29 How am I Supposed to Grow in a Jar That is Always on the Move?

'Thank goodness.'

Kumi thought as she let out a small breath and looked toward the approaching group that had appeared from beyond a giant mountain of gold coins.

The people in the group were all covered in dark grey clothing.

There were two women and three men in the group, the two women kept looking behind them and at their surroundings while the men were mostly focused on the flask that held Kumi's body.

'Are these the people who are supposed to bring me to the place I'm supposed to grow up in? Or?'

Kumi narrowed her eyes as she neared the group and looked at each of them carefully.

'You know. Random thought. But they seem more like thieves.'

Levitating above the group, Kumi followed their path that was heading straight toward her confined body.

'I hope these guys are more gentle than they look. I'm a rather delicate lady.'

As the group reached the flask, one of the men violently grabbed the flask and threw it in a metal briefcase.

Kumi spit out her coffee (in her mind) and drew closer to the group.

'Oi!'

Punching the man who had taken her body, her right hook went straight through his head with nothing happening.

The man just had a slight chill down his back which went unnoticed by everyone present.

'Don't you see the Fragile and Treat With Care labels on there? What company do you work for? Or do I even have to take a guess?!'

Kumi slapped the man twice, her hand still just went through his head without anything happening.

'I'm starting to think these guys are thieves!'

...

'How frightening. Just holding it is making me shiver.'

The man who was carrying the briefcase thought as he turned back toward his team.

"There doesn't seem to be many precautions installed."

"We can't be that sure. Spells could be inscribed on the body."

One of the women from the back commented.

The man with the briefcase shook his head while answering.

"That isn't probable. The body inside is barely even a few months old."

"Still."

"We have Mana Interference spells inscribed on and inside of the briefcase. We will be fine."

"There really aren't many security measures in place. Isn't it strange?"

One of the men cut in, turning his head from the surroundings toward the man with the briefcase.

"This is a location where hundreds of High-Ranking individuals gather monthly, sometimes even weekly, it isn't strange that their pride wouldn't allow many security measures since they just think that no one would be brave enough to try to break in."

"True. But why hold that,"

The man pointed at the briefcase.

"possibly the future strongest individual in the world in a place with no security?"

"It might be an oversight. Or more likely, a temporary location until they have a definite location in mind."

"Let's hurry up. We don't have infinite time. This safe is slower than the outside but wasting time talking is still Wasting Time."

The other woman from the back cut in before anyone could ask any more questions.

"True. Let's start heading back. I'm sure the boss will be pleased with our catch today."

The man who had been silent till now spoke as he yawned.

"Better get a vacation after this."

The group started heading in the direction they had come from. They jogged and jumped over the mounds of gold.

"Knowing our luck, we might just be put in charge of raising the kid we are bringing back."

One of the men commented before getting cut off by one of the women.

"It isn't that bad. Besides, raising possibly the strongest person in the future would definitely bring benefits."

"Let's increase our speed, we can't be certain of when the discussions at the upper floors will end."

With that, the group increased their travel speed to sprinting as they made their way to the exit.

...

Kumi was floating next to them in a 'lying down' pose while staring at the group.

'So. They definitely don't work here.'

Looking back the way they came, Kumi let out a small breath.

'I was just getting used to the scenery of gold coins and now I'm being stolen by Olympic-level runners that look like they came from some dark-clothes-only pub.'

Kumi thought as she looked back at the group and started judging their speed.

'The kid from the lotus void was faster. Aren't professional thieves supposed to be fast? Like, launch yourself out of a cannon onto an enemy ship fast?'

She let out a light sigh as she closed her eyes and let herself be dragged along by the connection between her and the flask.

'I need to stop being so specific. I don't even remember half the things I'm referencing.'

After a while, the group arrived at a large set of thick stone doors.

'This place is huge. Just how rich are the owners here?'

Kumi was slightly disappointed.

'And here I was. Excited to grow up like a little Princess and now I'm being dragged away by a group of people who seem like a group of poor football coaches.

What was football again?'

As she questioned herself about that one game she had never played, a man from the group of thieves spoke.

"Let's be more careful than we were when we entered. We don't know if we have a clean way out or if our entrance is still safe. Like always, stay quiet and fast."

The man holding the briefcase received only nods in response as the large doors were pushed open and they jumped through an extremely thin wall that seemed to be made of plastic.

As Kumi floated through the level-1-barrier-like wall, she could feel no resistance at all. As if the wall of weak plastic was not even there.

'Why is something like this even here when you have two giant slabs of stone protecting the entrance?'

The group silently ran through the lavish and beautiful building.

Reaching the middle of a long hallway, the group stopped in front of a big painting of grasslands.

Removing the painting, they hopped through with the final member placing the painting back where it was.

'What spy-level crap is this?'

Kumi thought as she floated through the painting and followed the group through a small and pitch-black tunnel that led underground.

'Why not just tunnel into the literal room covered in gold?'

As Kumi thought so while quietly following the group, she could hear some running and yelling from behind.

She was not the only one as the people in the group stopped for a moment.

The man with the briefcase clicked his tongue and looked back.

One of the men raised their hand.

"I can distract them."

As he whispered that, the group fell into silence.

The man with the briefcase gripped his fist before turning to the man and shaking his hand.

"It was a pleasure working with you Kev."

"Don't be like that. All for the mission. Remember?"

The man who volunteered smiled as he spoke.

"I'll kill any Trackers, if there are any, to give you an easier time on escaping."

The man turned around and started crawling back toward the fake wall.

"Oi."

The briefcase man spoke as he threw him a small leather bag.

"The painless variety."

"Heh. Didn't you say that these were against regulations?"

"For public mission use, not private."

"You sly dog. Don't worry about it. They won't know what hit them."

The man crawled away while leaving a sour taste in the mouths of his teammates.

'So what just happened?'

Kumi thought.

...

Back in the hallways of the fancy building, people were in a panic.

As many were running toward the safe containing the most valuable items on the continent, a dark grey shadow suddenly burst through the wall, blocking the way for many.

The man tore open a small bag and ate the contents.

His figure changed as his muscles bulged and his eyes started glowing.

Cracking his knuckles, he looked at the surrounding people getting ready for combat while thinking.

'This stuff is High-Class and super potent. Though the potency is the thing that will kill me in the end.

I hope 10 minutes are enough you twerps.'

His grin widened as flames erupted in the surroundings.

The torn fabric of the painting depicting a lush grassland was burned to ash.

'For the mission.'