How To Suck Honey With Extras [EN]: Chapter 320

355 Plan (1)

First, I took some time to rest and assess the situation step by step.

It felt like things were getting tiresome, but I couldn’t afford to get impatient.

Understanding things thoroughly was the priority.

“Sylvester, are you saying he left less than two days after I disappeared?”

“He didn’t seem like such an irresponsible kid. He didn’t mention where he was going, and apparently, soldiers saw a boy who looked like him leaving.”

It seemed soldiers or subordinates had seen him.

“Seriously, that’s too much.”

“How heartless,” Ellaut remarked with a smirk, as if it were someone else’s problem.

He tried not to show it, but his tone hinted at disappointment.

This was inevitable.

“I never imagined he’d abandon his comrades and run away.”

A blatant accusation.

But I couldn’t argue with it.

After hearing the stories from the witnesses, I headed straight to where she was.

I went to the mansion owned by a noble from Princess Resilia’s faction, and after being guided, I arrived at a place where:

“Oh? What? You really came back?”

“Wow… he’s really persistent…”

I met Alnix, who was pacing around anxiously, and Lussel, who looked equally bored.

As soon as we met, I brought up the story.

“I’ve heard the basics. I heard you’re the only ones here?”

“Ah… well, that’s how it is.”

Alnix avoided eye contact, as if he’d heard something awkward.

Lussel also wore a complicated expression.

“Is it true that Sylvester disappeared without consulting anyone?”

“…Ugh, that’s how it is.”

He suddenly vanished without a word.

“No, to be precise, he left this behind… but it’s not helpful.”

He pulled out a slightly crumpled letter.

It read:

[I know what I have to do. …Please take care of Ernil. I’ll apologize later for sure.]

“Is that his handwriting?”

“No doubt.”

“Do you think this makes sense?! He disappeared without a word now!”

Alnix nodded calmly, and Lussel slammed the table, still visibly upset.

“Well… it’s too early to think he abandoned us. He’s not that kind of friend, is he?”

“…You want to say he has his reasons?”

I just shrugged at Alnix’s question.

After all, it was just a guess from those left behind.

Even I couldn’t be completely sure of someone’s inner thoughts.

“What pisses me off is that he didn’t say anything about it.”

I agree with that.

However, the reason I wasn’t as angry as they were was because of a suspicious detail.

“Well, I’m concerned about his whereabouts too, so I’ll look into it as soon as I have time.”

“…Actually, about that.”

But Lussel hesitated, looking like he was carefully bringing something up.

What is it now? Don’t make me anxious, just say it.

“The day before he disappeared, I vaguely saw him with some strange guy.”

“Strange guy? …You didn’t mistake him for that huge guy illuminated by the moonlight, or maybe the Princess, did you?”

“…Hey.”

While everyone glared at me for saying something that could cause big trouble, Lussel sighed and described what he had witnessed.

“He was a strange guy. Blue skin and a monstrous body. And ominous mana was gathering around him. Anyway, he was a creepy guy.”

“…Tch.”

It was Epheleoht.

I was sure after hearing Lussel’s testimony.

For some reason, the protagonist and the final boss, two roles assigned to one being, were together.

Whatever they talked about, Epheleoht must have recruited Sylvester.

‘This has become more troublesome than I imagined…’

Perhaps it meant the time to make a decision would come even sooner.

As proof….

It seemed they were starting to show their true colors.

* * *

For now, leaving that idiot aside, what I needed to check was the current state of that idiot elf.

Ernil Alfreన్స్.

More than anything, I felt the need to talk to her at least once.

Originally, I was suddenly blown away to an unexpected place, so I missed the chance.

Fortunately, Ernil Alfreన్స్ seemed to be safe.

I threw her out without checking her safety back then, but it seems she managed somehow.

‘If something had gone wrong, I wouldn’t have been able to face her…’

Well, if she’s safe, we can talk.

She seemed to have said that if I ever came back, I could come to see her right away, indicating she was willing to talk.

I headed to where Ernil was currently resting.

First, Princess Resilia’s side, after hearing the general situation, seemed to have hidden Ernil.

She was living comfortably in the mansion of a noble from her faction.

Seriously, I’m so jealous!

Anyway, I barged into the room where she was.

“Ernil! You damn elf! Try to explain what you did on your own!”

The basic of interrogation is to seize the initiative.

I kicked the door open and barged in.

To start with the conclusion, I didn’t even need to interrogate Ernil.

“Are you still saying such pathetic nonsense! ‘The food isn’t delicious’! Is this a situation where you can complain about your circumstances! You idiot!”

“Y-y-y-y-yah! Kyaaaaaaaaak!”

“When are you going to grow up! Huh? You’re the same now as you were back then!”

“M-my ears are falling offffff!”

…….

I froze and lost my words.

For some reason, I heard screams first.

At first, I was startled, thinking it was an attack, but it didn’t seem like it.

