Saikyou Mahoushi no Inton Keikaku (LN) - Volume 14 - Chapter 80

Eightieth Chapter

Cold War Negotiations

Near the borders of Alpha and Clevideet a group sprinted towards Alpha in the darkness, their bodies covered in cloaks that made them look suspicious. This was the group Vizaist feared—a squad led by the world’s Hardest Magicmaster, Fanon Trooper. With her were two male Magicmasters, one female Magicmaster, one female healing Magicmaster, and the rank 1 Spotter, Exceles Lilyusem.

Fanon’s hood fluttered as she looked into the direction they were headed. Her forehead was covered in blood-soaked gauze, a remnant of her previous battle. It looked like it hurt, and it made the other five, including Exceles, question how reliable she was right now.

In order to keep from needlessly provoking Alpha, they’d kept the elite squad small. Of course, Fanon had no objections. She was going to kill the two heinous thugs that had so brazenly indiscriminately attacked the citizens of her nation even if she had to do so alone.

They had given her a hard time on their last encounter, but it would be different this time. Now she was equipped well and ready for her revenge match. Fanon moved at high speed. She wore an eerie smile as she spoke, “Exceles, you better be keeping a track of that blockhead and gun user.”

“Of course. There is nothing to worry about,” the world’s top Spotter coolly replied to Fanon as she ran, carrying two large cylinders.

Of course, even though this was military duty, Fanon was wearing fashionable casual clothes. Her love for all things cute shone through even as she burned for revenge. Here at the border zone, her goth loli appearance stood out whether she liked it or not. The only thing that stood for something other than looking fancy were large cylinders containing the Three Precept Contradiction, which were attached to Exceles by a special belt.

They were Fanon’s exclusive AWRs, and taking them out required permission from the top of the military or Clevideet’s ruler. That decision was made in consideration of Fanon’s personality—as she tended to get emotional and overdo it in the heat of battle—because the AWRs’ powers could be frightening if she got worked up and lost her ability to restrain herself.

At present, the second-in-command, Exceles, had the authority to permit her to bring out two of the three, as each of the Three Precepts was considered its own AWR. Each was formidable in its own right, but when equipped with all three, Fanon had her trump card. Their use was really only permitted in the Outer World and required Exceles’s okay, as well as the ruler’s and Governor-General’s approval.

Although I’m sure only one would be enough, Exceles thought as she glanced back at one of the cylinders and stroked it.

The sudden battle from before had been unexpected, but fortunately, the damage hadn’t been too enormous, and they had gotten to see their opponent’s powers firsthand.

There won’t be a repeat of last time, when Lady Fanon was equipped with this AWR. With this thought, Exceles suddenly realized that she had lost some of her cool. She was unexpectedly moved.

At any rate, it was clear that Fanon was enraged, and this was Exceles’s first time seeing her blow her top so badly. But she could tell by their deliberately small formation that some thought had still been put into an excuse for violating Alpha’s borders. Even so, she felt somewhat uneasy.

Not only do we need to deal with those attackers, we also need to retrieve that without Alpha noticing, she thought. It had been a message Exceles had received from a subordinate. In exchange for the higher-ups of Clevideet unexpectedly ratifying Fanon’s actions, they had added a condition—a mission to recover the AWR stolen from Area 90.

She had technically told Fanon about it, but she was concerned the Hardest Magicmaster wouldn’t bother to pay any attention to it. And if things broke down into a serious political issue, it wouldn’t be Fanon who would shoulder the blame. The higher-ups, knowing her selfishness, had more or less given her free reign. Exceles, who was not just Fanon’s second-in-command but also her chaperone, would be held accountable.

While depressing, Exceles understood that the higher-ups couldn’t allow their brand-new, top secret AWRs to remain in the hands of thieves. But how could they let them be stolen so easily in the first place and then demand us to retrieve them without Alpha noticing, she thought. The higher-ups really are shameless. Perhaps they are even willing to upset Lady Fanon for it.

This information had been conveyed to Fanon and the rest of her squad. In fact, technically their primary objective was to retrieve the AWRs, but considering how angry Fanon was, even if they tried to accomplish their mission in secret, it could lead to destruction of property or casualties within Alpha.

After all, the AWR thieves had no problem starting a fight in the middle of a city and dragging civilians into it.

Therefore, their mission was very challenging politically. It would be less nerve-racking to fight a horde of Fiends in the Outer World.

Just as Exceles sighed, her sharp senses picked up a strange wave of mana, and she saw the sky in the direction they were traveling burn red. Considering how rough the wave of mana was, she had no doubt it was the two they were pursuing, Gordon and Suzar, invoking some kind of power.

“Hmph. Are they trying to start something? We’re almost to Alpha’s border,” Fanon said fearlessly. Meanwhile Exceles looked appalled, her face turning pale.

“What is it?” asked Fanon.

“I am sorry, Lady Fanon. My tracking has come off...! I lost the target!” exclaimed Exceles.

“Huh?! What are you talking about?!” Fanon shouted in astonishment.

However, Exceles was just as astonished. As the rank 1 Spotter, she was very confident in her own abilities. Exceles detected the mana information body, which was unique for every Magicmaster. More specifically, she located her opponent by sensing the waves of mana they emitted, a method that was practically undetectable to opponents unlike blasting waves like mana sonars.

On top of that, she could accurately detect all mana within her range, down to the minutest detail. This meant she could sense Magicmasters’ mana waves with ease. When she was scanning mana, she saw a completely different world, and as long as she’d seen someone’s mana information once, she could consciously visualize their position on a map in her head as if she’d planted a beacon on them. But something was wrong.

The bruise at her neck wriggled, and her left cheek took on an eerie black color. “It’s no good,” she said. “The beacon has come off. But how?”

Exceles was absorbed in thought, but Fanon didn’t demand an explanation from her as mana swelled up from within. “That’s okay, it doesn’t matter anymore. We know that they’re up ahead!”

