Earth’s Doom Starts with… Me?

"Shop."

While sitting beside the tree sapling, I took my time to browse through the shop. Right now, I needed to think of a viable strategy against those minotaurs. In my opinion, the minotaur's kingdom was a far worse place than the elves' kingdom.

Although it was clear that the elves were much stronger than the minotaurs, but good traps and idiot armies could lead to our doom. I mean, realistically, would the orcs be able to grasp the concept of trap detection?

Not to mention that those minotaurs' traps were well-hidden, according to what Jeanne told us. In that case…

[Would you like to purchase the item 'Low-grade Summoning Scroll: Fox Spirit' for 300 gold?]

"Yeah, let's take, um… 20 of them." I said as I pressed the confirm button. Not a bad trade, considering that these might save a lot of lives.

Looking at the item description, honestly, I was going to skip through this. But then, I realized that this was practically the perfect tool against the minotaurs.

[Low-grade Summoning Scroll: Fox Spirit (consumable) x20]

[A summoning scroll used to summon a fox spirit. Lasts for 30 minutes]

[Fox Spirit (summon): an entity that loves to play and travel. Nobody knows where they came from, or what purpose do they serve. Due to their playful nature, they're not aggressive and won't attack anyone or defend themselves. Can't be used to inflict harm, but it won't take any harm. Perfect for a companion or a decoration.]

Well, it made sense that this thing was one of the cheapest summons out there, alongside with like, low-grade slimes and stuff. After all, the description basically stated that it wasn't useful for anything. Anything at all.

If it was useful for defense, or like for saving lives, I was sure it would be costly, since this system was kinda wack. But this fox spirit was just… Hanging around.

And that was exactly why they would be perfect for this mission. They couldn't be harmed, nor would they harm others. Ahh, I couldn't wait to test my plan~ The destruction would be quite a sight to behold. Ehehe~

"What are you doing here, little cub? You took so long."

"Huh?" I turned around when I heard a familiar seductive voice, "why are you here?"

I shifted my seating position to face the white-haired general that randomly appeared from the bushes. How did he find me, anyway?

"To fetch you. Everyone's waiting in front of the castle already," he explained as he sat beside me on the ground, "what are you doing here?"

"Eh? How did you find me, though?" I raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Like usual, by sensing your mana. You never mask yours, so it's very easy to track." He chuckled, teasing me.

Ack, I should learn how to conceal my mana one day. That was embarrassing…

"Fine, fine. Let's head over to the others." I looked away as my cheeks started to redden due to shame.

"Oh, that sapling, isn't that the one from our encounter with that prince?" He remarked while pointing at the sapling beside me.

"Ah, so you noticed. Well, yes. I just… I don't know, I just want to plant it here." I answered nervously. To be honest, I wasn't sure myself why I would bother doing that. It wouldn't make any difference whatsoever, anyway…

"Hmm," he said nothing as his finger gently played with its leaves, "so you can even care about small things like this. I see."

"… What's that supposed to mean?" I sighed. Sometimes the things he said didn't make sense at all.

"Nothing. Let's head back, little cub." He giggled like usual again, and pulled me up.

"Uh," I stared at him with a blank expression while staring at our hands, "so, when are you going to release my hand?"

"Hmm~?" He hummed happily.

---------

"Chae! There you are." Jeanne greeted me brightly in front of the castle gate. Alongside her were Firiell and general Emilio, who was now awake and looking stony-faced as usual.

As instructed, a bunch of elf maids was also gathered there, complete with a pile of various trinkets that I presumed were taken from the treasury. Perfect.

"Heya. I'm here," I waved at them, "shall we go now, then?"

"Umm, where are we going, exactly?" Firiell asked.

I turned towards her, and was surprised by what I saw. She was now dressed just like the royal guards, except with a red cape hung over her shoulder. Not only that, but she also carried around a huge hammer on her back.

"To the town square. But uh… Why are you carrying a huge hammer?" I questioned while pointing at the intricate hammer. It had a beautiful engraving, just like the dagger I stole from Erenduill. The handle seemed immaculate, too. All in all, a damn good weapon. But a bit too huge for her size, no?

"Oh, this? This is one of the royal family's weapons. Cool, right?" She answered with a huge grin on her face, "when I was inside uncle's memories, we practiced all kinds of weapons for hours each day, but my favourite is the hammer! It's easy, simple, but strong. Uncle Erenduill didn't seem to like it, though."

"Ah… Well, as long as it works for you, I guess." I nodded. Huh, didn't think that she would choose such a heavy weapon of all things. Honestly, I expected her to choose something like a bow or a dagger. I guess it was very shallow of me to generalize elves.

