Chapter 13 - The Best-Laid Plans

Registering with the adventurer guild seems to be quite simple and doesn't

involve any typical fantasy stuff, such as getting a magical card created from

thin air, where all my information is visible. It was to be expected, since this

world doesn't deal with stats and skill points, and magic isn't the solution to

everything.

Here, I only had to sign my name on a form after reviewing its contents.

However, it was in no way simple, since I can't read the language of this

world. I was fortunate that the bard and Gram left to gather more information

about the upcoming quest issue, and only Lady Nightwane stayed with me in

the room where the formalities were being sorted.

Thus, when the guild worker left for a moment, Senka could translate for

me quickly, and I could fill in the form. The dark elf is still shaking in her

boots whenever the doll girl speaks, but I know she'll never reveal it to the

others. After all, there's a secret between them that she doesn't want to get out

further than it already has.

I'll have to ask Senka to teach me this language properly over time since I

won't be able to hide my identity for long if I can't understand the human

writing system. If I were a peasant, it might be reasonable for me to be

illiterate, but my setting is that I'm a noble.

And if I don't learn how to read, I won't be able to study the magic book

Arcelia gave me.

"Thank you for waiting." The guild worker who took our forms away for

the final procedures comes back into the room. "Here is your guild emblem.

Please show it whenever you are acting on behalf of the guild during

requests."

She hands Lady Nightwane and me each a metal badge with the guild's

symbol on the front and our names carved onto the back.

I've become an adventurer!

With our newly gained proof of membership, we return to the main hall to

show it to Rolan and Luna. Holding it up high for them to see, I grin from ear

to ear. There's no turning back now; I'll be coming with them, whether they like it or not.

"You can't get rid of me anymore." I grin at the leader and wink at Luna.

The latter looks at me with a bewildered expression.

"Hah, the joke's on you. I'll work you hard from now on." Rolan accepts it

with humor and returns my grin with one of his own. "No getting away from

me now!"

I find myself laughing with him, and realize that despite our inherent

differences, we could become friends. If only he didn't want to kill my

mother...

"Rolan, come here!" Ingrid's voice resounds through the hall, and we all

look up to the second floor. The guild master is standing on the gallery in

front of her office and waving at the leader.

It seems she has news for us.

We're back in Ingrid's cozy office. From her expression, I can judge that

things didn't go as smoothly as they could have. I think it's obvious that the

merchant isn't going to have the slaves packed up and loaded on his carriages

already when he's only heading out in a few more days.

"Vigi inspected Sveinn's carriages as well as the warehouse where he stores

his goods but found nothing out of the ordinary." Crossing her arms while

sitting in her boss chair, the guild master shares the piece of information she

gained. I already expected that it wouldn't be so easy to find proof. "But

there's something else. I had a guy go and check on Lady Nightwane's store,

and someone broke down the front door. It seems those kidnappers returned,

and when they didn't find her, they trashed the place completely."

"So they came back..." Luna frowns and gives Lady Nightwane a

sympathetic glance. The dark elf seems quite shaken by the news.

"But they left clear footprints, so they don't know that we're investigating

them. I have my best trackers on their trail." Ingrid's face is unexpectedly

filled with aggressive determination. For some reason, she sounds very

reassuring right now. "If we can find their base, we might be able to obtain

evidence that links them to the slave trade and Sveinn."

"The big man told me that the city watch has some illicit dealings with

Sveinn and most likely other smugglers that may be carrying slaves." Rolan

brings up this concern and looks to Ingrid with a thoughtful expression.

"This issue might be out of our league, is that what you're saying?" Her eyes pierce into his, as she inquires with a dangerous undertone. Why does it

feel like she's judging him?

"Not like that's going to stop us, right?" Grinning, the leader pumps his fist

and responds naturally. That's so cliché! He's like the typical shounen anime

hero who doesn't put any thoughts into potential consequences and merely

follows his convictions!

"Thought so." Ingrid smiles. It seems she already knew he would answer

like this.

"But Gram and Sigurd aren't around right now." Rolan brings up the fact

that two of this party members might not be back on time for when the

trackers return with information on their hideout, and wouldn't be able to join

the raid if we were to go right then.

"That's alright. I told my trackers to keep watch over their hideout when

they find it, and send someone back to inform me of its whereabouts."

Standing up from her chair, Ingrid walks over to her window. "I'm sure we

have plenty of time before then, so we'll gather everyone first."

What follows is a round of strategizing during which I don't have much to

add. I can't really come up with battle plans or strategies since all I was ever

good at was one on one fighting games.

In the end, they decide that the best course of actions is to wait it out until

the slavers make a move. Ingrid says that she will make the person called

Vigi keep on shadowing Sveinn's every move, to find out where he's keeping

the slaves - if he is transporting any.

It's a pretty good strategy. If by chance he finds out that it's in a place

different from where the second group that visited Lady Nightwane's store is

going to, we may be able to find more than one of their bases.

But this means that we might have a few more days before the beginning of

the operations. In other words, I can learn some more magic in that time.

