Chapter 71: Fog on a dark night

It seems that there are only a total of about 200 soldiers stationed at this fort. About 1,000 soldiers attacked from the west side of the fortress last time and even after deducting the report that over 250 people were killed, it’s easy to know that there are other places where soldiers are stationed besides this fort.

There are about 100 people sleeping in the lodging where we sent out Laune’s pollen. Since there are two lodging of the same scale, I made Leslie take the medicine that works against fatigue caused by the consumption of magical power so she can maintain the magic to erase our presence. She was then able to work on the hypnotic air ball for those two lodgings.

“With this, we are able to neutralize about 200 soldiers huh… Grass, Leslie, are you alright? How about your fatigue?”

“With my current ability, I’m now reaching the limit where Laune’s hypnosis can be applied simultaneously. I think that if we were to encounter only a few more enemies after this, we can still eliminate them thru hypnosis though.”

“We were relying too much on the magic of the two of you. We have to get rid of them quickly…”

“What should we do, Your Highness? We have two options, capture the commander and make the soldiers surrender or we’ll only take their warship and escape.”

“Even if we can take the warship, with the current direction of the wind, we can’t get out of the canal even if we set sail. It seems that the wind direction changes depending on the time so we have to wait another half hour. Unless the weather suddenly changes…”

―The moment Astina-denka said so,

I feel like water drops have fallen from somewhere. It’s raining even though the moon is out ―I’m sure such phenomenon doesn’t occur, I also felt a strong sense of uneasiness.

It’s not rain… Moisture in the air is being collected and… turned into water…?

“Grass-nii, this fog….uh”

While Leslie suppresses her voice, she pulls my sleeve in a hurry. As what she has said, the fog rapidly shrouds the area and the visibility deteriorated. However, even in this situation, Her Highness, Raquel-san and the others were still calm. Her Highness’ line of sight was not pointing at the commander’s lodging but at its back.

“There’s a shed for raw materials over there in which the lookouts are shorthanded. Let’s move quickly.”

Following Her Highness’ instructions, we start moving immediately. There is one soldier on lookout yawning, and before he knew it, an air ball flew to hypnotize him. I gave him an instruction while passing each other. I simply told him to go back to his station once the fog goes out.This is translated by Yume Neiji (yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com)

―Before our clothes get wet, we were somehow able to enter the shed for raw materials. And if for some reason an enemy soldier was inside, we put ourselves on guard but no one came in or out at this time.

“When the fog came out, I feel that it’s just right to hide and move…”

“I don’t think this fog was a natural occurrence. It’s probably a magical interference.”

“We’ve entered the fog range for a little while now. Haven’t you noticed the enemy magician?”

There’s no denying that possibility ―I left the plants so I can get information about this place, a water spirit could also be able to do the same. Although Leslie manipulates the air to prevent the invasion of the fog, it can be perceived that “the spirits made contact with each other”.This is translated by Yume Neiji (yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com)

However, after a few minutes, Leslie makes a dubious look.

“…Grass-nii, the fog has disappeared. What do you think is the meaning of it?”

“If that fog that appeared for a short time was made just to find us, we might be attacked if we stay here.”

I want to avoid head-on confrontation with a combat magician ―then, what should I do? As long as the commander is restrained, the enemy cannot involve the commander so attacking should no longer possible…

The shed’s door was gently opened and Presha-san surveyed the area. Fortunately, it seems that enemy soldiers outside did not go here.

“There is a window on the back side of the commander’s lodging, it’s at a high place though. I wonder if we can enter from there?”

“At that position, it’s unlikely that you can enter it unless you are a fairly light person….”

“Then I and Presha will go in with Grass. Raquel, can I leave the foothold to you?”

“Yes, I understand. Grass, I think you need some courage as it’s your first time but it’s better to resolve yourself. It’s a direct nomination from Her Highness you see.”

“Y-Yes. The foothold is…”

“Raquel will catch your feet and hurl them. After confirming the safety of the room, we’ll carry out the plan.”

I’m honoured to be able to follow your command but… I’m a little worried if I’ll be able to keep up with everyone’s physical abilities ―However, I can’t waver here.

“Leslie, even if we get inside, is it possible to continue using your magic that erases our presence?”

“…If you’re inside this fort, even if we got separated, it will be fine. It’s no good if you go too far though.”

“Once we are inside, I’m going to restrain the commander. If things are safe, using Grass’ magic, please inform the three people outside. Can that be done?”

“Yes. Leslie, if this bulb shines, please think it’s a safe signal. Or, I’ll use that bulb as a medium to summon Laune and transmit message through her.”

“Yeah, I understand. Grass-nii, be careful…”

Presha-san came out first, watched the surroundings first then Raquel-san and I followed after. I touched the wall of the wooden lodging and after making sure that there were no enemies inside, I nodded to Presha-san and Raquel-san.

Raquel-san catches Presha-san’s feet, and with considerable power, she hurls her to the window positioned in the high place. Presha-san silently clung to the window sill then she rushed inside the room ―Her highness also followed after, with her physical ability, her leaping figure trailed a light like that of a celestial maiden― Uh, this is not the time to watch in fascination.

“Don’t hesitate, come. If you can’t make it at the first take, I’ll be right below you, I’ll definitely catch you.”

As a man, even to a warlord like Raquel, I want to avoid being caught like a princess. I strengthened my resolve and let Raquel-san hold my feet and I was then hurled vertically ―somehow I managed to put my hands into the window sill and urgently leaned forward. I made the seed of a plant hidden in my cuff to germinate and send it like a rope to entangle me.This is translated by Yume Neiji (yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com)

After that, the ivy plant slowly pulls me up, and once my body is completely inside, I let the ivy grow long enough then I swiftly go down. When I got down on the ground, Presha-san was so surprised that her eyes were wide opened.

(Amazing… If you could do that, you could have climbed without being hurled up, right?)

(It’s best to shorten the time as much as possible. Somehow, it went well.)

(This is like a reference room. Let’s move carefully to the commander’s bedroom.)

At last we were able to advance to the next stage –However, the meaning of that fog still bothers me. Where is Noin? If she is appointed to an important post in the Zirconian army, is she inside the commander’s bedroom?

With tension, we opened the door to the reference room and tried to get out.

“―Guaaaaa…!!”

And at the moment we are about to leave the room, we heard someone’s voice who seemed to be in great pain from somewhere inside the building.

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