"Why the town square?" General Emilio spoke up after such a long time.

"General Emilio, hope you had a good rest," I grinned, "we're going to do an open preparation for tonight. Tonight, we march to the minotaur's kingdom. Any complaints? Should be okay, right?" I clapped my hands together and looked around me.

"Uh…" Firiell stuttered.

"Um… Tonight?" Jeanne also hesitated as she put her hand on her chin, seemingly thinking about something.

"I don't mind either way~" General Zhang, as expected, just agreed with whatever.

"Well, general Emilio? How about you? You're our leader here, and you're also the tiebreaker. What do you say?" I tilted my head.

Without saying anything, he flew his gaze towards the elf maids, which I followed. Ack, they all looked horrified. Why would they gape like that, did they think I was a ghost or something? Rude.

"Even they are discouraged. And the royal guards have just recovered this morning. Do you think we can win with this morale?" General Emilio asked me back, his stern gaze focusing straight on me.

"We can just lift their morale if that's what you're worried about." I shrugged. Huh, general Emilio sure was a great leader. Although I knew that he must've been the one who was most eager to charge out of all of us, he was able to think rationally despite his brother being in danger. I wouldn't be so cool-minded if I was in his situation.

"How do you plan to do that?" He asked.

"Ah, geez. All of you sure ask a lot of questions. Let's just go to the town square and you'll see." I grumbled as I put my hands on my hips, obviously annoyed.

General Emilio raised one eyebrow before eyeing me intensely, until he finally gave in, "okay. Your plans are weird, but sometimes they work."

… Oh?

I gaped when I heard him saying that.

Did he just acknowledge me?

"Little cub, what are you looking all happy for?"

"Huh?" I frowned when my elation was interrupted by a grumpy eel. Ugh, way to ruin the mood. It felt like I was getting a promotion or something. Felt nice to have someone notice my effort. Ehehe~

--------

"… What do we do now, big sis Chae?" Firiell asked me with her huge eyes as we stood right in the middle of the bustling town square.

Huh, the elves were surprisingly very calm, considering that there was basically a coup last night. Was it because they realized that the new Queen had risen? Did they just simultaneously switch loyalty just like that? Hecking creepy man, just like programmed AIs in horror movies. Ugh.

"Firiell, they listen to you now, right?" I inquired, "though, I still don't understand how they're able to adapt to the power shift so easily."

"Yeah, they should listen to me now. It's a bit hard to explain, but… It's almost like we have this string connecting us. And when uncle Erenduill died, I instantly felt a need to lead them," she answered while scratching her head, "it was scary, honestly. And almost comparable to how a pack of animal behaves, but that's that."

"I see. I won't judge how you guys operate, but can you please make an announcement to everyone here?" I questioned.

"Sure, what do you want me to say?"

"Tell them that I'm your assistant, and I'm going to host an official, important event." I grinned.

"Okay! I can do that!" She beamed happily. Ack, so bright.

With that, she confidently walked towards the middle of the square as everyone stopped and laid eyes on her. However, she did not falter even one bit. She had truly changed, and for the better.

"Attention!" She called out with a loud voice that even surprised me, "today, I, your Queen, have an important announcement. My assistant will host an official event right here, right now. And everyone must pay attention!"

Suddenly, every elf in my vision saluted simultaneously. The sight shocked me so much that for a second, I forgot that I was supposed to go up there and announce my 'event'.

"Ahem." I cleared my throat, as everyone's eyes were now shifting towards me.

"I'll make this quick, and without sugar-coating. I know that not all of you are completely loyal to Queen Firiell, and to be frank, we don't really need you to," I bluntly stated and pointed towards the huge pile of goods that we took from the treasury, "and that's why, we're going to do a little event here."

A few of them gulped the instant they saw our goods. Guess these were really valuable, huh? Perfect.

"We're going to give these away. Now, before you get excited, it's not for free," I chuckled, "but I know you guys are broke as fuck, too."

"Pfft—Ahahahah!"

"Shut it, eel." I growled towards general Zhang who ruined the mood. Ugh.

"Th-then how should we pay?" A voice from the crowd piped up, earning my attention.

"Yeah… Please, lady assistant, tell us how do we pay?"

"I… I don't mind paying money!"

As the crowd started to get restless and wild, an evil grin made its way onto my face.

"Splendid. Don't worry, each one of you has the same opportunity to get these." I chuckled.

As they gulped and waited for me to continue my sentence while holding their breath, my lips parted to say,

"come. Sell out your life. Sell your loyalty to us. Only those who are willing to serve the Queen with their life may get the goods," I grinned, "and now, I declare that the auction is officially starting."