"The code has been cracked, Miss," the codebreaker hands a piece of paper to Nisa after what feels like half an hour. Meanwhile, Mr Arctus and his friend Jonathan are sharing a bottle of wine.
"Thanks," Nisa grabs it from the codebreaker.
"What does it say?" Aelita asks impatiently.
"Be patient," Nisa barks. She begins reading the paper, her sharp eyes scanning every single word on it
"There's a meeting between Lady Caitlyn, Lord Eugene, and Lady Sakurako in a week," she begins.
Both Mr Arctus and Jonathan snap out from their small talk. "All three lesser Lords? All three!?"
"Yeah. The location is Lord Eugene's HQ," Nisa continues.
"There are also some very specific information," Nisa continues, "Lady Sakurako has ordered two of her agents to bring three bottles of Toulon wine."
"Olala!" Jonathan barks, "Toulon wine! So watery it might be called water with alcohol instead!"
"That's oddly specific," Mr Arctus remarks while Jonathan goes on a rant about Toulon wine.
"There is even a map that shows the route the two agents are going to take. Furthermore, it is said that neither Lord Eugene nor Lady Caitlyn nor Lady Sakurako are particularly strong drinkers."
"It's as if someone on their side is trying to give information to us," Aelita chips in.
"Or trying to lure us in," I reply darkly. It could've been so; why would such miscellaneous information be provided?
"Both are equally likely," Nisa says, "even more, it's mentioned that there is an information orb in the potion ingredient warehouse."
Jonathan has stopped his rant. "Now that sounds too lucrative to ignore."
Hmm ... in that case ....
"Well I have a plan," I say.
"Is it possible to completely replicate a wine bottle and filling it with extremely strong liquor?" I ask Nisa.
"Ah, you're trying to trick the Lords into drinking heavy alcohol. Yeah, it's possible," she replies, "we have skilled workers for that."
"It's blasphemy against wine!" Jonathan opposes, but of course nobody cares.
"You three will have to do it yourself, though, unless Mr Arctus is willing to accompany you," Nisa says, "The Ad Astra can't spare any battle mages."
Mr Arctus mutters, "I cannot. I need to continue negotiations with Erwing."
"Well then." All eyes are onto us.
The next morning is fairly chilly. Winter hasn't unleashed its full force yet, but the warmer autumn is gone. Aelita, John, and I prepare to sail on a small boat to intercept two agents carrying the liquor that Lady Sakurako ordered.
To do this a series of disguise is implemented; my hair is dyed black and Aelita brown.
My black hair is tied into a bun; it used to be a ponytail. Aelita covers her hair with a veil; a specialty of Al Azhar.
John plays a different role. John will launch a mock attack on Aelita, I, and the two agents. During the confusion, Aelita and I will switch the bottles.
The sea is decently calm–perfect for our minute boat. John is hiding behind a huge rock, his mana suppressed.
Sure enough a boat arrives at noon. "That's them," I whisper.
I see a tall middle-aged man with black hair and a shorter and younger blond woman with a ponytail.
"Neither of them are goofballs," I mutter to Aelita, "Both of them are Class III mages."
Blood magic does come in handy. Aelita merely nods, glancing quickly at the rock behind which John is hiding.
"Hello!" I greet them warmly.
"Oh, hello, I guess," the man replies hesitantly. As expected, neither of them are very willing to engage in a conversation.
"We're travelling merchants. Would you like to see our products?" I smile. I have put a couple of jewelleries in a bag.
"No, thanks," the woman responds decisively, "we're busy."
John strikes as soon as they begin to sail away. A small laser strike hits the back of their boat.
A barrage of small lasers rain down on us; however, John's accuracy means most of the attacks land on the Empire's boat.
"Damn it!" the man curses. Their faces wrinkle, their lips curling downwards.
In desperation, they try to reach for the bottles, but John blocks their line of vision with his barrage.
In that nick of time, I manage to switch the bottles. "Run!" I shriek in false hysteria to Aelita.
The woman's lips form a small smile as she grabs the two bottles. The man glances suspiciously at me, but John's beams obstruct his vision. They both leave hurriedly.
"That was close," I mutter as John returns to the boat.
"Well," Aelita smirks as she smells the weak scent of the wine, "We managed it."
When we are back, night has fallen. The three of us are welcomed warmly by Ad Astra.
Ad Astra's hideout is similar in structure to a dwarven city; underground with countless buildings.
We are given shelter in a small house. It has a bathroom and two bedrooms. Its walls are painted a pleasant creme colour.
An assortment of food is scattered all over the wooden table. Lasagna, a whole roasted chicken, a huge bowl of mash potatoes, fruit juice, and pudding fill the table. On the table, there is a note, which read "We cooked this for you. Enjoy.".
Aelita has started cutting the lasagna, her mouth drooling. Our hungry stomaches are demanding to be filled.
The door shakes from a loud knock. "Come in!" I say while we are savagely tearing off the roasted chicken.
Mr Arctus' friendly face pops up from outside.
"I see you're enjoying yourselves," he jovially says.
"Shoin ush!" Aelita mutters some gibberish, her mouth full of chicken.
"Nah, I just come here to hand this to you," he gives a piece of paper to me.
"It's Fronica's gift to you, isn't it? I had Ad Astra fix it. Keep it well." Mr Arctus leaves as quickly as he arrives fading into darkness provided by the lack of illumination. Ad Astra does turn on and off their lights regularly to imitate day and night.
But it is not all he left. Another piece of paper is hidden below the one given by Madam Fron.
A ghostlike appearance of Mr Arctus appears.
"I'm sorry I can't stay for long. The Empire is hunting Order members everywhere. You need to leave in the morning and prepare for your mission. There is a small village nearby where you can stay. Arctus Pompey out."