#54 Planning
"Yo, you actually returned alive!" I raised my hand in greeting when I saw heavily panting Chelsea kneeling on the ground.
"Hm? ?! Who are you?!" Chelsea finally noticed me and when she saw me, she muttered with a shocked expression.
Diving underwater completely destroyed the bandages on my face and also destroyed my hairstyle so my hair was no longer tied in a braid.
"Huh? It's me, Katsura...Well, my real name is Akashi but use Katsura when we will be in public, my origin is a bit complicated." I looked at her with a confused expression.
"Gah?!" Chelsea's jaw dropped down in shock
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'...Now I understand why granny muttered "You are saying that now but you will change your opinion later"' Chelsea was surprised that behind those bandages was hiding someone with a handsome face.
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"Wait! Your real name wasn't Katsura?! ...Does that mean you trust me now?" She pointed her finger at me and asked me with a surprised expression before it turned into a confident smile when she mentioned the trust between us.
"Nope, I just told you because it seems that my disguise is wearing off and not telling you my real name while you would know my real appearance is nothing grand, you would be able to discover it without me telling you." I explained with a helpless smile while looking at my black long hair that started to lose its color and even the length.
"What?!" Chelsea who already stood up from the ground dropped to her knees once again and started to look at the ground with disappointed expression when she heard my reason for telling her that information.
"I thought they said that it's supposed to hold even under the water...Once I find those twins I am going to twist their ear, one on both sisters, at least I will make it look symmetric since they like to put up a show every time..." I muttered with a slightly annoyed expression.
"? Who are you?!" Chelsea looked up at me when I complained about those twins and she once again asked when my original appearance was revealed but this time with a playful tone.
I just looked at her with a wide smile, closed eyes and slightly tilted head to the side.
"Eek-! Granny! I want to report what I have discovered!" Chelsea immediately raised her hand, calling for her helper.
"Stop playing around, do you have no respect for dead?" Babara said but on her face was visible a small smile.
"Well, it was their own fault for being so arrogant..." Chelsea replied to her with a confused expression while looking up, trying to look like she thinking really hard about something. She answered her even though it wasn't a question that was supposed to be answered.
"Ugh!" Babara glared at her.
"Sorry, I am going to draw their faces at once!" Chelsea hurriedly replied.
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.
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I see...I remember this blond guy, he changed a lot but I still know who he is. Although I know who he is, it isn't valuable information since these drawings of their faces are better. I actually wanted to take him back with me but there was no need to help him so building trust would be hard in a short time, therefore, I chose Akame and Kurome who were in need of help.
As for that other guy...I have never met him in the Gifnora Forest.
"Just 2 people? There must have been more of them" Babara said while looking at Chelsea.
"I am sorry, I only saw those 2 guys before retreating. That blond guy had unbelievable pressure around him, I had a feeling that if I stayed there for a few more seconds I would have been dead by now." Chelsea said with a dead-serious expression.
"Hm...It's good that you listened to your instinct. But to think they are so young..." Babara nodded her head and then muttered if a thoughtful expression.
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'Youngsters these days are becoming more talented and more talented...' Babara thought while looking at Akashi and Taeko.
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"I will take these drawings of our enemy to our spies in the nearest town from here!" Chelsea raised her hand with her usual cheerful expression.
"Wait!" I raised my voice and all of them looked at me with a confused expression.
"How about you take only 1 drawing? They work as a group so there is no need to take both of them. And if by any chance your spy will be discovered, they can simply wait somewhere in the wildness while the rest of their team can walk around without us being aware of it." I suggested.
"Our spies are professionals, they wouldn't hesitate to kill themselves if needed so there is no need to worry...Plus what if they will split like during the ambush?" Chelsea replied, trying to reassure me.
"They can be professionals but fearless spy doesn't make a good spy. Unless your spies have a good reputation in that town as some kind of merchant or something, they will be easily discovered by someone experienced." I told her and shook my head with closed eyes.
"Are you saying that they will play it safe before entering the town? Why? They killed everyone after all..." Taeko asked me with a confused expression.
I looked at Babara and she just had closed eyes while leaning against the wall.
...Is she sleeping? Or actually attentively listening?
"They might have killed everyone but we still left our boat there. Wouldn't they be suspicious if they saw an empty boat? I know that there were assassins even underwater but that doesn't have to mean that they won't be careful. But do it as you want, I am here to just make sure that nothing goes wrong." I said with a small smile.
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'How troublesome...What Akashi said is indeed the truth but that's the risk of having the spies spread the information to find those kids. Sending just 1 drawing will definitely reduce the chance of them being too careful but...' Babara thought before she came up with something.
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"Chelsea, were those 2 standing on the same boat?" Babara asked with a serious tone.
