Infiltration and Confrontation

As Yuuji and Kenma move through the dark of night, Kenma asks mockingly,

-"Yuuji, you said we will enter the country, but even if they let us in, I don't think they'll let us walk around freely." Yuuji replies,

-"Don't worry. The country of Aurellio has just come out of a war. I'm sure its military strength is low, so we can move around easily."

-"Wouldn't they take higher precautions because their military strength is low, making it more worrisome for us?"

Yuuji stays silent for a while, then answers,

-"It shouldn't be a problem, I guess…"

Kenma gives him a look that says 'are you serious?' and answers:

-"I hope so."

Yuuji changes the subject,

-"Speaking of the war, could it be that Aurellio implemented such a tax on the villages to reduce the financial issues caused by the war?"

After thinking for a while, Kenma answers,

-"According to the laws of Aurellio, they cannot procure munitions from villages by citing the war as a reason. Of course, breaking or changing the laws should be easy for the military. The only way to find out is to go and see it with our own eyes."

After staring in amazement for a while, Yuuji says,

-"For someone who spent his life in the forest, you know quite difficult words."

Kenma shows his backpack:

-"I buy and read many books from the towns and cities I visit. Most of my money goes to books. My parents valued reading greatly."

-"I see."

At that moment, a scream rises from the right side of the path they are walking on, followed by a commotion. Kenma and Yuuji immediately head that way. A little further, they encounter five goblins attacking a small camp. There is only a young girl in the camp, wounded by the goblins. Yuuji immediately jumps on the goblin on top of the girl and takes it out. He asks the girl if she's alright. The girl shows her wound on her abdomen, and Yuuji begins to heal it with an advanced healing technique. Meanwhile, Kenma arrives:

-"Are you alright? I took care of the other goblins."

Yuuji:

-"You're fast! Your lightning element techniques must be very strong…"

-"I didn't use any elemental technique. (He swings his swords) I only used my swords."

-"Oh, okay."

The girl stands up and gathers herself:

-"Thank you so much for saving me, strangers! What can I do for you?"

Yuuji stands up and holds the girl's hands:

-"Are you going to Aurellio?"

The girl (blushing because Yuuji is holding her hands):

-"Y-yes. My whole family members are traders . Normally, we travel together, but because some goods were delayed, I was a few days behind…"

Kenma asks:

-"Why did you set up camp here? You should have stayed at an inn. This place is very dangerous."

-"I was going to stay at an inn, but I couldn't find one. Eventually, my horse got too tired (she points to her horse tied to a tree), so I had to stop. I didn't think something like this would happen."

Kenma:

-"You need someone to protect you. We are also going to Aurellio. Would you like us to accompany you until we enter the city?"

The girl:

-"Eh? B-but…"

Yuuji interrupts her:

-"We would be really grateful if you could help us get into Aurellio. We need an identity that would allow us to enter without arousing suspicion, like hired guards."

The girl puts her hand on her chin and thinks for a while. Yuuji:

-"We forgot to introduce ourselves. My name is Kageyama Yuuji. This is my friend Kamisato Kenma."

-"I'm Yachi Ichika."

Kenma continues:

-"We are travelers. We go to different countries and villages, helping people along the way. The reason we want to enter Aurellio is to try to resolve some issues that the surrounding villages are having with Aurellio. We need to enter the country without arousing suspicion to conduct our research."

The girl responds:

-"I understand. If it will help you, I can do that."

Yuuji rejoices:

-"Really? Thank you, Yachi-san!"

Kenma:

-"Let's get ready then. If we leave now, we should arrive at the gates by dawn."

Yachi:

-"No, I've already been traveling all day, I'm tired-… wait, I'm not tired? What is this, I feel so energetic!"

Yuuji smiles:

-"Hehee, with my special healing technique, I relieved your fatigue. Now I'll apply this technique to your horse too, and we'll be able to travel until morning!"

Yachi is surprised:

-"Eh? I've never heard of such a technique before! What's its name?"

