Soon, the matter of Eleanor and her group applying to participate in the war on the Iberian Peninsula was spread among the remaining girls.

"Why go to Iberia?" Thira was the first to question, "None of us are Iberian, nor do we have assets or interests there. If the Iberian Peninsula falls, it's West Frank Kingdom that will be in trouble, not us. Do we have anyone from West Francia here? No."

"We are just a small mercenary group, not some savior squad, and I really don't see any benefit in going to Iberia. If it's just to experience war and hone ourselves, going to Aquitaine, Saxony, or even Asia Minor would suffice. Why must we confront the fearless undead spirits?"

Eleanor fell silent.

In the past, she might have forcefully said, "Because the war with the undead spirits spares no one," but now she had come to understand that the excuse of "saving people" wouldn't convince Thira.

So she calmly said,

"There are potential interests for the team in Iberia... in the vast forests of Lusitania, many Half-Elf Tribes reside, and their leader, a demigod named 'Maya.'"

"Maya?" Thira was slightly startled before recalling. There were three demigods in Miel's contacts: Derek, Sherry, and Maya.

The first two had already made their appearances, while the latter had yet to show up, apparently residing on the Iberian Peninsula.

"In the Half-Elf Tribes, there are also some with Elf-related Extraordinary Bloodlines, such as 'Sword Dancers,' 'Eagle Eye Shooters,' 'Elemental Masters,' and so forth," Medea appropriately added. "If we could control them, it would certainly constitute a significant military force."

This left Thira speechless.

Ever since conquering the Otwell Family on Sicily, although the Azure Longsword Team outwardly appeared unchanged (just nine people), the actual military strength at their disposal had markedly increased multiple times.

Several times Thira would wake up from a dream laughing: she dreamed that the team, accompanied by a large contingent of Norman Transcendents called the 'Valangian Guard,' helped her to recapture the Imperial Capital of Constantinople.

Of course, these Norman Transcendent armies alone were not enough, as on the other side was the Seljuk, a vast empire stretching across the East Mediterranean and holding territories like Egypt, Syria, Persia, and Asia Minor, with both the scale of its transcendent forces and the number of demigods being quite extraordinary.

She needed more military power and to ascend to higher ranks of transcendence in order to advance further on the path of restoring her nation.

"Sigrdrifa, what do you think?" Medea turned to ask.

"I'll listen to what Aske says," Sigrdrifa candidly responded.

"Aske listens to us," Medea said.

"Well, then I'm fine as long as there's a battle to fight," Sigrdrifa replied nonchalantly.

"What about Peggy?" Medea asked the next girl.

"I also listen to Aske," Peggy shrugged, "If Aske wants you guys to discuss, then just let me know the outcome."

"What do you think, Mia?" Nora asked with a smile.

"I want to see what a half-elf looks like," Mia naively said, "Do they look a lot like Miel?"

"Yes, both have pink hair and green eyes," Miel directly answered.

"Then I suppose no one is objecting," Eleanor turned to Miel, "How about it? Take a look at our plan…"

"I'll let Minerva check it first," Miel activated the Eden Fruit, summoning the Banshee Queen.

----------------

The next day.

"Here's the new plan," Eleanor placed a thick stack of documents in front of Aske.

Wow, several times thicker than yesterday's.

Aske silently complained in his mind and picked up the document on top to start reading.

This strategic report...rather than calling it a strategic report, it's more appropriate to call it an "Iberian Peninsula Strategic Analysis Report", as it contains detailed and comprehensive analysis ranging from the geopolitical, political environments, and climate conditions of the Iberian Peninsula, to the political situation of the Hafsi Dynasty itself, factional demands, and military composition.

Knight Girl, you're wasting your talents not working at a consulting firm making PowerPoint presentations!

However, even though Aske was quite critical of the thickness of the material, after spending about half an hour reading it, he had to admit that it was indeed a feasible document.

Even many of the information details it contained were likely unknown to the Church Court. After all, with the Dark Sky interference from the Undead Army, even Raphael might not be able to obtain much of the data.

With this material, the team's overall risk control in participating in the war on the Iberian Peninsula was undoubtedly better secured, but...

"There's a fundamental issue you haven't mentioned in your report," Aske, putting down the document, sighed and said, "Why should we trek all the way to the Iberian Peninsula to help the locals fight the Undead?"

"Because the war is there," Eleanor replied, "Do you remember when we were in Bavaria, preparing to join the Emperor's army heading south to Italy? You had spoken to me privately about this."

"Why, knowing how perilous this war would be, should we choose to join? Because the war is there; if you don't go looking for it, it will come looking for you. Over the next few years, the continental situation will only become more chaotic, with conflicts between countries intensifying. We only have a short time to adapt to war and continuously enhance our own strength, to quickly gain control of the situation."

"Escaping ultimately solves nothing, Aske. You once taught me this, and now I am using it to answer you."

Aske: ???

"You..." He hesitated and slowly asked, "Is this your own idea, or did someone teach you these principles? Aren't you always against war? Did Miel pull out the future you, so you are Eleanor from the future?"

"No, I am the present Eleanor, these are my own thoughts; no one has influenced me," Eleanor said earnestly, looking straight into his eyes, slowly continuing, "Aske, I don't know if these thoughts are right..."

"...but I have sworn to become your knight, so I must constantly hone myself and never slack. I do despise war, but I am not afraid of it, and I will never run away. As long as you command to fight, I will be charging at the forefront; if you ultimately decide against it, then I will no longer speak on this matter."

She gathered the scattered pages of the report on the table, tapped them neatly into place, then set them aside and silently waited for the squad leader's response.

Aske met her gaze, seeing her deep blue eyes as vast as the ocean, containing a certain calm demeanor.

It was a will and determination of sheer strength.

Thus Aske understood that she had clearly expressed her thoughts, and that was enough; if he still decided "we will not go to Iberia," Eleanor would immediately cease to speak further and abandon the thick stack of planning documents.

...

Suddenly, inexplicably, he recalled the night half a year ago when they had run away after assassinating the Emperor. He had jokingly asked her, "If a massive number of innocent people and the team face a crisis at the same time, which side would you choose to save?"

At that time, Eleanor's answer was "the team takes priority," but her expression was clearly sorrowful and her tone was very strained.

Now, the Knight Girl had finally matured, capable of pursuing her own "morality and justice" without violating the premise of "team first," not even Aske could find fault in her actions.

All that was left was a sense of accomplishment.

The look Aske gave her was filled with pride and relief.

After all, this girl was his very own protegee!

Now that she had become so sensible...

"Alright," Aske finally decided, "We will join the war."

"Okay," Eleanor nodded firmly, picking up the report and standing up.

She hesitated for a moment, then showed a relieved and grateful smile, saying softly:

"Thank you, squad leader."

After speaking, the Knight Girl stepped forward to give him a strong hug, then turned and left with a slightly blushed face.

Aske: ?

Wait, did I just raise her affection for me again?

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