?! When I heard her words, I immediately understood what she wanted to know.
"Eh? Yes...why the question?" Chelsea asked with a confused expression and even Taeko was slightly puzzled.
"I see...sending just 1 drawing won't solve anything since both of them were together. If even just that 1 drawing gets discovered then they will play it safe and make even the guy who stood next to the person who was discovered stay hidden somewhere in the wildness." I muttered while holding my chin and when Babara heard my conclusion she just grinned.
"I guess we have no choice but to rely on our spies not to get discovered." Chelsea said and took both of the drawings.
"Wait!" I once again stopped her when she was about to leave.
"What again?!" She turned at me with a slightly annoyed expression.
"Are forgetting about something make-up girl? I can't walk around the Empire with this appearance..." I said with a slightly amused expression while pointing at my face.
"I can't completely change your appearance like myself but I guess I can make you look the same as before but I will need to re-apply it regularly." Chelsea said and went behind me to do her magic.
...
After less than 5 minutes...
"Thanks" I said with the identical appearance I had before leaving my home, except for the bandages but when I wanted to apply them...
"Don't use them, you will attract even more attention than without them. At least you won't attract men's attention plus it really makes you look creepy. If our enemy saw you like that, they would definitely grow suspicious of you. If you will be without them, they will only think of you as a playboy, haha!" Babara used this chance to also insult me and get a good hearty laugh.
My expression darkened when I heard her words.
"Hehe"
"Pfft" Even both girls started to laugh, Taeko at least tried her best not to do it aloud.
"Aren't you supposed to be somewhere else?!" I snapped my head at Chelsea with narrowed eyes.
"Huh?! Why me of all 3 of us?! Taeko is also laughing!" Chelsea said while pointing at Taeko who was still giggling a bit.
"She at least looks cute while doing it, unlike you, make-up girl." I looked at Taeko who was slightly blushing while holding her laugher inside and then I returned to look at Chelsea and said with a provoking grin.
"Ha?! What do-" Chelsea wanted to argue with me but she was interrupted.
"Go already!" Babara shouted at her.
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'Taeko is completely dumbfounded from his words...I hope it won't worsen her performance...' Babara thought while looking at Taeko who already stopped giggling because she was too shocked and confused at the same time that she didn't know what to do.
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"Eek-! Fine, I am going..." She approached the window.
"What a nerve he has, hmph!" Chelsea muttered while glancing at me, she snapped her head to the side, throwing her hair to the side and then...
*Puff* She turned to bird and flew away...
"Do you have to make fun of her like that? She is even more annoying than usual." Babara asked me with a slightly annoyed expression.
"Sorry, it's too easy to provoke her, I can't resist it. Anyway, what will we do now?" I asked with a calm expression.
"We will just keep quiet for a few days here and let Chelsea handle the gathering of intel. After spending a few days here, we will go to the nearest town to meet up with her in that town's biggest inn, right, Taeko?" Babara explained their rough plan of the next few days while also calling out Taeko who was unusually quiet.
"Hm? I- yes! Understood!" She replied with a firm nod and serious expression.
...Were you even listening?
I thought while glancing at her with a slightly weird look.
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The next few days were relatively quiet, we were eating roasted meat of edible Danger Beasts which was absolutely tasteless. We were also using this free time to think of other plans and in case we need to escape, also escape plans. Of course, we couldn't spend the entire days by planning our moves so we were also talking about regular things and we also used this chance to spar a little. Not like how we are used to, until the complete exhaustion but only light spar because we need to be ready to strike anytime.
I didn't want to bath in the cold river so I created a smaller crater inside the forest and filled it with water, however, at that time I still didn't know how bad idea it would be...
"Aaaah...*sigh* hot bath is always best, not to mention open-air bath at that. The sky looks beautiful filled with all those stars." Taeko muttered while dipping her naked body inside the water, more specifically, inside the crater I created and filled with water.
"...What's with that look?" Babara asked with a provoking tone.
Yes...She was also taking the bath with Taeko which wouldn't be a problem, that is if I wasn't here...
"Eh...What do you expect? You are using me to make you homemade hot springs. What kind of look do you expect to see from me?" I asked while looking at the sky with dead eyes, not wanting to look in front of me.
I actually wouldn't mind taking a silent bath with Taeko but...I don't have anything particular against grandmas but...you know the rest.
"We are just using your Teigu to make our lives out here more comfortable. Don't complain, you get to bath with 2 women" Babara said with a slightly annoyed tone and Taeko blushed a bit.
Ugh, more like 1 woman and 1 granny...Maybe if you were at least 30 years younger, I wouldn't complain about it.
Anyway, this should be the last night here before we move to the nearest town and meet up with Chelsea to see what she has discovered in the meantime while we were here.