Late at night.

Some time after the firework show, the street was empty except for the guards and the adventurers patrolling the street.

The main gate of Miastary was closed shut and the city was quiet.

But everyone who was out there on the street was all tensed up.

No one dared to open their mouth. 

They put all their attention to their surroundings, looking out for anything suspicious.

Their concentration was to the max as they search hard for the ones who challenged the security of the capital of Yuvian and made themselves an enemy to not only Yuvian but also the other 3 human kingdoms.

The greatest offense done by the suspicious ones was ruining the Mask Festival.

*****

Earlier, right after the end of the firework show.

In the Core Defense Room.

 "Seat 7 from the thrid team, please report your situation!" Lynn shouted.

From the transparent Miastary model, a male voice came out:

 [Vice Commander! The situation here is the same as other areas in the city! It's total chaos! Please give us your ord-]

Suddenly, the communication link to the guard was disconnected.

 '"Seat 7?! Can you hear me? Seat 7!!!"

There was no reply.

No matter how many times Lynn tapped the helmet icon, the communication link would not connect.

This was an indication that something must have happened by the guard's side that he was forced to cut off the communication link. Or even worse, something may have happened to him.

Lynn just stood there staring at the Miastary model.

A drop of sweat flowed down her cheek.

She was dumbstruck. She could not believe what was actually happening in the city.

Right when the firework show ended, a strange fog emerged and covered the whole city. Most of the people in the open collapsed when they were exposed to the strange fog. 

The mere scene of people collapsing was already shocking to the ones left standing, then there was a widespread of the words 'terrorist attck' among the crowd and have spread panic among the people.

Many of those left standing were overtaken by fear and began running straight for shelter that could keep them away from the strange fog and possible dangers that could occur. No one ever suspected the security of Miastary, especially during Mask Festival, so when disaster does fall upon the unexpecting people the situation would become chaotic.

The guards, with the aid of adventurers, tried to calm the panicking people while trying help the collapsed people to safety. But everything was too sudden, the guards were not able to group up and effectively control the situation.

Even Lynn was at loss when she heard the report about the chaos throughout the city.

Unknown fog, people collapsing and the chaos that followed.

It was the worst possible scenario to happen on such an important day.

While she wanted to sooth the situation as soon as possible, but the disconnections to her communication link with the guards have made it difficult for her to grasp the situation and give orders to the guards in each area.

Just when Lynn's anxiety level was about to reach the max, an alert sound came from the Miastary model and the helmet icon of the guard she spoke to earlier was flashing.

Lynn quickly tapped the icon.

 [Vice Commander, I apologize for the sudden disconnection.] 

It was the voice of the guard Lynn spoke to previously. Lynn was relief to get in contact with him again.

 [Just now my team had to help the normal people to an inn to shelter them from further harm. Our Captain had made this decision and we also have the people's help to carry many injured with us.]

 "Good job. It was a good decision that your Captain made." Lynn praised the guard. "So what is the current situation in the city?"

 [It is still chaotic in the Residential Area. The panicking people were dangerous to the other people so our Captain led us into the inns across street to prevent further injuries. Now there are only three of us guards left in this inn to treat the injured while the Captain has led the rest of the team to control the situation in the city. This is all I have to report from the third team.]

 "I see, then continue your treatment to the injured and report to me if there are any new findings."

 [Certainly.]

The communication link between Lynn and the guard ended.

Having received that report, Lynn have calmed down a bit. This report was an indication that at least some of the guards were still functional and the situation was not beyond her control. She managed to recollect her thoughts and realized she should not lose calm. 

The guards were trained to protect the order of the city and safty of the people. So Lynn should put more trust in their abilities and give them appropriate orders to effectively maximize their abilities.

Suddenly, another helmet icon was flashing and Lynn tapped it without any hesitation.

  [Vice Commander, this is 10th seat of Team Eight reporting in. Our team have worked together with the other teams to take people off the streets and took them to shelters in all areas within the city. The Captain of each team have the help from the adventurers and they went back to the streets to calm the panicking people. I am currently in a tavern in Adventurers Area with the task to report to you our findings.]

 "Your findings?"

 [Indeed. We have found the mass panic among people was due to the confusion status inflicted by the strange fog.]

 "Confusion status from the strange fog?"

Lynn was surprised.

She had already suspected fog was the reason for people collapsing but she did not expect the panic among people was due to status affliction. 

With this message, Lynn could cement her deduction that the strange fog was indeed made up of various status inflicting powder.

 [What we found was the people collapsed were inflicted with either paralysis, sleep or weakness status. Some of them were even inflicted with multiple status. 

[This explains why not all the people collapsed when they were exposed to the fog, after-all, each of them have differences in their resistance to status. But most of those left standing were inflicted with confusion status and they panicked when there was a widespread of the words 'terrorist attack'.

[While we can use potions and recovering magic to cure the injured and collapsed people indoor, but the panicking people cannot be cured with magic as long as they are exposed to the fog. It's unrealistic for us to bring everyone to shelter in this chaotic situation and there are still collapsed people out on the streets, so the Captains are trying their best to minimize injuries to the collapsed and the panicking people. But the fog seemed to be circulating within the city, it will be dangerous for them to be exposed in the fog for too long and we still don't know what the culprits behind this will do next!

[Vice Commander, we need your command! What should we do?]

Lynn was glad to hear that the guards have kept the people away from harm. Indeed, it was Lynn's and the guards' duty to protect the safety of Miastary's people and maintain the peace of  the city.

It was unfortunate to hear the guards were not able to take everyone off the street to shelters but Lynn do know the guards have done their best.

However, this was not the time for Lynn to be relieved.

The guards were requesting for her help and she will need to act upon it.

Fortunately, Lynn was able to come up with a solution after knowing the true identity of the strange fog.

 "Relay this to all the guards! Use water-element magic and sprinkle water down the city! The identity of the strange fog is powder that inflicts status affliction so we will force them down to the ground with water! Request help from the adventurers if needed!

"The others who cannot use water magic should concentrate in keeping the people on the street from harm, be them normal people, adventurers or guards. After the fog is dissolved, we will be able to use recovery magic on those inflicted with bad status and move them to shelter! We do not know what the culprits behind this may do next so keep an eye open!"

 [Yes! Certainly!] 

The guard gave a stern reply and cut off the communication link.

After Lynn's commands have been passed down among the guards, they were able put her solution to action and quickly dissolved the strange fog. With the strange fog gone, the guards were able to cure the masses of their confusion and the people could be taken to shelther for further treatments. 

In that chaotic situation, many people have been injured, but fortunately there was not any life-threatening injuries. 

Thus, Lynn and the guards could consider their operation to overcome the strange fog incident a success.

Even though this was something Lynn should be glad about, but there was something in her mind that gnawed at her.

During the chaotic situation, from start till end, she heard no reports regarding the further activities of the terrorists behind the fog powder. 

Lynn was confident with the guards, they were well-trained so it would be unlikely for them to miss anything suspicious even in such chaotic situation.

Also, she firmly believed the terrorists must be a large group of people in order to pull off something like covering the whole city and maintaining the status-inflicting fog.

The fourth princess' disappearance and the fog incident was definitely not a coincident.

If what Lynn have heard was true about the fourth princess having contacted a group of people to aid her escape the city then everything would make sense. The fourth princess must be working with the terrorists and the fog incident was created in order to help her escape.

But what does not make sense to Lynn was that she heard nothing about people approaching the main gate and tried to get out of the city.

