Bastard Homunculus: Reborn in the Corpse Pit
Chapter 205: Anima(Part 4)

Chapter 205: Chapter 205: Anima(Part 4)

"Damn it, you have got to be kidding me, this is unbelievable. One thing, I literally told them to not do one thing, cause a commotion...and yet, here we are," Grumbled Jules, as she headed for the hotel with the others.

"Take it easy, Commander, there’s no point in getting all stressed out. What’s done is done, getting riled up isn’t going to change anything," Responded Aster, in an effort to calm her down, but to little avail.

It was about a couple of hours later, and the conference had wrapped up for the day. It has mostly gone well, but towards the end, a member of the APF showed up and made a report on the incident with Akila.

While they made it clear that Akila was not at fault, Jules was still more than a little exasperated, intent on lecturing Akila to be more careful.

"He’s right, you know. The APF was clear in saying that your subordinate was not to blame for what happened, he was the victim. The fault lies in the ones who attacked and tried to frame him, so I do not think it would be fair to punish him for this," Chimed in Wistari with a sympathetic smile.

"I know, but still...if he’d been more careful, he wouldn’t have given them an opportunity to set him up in the first place. And if I let him get away with this, it could lead to him becoming complacent in the future. But if I reprimand him, he should be more cautious and alert in the future."

"Come on, even you should know that’s maybe just a tiny bit unreasonable," Replied Lyra wryly.

"Maybe so, but at the very least, I need to make sure he understands to be more careful from here on. So, I’ll give him a bit of a talking to."

Meanwhile, back at the hotel...

"Huh? Weird, I just got an unsettling chill," Shuddered Akila.

"Maybe the stress of the situation you went through wore you out, you should rest. Still, I can’t believe all that happened, glad it worked out in the end," Remarked Raven, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, not gonna lie, I was definitely panicking a bit myself too," Nodded Lloyd wearily.

"Th-That was scary, I thought we were done for," Muttered Kia.

’At least they let us go immediately after confirming Akila’s innocence, I hope they find and apprehend the culprits soon’, Nero chimed in with his shadowy letters.

"Well, one thing’s for sure, we’re a lot better off staying holed up in this hotel instead of heading out again, we can’t afford to let anything else happen," Raven mused thoughtfully.

"Yeah, at least until the APF deal with whoever was behind this, that’s probably the best course of action," Nodded Lloyd in agreement.

"U-Um, I’m not so sure about that. We might be safer here, but we also might be trapped...if they decide to target us in the hotel, we won’t really have anywhere to run," Pointed out Kia nervously.

"Hm, that’s a good point. We’ll have to be ready to defend ourselves if it comes to that, but let’s hope that-...," Began Raven, before trailing off as someone knocked on the door, adding as he stood up and sniffed, "Oh, looks like they’re back, it’s the Queen, the Commander, Aster, and the Elves. Guess the conference is over."

"Crap, this is going to suck for me, isn’t it?" Akila sighed, a look of dread on his face.

As Raven opened the door and stepped back, Jules stormed into the room, looking around before narrowing her eyes at Akila.

"Good, everyone’s here."

"U-Uh...hey, Commander, how’s it going?" Akila greeted her nervously.

"Oh, I don’t know, why don’t you tell me?" She responded icily.

"Okay, calm down, that’s enough, Jules. The APF already cleared him and confirmed that he was set-up. And it was definitely a deliberate effort. All the witnesses who claimed to see Akila attack first disappeared, which means they were in on it too. This was planned ahead of time, so you can’t blame him," Pointed out Lyra, patting her sister’s shoulder.

"Wait, really? They disappeared? That’s news to us," Responded Akila in surprise.

"Yeah, the APF made a full report at the end of the conference, and they’re all but certain that this wasn’t some random incident, but a concerted effort to frame one of us. The most likely explanation is that there must be some Animoids who are opposed to Anima going through with forming an alliance with the Kingdom of Persona, and this is how they’ve chosen to go about preventing it," Surmised Aster with a grimace.

"I don’t get it though, why use such a roundabout method instead of just attacking us directly? They could easily have swarmed us with numbers and tried to take one of us out, instead on putting on this charade," Frowned Lloyd, a confused look on his face.

"Well, I doubt they want to end up inciting a war against us, so maybe that’s why? If they attacked us in a group out in the open, any witnesses would obviously see that we’d be the victims in such a situation. So, instead, they wanted to make it seem like we’re the aggressors. If we were in the wrong, or at least, if they made everyone think that we were in the wrong, that could prompt the government of Anima to call off the alliance and kick us out," Suggested Raven uncertainly, after taking a moment to mull it over.

"No, I don’t think so. When that guy attacked me, there’s no doubt in my mind that he was trying to kill me. He aimed straight for my heart, and it was a full-blooded strike. So, it really did seem like he was trying to kill me for real. I’m guessing making it seem like I was the one attacking him was Plan B," Replied Akila grimly.

"Well, that is possible. We’ve faced plenty of enemies who let their pride and prejudice override basic logic and common sense, after all, so this isn’t anything new. What a pain, enemies like this can be unpredictable, damned supremacists," Sighed Aster in exasperation.

"Another thing, that Spell they used on me when I was being interrogated, they seemed to have absolute faith in its effectiveness. I don’t remember a thing after they used it on me, my mind just sort of blanked, and the next thing I knew, they were telling me that I was free to go.

Assuming that Spell is as effective as they believe it is, trying to frame or set us up would be pointless. The APF can easily get the truth out using that Spell and find out what really happened, it wouldn’t even take that long. That’s probably why the guy who attacked me disappeared right after the APF showed up, and why the others who backed up his claim that I attacked him disappeared too," Surmised Akila with a frown.

"Well, this isn’t good. There’s no telling what they’ll try next. The conference is far from over, we still have a lot more to discuss with the Anima government before we can proceed with finalizing the alliance, and we can’t afford any more incidents," Sighed Jules with a stressed look on her face.

"Yeah, safe to say they’ll definitely make another move against us sooner or later, most likely sooner," Nodded Aster in agreement.

Nero tapped on a wooden table in the room to get everyone’s attention, before writing with his Dark Magic: ’Based on what I know of the Animoids, it is quite likely that they will provide additional protection.’

"Yes, I agree. Either members of the APF, or more likely, their Adventurers. While the APF is tasked with maintaining order within, the Adventurers are responsible for dealing with more external threats such as Monsters and bandits. The strongest individuals in Anima’s forces, or at least more of them, are among the Adventurers instead of the APF. So, it’s likely that they’ll assign a few Adventurers to guard us," Nodded Wistari in agreement.

"I have mixed feelings about that, if I’m being honest. How certain are you that these Adventurers are trustworthy? Is it possible that some of them might be in league with the group targeting us?" Frowned Jules warily.

"I’d say that’s unlikely, I’m sure the nation’s leaders will select those they’ve determined to be trustworthy," Wistari assured her.

"We can’t let ourselves get complacent just because of some extra guards, though. We’ll need to be vigilant, ready to spring into action at a moment’s notice," Surmised Aster.

"Yes, that goes without saying," Nodded Jules in response.

"It’s too bad I wasn’t there when they attacked Akila. If I’d gotten the chance to pick up their scents before they disappeared, I might have been able to track them down," Raven sighed wistfully.

"No sense in dwelling on it, what’s done is done. We’re just going to have to make sure we’re better prepared for next time," Responded Jules with a grimace.