The squad nodded at Fanon’s words and picked up speed, ready for a fight. However, when they arrived where the wave of mana had come from, they saw a bizarre devastation.

The top of an Alpha watchtower had been blown away, and fires burned all over. Complex magical equipment had melted away, and electricity sparked from broken equipment. Near the collapsing watchtower lay around ten dead watchmen. Based on their appearance, they had been killed without putting up much resistance, and inside were even more, some non-Magicmasters among them, engineers by the look of it.

Ugh...! thought Fanon, sharing a bitter look with Exceles as they realized they were too late.

Suddenly, one of the squad members shouted, “One of them is still alive!”

A few minutes later, Fanon ground her teeth as she saw the blood drain from the unconscious man’s face. His scorched border patrol uniform was stained with blood. He had taken a gunshot to the torso, and immediately afterwards, he’d taken cover under his desk and just barely stayed alive.

“We don’t have that much medicine, do we? Then we’ll just have to hurry and take them down before they can harm anyone else! Let’s go, Exceles!” Fanon said in a stiff tone, and Exceles nodded once in response, putting her hand on Fanon’s delicate shoulder.

“No, he can still be saved. Even though it may have been a one-sided attack by the thieves, abandoning the wounded would harm Alpha’s impression of us. So please hold off on pursuing them for a little longer.”

“They killed innocent civilians in Clevideet! I am the world’s hardest Magicmaster, and I couldn’t protect them! So I have to make them pay!”

“I understand your anger, but please calm yourself. I swear that I will locate them again.” Exceles embraced Fanon from behind, gently wrapping her arms around the girl’s shoulders, which trembled with anger. Fanon gritted her teeth once more, before strength left her body.

“You’re right. All right, check to see if there are any other survivors. Leave any injured to the healing Magicmaster! After that, give them some first aid!” she said.

Fanon still had complex feelings on the matter, but she changed gears and gave swift orders, much to the relief of the other squad members. In the end, they found and saved three survivors and took some time to put out the fires.

Once that was over, Fanon looked at Exceles with a frown. “Exceles, isn’t this the first time that you’ve lost someone?”

“That’s not true,” she answered, “but it seems like our targets didn’t intentionally do so. It must have been something the gun user did. A strange magical field has been formed in a thirty meter radius around the watchtower. It appears that the force field created an artificial beacon by chance.” It was likely created by the gun-type AWR Caligula that Suzar had stolen. “It feels like he shot up an explosive bullet that spread a jamming effect.”

Exceles and the others had no way to know it, but this effect was similar to the mana inhibiting snow that had caused so much trouble for Alus and the others in Vanalis. The force field prevented mana from bonding within its range and emitted randomly constructed mana waves at a regular interval and, at times, bursts of mana light.

“Yes. But that said, this ability to fire all kinds of magic bullets must have been based on my Three Precept Contradiction,” said Fanon.

It was hard to imagine that the Aegis had been used as a reference for the gun-type AWR, so it was likely one of the other two.

“This sucks... They barely let me use it at all!” Fanon bitterly said, biting her nails.

“It’s not just the watchtower; the mana cables for communications have all been cut off too. All of the communication systems in the area are down because of this strange force field. Perhaps that was the point of the attack,” said Exceles. But it seemed like the fact that it had even torn off Exceles’s own tracking had been unintended.

“Maybe they’re trying to buy time, or perhaps they didn’t want to be pursued over the border,” said Fanon.

Exceles nodded at Fanon’s words just as the healing Magicmaster whispered into her ear. “I just tried to send an anonymous report to Alpha’s security forces, but I can’t reach them. The communications system’s completely down.”

Exceles furrowed her brow at the confused squad member. The force field wasn’t just interfering with her sensing, it seemed to have been put in place to shut down the communications network. She glanced over at the wounded and started to rub her temples. “This is a problem, Lady Fanon. We can’t leave them like this.”

“Can’t you do something about it?!” Fanon asked, blatant irritation on her face.

Regardless of her frustration, they couldn’t abandon their policy of prioritizing human lives now. After moving all of the survivors into the shade of a tree, Exceles had a squad member prepare an emergency flare. She hadn’t wanted to use it if she could avoid it, since by analyzing the flare, Alpha would find out from where they were, but it was too late to turn back. However, just as the squad member was about to fire the flare, Fanon stopped them. “Exceles, it seems that won’t be necessary.”

Exceles didn’t overlook the slight tension in Fanon’s voice, and she stiffened as well. She hadn’t let her guard down, but she had been influenced by the mana field. And before she knew it, figures had appeared from the shadows of the trees.

It was a group of men. They were dressed plainly and all wore friendly expressions. One by one, they appeared...looking like villagers from a nearby village.

“Lady Fanon!” Exceles moved up to Fanon and sent her a signal with her eyes.

Sensing her intentions, Fanon sent a sharp glance towards the men. She had picked up that they were no ordinary villagers. They had an air of mystery around them. The moment Fanon put up her guard, a man with a bent back at the front of the group suddenly straightened it up, so straight, it was like he had a board on his back.

The other men followed his lead and straightened their backs; even the way they walked changed visibly. They behaved like trained soldiers who gave no openings.

Just as Fanon and her squad readied themselves, a voice rang out as a final figure appeared from the trees. He was a big and burly man with a deep voice. “To think we’d be seen through so easily. It seems my subordinates still need more work. That said, there is much I need to hear from you. Oh esteemed guests from Clevideet.”

Unspoken in the words was an intimidating implication that they were prepared to fight depending on the answer. Fanon knew her plan to act in secrecy had already fallen apart. Exceles couldn’t help but feel that they’d run out of luck to come across this man so quickly after crossing the border.

“It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Lord Socalent,” Exceles began with a sociable smile and greeting. As she observed the other party, her fake smile turned darker. “It seems you already know of our affiliation. As you are no doubt aware, I am a spotter from Clevideet. My name is Exceles Lilyusem. The others with me are all my companions.”

