Nikke, something’s seriously wrong with this evacuation point! Chapter 114 114: Who Approves? Who Objects?

The flashbang's effect on a Nikke was nowhere near as effective as it would be on a human. Dorothy recovered her vision in almost a single second.

But in that single second–

She truly had been careless.

To create that one opening, Charon had done many things. Even the long storytelling session earlier had been specifically intended to distract Dorothy. So parts had been fabricated, yes, but only to conceal his true intentions.

"I win, Dorothy."

Charon climbed back up from the elevator shaft and stood before Dorothy, who had already regained her composure.

Dorothy clenched her teeth tightly. Her gaze remained fixed deeply on him.

"So all of that…"

"Was just secondhand nonsense you made up?"

"You can think of it that way." Charon smiled faintly, his eyes drifting toward the hem of her dress.

There, a tiny splash of blue paint stood out surprisingly clearly.

At the sa ti, power was restored throughout the laboratory, and the corridor they stood in lit up normally once more.

"My apologies, Miss Dorothy. This floor wasn't originally open to access anyway. The elevator shaft still hasn't been repaired, so it'll be sealed off for now afterward. There won't be any safety issues."

Dorothy took several deep breaths while staring at Charon's face, forcefully suppressing the urge to punch him.

Only then could she speak properly.

"State your wish."

"As long as it falls within my authority, I will grant it."

She practically ground those words out through clenched teeth, even while desperately maintaining her elegant persona.

Charon wasn't worried she would refuse to admit defeat. This had been a private duel to begin with. Very few people knew about it, and none of them were the sort to spread it around publicly.

At least she wouldn't suffer complete social death.

Still–

Losing to a human made Dorothy feel utterly miserable.

Yet she wasn't soone incapable of accepting defeat. Her pride would never allow her to cheat. A loss was a loss.

Even if Liliweiss herself had been present, she would have acknowledged the result.

"Let's head outside first." Charon smiled. "Perfect timing too. I'll treat you all to sothing good."

Dorothy silently thought:

What could you people possibly have that counts as 'good food'?

But naturally, she would never say sothing like that aloud. Flaunting food or luxury directly contradicted the conduct expected of a Goddess of Victory.

Instead, she had already begun thinking about what sort of request Charon might make–and how she should respond.

Once they left the laboratory, Dorothy reluctantly announced her defeat.

An uproar imdiately followed.

The empty can in Red Hood's hands–already licked clean down to the final drop trapped in the seams–fell to the ground.

Her face was filled with shock.

Everyone else wore similarly complicated expressions, though all their attention remained focused on Charon.

His condition absolutely did not look good. He was filthy from head to toe, like soone who had just rolled through ruins.

But there was only a single red paint mark on him.

anwhile Dorothy remained perfectly neat and elegant, yet at the very bottom of her skirt was a tiny patch of unmistakable blue paint.

There was no need for further explanation.

The victor had already been decided.

"Wait… what are all of you doing?"

Dorothy looked toward her fellow Goddess Squad mbers and the lee squad Nikkes, who were all sitting together around a bonfire with assorted canned foods in hand.

"Ah, right, Dorothy! Here, this is for you!"

Red Hood hurried over grinning brightly and handed her a bar of white chocolate along with a can of peach slices.

"This is…"

Only at that mont did Dorothy finally understand what Charon had ant earlier by "sothing good."

Wait.

You had this kind of stuff and didn't ntion it sooner?!

"Though these are just reserve supplies," Red Hood added with a thumbs-up. "Every bite ans there's less left, so you should treasure them!"

The mont she said that–

Who would even dare eat them casually anymore?!

Dorothy decided instantly.

The chocolate could be eaten now.

But the canned peaches absolutely had to be preserved.

Soon everyone learned the full outco.

Snow White and Rapunzel quietly lowered their heads and focused on eating, not daring to even look up. Dorothy nearly laughed from sheer irritation.

Do they seriously think I'm the kind of person who takes anger out on teammates?

anwhile, Red Hood kept trying to comfort her over and over again.

Strangely enough, that only made Dorothy want to hit her even more.

Yes, I know I lost.

Could you maybe shut up already instead of constantly reminding ?!

Still, Dorothy's defeat truly had been beyond almost everyone's expectations.

That said, the possibility had never been zero to begin with. This wasn't a fight to the death. Under those circumstances, Dorothy's odds of losing were already much higher than usual.

"Then let explain my request."

After everyone gathered together, Charon sat down heavily beside the bonfire.

"Before that, I understand your mission was to deal with the lee squad. From the governnt's perspective, the ideal result would've been killing them all."

"But obviously, that alone wouldn't be enough to report back."

"Do you rember the governnt's original demand for this squad?"

He looked toward Rose and Scarlet.

The two imdiately fell silent.

Clearly, neither of them had truly moved on from that matter.

"Remain under extre pressure and continue fighting until only one remains. Then transform that survivor into Fairy Tale Model Number Six."

"But now?"

"I will not allow that to happen."

"The lee squad must all continue living in this world."

"However, neither the governnt nor even the Goddess Squad would permit such a powerful force to simply remain out in the wilderness unchecked. If you let them go, then should they ever betray humanity, your Goddess Squad would also bear responsibility."

"So the best solution I arrived at is this."

"One mber of the lee squad will leave alongside the Goddess Squad as the candidate for Fairy Tale Model Number Six."

"She will also serve as a hostage between both sides."

"And as a bridge for communication."

At that instant, both Dorothy and Rose widened their eyes.

Because–

It made absurd amounts of sense.

The Goddess Squad would have results to report.

The future Number Six, needing to ensure her comrades' safety, would naturally cooperate with the Goddess Squad.

anwhile, the lee squad remaining outside would maintain direct contact with the Goddess Squad at all tis, ensuring they could never truly betray humanity.

The governnt would also feel reassured because, from their perspective, Number Six had already been secured.

They would inevitably assu the outco had been Option Two:

That the squad had fought until only one remained–

Or that the Goddess Squad had reduced them to a single survivor.

"And most importantly," Charon continued, "I already told you this before."

"If one day you yourselves are betrayed, you can co to the lee squad's base outside and take shelter there temporarily."

"That way, there won't be any problems."

All the Nikkes fell silent.

Though Dorothy desperately wanted to declare that the human governnt would never betray them–

Truthfully…

She had begun to waver.

Charon wasn't asking her to turn against humanity right now.

He was simply telling her to remain cautious.

To prepare a backup path for herself.

Within political thinking, that was an entirely normal concept.

Dorothy found herself unable to refute it.

"So then."

Charon looked around at everyone present.

"Who approves?"

"And who objects?"

Every lee Nikke voted in favor.

As for the Goddess Squad–

Dorothy remained silent.

And the others didn't dare speak.

Except for Red Hood.

"Isn't this great? A world where everyone gets to survive has been born!"

"Shut up."

Dorothy shot her a glare before turning back toward Charon.

"This matter is not sothing I can decide on my own."

"I need to seek Lady Liliweiss's judgnt."

"But…"

"From my personal standpoint–"

"I believe your proposal has no problems."