The Lustful Villain: Every Milfs and Gilfs are Mine! - Chapter 348. And The Expeditions Begins Now! (I Need To Be A Smart-Ass About This)

Chapter 348: 348. And The Expeditions Begins Now! (I Need To Be A Smart-Ass About This)

She stood at the head of the assembled group with the map Pavellia had supplemented during the Underlayer session, the one Rex had quietly ensured was in the Academy’s expedition documentation by the time Iris had finished her debrief the previous afternoon.

“That is the first priority, and it overrides everything else including the artifact that will lead us to the Underlayer…”

’That map went through three different hands before it landed in the Academy’s documentation,’ he thought, watching Elizabeth trace the canyon’s approach route with two fingers. ’Pavellia gave it to me in the Underlayer.”

’…then I slipped the finished version into Iris’s debrief materials before the session started so that when Elizabeth pulled the expedition file, it was just there, already sourced, already formatted, and nobody asked where it came from because it looked like it had always been there.’

’The whole thing took about forty minutes.’

“And if we really get that key, then we need to be ready for the upcoming war.”

The corner of his mouth did not move, which took a small amount of effort.

Having the Key meant that the Underlayer’s access points could be controlled. Controlling these access points would make the impending conflict with Mordecai’s forces more manageable instead of chaotic.

’There isn’t going to be a war,’ Rex thought, ’because by the time we come out of that canyon, the Key is going to be destroyed, the access point question becomes moot, and the Underlayer’s threat profile on the Academy’s assessment board drops from active to theoretical overnight.’

’They’re going to think the dimensional resonance just stabilized on its own…’

’And that fucking fraud Mordecai is going to sit in his hall following my instructions while the surface world slowly stops looking in his direction.’

’You did all of this work,’ he thought, with something that was not quite affection but was in its general neighborhood, ’and you’re not going to get the ending you’re planning for.’

She looked right at Apollo.

“If we have to choose between the artifact and the safety of the team, we leave the artifact and come back with more resources.”

She stopped while looking at the documents.

“Iris has the most up-to-date survey data, which shows that the intersection point of the ventilation shaft network is about four hours of descent from the main entrance…”

Iris, who was standing at the edge of the group with her arms crossed, didn’t move, which was her way of agreeing to something.

“I want everyone to be well-rested, well-fed, and ready to go when we get there.”

“Distribution of carriages: the first one includes myself, Alexander, Apollo, and Mireya; the second one includes Rex, Iris, Talyra, Aisella, and Nerith.”

“We’re leaving now,” she said. “Questions stay in your head until they have to do with something right now.”

“And the expedition begins now,” Rex thought, hoping that something interesting would happen.

The second carriage had the same comfortable interior as Academy expedition gear, which was made to be useful over long distances rather than comfortable in any way that would make it feel like home.

Rex sat down in the front window seat without saying anything and watched the city as they drove through it.

Talyra and Aisella sat down on either side, and Nerith took the last spot, sitting carefully as if she were still figuring out how much of the space she could use.

Talyra started the conversation, which was typical of her style of working: she would find the natural entry point of any group dynamic and use it.

Iris looked at her the way she did when she was trying to decide if a question deserved a direct answer. “A longer one, you mean?”

“The first two levels are normal descent work.” Iris said, “Some parts are tight, and two specific drops need rope management, but nothing that would stop a skilled field team.”

“The ventilation shaft network is easy to get around, but you can’t see as well because the natural light doesn’t reach it.”

“Your instincts about distance and direction will be wrong for the first hour until you get used to it.”

Iris’s face looked like someone who had been going over the sequence over and over again and was ready to give a true account instead of a comfortable one.

“Whoever set it up knew how the approach would work.”

She said this in a flat way, like she was reporting on something that had happened, without the softening that could have made it easier to say.

Iris stared at him. “Yes.”

“He went with her.” Iris said, “Because that was the only option he had.”

“The attackers,” Rex said. “Four-person unit, system signatures that didn’t match any standard reincarnator taxonomy.”

“I’ve been looking into it myself,” Rex said.

“The signatures were old,” she said. “Not in the way that old system users read old… it has something structural about the frequency band.”

Iris was silent. “How did you—”

There was no noise in the carriage except for the sounds of the road coming through the walls.

“You negotiated with them,” she said, and the word “negotiated” sounded like someone was confirming something they had not thought was true.

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