As the second-in-command, Exceles was in charge of paperwork and information gathering, and due to her specialization, she had a decent amount of knowledge about other nations. Considering the man’s appearance and the air of experience he exuded, she knew he was almost certainly Vizaist Socalent, said to lead Alpha’s highly skilled intelligence department. Since it would be simple for him to discern between truths and falsehoods, Exceles quickly abandoned the pretense for their covert operation, knowing that lying would be pointless.

By being frank, she shifted to probing the other party. It was a bold, flexible move by someone who could see the full picture. However, Vizaist showed no change in expression as he answered. “I thank you very much for your kind greetings. I see, indeed, that beauty is no doubt belonging to the rank 1 Spotter, Exceles. Like you, I have some knowledge of Clevideet. However...” an unmistakable sarcasm and irritation entered Vizaist’s voice. “You trample on our territory with military boots and ask for smiles and handshakes...? It seems the Clevideet style of greeting is severely lacking in refinement.”

Exceles drew back at his piercing glance. The name of Vizaist Socalent, a bold and attentive head of a noble family, had reached even the neighboring country of Clevideet. After all, he had always supported the major nation as the head of one of its three great noble families.

The depth and breadth of his information network was unthinkable. If one wanted to protect information from him, they would need to suspect even a friend of decades old. As Exceles looked at his subordinates’ clever disguises, she became convinced that they were also too skilled for Magicmaster to be their side job. She knew she couldn’t let her guard down around them for a moment.

However, only Exceles could read that much into it that quickly, and the others were only just recalling that Socalent was one of the great nobles of Alpha. So she decided to step in front of Fanon. She wanted to stop any outbursts, seeing that Vizaist’s sarcasm had already upset Clevideet’s top Magicmaster.

First she wanted to look into their priority. Were they here to peacefully settle things, or were they willing to resort to military conflict if necessary? Based on their conversation so far, it seemed to be the latter, but Exceles at least wanted to try her hand at negotiation.

“Pardon me, Lord Socalent. Of course, we are not behind this cruel attack. We have also finished applying first aid to the injured. However, some require immediate aid, and I believe it would be best to get a doctor as soon as possible.”

Exceles said “we” twice to emphasize that they were not the guilty party, trying to earn favor with Alpha by mentioning their treatment of the injured. And she continued to further press the point. “Of course, we have no intention of antagonizing you. If anything we are glad to see Lord Socalent of the intelligence department, one of the three great noble families of Alpha, come here.”

Exceles said this in a manner to convey his status and details to Fanon and the others and discourage them from making any rash moves, as much as to try to win Vizaist over for the sake of a compromise.

Exceles was hastily trying to bring things into a discussion.

Yet despite her efforts...

“This old man’s annoying. Stop moping around and go help your soldiers. Even if they are from a different nation, seeing people we’ve treated dying before our eyes is nothing but a nuisance,” exclaimed Fanon.

Fanon’s whine was starting to give Exceles a headache. If she weren’t so calm and collected, she would have made a fierce retort or two.

Vizaist’s temples twitched at Fanon’s inability to read the room. “I take it you are Clevideet’s Single, Fanon Trooper. But does your nation’s Single even know how to speak like an adult? Being too simple-minded can ruin you.”

“That’s a pretty good joke for an old man. But it’s out of style,” responded Fanon.

“What?! Lady Fanon, wait!” Exceles stepped between the two to defuse the explosive situation.

If Fanon were to become enraged and this Alpha VIP were to be hurt, it would cause serious diplomatic problems. Depending on how Alpha responded, it could even lead to war. Clevideet’s Single being involved was bad enough, but if things escalated, they would also let Gordon and Suzar escape. Then if they were to massacre people in Alpha, there would be a higher risk of war between the nations. After all, they were using AWRs created by Clevideet.

Ahh, this is the worst possible situation. Typically we’d want to break through by force if necessary and get those AWRs back, thought Exceles. She wanted to whine because it seemed even Exceles’s restraint wasn’t enough to suppress Fanon’s fury.

But the loli goth girl did have a point. Her squad had been the ones who had treated the injured, and if they had abandoned them, it was clear the scales would tip against them. Seeing Fanon raise her umbrella AWR’s tip—what amounted to the spearhead on a spear—Exceles’s shoulders slumped as if it was all over.

That was when a refreshing woman’s voice rang out. “Commander...”

Exceles gazed at the beautiful young woman who had appeared next to Vizaist and spoken in an admonishing tone. Suddenly Vizaist’s threatening demeanor disappeared like it had never been there in the first place.

“Mmm...”

Sensing that Vizaist’s anger had been extinguished, relief came over Exceles. At the very least, they’d avoided the worst outcome. Looking at the woman again, Exceles realized she was pretty young. In spite of her ample breasts and bewitching atmosphere, she looked young enough to be called a girl.

Fanon’s youthfulness came from her childlike face, but this woman’s came from how glossy her skin was. The woman smiled and bowed before speaking.

“I apologize for my father. I fear we can’t give you a warm welcome, but we can at least hear what you have to say. That way I am sure we can reach some kind of compromise.”

“Hey. Feli! Ugh.” Vizaist wanted to object to Felinella’s proposal for discussion, but a swift elbow left him reeling in agony.

She just said her father? Then this is...

“His daughter?” Exceles accidentally blurted out, before hurriedly closing her mouth. But no matter who it was, she had given them a helping hand. Regardless of her age, Exceles looked at her with respect due to her aid.

“Lady Fanon, in Alpha we are just Magicmasters from a neighboring nation. And it’s only natural that its people would be suspicious of our movements. So why don’t we explain ourselves and ask for their accommodation,” said Exceles.

Fanon’s squad were at the border, and while they could claim that they technically hadn’t crossed it, they had unquestionably threatened Alpha with military might. Based on Vizaist’s attitude, her team had already crossed a line and they had few options available.

“Yes, yes, as long as there’s someone reasonable to talk to,” Fanon replied sarcastically, but Exceles had another thought in mind.

