Bermuda

Meterion Clinder, who had been watching with his arms crossed, narrowed his brows as if he was very displeased that the battalion commander, who had been gloomy over the news of his subordinate's death, was participating in a reckless plan. Instead of immediately refuting Liner's words, he placed his hand on the armrest and asked the investigators, wanting to hear definite facts.

"What is the opinion of the investigators?"

The assistant investigators, who were still at the front of the podium to move the specimens, looked troubled when the high-ranking commander asked for an opinion rather than a fact. Nevertheless, when Meterion stared persistently, one of them opened his mouth, glancing around.

"...Among the hypotheses we had established, there was a similar direction."

According to him, this topic had already been discussed several times among the investigators.

However, since the existence of the next mother body meant that a power shift and generational change were imminent on the peninsula, he said that although they were bound to the peninsula, there was no guarantee that all monsters would move as the pheromones of the existing mother body led them.

In particular, the Dermocas were the biggest unknown factor in whether they would respond to the call, and considering that they supported the new mother body, there was a possibility that the effect of the existing mother body's pheromones might not be as great as expected as time passed.

Meterion, who had heard the answer, crossed his legs and leaned back in his chair. Although it wasn't much different from his usual behavior, given the situation, he looked strangely triumphant, making Charlotte, who was across from him, let out a cynical laugh.

Bruno, who had heard the investigator's words, glanced at the Commander, who had been silent all along. Then, turning his head back to the front, he opened his mouth to proceed with the rest of the meeting.

"Certainly, it was a good idea, but there seem to be unclear factors to execute it without deviation. And... this is just my thought, but even if we succeed in annihilating them all at once, there is room for difficulty in finding the next mother bodies that will be hiding, as there will be no guide to lead us to their habitats. We need to leave at least a few to guide us to where they hid the eggs."

At that moment, the chief investigator, who had been standing still and watching the commanders' conversation, suddenly opened his mouth.

"I apologize for interrupting, but rather, if the previously mentioned plan really succeeds, you won't have to worry about the guide."

At his voice, the commanders' attention was focused once again. Bruno, who had spoken last, asked back.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Even the next mother bodies, the ones currently inside the peninsula are all in eggs or newly born babies. Juvenile monsters are so weak that they can be eaten by beasts or trampled to death. Although they have the capacity to become queens, if there is no supporting force to assist them, they won't be able to do anything on their own and will starve to death."

The chief investigator slowly moved his gaze and continued.

"The 'perfect subjugation' that I specified in the briefing a little while ago means a state where there is no new queen, or the possibility of another colony being formed is fundamentally blocked due to the lack of forces to gather based on a new queen."

"..."

"So, if we eradicate the seeds of the monsters that nurture them and achieve the latter of the two conditions mentioned earlier, the next mother bodies won't be able to survive alone on the peninsula's land, so there will be no need for a guide to lead us to their habitats."

At his clear explanation, a brief silence fell over the meeting place. Taking advantage of that gap, Charlotte asked the investigator.

"Isn't there a possibility that the remaining next mother bodies will form a new colony among themselves?"

"In a honeybee colony, when multiple queen bee candidates are born, they kill each other, and only a single individual that survives becomes the queen. Since the system of the peninsula's monsters also appears to be similar to this, it can be said that coexistence among the next mother bodies is impossible."

"Then, are you judging that it's worth trying the previously mentioned plan, Investigator?"

Charlotte asked, as if driving a wedge, at the investigator's answer, which was unclear whether he was just trying to inform them of the facts or support someone's opinion. The chief investigator pondered for a moment there, and soon gave an ambiguous answer that seemed neither affirmative nor negative.

"As Battalion Commander Molten said, I agree that if it succeeds, it's the fastest and surest way to end the subjugation at this point. However, when considering various possibilities, the probability of failure is overwhelmingly higher than the probability of success."

Meterion asked.

"How high is the probability of failure?"

"Over 90%."

As if there was nothing more to hear, Meterion waved his hand. The commanders who had been looking at it positively also cleared their throats, as if embarrassed by the absurd probability.

Charlotte, who had somewhat expected the chief investigator to support the opinion, had a deflated face. It was an answer that would break even the existing will, so it was worse than not hearing it.

In the end, the situation returned to square one again. Charlotte, who found it difficult to express her opinion, unconsciously looked at the head seat where the Commander was sitting. Bruno also turned his head, as if he wanted to hear Hugo's opinion this time.

The commanders' heads turned one by one, and everyone looked at only one place in silence as if they had an agreement. Leonardo, who was indirectly realizing the weight of the decision placed at the end of that gaze, turned his eyes last.

