Adam pinched the bridge of his nose, as takes in the information Priscilla had told him.
He had heard plenty of insane things over the last few weeks during Nyx and Morgan’s training session about their connection and relationship.
But he never thought that Minerva had the brains to even pull this off.
For that reason, and that reason alone this was a different kind of ridiculous.
’Well I be damned, she can be politically capable if she really tried.’
Adam said with a dumbfounded look on his face.
Genuinely suprise Minerva could be useful for anything other than things that demands some serious need for overpoweredness.
But either way, he carry on the conversation as he replied back to Priscilla while rubbing his head still vividly suprise by the news.
"So the Shinso family... created the Hellsing family. Damn, you girls really are capable when you are serious about something."
Priscilla merely smile at the compliment, a gave a quick and short reply.
"Naturally, everyone eventually pulls their own weight in the family, and contribute something big to it."
"But still, from what I read back home, the famous van Hellsings family."
Adam began a little amused by the irony of it all.
"Are monster slayers by bloodline. So to think that they only became this way because of you all is quite hilarious, and unsettling. You all really shared knowledge how to kill your own kind just for immense profit in the long term."
Priscilla raised a brow at his words, as she shrugged it off with.
"Oh, please. As if I give a damn about the petty politics of other monster families, or monster kind at all, for that matter. We saw a chance, we took it. End of story. If they couldn’t keep up, that’s their problem, not ours."
"Hey I wasn’t arguing, just saying hehehe...
Adam raised both hands slightly in the air submissively. Clearly not trying to get on Priscilla bad side.
Priscilla just scoff at Adam’s word, and said with her arms folded.
"Hmph... Well get with the program boy, or we might just leave you behind."
"Hahaha... Noted big sis, noted... Either way though, I don’t see why we need to help the humans. This war isn’t ours to take part of, besides the humans have their Overlord that can easily handle this situation."
Priscilla gave a slow blink, like the idea exhausted her on a molecular level.
Either way, her response was just as Adam suspected
"Honestly boy I don’t care for war."
"They are messy, loud, bad for the hair. But if one does happen?"
"We would be fools to sit it out."
Adam tilted his head confused and rather suprise by her answer.
"Why because you are worried about the Hellsing family and their people dying on the Frontline?"
He asked genuinely curious about why she want’s to take part of the war.
"Are you stupid, boy? Of course not. We spent centuries crafting them. You don’t just throw that away on a whim."
She corrected Adam, her voice low and firm.
"We didn’t spend centuries building them up just to watch them crumble. If that family falls, we don’t just lose a extraordinary useful pawn, but we also lose our buffer, our voice, our place at the damn table. Politically speaking the Hellsing family has the position of Duke. And that’s because one of the former patriarch’s wives was originally apart of the royal family."
Hearing this Adam just nodded slowly.
This was more than a valid reason to help the empire in a potential upcoming war.
But at the same time, it beg the question, on how will they help them.
Priscilla and the others can’t just reveal their identity, that will just cause even bigger problem.
"So what is your plan here, are you going to help from the shadows or something?"
She gave a lazy smirk.
And Adam seem to have guess right.
"That’s what we been doing the entire time for centuries, of course that is what we are going to do. It’s going to be a lot of work, but those damn demons ain’t going to ruin our family standing here for some crappy Overlord soul."
Adam chuckled under his breath.
But still, his thoughts drifted elsewhere.
The implications of this war, if it truly sparked off, then by the logic their can be some benefits to war as well.
He knows this were bigger than just demonic armies and human cities falling. Everything would change.
Families like the Hellsings would be forced to reveal their hand.
On that note however, Adam was not the only one thinking , if anything Priscilla was the first
"Be that as it may, every war comes with its drawbacks. But it also brings... opportunities — more than a few, depending on where you stand."
’Hmmm as expected, bis sis, was already on the uptake, but then and again it’s only common sense if your in a place of power, there is much to gain from war.’
Adam to said to himself in his head.
And Priscilla being Priscilla was already calculating what could be gain from the demonic war.
"Just think about it. Demonic cores flooding the market? A gold rush for spiritualist and merchants alike."
"The families on the frontlines will be showered in prestige, new contracts, noble titles, maybe even knighthood tossed to commoners if their contributions are flashy enough. If the Hellsings play their cards right, their name could soar."
"And when their reputation rises... so does ours. Greater influence, access, reach, and much, much more."
Priscilla smiled, just thinking about the benefits, the creepiness behind it really made Adam swallow his spit in fear.
Either way she continued speaking.
"There is also the matter of potential economic collapse as well, if so... It could also benefit us greatly in the long run in that regard."
"War breaks things you see. And when systems fracture, the ones left holding the most money, the most infrastructure, end up on top."
Her voice grew more clipped, and more businesslike from that point on.
"We own pieces of the human banking system, as result of the Supernatural Guild. Private arms dealers. Magical stockpiles. If the Empire starts bleeding out its treasury, and everyone else goes bankrupt, we could swoop in quietly, and strategically. Buy up land, a good amount of it, increasing both our influence, and control."
Adam made a low sound in the back of his throat.
Suprise at how far Priscilla was thinking about the war to come, despite just hearing about it now.
"So a demonic invasion might just... help you then, cause by the gods woman, you sound like a villainess right now."
Priscilla seeing this, quickly fix her posture.
As she was getting a little too excited.
For that reason she faked a cough and said.
"Cough! Cough! It could."
"If handled carefully. But that’s the rub, isn’t it?"
"Too much war and you lose everything. Too little and you don’t gain a damn thing."
She shrugged like it was just another day of vampire logistics.
In a way it was, vampire where scheming bunch after all.
Meanwhile Adam leaned against the crumbled altar, suddenly very aware of how many dominos were lined up to fall.
He glanced at Lemris, still kneeling silently nearby. The once-mighty orc chieftain turned thrall didn’t move unless commanded, he was just kneeling and breathing there, waiting, like an obedient doll for a new purpose to follow.
It might be full of thousands like him.
And he was probably one of the weakest hybrid types put there.
"Demons prepping the frontline."
"Broodmothers pumping out instant armies. A Lord of Lust playing the long game...
"Do you think the humans are ready?"
Priscilla gave a soft, amused hum.
"Oh, they’ll fight. It’s what they do best when they feel threatened. Annoying little bunch I will admit."
"But are they ready? It clear to me the Demons can easily outnumbered them you know."
But Priscilla just gave him a sidelong look, as she responded as such.
"Would it matter if they weren’t?"
The truth was, maybe it didn’t. The wheel was turning. And whether humanity had a handle on it or not, they were caught in it all the same.
"Either way big sis, let’s just report this to Minerva when we reached back at penthouse. It’s clear that Asmodeus plan’s to invade the human world won’t be anytime soon anyways."
"That is true, they would need to prepare carefully. But we still need to prepare as well."
"Especially since Asmodeus got taste of the Overlord fist, according to the gremlin."
"Transforming the Human World into a full-blown supernatural domain isn’t as simple as opening a few gates. It would require a lot of powerful demons, far too many to sneak through quietly."
"And from what I gather, the stronger ones can’t cross over without triggering the Overlord’s attention. Which means they’ll have to start small, flood the land with lesser demons first. Saturate it. Soften it. Then, maybe, the big ones can follow without setting off alarms."