Chapter 2 – Sneaking into the Count’s Residence

The person I relied on to break into the Count's mansion was Anastasia.

With her magic support, I thought it would be possible for me to infiltrate the place on my own.

I explained the circumstances of my infiltration and asked for her cooperation.

"... and this is why. Will you help me?"

In response to my question, Anastasia nodded once, but then she made a difficult expression.

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"Sneaking into the mansion sounds like a lot of fun! But does it really need to be Yuushin?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, wouldn't it be more successful if Lucy's vassals or Tilda were in charge of it?"

"Ugh, that may be true, but…"

As always, my physical abilities are the lowest in the unit.

Recently, Anastasia has been allocating a certain amount of her magic power to strengthening her physical abilities, especially in bed. It was becoming harder and harder to compete with her these days.

"In the unlikely event that you run into a guard inside the mansion, you're out, you know?"

"But with the vassals playing the role of ordinary soldiers and Tilda's bias toward combat skills, they wouldn't be able to determine what information would be useful in the plotting, would they? On the other hand, I can make a quick selection on which information to discard."

"Well, you certainly have a point there."

Anastasia nodded in agreement with my explanation.

"In the first place, combat power is not so important because they are also out either way the moment they're discovered. But with Anastasia's support, even the likes of me can proceed more safely."

"…okay, I'll cooperate. So what exactly are you going to do?"

I took her hand as if I had waited for her to say those lines.

"First, we'll do some reconnaissance. Then we'll devise a strategy based on our findings. Do you have any magic that might be useful?"

"Fufu, leave it to me. You have to be an all-round wizard or sorcerer to survive on your own."

Thus, we scouted out the Count's mansion and made a detailed infiltration plan from there.

◆　　　　　◆

Three days later, the day of the infiltration mission arrived.

Anastasia and I had finished our preparations and approached the Count's mansion once again.

Around us were rows of mansions belonging to nobles and merchants.

We entered one of them. It was a five-story building next to the Count's residence.

"Okay, I've talked to the merchant who is the owner of this house. Support me with reconnaissance from the top floor."

The owner of this mansion is one of the merchants who has been supplying food to our unit for some time. If yo u ar e able to rea d th is me ss age, yo ar e r ead ing from an una uth ori zed ag gre gate site. Rea d at m y Wor dP ress at stabb in g wi th a s yr i nge. ho me. bl og to supp ort me and my tra nsla tions.

When I asked if I could use one room on the top floor, they agreed without qualms.

"I'll do a few spells first. Stay still."

Anastasia held out her hand to me and cast a few spells.

My clothes and shoes glowed faintly, but the glow quickly subsided.

"I cast a spell to muffle your footsteps. Now you won't be discovered unless you are seen directly. I've cast one to remove odors, too, so the guard dogs won't be able to detect you by smell. And this…"

She then handed me an ear cuff encrusted with tiny crystals.

"It's a communication tool. It's one way and only my voice will be heard, but it will last a long time."

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"Thank you very much. I'm off then."

When I said this, we separated, and I slipped back my black hooded cloak to hide my face, but midway, Anastasia stopped my hands.

"Wait, Yuushin… Chup~."

When I turned my face around, a kiss was suddenly planted on my cheek.

Naturally, I was surprised at the suddenness but I was just replied with a smile.

"It's a good luck charm. There will be more of it when you get back."

"I see. I guess I have to do everything in my power then to get out of there in one piece."

I stroked the kissed cheek, waved to Anastasia, and began to infiltrate the Count's mansion once again.

The first step is to use a ladder to climb over the high fence and then use a grappling rope to enter the grounds of the Count's mansion.

After doing that and hiding the hooked rope in a nearby bush, I moved forward.

[Something is coming in your front. Two guards and a dog.]

I heard Anastasia's voice coming from the crystal in my ear, and I ducked down.

Just as she said that, three shadows crossed in front of me.

The patrol never stopped, and even the dogs, with their keen sense of smell, didn't seem to notice my presence.

"The magic seems to be working better than I expected."

[Don't worry, even specially trained dogs can't detect the scent through my magic. Or else I wouldn't have infiltrated this city in the first place. The coast is clear. Move on.]

Following Anastasia, who was scouting from next door, I infiltrated the house smoothly.

I was able to sneak from the back door used by the servants we had our eyes on.

"There's only so much I can do with my magic inside the mansion. Be careful."

Heeding the warning, I quickly entered the place.

Then, a woman stood in front of me.

But there was no need to panic. Everything is going as planned.

"Chief Maid, is Count Zaintert in his bedroom tonight?"

"Yes, the master is sleeping in his bedroom."

The maid nodded her head in agreement with my unnatural request.

When I came to scout this mansion, Anastasia had used a mental manipulation spell on the head maid of this mansion when she came out of the premises.

Through hypnotizing the head maid, I had already obtained the floor plan of the mansion. But of course, there will still be limits.

"Is there anything out of the ordinary?"

"The ladies have returned today. They are currently resting in their bedrooms."

"What, Milena and Lacy?"

The unexpected situation made me ask back.

The girls are usually in the barracks, but since it is their parents' home, it is not surprising that they would return from time to time.

I composed myself and assessed whether I should continue the infiltration.

(Should I call it a day? No, I have to set up the plot as soon as possible. Let's continue as is.)

After I made this decision, I left the maid behind and headed for the back of the mansion. This chap ter trans lat ion is m ade poss ible by stab bi ng with a s y r inge translat ions. check onl y up-t o-da t e transl at ions on m y Wo rdpr ess sit e.

I passed several guards on the way, but they did not see me hiding in the shadows.

I proceeded down a corridor lined with a mind-boggling number of doors as I entered the depths of the Count's mansion.

"The Count's bedroom is just down the hall, I think. And beyond that is his office."

I headed first for the office, keeping a wary eye on my surroundings.

Once inside, I rummaged through the office desks and cupboards to see if there was any information that would be useful to me.

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Financial and military records… these documents don't seem to have much to do with us. Is there anything written about Marquis Krall?

As I was searching through the documents one by one, I found a piece of material.

It appeared to be a plan of some sort, but I couldn't quite make out as the contents were encrypted.

But the fact that it was encrypted was like telling me this plan was important.

"I can use this. I'll take it. If we decrypt it later, it might give us something to threaten them with."

I put the plan in my pocket and stood up.

After cleaning up the room to avoid leaving any traces, I left the office as it was.

"Now, the next stop is the Count's bedroom. Let's get a sample of the drug."

One of the merchants supporting Lucy is a medicine man.

If I could get the same thing, I would be able to give Milena and Lacy a big jolt.

As I thought of this, I quietly opened the door and sneaked into the Count's bedroom.