The party had two weeks to prepare now after Racknar was framed for a couple of assassins with all proof of his innocence being dismissed as fake. Two weeks while the Empire focused on removing non-humans from its lands before the war started. Racknar was quick to get to work, his personal issues and trauma were pushed to the side as he started making rough sketches of different strategies. “Now, there will likely be unavoidable casualties on both sides, but with a combination of modern tactics, our more advanced technology, creative use of magics, and guerrilla warfare we should be able to get the upper hand and keep it.”

  Lisa nodded. “Our submarines give us a massive advantage on top of already having the best navy for the sea, combine that with the use of water mines and we don't have to worry about an attack from the water. Using a combination of blimp, plane, and dragon cavalry from Skald and we definitely won't have to worry about attacks from the air. As far as land defense they would have to get to us first. Our main concern will be offensive. The fastest way to end this war is to take out the new self appointed Holy Pope Emperor, Frederick. He'll be held up in the First Church in the center of the holy city state. This world's equivalent to the Vatican. We could move by sea, come up from the south, then we would have to fight inland.”

  Racknar pointed to the sea. “Entering the sea is only possible through a canal between continents, similar to the Pillars of Haracles back on Earth. A natural pinch point only wide enough for at most three boats and easy to defend. Even if they can't put weapons on the south side of the pinch point they wouldn't have to. Coming in from the south won't work. Going in from the west or east would require a lot of marching over land. Our best bet is to come in from the north. Although it's more walking then from the south we don't have to worry about anything other than the cold. Dragons may have some issues going in from this way, but the enemy is likely to have some sort of anti-air defenses, so flying straight there is definitely not an option.”

  Elizabeth looked at the sketches and maps. “So we're going to be swapping out the cannonballs for sleep gas and stuff right? The only person we plan to go out of the way to kill is Frederick, right?” Racknar nodded. “Everyone else is either being forced or is drinking the Kool-aid. Once the instigator is out of the picture we can slowly work at chipping away the generational bias.” Elizabeth frowned. “(Looks like we won't have time to just relax and be normal people. Another obstacle in the way of any chance I had to even attempt a relationship with Racknar.)” Elizabeth clenched her fist in frustration and anger.

  Much to her surprise, Racknar reached over and gently grabbed the clenched fist, rubbing it softly. Elizabeth looked up to see Racknar's fangs slightly curled up in a small smile. “We'll get through this. Together.” He said in a surprisingly soft tone for someone with a deep and gravely voice. Elizabeth grabbed the hand back and slightly averted her gaze, unable to look Racknar in the eyes as her cheeks became rosey. “Together.” She repeated back with a small smile.

  Then Racknar had to ruin the moment. “We are a team after all, all of us. As long as we all work together, there's nothing we can't do.” Elizabeth's smile immediately turned into an expression of deflated exasperation. “(I swear to all the gods I'm about to granny slap the shit out of you. Why are you like this?)” Racknar nonchalantly continued to focus on the task at hand. “Thanks to our allies and the fact the Empire has pissed off just about every major kingdom outside of it, we effectively have them surrounded. So even though the Empire has made me, and I guess the rest of us, public enemy number one and it would definitely be a “kill on sight” situation; our complications are surprisingly minimal.”

  Elizabeth suddenly shot up, standing upright as she came to a realization. “All the building and preparation is being done mostly by other people, so outside the tactical stuff which you've already made notes for and organizing the squadrons of our unified forces which can be done a day or two before the war starts… What is there specifically that the six of us have to do during the two weeks?” Racknar tilted his head. “Well we don't exactly have the time to leave the nation and there's lonely so much level grinding we and our troops can do locally in two weeks, so outside what little we can cram in and me creating Sky Silk on mass there's not really anything specific for the Monster Mashers or yourself that needs getting done.”

  Elizabeth gained a small smile again. “Couldn't you use the Black Iron Spiders plus summons given the special diet to factory scale produce Sky Silk?” Racknar nodded. “I actually already started on that before we even left for the Dwarven Kingdom. So technically I myself don't really have to produce Sky Silk anymore. I even planned to contact Arachne and tell her how it's done so she can do the same on her end. Originally I was going to keep it secret for trade but this is an emergency situation. Even training of our armies could be done without us being hands on.”

  Elizabeth’s smile grew. “So what you are saying is technically the six of us could do our own thing or even own things for two and a half weeks while stuff is prepared in the background?’ Racknar squinted with all eight of his eyes. “I mean… I guess? Did you have something in mind?” Elizabeth took a moment to think of a way to word what she wanted without exactly tipping her hand. “Well since experience gained from traditional combat it's normally divided among everyone who fought, and since as you pointed out there's not that many things powerful enough for the full party, I was thinking it might be more efficient to have three teams of two hunting lower threats on mass.”

