Chapter 15

The two days Emori asked for passed in an instant. On the sixteenth day of the fifth month, the fourth day of the week, all four of us skipped school.

Well, skip wasn’t the correct word. I and Emori talked to the principal. We managed to convince him to let all four of us not come to school that day. The official wording was ‘state business’ and that wasn’t a lie, to some extent.

If something bad happened in Nanawak, it may affect Syla as well, thus state business, or the cooler word, ‘foreign diplomacy’, wasn’t much of a stretch.

Regardless, we skipped school that day, and went to Nanawak in the morning of the seventeenth.

•••

“Amira’s team had reported the sighting of suspicious people around the Akarakura, along with increased soldier activity.” Mister Vorak delivered the message from the two. We started the operation the second we arrived. I already told him that I need an extra set of clothing for Emori. In the office’s table were three sets of clothes. “I have already prepared the clothing you requested.”

“Woah, this looks pretty,” Solicea said as she took tMaya’s.

“That’s mine.” Maya thrusted the clothes she bought with Solicea into Solicea’s arm while taking the set the Wolves prepared back from her.

“Aww, no fair.”

Maya ignored her and took the new clothes Mister Vorak prepared.

“I’ll take good care of it.” Emori said, looking at the clothes that were prepared for her.

“Alright, we better get suited.”

We went to the changing rooms to change into our new attire. I took a few minutes to familiarize myself with it, as I would be wearing it or similar clothing for quite a while. We met back in the meeting room not long after.

“How about it? Are you all comfortable?” I asked.

Solicea swung her spear. “Despite its looks, it’s surprisingly easy to move in.”

“It’s the one you forced onto me, you know.”

“I have good tastes.” Solicea grinned.

Emori flapped her hands like a bird. “I’m fine. This is pretty well made.”

Maya nodded. “I can punch people in this.”

“You meathead.” Solicea chuckled.

“When you’re ready, I’ll call Regus back to teleport you there,” Mister Vorak said.

I turned to the rest. They looked back at me, their gazes firm.

“Take us there.”

The symbol for Connect appeared in Mister Vorak’s eyes. Seeing him, I couldn’t help but worry. Yes, the regular people of Nanawak normally couldn’t use magic, but those higher up tend to wield them with great prowess. Akareseki, the Bearer, probably wasn’t an exception. I could only imagine how powerful he would be.

Maybe this was the fear Emori talked about.

Regus appeared in the room. “Hello everyone, good to see you all again.”

“Good to see you as well.” I held his left hand, Emori holding mine. Maya and Solicea stood on the other side.

“We’ll be off.”

Mister Vorak nodded. “Good luck.”

•••

The next second, we were already in a different room. Amira sat on the floor, leaning back on the walls. The second she saw our appearance, she straightened up.

“Yo. It’s good to see you again,” Amira said, approaching us.

“Hello.” I greeted before taking a look around. “Where are we?”

“A safehouse, not far from our target.” Regus walked toward a small window, peeking out. “We’re just four buildings away.”

I stood by his side.

“The inn with the two hanging out in front of it.”

I used Zoom, enlarging the image. It was a regular building, with an old bed sign above it. The sign had been covered up, though. In front of the door were two people hanging out. They didn’t wear any uniforms. Probably on purpose as they didn’t want anyone feeling suspicious.

“Are we punching right through?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea…”

Maya and Emori stood beside me, looking at the same building.

“So, what are the plans?” I asked. Amira made her way to the center of the room, bringing up a scroll containing the building’s layout. We all gathered around her.

“The Wolves will clear out the building and hold the fort, while you and Regus look for the Boss.”

She began explaining the infiltration routes. Based on the intel they had, the soldiers were under strict orders to not leave the site during their shifts no matter what happened. The excuse was that some mages were investigating something. Vague and unclear, but nothing to be suspicious about.

In other words, even the soldiers themselves didn’t know about what was going inside, just that they weren’t allowed to leave during their shifts.

“All of the soldiers inside are from the capital.”

“Aren’t they tasked with taking out monsters?” Emori asked.

“Yeah, but some of the elites are here.”

Considering the person they held, even the slightest mistake could prove fatal. Thus, only the most loyal and most trained soldiers were fit for this mission.

“We have groups outside dressed in bandit-like attire to lure the local guards away from the city, allowing us to deal with the ones inside. You four will come with us from the top floor, during the evening to minimize unwanted attention. We’ll clear out the rooms and find the Boss.”

She began explaining the routes we would take, the rooms we would check, all that complicated stuff. I paid attention, making mental notes of things to be aware of and look out for.