At first she thought the disconnection in her connection with the guards were part of the terrorists' moves but this was scrapped after the guards explained they were simply disturbed by the masses.

In the end, it was true that neither did the fourth princess and her helper made a move during the chaotic situation.

 Was the situation not the best time to make a move?

This question continued to pop up in her mind whenever she thought back about the incident.

While this was an opportunity for her to complete her task in finding the two people and ultimately find the fourth princess but...

Lynn was uneasy for the culprit's next move.

----------------------------------------

A while after the fog incident, the city was quiet.

Lynn have ordered to let everyone stay indoors while the guards and adventurers patrol the city to search  for anyone suspicious.

Even though it was the grand Mask Festival in the same day but no one could keep a happy smile after what they have been through earlier. In fact, the guards and the adventurers have put all their focus in finding the terrorists behind the strange fog.

It was because they were angry at the terrorists for ruining the day that they were supposed to have fun.

Though, this was not the only reason.

Many nobles and adventurers from different kingdoms have came to participate in the Mask Festival. 

The terrorists have made enemies to all 4 human kingdoms by exposing the nobles to possible dangers. Also, the act of releasing the fog powder in a city when there were large groups of adventurers of different guilds was a sign of mockery to the security of the city.

Not only the guards, but also the adventurers wanted to make the terrorists pay for their stupidity to challenge them maliciously. 

While they were searching furiously around the city, a person in red coat was stargazing at the highest peak of the castle.

This person was Myst.

Myst got on his feet, looked down at the empty wet streets and smiled.

 "Finally, the obstacles are out of the way." He stretched his arms, getting his body ready for work. "Let's get on the move then."

He took off his eye-patch and put on his plain white mask with his bandage right hand.

He looked in the direction of the main gate in the Market Area.

Then, he disppeared...

...leaving only one tiny black paper in his place.

----------------------------------------

*Goro* *Paka* *Goro*

Sounds of horse footsteps mixed with the wooden wheel sound hitting against the cobblestone road have alerted the guards at the main gate.

The empty and quiet street have made the noise sound much louder than normal, which has also caught the attention of other guards and adventurers.

Their eyes were fixed on a lone carriage being driven towards the main.

It was hard to not pay attention to this carriage.

Not only because it was the only one carriage on the street but also because it was heavily decorated. 

The carriage have multiple layers of colourful banners covering its sides.

On each of the corners were laterns that illuminated the reflective objects placed at the top to create some shining effects.

Sticking out at its roof was a figure of knight with reflective plating that also reflects lights off the laterns.

The carriage was so fancy that it seemed it wanted people to look at it.

However, it appeared to the others that the decoration was there to divert people's attention away from what was inside the carriage.

In other words, the carriage was impossibly suspicious!

By the Lynn's command, everyone except the guards and the adventurers should be indoors.

None of the guards and adventurers would patrol with such a fancy and noisy carriage.

The carriage was driven by a lone person in red coat with his face hidden under his hood.

It was obvious the person was trying to hide his face from public.

So there was only one possibility - the carriage was being driven by someone related to the terrorists. 

But no one made a move on the carriage.

While they may suspect the carriage, but would not attack a carriage out of a sudden without making sure of who was on the carriage.

Also, the main gate was closed shut so the carriage will not be able to make run out of the city even if it wanted to. Therefore, there was no need for the guards and adventurers to act hastily.

They will wait and see how the person reacts when carriage gets to the gate.

 "Halt!" Shouted a gate guard with his hand rised.

The carriage stopped in front of the gate guards.

A guard approached the carriage.

 "Identify yourself and state your business!" The guard ordered.

 "..." The person on the carriage did not answer.

 "You should know by the orders of Vice Commander everyone should stay indoor to ensure your own safety. You will need to state your business to approach the main gate at this time!"

 "..." The person was still silent.

 "You better stop ignoring me or else you will regret your action!"

 "..." The person continued to ignore the guard.

This silent treatment has proved to the guards that the person in red was suspicious enough, they decided to surround the carriage to prevent the person from running away.

But before they were able to act, the person in red lashed at horses and pulled the rein in one direction.

The carriage dashed into the street to the right.

 "That person is running away!"

 "After the carriage!!"

The guards alerted the nearby guards and adventurers, they began chasing after the fancy carriage.

Two adventurers jumped out of their cover and blocked the road ahead of the carriage.

 "Stop your carriage right now!" One of adventurers exclaimed.

 "You will pay for what you did, you damned terrorists!" Said the other adventurer.

The carriage showed no sign of stopping so the two adventurers shot out their long ranged attacks in an attempt to stop the horses pulling the carriage.

The person in red pulled the rein and the horses were made to turn left into an alleyway avoiding the flying weapons thrown at them.

*Don* *Don*

The thrown weapon hit the carriage instead as it was driven into the alleyway.

 "Damn it! We missed!" One of the two adventurers cursed.

 "You continue after them!" The other adventurer said as he pointed his palm towards the sky. "I will alert the others!"

A magic circle appeared below the adventurer. 

As he chanted, mana from the magic circle began flowing up his body and gathered at his palm.

In the next second, the adventurer shouted:

 "!"

A ball of flame shot up towards the night sky.

After traveling a small distance, the ball of flame exploded in the sky.

Even though it was not big, the light and the sound of the explosion has managed to catch the attention of the guards and adventurers in different parts of the city.

That's right, it was a message of 'we have found them'!

Meanwhile, the carriage has just exited the alley and returned to the street. Immediately, the person in red sped up the carriage with the attempt to lose the pursuers. But the person could not shake off the pursuers whose speed were increased with magic, furthermore, more adventurers and guards came onto the road ahead all looking towards the carraige with murderous intent. 

The person in red noticed people in front had prepared their long-ranged attacks and the pursuers chasing behind were moving to the sides. Not going to wait for what will happen, the person in red drove the carriage into another alleyway and then into another street. 

The person in red may have escaped a barrage of projectiles, however, the person could not escape from the eyes of the pursuers.

The guards and adventurers have magic to aid them to keep up with the speed of the carriage as well as methods to inform the others of the location of the carriage. The pursuers capable of long-ranged attacks will try to slow down the carriage and the others with large weapons, capable of immobilizing the carriage, will use the opportunity to get close to the carriage.

Because the projectiles shot at the carriage were not coordinated, they were easily dodged. While dodging the long-ranged attacks, the person in red also made sure not to enter the strike zones of the people carrying big dangerous-looking weapons.

With the person's incredible maneuver skill, the carriage have ran past many guards and adventurers over a long distance. Also, whenever the situation becomes bad, the person will just drive the carriage into an alleyway then to another street and continue running away.

Thus, the chase have continued over a long time in same fashion.

The pursers were surprised.

Not all the alleyways lead to another street, having seen that being done quite a few times even the pursuers were surprised that the person has yet ran into any of the dead-ends. With them on pursuit, there was no time for the person in red to look into the alleyway and decide to turn if the alleyway does not lead to a dead-end. In order to avoid being hit by their concentrated attacks, the person in red has to already made a decision to turn before even reaching the alleyway.

At first they thought it was just luck but when done a couple of times, they began too feel creepy at the person they were chasing after.

It was as if the person knew when and where to turn. Something like this can only be possible if the person have memorize every corner of the streets in Market Area!

 Is this even possible? 

Even the veteran adventurers who had stayed in city for 10 years could not do that. Remebering the name and location of the street, and also the shops on that same street was normal for them. But no one would even bother to pay attention to any alleyway, let alone remembering it, unless the person was up to no good.

Thus, a question have popped up in their mind. 

