, Choco?”

Our… Choco…

His heart gave the faintest stir. But Chediak interrupted.

“Wh-what? Impossible! That can’t be true!”

“It is.”

Eden casually took another bite of bread.

“He cast explosion spells in the belly of a ship, shielded twenty people at once, and teleported them all to safety.”

That was exactly what Hegenti had done aboard the Elloh.

And all the while, he had fended off attackers.

No tablets involved.

Chediak gaped at him.

“M-Mr. Choco, is that true?”

Hegenti didn’t bother answering.

Chediak gulped, then added cautiously,

“B-but this case is different. That mine is connected to black mages.”

At that, Eden’s brows shot up.

“Black mages?”

“Yes. You saw the prisoners earlier? They intend to use them as sacrifices.”

What?!

Eden’s face darkened.

‘Black mages here? I didn’t see that coming…’

But of course—meeting Chediak had been part of the quest.

Which meant this too was part of the scenario. Perhaps even tied to the final boss.

‘So that’s how the threads connect…’

A thrill ran through her.

“Then actually… Mr. Choco and you—ah, what should I call you?”

Chediak asked politely. Eden faltered.

‘Shoot, I should’ve thought of an alias too.’

Forcing calm, she improvised.

“Just call me Eddy.”

“Yes, Ms. Eddy. Anyway, at first I suspected you and Mr. Choco of being black mages.”

Eden realized now why he’d been so wary of them. She nodded, popping the last of her bread into her mouth.

At once, Hegenti held out his untouched portion to her.

Eden blinked.

“You should eat too.”

“I’m fine.”

He said flatly. Chediak’s eyes went wide with awe.

“Gasp… I’ve heard that high mages can survive without food…”

“That’s not it—he’s just a picky eater. Right, Choco?”

Fearing his secret might slip, Eden quickly interjected, snatching the bread and holding it to his lips.

“Eat.”

Meeting her eyes, he reluctantly took a bite.

His puffed cheek made her smile before she realized it.

“By the way… what’s your relationship?”

The question jolted her. Eden’s smile vanished, and she answered stiffly:

“Friends.”

…Doesn’t look that way.

Chediak thought so, watching Hegenti’s gaze locked on Eden. But he kept that to himself.

“Anyway… so your plan was to blow up the mine? But if you destroy it, they’ll just rebuild it. Worse, they’ll exploit even more labor. Even if the workers escape, they’ll find new victims.”

Ah.

Chediak froze, stricken.

‘As I thought… he’s a bit of a scatterbrain.’

Eden sighed inwardly, then explained gently.

“The best way is to expose their crimes publicly. Not easy, but effective.”

If the mine’s owner was tied to black mages, they’d be powerful. But precisely because of that, the scandal would be huge.

“First we need to know who owns it…”

“I know!”

“Oh? You do?”

Eden perked up. But his face grew even graver.

“…A formidable opponent?”

“Promise me you won’t be shocked.”