/
It was the day of the rescue mission.
It was supposed to be the time for preparations, but I didn’t really have anything to prepare. Alice seemed busy everyday as she headed out, saying that she was going to the Merchant Guild.
I went to the Adventurer’s Guild a few times. Each time, I was taken to the private room where I often talked with Grucia.
I suppose it was for the best to get a grasp of the Imperial Capital’s current situation.
But as I listened, I became more and more disgusted with the Generate Kingdom.
I had the urge to talk about the rescue mission and request for his assistance, but as long as Alice didn’t say anything, there was nothing I could tell him.
I also didn’t make contact with the demi-humans hiding upstairs at the inn.
One time, I asked Alice about the guests upstairs, but she frowned and gave a vague answer, so I never asked again.
I took a nap after dinner, after which Alice and I clothed ourselves in black. It was the same clothes we wore when we went to the secret base on the night of our arrival in the capital.
「Are you ready, Touya?」
I looked at her and nodded without saying a word.
We left the inn from the back entrance, then moved through the streets without attracting attention.
Although it was night time, there were many soldiers on patrol as they were still on alert. Every time we spotted a group of people, we had to move while hiding our presence.
When we reached the house which was our destination, Alice knocked on the door with a specific rhythm. Perhaps it was part of the signal, but she didn’t say a word.
There was the sound of the door being unlocked. The door opened slowly.
It was the man who had led us inside on the first day.
「Welcome. Enter quickly.」
I entered the house after Alice, and we headed to the hidden room underground with the man leading the way.
There were already many people sitting at the table. Alice and I sat next to each other.
「Now then, let’s confirm the plan for today. As planned, both of you will infiltrate the castle and save the royalty. If that’s not possible, then I’d like you to at least confirm their safety.」
Essentially, we knew that they were being confined in the underground dungeon, but their status was unknown. I could easily imagine how tight the security was inside.
It wouldn’t be easy to get past the security and save the royalty. Even if they were injured, I could just heal them. But if we were to enter combat, we would have to escape while protecting them.
「We plan on creating a diversion in the castle’s downtown area. We can’t tell you who we’re working with, but there will be enough help. All we need is to reduce the number of soldiers in the castle……」
「Leave the inside to me. I’m more familiar with it than you may realize!」
Alice said so with pride. But even if she were actually a spy, why would a single merchant know the inside of the castle? With such a question lingering, I listened to the rest of the briefing.
「All right, everyone. Move out!」
With the meeting over, everyone left the room and went to carry out their assigned duties.
Alice and I headed on the path towards the castle via the passageway.
I used magic to light the path in the dark underground passageway. Alice led the way.
「Hey, Alice, why do you know so much about the inside of the castle?」
I asked the question lingering inside me head on. Alice looked back at me with a slightly serious expression.
「Hmm. When I was young, I lived in the castle with my relatives who worked there. That’s why I’m familiar with it. Well, it has been some time since I’ve been there, but it shouldn’t have changed.」
Saying that, she immediately walked ahead of me. The passageway looked the same throughout, but split a few times. Even so, Alice didn’t seem fazed at all, and proceeded without a care.
「The path is split. Are you sure this is the right way……?」
「I wouldn’t be much of a guide if I didn’t remember the way. The members of royalty have to know it well too — otherwise, they wouldn’t make it out alive.」
Maybe she was trying to say that if anyone were to go the wrong way, something could happen. Maybe there were traps or something.
We kept going for about half an hour before reaching a dead end.
「It’s a dead end…… Did we make a wrong turn somewhere?」
Alice looked at me, then smiled.
「We’ve arrived. Give me a second.」
Alice investigated the wall while touching it. It seemed as if she found something, and pressed on it.
「We can enter by pressing this hidden button. Though it’s easier to come this way from inside~」
After she pushed the button, the wall that had been a dead end suddenly turned like a revolving door.
「Ahead is the underground of the castle, so be quiet.」
「Okay, got it.」
We passed through the door to a food storage. There were wine barrels stacked in a corner of the room, and food rations stored in bags.
「I’m closing the door so we don’t get found out. We’ll be using it again when we return, so don’t forget it. Also, we’ll need to cover our faces from here on out..」
She gave me a black cloth, which I wrapped around my face. We checked on each other to make sure our face coverings were secure, then headed to the door to the hallway, where Alice put an ear on it.
「I’ll confirm the situation. Stay behind me.」
I nodded. Alice tried to open the door, but then I stopped her.
「Hang on a second.」
「What’s wrong, Touya? Hurry up, we’re short on time.」
There was a reason I stopped her. I took out the shining necklace from my neck, and Ferris appeared.
「Ferris, do you know where the royalty is being held?」
「– I can’t identify where each of them is, but…… I can confirm that they’re in the dungeon.」
「That’s fine. I’d like you to check how many soldiers there are on patrol.」
「……Alright. I’ll be back.」
Saying that, Ferris disappeared.
But Alice looked at me with disbelief. Her mouth was half open.
「Alice, please wait a while. It looks like Ferris is investigating.」
「W-w-wait a minute! H-how are you able to give such precise instructions to a House Spirit!? I’ve never seen anyone do that!」
Although it’s known that House Spirits are able to communicate, I’d forgotten that Ferris was a special case, since I’ve been asking her to do things for me like a normal person recently..
Since I came to this world, I knew Ferris but didn’t know about House Spirits. After talking to her a lot, I discovered the nature of their abilities.
Simply put, it’s 『Building Control』.
House Spirits are able to get a grasp of everything within a building.
Common knowledge says that masters usually instruct House Spirits to do cleaning, manage the hot water supply, and even dispose of the sewage.
In short, House Spirits maintain the cleanliness of mansions that people live in.
But that wasn’t all.
They can grasp all matter within a building, whether it’s an object or a person,
House Spirits don’t even leave a speck of dust uncleaned. No matter how many people there are on cleaning duty, it’s just impossible to do that.
There are various conditions, but I was surprised when I first learned about it. Still, I could be certain that there was no one else better suited to discern what was going on in a building.
And in fact, no one knew that they were able to communicate, so I thought I was given a special privilege.
「Hmm, I found myself able to do that. I don’t know why though.」
To be honest, I still don’t know why I’m able to talk to Ferris. Maybe there’s some reason for it. Maybe it’s because I’m from another world. Before, I was never able to get a response from her.
「……To do it so easily…… This has never happened before, you know!? How are you able to do so much!?」
「Alice, you’re too loud. What if the soldiers on patrol hear you?」
Having been reminded, she put her hands over her own mouth.
「I’ll tell you the details later. But our priority is to save the royalty, right?」
「You’re right. I was careless……」