A familiar undead girl was skillfully holding Ernil down and pulling her ears, scolding her.

Good job, good job. Do more!

“You’ve always been like this. You never think about others and only cause trouble!”

“I know! I’m sorry! I said I was sorryyyyyyyyy!”

What on earth was going on?

As I quietly watched the foolish scene, the two finally noticed my presence and looked startled, as if exclamation marks appeared above their heads.

“…Your hem is turned up.”

“Hiyahahahaak!”

Let’s ignore the current disgraceful state for a moment.

After waiting for them to calm down, I subtly shifted my gaze to the undead Elles first.

Come to think of it, I hadn’t heard what happened to her after I returned.

There was also the fact that I couldn’t openly ask others about it.

“Are you still here? Honestly, I thought you had no regrets and had passed on.”

“…Do you think of me as some kind of ghost?”

Elles looked dumbfounded.

“At least I was planning to watch the situation for a while.”

After cleaning up the mess that idiot elf made, she intended to stay for a while to see how things went, as there were still some uncertainties.

“Originally, I was planning to hide…”

It seemed Princess Resilia was more open-minded than I thought.

After hearing about Elles, she secretly contacted her, listened to her story, and provided her with a hiding place.

‘…That princess has become bolder.’

As a royal, it was a chance to move forward, so she didn’t need to care whether it was an undead or not.

“It was a good deal.”

In exchange for some consideration, she obtained information about the nobles in the Empire that Elles knew.

“As a result, I can be here so confidently.”

Even if she couldn’t openly walk the streets, at least she didn’t have to sleep outside in the cold.

“And thanks to that, I had a leisurely conversation with this idiot.”

“…Yeah, that’s right.”

Ernil nodded, looking somewhat dejected.

“I don’t care if you two are on good terms. But first, whether you two are wrestling or whatever, do it later where I can’t see you.”

“…What are you saying?”

Ernil looked dumbfounded, but I didn’t care.

“More than that, I have something I want to ask.”

“…”

At that moment, Ernil’s expression quietly hardened.

It felt like what was coming had finally arrived.

“I understand…”

After causing such a mess, she couldn’t just ignore it without saying anything.

First, I subtly blocked the sound with magic so that no other words would leak out.

“Should I step aside too?”

“It doesn’t matter. The story I’m going to tell now isn’t a problem for you to hear.”

What I’m wary of is others.

“First, I’ll ask to confirm. Ernil, your goal was to use the World Tree to suppress the incident early and buy time, right?”

“…”

Ernil paused without answering immediately, as if she hadn’t expected me to ask so directly.

“Who did you hear that from?”

“Something happened. About this world… Who would get angry if you guys didn’t cause trouble?”

It was half a probe.

I heard it from Nelkeлос, but I’m not so naive as to act based on that alone.

As a rule, I need to hear opinions separately from at least two or more people on the same topic, and verify that there are no contradictions.

It’s not suspicion, but simply a kind of fastidiousness.

It’s not like I’ve been deceived once or twice.

“…I heard that we could buy about 50 years of time depending on the extent of the damage caused by the World Tree.”

“From Epheleoht?”

“Yes.”

It’s almost similar to what I heard from Nelkeлос.

What Ernil knows is that if she causes a plan that inflicts great damage on the world, she can buy at least some time, even if it’s not long.

“How could you believe such crazy talk…”

“Epheleoht actually presented me with a future where that wouldn’t happen as evidence.”

This confirms that he is connected to those higher-ups.

And it also matches what Nelkeлос said, that they believe in the policy of causing and stimulating incidents for humanity.

“Wait? 50 years? What? That means…”

What caught my attention was the 50 years Ernil mentioned.

“You mean, if you don’t buy that time…”

“…That’s right.”

Ernil calmly, as if she had heard that the time of her death was approaching and had organized her mind, told me.

“He said they would soon give up on this era.”

“…Damn it.”

It seems there’s even less time than I thought.

“Do you know how much time is left?”

“Probably less than half a year.”

Damn it.

“So that’s how it is…”

I heard that if the plan to use the World Tree fails, they will lean towards the opinion of temporarily abandoning this era.

And my existence has continued to disrupt their plans.

“In other words, the answer is to reinstall if they don’t like it…”

And at the same time, I understood.

Why Sylvester disappeared right before I returned.

“You didn’t tell that story to Sylvester, did you?”

“Originally, I was going to tell you together when Eilon returned. But…”

“That guy contacted him before that.”

It’s obvious.

Epheleoht probably told Sylvester the same truth he gave Ernil and coaxed him.

I don’t know the exact details of the deal, but it must have been something that even that upright guy couldn’t easily refuse.

“Seriously, he’s not a five-year-old kid, but he immediately followed after hearing ‘Want to come along?'”

“Um… Eilon, I know it’s shameless to say this, but…”

Ernil hesitated, then finally said as if she had made up her mind.

“I think Sylvester is probably anxious. …I was too.”

“Anxious? That guy?”