After saying goodbye to the girls inside the Kingdom, I entered the Event and found myself in the same place I had left yesterday, the prison cell inside Melissa's fortress.
Taking a good look at it, I could see the similarities between the prison and the house I made. Though the wood in my house looked slightly better, it was clearly cut from the same type of tree, and even the stones were cut similarly.
There was a slight chance this was because of the methods available with medieval techniques, but it was too familiar to leave it at that.
Though of course, there was only so much I could compare from inside the cell, without ever entering one of the village's houses.
It took Melissa some time to arrive, which I felt was a little rude considering the precarious situation she left me in.
However, I kept my hopes up. Perhaps the gifts I brought this time would sway her heart, and she'd lend me the best chambers her fortress had to offer.
Melissa: "I see you're back, boy."
No smile, no warm "welcome back".
Still as cold as ever.
Miwen: "I tend to keep my promises. I also brought gifts."
Melissa: "... I appreciate it."
She squinted her eyes, and the expression on her face wasn't exactly full of joy or gratitude.
I could tell that she was using appraisal on the arrows and wings, and unfortunately, I had to agree that the results weren't that great.
In the end, she didn't seem to care too much about my show of good faith.
It had to be arrows.
I made a note to bring her way more next time, that oughta make her happier.
Melissa: "I must say... It's quite bold of you to come back to prison willingly. Are you that confident in your abilities ?"
She approached my cell with a slightly dangerous smile plastered over her face.
I felt like she was testing me, but I had no reason to fall for it.
Miwen: "That's not the case. I know well enough that you could kill me at a moment's notice, and to be honest, it would be a bet if I can escape on time. Right now, what I'm trusting more than anything is your ability to discern my intentions."
I sat on the prison's bed, unbothered by her measuring eyes.
Melissa: "Mhm... Is that so?"
Her smile regressed a little. It felt less dangerous and, surprisingly, slightly warmer.
Still, even if it had remained the same, I didn't fear Melissa.
Even after I had proven my ability to leave the prison whenever I wanted, she didn't attack or even enter the cell. This was a good sign that she valued my life, even if only a little.
Although... That value could change at any time, so it was best to increase it as fast as I could.
Melissa: "You left some interesting things behind last time... Some of those weapons were at a level where they could be considered relics. If you had brought more of them, I would be willing to consider your last proposal..."
Oh, I could hardly describe how those words made me feel.
On one hand, I was happy that the weapons were good enough for her to call them relics. On the other hand, they were probably the best weapons I've gotten so far, and I just handed them away for almost no gain.
That stung a little.
Miwen: "I'm happy they are of use to you. But if you were to consider my proposal right now, I could definitely bring you more. Although, as you probably saw, their quality may vary drastically."
It'd be much easier if I could promise good results, but the gacha couldn't be trusted.
It was best for everyone not to rely on it.
Melissa: "...Alright, then. Do tell me, what is it that you want in exchange for more of those ?"
Despite her expression not changing much, she crossed her arms under her chest, holding herself.
I doubt that was cold. Like a good negotiator, she was trying to prevent her interest from leaking.
Miwen: "For starters, I want you to guarantee my life as long as I remain in this realm. This should also extend to any companions I may have."
Given her reaction, I might've been able to ask for more.
However, I decided to be friendly and started negotiations with the absolute minimum I could settle for.
Melissa: "Companions, huh? I thought that might be the case. They must be quite good since even when I led a search group during the night patrol, we didn't find a trace of you, or your accomplices."
She seemed slightly bothered by that.
Of course, it was never my intention to hurt her pride.
It's just that there was nothing to find; The [Event] made me appear from thin air.
Still, it was nice to know that the chieftainess was the diligent type who led by example.
Miwen: "If you agree to my condition, I can tell you why you weren't able to find anything."
I decided to push.
We were never going anywhere unless I could trust her with the girls' safety.
Melissa: "...Neither you nor your companions are to harm anyone under my wing. You are to tell me, in detail, the number and abilities of your allies. As long as these conditions are met, neither my people nor I shall bring harm to you and the ones under your care."
