Secret Agendas I

While the adventurers of the Empire prepared their weapons for the fight the next day, they couldn't help but notice a slightly sombre atmosphere shrouding their heads. The Imperial army was quiet, none of them looked extremely nervous even as they trained.

'It's odd' Hellooth thought, standing on the veranda of a high-class bar in the centre of the city from which he could see the army and resources going by.

'It is also the best chance for those aristocratic families to move stuff without being audited, is this god's arrival really a catastrophe? it feels like the Emperor is the only one that's taking it seriously'.

According to the planned offensive, the adventurers would be in the front, the imperial army behind, and the army wizards and long-range ballistae at the further back; all that just for one person. 

"It is as if they know everything is going to be okay" Hellooth's sorceress and an orialchum adventurer, Elis, noted while sipping some rum and leaning on her man. 

"That... or they know THEY are going to be okay, in any case, that's not our concern, we are allowed to flee if necessary" His gaze stared at the sidelines, the number of adventurers who had come from different places, all for the money. In all his years he had never seen such a powerful frontal force, not even in the annual wars between the Baharut Empire and the Re-Estize Kingdom. 

He started at the slight waves of the rum of his cup where he could see his own expression that showcased anxiety more than fear, 'There is still a slight sense of hope that tomorrow that fellow won't show up, we will get paid nonetheless by both the Empire and the Theocracy. The empire will be subjected to the greatest ridicule since its creation at the hands of Emperor Jicniv'

He smirked until he noticed Elis also looking at her own reflection in the cup. 

"Still, something doesn't feel right," His woman said. 

"What do you mean?".

"I can't explain it..." She shook her head, "Mana disturbances? If I had to describe it... in the most accurate way it would be. There is a massive monster among us, but this monster is trying to conceal himself".

"I don't understand" Hellooth frowned, he looked at the skies, the sun was falling amidst the clouds.

"Us sorcerers have a more accurate mana sensitivity, I can feel things that you can't... and what I have felt ever since I arrived in the capital is that my shoulders are a bit heavier. There is something or someone whose presence is causing the mana in the surroundings to be pressurized, Hellooth".

"Is that something all of you would feel?".

"It is something we'd feel but we wouldn't pay attention to. According to ancient textbooks, it is a leftover feeling aftermath of the usage of a high-tiered spell. All of us attribute it to the armatista. Because it is an ore with a high concentration of mana and there is plenty of it in the capital, it may disturb the mana-magnetic fields and create mana bubbles, spots in space where the mana is denser than others, entering one of these places could induce migraine or headache to some of us sorcerers" She came up with an explanation.

"A-And what if it is a person..." Hellooth still had to ask. 

Elis' hand shivered as if she had already been thinking of that, she laughed a bit and decided to just down her cup. 

"If it is 'him' hiding somewhere... then we better give it our all tomorrow, dear~ or we may not even be able to flee–"

"Don't be giving bad premonitions... you have your armatista, if things get ugly just use it and flee" Hellooth put his arm around the lady, whispering. She listened to that and her countenance fell, the clear sign of sacrifice. Something he had already tried to pull out several times through the years.

A leader who would sacrifice himself for his team, she couldn't tolerate it, not now. 

"What about you Hellooth? Don't be thinking nonsense tomorrow. I need you... we need you" She put his hand on her tummy and smiled.

The man nearly spat the rum in his mouth in shock.

"S-Since when, Elis..."

"About two weeks?~".

"Why didn't you say anything?!"

His hair stood on an end, the other adventurers peeked until he regained his composure, outwardly, not mentally. 

"I didn't know how you would react. In any case, just so you know regardless of what happens tomorrow, you can't leave me alone. This kid needs both his parents".

"Elis, we are adventurers, that type of life is not for us..."

"And we will have enough money to retire... once we finish this" Elis insisted, putting his hand on her abdomen once again, "We have lived too long, fought all kinds of enemies, made money and lost it, nearly died dozens of times,"

"..."

"Let's take a break and be happy for a bit?".

Hellooth stared at her for a while and then kissed his woman, having experienced a dwarfing change of perspective in mere seconds. Past glory and thrill, there was something else to live for.

"Alright, this will be our last job".

Elis smiled and kissed him back, putting the cups away and leading her man somewhere, "While everyone is enjoying themselves... how about we enjoy ourselves?~"

He stared at his woman's swaying butt, clear and shapely even beneath her wizard robes, "I like your plan".