 Just who is this person?

Many of them have names of infamous outlaws in their mind. 

However, none of the outlaws they knew have the power or guts to directly make a move on Miastary. 

Making a move at this scale in this time was the same as declaring a war to all four Human Kingdoms! 

It was outrageous! 

Unable to come up with an answer by themselves, the guards and adventurers could only comprehend the person in red in order to expose his identity!

While the person in red had driven away from countless attempts of them stopping carriage, the adventurers and guards were not fools. They have long noticed that person's runaway pattern and have continuously reporting the position of the carriage to others stationed in the Market Area. The number of people pursuing the carriage continued to increase and the others not on pursuit have formed a circle enclosing the carriage in a specific area. 

Slowly, they will move in closer, decreasing the size of the circle. 

While this may be a slow process but ultimately the person in red will no longer be able to escape and get caught.

The person in red had realized what he was about to face, however, the person could not do anything about it. Charging head on to break out of the encirclement was out of the question so the person will have think of something else.

Something else to escape this desperate situation.

As the encirclement became smaller, the less place there was to run to and pursuers' attacks became even more fiercer. It took all of the person's concentration just to avoid the attacks so there was not any time left for the person to think of other things.

All the person could do was struggle, struggle to find an escape route.

Unfortunately, luck was not by this person's side...

Just as when the carriage made a turn onto the street, the wheels triggered a magic trap!

A purple magic circle emerged from the surface of the ground, dark-coloured chains were summoned from within the circle!

 *Squee...!* *Squee...!* *Squee...!*

The chains locked the wheels of the carriage preventing it from moving any further.

The adventurers and the guards cheered when they successfully stopped and caught the suspicious carriage.

Finally, the long chase was over! 

 *****

The fancy carriage was surrounded by the adventurers and the guards.

A middle-aged man wearing an adventurer's outfit stepped out of the crowd. 

His tall and muscular figure gives him an intimidating appearance. The scars on his body shown countless death-battles he has overcame and he was the founder of the famous fighter's guild, 'UnEnding Tale', which he continued to add more stories to his adventures.

Being a veteran adventurer and a guildmaster of a famous guild, he naturally can be the representative of the crowd. 

 "You have been surrounded!" The veteran adventurer exclaimed with a strong deep voice. "Surrender now or else you will regret fighting back!"

Myst, who was the target of the aggression, stood up on the driver's seat of the fancy carriage.

He looked around the carriage.

Not only the carriage was heavily surrounded but there were also magic users and archers readied with their magic chanted and bows fully strung. Forget about getting the carriage out of the crowd, he would become a beehive if he was to try anything.

Myst sighed and put up his hands.

Then he kicked up the lock and let horses run free.

This was an indication showing he has given up in any idea of resistance.

The adventurers and the guards did not immediately tie up Myst, there was no need for that as of now.

There may be mana presence inside the carriage but they did not sense any mana being used from either Myst or from within inside the carriage. Also, Myst does not appear to be carrying a weapon so the adventurers and0 guards believed Myst does not have any will to fight back. If the person has no intention to fight back then they could take the process slowly.

Also, because the chase were dragged on for too long, many of the adventurers and guards were whittled down of their stamina so they would also like some time to take a breather.

 "Remove your mask and identify yourself!" The veteran adventurer commanded with yet another intimidating voice. "Your buddies are in the carriage as well, right? Get them out of the carriage and tell us what your aim is to do such terrible thing to the people of Miastary!"

 "Um... Excuse me but I'd like to ask a question..." Myst said with a frightened voice. "What's the occasion for this many people to be around?"

 "HUH?! You are trying to play dumb even at this time?!" The veteran adventurer made an unbelievable expression. "Fine, I shall spell out your crime loud and clearly so that you have no way to deny it!"

He pointed at Myst.

 "You...!" Then he moved his finger to the carriage enclosure. "And your buddies have commited a serious crime in attacking the city and harming its people by spreading large amount of status inflicting powder in the air!" He said as he expressed his anger with his voice. "You terrorists have declared yourselves enemies of the four Human Kingdoms! There's no getting away from this crime! Now, get off the carriage and accept the punishment for your foolishness!"

To support him and further intimidate Myst, the other adventurers and guards also released their killing intent towards the carriage.

The pressure from atmosphere was so heavy that it could even kill someone who does not have the heart for it.

But in response to this, Myst tilted his head:

 "Huh?" A word slipped out of his mouth, "Terrorists? Us?" He then scold them in an angry tone. "How dare you morons accuse us for terrorism! Don't you know who's in this carriage?"

The sudden change in Myst's attitude caught the adventurers and guards by surprise. They did not expect someone in this situation would act the way he does.

For someone to have a backbone to scold them could mean the person in the carriage was a bigshot in the society. 

 "Pardon rudeness earlier." The veteran adventurer softened his voice. "May I ask who could it be in the carriage?"

As expected of a veteran adventurer, not only has he been through countless death battles but also surviving in his participation in parties held by nobles.

He was not a person of high upbringing, however, as a renowned adventurer and a guildmaster of a famous guild, the veteran adventurer has the obligation to take part in such high standard parties. Having learnt from his past mistakes and years of experience when dealing with troublesome nobles, he knew he must not be careless in this situation.

If the person inside the carriage was indeed a noble then he or she must be a high ranking noble for even a coachman to act so highly. Even if the person was not a noble then he or she could be someone famous for contributing greatly to humankind.

However, the person in red has yet provided any concrete proof. 

Everyone has their doubt that this person could just be bluffing and looking for a mean to escape.

So the best move for this type of situation was to withdraw their killing intent and confirm the identity of the people inside the carriage.

 "Hmph, I see you peasants still have some sense intact even after that chaotic incident." Myst reached inside his coat. "The person riding in the carriage is Madam Eveningsong! My Madam was invited by the Great Noble Simon as an important guest!" He tossed a scroll to the veteran adventurer. "Check it yourself!"

The veteran adventurer caught the scroll.

At first he was dumbstruck, then he quickly regained his conscious and opened the scroll made of high quality paper.

The veteran adventurer was even more astonished.

Seeing the veteran adventurer's reaction, a female adventurer walked to his side.

 "What's wrong Guildmaster?" She asked with a confused expression. 

The female adventurer was the Vice Guildmaster of UnEnding Tale. Even though she was only mid-twenty in age but her contribution in her intelligence and skills have helped to develop the guild greatly. Thus, she earned the trust of everyone in the guild and became the second-in-command of the guild.

Being at her position, naturally she's the closest person to her Guildmaster.

This was her first time to see her guildmaster being this shaken. 

 "T-This is true." The veteran adventurer said. "This indeed is the letter written by the Great Noble Simon!"

 "You recognize his handwriting?" Asked the female adventurer.

 "No, I don't. However..." He showed her the scroll. "I do recognize his stamp and the ink exclusively used by him."

The female adventurer's eyes widened.

 The ink is glittering with gold! What was that man thinking?! He's literally writing with money! 

The veteran adventurer could tell what his vice was thinking from looking at her reaction. 

The female adventurer was a quick thinker and often kept her opinion to herself while wearing a poker face so a lot of time he had trouble guessing what's on her mind.

At least this time, he could clearly tell that she was shocked. 

 "However, this isn't the thing that shocked me the most." The veteran adventurer said. "Look over here, the name of guest invited by Simon."

 "Madam Eveningsong... Is this person that great for the Great Noble Simon to refer to her with honorific?"

Before her guildmaster could respond to her, the answer to her question already presented itself from the crowd's reaction:

 "S-So the letter of invitation is genuine? This means the person sitting inside the carriage is Eveningsong?!"