While her conditions were a bit harsher, she was asking for pretty much the same thing I was.
Every exchange made me grow a little more respectful of her.
Miwen: "Fine, but it's only fair that you also share a bit of information about what's currently happening with your people and this war. I don't need any compromising detail, but a clearer picture would be beneficial to me, and could also help me support you better in the future..."
I didn't have the necessary strength to interfere in this war directly.
However, I could still do something, as long as I had enough information to work with. Regardless of whose side I end up on.
Melissa: "That's acceptable."
She agreed readily, and I almost sighed in relief.
So far, as long as I provided her with something beneficial, she would reciprocate.
Quite reasonable, given our circumstances.
Since Claire and Licia were safe and sound inside the Kingdom, I thought talking about them to Melissa wouldn't be much of a problem.
Melissa was only interested in the threat they posed, but since there was very little they could do against the Snow Wolves Tribe, I focused on their good points instead.
Of course, Melissa hurried me to skip these parts, but I felt they were the most important.
In the end, I didn't really talk about me, since that wasn't part of the deal.
Melissa: "Good. If they are close to your level, they are no menace. But from what you told me, these girls who accompany you have no skill that would allow them to sneak around or teleport as you do. So, since you promised, tell me exactly why we can't find them."
Well, I'd like to keep as much as I could to trade with her later, but this one was unavoidable.
Miwen: "They are not here right now, so you won't be able to find them. I can call them to my side at any time, though. But that's not thanks to their abilities. It's thanks to mine."
Melissa: "I'm guessing it's also thanks to you that they seem to have so many skills even though their level is as low as yours ?"
The best part of my Gift was that the questions were almost endless.
The bad part was that the answers were very limited.
For now, I had to be careful with what I told her, and this was a piece of information that I could definitely exchange for info.
Miwen: "Who knows? I told you everything about my Kingdom, so I think you should start sharing a bit about your tribe, right? I mean, if you want me to tell you about myself, I'd be willing to, but only after you talk about yourself."
Melissa: "So you'll only share information as long as I do the same, huh? It fascinates me how you can be so bold and careful when dealing with someone much stronger and more experienced."
I felt like she only said that because she saw me as a kid.
Still, even though she delivered it in such a roundabout way, I appreciated the compliment.
Melissa: "Hmph... I guess it's only fair if I start sharing a bit myself. So let's start at the beginning. Do you know why my tribe is at war with the Kingdom of Hamperlon?"
Miwen: "No idea."
Thinking about it, the [Event] description barely gave me anything about the situation.
Melissa: "...That kingdom has been expanding its border for generations and is now one of the strongest forces in the region. They have a defensive alliance with a strong kingdom called the Grand Duchy of Okeans across a strait they share, and both have agreed to maintain that border. While they don't help each other's offensive wars, this alliance has given Hamperlon a secure position, which is the main reason why they have expanded so much."
Miwen: "Do you have a map? It would be helpful for me to have a better picture of the situation."
Melissa: "I can bring you one later..."
While I couldn't be completely sure, given her description, I imagined that Hamperlon and Okeans were in a position similar to that of Spain and Morocco, with a small crossing separating the two.
I could see that being quite a difficult position to crack, depending on the strength of both nations and their neighbors.
Furthermore, the alliance seemed quite beneficial, and the longer it held, the harder it'd be to throw a wrench in it.
However, if I could convince Melissa to let me leave the island...
I'd need lots of "relic-grade" weapons, but perhaps I could get Okeans to betray Hamperlon?
Holding the two sides of the straight by themselves could be even more beneficial for them.
At the very least, most if not all straits on Earth tend to concentrate a lot of trade, and the more control a nation has over one, the richer they become.
Still, I'd have to find a way to convince them that the damage they'd suffer to their reputation would be worth it...
That wouldn't be my problem, though.
The [Event] would probably end as soon as the Snow White Wolves win the war, and I'm sure the powers in the region would naturally correct any imbalance.
