“It’s not an order. Definitely not a coercion. I’m asking you. I hope you can come to the desert with me.”
“Ugh…?”
Erika, munching on a cookie, was so startled that she choked.
After a lengthy cough, with her face flushed, she cautiously scrutinized Schlus’s expression.
He was speaking seriously right now.
“To the desert? Who are you planning to bring?”
“For now, it’ll be Trie and you, along with an unmentionable collaborator.”
“Why can’t you mention them now?”
“I’ll tell you when the decision is made.”
“Why not Iris and Aintz?”
“Aintz’s flame magic… it’s definitely useful, but I think it’ll be overkill for this operation. And bringing Iris increases the risk way too much. My presence will already attract a lot of attention, I don’t have the luxury to worry about a saint’s escort.”
“Hmm…”
Erika twirled her hair, pondering for a moment.
It seemed different from the last South Rebellion where they needed maximum power and quantity.
This time it appeared they needed a small elite team to strike and retreat, so high firepower magic wasn’t needed.
“Alright. I’ll go.”
“What? Wait a sec. You decided that already?”
“Yeah. Is there a problem?”
“Nah… What about school?”
“I’ll skip it. So what?”
“You might end up wasting a whole semester!”
“But it’s the same with you, Schlus. You’re disguising a failure to attend just to come along, right? Plus, you reached out to me. So, of course, I have to go.”
With Schlus’s power, a few days of absence could easily be made up.
Still, failing was clearly intentional.
Surely, he wasn’t denied attendance by the head professor after pleading with them.
That means the desert mission is urgent enough for Schlus to fake a failure.
Erika felt she couldn’t deny helping him in his efforts for the peace of the continent.
“R-right. Um, the failure was a disguise.”
“Huh…? You saying something feels awkward?”
“No. What about it?”
Schlus’s state did seem strange, but she decided not to dwell on it.
“So, who’s this collaborator?”
“Let’s talk about that while we move.”
Cleaning his mouth with a handkerchief, Schlus stood up.
Without hesitation, he walked out into the corridor.
Occasionally, passing maids and butlers would stop and bow the moment they saw him.
‘Just how secretive is this person?’
Who could be someone that shouldn’t even be heard of by the staff of the Lichtenburg Mansion?
Erika followed Schlus, bewildered, and throughout, he didn’t utter a word.
Soon, as they reached the mansion’s main entrance, a large carriage awaited them.
A hat-wearing servant opened the door and bowed his head.
Without hesitation, Schlus sat down beside the servant, who closed the door and entered the carriage.
“The barrier has been set up, Your Excellency.”
“I don’t trust you.”
“Ugh… If you break it immediately…”
“Erika, please set up a soundproof barrier.”
“Huh? Uh… Okay…”
Just as a solid barrier was wrapped around the carriage, it suddenly shattered with a *CRASH!*
Even though it was inside a barrier, the speed of the breaking was astonishing.
Dazed, Erika layered multiple soundproof barriers.
By the way, Erika was curious about this scruffy-looking man that Schlus was talking so casually with.
“This is Erika von der Lichtenburg, participating in this operation. I’ll reveal my identity now.”
“You know I hate disguising as a man…”
“I wasn’t aware.”
“Then you better know now.”
At that moment, the servant’s appearance began to change.
His tall frame shrank, his hips widened, and his chest puffed, transforming him into a woman’s body.
Under the hat, red hair spilled down beautifully.
Erika gasped and looked to Schlus for a reaction, but he seemed unfazed.
Soon, a woman with alluring eyes slightly removed her hat and gave a faint smile.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Jin.”
“Jin? You mean that Crow Jin?”
“Yes, I’m the famous Crow—”
“My real name is Jane Watson. Just so you know, if there’s any betrayal, you’ll be the first to be eradicated before the enemies.”
“That’s harsh… Have you ever seen me double-cross my employer?”
“Of course not. All the crows that betrayed me are dead.”
Erika casually shook hands with Jin to calm down her excitement.
Though no one knew how it worked, the crows were said to master intricate disguises effortlessly.
Additionally, she was well-known for her skills in barrier magic.
Now, there were two highly skilled magicians focusing on barrier magic here.
“If you sense anything suspicious, don’t hesitate to kill her. No capturing her alive, just make sure she’s dead.”
“Is that alright? Killing our hired crow…?”
“Heh. That’s part of the contract, lady. So if I find her suspicious, feel free to pop her head off. Though that probably won’t happen.”
A contract allowing the employer to kill the crow if necessary?
Not to mention, how much the contract fee must be for the expensive Jin.
“Jin won’t officially be part of our operation. She’ll sneak into the area to gather information and conduct operations, so you won’t likely meet her. So, act as if she’s not traveling with us.”
“Hmm…”
Is it really wise to hire someone like her just for collecting information?
Usually, hiring locals would be much cheaper overall.
The reason for this unusual decision must be Jin’s disguise abilities.
It seemed likely Jin would be tasked with infiltrating enemy territory.
But who could they possibly consider an enemy in the desert…?
“We’ve arrived at the Schultenburg Mansion, Your Excellency.”
