Attack Operation Discussion

Key points of the attack operation:

• Defend 9 strongholds.

• A battle in which huge numbers of monsters surged in.

That was the shape of the fight.

Roughly 3-4 people per stronghold for defense.

• A leader.

• An all-target attacker.

• A single-target attacker to mop up what slipped past the all-target attack, or a defender to block them.

That was the distribution.

"So then, let's think about the lineup."

The five of us — me, Ursula, Griera, Yuria, and Haru — sat down to deliberate.

"First, leaders. Me, Ursula, Griera, Yuria, Haru, and… I need to think up four more."

"Sorry, I'm out. If it's a battle in monster territory, there's a chance the Demon God Naia Vapula will attack me.

"I'll help plan, but on the day itself I'll quietly stay home and mind the house."

"Ah… right. Sorry.

"… Couldn't we just drive off Demon God Naia Vapula?"

"Know that bravery and recklessness are not the same.

"If thou challengest a Demon God and losest, thou diest. Take it not lightly.

"At present, only four have succeeded in solo-killing a Demon God… only five in all of history.

"At minimum, thou shouldst reach rank 4 before attempting it."

I got scolded by Ursula.

"Sorry."

I apologized obediently.

"I'll look forward to that day… But, feel free to use my comrades however you like.

"Kishilia in particular is reliable. Kishilia as leader, all-target attacks from Moruna and Barlin, single-target attacks from Bumir and Girolo. She can hold one stronghold by herself.

"Back in my mercenary days I sent Kishilia out on an attack operation, and even then she defended splendidly.

"… Right now Moruna's fired up in a way she wasn't back then.

"She used to space out and lose focus a lot, but this time too, she'll go all-out for Naoto."

"Thanks. All right, then let's leave one stronghold to Kishilia.

"After that, who else could serve as leader… Suzanne, Yumi, Lyuka, Seika, I guess."

"Indeed. They'd be appropriate."

Suzanne and Lyuka were both smart with broad perspective. Yumi had led the Shiraki group. Seika had led the Austin-Dalido group.

Any of them would serve as leaders just fine.

"Next, all-target attackers. Since the targets are monsters, if possible I'd want Light, Thunder, Divine, or Spirit — elements strong against the Demon attribute."

"Indeed. With Light, Thunder, Divine, or Spirit, a single all-target attacker might suffice.

"For other elements, we'll line up two… Oh, Setsuna's techniques are tremendously effective against weak monsters.

"She too can be entrusted solo."

"Then that means…"

• Solo all-target attacker: All-1

Light: Lyuka

Divine: Suzanne, Luna, Cellas

Spirit: Patty, Mikoto

Non-element: Setsuna

• Two-person all-target attack: All-2

Wind: Kanan

Ice: Maika

Dark: Yuria

Water: Sawako

Earth: Yumi

Normal: Seika

Demon: Ursula

Metal: Mira

Dragon: Saria

Dark, Demon: Lizalind

• Mop-up attackers: Solo

Adelia

Leone

• Mop-up defenders: Def

Kanan

Haru

Colette

Libera

Yumi

Sawako

Mira

• Supporters: Sup

Irana

Klara

• Out of combat: —

Griera

Farida

Himeno

Saying "out of combat" was rude, but for this round it couldn't be helped.

I'd distribute from here.

With Griera, Farida, and Himeno out of combat, the headcount came to 25.

If Kishilia defended one stronghold by herself, the rest worked out to exactly 3 each.

First, distribute the All-1 holders to non-All-1 leaders.

Naoto

Ursula: All-2 Luna: All-1

Yuria: All-2 Mikoto: All-1

Haru: Def Patty: All-1

Suzanne: All-1

Yumi: All-2 Cellas: All-1

Lyuka: All-1

Seika: All-2 Setsuna: All-1

"How about something like this?"

"Naoto, thou hast none assigned to thyself."

"For me… I figured Kanan, Maika, and Adelia would be fine.

"They're the easiest members to direct when I'm giving the commands."

"Indeed… but, how about at least swapping Luna and Maika? I am also Demon-attribute, yet mere monsters wouldn't outpace me.

"Luna's only all-target attack is Holy with limited uses, which is a bit shaky, but she more than makes up for it with Messiah for all-target buffs."

"I thought about that, but the Poison Apple is a bit tricky to use…"

"Mm… indeed. Certainly, fighting with members thou'rt used to may be better.

"I've seen Luna's combat up close, yet I've only seen Maika in actual combat once before… Understood."

Next, distribute the All-2s… then Solo, Sup, Def.

"How about this?"

First Draft

Naoto Kanan: All-2/Def Maika: All-2 Adelia: Solo Himeno: —

Ursula: All-2 Luna: All-1 Libera: Def

Yuria: All-2 Mikoto: All-1 Colette: Def

Haru: Def Patty: All-1 Irana: Sup

Suzanne: All-1 Saria: All-2 Klara: Sup

Yumi: All-2 Cellas: All-1 Lizalind: All-2

Lyuka: All-1 Sawako: All-2 Mira: All-2/Def

Seika: All-2 Setsuna: All-1 Leone: Solo

Kishilia: Versatile

"For Himeno, I figured I'd have her watch how I fight. If there's time to spare, I'd like to train her too."