-"Its name? Its name is, um, its name is… N-nourishing… Healing technique. Yes, nourishing healing technique."

-"I've never heard of that name before, but, how should I say, it's cool! Kageyama-kun, did you really invent this technique?"

-"Yes! (Yuuji is quite proud now.)"

Kenma interrupts:

-"Hey, genius mage, stop slacking and wake up the horse. I've gathered all the items and loaded them onto the cart, so we can leave. Come on, do something useful!"

Yuuji is deflated:

-"Alright, sorry. I guess I made you do all the work."

Yachi:

-"I also apologize Ka-Ka-Kamisato-kun, you really did everything…"

-"You can use my first name too, we're friends now after all."

-"Okay, Kenma-kun, and Yuuji-kun."

Yuuji applies the nourishing healing technique to Yachi's horse, they set off the cart and ride. After a fun journey filled with conversations, they arrive at the gates of Aurellio in the morning hours. Yuuji and Kenma introduce themselves as Yachi's hired guards and enter the country of Aurellio without any problems. After passing through the gates, they get off the cart to say goodbye. Yachi:

-"From here, I'll go to my family. Thank you so much for saving my life and accompanying me here. If you ever need anything, the Yachi family will consider you as friends, you can be sure of that."

Kenma:

-"We should be thanking you. Without Yachi-san, we wouldn't have been able to enter here easily."

Yachi turns to Yuuji:

-"Yuuji-kun, could you come with me for a moment? There's something I want to tell you…"

Yuuji looks at Kenma, who nods approvingly:

-"I'll wait here."

Without waiting for Yuuji's response, Yachi grabs his arm and brings him to a side alley. After staying silent for a while, Yuuji asks:

-"What was it that you wanted to say, Yachi-san?"

Yachi gets flustered, tries to say something but can't, then finally manages to say:

-"I-I know we've just met but… In case we don't get another chance to meet… (She takes out a piece of paper and pen, writes something, and hands the paper to Yuuji) T-this is my home address. I-if you want to write a letter… I mean, don't misunderstand me… It's just that I'm curious about you guys… Y-yes! I mean-"

Yuuji stares silently and surprised for a moment, then pulls himself together and takes the paper. Yachi, who had closed her eyes out of embarrassment while speaking, opens her eyes in surprise when Yuuji takes the paper and interrupts her sentence. Yuuji smiles and says:

-"When I return home, I will definitely write a letter, so wait for it!"

Yachi rejoices:

-"Okay! I will definitely wait!"

They return to Kenma together, say their goodbyes, and part ways. Kenma and Yuuji are now left alone with a huge problem in the heart of Aurellio.

Yuuji and Kenma, having left their belongings in an inn room, walked through the city while formulating a plan to infiltrate the knights' headquarters. After spending the entire day thinking, they devised two plans to get in: sneak in undetected or deliberately act suspicious to get arrested. As night fell and they approached the headquarters to review their plans, they spotted an opportunity: the headquarters guards were preparing for a shift change. Yuuji and Kenma quickly hid in the bushes and blended into the shadows, seizing the moment to slip into the headquarters' courtyard and then through a door leading into the main building. Inside, it was quieter than they had expected, almost deserted, with the dim light of candles barely illuminating the surroundings. Yuuji whispered to Kenma:

-"We got in, but now what? I didn't expect it to be this sudden; we didn't plan for what to do after getting inside!"

Before Kenma could respond, a stern female voice called from behind:

-"Hey, you there, who are you and what are you doing here?"

The girl drew her sword and took a stance. Kenma raised his hands in a gesture of peace and spoke:

-"Calm down, we didn't come here to cause harm. Our only goal is to understand the policies the knights are enforcing on the surrounding villages and to find a solution to this issue."

The girl replied angrily:

-"You expect me to believe that? I, Commander Selena Laurent, am arresting you right now!"

Yuuji panicked:

-"Hey, isn't it a bit ridiculous to arrest us without any proof? We haven't even done anything yet!"

