The backyard Claire mentioned was actually just a small yard enclosed by a low fence.
Almost every house on the street had such a yard, differing only in size and decoration.
The yard was piled with firewood and water containers, giving it a much more lived-in feel compared to the living room.
Fia could also see a cauldron and a long spoon used for alchemy.
It’s worth noting that perhaps due to Claire’s curse, no one lived in the front or back of the clinic, and the neighboring yards were desolate.
Of course, Fia was more concerned about what Anastasia had just said than observing the surroundings.
When did she ever say she wanted to destroy the Unsinkable Moon? Wasn’t she always just looking for a chance to investigate what the Unsinkable Moon actually did? However, Anastasia’s expression was quite serious when she spoke, not joking at all.
Since she was sure she never said she wanted to destroy the Unsinkable Moon, there was only one answer left.
There was a misunderstanding between her and Anastasia.
Confirming this, Fia looked at Anastasia, who was wiping her face with a towel.
The blue patterns on her pretty side face complemented her golden hair, adding a mature charm to Anastasia.
Unconsciously, Fia recalled Anastasia under the moonlight last night, and her cheeks flushed uncontrollably.
Doing that kind of thing while chanting her name… No, now’s not the time to think about that.
Fia quickly shook her head and cleared her throat.
“Ahem, Anastasia.
Did you tell the other guards about investigating the Unsinkable Moon?” If not many people knew, there was still room to salvage the situation.
Dealing with just Anastasia wasn’t difficult for Fia.
Unfortunately, after putting the towel back in the wooden bucket, Anastasia gave Fia the answer she didn’t want to hear.
“Yes, now all the guards are focused on the Unsinkable Moon.
We’ve bribed some clergy and integrated some credible information from their cross-verifications.
The Unsinkable Moon’s power mainly lies in attack and blockade.
When used for attack, it can easily penetrate the walls of a heavily fortified city, and even dragons can’t confront it head-on.
When used for blockade, it isolates all contact between the outside and inside, even preventing elemental exchange.”
“But once you exclude these two aspects, the Unsinkable Moon has no highlights.
It can’t enhance the user’s power, and before using attack magic, the user must accumulate enough magic power, which gives us an opportunity.”
“Your Highness’s judgment was correct.
The Holy Nation thought you were seriously injured and unable to fight, so they carelessly hung the Unsinkable Moon high in the sky.
There’s no better time to destroy the Unsinkable Moon than now.
Even if we can’t destroy it, we can sever its connection with the Holy Nation and claim it for ourselves.
Bringing the Unsinkable Moon back to Silivar would be a great achievement worthy of being recorded in elven history.”
Anastasia’s eyes were full of reverence as she spoke, and Fia even felt that if the occasion were appropriate, Anastasia would have already applauded.
Not only did she tell the other guards, but she also investigated the information to this extent… Fia had the urge to hold her forehead.
Given the elven princess’s prestige among her subordinates, if the other guards were here, they would surely exclaim, “As expected of Her Highness the Princess,” or something like that.
Just thinking about the guards’ eyes sparkling like stars made Fia feel like she was in a difficult situation.
Just in case, Fia tentatively asked.
“Did Anastasia convey ‘destroy the Unsinkable Moon’?” The answer was unequivocal.
“Yes.
After hearing your plan, everyone marveled at your foresight and courage.
I’ve rarely seen them so motivated.
We’re undertaking an unprecedented action, something even our predecessors wouldn’t dare to imagine.
Once we return home, we’ll all be seen as heroes, and you’ll undoubtedly become the next elven king, no, the elven queen.”
“Ah…” Fia’s expression gradually stiffened.
Although she had anticipated this, hearing Anastasia’s confirmation, especially her beautiful vision of the future, still made Fia feel quite troubled.
How did things turn out like this?
She couldn’t possibly maintain her dignity by launching an orbital bombardment on the city.
Sure, lying was her fault, but the lie at the time was to comfort Anastasia.
Who knew that a single “investigation” would be understood by Anastasia as “destruction”? If she corrected it now, saying she only wanted to investigate and understand the Unsinkable Moon without intending to destroy it, it would surely disappoint Anastasia and the guards, causing the elven princess’s accumulated prestige to plummet.
Having promised to surpass the original elven princess, she naturally couldn’t make such a mistake from the start.
However, everything was still salvageable.
Since she couldn’t find the problem within herself, she would seek answers from a third party.
With a sharp look in her eyes, Fia pretended to be deep in thought and lowered her voice.
“The intelligence on the Unsinkable Moon has been gathered, but what about the guards protecting it? The Unsinkable Moon is right above the temple; they can’t possibly not have anyone guarding it.”
As long as she used the excuse that there were too many temple guards and that acting rashly would cause heavy losses to the team, she could reasonably let the Unsinkable Moon go.
This would preserve her dignity as the elven princess and not displease her subordinates.
Everything would be so reasonable.
Sure enough, Anastasia raised her eyebrows, and her expression became serious.
“As you expected, there are many soldiers guarding the Unsinkable Moon.
Humans aren’t unprepared.
Although there were few guards on the first day, the number of soldiers guarding the Unsinkable Moon increased from the first night.
Even if our people just slightly approached the temple, they would be watched by soldiers.”
In a lower tone, Anastasia added.
“The area is filled with ballistae, detection traps, and magic chanters.
Everyone entering or leaving the street where the temple is located must have their identity checked to pass.