"Mm… combat-strength-wise, it's balanced."

"Next, are there any compatibility problems between the members? If anyone doesn't get along, I'd like to swap them around."

"… Mm? Thou needn't fret over that much, surely? Whichever members thou orderest to fight together, they'll fight properly."

Ursula didn't seem to mind, but…

"… Right, I don't think there are any members who actively dislike each other, but there are some who haven't talked much."

Yuria followed up.

"In a milder battle I wouldn't mind — they could use the chance to chat.

"But comrades who get along do better at bringing out their strength."

"… I see. There may be something to that."

"… Yumi, Cellas, and Lizalind. Have they ever talked?"

The three of them had relatively little contact with us, with Ursula's party, or with Griera's party.

"For my part I don't recall seeing it. Cellas isn't the type to start a conversation either…"

"Lizalind's basically socially awkward, so I think she'd do better paired with our crew or with Naoto… But come to think of it, she did talk with Yumi."

"Oh, really?"

"Back during the Shiraki business. That Shiraki bastard turned arrogant and irritating right off, but Yumi smoothed it over softly.

"Lizalind even said things like 'You lot look weak, so I'll protect you,' which meant she was at least somewhat fond of them.

"… Now that you mention it, she might've talked with Yumi a fair bit."

"Then let's keep it like this. Yumi's got pretty high communication skills."

"Mm, she's well-mannered too. She and Cellas wouldn't clash."

"With Earth attribute I had some combat-strength concerns, so I wanted to pair her with the strong Cellas."

So this group would stay put.

"What else might be worth checking…"

"My group… Mikoto might be happier paired with Leone, no?"

"I thought about it, but if Seika and Setsuna — our team's two great supporters — get paired up, I'd want the buffs going to an attacker. There'd be no point powering up Colette."

"Ah… if Leone gets super-accelerated, that alone is like taking out 8 enemies per turn — practically an all-target attack.

"All right, I'll smooth things over with Mikoto."

"Well, Mikoto understands that much. No need to worry… I think."

"Speaking of scattered, Suzanne's group is scattered too. Saria gives off this 'everyone's mom' vibe and has high comm, so I think she'll be fine, but…"

"As I've said before, Saria spent a year under Leonhardt. During that time she got along with Suzanne, so there's no issue at all."

"Ah, right."

"Klara talks with Suzanne fairly often too. Didst thou not pair them aware of that?"

"No, when I'm around, everyone just talks with me, so I rarely get to watch comrades-only conversations carefully…

"I do sometimes wonder which members chat when I'm not there."

"Right… I don't think there are any specifically incompatible pairings."

"Suzanne seems like the type to clash with people, doesn't she?"

"Not at all. Maybe it's because she's so strong. She's kind to others too.

"It surprised me how well she gets along with Ursula."

"Surprising? I'm on close terms with Leonhardt-dono too, and Suzanne and I talked often back then.

"She's like a cute little sister."

"But there's the Belzebute-Michaela history, right?"

"It would seem so. In the end Belzebute lost three in a row.

"… But I've come to terms with it, so that's fine."

"How are Klara and Suzanne?"

"I don't really get it, but they hit it off on art topics.

"They go to art museums together."

"Art! Art museums!

"Eh, those exist? I'd want to go too.

"What's art like in this world?"

"There are paintings and such, of course. Portraits, landscapes.

"Photography only arrived here relatively recently…

"Well, magic stones have been around longer, so it's true paintings aren't widespread.

"But the habit of preserving Masters and Garumon in paintings does exist here too."

Heh, that so.

So this group didn't need to move either.

"Looks like, surprisingly, we can manage without swapping much."

"Indeed. It'll be fine."

"Next, who'd defend where? Any particular characteristics?"

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"Indeed. In an attack operation, the corners are said to be most dangerous.

"The fiercest battlefields will be 1 and 8. Strong enemies from outside may surge in.

"3, 5, and 7 are comparatively lax — just hunting down domestic monsters as they gather in droves.

"Information on domestic monsters is all in hand, and all dungeons have been cleared, so the truly powerful ones have largely been wiped out.

"2, 4, 6, and 9 are intermediate. Monsters from both inside and outside push in, forcing two-front combat."

"In that case, 1 will be me…"

"I'll take it. Thou hast Himeno and the overall command. A somewhat easier post would suit thee better."

"… Understood. I leave it to thee. As for 8…"

"Kishilia, surely. There's even talk that Kishilia's strongest solo.

"She actually has high troop count and the best balance too.

"There aren't many monsters that can beat Moruna."

"Right. All right, let's count on Kishilia.

