Chapter. 33 Planing

The Matous were not an insignificant family in the world of Magecraft. They did not have the best reputation, but their status and influence should not be overlooked. It was probably because Laila did not believe at first that Kurumi was planning an infiltration. Foolish, Laila would have thought if she had heard anywhere that a magus of her standing was planning to take on a magi family known to the world for creating the Grail Wars.

But Kurumi's carefree smile made her quickly reconsider the thought. Unlike Laila, Kurumi was unfamiliar with the world of the Magi. By Magi, she understood nothing more than people who could wave wands around.

"Are you going to keep lying to yourself? Even after you came this far?" Kurumi asked after she could once again see the rekindled light in Laila's eyes.

"No... But we're not talking about ANY family here. One call and the clock tower will end my career."

"Possibly," Kurumi muttered soothingly, but she did not believe this would happen.

"How can you be so calm? The Matous helped develop the Heaven's Feel. I don't have any favors to protect me. We don't even know the girl's exact circumstances. Perhaps the man was just talking to himself."

"His mind has already been attacked by madness, I agree, but even if it has, I want to be sure. You will come with me, won't you, my dear?"

"Well, I, um..."

"You detest the methods of the Magi Society too, don't you? Aren't you worried about how an adopted daughter will be treated?"

"Well, yes, but..."

"You know exactly how it feels to be treated inferiorly, don't you?" Kurumi asked, putting her feet on a stool as she waited for an answer.

"No, it's much more... How am I supposed to take care of her after the war? She can't go back to her family; they'll only give her back to the Matous, but I can't take care of her either while I'm studying in the Clock Tower."

"You don't have to," Kurumi replied, smiling as if she knew something Laila didn't. "I'll take care of it."

"huh?"

"The way I see it, it doesn't matter if I return after the war or in a few years. I'm nothing but a Clone. So I might actually stay here for some time."

Laila stretched her back as her eyes began to shine. As Kurumi saw the wet eyes, she felt the urge to hug Laila but couldn't say why exactly it felt right at that moment.

A tingling sensation traveled over Laila's skin. At first, she thought it came from the gentle touch, but like a wave, it shot towards the door. With a kick, the door burst open. The blue dress still swayed from the flurry of movement as Mira entered the room without the cat.

"All right! I trust you were successful?"

Kurumi just nodded as Laila looked out at the garden, puzzled. Large footprints had been stamped in the earth as if knights marched through the grassland. But the size of the prints seemed impossibly large.

The cold air fell into the house like an avalanche. Slightly icy, it fogged up the windows and made the hair on her legs stand up. Only when the door closed did the feeling disappear.

"All right," Kurumi said, ruffling Laila's hair before jumping from the couch. "There are some things to discuss if we want to infiltrate successfully."

"Wait, have you talked about this already?"

Kurumi shrugged her shoulders. "You've been asleep for a long time. In any case, we need to know the place and the man's name."

"Why the name?" asked Laila.

"Simple, if we are seen, we can blame everything on him and say he offered us a command spell as a reward, should we bring the girl back to the family. Maybe we even obtain more information."

"But wouldn't that mean his certain death?" Laila asked anxiously. He terrified her, yet her stomach grumbled at the thought of sacrificing him.

'I'm sure he had his reasons. However, he almost looked like a dead husk,' Laila thought briefly.

"Well, that's a sacrifice we have to accept," Kurumi said. She turned her head and looked at Mira. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"I prefer not to throw him into the dragon's maw, but if there is no other way... Who even is the man? From your explanations, he seems quite familiar to the Matous."

The cold of the alley still hung fresh in Laila's mind. Almost like a veil, but the sounds of insects and worms crawling in slime in the darkness. They clung to the man like a plague, corrupting even the mana in the area. She knew of only one family that used such a heritage.

"From his magecraft, he must be a descendant of the Matou family," Laila replied. "Sadly, I don't know his name. I only remember a rumor that the Matous no longer had a successor. For him to return to the Grail War now makes no sense... Unless he wants to free the girl because she is set in position to become the successor."

A shiver ran down Laila's spine, and her face turned pale. Becoming a successor to that disgusting magecraft was something she didn't even want to imagine.

"Man, your society sounds brutal," Mira said, leaning against a wall and playing with a finger in her silver hair.

"From his look, he doesn't expect to leave the Grail War alive. So, his goal will probably be to save the girl. I have to say, he seems like a good guy, but that doesn't help us."

With her hands, Kurumi rummaged in a black hole, and only a few moments later, a rolled-up map stuck between her finger, which she spread out on the table. Red circles marked positions. Laila only recognized the church, which lay to the southeast at the edge of the forest, and the harbor, at the mouth of the river to the sea.

Another circle was inside the city but already crossed with an X. Laila could not tell if Kurumi made a mistake or if the Master had already changed his hiding place.

"The town is not exactly small," Kurumi continued. "And we can't possibly search all the houses."

"I don't think we'll have to," Laila interjected. "A house of the high-ranking Matous will certainly be large and on one of the three ley lines."

No magus would even think of not using the potential of the line. At least, there was none that Laila could think of. Even her family had built the house under a weak Ley line. Mana was just too valuable.

"Besides, there must be a Bounded Field. I would recognize it if we get close."

"That makes it more feasible, but the city is dwindlingly empty," Mira said. "We would draw attention to ourselves far too quickly. So our progress will be slow. A distraction for the Matous couldn't hurt either."

"Can't we just, you know, kill him? A dead man can't pass information to the clock tower," Kurumi suggested, stroking her gun with one hand.

Laila, who saw the crazy grin, quickly raised her hands to object.