 "E-Eveningsong?! Eh? That Eveningsong?!"

 "The Great Sage Eveningsong is here!!"

The crowd had became excited as if an idol their admired for a long time have finally came. It seemed to the female adventurer that the other adventurers and guards have forgotten what they were doing a moment ago.

 W-What's this?! Why is everyone acting like this? Is it also because of this Eveningsong person? Why am I the only one who's still clueless about her?

When the female adventurer was troubled, her guildmaster patted on her shoulder.

 "I see, so you really didn't know who Eveningsong was, huh?" The veteran adventurer nodded with his eyes closed. "That is to be expected, since you put our guild above anything else and spent all of your time managing it. It can't be helped that you don't know about stories of the Great Sage, Eveningsong."

The female adventurer could not deny it. She may be intelligent from her educated background, but she was a realistic-thinking person. Rather than listening to stories and accomplishments of other people, she'd rather use her time and knowledge to improve her beloved guild.

From living-standards to quests, strategies for different parties and public relationship with other guilds and locals.

The only thing in her mind was the guild she belongs in.

 "Fine, leave it to me, your Guildmaster, to tell you everything you need to know about Eveningsong!" 

The female adventurer nodded in response.

 "Alright, first what you need to know is..." The veteran adventurer cleared his throat before he excitedly explain. "Eveningsong is the Sage among Sage! She wields a lot magic that could do this and that! Furthermone she can even cast different kinds of ancient magic that does this and that! There was one time that some city was under crisis and Eveningsong did this and that and that city was saved! Also, her contribution to the humankind was not just that, she offered this and that to the Human Kingdoms to help them advance! And plus...!"

 Why does he keep replacing important information about this Eveningsong with 'this and that'? Does he really know about this Eveningsong?

 "Anyway, Eveningsong is amazing!" With his hands on his waist and made a satisfied expression. "Do you understand now?"

 No, I don't understand! What's amazing is you actually thought you have done a great job in your explanation!

 "Oh? I get the feeling you are not convinced that Eveningsong is amazing. Worry not, this Guildmaster will tell you even more amazing things about Eveningsong!"

 Wait, is this going to continue? I seriously think you should stop, Guildmaster! If you are bad at explanation then don't push yourself!

 "The other thing that makes Eveningsong amazing is of course her voluptuous body!"

 "..."

Not realizing the female adventurer was giving him a cold stare, the veteran adventurer continued: 

 "She has straight long silver hair that shines in daylight and she has an charming face that could make any man fall head-over-hills for her! She also has a pair of beautiful breasts that are big enough to hold in countless men's dream and hope! Her thin waist compliments well with her hip! Finally her long and slender legs makes it look as if black stocking were specially made for her!"

 Why is this part so unnecessary detailed yet he knows almost nothing about her achievements?! Could he be some kind of a stalker instead?!

Stolen story; please report.

Then, the veteran adventurer let out a sigh.

 "To be honest with you, I have not seen Eveningsong with my own eyes. However...!" Then his eyes widened. "My eyes were opened after seeing a portrait of her! I have never seen such beautiful woman in my life! Thus, I became curious about her and have researched upon her! The more I researched the more I realized how amazing her body is!"

 And the more I listen to you, the more creepy you sound to me! 

 "Now this Eveningsong is in the carriage in front of me! Finally...! Finally I'm able to meet her! This is definitely my lucky day!" He looked at his trembling hands. "W-What should I do? What if she starts to give us handshakes? If she does that then I won't be able to wash my hands anymore!" He then turned to the female adventurer. "What should I do?"

 LIKE HECK I'D KNOW?! I'm not an Eveningsong fanatic like you! 

 More-like you shouldn't even do anything! I can't even began to imagine what you might even do to her if you actually see her!

Suddenly!

*Clap* *Clap* *Clap*

A series of clapping sound made everyone turned their attention to Myst.

 "Bravo!" Myst exclaimed happily.

Nobody know why he'd be happy in this situation.

Myst reached underneath his mask and continued:

 "To think there is still someone who knew so much about the friendless Madam Eveningsong... I'm so happy that I'm crying over it!" He then looked to the veteran adventurer. "You Sir deserve a praise."

 "I-It's my honor to receive such compliment!"

 No, the things he knew about Eveningsong are pretty much her body! He clearly knew nothing else about her! And Guildmaster, is this the time to be happy to be praised? Don't we have something we needed to do?

The female adventurer failed to grasp the flow of the event.

She have realized a weird change in the atmosphere around them.

Earlier, all the guards and adventurers were all tensed up and brimming with killing intent. 

But now, their atmosphere changed to a less serious one when it was proven that this Eveningsong person was in the carriage. 

It was just the female adventurer who felt different, the change all happened too fast that the female adventurer could not accept.

It may be unreasonable to doubt the Eveningsong person who had a personal letter from Great Noble Simon but the coachman does feel a bit off.

There were some things that did not make sense to her.

It does not seem wise to force the Eveningsong person out of the carriage so the female adventurer decided to direct her questions to the coachman and hopefully smack some senses back to the others in the process.

Thus, she stepped forward and looked at Myst.

 "I apologize for my rudeness but may I ask you a few questions?" The female adventurer raised her voice. "Please understand this is a standard procedure for us to clear our doubts we have about you and Eveningsong."

 "A few doubts, huh?" Myst chuckled. "Not a problem. Since it came to this it'd be more strange if nobody has a few things to ask."

 "Thank you very much!"

The female adventurer took out a notebook and a sharpened charcoal.

She began her questioning:

 "First, why did you run away from the guards at the gate? If you have the letter from Noble Simon then you could have just shown them that and avoided all that trouble."

That's right, the first thing that did not make sense to her was that the coachman decided to make a run for it when they have the letter of invitation in their possession. What he did was definitely not logical and it was even more suspicious that he only produced the letter when the carriage was surrounded.

In response to the female adventurer, Myst says:

 "'Why', you asked...?" Myst flipped his hands outwards. "Isn't it because it was more logical to run away in that situation?"

 "Huh?!"

The female adventurer froze on the spot, she did not expect a response like that.

What she considered as illogical through her common sense happened to be logical in someone else's point of view. She knew some people may have a different view from the masses however she does not think it was an acceptable answer to her question.

Seeing her expression, Myst decided to do some explanation:

 "I am Madam Eveningsong's personal guard, protecting her is my duty. So when I felt so many killing intentions coming towards us by the gate, it was logical for me to make a run for it as my top prioriy is Madam Eveningsong's safety." He then looked around the crowd. "I know you guys probably thought we were culprits behind the fog incident so it's only natural to direct so much killing intentions towards us before we revealed ourselves. But if you were in our shoes, you would also think the people giving us killing intents were the terrorists in disguise, after-all to make such a big move does require a large group and I'm sure such group won't be shy to target the life of my Madam."

 Ah, that's right! Why didn't I think that through!

The female adventurer made an expression of sudden realization.

Having heard Myst's explanation, she realized it was indeed logical for them to run away in that situation and the fault actually lies with the adventurers and guards. 

Then Myst made a big sigh:

 "Haaaa... It was really bad when you guys threw those dangerous weapons and magic at us." He said in a complaining tone. "If it wasn't for my maneuver skills then someone would have gotten hurt, you know?"

 "I-I apologize... Because your carriage was the only one on the street so we thought..." 

 "Huh?! You think an apology would be enough for suspecting and chasing after us?! It would be horrible if Madam Eveningsong became angry and started baeting you people down and destroying half the city in the process, you know?"