"What does the Commander think?"

When Bruno casually asked, the final decision to tie the diverging opinions was implicitly passed to Hugo. There was no change in his expression as he solemnly observed the situation, but Leonardo, who had been quietly watching from the side, somehow felt that he was reluctant to make a decision.

No matter how much one ponders over the issue of probability and possibility, it is bound to feel like a hasty decision. Even more so if one were in the same position as this person.

In fact, Leonardo thought that the failure probability itself exceeding 90% was not important. Rather, he thought that even if it failed, there was no reason not to try if there was a complementary method called barrier stones.

However, the Commander he knew didn't seem like he would give a positive answer.

Hugo's eyes, which had been carefully scanning the commanders, suddenly fell on Leonardo. Leonardo, who had been thinking about this and that, tilted his head with a puzzled look as their eyes unexpectedly met.

Soon, the gazes of the commanders followed along, so he became anxious that he might suddenly ask something like, "Leonardo, what do you think?" in this situation. However, the blue eyes seemed to be asking that.

Leonardo, whose expression had stiffened, protested by glaring his eyes, meaning "Why are you looking at me?" Hugo, who had been staring at him intently, turned his head after a while without saying anything in particular. Then, he asked the chief investigator, who had somehow returned to the front of the podium.

"How much time do you estimate is left until the mother ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ body is completely liberated from the seal?"

"...I'm sorry, but that cannot be accurately predicted. I can only tell you that it is imminent to the point where it can be said that it is a stroke of luck for the Council to have reached this place at this time."

After about three seconds of silence, Hugo lowered his gaze a little at the ambiguous answer. He tapped the armrest of the chair with his long fingers.

Leonardo unknowingly concentrated on that sound that came at a steady pace.

"The probability of failure is over 90%..."

Along with his voice mixed with a sigh, the sound from his fingertips also gradually slowed down. It sounded louder than ever, perhaps because the surroundings were as quiet as a dead mouse.

Tok, tok, tok. That sound, which had been at a constant interval even as it stretched out, stopped abruptly at some point.

Hugo, who had straightened his gaze, opened his mouth in the silence.

"Let's bet on the remaining 10%."

After a brief silence passed, the surroundings became rapidly noisy.

The commanders, whose eyes had widened, murmured to each other. It was because it was an uncharacteristic decision for the Commander.

Charlotte, who had been meaninglessly looking at the head seat, blinked her large eyes at the sudden decision. Then, curling up the corners of her mouth, she tapped the arm of the superior next to her and held out her palm downward. Liner Molten snorted with an indifferent face and quickly turned his gaze, but he appropriately high-fived her.

In the meantime, from across, Meterion's incomprehensible voice could be heard, with his brows deeply furrowed.

"Isn't it too reckless a decision? The probability of failure is this high, so what are you trusting to proceed with it?"

"There is also a suitable countermeasure called barrier stones, and even if there is only a 1% possibility of annihilating them all at once, I don't see any reason to refuse when we don't know when the mother body will be liberated."

Hugo knew that it wasn't an easy task. However, he answered plainly without showing it.

"We'll have to make it possible. Because that's what we have to do."

At that magical sentence that nobly ignored the difficulty of the task, Meterion's expression crumpled.

"You're taking a difficult path."

"There was no easy path from the moment we entered the peninsula, Battalion Commander Clinder."

When Hugo spoke with emphasis on his title, Meterion bit his teeth tightly. He didn't argue further, but he still had a face that wasn't convinced.

Leonardo, who was also a little surprised by the unexpected decision, blinked and looked at Hugo's side profile. It couldn't be that he had read his thoughts just because their eyes had met for a moment, but strangely, he had a feeling that his existence was involved in the reason why he had made an uncharacteristic decision.

The best direction for him was to end the subjugation quickly, so if the situation swayed in this direction, it would be extremely positive. However, that was only from this side's perspective, and persuading the commanders was clearly a different matter.

Leonardo, who had been alternately looking at the two people in a tense confrontation, pondered whether to intervene and support one side. Even just looking at them, they didn't seem to have a very good relationship, and somehow, if he took sides with one opinion here, it seemed like it would clearly look as if he was taking sides.

Moreover, the fact that the opposing party was Meterion Clinder, perhaps because he knew that he was suspicious of him, made him not want to get involved with him any further. He didn't want to stand out either.

He had intended to remain silent like that, but Leonardo clicked his tongue inwardly as Hugo's expression immediately caught his eye.

Soon, his long thoughts became useless in an instant, and with the thought of helping him just once, he abruptly opened his mouth towards Meterion.

"About those barrier stones, I don't think we need to lay them all out."