  Racknar was focused on her, clearly listening intently as Elizabeth continued. “So it would be Davy and Krys'tal, Mari and Charity, then finally you and myself. Each team of two would have healing options as Krys'tal has a few options for healing such as Goodberry that they've never really needed to use because you always had plenty of food and Charity with you.” Racknar crossed all four of his arms. “It's an interesting idea, but splitting the party like that even to hunt trash mobs could be problematic. Especially with that pairing. I feel like Davy and Krys'tal would spend more time canoodling than fighting monsters. It could potentially result in a level disparity within the party.”

  Elizabeth frowned slightly and crossed her arms. “You and I both know that a level difference is basically meaningless beyond level twenty when you've already maxed out your prestige classes.” Ariagoria looked at Marionette. “It might be our only hope of gaining enough experience in the short time we have to actually matter and the pairings are actually optimum since I can tank fairly well when needed with my shield and Krys'tal is almost as good at avoiding damage as Mari.” Racknar shifted his head from side to side, tilting it back and forth as he considered the options at hand.

  Racknar cracked his neck before speaking, offering a simple and concise one word response. “Okay.” Elizabeth straightened her posture in surprise when Racknar continued. “Those pairings would be the most optimal.” Elizabeth furrowed her eyebrows. “Really? I was expecting you to suggest the pairings be me Davy, you Krys'tal, then Mari Charity to avoid Davy and Krys'tal from getting distracted while still keeping a healer in each pairing. It would be the most efficient.”

  Racknar loosened his stance. “This is possibly the last chance Davy and Krys'tal will get to have time together before we are thrust into yet another situation that could easily end in death in such a short time, if I were to deny them that it would harm the morale of not just the couple but everyone else who'd be rightfully upset at me for being heartless enough to take away their last chance to spend time before the war just for the sake of combat efficiency while level grinding. The negative effect on morale would impact efficiency just as much if not more and carry into the war itself. With several people not bringing their A game because of bad morale that risks it spreading in the troops crippling the efficiency of the entire army.”

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  Elizabeth was a bit surprised, Racknar usually thinks extremely logically but often misses the emotional aspect of things. Racknar continued. “Also, someone heartless and hyper logical enough to force a pairing strictly for efficiency at the expense of the emotional state of his troops is also someone hyper logical enough to see troops as numbers, someone willing to sacrifice pieces on a chess board for a win. I wouldn't want to follow someone that cold, I highly doubt anyone else would either. As such, Krys'tal and Davy must be paired if we are to split into groups of two in this case “

  Elizabeth squinted. “You could swap myself and Charity though, still keeping healers in each group.” Racknar shook his head. “No, the exact pairings you suggested are the most optimal. Any other set-up would have a negative impact on group morale.” Elizabeth was even more surprised. “(Did he… consider my feelings as well? This is an unexpected surprise. A welcome one, but unexpected. He really does care.)” A smile grew across Elizabeth's face. “So are we splitting up into groups of two for a week and a half then meeting back here as I suggested we do while others train and do preparations without us?”

  Racknar hummed, a long drawn out hum, one long enough to make Elizabeth think he was going to say no and suggest something else. He then looked at the group. “Are there any objections to this idea? If not, we should get started right now.” There was a moment of hesitation before the other Monster Mashers shook their heads, including Marionette, who Elizabeth slightly expected to object due to feelings she had for Racknar even if he told her he had taken to seeing her like a little sister. Everyone was fine with Elizabeth's suggestion, or at least pretended to be. Not a single objection was brought up.

  Racknar made a nice clap using both sets of arms and gave a single nod to go with the motion. “It's settled then, I'll see you all right here in ten days time. Be safe out there and don't take any unnecessary risks or overexert yourselves. Balance your grinding with downtime. We might get just enough experience for a single level, but if not that's fine too. We're already level twenty one after the Lolith fight so at this point there's not much to be gained from level ups besides health and stat increases. Maybe an extra feat or two, but at this point we should have all the ones we need so outside of little things that could maybe come in handy in some situations but not all I'm not sure what there is to add.”

  Elizabeth nodded. “Downtime is just as important as getting things done. We don't want to burnout people or give them undue stress before the shit hits the fan. … Wait, aren't you at all worried about the evacuation of non-humans from the Empire?” Racknar shook his head. “Sir Kenneth, his party, and the reincarnation of Martin Luther King Junior likely already have an Underground Railroad set up and are handling it. Us going to the Empire to assist would just get us killed so there's nothing we can do there anyway.” Elizabeth smiled. “(He really has thought of everything.)” “Right, then let's go.”

  The three pairs of two packed their things and got ready to head out. Once again Leonardo would be in charge of the castle while the party was away. Once outside the castle, Racknar set up spider mounts for everyone and they went their separate ways in teams of two. Elizabeth rode on the spider side by side with Racknar in his with a small smile. This might be her only chance at actually having alone time with him for a while, she was planning to make full use of it. “So, by saying any other team arrangement with healers would affect morale, you meant to acknowledge that you were aware that not teaming up with me would upset me and that you were aware of my goal to get some time with just the two of us, right?”

