22: Who kidnapped whom? [pt2]

Keith was having a good dream where no one was irritating him and he was back at home, doing nothing but relaxing. He did not want to wake up from this dream, but Keith was woken up rudely by Clair.

"Oi, wake up. We have an emergency right now. Shimi has been kidnapped by the skinner demons and we need to save her."

Keith, who was still half-asleep, did not react to those words at first. But once they did register in his mind, he ended up awake with a snap.

His quick reflex caused Clair to fall to the ground, giving him a stinking eye. The cat-girl was not happy about the humiliation she had been made to face and her hissing could be heard audible.

Not that Keith noticed since he was too busy trying to rationalize what he had just heard.

"Shimi got kidnapped. That half-princess who could snap the skinner demons, that Shimi? She got kidnapped?"

Keith repeated his words, mainly to make sure he was on the right track this time when he asked these questions.

He tried to wrack his brain to remember if there had been any such incident in the original MMO where Shimi had gotten kidnapped but it had been too long since he had played the game. He could not remember all the details properly.

"Anyway, I am sure you all can take care of this, right? What do you need me to be there for? It's not like I can even help you or anything."

Keith tried to weasel his way out of helping but he was faced with Clair's unimpressed look in return.

"I don't think this is gonna cut it for you, G.R.A.N.D.M.A.S.T.E.R. Shimi might be an idiot, but she is still a precious diplomatic tool you need to care about."

Keith had the most painful look on his face as he forced himself to sit and sigh in irritation. He could not believe he was considering Clair's words.

"So, what do you want me to do? Head into the monster's den and save Shimi? I lack powers and magic here, so I don't think I can help. What's more? I am sure my bluff would be discovered if I make my way out right now."

Keith was more than aware of his shortcomings. He was incapable of facing foes who could use magic.

Heck, he could not even notice a demon even if they happen to be standing right in front of him. He was more than useless in his current state.

"I know how pathetic you are. And that's why I gave you the ring. You see, this ring is illusionary. You just need to fake your way out and I will take care of this mess, alright?"

Clair was all but forcing Keith to cooperate with her. Her underaged body was more than halfway into Keith's lap and she was also dangerously close to his 'sensitive' parts.

Keith gulped down his nervousness as he considered his options. Currently, it did not seem like he had much of a choice in this matter.

He had to listen to Clair and hope he would be able to take care of any monsters with Clair's help.

"Understood. So, which master should we take with us as backup? Maybe Master Shinzou would be good. Or maybe Master Fushi?"

"We are taking none of them if you do not want to be found out. It will be better to take inexperienced students who cannot understand what is happening, right?"

Clair's words made sense but they also caused Keith to worry. Won't it be dangerous to only take a limited amount of manpower when facing demons? It was not child's play after all.

'No, I need to trust Clair in this matter. She had never led me astray, so she will also help me in the future.'

/////////////////////////////////////

The outside was a mess. Everyone wanted to volunteer to be the one to go after the kidnapped princess. Mainly because they wanted to look good in front of the Grandmaster and make their presence known to him.

The only one who seemed to not be worried was Master Shinzou. He was certain that he would be selected to go on this rescue mission. He was the most trusted person by the Grand Master's side after all.

And he was the only one who did not look too excited about the announcement since he knew he was a guaranteed selection for this task. Of course, as the Grandmaster's right-hand man, there was no way he would not be selected for this mission.

"Alright everyone, I have decided who will accompany me in this rescue mission."

Shinzou listened with a keen ear, waiting for his name to be announced, only to be met with silence. All he heard were the names of some low-leveled grunts.

Why was his name not on the list? And he was not the only one who had that question.

"Excuse grandmaster, I was wondering why there was no high-ranking name on the rescue list. Isn't this a grand mission?"

Master Hana asked the question and Shinzou agreed. He wanted to know as well why he had not been selected. What did he need to improve to be selected?

The grandmaster couched in his hand as he watched them all. His cold and icy gaze caused everyone to flinch as they tried to meet his eyes.

"What need do I have of you fools when I am going on this mission myself? Do you think you all will be able to do better than me out in the field?"

Master Hana flinched as she was bombarded with that question and now Shinzou was happy he had not asked it in a hurry.

He had not realized that asking this question was akin to asking the Grandmaster to reconsider his words.

"O-Of course not. There is no one better than your grandmaster. I was not trying to question your choice."

Master Hana backed down as soon as she was pressed for answers. No one wanted to anger the Grandmaster and no one wanted to question his choice either.

If the Grandmaster said that the blood was green, then they all had to obey it without thinking about it, it was the kind of presence the grandmaster commanded from them after all.

"Anyway, this is the team that had decided to go after Shimi so I want no complaints about it. As for the Masters who accompanied me here, I will ask you to clean up this village. We have allowed the pests to roam around too much."

With those words from the grandmaster, Shinzou knew that the time to act had passed. He would have to step down and forget his dream to accompany the grandmaster this time.

/////////////////////////////////////

Queen Natasha knew she needed to do something or she would lose the chance to go after the Grandmaster. He was already ready to demolish the base she had set up.

She had no idea which of her foolish minions had decided that it was a good idea to kidnap the half-elf but she was going to make sure they died a painful death.

'I need some way to infiltrate the Grandmaster's group and then seduce the grandmaster. Thankfully, the other master is still asleep inside the room I left her in. It would have been a disaster had she woken up and told everyone my real identity.'

Natasha had gotten lucky with her foresight and she quickly used it to take advantage of things.

She knew she needed to speak up right now or she would lose her chance to speak again.

"E-Excuse me, Grandmaster. I want to volunteer my service this time to help you all out. I am a local and I know this place like the back of my hand. I can help you navigate this place if you want to."

Natasha's heart was beating in her chest so hard that she was sure everyone could hear it. She was nervous when she made this offer since she was unsure if the Grandmaster would give her a chance.

Still, she knew she had to at least try her hardest right now.

Even now, the silence around her was defining and everyone was looking at her with wonder in their eyes. It had been a bold choice for Natasha to speak up.

"You want to offer our help even after knowing how dangerous this situation is? I cannot help but think as if you have a motive behind helping us out."

'Shit, I was found out. What should I do now?'

Natasha tried to think about what she should do next. There were a few things she could try to elevate the guilt from her.

"Alright, you can come with us this time. But try anything funny and you will be dead before you can even speak."

Luckily for her, Natasha did not need to do anything. The Grandmaster ended up helping her out.