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「You already infiltrated that place?!」

Hearing what Mira had to say, Johann’s eyes lit up with hope and awe as he stood up like earlier, which Mira stopped again pushing him down onto his seat.

「We had something to do there earlier, so pretty much yes. We should have little trouble going there again.」
「We have some rather unorthodox methods. The only problem would be the key. If they’re holding people hostage the doors have to be locked, it’s a shame they aren’t locks I know how to pick.」

After Mira, Sasori mentioned the biggest hurdle in their way. As she spoke, she took out her lockpicking tools from her bag and looked at them with a complex stare. The entrance to the Graveyard of War Memorials was as secure as the main vault of a palace. If the warehouse with hostages was as secure, then she would have no hope of getting in.

「We could always bust them out with brute force as a last resort, though there are other things we still want to explore so it’d be best if we can do it silently.」

The lock might be impossible to break through, but there were other ways of getting into the building. There was the option of breaking through the windows for example, but that would quickly announce the escape of the hostages. That would make the guards on the mansion act and get Johann. On the other hand, if they took Johann out first, and his family was not in the warehouse, his wife and daughter would be in danger. Even if they likely had the right place, they had to proceed with caution to avoid any casualties.

「Oh right, maybe you can use that thing then.」

While Sasori and Mira deliberated on how to proceed, Johann suddenly stood up and went to open an important-looking box in a corner, taking out a smaller box from it. He placed the box on the table and lifted its lid.

「What is this thing?」
「What is it?」

Mira and Sasori peeked inside, looking confused at the same time. There was a dark and flattened metallic rod, around fifteen centimeters long, and a piece of paper.

「This is something my father made. It’s a lockpicking tool with special properties etched into it.」

Johann grasped the rod from one end and held it out so Mira and Sasori could see it more clearly. A few seconds later lines of light streaked through the rod, while multiple branches emerged along it. The two girls exclaimed loud 「Ohh!」s as they watched that.

「Father said that if used properly it can open any lock. It’s a rather complex tool as you can see, so it’s not really easy to employ, but someone with enough knowledge should be able to get used to it quickly enough.」

Saying that, he returned the rod to the box and closed it, then looked straight at Sasori.

「There’s a manual inside as well, just in case. Take it, it might be of help.」

With that, Johann gave the box to Sasori. Even if it was hard to use, if it worked as intended then the tool would help them open the door to the warehouse. And considering how valuable that tool was, it showed how much Johann was betting on this plan to work.

「Thank you, I’ll put it to good use.」

Saying that, Sasori accepted the box together with Johann’s hopes.

「There’s something I still don’t fully understand. How did you find out I was doing work for Chimera? Not even my assistant knows about that.」

Having talked for so long, they had started trusting in each other a bit more, which was when Johann asked that. Like he had said, his assistant Mylene was unrelated to his work, and did not even know Chimera Clauzen existed.

「Well, in a way we got here following a lead from your assistant.」

With that preamble, Mira explained the steps they took to find the mansion.

First was the suspicious link between Chimera and Melville, who managed the entrance of the Graveyard of War Memorials. Having a hunch the entrance might be in the warehouse facility, they infiltrated it searching for more clues. When they found the entrance, they entered and found Mylene inside. She was wearing a powerful spirit arm, so they suspected her of being one of Chimera’s Heads and captured her.

But once they interrogated her, they found out she was not a Head, and not even a lower member. She did mention her mentor was manufacturing black mist stones for Melville, which switched Mira and Sasori’s target to him.

「You already know what happened after that. That’s also how we found that warehouse where your family might be kept.」

With that, Mira concluded her story. 「I understand now」 muttered Johann, then his gaze sharpened as he looked at the two girls.

「I can see how you got here now. But something is bothering me, where is Mylene now? And she was wearing a mask, do you still have it?」

Before he finished asking, Johann stood up and walked to the window, carefully peeking through a gap in the curtains watching for something.

「We’re keeping Mylene in the inn we’re staying at. I used the mask as a disguise… so it probably is still on my bed now.」

Sasori was unsure of how to take Johann’s reaction, but she replied truthfully. 「That’s bad」 he said while rushing to a shelf with books, there he took out a bundle of papers and placed it on the table in front of Mira.

「These are some of the documents I promised in exchange for my wife and daughter. Listen closely now, Mylene’s mask has a tracking device on it, so Chimera’s goons are probably headed straight to your inn at this very moment. You should return as soon as you can.」

Johann spoke quickly, and while he attempted to look calm and rational, it was clear he was distressed.

「The mask?!」
「I didn’t think there was something like that on it…」

The two girls quickly stood up. They had only been watching out for spirit arms, not considering other possibilities.

Hebi was staying with Mylene, so at least she would be able to protect her, but that also depended on who went to the inn. Sasori trusted Hebi’s skills, but she was still worried. On the other hand, Mira was curious about something else. This was the first time she heard of a tracking device like that, so she was interested in learning what skills were used to achieve a GPS-like effect.

「I’d assume they sent at least two pursuers after her. Also, if I can still make more requests, please keep watching over Mylene from now on.」

Johann returned to the window and looked outside, pleading for them to keep Mylene safe.

「Don’t worry, we’ll protect her.」

Sasori never had the intention to do otherwise, but she still firmly reassured him.

「Thanks. And before I forget, my wife is called Angelique, and my daughter Anne. I’ll keep looking for any documents that might be of use to you so you can pick them up once they’re safe.」
「Angelique and Anne, got it. I promise we’ll rescue them.」

With Mira assuring him of that, Johann smiled in relief. That was the face of a resolute man, willing to do anything for his wife and daughter.

Once that exchange was complete, Mira and Sasori left the room and silently covered their tracks as they ran from the mansion.