Gram and the bard return to the guild shortly after we leave Ingrid's office

and sit down in the hall downstairs. The big man brings some news from the

city watch. The few among them he has been friends with for a long time and

whom he trusts are willing to lead a full search on Sveinn's carriages when he

passes through the gates.

I didn't consider it before, but what we're doing is vigilantism. Without a

warrant, you can't search a house or cargo, or arrest a person whom you aren't catching in the process of committing a crime. At least that's how it was in

modern day Japan, but I don't know how the legal system works here.

According to the bard, he found out that there were rumors about illegal

constructions going on in the slums at night a few years ago. It was

investigated back then, but nobody found signs of anything having been

changed, so it wasn't further pursued. The likelihood that the slave traders

settled there and built a base is pretty high, then.

It's possible we're dealing with a hidden fortress where a lot of people

could be gathered, which has been in operation for years without being

detected. Either they must have gotten sloppy for us to catch them, or they

were able to deal with such situations before easily.

We'll see then, but for now, we don't have anything to do and are basically

on standby for the next few days, until Ingrid gives the command to move

out. We all have lunch together, and then the party separates again to gather

more information.

However, since Lady Nightwane is still under the threat of being

kidnapped, we're told to stay either at the guild or the Dancing Dragon. The

same goes for Luna, who's going to stay with Rolan for the time being.

In other words, I have some free time with the dark elf and Senka.

"Let's go back to the inn." As the others move to leave the guild hall, I take

Lady Nightwane's hand and pull her up.

"Yes..." She blushes at the physical contact, but a bashful smile graces her

lips. Apparently, she just can't get enough of someone touching her so

casually, even if it's only through her gloves.

I hear Senka clicking her tongue but ignore it.

"Someone, help!" Suddenly, a loud voice cries out from the entrance of the

guild. All eyes are on the two men who just came in; they're both wounded,

although one is in much better shape than the other. He's propping up his

delirious companion who looks close to death.

"What happened?" Rolan is among the first to react and runs over to

support them. Luna immediately follows him and begins to administer first

aid. I guess I'll go along and heal them using my new light magic spell.

"Master Norling... had us track the footprints... leading away from Lady

Nightwane's store..." Breathing heavily and holding his bleeding shoulder,

the less injured of the two begins to explain the circumstances leading to their

current states.

Apparently, they found the kidnappers' hideout in the slums, but were

spotted and ambushed while deciding who would go and bring the news.

They were three, but one stayed behind to let these two escape and return to

the guild. They barely made it to the main street, after which the attackers had

to give up their pursuit.

That means the slavers know we're coming.

"Everyone, get ready. We need to move right now!" Rolan announces into

the guild hall, before jumping up to his feet and running upstairs to inform

Ingrid about the change in the situation. We have to go there as quickly as

possible, or the slave traders will make themselves disappear.

I cast a healing spell on the more heavily wounded man, whose halfconscious state stabilizes when he feels the comfortable light seeping into

him before he slips into slumber. The cuts slowly but visibly close up under

my magic, and all the gathered adventurers watch in awe. Then I move on to

the one who explained the situation to us. He'll have to lead the way so that

we can find their hideout.

"Laila!" From the back of the guild hall, Ingrid calls out a name, as she

walks towards us. A young woman with red hair in a big braid and sharp

green eyes leaves the circle of onlookers to respond to the call. "Tell Inga to

find Vigi and bring him the news. He should continue his surveillance on

Sveinn, and apprehend him if he shows signs of trying to escape."

"Understood." With a nod, the woman known as Laila moves to fulfill her

task without any questions asked and leaves the guild in a quick sprint.

"Hear me, Halfdan!" Another person is summoned. This time, a rugged

man with a brown, lion-like mane of a hairdo and a thick beard, who was

watching the situation from his nearby seat, stands up to heed the call.

"Gather your group now and get ready for battle."

"Right on." With a deep and rumbling voice like rolling boulders, the man

named Halfdan turns to the others in the guild. "Get everyone back here and

tell them to gear up."

He seems like the kind of person who's all about muscles, and I assume the

same is true for the members of his party. But when it comes down to a raid

on a potentially fortified position, those kinds of people are usually the best.

"Arni, gather your men. We need you on perimeter." The man Ingrid

addresses is the typical image of a ranger, with dark brown hair, sporting a

two-day-old beard, and covered in a green cloak. Completing it is the bow and quiver on his back. I assume by 'on perimeter', she means to keep watch

over the surroundings of the slavers' base, which is the perfect job for

someone like him.

Ingrid calls upon several more people, but I get busy listening to the lastminute strategizing Rolan and his party does on the side. After all, I'm one of

his members now. They're thinking of ways to minimize the chance for the

slavers to escape into the slums, which are practically impossible to search

with the numbers we have here.

I feel like they might have already run away and emptied the building

complex we're supposed to be raiding. At least if I were their leader, I would

have ordered everyone to run for it and scatter into the winds. Of course, if

they think they can stand fast against the assault from the entire adventurer

guild, they might not move at all.

For now, I have nothing to add to the strategy meeting, so I start thinking

about my role in what's about to go down. If I assume that the other

adventurer parties are all around the level of Rolan's, I feel that this should be

easy. The thugs only looked physically strong, but I'm sure they don't have

the amount of teamwork these guys have.

