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“Welcomeee.”
After being greeted by an unenthusiastic waiter, I entered the establishment, where Felt was sipping tea gracefully at a seat on the wall farthest from the window.
“Excuse me, have you been waiting long?”
“…I have been wondering for a while now, can you please quit with that boyfriend-like opening line every now and then?”
“Hahaha, you are as stern as ever.”
Taking a seat across from Felt, I ordered a coffee from the waiter. His response was, “I got it,” without even the slightest effort to disguise his lack of motivation. It was no wonder why there were no other customers in the establishment.
“What were you doing yesterday, Ms. Felt?”
“Information gathering. Didn’t you tell me to do that?”
“No, that’s about the nighttime bar talk, right? You don’t have any informants in this city, so I was wondering what you were doing during the day.”
With a bitter look on her countenance, Felt answered, “…Touring the coffee shops”. I see, so that was why she was aware of such an out-of-touch coffee shop.
“Here you goooo.”
Extending the end of his words must be a habit of this waiter. I drank the coffee that the waiter had put down and found it to be remarkably satisfying. The coffee was slightly bitter, so I ordered some sweet pastries.
“Considering how little spare time you must have as well, is it safe for you to be in this location at this time of day?”
“Yes. Today is a voluntary activity. Nobody will object when it is regarded as a lunch break.”
The dessert that was delivered was a strawberry cake with white cream on it. After a few nibbles, the sweet cake, which was similar to a pastry made in the West, would give people heartburn, but the potently bitter coffee effectively counteracted it.
“So, what fresh information have you discovered?”
“The object you seek is not listed on the building’s floor map, but it is stored on the third basement level, under a powerful seal.”
“I already know that. What else?”
A look of sourness overcame Felt’s face.
“…Nothing.”
“I see. Thank you.”
I was not particularly demoralized. After all, Felt was a stranger in this city, and I figured there was only so much information she could glean. If anything, I was impressed with how she was able to get her hands on the information that I had picked up from Fina.
“Was there any contact from Mr. Gato or Ms. Mira?”
“Nothing from Gato. Ms. Mira informed me that she had discovered a way to infiltrate the interior without being trapped by the barrier.”
“Oh, wonderful.”
Mira had described the library’s extraordinary security to me at the bar, which had left me in awe. As expected of “Barrier Master,” with the same SS rating as Matthias, she was capable of accomplishing this feat.
“The only thing is that there is no way to control the security after the break-in, so I suppose it will depend on your expertise from that point on.”
“Not you, but us, right?”
“…Are you being serious?”
“Of course. You will infiltrate with me tomorrow, Ms. Felt.”
Preferably, I would like to include Gato with us, but I can only speculate that having him in motion would lead to undue havoc.
In that respect, I have already ascertained over the past few days that Felt excelled in areas aside from combat. Intelligence was her forte, and resourcefulness was another asset. Her magical power-blocking stone had a strong impact, to say the least.
“I mean, can’t the stone’s effect affect security or something?”
“…I think it can probably neutralize low-level barriers and traps, but anything above a certain level is impractical.―Oh, and this time I prepared something like this.”
What Felt retrieved was a cane about the size of a baton used in a relay. Being composed of metal, its weight was firm and the end was rounded like a bud, with a metal attachment to the end.
“What is this?”
“Sasha had created it to adjust the effect of the magical power inhibiting stone. Although it is still in the prototype stage and the effective range of the stone is substantially limited, by pressing the switch on the handle, you can activate the stone’s effect at any time you like.”
Felt continued, “There are still challenges ahead,” but I was speechless by the prospect.
“…Ms. Felt.”
“W-What?”
“That’s superb.”
The utility of Felt and Sasha was, therefore, proved afresh.
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“Well then, I’ll leave the rest to you.”
At my words, Envy responded with a nod. Intelligence was lacking in Envy, and it could not even articulate, but for today, I instructed it to maintain a sleepy exterior, as though it were fatigued from the day’s work. Fortunately, all I had to do was to instruct him on how fast to blink and how often to perform the same movement, and as long as the others didn’t start up superfluous discussions, I was confident I could fool them. At any rate, I would always leave at least a minimal connection with Envy, but it was unknown whether I would have that much time to spare throughout the process.