Miwen: "I have a question. Why are they attacking this island specifically? Due to the climate and terrain, it is extremely difficult to invade. It would also be quite hard to settle in and even cultivate here. No offense, but I don't see much value in this island, even more given the amount of casualties they'd have to trade for it."
Melissa was a beautiful woman, but I was pretty sure they weren't after her.
Melissa: "There are two valuable mines here. One is filled with gold, and the other is filled with mythril. Our tribe is composed mostly of hunters, but even with the few miners we have, we made enough profit to trade for many goods across the sea. Because of this, there were many attempts to conquer us. Of course, they all ended up in failure, but this time..."
She looked anxious, bringing down one of her hands to hold her arm.
Miwen: "It's a bigger force than what you can contend with?"
Melissa: "Possibly. It was fine when they were occupied with another nation, but now they have brought some troublesome individuals. Three generals. They are turning the tide of this war. Not to mention the increased number of troops... A few hours ago, they even managed to land, although we were able to repel them..."
The situation was worse than I thought.
Even though they had the terrain in their favor, if the enemy maintained a landing, her tribe wouldn't last long against Hamperlon's numbers.
The event should last two years at the bare minimum, so... Either the conclusion was tied to something else, or their enemy was making faster progress than they were supposed to.
Either way, I should consider this carefully.
There was nothing I could do about the troop count on either side, but... The three generals might be a different story.
Miwen: "Can you tell me about the generals? Maybe I can help in some way."
Melissa: "It would be lovely if you could, but strength-wise, they are as good as the elites in my army. I believe in a one-on-one; only I might be the only one who can safely take one of them down."
She really wasn't selling me her tribes' victory.
However, at least she was honest.
Melissa: "Either way, if you really wanna know. I'm fine with telling you about them."
Miwen: "Sure, go ahead."
She brought a small chair to sit on, and I prepared myself for a nice little story.
Melissa: "The first and most troublesome one is a girl known by her epithet of 'The Seven Rainbow Miracles'. It seems that, among many abilities, her Gift can create extremely strong barriers. Even a barrage of magic sometimes fails to break it. Her barriers are also big enough to envelop three ships. She usually waits until the troops on the first two attempt their landing and, regardless of how it goes, her third ship returns to a safe position".
So she doesn't even give them the chance to get her.
It makes sense, obviously, but... I thought generals were supposed to be more boastful and reckless? Especially a general of an aggressive nation like Melissa described Hamperlon to be.
It'd be hard for me to do anything about her, so I focused on the next entry on Melissa's headaches list.
Melissa: "During the day, this causes my soldiers to lose most of their mana and much of their fighting ability, and in case of landing, some might even die while repelling the enemy troops..."
Surprisingly, she wasn't done.
She was so exasperated, I felt like a therapist listening to a patient's problems.
Unfortunately, I could only nod my head for now.
Melissa: "This brings us to the next problem, the 'Angel of the Night'. This guy... First of all, he's not an angel. He's a harpy. He just painted his wings black or whatever..."
Judging by her tone, this one infuriated her.
Melissa: "The problem is that he's strong, and during the night, hard to spot. He's been frequently landing by himself, picking and killing soldiers when they are alone or distracted. He's the one who has caused the most direct damage to my forces."
Her words made me understand why she felt that way.
While the Seven Rainbow Miracles girl was a bother to her tribe, at least her attempts were failing.
This guy was actually getting results.
Still, he seemed like the easiest to deal with.
One slip was all it would take.
Miwen: "So, who's the last one?"
Melissa: "Prince Gerbil. He's only the third prince of Hamperlon, but he's quite astute. From what I could gather, both 'The Seven Rainbow Miracles' and 'The Angel of the Night' weren't going to join the war. They only accepted it after Prince Gerbil called them. He's not a threat directly, but his troops show greater discipline and morale, making him quite a fierce opponent even when he's not fighting directly."
This one seemed problematic, too.
It's no wonder Melissa hated all three so much.
As long as they were alive, her chances of winning this war decreased every day.
It wasn't all bad news, though.
Now that I had clear objectives, all that I needed was a plan.