She thought back to Vizaist’s anger and stubbornness... Perhaps that had been a bluff to throw them off and put them in an inferior position of invaders. But even if that was the case, he was quite gutsy to try such tactics against Fanon when she was so easily prone to outbursts.

Thinking about it, they hadn’t actually spent that much time treating the wounded, yet Vizaist had arrived so quickly. Considering his outstanding information-gathering ability, he probably already had some degree of information on them. In that case, she wondered how much he knew. Did he know about the stolen AWRs, the terror attack in Clevideet? About the identities of the attackers? And what about the reason Fanon and her squad had come?

Their battle for the initiative had begun from the moment he appeared from the trees.

Phew, if he knew everything...there wouldn’t be many cards we could play, thought Exceles, completely honestly.

Her opponent had a vast hand of cards, while her own squad only had a few they could play in return.

Not to mention that one of those cards, the stolen AWRs and their mission to retrieve them, was a self-destructive joker.

This is just a hunch, but I don’t think he knows about this joker. In which case, we’ll need to keep it concealed. While Exceles thought to herself, reinforcements from Alpha finally arrived. They carried away the injured and prepared to transport them into the nation. Surprisingly, they weren’t soldiers. While some were healing Magicmasters, the group basically consisted of military medics and nurses.

Vizaist glanced at them and spoke up in his usual deep voice. “It seems things have calmed down here as well. Now that the rear guard is here, let’s get on with it.”

Exceles nodded, and she and Fanon, who had calmed down, followed behind Vizaist. On the way, Exceles worriedly looked over at Fanon. Even as second-in-command, she didn’t have any experience in political negotiations in such a dire situation, and she could only hope that Fanon’s unruly side wouldn’t burst out in a critical moment.

“Did you notice, Exceles?” Fanon spoke in a hushed tone, as if sensing Exceles’s somber silence. “Don’t you think they showed up too fast?”

Exceles responded with a stiff expression. “Yes, they certainly were fast. But...” Fanon had noticed the biggest concern. Healing Magicmasters were a precious resource, and this response had been uncannily fast and perfect, making it suspicious. “Soldiers? I think they’re the other side’s subordinates, but I can’t tell.”

“If they’re acting, they are very skilled. If I use detection, I should be able to tell...” said Fanon.

It was impossible to tell them apart from non-Magicmasters. The mana leaking from them seemed entirely natural and they were not built for fighting. So while they seemed to be soldiers, there was no way to know for sure. It was a first for Fanon.

She sighed in resignation. Normally, her unyielding spirit and self-centeredness took center stage, but Fanon did possess the intellect and intuition to climb up to the rank of Single. Right now, those talents were rearing their heads, and she responded with unusual calm.

“I suppose there are shrewd people in every nation. If they’d simply attacked us with force we could crush them without hesitation, but by attacking our weak point with bargaining there’s not much we can do... That old man, Vizaist Socalent, was it? While they were elusively bargaining, those reinforcements arrived not just to take care of the injured, but to keep us in check, right? I bet their own Singles are giving them a handful, so they have experience in dealing with them. Pretty similar to our ruler.”

“Ah! So it would seem,” Exceles said, having only just noticed.

Vizaist had called the new arrivals the rear guard, but that typically referred to a military unit. Medics and nurses weren’t usually considered combatants. So these were probably soldiers, but they were skilled enough at blending in to make Fanon’s group question their status.

If they were non-Magicmasters, they had a different type of military strength to act as a deterrent to Fanon. In a sense, they were hostages and a wall to keep Fanon from running wild, because overwhelming mana or not, the rank of Single was built into the social system. Having built their reputation through their rank, their social status and pride as Magicmasters forbade them from using any flashy spells that would get noncombatants caught up in them.

So in a case like this, a number of powerless ordinary people trumped a mighty army. Even if there was a ninety percent chance they were soldiers, once the possibility of them being non-Magicmasters appeared, it was difficult to get it out of their mind. Harming a non-Magicmaster was the greatest taboo for Magicmasters, and even more so for a Single. Magicmasters existed for the sake of non-Magicmasters, and abandoning that basic principle was essentially social suicide.

Fanon had come here, burning with rage and injured on her forehead, to hunt down the criminals who killed her nation’s citizens. Could she possibly drag another nation’s people into a fight herself? Vizaist had anticipated as much. Normally, Fanon acted irrationally and without hesitation, but that wasn’t an option unless something major happened in this situation.

“From another nation or not, it’d be a nuisance if the people we treated were to die before our eyes,” she said, and Vizaist had seen through her proud persona to one of the core reasons why, no matter how irrational or self-indulgent she could be, her squad never left her.

I suppose that means he has a high opinion of Lady Fanon, to use such a bold and drastic measure. But, well, I suppose it is an effective blow, Exceles sensed, glancing at Fanon’s profile.

Exceles couldn’t remember when she last saw Fanon sigh every so often and sulk with such a resigned expression. For better or worse, Fanon’s temperament was clear to anyone around her. Her own transparent nature made it especially difficult for her to bargain with those who were difficult to read. Exceles decided to think of the development as an unexpected stroke of luck.

After that, Fanon and the others were led to a house so old it left them stunned. It was the hideout that Vizaist and his subordinates had been using. The interior was a little too cramped to fit everyone; even using the rustic kitchen didn’t give them enough space, and several subordinates for both groups were left standing.

Still, one could not help but feel that leading a Single, those often considered the most important people in matters of diplomacy, to a place like this was way out of the norm.

“Now then, may we hear the reason you decided to sneak into our nation?” Vizaist sarcastically asked as he dragged over a chair and sat down.

“More importantly, what are you thinking, bringing me to such a filthy place? Frankly, I can’t believe the nerve!” Fanon was a bit of a clean freak, and she pinched her nose at the smell of stale air in the room as she questioned the other side’s sanity.