"Then I'll take an easier post too — the center of the whole thing, 5. Being at center doesn't actually let me see everything, though."

"Mm. Movement is mostly via the gates within the forts.

"Issuing orders to shift troops from easier battlefields to other forts will keep us hopping."

"Anyone else we have concerns about?"

"… Yumi's lot, I suppose. Yumi and Cellas are surprisingly absent-minded…"

"Lizalind's skilled, but you can't expect her to have the wits to cover for that kind of slip-up either…"

… I was getting nervous.

"Then put them at the easy 3. After that…"

"What of Seika's command? Her style differs entirely from the Dalido party. Well, Leone will likely cover for her, so I'm not too worried, but…"

"Right. Commanding our party, she might not be used to it. Then let's go with 7.

"After that, top-down in order is fine."

1: Ursula, Luna, Libera

2: Yuria, Mikoto, Colette

3: Yumi, Cellas, Lizalind

4: Haru, Patty, Irana

5: Naoto, Kanan, Maika, Adelia, Himeno

6: Suzanne, Saria, Klara

7: Seika, Setsuna, Leone

8: Kishilia

9: Lyuka, Sawako, Mira

And so the lineup was decided.

"Beyond that, we'll also call in the A-Class and B-Class Masters as a formality. They'll be of some help.

"The minimum Knight Order deployment has already been requested."

A-Class Masters…

Rank 22: Gayus

Rank 46: Guenza

Rank 70: Rubito

Rank 94: Organo

Rank 128: —

Right.

"Oh, A-Class rank 128 — come to think of it, the tournament's tomorrow, isn't it?"

A 1-day tournament limited to applicants — it'd be decided in a day, supposedly.

"… Should I go watch?"

"Well, an attack operation wraps in about a week. Worst case, we could start around the 17th.

"We can spend another 12-ish days on prep.

"A-Class 128 is one combat unit. Won't hurt to take a look.

"… At least we can judge whether to expect anything from them as combat strength."

I see… A-Class Masters and A-Class Sub-Masters defending the forts was nominal at best, and the main force would still be us.

"Mm, it seems we'll manage."

Ursula muttered that as her impression.

"Well, if we'll manage, then we don't need to bolster the force any further…"

I said it casually.

"Mn? Hast thou a lead? Going forward, we'll need every bit of strength we can get. Bolstering can never be excessive.

"If thou hast a lead, thou shouldst pursue it."

She seized on it.

"Sorry, I don't have a lead. I just figured if we ended up short on the day, we'd have to do something about it…"

"No, I've got a lead."

It was then that Griera cut in.

"Normally when you're short on strength, you hire mercenaries. I've fought at S-Class Masters' requests a few times myself.

"That's the standard means of bolstering forces."

So Griera explained.

"Mercenaries, huh… can we hire some?"

"Yeah, you can request them through the system. Especially as an S-Class Master."

I see… so that was the standard means.

But emphasizing "standard" meant there were non-standard means too, didn't it.

"… If it's Naoto… couldn't you pull a strong mercenary girl right into your party as a comrade?"

Griera grinned slyly as she pitched it.

"I don't think it'd go that well…"

I gave a wry smile.

Griera had come to like me this much, sure. But it wasn't like absolutely anyone would like me…

"You said you had a lead, Griera. Who exactly?"

It couldn't hurt to ask.

"Yeah. The strongest mercenary I know of — and incredibly cute on top of that. The owner of a seriously erotic body that's right up our alley. I went in full of ulterior motives and got soundly defeated, but I figure Naoto can pull it off."

"That'd be… the one you mentioned before, Necromancer Melvis, was it?"

"Yeah. That's right. Melvis.

"The next Garzas arena tournament is coming up soon. Melvis is the Garzas champion, so she'll be defending her title. The date is… the day after tomorrow."

"… That's right around the corner."

"Hoh… Melvis is one of the Mercenary Four Heavenly Kings. I've at least heard the name. A mercenary whose name is known even to S-Class Masters."

"For the fight against Naia Vapula, and for the S-Class Tournament… I want to bolster our strength.

"Beyond simple strength gains, one strong comrade means mock battles to sharpen everyone's skills, lifting overall level. The benefits would be immeasurable.

"… All right. Let's invite Melvis into the party."

"That's the spirit!

"All right, let's head to Garzas right away. We've gotta enter the tournament!"

In a sudden turn, before the attack operation, we'd be visiting an arena once more.

Tomorrow was the B-Class tournament; the day after, the arena… With the attack operation prep, things were getting busy.

"… If Melvis safely joins us, should we change the current lineup?"

"Sure. With Melvis, you can easily entrust her with a whole fort."

"But if we have one team in reserve, they can serve as a roving unit — gated into any unfavorable battlefield, or rotated in to give exhausted members a rest. The uses are many. Best to leave the lineup as is."

"I see… right. Let's do that."

Today's discussion hadn't gone to waste, it seemed.

All right, with about ten days as the target, let's keep preparing for the attack operation.