Operation Impeachment

A cool breeze traced the air of the night sky, and the humdrum of footsteps traced the estate as guards were frequently patrolling. Leo listened to the rustling of the trees, taking in all the sounds around him before slipping behind the nearby garden shed at the northeast corner. He looked around the edge of the building, seeing four guards periodically patrolling the area, occasionally stopping and chatting for a bit before continuing.

The estate itself was about the size of the town square, buildings included. The main house took up more than half the space, with a fountain just after the front gate. Palm trees swayed on the property, and decorative flowers surrounded the fountain. Unlike most other homes, the mayor’s had many windows, and was three stories tall, providing a view of most of the town. Straight ahead of Leo was a long stretch of overgrown grass and decorative boulders shaped to the mayor’s liking, which were large enough to conceal a person entirely. Leo waited for the guards to slack off before rushing ahead and slipping behind the boulder.

The guard patrolling the back of the house swung around, covering the area near the boulder as Leo grinned, listening to his footsteps fade. After the guard hit the corner, Leo followed after him, lightening his steps so the guard couldn’t hear the double steps. While the guard was still preoccupied with his route behind the rest of the house, Leo slipped in through the slightly ajar window and closed it after entering. He ended up on the first floor kitchen, and hid behind the table in the center of the room, placing a finger to his ear.

“Chief, I’ve breached the home. I’m in the kitchen and I’m remembering more about this operation as I continue.”

“Good. Just remember that there are four possible locations where the research information could be. It swaps each time you do the mission in the game after all.”

“How’re things at the prison?”

“It’s pretty dead here. The guard is about to close visitation for the night, so I’ll need to stick close by.”

“By the way, these telepathy rings are killer, we’re on opposite ends of the village and it’s still working fine.” He states.

“They’re a huge help. We just need to be mindful of the fact that they may have a max range.” She added. “I’ll keep you posted if anything happens.”

“Understood.”

Leo lowers his finger and listens for any noise. But other than the sound of the footsteps outside, he heard nothing.

“If I remember correctly, the first floor is most likely pretty safe, but the second floor probably has more guards, though.” He thought.

Leo crept through the kitchen and into the living room, taking care to stay out of the view of the windows. He hid behind a couch upholstered with mane from a monster. Leo ran his fingers through it, and his jaw hung open.

“They always said Mintai mane was soft; they weren’t lying. I wish I had a bed of this stuff.” He thought.

Slipping past the living room, he came upon a set of stairs leading up to the second floor. He silently crept up the stairs, making certain to tread lightly. When he reached the end of the stairs, he peeked between the balusters supporting the handrail and saw the shadow of a guard down the hall and around the corner. The second floor’s structure meant there weren’t many places for someone to hide. Containing multiple rooms, however, only one room was slightly ajar. Leo slipped up the stairs like a snake and slipped into the room, returning the door to its previous position before the guard turned the corner.

The room had a fireplace on the back wall, a colorful pattern colored the floor via a large area rug, and a desk that sat at the back of the room. The desk was made up of thick dark wood with a pleasant scent that filled the room. Leo walked over to the desk and found several drawers within. Each of them opened, revealing a bevy of random stationary items: quill pens, ink bottles, and various random parchments. The bottom desk, however, had a locking mechanism on it.

“Crap… This is why I was wishing for us to get some battles on the way here… I haven’t learned lockpicking yet!” He shouts in his head. “Hell, I don’t even know if this is the right one.”

“No need to yell about it,” Arte responded. “But, if there’s a lock on it, it should be the one. Only one of the four spaces should have the stuff we need.”

“Oh, so I got it on the first try, lucky!”

“Just find the keys before someone finds you. Try checking next to the mayor’s bed.”

“Gotcha.”

Leo crouches and peers through the crack in the door. The guard is listlessly slipping through the hallway, nearly falling asleep with each step. After walking past the door, he quietly slips out and heads up another flight of stairs. Meanwhile, Arte was still keeping Milq company.

“It's been a week since I last had someone to talk to like this!” He exclaims.

“A week? Who’s been coming to visit you?” She asks.

“Ah, she’s one of my patients’ daughters. Occasionally, she’ll bring me food whenever she makes too much.” He says.

“That’s kind of her. I’m surprised she’s bold enough to feed a prisoner.” Arte says.

“I said the same thing.” He grinned,

Creak!

Arte hears noise from the front and readies her blade, remembering it’s in the guard’s possession. He walks into the next room, and a few minutes pass before he comes back with a girl.

She had brown hair slicked back and held in place with a hair band, ending in sweeping curls that hugged her cheeks. Her cheeks were rosy and her eyes were bright green. She wore a sleeveless dress with a collar and a small tie that ended in a pleated skirt. In both her hands, she held a bag that made her slouch over, and she was barely making much progress while walking with it. Her cheeks were puffed out from carrying the bag.

“Uh… Do you want some help with that?” Arte asks.

“Yes, please.” She says.

Arte grabs the bag from her and lifts it up with ease.

“... This bag has to be about ten pounds.” Arte thinks. “She was definitely in the game… But I don’t remember her being in contact with the doc. In fact, she was supposed to have left the village by the time the hero arrived here. What’s happening?”

The girl takes a moment to catch her breath.

“Thanks for that. I was under the impression that I was the only girl visiting our dear doctor as of late.” She smiled, but an underlying aura of tension filled the air and made Milq shoot up from the ground.

“Ah, yes! This is Arte, she’s new to town and decided to take the request to prove my innocence!” He exclaims.

“Is that so. I was honestly getting worried that no one would help you. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Emerald. Thank you for helping the dear doctor.” She introduces, with a curtsy.

“I’m Astarte Firia, but everyone just calls me Arte.” Arte smiles. “Now that I get a better look at you… You seem familiar. Have we met before?”

“I don’t think we’ve met before… Oh! But maybe you’ve met my twin sister!”

“T-twin sister?” Arte questions with sweat on her forehead.

“Yeah! My sister left home not too long ago to pursue her dream to become a knight.” She explained.

“Ah, that must be it. I may have seen her on the road...” Arte trailed off. “Oh yeah, here you go.”

Arte hands the bag to Milq, making sure to get the guard’s approval first, and he cries after opening it.

“So that’s why… She’s an entirely new character… Er… Person. What are the odds that her mother had twins this time? Even small changes like that can affect story lines. I’m happy for Milq and Emerald; they’ve got a good thing going. I almost feel like a third wheel…”

“Emmy, I’ve missed your cooking! The bread here is hard as a rock!” He exclaims.

“Sorry, I’ve had trouble slipping away lately. My mother’s health has been declining since you got locked up.” She admits.

He grips the bars of the cell.

“Have her symptoms returned?!” He questions.

“Some of them, yes. We haven’t been able to get any of the medicine.” She explained.

“I need to get out of here…” He sighed.

“Arte, I know you just took this request tonight, but did you have any ideas about how to get me out. If I can’t treat her mother, her condition will worsen.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll be out of here by tomorrow.” She reassured.

“T-tomorrow?!” He exclaimed.

Emerald looked over in equal shock.

“Bad news, Arte, the files aren’t there,” Leo states.

“Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm?!” She responds.

Her confident grin becomes wider as worry spreads across her face.