After leaving the dormitory so as not to be caught by anyone, I headed to the bar in question at a brisk pace.
Concealing my face with “Mist Veil,” I went inside, and the owner was so reverent that his previous treatment of me seemed to be a lie, and led me to the VIP room. Apparently, I was the last one to arrive, and all the other members of the group had already gathered when I opened the door.
“Hey, Eraser. You kept us waiting a long time, didn’t you?”
“Excuse me, I was late due to attending a meeting of the group leaders…”
“Haha, I don’t suppose that’s a line for someone who comes here.”
Gato lifted his hand in an unstinting manner and Mira laughed, obscuring her mouth with a fan. In the corner of the room, Felt was performing final maintenance on her Serpentine Spear.
“So, have you settled on a strategy yet?”
“Well, before that, I would like to hear if there is any new information from you guys.”
“What the hell, let’s get this war on the road!”
Gato, who was in a rush, spouted out a few noisy words. Yeah, I truly did not feel comfortable taking him along.
Mira then raised her hand.
“I am sorry, but I bear a piece of bad news. The chief magician, Rowen Mana Anblaus, has been present in this city since yesterday. And…”
“He is likely in that library, right? That information reached me as well.”
“Well, your intelligence is quick.”
“I was touring the library at the time.”
I was practically at my wit’s end at that point, but I had already devised a countermeasure. No one else seemed to have any information, so I chose to carry on with my story.
“Now then, I will begin to explain the operation. First of all, the aim this time is to retrieve a list of forbidden magic book from the library on the third basement floor. The reward is the sharing of the right to read the book and 100,000 Fanta per person, that is correct, isn’t it?”
“Yes.” “Oh.” “Without a doubt.”
“I understand. All right, let me describe the specifics. First, Ms. Mira. I will rely on you to provide the means to enter the facility, right?”
“Yes. I grasp the type and location of all the existing barriers on the site. I will neutralize those barriers and cast magic on you to allow access without getting caught. The same procedure will be used on the way back. I will handle that part.”
“Thank you very much. With this, the first obstacle is cleared. Now let’s move to the next―”
“Hey, hey, hey, tell me what is my role in this quickly.”
Right as I was about to proceed, Gato asked me a question as if he had grown numb. Mira and Felt explicitly showed a fed-up look, but since I have been dealing with students who interrupt the story in the middle of an explanation at school every day, irritation wasn’t something that I felt. Come to think of it, I wondered what Arti was doing.
“Mr. Gato will intercept hostile forces in the event of an emergency. Therefore, while inside the building, kindly remain on the first floor.”
“Aaah!? Does that mean I am a substitute!”
That was a bit off the mark, but I understood what he was trying to say. I tried to break it down into as few words as possible.
“Mr. Gato is the strongest of all of us and possesses a high level of searching ability. If by any chance our infiltration is detected, in all likelihood, Anblaus will emerge. At that point, we desperately needed someone who could buy us a little time, and among us, you are the only one who could fill that role. I will also entrust you with my magic crystal stone, so please, can’t you do me a favor?”
At worst, I had thought about giving up on infiltration and allowing Gato to act as a scapegoat by letting him rampage as much as he pleased.
“…Tsk, I get it. In exchange, I assume you have preparations in place to get me out of there safely too if it comes to that?”
I was even more astounded that he asked about his safety. I had expected Gato to be more like the type of maniacal warrior who never thought about his safety. Perhaps that was why he too has made a name for himself here as a vicious criminal, knowing that death would be the end of everything.
“As we discussed before, I will leave that to you, Ms. Mira. You have a method, don’t you?”
“That goes without saying. It is not in my nature to show up in public, but it would be unfair for one person not to be on the front lines. In return, please be careful not to let such a situation happen to me.”
“Don’t worry. I am also a man of peace.”
“…You say that a lot.”
“What did you say?”
“Nothing.”
I thought I heard Felt blurting out something, but I must have been imagining it.
“Also, if you succeed in taking it and escape, follow the same steps you used to get in, assuming no one catches you. If not, though, I have a plan on my side, so you can trust me with it.”
“What? You won’t tell us here?”
“Please look forward to it when that time comes.”
“Heh, bring it on!”
With no further questions, we got ready and started to move toward the Library of Magic.