 Wait, the people who would get hurt is us?! Even more, half the city would get destroyed?! Just how scary is this Eveningsong person?

A cold sweat ran down her cheek.

 "Ah, wait a moment please..."

Suddenly, Myst leaned down and put his head next to the entrance of the carriage.

He nods his head occasionally as if he was listening to the person inside the carriage.

Then he turned to the crowd.

The crowd were surprised to have witness the scene.

Myst's action could only mean one thing.

Eveningsong has finally spoken!

While it will be not directly from her but the crowd was still excited to hear Eveningsong's words to them. 

Though, some of them were anxious that she may be angry at them for accusing and chasing her.

The female adventurer was one of those who was worried...

 "Alright, this is the message from Madam Eveningsong so listen well!" Myst coughed to clear his throat. Then he continued, "Madam Eveningsong said, 'I think some bacon and eggs for breakfast would be nice'!"

 Wait, what is she thinking about in a situation like this?! Is this even the time to be requesting for breakfast!!

Then the surprised female adventurer felt a tap on her shoulder.

She turned her guildmaster who was scratching his head as he asked:

 "Where could we get such breakfast?"

 And there is someone here who is serious in taking up that ridiculous request!! Get back to your senses already, nobody would be selling breakfast this late at night!! Especially not after what happened earlier!!!!

However, the veteran adventurer was not the only one who wanted to take up the request.

The crowd began their discussion in fulfilling such ridiculous request, some of them even took out a map to locate the nearest village.

 Just what was up with all these people?!

The female adventurer could not believe how the crowd was easily distracted by Eveningsong's words. It was very unsightly and she felt really awkward to be mixed with them.

She could not afford to let this continue so she quickly moved on to the next question.

 "Let's move on to my next question!" She coughed once before she continued. "Why were you guys trying to leave the city? You should have heard the orders from Vice Commander of the Guards to stay indoors.

"Even at this moment, the whereabouts of the terrorists are still unknown. It may be even more dangerous for you to leave the city."

 "No, I disagree." Myst shook his head. "If the terrorists are still within the city then it's even more reason for us leave the city. I heard the Vice Commander of the Guards is just a little girl at the age of 18, right?"

 "18...? A little girl?!"

 "Since she's just a little girl then it's more logical for me to not trust her judgement to handle the situation becuase I believe she lacks the experience to deal with such situation. I'm sure my Madam thinks that to, right?"

Myst bent down to the entrance of the carriage.

After a series of nodding, he stood back up.

 "Madam Eveningsong said 'I think coffee would go well with my breakfast'. As expected of my Madam, even I could not comprehend what she's thinking." 

 Of course you couldn't, she's totally thinking of something else! More-like she's thinking nothing but her breakfast! Just how obsessed is she with her breakfast?!

Then the female adventurer felt another tap.

She turned, and again, saw her guildmaster scratching his head.

He asked:

 "Do we still have any coffee powder left? I wonder if our commoner coffee powder will suit her taste..." 

 Oh, good Heavens! Sometimes I just could not comprehend what my guildmaster is thinking as well!

  "This can't do..." Myst shook his head. "If you really want to find the terrorists then you can't be this slow with your questioning. Fortunately, I have read the pattern of your questions and I will answer the question you wanted to ask the most."

 Why is the suspect getting on with the interrogation all on his own? But if he know that I wanted to ask 'Why Eveningsong did not help in the fog incident earlier' then it will indeed save me some trouble and time.

One of the biggest reason why the female adventurer was still suspecting Myst and Eveningsong was because she did not appear during the chaotic situation that happened earlier. If Eveningsong was indeed from what her guildmaster told her then it was strange for Eveningsong not to help at all. Furthermore, Eveningsong seemed to be leaving the city instead of helping to find the terrorists.

If Eveningsong was indeed someone who helps humankind in the time of crisis then it was more reasonable for her to stay and help.

The female adventurer decided to listen in to what Myst has to say to explain this strangeness.

 "The answer to the question you wanted to ask the most is..." Myst declares. "Because Madam Eveningsong wanted to use the toilet!"

...

Everyone was shocked.

The female adventurer was shocked once again to see the other people was capable of being shocked.

Myst tilted his head.

 "What's with the reactions?" Myst asked. "Did I not answer the right question?"

 Of course it wasn't! More-like what kind of question leads to the answer of that Eveningsong person wanting to use the toilet?!

 "Aaah, this sucks..." He scratched his head. "And here I thought you wanted to ask 'Why Madam Eveningsong did not help in the fog incident earlier'."

 I'm surprised at how accurate you were able to guess my question! But what is up with the answer?! How do you expect me to accept that?!

 "Haa... It can't be helped then." He sighed. "Just make that reasoning of mine as the answer to any of the question you wanted to ask."

 Just how demotivated are you to just casually say that?! You are putting no effort at all in thinking about your answer! How is that answer going to respond to my next question in 'why you guys wanting to leave the city'... wait, it does work?! I can't believe it! 

While it does work as an answer to my next question but it doesn't make any se-

 "...SENSE!" The veteran adventurer suddenly exclaimed!

Without giving any warning, he leaped forward and swung his large hammer down at Myst. 

*****

 *BOOM*

The carriage was turned to pieces, its contents rolled to the ground.

Those were round objects with its own mana source, they seemed to be some kind of magic item.

Not a single person was inside the carriage.

The veteran adventurer picked up one of the round objects.

 "Just as I thought..." He looked at the person in red who, just at the right time, dived off the carriage. "You used these to fake the presence of a person in the carriage while you continue to fool us with your banter."

 "Ahaha..." The person in red laughed weakly as he dust himself off. "And here I thought everything was going so well... Guess my lies have been busted."

 "So you admit being one of the terrorists?"

 "For releasing status-inflicting powder in the city? Yes, I am." The person in red lift up his right index finger. "Just to add for some surprising factor, I'm the ringleader of this 'terrorist group' you guys are searching for."

Everyone else in the crowd gasped in surprise when they heard his words.

They did not expect the person would admit such carefree attitude, it was as if the terrible thing he has done to the city was just a prank he pulled just for fun.

The adventurers and guards disliked his attitude and began directly their killing intentions towards him.

Unlike the others, the female adventurer was the only one who wasn't able to grasp the flow of the events.

 "Gulidmaster, how were you able to tell?" She asked. "There was enough mana presence in the carriage for us to mistaken it for a person and you even confirmed his letter was not fake! So how were you able to tell that Eveningsong person was not in there?"

 "What, are you perhaps worried about Eveningsong? Or perhaps..." The veteran adventurer smiled embarrassingly. "Are you actually worried about my well-being because there might be a magic trap setup in the carriage?"

 "No." She blantantly denies. "You swung your hammer without warning got me worried that you may end up killing the person inside the carriage and it will be bad for our guild if they were proven innocent."

 "I see, if I was put to prison then it will be bad for our guild if its leader was absent, huh?"

 "No, I don't care if you were put to prison or not. I'm more worried about our guild's name, if you do anything stupid then it will make the fame of our guild drop to the bottom."

 "Is that the only thing you worried about?! Isn't this mean?! I'm your guildmaster, right? At least worry about me a little!" 

 "Fortunately, your deduction was correct. There was no one in the carriage."

 "Aren't you underestimating your guildmaster? Of course, something like was easy an experience adventurer like me." The veteran adventurer made a bright smiled. "If you were paying more attention to what that man said earlier then even you would be able to come to the same conclusion."