And if push comes to shove, I can always just get out of there on my own.

Ah, of course, I'd be taking Senka and Lady Nightwane with me.

"Hear me." Ingrid gathers everyone around her for a briefing on the interparty strategy. The other groups cease their talks and turn to listen to her.

"Halfdan and his group should be able to find and deal with any underground

passageways using their earth magic. But we might be too few to surround

the place completely as well as to raid it."

Although there are around thirty people here, it's entirely possible that the

slavers have many more. If they were to focus solely on escaping, there's no

way that Arni's party of six could hold fast against an onslaught of twenty on

their own. After all, their job is supposed to be picking up individuals who try

to escape alone.

"Umm..." I make, and everyone instantly turns around to me. My words get

stuck in my throat, and I have to swallow physically to get talking again;

being the center of attention is still a little daunting. "Miss Luna can cast ice

magic, right?"

"Yes, but what of it?" She lifts an eyebrow and asks in an almost snapping

tone. Well, Luna-chan, if you would let me finish, I would tell you. This was a rhetorical question because I know you can.

"Could you use it to create a layer of ice around the building?" Judging by

everyone's stares, I just dumbfounded them with this suggestion. What, is this

idea so out there? "This way you could seal all the exits. Then we could use

an underground passage to get in."

This might be easier said than done, since I don't know the laws behind the

magic in this world, and where it comes from. If it requires something like

mana, then I'm sure she'll run out of it before she could encase an entire

building. At least that's what I know from game logic, so I might be wrong.

So far, I didn't feel anything like that though, when I used the healing spell.

And if there's no mana, then there are no limitations to magic than the caster's

imagination. That would make for a very broken system.

"I can do it, but if they have someone proficient in fire magic, they could

just melt it away." Luna replies with a thoughtful expression. The typical

rock paper scissors of elemental attacks, huh? But I feel like you forgot the

fact that the building here are mostly made of wood, as far as I can tell. If you

use fire magic from inside a building to melt ice encasing the exterior, it's the

easiest way to burn the entire house down first.

"Yes, but then Arni and his group could pick those off that emerge from the

breach. It would create a bottleneck, which is far better than them running

away in every direction." Ingrid picks up my suggestion and carries it further.

It seems I'm not needed here anymore, so I disappear into the background

again.

In the end, it's decided that the group will split up into two teams, with the

parties under Rolan and three others performing the raid, while Halfdan and

Arni's parties would make sure nobody could escape, and provide medical aid

in case it's needed.

Incidentally, Luna, Lady Nightwane and I were meant to be put under

Halfdan's command, but the former refused very adamantly. I joined in on it

because I didn't want to miss out on the fun of raiding a criminal bastion, as

well as potentially nabbing a few bodies along the way.

"Alright alright, but can you guarantee that your ice magic will hold out for

that long?" Rolan obviously wants Luna to stay out of danger's way. In a

sense, he's making a legitimate point with that concern. But questioning your

girlfriend's capabilities like that is not a smart thing to do.

"I will just make it a glacial prison if you think an ice prison is not

enough." Are those actual spell names or are you just making comparisons? I

can't tell. But it seems to convince Rolan, so it must hold some meaning.

"I-I'll stay here, s-since I can't fight..." Lady Nightwane mutters sheepishly,

but nobody pays attention to her, so only I hear what she says. I'm a little

surprised since I expected that she would want to be with us so that she can

maybe find whomever she has been looking for all this time just a little bit

earlier.

In either case, I finally have an official reason to join the adventurers on a

potentially very dangerous mission, since I can use healing magic like a white

mage. Even though I'm carrying Senka like a certain black mage in a fantasy

game, who channels magic through dolls.

I move to the back of the group and make sure the bard is surrounded by

people talking before I lift Senka up close to my face.

"I forgot to ask... but can you fight?" I whisper to her. I know she can use

something like a life-draining curse when she ingests someone's blood, but

that's a very conditional ability with a steep prerequisite. Her body looks

quite frail, and the stitches don't help in the least to change that impression,

so I'm not sure she could draw someone's blood by herself. It feels like she

could be broken into pieces by just a strong impact.

"Well, for starters, I have a fear factor going for me. Similar to your real

appearance, when people see me move, they get scared." She replies without

moving her mouth.

Well, that's a psychological effect, but that alone doesn't kill people. Oh

wait, it does. Someone actually died upon seeing my true appearance. Still,

that can't be completely reliable in a battle.

"Also, I can attack people's souls directly. Any damage done to the soul is

reflected onto the body it occupies." That sounds really scary, oi! It's like a

certain demon that can wound people in their dreams and cause real damage

to their bodies. "But do you want me to join in the fighting?"

"No, I don't. We shouldn't reveal ourselves to anyone whom we can't just

dispose of without causing trouble."

"Thought so."

"It's just for future reference."

Finally, Ingrid concludes the briefing and tells us to get ready to move right

away. Apparently, we'll start as one group, but split up shortly before reaching our destination, to cover as many escape routes as possible, as well

as mask our final approach.

I'm getting fired up.