<Wasn’t This a Strategy Game? Episode 101>

Chediak’s complicated plan became surprisingly simple due to Eden and Hagen’ti’s sudden appearance.

“Choco, you can do it, right?”

At Eden’s monotonous question, Hagen’ti nodded with a blank face.

“You, really can do all that?”

“Of course.”

“So, you can knock out all the guards at once and move everyone in the mine to a safe place, even sneak out the woman locked in the prison?”

“Well, generally speaking, it’s impossible…”

At Chediak’s horrified question, Eden frowned, hesitated, then suddenly turned to Hagen’ti and smiled.

“But our Choco can do it.”

There it was again—’our Choco.’ Hagen’ti’s heart fluttered a little.

“Right?”

“Yeah.”

Hagen’ti answered without hesitation. So, the three headed back to the mine and immediately put the plan into action.

The mine in the early morning was quiet. As Chediak said, not a single slave was visible; they seemed to be keeping them asleep inside the mine to prevent them from escaping.

“Really bad bastards.”

As Eden gritted her teeth, Chediak nodded vigorously in agreement.

“They deserve divine punishment.”

There were a few soldiers in front of the mine and the cave, but they were dozing off from fatigue, making things much easier.

Eden quietly glared at a soldier wandering in front of the mine without sleeping and whispered.

“Now, Choco.”

No sooner had she finished speaking than the soldier in front of the mine froze stiff as a toy soldier and fell backward in a salute.

Thud.

“Wha-what? Who’s there?”

A few sleepy soldiers woke up and rushed out, but they too soon stiffened and met the same fate.

Thud!

“Ouch, that must hurt.”

Chediak grimaced as Eden coldly retorted.

“That’s nothing compared to what they did. Now, let’s go!”

The three quickly moved to the front of the mine.

“How many are there?”

When Eden asked Hagen’ti, Chediak looked at Hagen’ti anxiously.

If it were daytime, he could easily guess the number of people in the mine, but now they were all asleep, making it hard even for the most talented mage. They were ordinary folk, so they couldn’t be tracked with magical power either.

But after a brief silence, Hagen’ti replied indifferently.

“Seventy-two. Out of them, thirty-six are children.”

Chediak looked shocked at Hagen’ti.

He could only sense half of the presence in the mine; how on earth could Hagen’ti…?

“Thirty-six children? Ugh, these filthy bastards.”

“Can we move all seventy-two?”

Hagen’ti glanced at Chediak. Though he didn’t answer, the look in his eyes said, “Why keep asking such annoying questions?” which made Chediak feel a sense of futility.

He knew there were masters of the hidden arts, but it was rare to see such a great mage with his own eyes.

His modest pride crumbled immediately, and an acute humility took its place.

“Choco is really… impressive.”

And the remaining vigilance quickly turned to respect for this young mage.

With such incredible skills, he remained so composed.

Of course, it seemed to be because of the woman beside him.

“But it’s better if we don’t move them now.”

When Eden suddenly changed her mind, Chediak was taken aback.

“What? You’re not thinking of giving up on them, are you? They may not be related to the Anag’t Ritual, but they’re clearly being exploited! Eddie, I’m being rude, but please, save them too!”

“Quiet down. You’ll wake everyone.”

Eden calmed Chediak.

“Of course, I’m not giving up. But there’s a proper order to these things. The top priority is to stop the ritual.”

Chediak still looked confused as he looked at Eden.

“I plan to inform His Majesty about this.”

“…What?”

Chediak’s mouth dropped open.

To the Emperor? But how…?

“Then everyone involved will be punished.”

“…”

“If that happens, the owner of this mine won’t escape responsibility either. So we have to leave evidence. Understand what I mean?”

Chediak’s mouth was still agape.

Though he wasn’t foolish, Chediak understood all of Eden’s words. He knew it was the most ideal and perfect plan.

But… but how…?

“How do you plan to meet His Majesty…? And if things go wrong…”

Chediak’s face turned pale. If that happened, things would spiral out of control.

No matter how nosy he was, he had never been involved in anything this big.

“Don’t worry. I know someone who can report directly to the Emperor.”

Who could that possibly be…?

