Chapter 238: The Mastermind

The moment Blauer spoke, everyone’s attention shifted toward her.

However, most of them couldn’t help glancing at the rather unusual sight before them.

A grown man was sitting sideways on Blauer’s lap like a princess, while the woman herself seemed perfectly content with the arrangement.

Jake, meanwhile, was already sweating under everyone’s gaze, trying his best to pretend that nothing was wrong. Unfortunately, the more he tried to act natural, the more awkward he felt.

’Dammit... Why couldn’t she just let me sit in a normal chair?’

He had tried to get up earlier, of course.

Unfortunately, Blauer had simply looked at him and asked in her usual calm voice whether he was uncomfortable.

And somehow, that simple question had left him unable to come up with a proper excuse.

Now, he was stuck in this embarrassing position, with everyone in the room pretending not to notice the elephant in the room.

’...You know what? Forget it. Let’s just get this meeting over with.’

Jake sighed inwardly, trying to calm himself down.

’Well... now that I think about it, it’s actually quite comfortable.’

He had to admit that Blauer’s lap was surprisingly comfortable.

Her thighs were soft, and her warmth, accompanied by her faint, pleasant fragrance, made it difficult for him to complain too much.

And then there was the fact that, whenever he shifted slightly, her super soft large breasts would brush against his arm.

Ahem...

Jake quickly looked away.

’...Let’s just say there are some advantages to this arrangement.’

Of course, he would never admit that out loud. Especially not with everyone in the room watching him!

Seeing that Jake had seemingly accepted his fate, Vivian couldn’t help but sigh and shake her head.

’Good grief... Just how did things end up like this?’

Nevertheless, she decided not to comment on the rather questionable scene before her.

After all, the meeting was more important, and she had no intention of wasting everyone’s time over Jake’s strange predicament.

Then Vivian stood up, holding a stack of report papers in her hand.

"Since everyone is here, I’ll begin by summarizing our recent battle against the Leviathan."

Her words immediately drew everyone’s attention.

Vivian glanced down at the papers before continuing in a calm, professional tone.

"As you all know, the Leviathan, Prabur’kba, was one of the Seven Ancient Sea Rulers. Despite having awakened with only one head and not yet having regained its full strength, it was still far more powerful than we had initially expected. The battle would have proved considerably more difficult than we had anticipated if we had been late."

She paused briefly, allowing everyone to digest her words.

"Fortunately, Lord Blauer had informed us about the Leviathan’s awakening beforehand, allowing us to alert the Alliance and the Mage Tower in time."

She let out a small sigh before continuing.

"Although the deployment was rather rushed, we were at least able to mobilize our forces and respond to the threat before the situation spiraled completely out of control."

Jake, who had been sneakily enjoying the soft sensation of Blauer’s breast brushing against his arm, paused at Vivian’s words.

He turned his head slightly toward the woman holding him on her lap and murmured, "Lord Blauer knew about it?"

Blauer glanced down at him, her expression as calm and unreadable as ever.

"Of course."

She answered as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

After a brief pause, she continued, "I had already sensed signs of the Leviathan’s awakening the moment its seal began to loosen."

Jake looked confused at the mention of the seal.

"The seal?"

Before Blauer could answer, Ana, who had been leaning lazily against the back of her sofa, chuckled.

"Don’t look so surprised~ The Eismond family is a little special."

She tilted her head toward Lord Blauer.

"One of their duties is to maintain the seal keeping the Leviathan imprisoned beneath these waters. Naturally, they’ve developed their own ways of detecting changes in the seal. If something goes wrong, they’ll be among the first to notice~"

"Oh..." Jake nodded slowly, finally understanding.

"Then does that mean you can tell whenever something happens to the seal?" he asked, turning toward Blauer.

"Not everything," Blauer replied calmly. "But I can sense significant changes. The Leviathan’s awakening was impossible to overlook."

Hearing that, Jake fell silent for a moment as he remembered the cloaked figures and the strange population of Naga he had encountered.

The relaxed expression on his face gradually faded, replaced by a more serious look.

He glanced at Blauer before shifting his gaze toward the others in the room.

"There’s something else I need to tell everyone," he said. "I came across some rather suspicious things, and I think they might be related to the Leviathan."

_

_

_

After explaining how he had been teleported to an unfamiliar location, Jake recounted everything he had witnessed there.

He described the large number of Nagas he had encountered, along with the suspicious cloaked figures who appeared to be plotting something.

Most importantly, he repeated what he had overheard about using the Leviathan to deal with the Azure Dragon.

By the time he finished, the entire room had fallen silent.

