Chapter 12.2

Chapter 12.2

If that’s the case, I’m automatically out of the question.」

「Me too. I suck at sneaking around and into places and stuff like that. I’ll hold down the fort.」

Makoto declared. They both made sense, so the party simply agreed.

「So, Mio’s in for sure, then. Thinkin’ ‘bout adaptability, Haruna-san better tag along.」

「You know you’re coming too, right?」

「Huh?」

Hiroshi mumbled, taken aback by Makoto.

「You’re really good at sneaking around.」

「Sensei. You can excavate behind a dragon’s back.」

「That don’t got anythin’ to do with this mission.」

Hiroshi said, scrambling to disqualify himself from the mission. He couldn’t believe that they were conflating monsters, that only scanned for enemies instinctively, and a group of soldiers in formation, actively looking out for suspicious figures.

「I don’t know how well you are at these kinds of things, but if you can, I would prefer you to go with them.」

「Oh yeah? Why’s that?」

「For one, a party of three women can be… Dangerous, in many ways. And I know that Aearis will feel safer with you coming with her.」

Hearing this, Hiroshi looked over at Aearis. In contrast to her constructed, calm look, her eyes gleamed as if to grasp for his hand, dangling from a cliff. A well-groomed dog, sitting patiently as she only pleaded with our eyes for her master not to abandon her. Hiroshi wasn’t sure is he could keep pushing to be off the mission.

「Besides, Hiroshi.」

「Yeah?」

「You have to go out once in a while if you don’t want us to think you’re agoraphobic.」

「A craftsman belongs in the workshop… That’s where he works…」

Hiroshi refuted. In what world was a craftsman cut out infiltrate a castle?

「You know, Hiro. You’d be ruining a lot of things if you let Elle down now.」

「Sensei. It’s not cool to let down a child.」

Hiroshi’s frown cinched tighter and tighter as Tatsuya and Mio’s barrage of criticism ensued. Hiroshi glanced at Haruna to see that she was Switzerland, looking back without a word. Hiroshi guessed that, even if he had refused to go on this mission until the very end, Haruna would neither be disappointed nor blame him for it. He hadn’t spent too much time with her but enough to know that much.

「To be real honest, all I can do is make stuff. Nothin’ else. I can’t shake the feelin’ that I’ll just get in the way.」

「But we…」

「Elle’s life hangs in the balance, here. All the pleadin’ and emotions don’t justify a useless fool puttin’ on a show and gettin’ in the way. Elle’s gonna be there already, but that’s because she’s gotta. Don’t y’all think two deadweights mark a suicide mission?」

Hiroshi surprisingly well-thought-out argument silenced the members who had been pushing for him to go. Perhaps because of all the pains from his past, Hiroshi seemed to overthink situations, more than anyone in 12th grade should be. In this case, however, he couldn’t deny that a big part of him came to this conclusion because he wanted to defend his honor while still getting out of all the trouble.

「If I was just out harvestin’ or somethin’, it don’t matter. If I make a mistake, I can make up for the losses. But this won’t go down like that. Truth is, I don’t want no responsibility like that. I’m terrified of goin’ out there with nothin’ useful in my back pocket and screw up so bad there’s no comin’ back form it.」

While he was trying to get someone else to carry that very responsibility, he was sincerely considering the severity of the situation, as well as his particular skills and how he might fit into the mission. It wouldn’t really be fair to say that he was spewing all of this just to get out of a job.

「…Hiroshi-sama. I’m afraid you’re misunderstanding.」

「Elle?」

「My brother and I are responsible for anything that happens during this mission. We would never be in this predicament if I had been…Better.」

Hiroshi was quick to try and refute. Her royalty was useless when she was a ten year old child with no real power. As such, there was very little she could do on this mission. Sure, Layotte and the king may be responsible in part, but Aearis was the one who was supposed to be protected.

Although, he never ended up voicing that argument. Aearis had seen what he was about to say, and shook her head, interjecting:

「Any excuses, like my age or lack of political power, are useless in the face of our reality. Even now, I haven’t done a single thing on my own. So, please. Allow me to choose whom I entrust my life with, and to take responsibility for the result of my choices.」

「…Elle.」

「Yes?」

「You really don’t sound like a ten-year-old, now.」

Haruna let a chuckle slip out, hearing Hiroshi giving up. His reaction was the same as what Haruna, and what all of the other Japanese members were thinking.

Sure, most children in Farlane were relatively self-reliant by the age of ten. Of course, life was much harder here than in Japan, and the very near and dire threat of monsters prevented life from becoming too easy. Even so, Aearis seemed to be wise beyond her years.

When Hiroshi looked to Layotte with the intention of asking if Aearis had always been this way, Layotte looked just as surprised as the others. It seems that Aearis had grown quite a bit over the short time they were apart.

Of course, kids always grew up fast.

「So, Hiroshi-sama.」

「You’re not gonna change your mind, huh?」

「I will not. It’s not that I have any doubts about Haruna-sama and Mio-sama. Still, I need you to… I need you and Haruna-sama both to be with me, or I may be overcome with fear. And…」

「And?」

「This is just a feeling, but… Without Hiroshi-sama, I don’t think this mission will succeed.」

Adorning her authority as Alfemina’s Priestess Princess, Aearis went in for the kill. Now Hiroshi couldn’t live with himself if he were to wimp out anymore.