Tomorrow would be a good day, but little did he know, the political spectrum was more complex than any of the adventures would imagine. While they partied and prepared for the fight on the surface, many movements were taking place in the background.

Everyone had their agendas.

...

Not too far away in the south, two individuals jumped past the city gates and landed at the tallest building, the Four Great God's temple chapel. A journey that took a few days even for supernatural beings such as them. 

One was a maid with long golden curly hair, the Monarchal Infusion a variant of slime, Solution Epsilon. 

The other was a noble vampire, dressed like an upper-class aristocrat with pink hair and crimson-red slit eyes, Shaltear Bloodfallen. 

Their eyes wandered around the progressively darkening city, training barracks, flying dragons, banquets and parties, lost and drunk adventurers, incessant moaning of women... and much more. 

"This doesn't look like a country at the border of war" The vampire giggled one time, her eyes searching for something that she failed to find. Still, her nose sniffed around, there were many scents, many auras. Certainly not a peaceful city. 

"From what it seems, they severely underestimate Osiris" Solution remarked, standing proudly next to Shaltear. 

"The Golden Fox, Yasaka".

This was Shaltear's primary objective, to at least see this golden fox who destroyed Nazarick at least once, but it wouldn't be easy to strike from behind. 

Five women flashed around her, they were all pale-skinned and dressed in rags, extremely beautiful vampiresses. 

"You girls, investigate the surroundings and inform me of any relevant information" Shaltear ordered, to which the vampiresses nodded and flickered out of sight, going to different locations. 

<Raise Kin>

Shaltear chanted a spell that created dozens or even hundreds of rats that wandered around the imperial capital, all working as her eyes in the city. 

Soon, the vampire would have the whole city covered, nothing could escape her eyes, except of course... what she was not allowed to see. 

...

High in the skies, a man sat in the clouds, enjoying his tea and looking at the falling sun, sitting next to him was a blue-haired woman eating some snacks. 

"Uhm, delicious~".

"So... you lost your divinity when you descended in that world, Aqua" Ray asked the Water Goddess, a title he was getting more and more doubtful of. 

"That's right, Ray! That bastard, he pulled me down with him and I lost my authority in the process, I'm sure someone has already replaced me in office too, I didn't even do anything bad!"

Regardless of how much she enjoyed those snacks when Aqua recalled her pitiful fate, she still felt like crying. 

"..."

But Ray couldn't share that feeling, 'This woman, ever since she arrived in this world all she has done is drink alcohol, eat snacks and sleep... was she living such a stressful life in the other world?'.

"You are a powerful god, could you help me recover my divinity?" Aqua asked all of a sudden, it was a question she had been wanting to ask for a while, but because he was always 'busy' with Tsunade and Azrael, she never had a chance. 

"And what do I get for helping you?".

"Kazuma... he offended you, right? I'll go, catch that bastard, torture him and then I can bring him before you!" She said with stars in her eyes.

"..." Ray thought about it, and the idea... didn't sound bad. 

"Come on, Ray... you're such a powerful and handsome god, you can't allow a mortal to do you like that!" Aqua's face got close like she was utterly outraged for him to be disrespected like that.

"..." Ray tapped his fingers and thought about it, recalling that fateful day in which that nasty boy laughed at his face, taking advantage of the politeness he always showed to all the customers. 

"And he even disrespected Lady Azrael! That bastard was looking for death, so let's bring death to him!" Aqua insisted she wanted the young man to feel pain no matter what. 

'Why do you call Azrael 'Lady' but you call me by name?' Ray couldn't help but notice.

It was clear who Aqua was more scared of. 

"You don't need to do anything else. If you assist me in recovering my divinity, not only will I bring him to you, but I will also become your assistant! You should know, I was known as a top-ranked goddess in the realm with administrative privileges, those old farts above loved me!".

'I don't need an assistant though, also, I don't know if you will be good for the job' Ray sighed. 

"I want to get back at that bastard, kick his balls or something–".

"Kick his... yes! that, that! It can be arranged!" Aqua pulled his arm enthusiastically. 

"I will think about it, Aqua... in the meantime, I have a job for you. Tomorrow I will be fighting and you will be there with me".

"E-Eh? Will I be in danger?" Her enthusiasm disappeared. 

"Of course not, I will keep you safe but you still have a job–"

"If you want me to kick balls, I can do that!".

"No, I mean there is something else but... yeah, why not?~"

"Hehehe~"

Slowly but surely, the Water Goddess was getting into the Sun God's mind, in her own way. 

Certainly, everyone had their own agendas