Chapter 25: I have a proposal

-Ouch. Why does my head hurt so much?

-You woke up.

-!!!

When Bronya heard my voice, she immediately went into a fighting stance. She tried to pull out her rifle but it was nowhere to be found.

-Calm down, we are in the Underworld now. There is no reason to fight.

-The Underworld...?

As Bronya looked around, she realized she was inside a clinic.

The kind doctor Natasha was treating the unconscious Stelle. Dan Heng and March 7 woke up some time ago and already went somewhere to have fun.

-Ugh!

Bronya suddenly held her head with a pained expression.

-Are you okay?

I asked with a frown.

-Yeah, I'm fine...just my head hurts a little.

That's strange, I made sure to cure it with Life Drop, it's impossible for there to be any after-effects.

-That's strange...

-Are you really saying that...?

At that moment, Sampo arrived to join our conversation. As he is currently the only one present who knows the story behind the "headache", Sampo smiled knowingly at my murmur.

-It seems we're having a misunderstanding, what's strange to me is why Bronya's head still hurts. Just in case, let me treat you a second time.

-W-what are you going to do to me?

-Calm down, your pain will be gone in less than the blink of an eye.

I used Drop of Life on Bronya again but this time a more concentrated one. At that very moment, Bronya felt a warm breeze caressing her whole body.

-That's it...!

Natasha was surprised at the demonstration of my healing powers, but she immediately regained her composure and went on with her work.

-How are you? How do you feel?

-Thank you very much, I feel much better now. Uh...

-I'm Nadie. Feel free to call me whatever you want.

-Thank you, Nadie...

-Don't worry about it, Bronya. Actually, part of your headache is due to my fault.

Although I tried to be honest, a certain someone had to butt in.

-Part...?

Sampo muttered, raising an eyebrow. When I made eye contact with him, Sampo immediately averted his gaze and started whistling with his arms crossed behind his head.

-I... I just remembered that I have something important to do! Then, I'll take my leave!

With that said, Sampo ran away from Natasha's clinic.

-*Sigh* What did Sampo do now...?

Natasha asked with a tired tone knowing Sampo's personality.

-Nothing important, don't worry about him.

I blurted out those words knowing well why the buffoon escaped. Actually, I don't care if Sampo tells Bronya the truth, it's not like I intend to hide the fact that I used her as a weapon.

I mean, Bronya (as a weapon) can generate incredible critical damage numbers. I wonder if Bronya will ever allow me to use it as a weapon again (she never did) if I ask her politely.

-I know you will have many questions and maybe you will hold a grudge against us for kidnapping you; but, before making any decision, Bronya, I recommend you to take a walk around the Underworld and see with your own eyes the consequences brought by Cocolia's decision to isolate these people from the outside.

-...

-Of course, if you're not willing to listen to me and still want to catch us, I have no problem giving you a fight now. However, I doubt that's the wisest decision, from your position I speak of course.

-All right, I'll take you up on your ceasefire offer. If you'll excuse me...

Bronya leaves the clinic with a complicated look on her face.

Even if it is her job to arrest us, Bronya had clearly noticed something strange; her mother Cocolia ordered our arrest without explanation and we didn't kill anyone either, proving we had no intention of fighting, the worst we did was intoxicate a guard with caffeine intolerance.... Besides, she heard a little from Gepard, Bronya knows we came from beyond this planet; if we wanted to try something suspicious, there were better opportunities than that.

-Is it okay to let her walk down the street alone? The Crinargenta Guard is not well received in the Underworld, you know?

The one who asked the question was Natasha, she cares about Bronya despite being a stranger. How kind.

-She'll be fine. Believe it or not, Bronya is the heir to the Supreme Guardian of Belobog. She knows how to defend herself. Besides, visualizing the current situation of the Underworld is necessary for her. This is the only way for her to mature and become more independent.

Bronya has too firm a personality, she needs more independent thoughts. The best way to achieve that, Bronya needs to develop certain rebellious thoughts against her mother's ideals. It all starts from the cradle and maturing too, only then Bronya will stop saying "because my mother ordered me to" and say "because I think this is right".

I got up and sat on a chair next to Stelle's bed. If I happen to disappear when she wakes up, I can already imagine the fuss she will make.

-Your care for her is much more delicate compared to others. Is she someone important to you?