Selena:

-"No, you definitely did something. Entry into this building is strictly forbidden to anyone but the knights."

Yuuji:

-"But how do you know our intentions are bad? Besides, what you're doing is a greater crime. According to the law, you can't impose such a tax on the surrounding villages, yet you're doing it!"

Commander Selena Laurent averted her gaze:

-"There's nothing I can do about that. Even as a commander, I can't go against the orders of the Grandmaster."

Yuuji:

-"If we're both guilty, that means we're equal. To determine whose idea is valid… (thinking for a moment) You should duel Kenma!"

Kenma, surprised by this unexpected suggestion:

"Why me and not you?!"

Yuuji whispered to Kenma:

- "Don't worry, she looks like she's our age; she can't be that skilled."

- "But she's a commander!"

- "Don't mind! You can handle it!"

Selena replied:

-"So be it! Duel me here and now, Kenma! If you win, I won't arrest you, but if you lose, you'll never see the sunlight again!"

Kenma sighed:

-" Alright then."

He drew his swords and took a stance.

As Yuuji shouted "ready, start!", both of them dashed forward so quickly that the candlelight went out. They retreated after their swords clashed, unable to see in the darkness. During this, Kenma dropped one of his swords. Commander Laurent, trying to spot her opponent, made her move:

-"Mana Vision; Elemental Sight, Anemo!"

Now she could see the entire room clearly, thinking to herself, "Great, as long as there's air around, I won't lose to him!". Kenma stood still and didn't move. Laurent realized he couldn't see and seized the opportunity to strike, dashed through the darkness and swınged her sword. Just as she was about to land her attack, a faint purple glow appeared, and the satisfying sound of clashing swords echoed throughout the room, sparks flying. Kenma:

-"Now I can see too!"

With the conditions now equal, the knight's sword and the traveler's katana clashed in the darkness. Yuuji, standing motionless at the side, could only see the sparks flying. For a moment, there was distance between them. Laurent took the chance to launch a ranged attack:

-"Anemo Element, Air Blade!"

(Technique explanation, Air Blade: The user concentrates air currents to form blades. These blades are directed at the target, creating a cutting effect.)

Before the blades could reach Kenma, he made his move. A glowing purple electric orb formed right next to Laurent:

-"Electro Element, Lightning cutter."

Kenma, from his position, created a current between him and the orb, suddenly appearing where the orb was. Just as Laurent was about to counter Kenma, she got zapped and Kenma appeared behind her. Yuuji thought to himself:

"Normally, in this technique, current is created between the user and the target, but he directed his current to his own target, which he created, not to the main target, then created a second target and used the first as a decoy. Truly incredible…"

Kenma sheathed his katana and raised his hand and hits Laurent's head, who had fallen to the ground due to the electric zap. After a short silence, Laurent asked in surprise:

-"Hey, why did you hit my head?"

Kenma:

- "Ah, sorry, it's so dark I couldn't see. I meant to put my hand on your shoulder, to indicate it's over."

- "'Couldn't see'? Didn't you say you could see earlier?"

- "Ahaha, well, in the initial darkness, I touched you and applied an electric current. After finding that current's wave, I could sense your location but…"

- "'Sense' you say. How did you parry my attacks and counterattack without seeing?"

- "Well, I tried to predict what kind of attack you might make based on your direction and speed. Most were correct, but some of your moves were truly unpredictable; you're very skilled!"

At that moment, Yuuji came over with a lit candle. Looking at Kenma's smiling face in the candle's dim light, Selena Laurent, filled with admiration, said:

-"N-no, the truly skilled one… is you…"

Yuuji interrupted:

-"Ahem, ahem! Now that the duel's result is clear, will you keep your promise, Commander?"

Laurent, trying to hide her surprise and compose herself, replied:

-"Eh? Y-yes… I mean, no! You're criminals! … Uhhh, I think I have to keep my promise…"