“Eddie, what’s your identity…?”

Eden lightly ignored Chediak’s question and continued.

“So, let’s put the mine on hold for now and rescue those who are to be sacrificed first.”

The three went to the cave, put the soldiers to sleep again, and opened the prison.

Eden approached the woman who lay completely unmoving, just as she had seen her for the first time.

“Her condition is really bad.”

The woman’s pale face had blue lips. Her faint breaths seemed close to stopping altogether.

After a moment’s hesitation, Eden raised her hand and placed it on the woman’s forehead.

‘If it’s an illness, I can’t cure it completely…’

Chediak, who watched her actions with a puzzled face, was greatly startled when a brilliant light began to emanate from Eden’s hand.

Haaa…

“E-Eddie… are you a priest?”

Eden focused on her fingertips and casually replied.

“Let’s say that’s roughly correct.”

As beads of sweat formed on Eden’s forehead, the woman’s breathing gradually became more stable.

Eden took a glance at the woman’s face. The color that had been frighteningly pale began to return to a relatively normal hue.

“Alright, that should do it.”

Chediak was still staring at Eden in shock, speechless.

Since Hagen’ti knew Eden’s abilities, he wasn’t as surprised as Chediak, but he still couldn’t take his eyes off her.

“There’s no time to dawdle. From now on, we’re moving to the 3rd Prince’s castle.”

“Huh? 3…rd Prince…?”

“Yep. Choco, you can move all of us, right?”

But this time, Hagen’ti, who had nodded along obediently to everything Eden said, stubbornly refused to answer.

“…Choco. Aren’t you going to help?”

When Eden softly asked, Hagen’ti’s expression became quite obstinate.

‘What’s going on here?’

Chediak anxiously sweated, caught between the two.

“Fine, I got it. I’ll take care of it from now on. You just stay back.”

When Eden spoke coldly, Hagen’ti had no choice but to speak up.

“…I can move us.”

With that, Eden smiled as if she had never been cold.

“Just like our Choco.”

This time, even the phrase “our Choco” didn’t soften Hagen’ti’s gaze. He sensed that the time alone with Eden was coming to an end.

“Alright, then let’s move right away…”

Just as Hagen’ti was about to cast the teleportation magic…

“Wait, hold on!”

Chediak interrupted them, and Eden looked at him in surprise.

“What’s wrong? Oh, was it because you were nervous about the Prince?”

“N-no, that’s not it!”

“Really?”

“I forgot the tablet!”

“Tablet…?”

“Yes. The tablet with the Anag’t spell written on it! It must be in the mine. We need to take it with us!”

Eden’s head started to throb.

“Isn’t it enough if we just get rid of the sacrifices?”

“You don’t get it! We can somehow save the sacrifices, but that magical tablet is extremely valuable and hard to get. We have to eliminate it.”

Chediak was insistent. His reasoning made sense, so Eden decided to take action.

“Alright, then let’s get the tablet first.”

The three stepped back outside the prison, stepping over the fallen soldiers as they entered the mine.

The dark mine was frighteningly silent, and the exhausted laborers lay slumped as if fainted.

Seeing those who collapsed without even receiving proper treatment made Eden feel sour inside.

“Can we really find it here?”

Wondering whether they could find a fragment of the tablet in this vast and intricate mine, Chediak felt confident this time.

“Of course. The magical energy of the Mabelios tablet never goes unnoticed. Right, Choco?”

Chediak asked as if they were close, but again, Hagen’ti didn’t respond. Chediak was now used to Hagen’ti’s silence, showing no signs of awkwardness as he confidently took the lead.

Following him deeper into the mine, they indeed found the tablet stored there, standing dumbly.

“Found it.”

Chediak looked at the tablet with tears of joy. Eden urged Chediak on.

“We should hurry. We have a lot to do.”

“Hold on. I need to check if it’s protected by magic.”

Chediak placed a hand on the ground and meticulously sensed the magical energy.

“This is strange. There’s only a basic protective spell; no other traps are set.”

“Maybe no one thought anyone would find it. They got careless.”

“That could be true.”

“We need to hurry since we don’t have time.”

Chediak finally nodded and lifted the tablet after canceling the protective magic.