Rei studied the woman before him — Sura — once more, now that she had been identified as the one currently leading the Resistance.
She was likely dressed this way to operate more easily in Mejougo. Her clothing was extremely revealing, designed to stimulate male desire.
...Though even so, the fact that it was still more modest than what Vihera wore was a delicate matter.
However, if one considered pure exposure alone, Sura's outfit surpassed even Vihera's.
In Rei's mind, Vihera's attire resembled that of a Middle Eastern dancer.
She wore thin fabric through which the opposite side was visible, but the areas where her skin was directly exposed were not particularly numerous.
And yet, when it came to stimulating male desire, Vihera's clothing and figure ranked higher... that was simply beyond help, perhaps.
"How about it? Did I convince you?"
"I suppose. At the very least, the fact that you aren't wearing a Slave Collar is a point I could trust you on, but..."
He trailed off because simply not wearing a Slave Collar didn't necessarily mean she was connected to the Resistance.
For starters, the first people who came to mind when thinking of someone who could freely attach and remove a Slave Collar would naturally be Jaya's people.
They were the ones who created and used the Slave Collars.
It stood to reason that they could use those collars freely.
When he put it that way, Sura's expression turned troubled.
There were plenty of things she could say to rebut Rei's words, but if he demanded evidence, she had none to present.
"Besides, this Mejougo is essentially Jaya's headquarters, right? So why are you right in the enemy's backyard?"
"Because it's close to the enemy, of course. Obviously, operating here carries a high risk of being discovered. But at the same time, this is also the place where we can gather Jaya's intelligence the fastest. Besides... Jaya, basking in the complacency of having crushed the Resistance's main force, isn't searching for us as relentlessly now."
"...I see."
Rei could accept that reasoning to some extent.
Given that the main force had already been destroyed, it was highly likely Jaya no longer considered the Resistance a threat.
"And this should be decisive proof — the one who brought us information about you was a person named Nokor. Though, if you say Nokor was captured and had information extracted from him before contacting us, then that's that."
"...Fair enough. I suppose I can believe you for now."
"Eh? Really? Are you sure?"
At Rei's words, Sharia wore a look of surprise, questioning whether he truly believed her.
It was only natural. To Sharia, Sura didn't appear particularly strong.
Being told that such a person led the Resistance — from the common sense of the Beastman tribes... no, from Sharia's own tribe's perspective — was something she simply could not accept.
But seeing Sharia's reaction, Rei nodded, indicating there was no problem.
"For one thing, even if Sura is a fraud... well, she'd be the one to regret it then."
He said this with the confidence that even if he were deceived, he could handle anything through sheer power.
And Rei wasn't alone — he had his party members, and he placed deep trust in them as well.
"Yes, that's fine with me. If what you're saying is true, then if we are the Resistance, you mean you won't interfere and will cooperate with us, right?"
"Whether I won't interfere is one thing, but I haven't said anything about cooperation yet."
"I heard about that much from Nokor. So, about cooperating... if possible, we'd like to join the attack as well."
"You say that, but... weren't the Resistance's main force wiped out by the Giants? Don't you barely have any combat power left?"
Rei pointed this out, but Sura shook her head with a resolute expression.
"We're naturally weaker than the previous main force, but we still have a certain level of fighting strength assembled."
"...No, people weaker than the main force that lost to the Giants would only be a hindrance."
What Rei and his party planned to do was an airborne assault — directly attacking the building that led to the Underground Facility from above.
Given such a method, while the element of surprise could be expected initially, once the enemy recovered, Jaya would naturally deploy their greatest fighting force — the Giants.
If these Giants were truly enormous beings standing ten meters tall as the name implied, that would be one thing, but the Giants employed by Jaya, while bearing the name, were only about three meters in height.
At least, that was what the information Rei had gathered indicated.
In other words, some time after the surprise attack, the Giants would without fail emerge.
When that happened, Rei and his companions, who were confident in their own abilities, might manage, but the Resistance — having lost their main force and only able to muster second-rate fighters — would suffer an obvious fate. It went without saying.
"With that famous intuition of yours, can't you figure that much out?"
"Even if you say that... intuition doesn't tell me absolutely everything, you know?"
If intuition could solve everything, the Resistance would never have been driven this far into a corner to begin with.
No — rather, it might be precisely because of that intuition that the Resistance still existed at all.
"If you've spoken with Nokor, you should know that we don't particularly need the Resistance's forced cooperation. If we wanted to, we have enough combat power to handle Mejougo on our own. You understand that, don't you?"
"Yes, I understand. At the very least, if the intelligence I've gathered... and the Resistance has gathered is accurate, Rei alone could handle Mejougo however he pleased. I know that. Even so, we want to cooperate."
"I think just evacuating the prostitutes unconnected to Jaya would be sufficient cooperation."
"Some people wouldn't be satisfied with that. You understand, don't you? Our numbers are few. Even so, we have the pride of having fought Jaya."
"In other words, it's a matter of pride?"
"Yes... To be honest, even I know rationally that I shouldn't be so fixated on this and should accept your proposal. But this will be the first large-scale offensive operation since Jaya was established... no, since the Resistance was formed to oppose them."
Sura's feelings as she spoke were not something Rei entirely failed to understand.
But understanding them and being willing to tolerate them were different matters — and the answer, ultimately, was no.
