Leave a comment

The pipeways seemed to extend endlessly in various directions, so Desmond told half of the soldiers to follow the footprints, while the rest would stay behind to search the surroundings.

「While I’d like to catch Fuzzy Dice, I’m more intrigued by this place.」 Saying that, Desmond began to relay to them what Mira had told him earlier, wondering if they’d also like to try out Mira’s idea.

Her plan was rather simple, all things considered.

The soldiers and mercenaries would follow the trail, just like Fuzzy Dice wanted, and figure out what was hidden there. Meanwhile, Mira would go back out to the surface and wait in ambush outside.

「I’m fine with that.」

After some time, one of the soldiers gave a reply, his voice sounding rather easy-going. But he had actually taken the time to consider the current situation. The others did not have any complaints either, so in the end, they all agreed to follow Mira’s plan.

「It’s not like we’d be able to do anything against Fuzzy Dice even if we caught up to him.」
「Yeah, we just saw how he beat all those mercenaries, we wouldn’t stand a chance…」
「Yeah, I can imagine only the Spirit Queen would have a chance. It’s best if we focus on cleaning the streets of our city instead.」

Fuzzy Dice had a reputation for being a chivalrous thief, so the soldiers had every reason to assume he was leading them to more evidence of crimes, even if they had not seen it yet. Everyone there knew of Fuzzy Dice’s heroic deeds, regardless of their current chase after him.

(…Well, I’m sure anyone would prefer to be on the side of justice, rather than trying to arrest someone known as a hero anyway.)

Every man has dreamt at least once about becoming a hero of justice, so that desire was likely also influencing the soldiers’ decision, and the change in objectives filled them with newfound motivation.

「Great, I appreciate it. Then I’ll leave you to deal with things here.」

They all agreed to claim that they had stumbled upon incriminating evidence while pursuing Fuzzy Dice and had chosen to prioritize this discovery. At that moment, one of the soldiers voiced a concern.

He wanted to know exactly how Mira would go around to ambush Fuzzy Dice.

「That’s rather simple, really.」 Mira had been waiting for a reason to elaborate on that, so she did her best to restrain her excitement as she explained.

The pipeways were rather complex to navigate, so even someone with Fuzzy Dice’s mobility would take some time to get through them. But if Mira was flying outside, she would be able to stay right on top of him the entire time.

So Mira explained with a proud voice that as long as she knew Fuzzy Dice’s location, it would be easy to wait in ambush. And currently, Cait Sith was still tailing the thief.

「I see… I guess only a summoner would be able to pull off something like that.」 Desmond sounded impressed by what an A rank summoner could do. The other soldiers also recognized that Cait Sith was far superior than their own scouts.

Mira was pleased to see that their view of summoners was improving, so she was even happier to summon someone else. A magic circle lit up, joining the Concept Magic lights, and from it rose the water spirit Anlutine.

「I see it’s already my turn.」

Anlutine was ready to go and full of drive, likely because this was her first time being summoned. The Spirit King had also been keeping her updated on everything, so she knew what was expected from her.

「I want you to determine where Fuzzy Dice is, could you do that?」
「Yes, of course!」

As soon as Mira asked, Anlutine turned around and jumped into the water, melding with it to gain a clear view of the entire pipeways.

For a moment, the nearby soldiers buzzed with excitement, wondering if all summoners could conjure such a captivating spirit. However, they quickly regained their composure, remembering they were in the middle of an operation and would soon uncover the proprietor’s alleged crimes.

The soldiers then deliberated their next steps, using specialized terminology to coordinate their actions. Yet, they remained uncertain about how to handle the mercenaries.

They had been hired specifically to stop Fuzzy Dice, and following Mira’s plan would also mean giving up on that objective, or even going against it.

They did not know what awaited them past that closed door. If an armed confrontation happened, the mercenaries’ help would be necessary. The only issue was that they did not know whether the mercenaries would actually want to help.

「In that case, I could aid you with a trustworthy ally.」

While the soldiers wondered what she was talking about, Mira used her Summoning Art Evacuation Guidance.

「Ah..!」

That ability allowed her to instantly teleport a summon from far away to stand next to her, and in this instance, she used it on Christina. The moment she appeared, she froze in place, her eyes moving around nervously.

The reason for that was none other than the filled bun in her hand, which had a bite mark, as well as the traces of cream around her lips. It was obvious what she had been doing instead of keeping watch.

「Oh, listen up Alfina, I just-」
「Please wait, Master! I… This isn’t what it seems, please let me explain!」

Realizing that Mira was about to snitch on her, Christina desperately pleaded for her innocence, claiming there was a reason for it.

When Mira told her to elaborate, Christina explained that the fans of Fuzzy Dice had been distributing those filled buns to everyone on the street, and that she refused at first, saying that she was working, but they were so insistent and forceful that eventually she gave in to peer pressure, not seeing another option.

「…Well, whatever you say.」

Mira relished in a sadistic way how desperate Christina had gotten. Meanwhile, Christina was oblivious to Mira’s thoughts, and could only rejoice that she had managed to avoid a painful situation with her older sister.

「Now then, Christina…」

After Mira had gotten her share of fun, she told Christina to go and accompany Desmond and the soldiers. Despite her current appearance, she was likely the best swordsman out of everyone there, and would more than make up for the lack of mercenaries, if they decided to step back.

「I’ll…gulp…complete that mission!」

Christina quickly stuffed the remainder of her filled bun into her mouth, before hurrying to straighten her back and salute.

Overall, her appearance did not instill much confidence, but the soldiers were still excited to see another pretty girl, and awaited Desmond’s response.

He just whispered at them that it would probably, hopefully be alright. They had seen the Spirit Queen’s ability already, so they had no reason to doubt her. Though he sounded like he was trying to convince himself as well.