The next morning, C.C. brought up what Rulu had mentioned the previous night with W.W., just as promised. After listening to C.C., W.W. thought for a long while before finally turning to Rulu and saying, "Mr. Rulu, I have no interest in your conflicts with others — I might even say I find them distasteful. I only wish to live a peaceful life in the Sanctuary and have no desire to be drawn into any disputes."
Hearing W.W.'s words, Rulu couldn't help but feel deeply disappointed. He said, "I understand this request was presumptuous of me, and it's perfectly reasonable for you to refuse. Very well, W.W., just pretend I never said anything..."
Before Rulu could finish, W.W. spoke again. "However, if Lady C.C. is also going to be involved in the matter you just described, I cannot stand by and do nothing. So, reluctant as I am, I will do my best to assist you both."
Rulu's mood instantly shifted from worry to joy. He said happily, "Thank you — I will remember this kindness."
W.W. said, "There's no need to thank me. The only reason I'm getting involved is because of Lady C.C. Beyond protecting Lady C.C., I will not do anything else. If you ask me to harm others or attack your enemies, I will not follow such instructions."
"I see. That works fine — W.W., you'll be in charge of keeping us safe, and I'll handle everything else myself."
"Then what would you have me do for you, Mr. Rulu?"
Rulu thought for a moment, then said, "For the foreseeable future, C.C. and I will be staying at a camp on the western side of this forest. I'd ask that you drive away any powerful and dangerous Strange beasts from this area so they don't disturb or attack us. Also, please avoid making contact with us freely — we wouldn't want to alarm the other humans at the camp."
W.W. replied, "Understood. I'll patrol the surrounding area of your camp and drive off other beasts. I won't approach you on my own initiative, and if we do need to meet, I'll make sure no one else sees."
Rulu quietly marveled at how sharp W.W. was — he had grasped Rulu's intentions completely. Rulu said, "Then it's settled. It's getting late; we need to head back to camp. If anything else comes up, I'll reach out to you again."
"Let me walk you part of the way."
"Of course. Thank you."
After that, Rulu and the others left the cave. W.W. accompanied the group to a point not far from Euphemia's camp before parting ways with them. Rulu, Kallen, and C.C. returned to the camp together, and the Suzaku Guard Captain, upon receiving word of their return, immediately came out to meet them.
"Why were you gone the entire night? Lord Euphemia thought something had happened to you and sent people searching everywhere. Because of your disappearance, we were attacked by Strange beasts from the forest, and several of our people were seriously injured." The Suzaku Guard Captain's face was stern as he spoke sharply to the returning group.
Rulu explained, "We didn't intend for this to happen. Something went wrong during the mission last night and we couldn't make it back in time."
"Something went wrong?" The Suzaku Guard Captain was slightly taken aback. He then noticed that Rulu and Kallen's clothes were somewhat disheveled and that they bore signs of injury. His anger softened a little, and his tone became less harsh. "What happened last night? Did you run into an attack from some ferocious Strange beast?"
"I'll explain everything in detail shortly. For now, take me to see Lord Euphemia — I'll tell you both the full story once we're with her."
"Alright, follow me."
The Suzaku Guard Captain led Rulu to the small wooden cabin where Euphemia was staying. The moment Euphemia saw Rulu, she immediately asked what had happened the night before and why they hadn't returned.
Rulu recounted the events of the previous night, describing the confrontation between himself and Princess Meiyu's subordinates — though he omitted any mention of W.W.'s appearance. Euphemia was deeply shocked when she heard the account and exclaimed, "How could this be? How could Princess Meiyu do such a thing? Why would she attack you?"
Rulu said, "I believe her goal was to weaken your side's strength, making it easier for her to win the competition."
Euphemia said, "But even for the sake of winning, there's no need to try to kill you. Could there be some misunderstanding — perhaps they mistook you for other creatures in the forest and attacked you for that reason?"
Rulu gave a cold smile. "That's not possible. I can say with certainty that they knew very clearly that I was on your side, Lord Euphemia, and that they genuinely intended to kill us. There is absolutely no doubt about this."
Euphemia kept shaking her head, still unwilling to accept Rulu's account. "It can't be. Princess Meiyu wouldn't do that. This is just a competition. Even if the rules don't explicitly prohibit attacking the opposing team's members, there's no need to go that far."
At this point, the Suzaku Guard Captain spoke up. "Lord Euphemia, I believe Mr. Qin is telling the truth. It appears that Princess Meiyu has revealed her true nature. In order to win this competition, she is willing to use any means necessary."
Euphemia was taken aback. She looked at the Suzaku Guard Captain and asked, "Any means necessary — what exactly do you mean by that?"
The Suzaku Guard Captain's expression was grave as he said, "What I mean is that Princess Meiyu may send people to attack us — and may even target Lord Euphemia herself — to kill us here in this forest."
"That... that's impossible!" Euphemia's eyes went wide, her face filled with disbelief.
Rulu said, "I agree with what the Suzaku Guard Captain just said, though I'd like to add one thing: in the short term, Princess Meiyu likely won't make a move against us. But the longer this goes on, that may change. If the final stage of the competition arrives and the outcome is still undecided, there is a very real chance that Princess Meiyu will send people to attack us in order to force a victory."
Seeing that both Rulu and the Suzaku Guard Captain were in agreement, Euphemia had no choice but to believe it, even if she didn't want to. She paced back and forth across the room in extreme agitation, her words tumbling out in disarray. "Then... if that's really the case, what are we supposed to do?"
Rulu said, "There's no other option. If they truly come after us, we'll have no choice but to fight back."
Euphemia stopped and fixed her gaze on Rulu. "You mean we have to go to war with Princess Meiyu."
"Yes."
Euphemia fell silent. Rulu and the Suzaku Guard Captain said nothing more. The room was completely still. After some time, the Suzaku Guard Captain spoke again. "Lord Euphemia, the situation looks serious. We must prepare in advance to deal with any attack Princess Meiyu may send our way."
Euphemia said with a sorrowful expression, "But... as you saw last night, Suzaku Guard Captain, the beasts in this forest are powerful and vicious. We can barely hold our own against them as it is. If Princess Meiyu sends people to attack us on top of that, how could we possibly hold them off?"
Rulu said, "Don't worry about that. I have a way to keep the beasts in the forest from bothering us. Lord Euphemia, you and your people just need to focus all your energy on dealing with Princess Meiyu."
Euphemia looked at Rulu, half-convinced. "Really? Can you truly keep those beasts from attacking us, Mr. Qin?"
Rulu replied with full confidence, "Yes, and I can guarantee it. I recommend that you immediately reinforce the camp's defenses and set traps and snares in the surrounding area. If Princess Meiyu dares to send people to attack us, we'll make sure they pay a heavy price. Not only will they fail to harm us — they'll suffer such serious losses that they'll end up losing the competition."