The relaxed atmosphere from earlier had vanished, replaced by a heavy tension.

No one spoke for several seconds as they processed the information Jake had just shared.

Jake glanced around the room, noticing that everyone seemed lost in thought.

Even Blauer, who had remained composed throughout the discussion, appeared to be carefully considering his words.

Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, Jake decided this was the perfect opportunity.

He quietly shifted his weight and tried to get up from Blauer’s lap.

Unfortunately, just as he was about to succeed, a soft, delicate hand firmly held his waist in place.

Jake froze.

He slowly turned his head and found Blauer still looking ahead, her expression as calm as ever, as though she hadn’t done anything at all.

"..."

Jake’s mouth twitched.

’Seriously? You’re not even going to let me go?’

He tried to give her a subtle look, hoping she would understand his predicament.

Blauer, however, showed no intention of letting him go.

In the end, Jake could only smile wryly and resign himself to his fate.

And... since he couldn’t escape anyway, he might as well make himself comfortable.

Then he leaned a little further into Blauer’s embrace, enjoying the warmth and softness of her body.

’Well, they say you shouldn’t fight the current but go with the flow, right?’

If that was the case, then he might as well enjoy himself while he could.

But then Vivian suddenly slammed her hand onto the table.

BAM!

"Those bastards!"

Her angry shout startled Mita, who had been eating a biscuit beside her, causing her to choke.

"Cough! Cough!"

Mita hurriedly grabbed her drink, trying to wash down the biscuit stuck in her throat.

Meanwhile, Vivian paid her no attention, her expression growing darker as she connected the dots.

"Cursed them! So they were planning to throw the entire surrounding region into chaos!"

She clenched her fists, her voice turning colder.

"Those enchanted teleportation artifacts... They must have been designed to teleport those monsters directly into our territory and spread chaos from there!"

Her eyes narrowed as another possibility occurred to her.

"And that’s not all. If those artifacts could teleport monsters, then there’s a chance they were planning to use them to transport the Leviathan itself!"

At such conclusion, the room fell silent once more.

If Vivian’s speculation was correct, then the cloaked figures weren’t simply trying to take advantage of the Leviathan’s awakening.

They had been preparing to use it as a weapon against the entire region.

And judging by what Jake had witnessed, their plan might have been far more elaborate than anyone had initially imagined.

"Fortunately, Jake stumbled upon their scheme and activated the artifact before they could carry out their original plan," Vivian said, looking at Jake gratefully before continuing and letting out a frustrated breath.

"Otherwise, we might have been dealing with a completely different disaster by now."

Hearing that, Blauer nodded thoughtfully before lowering her gaze toward Jake.

"So your name is Jake? You’ve done well, Jake. Not only did you help us deal with the Leviathan, but you’ve also brought us valuable information about a potential threat to the entire region."

Her tone remained calm, but there was a hint of genuine appreciation in her eyes.

"Thank you for your contribution."

Jake blinked.

He hadn’t expected to receive such direct praise from her, especially in front of everyone.

"O-Oh, it’s nothing..."

He scratched his cheek awkwardly. "I didn’t mean to do all of that, though..."

He certainly hadn’t set out to foil some grand conspiracy.

He’d just stumbled into a strange situation, touched an unfamiliar artifact, and somehow ended up in the middle of a disaster.

Jake scratched his cheek once more before looking at Blauer.

"By the way, do you know anything about those people? Since they seem to be targeting you, Lord Blauer."

However, before Blauer could answer, Ana’s languid voice drifted through the room.

"Well, I can’t say for certain who they are, but I might have an idea~"

Everyone turned toward her.

Still leaning lazily against the sofa, Ana crossed one leg over the other, giving Jake a rather pleasing view of her supple legs while seemingly remaining unbothered by the heavy atmosphere.

"If I’m not mistaken, they should be the Savior’s Worshipers~"

At those words, Vivian’s expression changed.

Both Mita and Blauer also frowned slightly, their reactions suggesting that the name was far from unfamiliar to them.

Jake glanced between them, growing increasingly confused.

"The Savior’s Worshipers?"

Ana noticed the genuine confusion on Jake’s face and smiled faintly.

"Well, it’s not surprising that you don’t know about them. After all, they’re not exactly the sort of people you’d hear about in everyday conversations~"

Her beautiful, languid gaze shifted slightly, and the playful look in her eyes began to fade.

"...They’re a cult that has survived since the First Era. And as their name suggests, they worship someone as their god..."

Ana paused briefly, her usually lazy expression growing a little more serious.

"They worship... the former Hero of Humanity."