This distance is over five hundred yards, making it difficult for ordinary magic and arrows to reach.
If you also consider the Unsinkable Moon floating high in the sky, by the time we approach it with ‘Flight’ magic, countless arrows will already be welcoming us—we’ll be treated as moving targets.”
That would be the perfect opportunity to give up.
However, before Fia could express her inner joy, Anastasia’s next words extinguished the hope that had ignited in Fia.
“However, the paladins serving as guards are of low rank, at most third rank.
Although I can’t attack them head-on and eliminate them all, I can create enough chaos to force them to focus on me.”
“At that time, others will be responsible for dealing with the ground ballistae and magic chanters.
Your Highness only needs to approach the Unsinkable Moon and destroy it with your ‘Calamity Red Lotus.’ Even if it can’t be destroyed, the explosion from a fifth-rank magic will be enough to sever the connection between the Unsinkable Moon and its user.
After the explosion, you can easily take the Unsinkable Moon, and then we’ll break through the western city gate.”
Anastasia, you’re too capable.
Fia couldn’t help but groan inwardly.
While being capable is a good thing, it should be situational.
Planning every step like this leaves no room for retreat.
Just as Fia was quickly thinking of how to respond, Anastasia raised her lively blue eyes, showing an expectant look like a puppy waiting for its owner to praise it.
“How… how is it? Does it match your plan, Your Highness?” What “Your Highness’s plan”? I was just thinking of getting by, not planning any destruction.
Fia couldn’t help but retort.
If she had to say, she was actually a pacifist.
She wouldn’t drop an orbital bombardment over a city unless absolutely necessary, like when her side was in life-threatening danger.
—Wait a minute.
Suddenly remembering something, Fia paused.
Anastasia had revealed her hand.
Since Anastasia thought she had a plan, she could use this opportunity to find a way out.
Maintaining a thoughtful expression, Fia crossed her arms, resting one hand on her chin.
“What about casualties? Since it’s a forced breakthrough, even if humans are incompetent, we will inevitably suffer losses.”
“To achieve results, losses are necessary.
As long as you’re unharmed, Your Highness, we can accept the outcome.”
Hey, hey, that’s way too loyal of an answer.
Fia furrowed her brows even deeper and let out a soft hum.
“But I can’t accept this outcome.
The Royal Guard is the elite of the elite, and we already have so few left.
We can’t afford any more casualties.
Risking the annihilation of our entire force for the sake of gaining results is not advisable.
Moreover, the enemy is not just a rabble.
If we push the user of the Unsinkable Moon too far, and they use it as an attack, how does Anastasia plan to respond?”
“This…” The Unsinkable Moon is a divine artifact given by the Goddess of Life.
Even dragons can’t withstand its attack head-on, let alone the much more fragile bodies of elves.
Seeing Anastasia unable to answer, Fia pressed her advantage.
“And we don’t know how much power the Holy Nation is hiding.
Don’t forget, the reason the Unsinkable Moon appeared in Aurora City is because the main force of the Holy Nation returned here from the front lines.
There might be someone in that force with a higher rank than Anastasia.
If such a character appears, Anastasia’s tactic of creating chaos to draw the attention of the Paladins will become ineffective.”
After hesitating for quite a while, Anastasia took a deep breath and lowered her head as if feeling ashamed.
“I’m sorry, Your Highness.
I didn’t think it through.”
Alright, now there’s no problem.
Crisis successfully averted! Fia couldn’t help but celebrate inwardly with a fist pump.
Until Anastasia raised her expectant blue eyes again.
“As expected of Your Highness, you’re more thorough than I imagined.
So, what’s Your Highness’s plan? I’m eager to hear it.”
Huh? Fia was stunned as if struck by lightning.
If she didn’t know Anastasia wasn’t that kind of person, Fia would have thought Anastasia was mocking her.
However, precisely because she knew Anastasia was sincerely seeking her advice, Fia felt even more troubled.
My dear Anastasia, why aren’t you playing by the rules? Fia sneaked a glance at Anastasia, whose eyes were filled with admiration, waiting for an answer.
Anastasia had already assumed she had another plan.
The elf’s head began to ache.
At this point, there was no way to correct it, so she had to bite the bullet and continue.
Fia discreetly touched the tip of her nose and turned to face the wooden basin used for washing.
“I’m not omnipotent either.
As I just said, apart from the Holy Nation itself, no one knows if there’s a stronger force in Aurora City than Anastasia, so…”
“So we should figure out their details before taking action?”
“Exactly.”
—What nonsense! It turns out that having subordinates with too much initiative isn’t always a good thing.
Fia wished she could rush over and pinch Anastasia’s cheeks to let her know that when the boss is speaking, subordinates shouldn’t interrupt.
“I understand.
I’ll make arrangements immediately.”
“Ahem, be careful not to repeat the mistakes from last time.
Be wary of being deceived by false information deliberately released by the church.”
“I won’t fall for the same trap twice.
Rest assured, Your Highness.”
“Mm.”
After receiving Fia’s affirmation, Anastasia quickly finished washing up and headed towards the living room.
“Ah, why did it turn out like this?” Fia finally held her forehead and sighed.
The only thing to be thankful for now is that the situation has been postponed for a while.
As for what to do next, she needs to think carefully about a strategy—like quickly learning some powerful long-range magic to discreetly take out the Unsinkable Moon.
That would be much better than launching an orbital bombardment on the city.
With these hopeful thoughts, Fia began her morning routine.