"No, we can't. The man has lived for 500 years. He may not have the best reputation, but he hasn't survived three Grail Wars for no reason."

"All right," Kurumi muttered, putting the gun back on her lap. "But if I see an opportunity, I will take it. Still, a distraction would be good. I doubt we get into the house easily."

"Not necessarily. We only need to bypass all security and get into the house unseen. The distraction should lure the insects out of the house so we can operate freely," Mira said.

"We should still cover our appearance," Kurumi said, eyeing Laila, who had one hand on her chin, looking at the map. Whether Laila didn't know yet that she would also be part of the operation or accepted it already, Kurumi couldn't say.

"I don't doubt your abilities, but is it safe?" Laila asked.

"It's my greatest idea!" exclaimed Kurumi. She had never seen a building she couldn't break into. However, most of them were only equipped with cameras and motion sensors. She had yet to bypass Magic fields unseen. However, that wouldn't stop Kurumi from trying.

Mira replied before Laila could answer. "Let's split into two groups. One team creates a diversion, and the other team infiltrates."

"That's the plan. Unfortunately, a distraction will remain useless until we find a way to get through that Bounded Field."

Mira and Kurumi turned slightly, and both looked at Laila, who slid backward uncomfortably. In areas of Magecraft, she was the only person in this room who could provide information.

"Huh?"

"You're our expert here. Mira and I have no idea how magic works."

Laila scratched her ear lightly. She had never liked this kind of Magecraft, yet currently, something felt different. Maybe her Mystic Code and the vibrations in the mana fabric had changed her perception and interest? After all, she had always been curious about mana itself.

"It's impossible to get into a Bounded Field undetected. All Magi use them to disguise and protect places for a reason."

"But they're not perfect?" Kurumi asked after a moment's hesitation.

"There is no such thing as a Perfect Bounded Field... Well, probably not. But we're talking about Matou here. A first-class magus. His Magecraft is on a whole different level than mine."

"What happens if we jump over my shadows straight into the interior?"

Laila hesitated for a moment. Not every Bounded Field operated the same. But, like any craft, the experience and skill needed to exploit mistakes remained immense, and Laila wasn't far enough to even dare break a first-class magecraft structure. And doing it unnoticed existed on an entirely different plane of difficulty.

"Possibly, but it depends on the nature and tasks the barrier operates on."

"So a clandestine operation can be possible?" Kurumi asked for clarification, to which Laila only nodded.

"Maybe we don't need to," replied Mira. "However, we would have to test if it works."

"You have an idea?"

Mira shook her head. "I'm not familiar with the magic of this world, but I might have a way."

"Could you please call it Magecraft," Laila suddenly interrupted, slightly annoyed. "Magic and magecraft are not the same thing."

Mira blinked one and then cleared her throat before continuing.

"One of my summons can invoke Absolute Silence in an area. The area is not large, but we should be completely invisible to sound light and magic ehm, Magecraft."

Without warning, Laila froze. Something that enforced the absolute could only be called magic, yet from her understanding, it shouldn't be possible. 'Maybe because Mira is a heroic spirit? They used magic in the past after all.' Kurumi couldn't stop a giggle as Laila's eyes grew into large balls that rose like the full moon under her pink hair.

"Judging by her reaction, the odds look good."

"Impossible," was all Laila brought out.

"I know! Summons are incredible, aren't they? But we can't attract people's attention... So throwing stones as a distraction is sadly impossible," Mira brought out slowly as if remembering an event.

"Well, that's a start. Then you and Laila are in charge of infiltration. I'll take care of luring the Magus out of his house in the meantime."

"And how will you do that? His family is also taking part in the war. We would be recognized immediately."

"That, my little Laila, is what disguises are for."

"And your skills? You can't just hide them by swapping a bit of cloth."

Kurumi grimaced. She couldn't just mask her abilities. With her right hand, she twirled a strand of hair, thinking. Magi would pay attention to every little detail in a war.

"I would have a disguise that should cover you for the most part."

"Oh, truly?" Kurumi asked softly as the wind as she ordered Mira to continue with a wave of her hand.

"I take it you're not familiar with video games?"

Laila shook her head. Her environment prevented her from knowing Modern technology; Magi society rejected modernity and preferred magical alternatives. Kurumi, on the other hand, nodded.

"Well, to describe it simply, items called skins are often sold and used... And it pretty much does what the term means."

Laila frowned. "Ehm. What?"

"Just think of it like an alternate look you can temporarily slip into. So from clothes to an entirely new person."

Laila turned her head to Kurumi. But unlike her, this magic seemed familiar to her.

"So Kurumi puts on a full-body suit?"

A roar of laughter erupted as Mira threw herself against the back of the chair. The chair's feet dragged across the floor with a crackle. Laila, on the other hand, only frowned. What was so funny? But one glance to the side, and she saw Kurumi smirking too.

"Well," Mira gasped. "Well, you could call it that. But an illusion that becomes reality is probably more appropriate."

"You have quite a lot in your inventory. Do you also have something to mask my magic?"

Mira shook her head and gently started to sip an apple spritzer after pulling it from her inventory.

"I'm afraid I can't serve with that."

"Too bad..." Kurumi said sardonicly, which caused discomfort in Laila. However, she did not get the chance to say anything.

Darting her fingers, Kurumi said. "Up, my little bunny, we have some testing to do."

Suddenly, the door burst open. Another Kurumi rushed in. Her dress tore frantically in places, but Mira and Kurumi realized it wasn't because of a fight.

"The church, everyone in the church has disappeared!!!!"