Natasha smiled warmly as she watched me care for Stelle.

-You're not wrong about that. Actually, I'm in a war to protect her.

-How romantic. Are you a couple?

-No, actually I'm already married.

-Wow.

-And I have four wives.

-Th-that's amazing.

I held back the urge to laugh as I saw Natasha's various reactions in less than 5 seconds.

-Someone very powerful with a lot of influence wants the Stellaron inside Stelle. To avoid that tragic scenario, I declared war on that "someone" in order to achieve a "good ending".

-Estelaron?

-In simple words, a mysterious object with the potential to be anti-planetary weapons. The Eternal Ice that Jarilo-VI, or your world, is suffering from is because of a Stellaron.

-!!!

Natasha is surprised at my sudden revelation.

-Why are you telling me all this...?

-Sooner or later you will know, it makes no difference if I tell you now or later.

-I'm just a doctor. Why are you so sure of that...?

-Because the entire Underworld will have to cooperate if they want Belobog to survive.

-What...?

The plot will no longer unfold just like the game. Now there is Nanook preparing to attack at any moment. I guess he will intervene in the final battle against Cocolia. In what way? I have no idea. For that very reason we need to increase our military strength.

Relying on a mere team of 5 people to stand up to Cocolia with the power of the Stellaron in itself is insane, I don't understand how the protagonists could throw themselves into enemy territory like that in the game.

As this is real life, Crinargenta Guards, Fragmentum monsters, Cocolia, Stellaron and Nanook; the amount of enemies we have to face is insane. We can't go the original 5 members of the game plus me to win, we will need everyone's cooperation.

-Here and now, Natasha, as representative of the Underworld, I want to make you a proposal.

-As I said, I am only a doctor, I have no such authority.

-But this is the only clinic in the entire Underworld and people trust you. I am talking about a serious matter so please do not interrupt me with unnecessary excuses, the fate of your planet is at stake.

The forcefulness in my words left Natasha silent.

-... I am listening.

-I promise to give you back the "sky" that was taken away from you, in return, fight for our cause, for the Astral Express.

-You mean...

-The Stelaron is in Cocolia's hands and she is using that uncontrollable weapon for her own purpose, that discovery is what led us to this situation, now we are criminals for discovering that secret and we can't depend on anyone else but you.

-Bronya... The Supreme Guardian's daughter doesn't know that?

-Nobody belonging to the Crinargenta Guard knows about the existence of the Estelaron, they are blindly following Cocolia's orders, they are only being led to their own deaths.

-That's terrible...

-We need the people of the Underworld to fight, no matter how few they are it doesn't matter, we must take down the Crinargenta Guard and reach Cocolia, and finally seal the Stellaron.

-The situation in the Underworld is critical, we can't afford to leave all our fighters behind.

-If you're going to think like that, then we'll rot here dead before we can try anything.

-...

I have no intention of being nice when the fate of the world is at stake, not when my own life is also at stake.

But, hell, Herta really rubbed off on me with her serious way of talking. I never thought I could become this ruthless.....

-What you're worried about is the corrosion and the Fragmentum monsters, right? The Stellaron is the culprit of it all, sealing it may not solve all the problems instantly but at least it will stop the corrosion from advancing. Do you understand what I'm getting at?

-The next generation will have a future...

-Until the Stellaron is sealed, the Astral Express will not be able to leave this planet either. In other words, our goals are aligned. We will cooperate as much as it takes, and we expect you to do your part as well.

-But what happens next? Even if we succeed in sealing the Stellaron, the Crinargenta Guard and the civilians of the Overworld will not stand still.

-That's why there's Bronya.

-Are you...?!

Natasha's eyes widened in surprise as she understood what she was looking for.

-"Bronya will overthrow the tyranny of Cocolia and thus bring peace to Belobog. To achieve that, we need everyone's cooperation.

-A coup d'état...

I don't know how far Nanook's influence will go, so I can only intervene when the situation reaches the most desperate moment.

-Of course, if there are other ideas besides this one, I am more than willing to listen. But I doubt there is any other method more efficient than this one. We are all desperate, aren't we?

-...

With all the cards now revealed, the final decision is left to Natasha, the true leader of the Wildfire.

-Okay. I'll tell you everything I know.

Bingo.

.