Exceles almost broke into a cold sweat, but she resigned herself to leave it all up to Fanon, who was currently controlling herself. In Clevideet, she often made absurd demands of the ruler and Governor-General and got her way, so this was not unusual. Even if she was a little bit too aggressive, Fanon Trooper was intelligent and not bad at negotiating.

“Hmm, how impolite of us.” Vizaist looked a little daunted, but he wasn’t particularly intimidated and stared back at Fanon. “However we are very busy ourselves, and I feel it would be best if we say what needs to be said before you return to where you came from.”

“Like I said, it’s not that simple! Jeez, fine, but this will get a little complicated,” Fanon said and crossed her legs.

Vizaist’s expression changed. He grinned and rubbed his chin. “Is that so...then let us hear it.”

After that Exceles explained a portion of the tragedy that had taken place in Clevideet in Fanon’s stead. Vizaist seemed to already have a vague understanding of it, but it was unlikely that he had known the details. She realized this was one of the cards that they could play.

“And so we came to Alpha in pursuit of those fleeing attackers,” Exceles said, playing the card at Fanon’s request. But as Vizaist was a shrewd veteran, she had a feeling that the odds were against them. “As such, we would like to request your aid to apprehend, or deal with these criminals in the interest of your nation’s security.”

“Hmph, you were planning on sneaking in if you could, weren’t you?” one of Vizaist’s subordinates pointed out.

“Well...yes, even if we are a squad led by Clevideet’s Single, we know that we don’t have the authority to pursue criminals into a different nation, but we have our honor to consider. Clevideet citizens were slaughtered. We can’t allow another nation to deal with men who have committed such horrors. They must be captured and brought back to our nation and face their crimes,” Exceles appealed in a strong tone.

That said, she did feel some unease inside. After all, the honor she spoke of referred more to Fanon’s own than the military from Clevideet.

Fanon seemed to be satisfied with Exceles’s argument, but every so often she touched the bandage covering the injury on her forehead that she got from Gordon. After hearing what Exceles had to say, Vizaist fell silent for a moment.

Eventually, he calmly spoke up again with a softer attitude. “And, what are their names?”

“I couldn’t tell you that. We have an obligation to keep military secrets,” Exceles replied, saying that the information wouldn’t come for free. She proceeded carefully while vigilantly observing the other side. Playing their cards whenever the opponent asked for it was no way to negotiate.

Vizaist, meanwhile, took everything into consideration and pondered his next course of action. He wanted to extract at least some information out of them. “I understand your circumstances, but they are your own. Besides, what is with those dangerous looking things? They could certainly be seen as a means of military invasion.” Vizaist motioned at the large cylinders that Fanon’s squad had brought with them.

Exceles maintained a calm smile to hide the critical hit she had taken. “They are the bare minimum preparations to capture the criminals. They are most certainly not weapons for an invasion.”

“Suspicious. That equipment...it appears to me to be some sort of AWR. I’ll have you know that I’m not just some old informer, but a Magicmaster as well.”

The pressure coming from Vizaist suddenly increased. At that point, Exceles resolved herself to get past Vizaist’s discerning eye, even if it meant strained lies.

“No, in this state they are just parts...” she said.

That was when Felinella spoke in a calming tone to dispel the tension. “It seems you are at a standstill.”

She walked in carrying a tray with tea for everyone. As the daughter of a noble family, Felinella was not just familiar with traditional tea etiquette, but also well versed in cross-cultural hospitality. But the place being the place, there was a limit. There was nothing to snack on with the tea, and the utensils were old-fashioned and darkened. Still, the aroma of the tea helped alleviate the mood.

She added some more words to displace the tense atmosphere. “Father, I can understand why you must be stern for the sake of your duties, but Lady Fanon and her party are a Single Digit Magicmaster squad representing Clevideet. Since you have gone through the trouble of coming all this way to see them, why not report this to the Governor-General...or even the ruler and request their full hospitality,” Felinella said with a bright smile.

Seeing the discretion in her eyes, Vizaist’s eyebrows rose a little, and he let out a sigh of resignation. “Hmm...I see. Perhaps that would be for the better.”

“Ah, that’s...” Exceles blurted out, but the moment Vizaist nodded at Felinella’s suggestion, Clevideet’s squad had already seized the initiative.

Their mission to secure the stolen AWRs had to be done in secret. And while Exceles had decided to reveal part of their mission to Vizaist, she wanted to get through this situation without playing all of her hand so they could get back to carrying out their mission in secret.

But receiving a grand welcome was a completely different story. Attention would gather on their every motion, making it impossible to act covertly. Any responsibilities for trespassing would start to blur, but it would also keep them from achieving their objective.

Felinella’s proposal was an ingenious one. Unperturbed by Exceles’s internal conflict, Vizaist continued.

“Yes, this old shack is certainly no place to receive a Single and her party. Very well, it might have been a rather rough visit, but if they are going through the proper procedures to visit Alpha, we need to show proper manners.”

Exceles bit the inside of her lip. As expected, the other party was too good for them to get by using clever tricks.

Then, Felinella spoke up again. “By the way, how is the tea? Lady Fanon, Lady Exceles? I would also like to apologize for our impoliteness, Lady Fanon. This is my first time meeting another nation’s Single Digit Magicmaster, and I am aware that greeting you with my paltry tea is a failure in etiquette...”

It was a splendid conversational technique, closing in on the other party without potential offense. Her voice was clear as a bell, and she wore a bashful smile. Felinella acted like the perfect refined lady, and it softened the hard-to-please Fanon’s heart. If it had been a brusque man’s insolent question, Fanon might have thrown away the cup and shot out of her seat.

“Well, it’s not bad. I was just getting tired of this long talk. You’re Felinella, right?” Fanon asked with an innocent expression, and Felinella replied with a smile—“Yes.”

Nevertheless, comparing them by height and maturity, it was hard to tell who was older.

“You said something interesting before. Another nation’s Single...normally there are few chances to meet even your own nation’s Single. Are you perhaps in an important position despite your young age?”