 "What do you mean by that?" The female adventurer tilted her head.

 "That man may be great with his banters, even I was charmed by his words that caused me to act strangely..." 

 "No, more-like, that's your true self right? I can assure you, by listening to your words, I can deduct that you are an Eveningsong fanatic from head-to-toe."

 "But that man was careless enough to mention something he shouldn't..." The veteran adventurer shook his head. "He mentioned that Eveningsong wanted use the toilet? What nonsense!! Doesn't he know the abusolute rule about Eveningsong?"

Then the veteran adventurer took in a large breathe before he declared:

 "OUR IDOL, EVENINGSONG, DOESN'T NEED TO USE THE TOILET!"

 "..."

 "I knew he was lying the moment he talked about Eveningsong with a filty word in the same sentence! That's right, there's no way our idol will need to do something as disgusting as peeing or poopin- Wait, why are you looking at me as if you are looking at something disgusting?"

 "So from that deduction of yours... you don't know whether or not there was a person inside the carriage and still slammed your hammer at it without confirming it?"

 "All I confirmed was Eveningsong was not inside the carriage. Nothing else is more important than Eveningso- Hey, wait, why are you looking at me as if you are seeing more importance in worthless filth than me?"

Hearing the two adventurers' conversation, the person in red laughed while holding his abdomen.

His loud laughter immediately attracted their attention.

 "What's so funny?" The veteran adventurer asked.

 "No, I really didn't expect you to see through my act because of a stupid reason." 

 "It's not stupid, it's just a common fac- ARgh!!"

A kick to the back of his head dropped the veteran adventurer to the ground.

 "Can you please shut up for 1 minute, Guildmaster." The female adventurer said as she fixed her attire.

 "Pfft, you adventurers are really interesting." The person in red chuckled. "Is this how every other adventurers is like?"

 "Please don't use our Guildmaster as a standard for adventurers, he's an odd one. Also..." She crossed her arms and stared at Myst coldly. "You are oddly carefree in this situation. Are you not aware that you are surrounded by the top adventurers and guards of this city?"

 "And?" He shrugged his shoulders. "What should I do about it?"

 "You should accept the arrest, tell the guards everything about your doings and your partners in crime! Give up any thought of struggle, there's nothing you can do alone in this situation!"

 "Uhm, you are right. You are absolutely correct." He folded his arms and nodded. "Then I guess I shall do as you said and tell you the whereabouts of my accomplices."

The tone of his voice was unchanged throughout the exchange.

This was not a situation one could laugh at, uneasiness was what the female adventurer felt when she noticed his strange behaviour. 

Before she could figure out the reason behind his behaviour, the incident that unfolded answered her uneasiness.

 *BANG*

A fire-bolt spell exploded in the sky, it was fired from a different section of the Market Area.

Just when the female adventurer was surprised, another fire-bolt spell at another section of the area exploded in the sky.

Following after that, more fire spells were released all over the sky one after the other.

 *BANG* *BANG* *BANG*

Just like the firework show earlier, explosions of unending fire-bolts illuminated the night sky.

However, the female adventurer and everyone in the crowd were not in the mood to enjoy that.

The weak fire spell used this way was to alert the others that something was going on in that section. With so many released in such a short time, it could only mean trouble.

A few guards lowered their head and pressed their hand on their helmet.

They listened to the voice coming from the other side and were surprised by what their heard.

They immediately shouted out the cause of this event:

 "There are carriages on streets! Countless!"

Before the crowd could even react to the declarion, they heard squeal of horses and the wooden sound of the carriages they were pulling.

One carriage emerged from an alleyway not far from the crowd and it ran off in the opposite direction from the crowd.

Another one came running down the street and turned into an alleyway. 

The next one made a small bump with the other carriage as they passed each other, both carriages were fine so the horses continued to pull them to unknown destination.

The sounds from different carriages all over the Market Area resonated with one another, making loud noises in the quiet streets.

 "Why are you guys so surprised?"

The words from the person in red woke the crowd from their dumbfounded state.

 "Weren't you guys asking for the whereabouts of my accomplices?" He raised his hand as if he was presenting something. "Well, there they are. What are you guys going to do?"

 "..."

The female adventurer was speechless, she was not expecting this turn of event.

Then a guard jumped out of the crowd.

 "By the order of the Vice Commander, we will stop and capture all of the terrorists!" He exclaimed. "We will first comprehend the ringleader and then aid the others in catching the rest of the terrorists!"

 "Oh, catch me? That's interesting." The person in red laughed. "Then before you do that, let me give this clever girl a present for suspecting me since the beginning."

He threw a cloth-wrapped object to the female adventurer.

The moment she caught the object everone tensed up, some magic users almost released their magic to kill the person in red. 

The person in red quickly raised his hands to prevent any of them to attack him.

 "Woah, woah! Relax! The thing I gave her was nothing dangerous. Instead..." He pointed with his finger and directed the crowds attention to the leftover of his carriage. "You guys should be more worried about those magic devices scattered there."

At the end of his words, the magic devices activated and white magic circles expanded from each.

 """...!!!"""

Before anyone have the chance to respond, bright light exploded from each of the magic devices.

The sudden blinding light forced the crowd to shut their eyes.

After a few seconds, the light died down and the crowd opened their eyes as soon as they could.

But the person in red was no longer there.

*****

The adventurers and the guards cursed that they allowed the ringleader of the terrorists to slip away.

Many of them searched around the area to track him down while some others went to help out in stopping the carriages and capturing the terrorists.

Only the female adventure was standing on the same spot, staring at wrapped up object given to her.

She was not able to grasp the events that have unfolded before her.

One happened after the other, without much time for her to adapt.

When she finally realized what had just happened, the person in red had long disappeared and the crowd was dispersed to tend to the current situation.

The female adventurer unwrapped the object and saw it was a 'Spy Lense' item.

A magic item that could be used to display a target's details and it be bought cheaply at any item store.

 Why would he give me something like that?

The female adventurer recalled what the ringleader said to her when giving her this item.

 '...let me give this clever girl a present for suspecting me since the beginning.'

Putting that together with his and her interactions, she realized what the hidden message behind this object was.

 "He-He's mocking me!!!!" A vein mark popped up on her forehead.

Instead of going through the trouble in questioning the ringleader when she was suspecting him, she could have use a cheap magic item like this and avoided all that.

What made her even more angry was the fact that the ringleader's unfazed attitude was because he had an escape plan all along. He even went as far as playing along with her and keeping the crowd in the same place for a long period of time.

While he may have called her clever but, by giving her an cheap Spy Lense, it was as if he was implying the opposite. 

 "I...I'll not forgive him for this humiliation!!!!"

----------------------------------------

 "!"

A guard summoned a blade made of wind and fired it at a carriage he was chasing on a certain street west of Market Area.

The blade made a clean miss when the carriage took a sharp turn to the right and it slowly disappeared into thin air.

 "Damn it! I missed!" The guard cursed. 

 "How about we change our approach?" An adventurer next to him suggested. "We will buff your speed and jumping capabilities so you use that to stop that carriage."

 "Sounds like it will work." The guard nodded. "Okay, let's do it!"

The adventurer and his friends began chanting while not stopping their legs. 

The magic circles they summoned followed beneath them as they kept chasing after the carriage.

Then...

 "!" "!" "!"

The magic circles turned into soft white fog, flew towards the guard and surrounded him. 

In the next moment, the fog made a short flash and disappeared immediately after.

 "!!" 

The guard felt his body was lighter, his steps have became wider and faster.