“Any questions?”

It was a pretty straightforward mission. All we needed to do was follow the Wolves while making as little of a ruckus as we could.

Emori raised her hand. “Will there be a lot of fighting?”

“Yes, but you don’t have to worry. We’ll make sure you won't be harmed.”

“But, what about the soldiers?”

Regus and Amira looked at each other. “Well, we can’t really guarantee that.”

Since we were fighting real people, there would always be the chance of someone dying. As long as the blood wasn’t on our hands, we should be fine. It would definitely suck for the victims, though, especially since they had no idea about all of this happening.

“I can use Sleep, actually. Can I try that instead?” Emori said.

“... Sleep?” It was the first time I learned of such a spell. I think the game mentioned it as an effect of a spell, but I assumed it was a side effect.

“I could use Sleep too, but there’s no way we’re dropping everyone inside like that,” Regus said.

“Can I at least try?”

The two wolves looked at each other.

“I want to say there's no pain in trying…” Regus murmured. “But we only have this one chance.”

From the conflicted expressions on their faces, I could tell neither of them were keen to be fighting their fellow countrymen. Even if they came from different factions or states, they were still the people of this desert.

Above all, being a soldier meant protecting the people. A commendable job.

Solicea perked up. “In my land, knights are often people that want to protect their fellow citizens.”

“Yeah?” The rest of us looked toward her. I couldn't guess where she was having this conversation, but what she said was right. Unlike Earth, the Adventurers’ Guild and Hunters’ Union exist. If people wanted a job or wanted to fight for a living, they would most likely go there instead.

The registration process was easier, the organization wasn't as strict, and you could get paid more.

There were of course people that signed up with the army or knights just looking for a job, especially since being a soldier was a more stable job, but no small number of people joined to serve.

“Since they're job is to serve, I have an idea on how to infiltrate them without harming anyone. Emori, did you bring the eyepatch?”

Emori showed Solicea the eyepatch I gave her, its color matching the color of her clothes.

“Try wearing it, then use a spell.”

Emori put the eyepatch over her right eye, then used Connect to connect with me.

“It's as you said, Fortis. The eyepatch completely hid the magic symbol.”

“Ah, I understand… So, basically, we walk up to them pretending to be lost. While they're trying to help us, Emori uses Sleep to knock them out.”

“Precisely.” Solicea nodded. “Then, when they collapse, we pretend to panic and go inside, causing more panic to spread. We'll slip in the middle of the confusion and look for Her Highness.”

I turned to Regus and Amira. “Can we try this?”

“Well, there certainly isn't any harm in trying.” Amira looked toward the window. “But… if you failed…”

“We’ll punch our way out.” Maya showed her fist, her eyes brimming with confidence.

“Alright, then. Let's try it.” Regus nodded.

We proceeded with the preparations. Blending in with the crowd, we moved closer to the inn. I decided to take a spin around the block, looking for any potential threats to the mission. Soldiers, hunters, undercover agents, traps, anything that might hindered our rescue.

I noticed several people carrying concealed weapons. There weren't as many as I expected, though, especially considering the person they were guarding.

I wonder if it's just them hiding well.

It was a possibility. I wasn't the best when it came to spotting snipers at a distance, so I might miss one or two.

Hopefully, I only missed one or two. If I failed to notice a lot, then we would be screwed.

I wanted to contact the rest to ask if they had discovered anything suspicious, but I didn't wear an eyepatch. If I used Connect, that would mean painting a huge target on myself.

I wonder which of these are Eastern Wolves members.

Being a mercenary unit, they had many members with varying degrees of expertise. Some were mages like Regus, others info dealers like Amira. Naturally, some were skilled in spying and espionage, others mastered infiltration.

Is there a reason we need to be involved in the first place?

I only know Nayala for a short while, meanwhile Prilus and Emori knew her from their childhood.

The reason we pitched in was because we wanted to help. But, what if we decided not to? Would the Wolves be able to rescue Nayala in time? Is there a particular reason why the Wolves didn’t went on a full on assault?

They probably could. They are trained mercenaries, after all, nothing like us bunch of school kids.

Everyone's walking through this street as if it was any regular day… oh, maybe that's why.

The news about Nayala's and the Imperial Family's disappearance hadn't reached the public. If the Wolves attacked, the public would consider them enemies. In a weird way, we were the perfect scapegoat. If we were the ones that did something, they could blame everything on us.

I wonder if Mister Vorak did it intentionally… Regardless, I better be careful.

After finishing my rounds, I returned to the safehouse. There, I shared everything I found with the rest.

We made our final preparations. After we were ready, we set off.