The question was too pointed to think of as innocent curiosity, but Felinella’s expression remained unchanged as she answered. “Yes, I am quite close to Alpha’s rank 1, Sir Alus Reigin. He is my junior in the Institute.”

Vizaist let out a cough to warn her not to leak information without reason, but Felinella had other thoughts on the matter and held her smile. She may have looked somewhat proud and happy, but...she struggled to remain calm.

“I-Institute? A Single? Ah, I believe I heard something like that in the previous rulers conference.” Fanon had seen Alus once in the previous rulers conference. She had gotten a glimpse of his ability when he restrained Halcapdia’s giant of a Single, Galgnis.

At Fanon’s unrest, it was clear the initiative had completely shifted to Alpha, perhaps just as Felinella planned. Taken aback, Fanon’s mouth opened, but her surprise wasn’t related to Alus.

“That aside...you are a student? Really?” Fanon’s wide-open eyes looked over Felinella. She had thin and supple legs and gracefully slender hips visible even through her clothes, and most of all, her abundant bust gave off an overwhelming female presence.

“Yes, I am in my second year in the Second Magical Institute,” Felinella replied cheerfully.

“S-Second year? S-So you really are a student...hmmm...” Fanon instinctively gulped down her tea, her hands trembling as she put down her teacup.

Exceles was also surprised and asked Felinella a question. “Excuse me, but are you part of the military’s intelligence department while you are still a student?”

“Not at all. I am only helping a little.”

It wasn’t uncommon for noble children to take on some military duties, but it was Felinella’s masterful demeanor that was frightening. She not only assisted that Vizaist but even took the lead at times. And based on how his subordinates treated Felinella, it certainly didn’t seem like she was just a helping student. Rather than just being used to missions, it appeared that she was fully blending in.

Exceles simply replied with a deadpan “I see,” but on the inside she was astonished. She knew that Alpha was a major nation in terms of magic, but she didn’t expect it to be to this degree. Suddenly, Exceles returned to her senses, and after clearing her throat, she made eye contact with her captain and poked her with her elbow.

Fanon finally pulled herself together, straightened her posture, and cut straight to the point. “L-Let us get back on topic. Why don’t we work together? Even if we leave pursuing those two to you, it’ll be a problem for us too if you screw it up. Or do you not want to needlessly complicate diplomatic relationships between our nations? Frankly, we don’t have a lot of time, in more than one way.”

It was a provocative statement, but Vizaist and Felinella quickly caught the nuance behind it. While the criminals’ intentions for infiltrating Alpha were unknown, Fanon and her squad were impatient because they felt it was quite possible that the criminals weren’t simply fleeing the scene of their crime. They might have a dangerous goal or motive, and their fuse was already lit.

After a moment of silence from Vizaist, who made it hard to tell whether or not he was deep in thought, Exceles added a few words to back up Fanon. “Have you already forgotten that we were the ones who rendered aid to the injured on Alpha’s side? If we were only acting in the best interest of our nation, we could have ignored them and used the chaos to infiltrate.”

That statement left Vizaist unable to do anything too forceful. Aiding the border guards was certainly a big favor in terms of international politics. If not for Fanon’s squad, the injured may all very well have lost their lives, so they should be showing Fanon’s squad some sincere appreciation.

Magical criminals crossing borders was becoming more and more common, and with the battle against Fiends in the Outer World, it was rough for a single nation to take responsibility for them all. There was no guarantee that their positions wouldn’t be reversed in the future. At least that was what Fanon and Exceles were hinting at.

They stopped there and waited for a reaction from Vizaist, who rubbed his chin and leaned his large body deeper into his chair, making it creak.

Felinella stood next to her father and glanced at his face, wondering if this was the point where they should reach an agreement. They had already obtained enough of an advantage, making the other side play many of their cards. More importantly, now wasn’t the time for her father to get involved in this kind of thing.

She’d only been listening in a little, but the other problem that Vizaist was dealing with was far beyond the scale of Fanon’s squad crossing the border. Therefore, she exceeded her own position to somewhat forcibly try to lead the situation to a conclusion.

At this point, they could just accept the Clevideet squad’s request, leaving international politics out of play unless Fanon’s group caused another problem. Yet her father was acting unusually cautious. Something was making him uneasy...

She was perplexed and couldn’t help but curse her lack of experience. Was it due to the intuition and knowledge that he had cultivated over the years? Or was there a deeper meaning to his unease that she hadn’t anticipated? Either way, Felinella couldn’t understand the reason for her father’s hesitation.

After thinking some more, Vizaist finally made up his mind and spoke. “Hmm, very well. We can’t fulfill all of your requests, but we will cooperate in the investigation. For just these criminals, you will have the right to investigate. I will speak with the Governor-General later to make it official.”

Relief washed over Exceles’s face. This moment was like the first step after climbing to the peak of a long and painful mountain pass. “Thank you very much. By the way, you said that you can not oblige us in full, but how much will you accept?”

But then, as if to get the better of Exceles, Vizaist harshly interrupted her. “No, you will have to start first. We are grateful for your aid to the border guards. But even so, I would like you to understand that our response to your request is based solely on our goodwill.”

“Excuse me.” After a pause, Exceles once again explained the tragedy in Clevideet in detail, more in-depth than before. She noted that they were attacked by two outlaws during their day off and that, while the goal was unknown, there was a possibility that Fanon herself had been the target.

They also explained the highly destructive magic that had been used, which had caused severe damage to the human habitation, and that so many had died that it would take time to get an accurate count. Exceles went through each point in detail in a vehement tone, denouncing the vicious crimes, while Vizaist quietly listened. While she didn’t know how much he’d take their circumstances into consideration, she hoped her harsh tone would be effective. The emotional display would also help to conceal their secret mission to reclaim the AWRs.

Once Exceles finished explaining, Vizaist said in a solemn tone, “I see, I can understand your situation. But let me ask again, what are their names and private information? I imagine they are the ones who attacked the border guard.”