  Racknar grumbled slightly. “Is that a rhetorical question? I'm not an oblivious moron, and you've been rather blunt about your feelings. I'd be a fool to ignore them.” Elizabeth pouted slightly. “Well excuse me if I have a hard time reading you and understanding your intentions. You're not exactly the best at expressing your emotions.” Racknar looked her dead in the eyes. “I have limited facial movement and there's only so much I can do simply by changing the tone of my voice. Especially with my vocal range being a bit more limited than in my previous life.”

  Elizabeth shifted in her seat a bit. “I mean… yeah. You've got me there. You do at least put in an effort though. I mean when we first reunited you weren't even sure how to replicate a smile without lips. You figured out a way to get an approximation of some mouth expressions with your fangs instead. Quite resourceful, but then again you always have been.” Racknar nodded. “I've spent a lot of time learning to improvise around personal limitations, across two lifetimes. However, there's always room for improvement in anything.”

  Elizabeth gave a big smile as they continued in silence for a while. They took a gate to a large graveyard that has had some issues with undead lately with the intent to clear it out. Elizabeth was humming happily the entire way when once on the other side of the Yggdrasil gate she stopped and shifted awkwardly in her saddle. Racknar picked up on this quickly. “Something's bothering you.” He said as a statement rather than a question. Elizabeth looked at their mounts. “It almost feels wasteful to use two when Achilles is more than big enough to carry the both of us.”

  Racknar perked up a bit in his seat. “I'm surprised you're actually able to recognize the exact spider I'm riding.” Elizabeth pats her spider. “Yeah, I've gotten good at spotting small differences in the spiders, it also helps that I learned to speak Mandablēz. So, what do you say? Can I ride with you in your spider and ditch mine? No offense to you, Natasha. You're a wonderful riding partner.” Racknar hummed and shifted in his saddle. “I'll allow it, on one condition.” Elizabeth tilted her head. “Oh?” Racknar nodded, then spoke with a surprisingly serious tone considering his request. “You have to ask again, using the common term from our world as if you were asking to ride on a motorcycle with me.”

  Elizabeth’s eyes widened, because she knew Racknar was serious in his strange request and knew exactly what he was asking of her. She hesitated for a moment, humming as she considered her options between momentary embarrassment to get something she wanted and her own pride. Her face reddened slightly as she readied herself. “May I…” she paused and swallowed hard before finishing her sentence. “Ride bitch with you on your spider?” Racknar let out a short bout of extremely loud laughter. “Hahahaha, I can't believe you actually did that. I half expected you to back down. Anyway, yeah. Get over here and I'll use the spider badge to dismiss Natasha.”

  Elizabeth froze for a moment. “(Is he… teasing me?)” Her mind flashes back to a moment in a previous life where a nanny told her teasing was a good thing, a sign a boy liked her. That was when she was in grade school however, when she was still young enough to think boys had cooties. She slowly got off the spider that was magically dismissed and climbed onto Achilles behind Racknar. She put her hands on his hips and the spider started moving towards the destination once more. It didn't take long for Elizabeth to lean into Racknar's back, hugging him as they moved.

  Elizabeth remained in the hug for some time, to the point she was surprised Racknar didn't object or ask her to stop. Then, to even further surprise, he took his free lower hands and lightly rubbed the back of her hands that were wrapped around him. Racknar's body was stiff and rigid though, it was clear he wasn't fully comfortable with being physical like this yet, but the fact he wasn't actively pushing Elizabeth away told her he was trying. “(He wants to get closer, he's trying so hard right now. However, he's not used to this and he's been through so much. Everything he's been through only makes me want to hold him closer. He carries so much burden, physically and emotionally. All he's known before now is being strong and durable enough to overcome anything. Being vulnerable isn't easy, especially when it was previously not allowed or simply couldn't be afforded.)”

  Elizabeth rubbed her face into the back of Racknar's robe as she moved her hands up and down on his abdomen. As she pressed her face against his back she noticed he was surprisingly warm. She took a deep breath through her nose, a signature smell hitting it. The sweat smell of pomegranates, followed by the earthy smells of charcoal and bonfire. A smell that made Elizabeth think of summer. “You smell nice~” She said, nearly audible. Racknar continued to gently rub her hand and did nothing to discourage her. She hummed softly, holding Racknar closely as the spider moved, shaking her around lightly.

  Racknar could see the graveyard in the distance now and adjusted himself slightly. “We’re almost there.” Elizabeth sighed. “Shame, I was hoping this moment would last a little longer.” He tapped at her hand lightly. “Once it's cleared out we will have to travel to our next destination.” Elizabeth straightened her posture a bit in surprise. Racknar was suggesting they continue this after the task at hand, a rare moment of him taking the initiative towards having a personal moment.