"I don't entirely fail to understand how you feel, but... are you prepared for the possibility that the Resistance could be half-destroyed or even completely wiped out as a result?"
"We're making the utmost preparations to ensure that doesn't happen."
"Overwhelming power can crush petty schemes with ease. You've looked into us. You naturally understand that much, don't you?"
"I understand. But if it were the Crimson Lotus Wings, that would be one thing — the Giants shouldn't possess that level of power."
"No, your main force was destroyed by them..."
To Rei, the Giants might not be such formidable enemies, but to the Resistance, they were undoubtedly powerful enough.
(It's a poor analogy, but to an ant, whether it's stepped on by a human or run over by a cart, the result — death — is the same.)
He didn't voice it aloud, but that was honestly what Rei was thinking.
Rei tried to figure out how to dissuade Sura — how to make the Resistance abandon their planned action — when Sharia, who had been silently listening to their conversation, suddenly spoke up.
"Prioritizing emotion over reason — I like that. I'm willing to cooperate with the Resistance. I may not look it, but I'm fairly strong."
"Um, but... is that, er... are you sure?"
What came from Sura's mouth was a somewhat bewildered voice.
No, not somewhat bewildered — she was genuinely flustered.
For the Resistance, anyone who could serve as fighting strength was more than welcome.
Especially now, when they lacked sufficient combat power and had been refused a joint operation by Rei.
"Yes. Didn't I just say? I liked that you prioritize emotion over reason. Naturally, if someone prioritized only emotion and couldn't think at all, that would be pointless, but... from what I can see, that doesn't seem to be the case."
At those words, Sura appeared to consider for a moment.
If Sharia was willing to cooperate, that would be extremely welcome.
Even from Sura's perspective, Sharia was clearly stronger than herself.
But should she swallow everything Sharia was saying whole? That thought gave her pause... however, the next moment, she concluded that even if Sharia were one of Jaya's agents, the current Resistance wouldn't be seen as a particular enemy, so there was no need to worry.
"I see. Understood. Then, if Rei is fine with it, I'd like to take her in... is that acceptable?"
"Yeah, Sharia isn't my subordinate or anything. If she's okay with it, I've got no objections."
To Rei, Sharia was an important source of information, and in the sense that she had entrusted her Slave Collar to him, someone he was grateful to.
If that Sharia wasn't being forcibly taken away but was volunteering to cooperate with the Resistance of her own accord, he had no objections.
"Alright. Then, nice to have you. It's a bit late, but let me properly introduce myself — I'm Sura, the leader of the Resistance."
"I'm Sharia of the Wolf Beastman tribe. And listen, I am absolutely not a dog. Make sure you never mistake that."
Whether being mistaken for a dog beastman by Rei had bothered her that much, Sharia emphasized the point emphatically.
Sura smiled and nodded at Sharia, extending her hand.
"Of course. I won't make that kind of mistake, so don't worry."
"See that you don't. Oh, and... if possible, I'd appreciate it if you could get me some clothes. These are a bit hard to move in."
As expected of prostitute's clothing, Sharia's outfit was quite thin.
As she shifted the fabric at her chest, the valley between her rather ample bosom was exposed for all to see.
"Hey! Sharia, what are you thinking?! Stop that!"
"Hm? Why? I've been wearing these clothes for days now, and I'd really like to change into something new."
"That's not what I mean! Fine, I'll get you clothes — I'm telling you to stop showing Rei your chest!"
Saying that, Sura forcefully grabbed Sharia's hand to stop her.
And yet, catching a brief glimpse of Sharia's bosom — which, if only slightly, was definitely larger than her own — she groaned inwardly.
"It's been several days since I started hiding here, and it's been these clothes the whole time..."
"I get it, I get it. Look, just stop doing that."
Was wanting a change of clothes actually one of the main reasons Sharia had agreed to cooperate with Sura?
Rei vaguely thought so while turning his gaze away from the two women's playful exchange.
That was Rei's kindness — and decidedly not because Ielo had scratched his body inside the Dragon Robe.
At least, that was what he convinced himself.
"Rei, I'm sorry. You can look back now."
"Yeah... So, what were we talking about?"
After the exchange that had just played out before him, Rei couldn't recall what they had been discussing.
"We were talking about us cooperating with your group's operation, right?"
"Oh, right, right... No, that's not it."
Though Sura had said it as if it were nothing, Rei nearly nodded along instinctively before barely managing to correct her words.
Seeing Rei's reaction, Sura's expression briefly flickered with disappointment.
Sura had likely hoped to slip her proposal past Rei by riding the momentum of the conversation.
Rei let out a small sigh and opened his mouth as if to reset his mood.
"Anyway, I'll be attacking the building that leads to the Underground Facility here in Mejougo — tomorrow at the earliest, the day after at the latest. Not covertly, but head-on, openly. To be precise, from the sky. At that time, it would help if the Resistance acted to prevent casualties among civilians, but I won't force you."
Rei stated this, but in reality, if the Resistance didn't act during the assault, there was a possibility of harm befalling completely unrelated people.
If asked whether Sura could tolerate that... the answer was likely no.
Rei, having gauged Sura's personality, declared the discussion closed and retrieved from the Misty Ring the clothes he had bought for Sharia together with Elena.
"Here. Whether you wear them or not is up to you."
With those words, Rei left the area, letting Sura's protests that the conversation wasn't over yet wash over him as he walked away.