11 Infiltration on the Kingdom of Nethilor (Part I)

It was morning the next day, Mizuki found himself lying on his bed on their bedroom. He wakes up with chirping sounds of the bird and the grumbling snores of the dragons outside. He yawned widely as he gets up from bed. He was still dazed from the sleep. Suddenly, the door to the room opened. It was Chaneri rushing in to invite him for breakfast.

"Good morning!" The young lady greeted him with a grin.

"Good morn----." He hasn't finished what he was about to say when Chaneri pulls him out of bed.

"Come on! Get up! Breakfast is ready." The young maiden insists.

"Hey wait, let me just fix myself!" Mizuki stopped her for a bit.

Chaneri quickly let him go and the energetic sprite lady dashed through the hallway.

"Just come downstairs after you finished!" She yelled as she flew directly downstairs.

Mizuki just shook his head. Afterwards, he prepared himself to be presentable and hurriedly run downstairs.

"Good morning!" He greeted the others who were already sitting at their respective seats around the long table. The others greeted him as well as he sits on the vacant chair next to Maku. After he has taken his seat, Maku served the food in his plate. The two looked at each other on the eye without the others noticing, as if keeping their little action discreetly.

"Where have you been last night?" He was distracted by Balthazar's question.

"I was just looking for some fresh air to breathe, coincidentally Maku found me and have a short conversation." He answered shortly.

Balthazar did not react at all to his response so he turned his attention to the food laid in his plate. Everyone gleefully enjoyed their breakfast. They even had a small chats and laughter around the table. Mizuki looked everyone in the face and saw how happy they are as if there is no problem at all. Then, an image struck his mind shortly. It was a memory from the past where he was happy eating with his family around the table. Sadly, he cannot recalled when the last time he experienced it. He wipe the tears out of his eyes secretly and continues to munch his food in his mouth. After they finished, everyone went to their separate chores. Chaneri cleaned the plates off the table and was about to bring it at the sink. Mizuki helped her as he feel pity by the little gal doing the task alone.

"Let me carry that." He grabbed the pile of plates from above the table.

"Are you sure?" She asked.

"It's alright. I don't have anything to do either." He insisted. And so he brought the plates on the sink. Chaneri followed him holding the tray of used glasses and spoons.

"Do you usually do this all by yourself?" He asked.

"Well, mostly. Sometimes either Zhia or Marjorie help me with the dishes. Everyone here have their respective chores. But almost I do everything since most of them go on a mission."

"What kind of missions actually?" He asked curiously.

"We're the soldier of the people. They don't fully trust the officials. In fact, they experienced tyranny from them. We get paid by the people to go on missions."She explained.

"I thought we just go out there and eliminate who we desire."

"It's not like that, we don't put fuel on the fire. We should help extinguish the fire." She said.

In an hour, the two of them finished the possible task there is. Mizuki roamed around the inn and tried to look for the others. Outside, he found the others training in the open. He approached Isidore and Faye who were standing in the corner while watching Dave and Maku fight in a duel.

"Look who's here." Faye uttered while her body levitates a few centimetre off the ground with her wings spread into the air and both arms clutched together.

"Your timing is just right." Isidore said.

"What's happening here?" He asked blindly.

"We're training, isn't it obvious." Faye answered.

"It's our daily routine every morning." Isidore added. "If we're not too busy at the inn then you can find us training outside. Would you like to train with us?" He asked Mizuki.

Their conversation continues as the two trains in the background. The two carefully throws each attacks to each other and was able to defend theirselves at the same time. At this fight, the two fought on a one on one combat using a single weapon. Dave was holding his sword while Maku yield a sword made of ice. The fencing and clanking of swords can be heard from them. Both of them showed excellence in training as they maneuver their actions gracefully. At this battle, Dave is gaining against Maku. He's too fast and have an excellent swordsmanship. He's indeed a man who don't fully rely on his magic but to his physical ability. The battle ends when he disarmed Maku. He sliced through his sword and in the nick of time he stop before the blade could hit Maku's neck.

"As expected from you." Maku pleaded him.

Dave put the blade back in its cane. "You did great as well." He handed his hand to help him get up. The two walked towards Isidore, Faye and Mizuki.

Out of nowhere, a portal opened in front of them. Two figure walks out of the gate, it was Balthazar and Jeruzen.

"Change of plans!" Balthazar uttered immediately.

"What happened?" Isidore asked.

"They are planning to do the execution right away on this day at the plaza." Jeruzen told them.

"Isn't the execution should take place tomorrow?" Faye asked. She sensed something suspicious with the sudden turn of event. "Are you sure this is not a trick?"

"I don't know as well but we have to rescue them right away. All of us involve in this rescue mission. Lets get ourselves ready." Balthazar said as his voice tremble. This is the first time Mizuki saw Balthazar so anxious that he could notice his lip were shaking.

In a short period of time, the whole gang gathered to create a plan. This time, Chaneri is going with them. They have to use everyone on board since it's daylight and the Orions might be scattered around the plaza. With this risky mission they're going to do, they've been expecting that someone would be there to stand against them.

Isidore teleported everyone immediately in a library located in one of the town in Nethilor. This library was owned by Isidore's family but due to the arising tense between the empire and the people, he was forced to close it down and join Midnight Justice instead. The library now serves as their gateway in and out of Nethilor. They arrived an hour before the said time of the execution happens. Afterwards, they went on their separate ways according to plan.

Disguised as a woman, Mizuki goes with Chaneri and Isidore. They disguised as a local family in one of the cities in Nethilor to watch the execution. The three are well suited for this plan, as they do not held any dangerous weapon at hand. They can go in and out of the plaza without being questioned. Once inside, the three will blend in the crowd of people and sneak into one of the gates that leads to the dungeon. It's possible that the two girls captured might still be there since they arrived an hour earlier. To be enable to do this, Faye, Maku, Dave and Balthazar are set to distract the imperial knights and divert their attention from the execution. In pair, they'll create a commotion outside the plaza. There is a big possibility that some of the knights they will confront are The Orions. Once their attention is diverted among the four, Isidore and the others can sneak inside with less risk of being detect by the castle guards. If they're successful to infiltrate the inside of the castle to the dungeon, this is where Jeruzen comes into action. With his ability to create and produce electricity and lightning at will, he is assigned to secure the perimeter outside the gates in case there are guards approaching towards the dungeon. In conjunction with his dagger, he'll plant them around the area and ensnare any enemies within range while his body stays hidden.