 "Alright! With this...!"

He applied more strength to his legs.

 *Ta**Ta**Ta*

In a few steps, he managed to get close enough to the carriage.

The guard bent his knees, gather his energy in that area and he sprung up.

He leaped over the carriage and landed on the coachman's seat.

He sliced the holdback, disconnecting the horses from the carriage.

The horses ran free and the carriage slowed down to a halt.

 "Now..." The guard rested his sword on the coachman's shoulder. "Don't try anything funny unless you don't care if you lose your head!"

 "..." The coachman in red cape was silent.

Not only did the coachman not respond to the guard but also the coachman did not even react to the guards intimidation. The coachman remained facing forward and his hands was still gripped at the reins.

The guard noticed the strangeness, he immediately reached for the plain mask and pulled it off.

 "Wha-" The guard was surprised. "What is this?!"

 "What's the matter?"

The guard's colleagues caught up and gathered around the carriage.

 "This!" The guard kicked the coachman off the seat.

Everyone else was surprised to see the identity of the motionless coachman who landed on the ground.

The coachman was just a dummy made of wood.

 "What's the meaning of this? Was this the thing that was driving the carriage?"

 "But I don't feel any mana within it nor did I see any trace of magic being used to control it... Could the horses just be running wild on its own?"

 "Are you saying we were chasing after a decoy?" 

 "Wait, I sense mana disturbance from within the carriage!"

Immediately the guard and his colleagues jumped back to a safe distance.

With the coachman being a woodern dummy, it was only natural to think the carriage was sent off as a decoy and possibly a trap was set inside it.

But nothing happened, even after the mana they senesed died out.

 What was that about?

However, there will be no answer to that if they just stand still.

 "Buff me." The guard requested his colleagues. "I will check it out."

His colleagues wasted no time in casting protective spell on the guard. They also casted barrier enclosing the area to prevent any damage to the houses around if the carriage has an explposive trap.

After the speed buff was applied to the guard, he made his move.

He walked slowly towards the carriage and, once he got there, climbed up to the driver's seat. Then he grabbed the cloth at the entrance and slowly pulled it opened while being ready to dash away if anything were to go wrong.

Finally, the guard stuck his head into the carriage.   

There was not a single soul inside the carriage. In fact, the reason why he was willing to put his head into the carriage was because he had already noticed there was no living being nor undead inside the carriage.

But he was curious of the mana disturbance from earlier so he took a closer look.

What he found inside the carriage were magic items that have been depleted of their mana.

He immediately knew the magic items were the source of the mana disturbance they felt, since the magic items did nothing so he concluded the magic items were used for keeping up mana presence.

Which means, this carriage was indeed a decoy used to separate their numbers.

 To be fooled by such a simple trick.

He sighed as he pulled his head out of the carriage.

 "There's no one in the carriage but just magic items." He said. "Looks like this was just a dec-"

Just as he was telling the others his conclusion, he froze when he witness the scene outside the carriage.

All of his colleagues have collapsed on the ground.

What surprised him even further was the wooden dummy that should be the one lying on the ground was now standing. 

No, the one in red was no longer a dummy...

 "Oh, you are pretty late to the party." A man's voice came from beneath the plain white mask. "Why don't you come down and join your friends?"

That's right, the one standing was a living person.

 "Who are you?"

The guard jumped down with his sword drawn and pointed it at the masked man.

 "What did you do to them?" He asked another question.

In actual fact, the guard was scared.

The person in front of him was capable in falling all of his colleagues in the short time when he stuck his head inside the carriage, even more scarier was the person was able to do it without alerting him.

The guard was dead sure he stood no chance against such person so he was wondering if he should just run and call for help instead of fighting a losing battle.

But his sense of responsibility as a guard stopped him from doing that, he cannot bring himself to abandon his colleagues who he have bonded with over a long time.

They may still be alive after-all!

He needs to think of other ways to alert the others for help.

But just as he began brainstorming, the masked man suddenly appeared in front of him!

Before the guard could even react, his view was covered by a bandaged hand.

 "Sleep."

That was the last thing the guard heard before his view became completely black.

*****

 [That was how that team of guards and adventurers were done in.]

The report reached Lynn's ears via the Core Defense System.

 [That team has fallen victim to sleep powders, it was only after a while when they were discovered and woken up by us. Having traded information with them, there was a new discovery.]

 "What discovery?"

 [Few of the people in the team has reported to have high sleep resistance therefore sleep powders should not have affected them. Thus, we have concluded that their have received resistance debuff and the source must be from the strange looking magic items in the carriage they stopped.]

 "I see... so this time it's Resistance Debuff trap, huh..."

 [Vice Commander, with people being ambushed by the terrorists in red becoming more frequent I am afraid we will require more aid from the guards and adventurers stationed in the other Areas.]

 "I understand, I will give you permission to request aid from the areas."

 [Thank you very much! Then I shall be on my way to help other teams and find those terrorist!]

 "Alright, be careful out there."

The communication link connected a field captain was cut off.

Lynn look over at the Miastary model and then sighed.

Another difficult situation has fallen upon the Market Area.

A sudden outbreak of rampaging carriages have definitely surprised her. Listening to the reports, those were same the carriages that Ul has bought. 

Lynn did not expect the carriages she thought would be used for transporting fourth princess' possessions were used to create massive chaos at the south of Miastary.

All the guards and adventurers who were stationed in the Market Area immediately gave chase to stop those carriages.

To her further surprises, the carriages that were successfully stopped were the ones that have traps to hinder or restrain the movements of the people who stopped it. There seemed to be different traps in different carriages that triggers when they were stopped, like a large web created by sticky thread and magic that slowed the movements of the people nearby. All were traps that will prevent the victims to continue their chase on other carriages until they managed to get out of their sticky situation.

Occasionally, Lynn will also receive reports of the teams being ambushed by a masked person in red coat. Judging from the location and time of the ambushes, there seemed to be a large number of people wearing white mask and red coat. 

Possibly, that was the characteristics of the terrorist group.

It was fortunate that the ambushed teams did not sustain any severe injury but all of them were incapacitated in some way. Just like the report from earlier, a team was made to sleep by the person in red and only woken up when another team come across them by chance.

If a whole team gets ambushed like that then Lynn will not be able to know.

This was why small teams of people, with inclusion of guards connected to the Core Defense System, were formed to find those incapacitated teams.

Doing this was very inefficient.

There were still many carriages running out there, not knowing which of those was carrying the fourth princess and her two personnel.

The terrorists were still in the shadows, not knowing where and when they might ambush her men.

But even in this situation...

 "Heh."

Lynn was able to make a smirk.

 "In the end they are gathered in Market Area, huh? Your intention is clear as day."

The current terrorist group's activities all occurred within the Market Area, the area where the main gate was located in the city.

While they may have used underhanded methods to create chaos in order to hide the fourth princess and possibly trying to get her out of the city.

However, there was one mistake they miscalculated.

Since the main gate was the only gate that led to wilderness so Lynn had made sure it was heavily guarded.

The ones guarding the gate was no other than Hero Kazehaya Shinji and his high level team.

With them standing guard, the gate has became impenetrable.

 "We have made sure the terrorists are locked inside the Market Area." Lynn said. "Now we just need to wait for the men from other two areas. Once they join up with the men in Market Area then they can do a thorough search in the area."

 "This way the terrorists will definitely be exposed!" The armored man nodded. "As expected the Vice Commander to think of such plan! Doing this we can also find the two people we were tasked to find as well!"

 "A-Ah, that is correct."

