"Draco's speculation aside, why weren't we informed about the plan before the incident, Finn?" Kaguya asked, her tone barely concealing her condemnation.
'Got casually dismissed again huh! Well I have tried' Draco thought, keeping quiet.
Finn had anticipated that the Evilus would attack the soup kitchen event, yet he had withheld crucial information from the other familia's on guard duty that day.
Perhaps if they had known, they could have been better prepared, and fewer lives might have been lost.
"Half of it was a hunch; the other half was the concern that too much security would tip off the enemy," Finn replied.
He understood Kaguya's frustration and decided to lay all his cards on the table.
It was common knowledge that Valletta's attack on the soup kitchen was merely a diversion. Finn had predicted this and had managed to prevent the true attack, which was occurring elsewhere in the city.
Still, Kaguya and some other adventurers felt it was wrong, and she was voicing their concerns.
"So in your mind, this terrible tragedy was all part of the plan? All those men, women, and children were nothing more than chess pieces and numbers?" Kaguya pressed.
"I didn't foresee just how devastating the attack would be, but we are well beyond excuses now. Still, we dealt a significant blow to the Evilus, make no mistake," Finn explained.
'Sigh, I knew it would come to this, but logically, was there a different solution? I also predicted this but didn't act until it happened, so am I not partially to blame?' Draco pondered.
"Man, what would we do without heroes like you?" came a sarcastic reply from Allen.
"You're right; ideally, we shouldn't have to make these decisions. We need to find answers that will get us out of this mess, but I can't!" Finn admitted, his eyes cast down in shame.
Kaguya, Allen, and the other adventurers who had questioned his decisions found themselves at a loss for words in response to his contemplative silence.
They could all feel the weight of his decisions, each wondering what they would have done in his position.
"Alright! Enough of this!" a bright, cheerful voice interrupted.
It was Alise, standing on her seat.
"All this gloomy talk is making me want to stress-eat!" she said.
"Why are you always like this, Alise Lovell? Can't you see we're trying to be serious here?" Asfi sighed deeply.
"Don't bother; she won't stop until she says everything in that questionable mind of hers," Draco whispered to Asfi.
Asfi sighed again, shaking her head in exasperation.
"Everyone here is doing their best to protect Orario, so why are we pointing fingers?" Alise asked, her question stirring something within many.
"Learn from your mistakes and give people credit when they get things right! Isn't that how you usually talk things through? Even kids know that much, right?" she proclaimed.
Her statement silenced the table for a few moments until it was broken by boisterous laughter.
"Bahahahaha!" Gareth chuckled.
"You certainly are something, little missy. Not afraid to speak your mind, and yet you're absolutely right." he said.
"Tsk, self-righteous brat," Allen muttered in disdain.
"If you have an objection, let's hear it," Riveria said with a smile.
"That self-righteous brat just said one of the most sensible things we've heard all day," she added.
"Hehehe, would you look at that? My pearls of wisdom stunned all these first-rate adventurers into silence. Aren't I great?" Alise said, puffing out her chest with pride.
"And there it is; you pushed your luck, and now you sound like an idiot," Draco quipped.
"I am not an idiot! Just letting them know about my awesomeness!" Alise retorted.
"Please, Captain, stop, you're embarrassing us," Kaguya whispered with a despondent frown.
Finn looked over at their direction and cracked a gentle smile.
'When was the last time I had such playful banter with friends?' he wondered.
There was always so much resting on his shoulders, leaving little time to enjoy life.
"Heh," a dry chuckle escaped his lips, his mind beginning to clear.
"Although I don't have any good news to share, perhaps I can still point us in the right direction," Finn said, his expression turning serious.
"Let's start by going over the reports about Shakti's crackdown on the black market."
Finn led the discussion as each familia reported what they learned about the Evilus.
They covered information from a wide variety of sources, including Orario, the depths of the dungeon, and even towns and cities far away.
The participants listened attentively, debating and discussing the implications.
It was a stressful and time-consuming meeting, but no one complained; they had all come to realize that sharing information and knowledge was their most potent weapon.
"I suppose that covers everything up until today," Finn said, glancing at the clock.
"Is there anything else anyone wants to bring up?" he asked.
At this point, Ottar, who had largely remained silent throughout the proceedings, finally spoke.
"The Evilus have at least two powerful warriors on their side, true-born fighters, from what I can tell," he said.
"Ah, them huh, that lizard boy did bring it up in his argument earlier. Does anyone have any idea who they could be?" Allen inquired.
"Hey, Allen-kun, do you have a problem with me?" Draco asked, clearly offended by Allen's insulting remark.
"And what are you going to do about it, brat?" Allen replied unapologetically.
"Perhaps breaking all your teeth and shoving them down your throat will teach you how to speak like a civilized person," Draco retorted, a chilling grin revealing his sharp incisors. Normally, Draco would ignore Allen, not wanting trouble with the Freya familia, but Allen had been excessively rude, prodding him several times during the meeting.
Initially, Draco thought that perhaps it was an order from Freya, but as the meeting progressed, he realized that Allen just had a shitty personality.
"Are you sure you can back up those words?" Allen challenged, his body tensing like a spring ready to strike.
Draco wasn't intimidated by Allen; while fighting him would be tough, it wasn't impossible. Besides, his draconic side wouldn't allow him to endure such blatant provocations much longer.
"Allen, behave," Finn warned seriously, sensing that Allen was about to disrupt the meeting. Riveria and Gareth also prepared to intervene, and seeing this, Allen had no choice but to back down.
"Tsk, lucky brat. Don't let me catch you after this," Allen muttered in annoyance.
"Phew, Draco-san, are you crazy? Do you know who that is?" Asfi scolded him, worried that Allen might attack Draco at any moment.
"Tsk, he's the one who was lucky," Draco muttered, returning his arm to normal.
He had transformed it into a dragon claw upon sensing Allen's hostility.
"And you say I'm the one who's crazy?" Alise interjected, with Kaguya nodding in agreement.
"Anyway, with that distraction over, Ottar, what do you estimate their level to be?" Finn asked, steering the meeting back on track.
A/N: Yay, we really made 200 chapters 😂. Thanks for all the support so far y'all.