「…Dang it. ‘Guess I gotta shape up…」

「I’m sorry.」

「Thank yous are better than sorrys in times like these.」

This was something his counselor had told Hiroshi over and over again. Aearis might have been the one to pressure him, but it was Hiroshi’s decision to join, in the end. Besides, when asking for a favor, thanks should come before apologies. That was Hiroshi’s philosophy, anyway. Although, if Hiroshi were to ask himself if he abided by this guideline? It was fifty-fifty.

「Yes. Thank you.」

Aearis said with a brimming smile as wide as her face. Even with a few (really) long sighs, Hiroshi began to calculate what he could do to raise their chance of success, by any margin. The truth was, any equipment he had prepared would be pretty much useless. While there was no way to make their Wyvern leather armor work, Hiroshi planned to pull off some tricks that enabled them to at least bring Aearis’ outfit and the party’s weapons.

In addition, there were a few tools he could prepare that could be very useful for infiltration missions. He didn’t have enough materials to make too many of them, but there were, of course, better than nothing. He acknowledge their advantage of being able to carry all sorts of tricks up their sleeves, as many as ingredients and time allowed.

「Lessee. We can’t go ‘til noon tomorrow, at least. I gotta get one more thin’ ready to meet your requirements, Lay.」

「I understand. Noon works best for us, too. They won’t expect an infiltration through all of their security in broad daylight. And in order to clear Aearis’ name, we want enough circumstantial evidence to warrant some suspicion for the man behind all of this.」

「Alrighty. Then we’ll take an early lunch and go right in.」

This mission could easily become a very long one. They certainly needed a hearty meal to keep their energy up throughout the entire ordeal.

「Let’s get ready, then. Mio, can ya make us potion holders, please?」

「Yes.」

「And it would help a bunch if ya can take the magic out of the webs in the Wyvern wings. Looks like I gotta boil a bunch of stuff.」

Nodding in response, Mio jumped right into action. Acknowledging that the party had begun their full preparation, Layotte left with a short goodbye. He had a mountain of things to take care of himself, and even if didn’t, there was little he could do here.

「What are you going to use the webs of the Wyvern wings for?」

Tatsuya asked.

「I’m going to make a Skulkin’ Cloak. We gotta be able to at least bring the clothes we’re wearin’ now.」

「You have a point there.」

Hiroshi seemed ready to deploy some more convoluted techniques to solve the problem at hand. With enough time, this man could craft anything.

「This Skulkin’ Cloak, though will just fudge any Searchin’ spells, includin’ Magic Detection. It ain’t like we’ll be invisible or nothin’. And nothin’ could conceal somethin’ like our Wyvern leather armor.」

「Still, it’s something we can’t go without this time around.」

Haruna chimed in.

「Right?」

As they continued to talk, Hiroshi produced the necessary ingredients for the cloaks, and began treating them.

「So, what can we do?」

「Nothin’ right now. Sorry. Give Elle a little more trainin’, maybe.」

「You got it.」

Tatsuya answered, and went to meet Elle. Suddenly, the workshop was beginning to bustle with anticipation.

「Nope. I can’t think of anythin’ to get me out of this.」

Remembering their conversation the day before, Hiroshi had failed to come up with any valid excuse.

「Sensei, really. Give it up.」

Mio reprimanded Hiroshi (who was clearing clouding himself with negative thoughts about the mission) with a whisper.

「I know, I know. It’s just that…」

「Just what?」

「Standin’ here for real just makes me a lil skittish…」

「When you act like that, Sensei, Elle gets nervous. Buck up.」

Mio continued to dig deep against Hiroshi’s show of cowardice. Being reprimanded by someone far younger than him has gained him back his title as Lord of the Sheep.

「I mean, he’s doing something outside his repertoire, here. Go easy on him, huh?」

「So are you, Haru. And you did an infiltration when you came to save us, too.」

「Don’t go comparin’ their sloppy defense with the guards here. Besides, we could have taken the whole lot of ‘em if came down to it.」

Still unsatisfied, Mio decided to keep her mouth shut for now. Their situation wasn’t suited for much smalltalk, and this wasn’t something that anyone wanted to keep arguing about.

And so, with a slightly tainted air between them, they quietly walked through the hidden underground pathway. They walked through the obviously maze-like path, devoting most of their attention to their short term memory and selecting the correct path as told, stepping around hidden doors and trap doors, straight towards their destination. Then:

「…Sensei.」

「What’s up? Why did ya stop all of a sudden?」

「Can you walk out front for a little bit?」

「…Sure.」

Mio proposed, abruptly. With a very bad feeling for her sudden request, Hiroshi moved up front as she said, and walked for about 5 meters. There was a sense of displacement that even Hiroshi, who didn’t have any skills for trap detection, could feel. Hiroshi as he internally shouted as himself for being overly terrified of every little thing around him, took a step forward…

「Y’all hear that…?」

Then, the strange sensation disappeared with a small, snapping sound.

「According to the map, we crossed under the edge of the church’s grounds.」

Mio explained.

「Which means?」

「I think the trap above ground reaches us down here, too.」

Haruna added.

「…So you knew there was a trap, and made me walk into it?」

Hiroshi said, glaring at them. Mio simply nodded without blinking an eye. As this conversation ensued, they marched on.