At the same time, in the women's bath.
"Now, then. As previously announced..."
Evangeline clapped her hands solemnly and declared with a solemn voice.
"The Crossroad Female Heroes and Mercenaries Rights Committee, abbreviated as CFHMRC, will now hold its... what number was it again? Anyway, we will have our meeting. Come on, everyone, let's give a round of applause!"
Clap, clap, clap, clap!
Evangeline was the only one clapping. The rest of the members did not move a muscle.
In the midst of silence, someone raised their hand through the steamy haze. It was Junior.
"...Chairwoman Evangeline, I have a question."
"Please, go ahead. Member Junior."
"Why is this CFHMRC meeting..."
Junior asked with trembling eyes.
"...being held in the sauna?"
Indeed.
This was a sauna room inside the women's bath. And it was a wet sauna at that.
In this space filled with suffocating heat and humidity, the members of the CFHMRC looked as though they were about to collapse and die at any moment.
Only Evangeline, with a scoff, comfortably crossed her arms.
"It's boring to have the same meeting every time, isn't it? I thought it would be more fun to meet in different settings, so I gathered us here."
"No, this is less fun! It's hot! It's hard! Let me out!"
Junior trembled with anger. Then, Evangeline leaned in and whispered softly.
"...And, let's also draw out some of the poison from those people's stomachs."
"Huh? Poison..."
Junior looked in the direction Evangeline was pointing and shivered.
Slowly...
In a corner of the sauna room, squatting and spreading dark clouds of gloom, were two elves.
It was Verdandi and Bodybag. The faces of the two elves, each having lost someone dear, were rigid even in this sweltering sauna.
Evangeline poked Junior's shoulder with her fingertip.
"And let's draw some out from your stomach as well!"
"Eh, me too?"
"You've been looking gloomy too!"
Was that so?
Junior touched her face with a reluctant hand. She could feel her own furrowed expression.
...No, isn't this just because I'm sad about the last battle, and also because the sauna is hot and exhausting?
"I can't take it anymore. I'm going out first."
It was already awkward enough having to expose her scars from the lower half of her body.
Feeling weak, Junior decided to give up on the sauna and head outside. Then, Evangeline suddenly shouted.
"Wait-!"
"What, what is it?"
Before the puzzled Junior, Evangeline, with an unnecessarily grave expression, cleared her throat and looked around with a commanding voice.
"Now that almost all the female heroes affiliated with Crossroad have joined our CFHMRC, I think it's time to reveal the real purpose behind founding this meeting."
"The real purpose...?"
Wasn't it just for whimsically eating and drinking as much as we want?
As everyone looked puzzled, Evangeline stated with a deadly serious face.
"The real purpose behind founding the CFHMRC... after obtaining the sovereignty of Crossroad and becoming its lord, is to secure a support base for a certain 'welfare project' I plan to push forward."
"Huh? A welfare project?"
"Haha, don't be surprised. The name of that welfare project is..."
Evangeline smirked arrogantly, then raised her index finger and declared.
"'A boyfriend for everyone'!"
"..."
"..."
Everyone was silent out of sheer incredulity. Even Verdandi and Bodybag, tucked away in a corner, looked at Evangeline with wide eyes.
For a moment, everyone thought.
'Is it so hot in the sauna that this lady is having a delusion?'
But it was not a delusion. Evangeline continued her speech with a voice full of earnestness.
"After taking Crossroad into my hands! I will provide all heroes affiliated with our CFHMRC with an unlimited 'matchmaking right'...!"
"Ma, matchmaking right?"
"And unlimited provision...?"
"What does that even mean?!"
"Hu, huhuhu, just as it sounds."
Evangeline clenched her fist tightly.
"Until you're matched with a suitable partner, unlimited one-on-one meetings will be arranged!"
Oh, oh wow...!
A wave of agitation spread among the female heroes.
At first, it sounded like a crazy idea... but as Evangeline continued, one by one, the heroes' eyes began to sparkle.
Yes, we're currently facing monsters and risking our lives in battle, but once this invasion stops and the world becomes peaceful...
'We can date too, right?'
Just then, a woman with lavender hair, the gambler Violet, let out a fiercely suppressed sound.
"Oo..."
Everyone looked at her. Oo?
"OOOOOH?!"
"Aaaah! Did Violet break?!"
Next to Violet, who was spewing out blood from her nose and breathing heavily, her fellow gamblers Orange and Scarlet hurriedly provided her with a towel.
After wiping away the nosebleed, Violet gasped and murmured.
"I'm going to... I'm going to date too...! Once this last job is over, I'll settle everything, wash my identity clean, and then! Pretend to be a proper noble lady and seduce men...!"
"Oh, oh wow...!"
As Evangeline's bombshell announcement had everyone stirred up and excited.
"...But, Miss Evangeline, what's in it for you?"
A cold voice cut through.
It was Rosetta, the guild leader. She had entered the sauna with her glasses on, and though her expression was obscured by the steam on her glasses, her voice was as calm and cool as ever.
"I presume you have some ulterior motive for implementing such a policy."
"Haha. Yes. In exchange for implementing this policy, I will..."
Evangeline shyly confessed her ambition.
"...take just three husbands."
Thud-!
Evangeline's bombshell left everyone pale-faced.
The startled female heroes stood up and pointed their fingers at Evangeline.
"What, what kind of outrageous, disastrous thing are you saying!"
"Do you think such cheating would be allowed?! Unforgivable! Even if the heavens forgive, we will not!"
"Imperial family insult, imperial family insult...!"
In the Everblack Empire, having multiple spouses was officially allowed only for the emperor.
It was exceptionally permitted only for the purpose of producing heirs, and even then, typically only one empress was taken.
