Project: Alternative

Chapter 20: The occupied city, Krusmond (Eru)

Krusmond was in the distance. It was currently evening and the only light shining on us were the moon and stars. Jun-kun and I wore black coats and were away from the main road.

From comparing the schedule of the guards, I concluded that this hour was the best time to sneak into the city. We managed to get near the walls without getting detected.

Jun-kun took a deep breath and he began floating. I grabbed his hand and we flew over the walls. The System Records was awesome. It accurately told us that no one was around at this time so we could infiltrate without a problem.

The two of us navigated the streets. It was evening and people should be coming home from work and other stuff. That was why we ditched our black coats and casually walked towards the main street to join the crowd.

Despite being recently taken over by rebels, the people were still lively. Merchants were selling their wares, citizens were walking around, and children were even playing. This was very odd. Occupied cities shouldn't look like this and yet people were living their lives peacefully.

Of course, some soldiers were patrolling the streets but they probably hadn't memorized each and every citizen living in Krusmond so we easily blended with the crowd. We were wearing normal clothes so we passed off as simple teenagers.

We walked towards a house and knocked on its door. A blue-haired girl opened it and ushered us inside.

"You two must be the one Lady Reine sent here", she said.

"Yes. I am Jun Inazuma while this guy is Eru Reika", Jun-kun introduced ourselves.

"My name is Aiyu Shimizu, a humble jellyfish mage of the House Pavolia."

"Jellyfish mage? Does that mean you are not human?" I asked.

"Yes. Thanks to being a jellyfish, I have proficiency in water and lightning magic."

"But we're not here for that. Can you tell us what you know?" Jun-kun asked.

"In the past days, Krusmond was taken over by rebels planning to overthrow the King. They executed the lord and other nobles in this city and imprisoned the soldiers who didn't join them."

Alright. Everything was in line with what the System Records said. I wonder... Why would Jun-kun ask such a question if the System Records already knew everything? Well... It wouldn't hurt to be careful and double check information.

"And then a man named Shien Kageyama made a speech in front of the people and rallied them to join the rebellion. Anyone who was a threat was sent to the dungeons. Even adventurers who might be related to nobles were locked up", she said.

"Then how about you? You are working under Reine. Why aren't you arrested?" I asked.

"It's simple. Unlike those adventurers who blatantly show their connection with nobles, I kept my allegiance a secret. No one even knew about my connection with Lady Reine so I'm safe."

"And I'm assuming our allies are locked in the Northern Dungeons?" Jun-kun asked.

"That is correct."

"Eru... We only planned on how to infiltrate this city. Our plan to get Shien Kageyama is still not solid. The path to the Guild Meeting Hall is surrounded with soldiers and I'm sure the building is heavily secured."

"If Shien Kageyama is still being a careful person, then I believe that would be the case", I replied.

"Why don't we make a huge distraction?"

"Distraction? How?" Aiyu asked.

"Aiyu and I will free the prisoners and cause riots; While the rebels would be shocked and would focus on fighting the newly released prisoners, you will sneak into the Guild Meeting Hall and arrest Shien Kageyama."

"Wait. What? You want me to do a solo infiltration?!" I asked.

"That's the plan."

"That's impossible! I'm good at making plans and everything but executing them is different! I'm just a desk agent!"

"No. I've seen your information in the System Records. You are more than capable of this. Besides, I requested some tools from the Administrator and I can always ask for more. We can plan out your infiltration later."

"But wouldn't it be better if you were the one who'll infiltrate? I can work with Aiyu and free the prisoners instead."

"You idiot. You said it yourself. You don't have much fighting experience. Once we free the prisoners, we'll be fighting the rebels in an all-out war. Do you think it's better to do that than just infiltrate and pick your own fights?"

He had a point. Thinking about it logically, it would be better if Jun-kun would be the one who would be on the battlefield. His Coder abilities could easily turn the tides of any war. I should be doing what I was trained to do and that was infiltrating a base.

"I hate it when I know I'm wrong", I muttered.

"So just give up, okay?" Jun-kun grinned.

"Alright then. So you'll cause a ruckus and while the rebels are busy dealing with you, I'll swoop in and take down Shien Kageyama."

"Sounds like a plan. Tell me what information you need so your infiltration would go smoothly."

"The first thing I need is the layout of the Guild Meeting Hall. I need to map out all of the hallways and exits. The next thing I need is information about the people stationed in the Guild Meeting Hall."

"Like everyone there?"

"Yes. Anyone that might have a chance of guarding the place is a dangerous enemy. I need to know what kind of fighters I am supposed to expect. If they know magic, tell me what magic I should expect and detailed information about the magic so I can counter them."

"That's a lot of information. Can you memorize them?"

"I'll just do whatever I can. This is my first solo infiltration so I can't be too prepared."

"Okay then. What kind of tools do you need?"

"I need something that can capture him. I'm sure you can request something that's better than just plain ropes, right? Shien Kageyama might have tricks to escape if things get dangerous so I need something that can completely capture him. But don't give me complicated technology. I don't have time to learn something new."

"Gotcha. Do you need some weapons?"

"Maybe I could use more weapons. If they can just knock out people instead of killing them, I'll gladly take it. Just make sure the weapons you'll give me will be simple to use or at least similar to the ones we have back in our old world."

"Alright. I'll give you some samples later."

I then wondered what else I needed. After a few minutes, I forgot to ask one important question.

"When will we start the operation?" I asked.

"Tomorrow. So plan everything you need tonight", Jun-kun answered.

"T-Tomorrow? Why are we rushing?"

"The longer we stay here, the higher chance the enemy will know about us. It's better to strike fast while they still aren't prepared."

"How could they know us? I'm sure that even Shien Kageyama doesn't have a list of everyone staying in this city. And even if he does have one, the chances of his men figuring out that we are enemies are very low."

"Just trust me. I have a bad feeling about this situation so it's better we finish things quickly."

There it was again. Jun-kun was definitely hiding something. Either that or my intuition was wrong again which wasn't that surprising.

In any case, I have to prepare for my solo infiltration tomorrow. 

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A/N: This'll be the last chapter for the next few weeks. I'll be taking a break cause college is seriously kicking my ass. I'll be back on November 19, 2021 with a new chapter and for the second half of this arc.