Around the ti Tiffany was heading for the castle, in the barracks of the Empire’s troops, a group of girls ford a circle hidden among the thousands of soldiers, each removing their stuffy helt one by one.
"Phew... Looks like we entered without any problems," one of them said.
"As I ntioned, we princes and princesses of the Empire can co and go without being checked," Sophia, the speaker, smiled confidently.
"I suppose. But disguising ourselves is still the better choice," Arianne whispered, glancing around. "I could feel intense gazes locked onto —my chest in particular—while we passed through the gate."
"It’s because n are n, no matter where," Nina chid in. "I felt the sa kind of stares directed at ."
"You did?" Ria, who was smaller in stature but more mature in so ways, huffed with disdain. "I guess the Empire’s n have unique tastes."
"You! Ria, I still have so, even if mine’s not as big as yours or mother’s!" she retorted, though a glimr of amusent sparkled in her eyes.
"You two, enough of that inappropriate talk." Finally, Eve interjected.
"You rember we’re on a tight schedule, right? While Tiffany is heading to the castle, we need to complete the first stage of our plan." She laid out their itinerary.
"You an rescuing those..."
"Yes." Eve nodded. "Once the Emperor learns of Crow’s death from Tiffany, he’ll surely dispose of them, as they will no longer serve a purpose. Therefore, we must secure them before anything else."
Without delay, she spread a map on the floor.
The group wasn’t concerned about anyone eavesdropping, as everyone present was already under Nina’s or Ria’s Obedience Curse.
On the map, several letters, arrows, and circles marked the suspected locations of the captives they needed to rescue.
"Then, as planned, we’ll be splitting up," she declared. "I will head to the underground of the residential area. Nina will go to the workers’ district in the North, Ria to the slums in the northwest, and Arianne to the east, in the army’s district."
"So nothing changes," Arianne nodded. "I understand, Princess Eve. Leave it to ."
"Sa for ."
" too."
The other two nodded in agreent, without complaint. Eve continued with a thin smile.
"Good. For Navi and Mimir, the two of you will search these locations. They’re scattered, so speed is essential. If you locate the targets, send one of you to report to the closest among us."
[Roger that~!]
"I guess I have to do a bit of work..."
"As for Sophia, as planned, you’ll be securing our base of operations," she continued. "Make sure it’s safe from prying eyes and ears and doesn’t stand out."
The little "dead" princess smiled and nodded.
"Of course. I had Rico handle it for ." She clarified. "He went ahead to set things up."
"Then that’s fine."
Eve took a deep breath.
"Then... Let’s set off!"
With her command as the signal, everyone moved.
To avoid drawing attention, they wore special black robes purchased from the shop—Hermit Robes. These not only concealed their presence, scent, and tracks but also made it simple for others to lose sight of them.
A perfect item for an infiltration mission.
However, it was quite pricey; each robe cost 500 million Colts. While this was a small price to pay considering Axel had quadrillions, it was still a significant expense nonetheless.
When combined with their physical abilities that surpassed those of re mortals, the girls beca phantoms, speeding through the alleys like a gust of wind that could not be captured—not even by their own shadows.
"Huh? Just now... What was that?"
"The wind’s getting stronger... I should take in the laundry."
"Woah?! I-It’s a ghost!"
The people they passed had varied reactions. So barely recognized them, while others thought they were ghosts, darting from one place to another.
Despite this, they all reached their destinations within minutes.
Eve was the first to arrive since her destination was the closest. The residential district was literally to the west. However, she still needed to locate the suspected place where they were holding the "hostages."
’There are a hundred of them, so it should be quite a large space,’ Eve thought.
Furthermore, since they couldn’t move around easily, they had already deduced it was sowhere underground. Thus, Eve’s search began in the sewers.
The Empire’s sewer system was not particularly advanced. The sewer system had a standard modern design, but it felt "old."
Eve descended through a manhole and entered.
As soon as she did, she scrunched her nose in disgust.
"Ugh... Why did I get this one out of all the locations..." she grumbled lightly.
Of course, she hadn’t chosen this herself. It was the result of a fair random drawing. She was simply unlucky and stuck with the worst choice!
Still, she didn’t let her focus waver from the task at hand.
She scanned her surroundings.
The sewer was large.
The entire "tunnel" exceeded three ters in radius, easily capable of accommodating a Giant Zombie.
Along the widest part of the tunnel’s cross-section, tal pathways or sidewalks were affixed on either side. This addition was made to prevent anyone "inspecting" the sewers from wading through tons of waste—both human and non-human.
Thankfully, this made Eve’s life a bit easier.
She had expected the worst, after all. Thank the gods it didn’t co to her having to wade through "black" waters. However, the sidewalks were also not clean.
When it rains, water drains into the sewers, raising the water level slightly above the pathways. In short...
Eve hacked, each step more of a tiptoe than the last.
"Icky as hell... but barely tolerable."
Thereafter, she began her long search, manually navigating the twists and turns of the sewer... or not.
If she proceeded the "normal" way, it would be sundown before she could inspect even half of the sewers. Thus, she decided to utilize what was available—magic.
Eve clasped her hands together, sending a pulse of her holy mana outward.
Since Holy Mana embodies life itself, it also interacts with other living beings, such as rats, insects, and...
"Are those... the hostages?"
Even humanoid life forms.
Of course, she could only perceive that there "was life," not the type of life it was. At best, she could differentiate by the size of the life force she sensed. About a kiloter away, she felt the presence of several dozen "human-sized lives" clustered together.
Curious, she did the only logical thing.
"I should check it out."
To confirm her detection, the little princess began her long walk.
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