“Put on your hat, Jin. Transform back into a servant.”
“Can’t you let me change into a woman? Having this thing between my legs is really awful.”
“Then disguise yourself as a handsome woman.”
“Oh! That’s a brilliant idea!”
“Erika, we’ll explain the detailed plan inside with Trie.”
As Schlus waved his hand, the barrier disappeared completely.
Just after being startled, upon turning around, she saw a tall servant had come back.
Alternately glancing between Schlus and Jin, Erika felt dizzy and couldn’t focus.
It seemed adapting to these monsters’ antics would take some time.
*
The intense sunlight blazed down on the desert development area.
Looking towards the imperial road, Damien broke into a wide grin.
“So, you’re a friend of Regent? You should’ve told me earlier! If you’d given a heads-up about the visit, we could have prepared a more grand welcome!”
“Haha…”
Hatlocker, crossing his arms with a displeased expression.
Duke Damien patted his shoulder, laughing heartily.
Before them stood hundreds of soldiers lined up to prepare for the formalities.
The news of Schlus Hainkel’s arrival had just reached them the day before.
At the same time, Hatlocker was given orders to pretend to be a childhood friend of Schlus Hainkel.
Fortunately, it seemed there had been no conflicting dialogue in what he had already said, so Duke Damien appeared to believe him outright.
‘I didn’t even get a heads-up.’
The problem was he had just learned this story yesterday.
Why would they only inform him the day before Schlus’s arrival, especially while he was already on a mission in the desert?
With Schlus’s notorious reputation made him suspicious, he wouldn’t just be here for a casual visit.
‘Doesn’t this seem like asking for interference?’
What if I mistakenly attack a local collaborator during the operation thinking they were an enemy? They were pretty unhelpful in this situation.
That’s why Hatlocker was immensely frustrated.
“Your Excellency’s carriage is in sight!”
“Ah.”
In the distance, a large carriage began to appear at the end of the road.
As soldiers and officials tensed up, their bodies stiffened.
The official second-in-command of the Freya Empire.
Suddenly wielding unprecedented power, they managed to achieve several reforms quickly.
The ruler of the battlefield, said to wield a gigantic sword of light.
A figure with multiple titles was currently arriving in the desert development area.
“Show the same decorum as if it were for His Majesty.”
“Yes, understood, My Lord.”
Though he was considerably inferior to an emperor, he was a man of unparalleled status.
After much deliberation, Damien decided to treat him with the same respect as an emperor.
Of course, for the ceremonial artillery, he decided to fire one less than the emperor’s twenty shots.
‘He’s coming out!’
The carriage stopped in front of the red carpet.
The door opened, and Schlus Hainkel, clad in formal attire with a sword, slowly stepped out.
Two women followed closely behind him, presumably guards or aides.
The moment Schlus Hainkel stepped on the carpet—
*BOOM!* *BANG!*
Flames leapt up on both sides with a tremendous blast.
Artifacts looking towards the sky simultaneously activated their spells.
These were weapons crafted for siege and anti-air defense using the empire’s and desert’s magical engineering combined.
Though the firepower was significantly less than the annihilation cannon, it had more than enough strength to break down castle walls.
The shells soared into the sky and exploded mid-air, bursting into colorful flames.
Even Damien was surprised seeing twenty shells detonate at once.
Wondering if this level was satisfactory, he looked down with a pleased face—
“Ugh!”
There stood Schlus Hainkel with an expressionless glare fixed on him.
Oh no, I really messed this one up!
Was this the kind of treatment for a national leader who held unprecedented power?!
Damien froze, caught in the chilling gaze that seemed to interrogate him.
.
.
.
‘What the heck is this? Insane.’
He was stunned.
Going in thinking they’d just launch a few pretty sparkles, but they fired a barrage like the annihilation cannon instead!?
Just how much did they spend on this ceremony?
Damien realized that the Duke wasn’t about to treat him casually.
Honestly, being a noble with high status, and a man who ruled this desert development area, he thought it would be easy for him to dismiss a commoner like me, but maybe that’s just a misconception.
‘Pull your expression together, dude.’
Looking at where Damien stood, he noticed Hatlocker was listlessly clapping.
That rude dude.
He needed to clap with a bit more zeal.
But maybe being nonchalant was just fitting for the act of being his childhood friend.
Since he wasn’t new to disguises, it seemed better to just let Hatlocker handle everything.
‘Is that elf Atatürk…?’
Beside Damien stood a tall man with tanned skin.
The sharp-eared elf man was definitely Atatürk.
The iron-blooded minister.
Termed the shame of the elf race and a traitor.
He was the key to this operation.
“Erika. Don’t tremble.”
“Ah, um…”
Seeing Erika, all decked out, shaking, I held her hand tightly.
The loud cannon blasts and the soldiers’ intimidating presence seemed to have startled her a bit.
As she firmly grasped my hand and took deep breaths, she calmed down and smiled at me.
“I think I’m good now.”
“Then let’s go.”
Releasing her hand, we stepped onto the red carpet and moved forward.
Fully armed Trie and Erika followed closely behind me.