But it wasn’t Exceles who answered. Fanon took a step forward. “Gordon Empetcress. And the other is called Suzar Hanbal. As we were pursuing them, the incident on the border happened. Exceles was tracking them until that point, so there’s no doubt about it.”

Vizaist’s eyes narrowed for a moment, expression grave, then he slowly opened his mouth. “That would be the warden and vice warden of the Trojan Prison. In that case, private information won’t be necessary.”

That shook Exceles. It saved her the trouble of explaining, but she was shocked that he already knew that much.

After that, Vizaist suddenly became more cooperative, and he leaned his large body forward to ask, “Do you have any recent information on the Trojan Prison?”

“None. If anything, as we were attacked by Gordon, we are the first to pursue them. Well, I’m sure that there’s an investigative team in place to find out what happened, but they won’t reach the Trojan Prison for two or three days. But if you’re asking, I take it you don’t have any information either.”

Vizaist neither confirmed nor denied it. Instead, he nodded and signaled Felinella, signaling her to share the information she had stuffed into her head before the documents were disposed of.

Felinella spoke up, careful not to let the existence of the disposed documents be known. “If we combine your information with ours, then it is very likely that most of the Trojan Prison’s convicts have escaped. We have noted a few individuals to be particularly wary of.”

Felinella briefly listed the names of the people that she had memorized, this time with the addition of Gordon and Suzar.

Felinella continued, speaking to herself. “If the prison’s warden and vice warden didn’t apprehend the criminals but instead came to Clevideet and attacked...then it only makes sense that they instigated the prison break.”

“If you think about it normally.” Fanon nodded along.

Vizaist also made a conjecture. “If they were after Fanon, then it is possible that it has been planned for a long time. If Gordon has some sort of grudge against Fanon, it must have happened before becoming the warden.”

“But I don’t remember that filthy man’s face. But he was probably a pretty high-ranking Magicmaster from our nation,” Fanon said, like it didn’t concern her.

Exceles shrugged her shoulders and added a few more words. “I think it’s problematic for a Single to be so free-spirited. Honestly, it wouldn’t be strange for a lot of people to have grudges against Lady Fanon without her knowledge.” Exceles’s eyes moved to Vizaist as she continued with a nod. “Those two are indeed Magicmasters from Clevideet. I hear that Gordon in particular was a candidate to become a Single. Back then, he was disciplined and loyal, and even called a model patriot. But then he gave up his position and became a warden, perhaps having gotten caught up in a political dispute.”

Vizaist and Felinella caught on to what Exceles was saying.

“In other words, it wouldn’t be unreasonable for him to think that he was put in the job. Maybe he was dissatisfied with being treated so coldly. Yes. Any acquaintance with Lady Fanon aside, if he was a candidate to become a Single in the past, he might have some fixation with the position. Meanwhile, Suzar is his subordinate, so he is only accompanying his superior,” Exceles said and then fell silent.

Regardless of what Gordon was after, she couldn’t let it slip that they had attacked Area 90 and stolen some AWRs.

Felinella spoke up. “However, as mentioned, those two are believed to have entered Alpha. The question of why they would come to our nation where the security is so tight is unclear, but they must have some sort of goal in mind.”

Felinella glanced over to her father, and after receiving his wordless acknowledgment, she played one of their cards. It wasn’t exactly a gift in return, but she had decided that it was information that was best to be shared.

“We have already confirmed that there are four other escapees that have entered Alpha,” said Vizaist.

“Interesting. So they gathered rather than scattered?”

Felinella nodded at Fanon’s words. “Yes. Normally they should have scattered through all seven nations to split up their pursuers, so this is baffling.”

“Well, either way that’s convenient for us. We can just round them all up in one go. Of course, like Exceles said, you are the ones who have jurisdiction in Alpha. I won’t overstep my boundaries, and I want to focus on just one job. So I will leave the escaped prisoners in your hands, and we will handle Gordon and Suzar. But if I do come across some on the road to them, I will take care of them too. Are you fine with that?” Fanon asked with a fearless smile, resembling that of a ferocious predator.

Her words showed her absolute pride in the power that set her apart from the rest and made her the rank 4 Magicmaster. So Fanon’s words weren’t pushing them to make a decision, so much as telling them that there was only one option.

But Vizaist responded in a solemn tone. “No, we have our own position to consider. So we will accept your help, but we cannot publicly cooperate with you. And make sure to remember that we will not tolerate any fighting that would cause human casualties. If that were to happen, we would have to apprehend you. I will now explain the measures that we will take.”

His words were stern, but he was essentially saying that they would cooperate, just not in public.

Vizaist was maintaining a state of tension between soldiers of two nations on the surface, but behind the scenes they would be working with Fanon on certain matters.

But the conditions made Fanon’s cheek twitch. While it was unavoidable, it felt like having reached a point of no return only to do an about-face. Normally they’d be sent right back to their nation, so Fanon could only nod. It would inevitably put restrictions on their actions within Alpha, but some sacrifice was necessary.

On the Alpha side, this was the natural conclusion. They had information on escaped prisoners in their nation, and Fanon and her squad brought information of the wardens entering their nation. Those wardens had even destroyed the border watchtower and the surrounding communications network. Naturally, anyone would get the hint.

On top of everything else, Vizaist was currently very busy. He’d take any help that he could get, and use anything he could. That was his simple conclusion, but by putting on airs, he was able to extract information from the other party and even made them accept restrictions on their movements.

Seeing her father at work, Felinella realized she had a long way to go. That said, she didn’t think the hesitation he had shown just before was part of his game.

Maintaining his dignity, Vizaist slowly spoke up. “Hmm, we will send out a skilled tracker to apprehend the culprits. They will, of course, be after the escaped convicts, but if they come across your targets, we will hand them over to you unconditionally. After that, this affair should be settled.”

Tsk, so that’s what he’s after?! Fanon clicked her tongue in her mind.

