The next day, Curze had Abaddon arrange a meeting with Horus and Lion. As soon as they woke up, they were to come to the observation deck.
Horus was not an especially materialistic person, but a place like the observation deck was, more often than not, designed for visitors. It boasted the finest view aboard the Vengeful Spirit, along with relatively luxurious décor. Whether as a reception room or a gathering place, it was more than adequate. Though nowhere near as extravagant as the Third Legion's Pride of the Emperor, it was still impressive.
When Lion and Horus arrived in casual clothes after being summoned, Curze was already seated at a long table large enough to fit more than twenty primarchs, a steaming cup of hot cocoa in her hands.
"Oh? So you finally woke up," Curze said, her tone thick with mockery as she looked at her two brothers.
The pair visibly flinched. Awkward expressions surfaced on both their faces, and when their eyes met for even an instant, both of them wanted to die on the spot.
After all, they had nearly crossed a line that could never be uncrossed.
One had mistaken the other for Bruce. The other had mistaken the first for the Doctor. They had ended up tangled together, each thinking, Ah! My little darling is unusually proactive today!
Then, just as they were happily reaching for what they thought was a chicken drumstick—
—they discovered it could be pinched.
When they opened their eyes and realized they had been passionately embracing one of their closest brothers, both of them nearly broke on the spot.
And so, without needing to say it aloud, they reached the same conclusion.
Let this remain a secret.
"So then," Lion said as she sat down in the chair Sevatar pulled out for her, "how exactly did you get from Nostramo to the Vengeful Spirit? One night shouldn't have been nearly enough time."
At the same time, a plate of pastries and a cup of hot cocoa were set in front of her.
Horus, meanwhile, was attended by a fairy maid rather than one of the armored attendants. Her drink was soybean milk—sweetened.
"Ah, what a lovely family breakfast this could have been. Why bring up dreary official business?" Curze said with a look of disdain.
Tch. How boorishly uncultured.
"This isn't milk… so why…" Horus took a sip from her cup, baffled. "Why is it so good?"
"There, you see? The Warmaster has taste. Though, to be fair, she may really just like this sort of thing."
Curze praised her, though her tone also carried a trace of sourness. "How exactly does that boy know what Warmaster Horus likes to drink?"
"Wait. Bruce prepared this breakfast?" Lion straightened in her seat at once after taking a sip of her cocoa.
Then again…
"Yes. The child got up early this morning to buy ingredients. Said he wanted to prepare a proper meal for everyone. He's been at it all day."
"Then I understand," Lion said, instantly losing all interest in further questions. Only food mattered now.
"Then… where is Bruce? Why don't I see him?" Horus looked around, but Bruce was nowhere in sight.
Ah… last night…
She really did need to apologize to him. She had no idea what had come over her; she had simply started seeing him as Father, and then completely lost control.
Hopefully she hadn't frightened him too badly.
"Don't worry. You'll see soon enough," Curze said, indicating that they only needed to wait.
A little later, a door appeared out of nowhere and slowly opened. Fairy maids emerged one after another, pushing serving carts. They efficiently arranged dish after dish across the table, each one perfectly matched to its intended eater's tastes.
Looking at the table groaning under the weight of food, even Horus was stunned. She had never imagined breakfast could be this indulgent.
Compared to what she usually ate… this finally looked like food meant for human beings.
"At last, I can eat Bruce's cooking again," Lion said as she happily picked up her knife and fork.
"Though he does have a habit of making everything unnecessarily elaborate, I suppose that's one of his virtues," Curze said while helping herself.
"…." Horus, seeing both of her brothers already eating, took up her spoon and tried a bite of the rabbit-shaped cake prepared specially for her.
The moment it touched her tongue, the layers of flavor unfolded in distinct yet harmonious succession, and Horus was shocked all over again.
How had that man named Bruce done this?
It felt less as though she were eating food, and more as though she were consuming some kind of… psychic phenomenon.
Before long, all three primarchs entered a state of ruthless devouring. Dish after dish vanished, while the maids moved in to refill the table as needed.
At times, it even took Sevatar's time-stop ability to keep things orderly enough for the primarchs to focus solely on eating and enjoying themselves.
Not long after, Bruce stepped out through the Anywhere Door carrying a tray with his own breakfast on it. Doraemon followed with a basin full of dorayaki. The two found seats nearby and sat down.
"First," Curze said, raising her cup of strawberry drink, "a toast to our Warmaster having come through safely. May the Warmaster remain in good health forever."