The country fundamentally practiced monogamy. Evangeline was declaring rebellion against this system.
"Haha, here in the south of the border, the Margrave is practically a king. And above all, once we save the world... His Majesty will surely turn a blind eye to such a minor law amendment, right?"
Evangeline laughed heartily with a mischievous expression.
"As the old saying goes, 'Heroes love adventure'! Maybe it's okay for me to reveal a bit about myself too?!"
Though it was funny since the one saying this was a green kid who had never even been in a proper relationship.
"Now, besides! 'Food for everyone', 'Houses for everyone', 'Pensions for everyone', and so on, I have various welfare plans in store!"
Everyone got the hint.
"Hold on until I take the seat of the lord. Got it? I promise to treat all comrades of Crossroad fairly!"
Evangeline was trying, in her own way, to give everyone strength.
Beyond this hard battle, beyond the impending doom...
There would be happy days.
So, let's laugh together.
That must be why she threw such an outrageous curveball, to uplift everyone's spirits.
Everyone smiled, touched and grateful for the young girl's efforts, who would one day become the lord of this land.
"To obtain a handsome harem... I will certainly seize absolute power...!"
"..."
Junior broke out in a cold sweat.
No, she can't be serious, right? This was just throwing a curveball, yeah?
"Haha."
Following that, Junior laughed out loud.
Whatever.
Whether Evangeline's words were merely to comfort everyone, or if they harbored some cunning ambition, either way.
"I like muscular men!"
"I, I like the chubby bear type! I want to cuddle softly!"
"Pretty boys! Pretty boys! Pretty boys!"
"The type with a cool beard!"
"The type who looks good in a suit!"
"Kind, diligent, and a man who cooks well!"
"As long as they love me, anyone is fine!"
If everyone can laugh happily, isn't that enough?
Everyone excitedly laughed and shared their preferences. Taking turns shouting out their types, even Verdandi and Bodybag, swept up in the atmosphere, hesitantly shared their preferences in men.
"...Hm?"
Everyone's gaze turned to Junior.
Evangeline smirked wickedly.
"Junior? I think it's your turn."
"I, I am..."
Overwhelmed with confusion, Junior's eyes darted left and right, then she exclaimed,
"Aaagh! I give up!"
And dashed out of the sauna.
"Tsk, tsk, with Junior like that, I wonder if she'll be able to seize the opportunity even if it comes."
Evangeline, herself a novice, muttered as if she were a seasoned love warrior and clapped her hands.
"Alright, the secret sauna meeting is hereby concluded! I trust that today's events will remain a secret among us!"
Evangeline ran her hands through her sweat-soaked platinum hair to shake it off.
"Let's go take a bath. Phew, it's so hot."
The female heroes streamed out of the sauna. Excited and shouting in the heat and humidity, they all felt like they were dying.
Evangeline, smiling and making eye contact with the exiting heroes, suddenly widened her eyes. There was one person who remained in the sauna till the last.
"Your Grace?"
"Hm? Ah."
It was Dusk Bringar.
Sitting cross-legged and quietly observing the noisy gathering of the CFHMRC members, the Dragonblood Duchess suddenly came to her senses.
"Today was noisy and fun as well. Haha."
Slowly getting up, Dusk Bringar whispered.
"I, too, wish to see it. After the invasion of monsters ends, and the world becomes peaceful, the happy future that awaits everyone in this city..."
Evangeline, with a mischievous laugh, quietly asked Dusk Bringar's ear.
"Your Grace, would you like to have a refreshing matchmaker session?"
"Hahaha! Would there be a man bold enough to meet with me?"
"Your Grace must also have heirs, right? Once the war with the monsters ends, let's snatch up a decent man! I'll search hard for you."
Covering her mouth, Dusk Bringar chuckled softly.
"...The succession of the Dukedom of Bringar is not passed down by blood. It's passed down by will."
"Really?"
"But, yes..."
Cutting through the steam, Dusk Bringar slowly exited the sauna.
"If such a day comes, I'll gladly accept the matchmaking."
"Hehe, leave it to me! I'll find someone who matches Your Grace's taste!"
"Look forward to it, the future lord of Crossroad."
A bitter smile flickered across the Dragon Lady's lips.
"It sounds amusing just to imagine it."
***
"Okay, has everyone washed up!"
Inside the hot springs facility. The communal hall.
The heroes, polished and cleaned, crowded and sprawled on the floor. I climbed up to the platform prepared at the end of the hall.
"My lord, here."
"Hm."
Lucas carefully folded a towel into a wool hat for me. Wearing it on my head, I looked around at everyone and shouted.
"From now on, I am not your commander, Ash!"
"...?"
"From now on, I am your dungeon training instructor! Did you get that!"
Everyone stared at me with faces that said they understood nothing.
I put on a wicked expression and chuckled.
"I'll grind you like hell, so you vomit out all those bad feelings in your heads...!"
Then, I pointed to the cart placed below the platform with my hand.
"Now, start with honey water and eggs! Eat with gratitude to the farmers and the lord's mansion chefs who prepared this, and begin the meal!"
Everyone rushed out to grab their share of eggs and honey water.
Next to me, Damian and Lucas, munching on peeled eggs, had a conversation.
"So, what's the difference between Instructor His Highness and the usual His Highness?"
"...I don't know. Aside from the hat, he seems the same as usual."
"No, you fools, it's different! Totally different!"
I trembled with my fist. Depending on your actions, I, as an instructor, can be either an angel or a demon!
"Once you've finished eating, gather by party."
I said with a slightly more serious tone, looking around at everyone.
"I'll tell you what you need to do in this dungeon training."
At the same time.
The roles everyone would play in the Black Dragon subjugation battle would also be determined by party.
--TL Notes--
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