Exceles and Fanon both felt that it was a superb proposal, but they couldn’t honestly nod at it. The tracker Vizaist had mentioned would likely not just be out to apprehend the escaped convicts, but would also to keep them in check.

Vizaist was hoping to keep Fanon and her squad from going too far. In other words, he wanted to use the pretext of cooperation to prevent them from going too far. And both nations would save face by not looking like they needed other nations to help solve their own problems. If they also happened to catch Gordon and Suzar before Fanon could, they would be able to create a diplomatic debt.

On Fanon’s side, if Gordon and Suzar were captured by Alpha first, Alpha would find out about the stolen AWRs and gain another card to play diplomatically. This meant they would have to race to capture the criminals, which was probably what Vizaist was after.

At the moment, Vizaist shouldn’t know about the stolen AWRs, but he might have seen Fanon’s strange fixation on Gordon and Suzar and sensed that something was up. The secret mission may have been only half of the reason for Fanon’s fixation—her injured pride and forehead being the other half—but Vizaist’s intuition was sharp.

Fanon wrinkled her brow and fell silent, so Exceles, acting in her stead, bowed and gave her thanks. “Lord Socalent, we thank you for your consideration.”

Preferring pragmatic and rational decisions, Exceles determined that at the end of the day they just needed to get to Gordon and Suzar before the other side did. And with Vizaist being as shrewd as he was, if they turned him down here, they would probably only bring unnecessary trouble upon themselves.

“I only wish that we could do more,” Vizaist said, but Fanon and Exceles both knew he didn’t mean a word of it. With the talks coming to an end, it seemed that Vizaist was the sole winner. “By the way, is there anyone among you who is knowledgeable about Alpha?”

“No, our main theater of war is the Outer World.” Even though she had a bad feeling about doing so, Exceles answered Vizaist’s question honestly.

“Then I will have my daughter, Felinella, guide you. It would appear that Ms. Fanon dislikes men with rugged faces. And I can see how a man would stand out in this group, not to mention that the Socalent family name should help in protecting your secrets,” said Vizaist.

“You really do think of everything and anything...” Exceles managed to keep a strained smile and her real feelings pushed down. It was like they were the prisoners, and they were going for a picnic with a warden. It really was just a nice-sounding excuse for someone watching their every move.

Fanon may have been a Single Digit Magicmaster, but Vizaist didn’t seem to give it much weight. Perhaps that was just because of the nation they were in. Alpha had the rank 1 after all, so Vizaist gave off the impression that he knew how to handle Singles. Perhaps it would have been better to have a noble or even the ruler mediate for them.

“Then everything’s been decided. Of course, if we learn anything new, we will share it with you,” one of Vizaist’s subordinates said as a formality.

The arrangements were steadily being finalized with all communication going through Felinella; there were no openings for Fanon or Exceles to take advantage of. Felinella looked at Vizaist with a dissatisfied face. “What are we going to do about the message to Mr. Alus, Father?”

“You will have to give up on that. The situation has changed. I will leave it to my subordinates, including a report to Berwick. Or will you abandon an important mission to deliver it yourself?” Vizaist asked with a grin, so Felinella frowned and turned her head away.

“Well, I won’t ask that you stick with Ms. Fanon at all times. If you see a good opening, you can leave for Alus,” said Vizaist.

That would mean having nobody to keep an eye on Fanon’s squad, but Vizaist didn’t think it was a big deal. That said, Felinella did want a word or two from her father about being away from the Institute for several days, not that studies concerned her much now.

In terms of knowledge, she had already learned everything at the Second Magical Institute. Her only concern was that her lack of attendance might lower her grades.

“I understand. If I have time,” she said, leaving it at that. But her father’s chuckle suggested that he had seen right through her.

After that, the topic turned to using the old house they were in as a temporary base, but the details were left in the air. Not even Felinella had known about the location, so it wouldn’t be discovered by just anyone. However, it did seem like they would need to disinfect and decorate it to Fanon’s liking.

“Allow me to introduce myself, Lady Fanon. I am Felinella Socalent, and I will be working as your guide. I look forward to working with you,” Felinella politely greeted Fanon, who replied with a proud look.

“Well, you don’t have to force yourself. Besides, we already have an idea on how to capture them. It might be more nerve-racking than in the Outer World, but we probably won’t have to use much mana,” Fanon casually said, her eyes on the rank 1 Spotter, Exceles.

Spotter or not, a Magicmaster in the single digits had abilities that were veiled in mystery. Even Alpha’s Rinne Kimmel’s magic eyes were only known to a handful within Alpha. But Felinella was interested in what sort of methods the top Spotter used.

They did come all this way tracking the two attackers, she thought.

She didn’t know how their targets had escaped the spotter’s web, but they had definitely been caught up in it at some point. So Felinella knew that Fanon’s confidence was not without basis. Not to mention that Exceles and the others showed no cracks, as was expected of a Single’s squad.

If the timing allows for it, I wonder if I will be able to relay that message to Mr. Alus.

Felinella had no intention of cutting corners, but based on her father’s attitude and behavior, she was sure she didn’t need to keep too close of an eye on this group. And knowing her father, there wasn’t much chance any harm could come to Alpha, regardless of outcome. But his momentary hesitation did concern her.

It was only natural that he would be cautious, which was why he wanted her to be with Fanon’s squad. But she couldn’t grasp monitoring so lax a mission. Maybe Father doesn’t have any specific concerns; maybe he just avoided making any snap decisions because of his intuition? In that case, is attaching me to Lady Fanon just a form of insurance...? she wondered.

That only made her feel like she’d been taken advantage of, but lately she had had her hands full with incidents around Alus and had even come into contact with the ruler. Just finding her father’s hideout had been a pain, so this lax mission was like taking a break. So perhaps it was just her father being considerate.

Once she started thinking along that line, she could only let out a small sigh. If it really was her father being considerate, that would be welcome, but she still couldn’t fully let her guard down just yet.