"Uh…" Horus looked deeply embarrassed.
For a moment, she honestly could not tell whether Curze was sincerely blessing her or taking a shot at her.
Still…
the intention behind it was good.
"And now, we should talk about the next stage of deployment. Warmaster, what are your thoughts?" Curze asked Horus, casting a glance at Lion, who was still busy eating.
Any time was a good time to discuss important matters over a meal. Appetite relaxed the mind and, somehow, made the brain work a little better.
"On that point, Lion, Bruce, and I have already discussed it. At present, our thinking is…" Horus repeated the strategic direction they had discussed earlier.
Curze listened patiently all the way through, leisurely finishing an entire glass of strawberry juice in the process.
When Horus was done, Curze nodded in clear approval and gave her own view.
"I think maintaining the current state is the best choice."
"Publicly announce that you still haven't awakened after the assassination. That way, our other brothers will inevitably hear about it, and some of them may even come to ask after your condition in person."
"Khagan and Mortarion, those two idiots, would definitely hurry over at once if they heard you were down. At that point, once you tell them what happened, a great many future problems can be avoided."
"As for our dear elder brother, let her continue on to Holy Terra and test Father's attitude and intentions."
"Feign death…?" Horus immediately grasped the core of Curze's plan.
It would both mislead the enemy and mislead their own side. The effect would be obvious. They would move from the light into the shadows.
But it also came with many problems.
For example… what about the Sixteenth Legion?
The Great Crusade was in full swing. It could not simply come to a halt. And if the Council of Terra learned of this, they would most certainly explode.
There were advantages, and there were drawbacks.
"Feigning death is excellent. It can also mislead that fool Lorgar. He'll exhaust himself trying to confirm your real condition and fall into a period of confusion," Bruce said.
At the same time, there was no hiding the eagerness in his eyes. "And while he's trying to figure things out, we can use the opportunity to hurry over to the Thousand Sons and grab Magnus!"
If the whole business with the magic pony wrecking the Webway never happened, then Lorgar rebelling? Please. Even if Guilliman somehow launched his own rebellion on top of that, Bruce still wouldn't be afraid.
"But the Great Crusade…" Horus still found it difficult to set aside her responsibilities so lightly.
"Slow it down. Don't stop it," Curze said, helping persuade her. "As long as you don't panic, others will. And slowing it down is not the same thing as bringing it to a halt."
"And what if some emergency arises?" Horus still hesitated.
"There's the Anywhere Door. If I can come from Nostramo to the Vengeful Spirit, then you can go from the Remilia to anywhere you want at any time."
Curze stopped hiding it and magnanimously added, "Later, I'll provide one of those doors to each of you. Place one on the Remilia and another on the Vengeful Spirit."
"That way, if anything comes up that requires your direct intervention, you can simply open a door and return. Compared to that, I think Magnus is the highest priority right now."
What was there to dither over? She was literally giving Horus a teleportation gateway. What more could she want?
"I'll need time to restructure and redeploy the Legion. That's no small matter. And then there's the Council of Terra…" Horus's ears twitched as she calculated everything in her head.
"You won't need any of that." Curze emphasized it again. "You were assassinated and remain unconscious. Understood, brother?"
"The ones who need to think are your Mournival. Don't tell me your Legion can't even function at all without you?"
"And yours can?" Horus shot back in irritation.
"It actually can," Curze replied, looking smug.
Bruce and Doraemon were off to the side, with Doraemon fiddling with one of his devices while Bruce occasionally kicked up a fuss at him.
"…." Horus looked at her brother, who seemed so absurdly confident, and fell silent.
Then her gaze drifted to the Anywhere Door, and after thinking it over several times, a question surfaced in her mind.
"Come to think of it…"
Horus pointed at the door.
"Can that thing go directly to Holy Terra?"
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 138)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter160)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter98)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter175)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 163
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 150
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 100
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 170
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 145
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 125
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 69
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 90
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 66
Uma Musume: From Beginner 100
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 70
Uma Musume: I Want All 90
I Can Copy Unique Skills 65
Summoning an Evil God, but the 52
Supernatural Multiverse 65
My Harem Is Indescribable 55
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 55
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 66
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 55
Still playing traditional Honk 35
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 35
What Should I Do After Switchi 24
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 35
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 27
Transmigrated as Sukuna 27
Checking In in Demon Slayer 32
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 44
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