 I just remembered, the news of the fourth princess escaping has yet gone public yet.

The royal family has a public image to protect, which was the reason she heard when she received her task.

The mission to find the fourth princess was secretly given to Hero Kazehaya Shinji and this was why he easily agreed to help in securing the gate.

 This means the fourth princess' escape will be known by the public if my plan works.

She feared for the consequences if that was the result.

But Lynn have made a resolve, she will not hold back her plan.

She has a responsibility to maintain peace in the city, the chaos in the city was brought upon by the fourth princess for contacting the terrorist group. Therefore, Lynn will definitely uphold her duty as the vice commander of the guards and comprehend the runaway princess along with the terrorists aiding her escape.

She will make the fourth princess notice her selfishness and reflect upon it!

Then an alert came from the Miastary model, it was the flashing helmet icon of the field captain from earlier.

 [Reporting to Vice Commander, the men who were stationed in the Adventurer's Area has came to our aid.]

 "Good." Lynn smirked. "What about the men at Residential Area?"

 [That is exactly the reason I am reporting to you. I can't get in contact with them, the guards I sent to the Residential Area has yet to report back to me!]

 "What?!"

Lynn immediately looked at the Residential Area of the Miastary model.

She was further surprised to see the helmet icons were stationary and tapping any of them does not give her any response.

 "W-What is going on?!"

 [Something must have happened to them! This is strange, the men from Adventurer Area has reported nothing strange when they went past the Town Hall Area! I will lead my team and check upon the area, please wait for my report!]

The communication link was terminated.

Lynn quickly tapped one of the wall guards stationed nearest to the Residential Area.

The response she received was:

 [Vice Commander, the wall tower leading to the Residential Area is locked! I can't access it!]

The doors of the wall towers were made from special materials that were highly resistant to magic. Thus, the wall guard cannot get past it even if Lynn wants him to force his way through.

While, the materials were also resistant to physical impact but it was not as high as their resistance to magic. However, this will need many people using a battering ram to force the door open.

Unfortunately, the rams were stored in the armoury and taking it up the walls will take some time.

It would be faster to wait for the field captain to report in.

Then an alert went off and his helmet icon in the Town Hall Area was flashing.

 [Vice commander, this is not good! There is a large boulder in the gate that prevents us from entering the Residential Area!]

 "A BOULDER?!"

A boulder was something that should not existed inside a well-developed city. 

But not only did it appear, it was moved to blocked the gate in the short time after the men from Adventurer Area went past the Town Hall Area. 

There was nothing but strangeness in this case.

 "Where did they get the boulder from and how did they hide it in the city without anyone noticing?! Wait, they are blocking everyone from entering the Residential Area? Could this mean we have been thinking wrong this whole time?"

That was the moment when a sudden realization struck Lynn's mind.

 What if the whole chaos created in the Market Area was a diversion to turn their attention away from the other areas?

There was no mistake that the intention of the terrorist group was to help the princess to make a runaway out of the city.

However, it was not through the only main gate in the Market Area.

 "Report this to all the guards and adventurers...!" Lynn broadcasted her message to all the guards connected to the Core Defense System. 

The terrorist group has planned to make their own escape route!

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At a section of the wall in the quiet Residential Area, Myst stood by it playing with a round magic device in his hand.

In front of him was a large pile of magic devices laid against the wall.

He pressed the button of the magic device in his hand and tossed it into the pile.

The activated magic device summoned a large white magic circle. All the other magic devices within its area began activating as well.

Having seen this unfolding before him, Myst turned around and walked away into the dark street.

He does not want to be caught up in what was about to happen.

*****

A loud explosive noise came from the wall of the Residential Area.

The ground trembled a bit and the sky above the area was brightened by the light produced along with the sound.

It happened all of the sudden and it disappeared in just about the same duration.

Only leaving a long trail of black smoke extending to the night sky.

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The guards and adventurers gathered in the Town Hall Area just before the gate to enter the Residential Area.

Just as have been reported, blocking their way was a large boulder inside the gate.

 "Shit, is the battering ram still not here yet?"

 "It's on its way!"

 "That will be too slow, we should just blast this boulder with magic!"

Then a veteran adventurer carrying a large hammer stepped out of the crowd.

 "If it's destroying the boulder then let me do it."

 """G-Guildmaster!!"""

That's right, the veteran adventurer was the guildmaster of the famous guild, UnEnding Tale.

The man who has made his name through his long journeys and with a strength to survive countless dangers.

 "Guildmaster!" A female adventurer called out to him. "Please becareful and don't over do it!"

 "Ah, you worried about me?" The veteran adventurer was a little happy when his vice showed her concern. "Don't worry, destroying a boulder or two will be a piece of cake for me!"

 "No, I'm not worried about you." She coldly replied. "I'm worried you might cause unnecessary damage to the walls and our guild will be charged for its repairs."

 "At least in this situation share some of that concern to me! I'm your guildmaster, right?" The veteran adventurer almost cried.

Even when he was poured cold water he did not lose track of what he must do.

This was a serious situation, he worried for the residents who could be possibly injured from that large explosion in the Residential Area.

He chanted, and almost immediately, multiple tiny magic circles appeared along the handle of his large hammer.

In the next moment, the hammer became five times its size.

Everyone in the crowd were amazed to witness the scene but the veteran adventurer felt the opposite when looking at his hammer.

 If only there's no need to concern myself with the walls then there's no need to hold back.

He may be disappointed in the size of his hammer but he knew it was just enough to break the boulder blocking in their way.

The veteran adventurer raised his hammer with both his hand.

But before he slammed it down on the boulder, something fell from the sky that caught his attention.

 "This is..." He was surprised when he caught it with his hand. "Just a piece of paper?" 

While he was surprised to see a red coloured paper that fell from the sky but he does have a strong sense of familiarity with this paper.

He wondered where he has seen such paper.

After that piece of paper, another came hovering down the sky and many more followed.

Red, blue, yellow and white colour papers poured down in the area where the guards and adventurers were.

The people immediately recognized these papers were used for celebration purposes, like for the Mask Festival throughout the day.

So this means someone was treating the current situation like some kind of festival worth of celebrating?

This joke was not funny to any of the guards and adventurers, this was an indirect message to mock them.

The one who could possibly do something like this immediately crossed their minds.

All of the guards and adventurers became furious.

They looked up at tall places to find the accursed red figures.

But they were unable to find anything.

Even after the papers discountinued to pour down in the area, they failed to find the people responsible for this.

Then, the moment when they returned their view to the ground, they were shocked to witness the scene in front of them.

The guildmaster of UnEnding Tale was now lying on the ground and his favourite hammer was in the hands of the person next to him.

The masked person in red coat.

*****

 "Heh, surprised to see me?" Myst said in a mocking tone. "I thought you all were eager to look for me."

Myst's tone immediately brought the rage back to the guards and adventurers.

They all have readied their weapons and spells but none of them took immediate action.

It was because Myst has a hostage next to him.

Myst knew this so he continued on with his carefree attitude:

 "So what do you guys think?" He asked the crowd. "The shows I have prepared for you all? I thought it was a fine job that I did in extending your beloved Mask Festival!"

 Shows?! This person referred to all the horrible things he has done as shows?! 

The guards and adventurers were surprised to hear Myst's words and they became even more furious when they realized Myst referred to his terrorism as something that was supposed to be fun.

None of them will forgive him for not only harming the people within the city but also ruining the grand festival they all enjoyed.

The female adventurer stepped out.

 "What did you do to him?" She asked pointing at her guildmaster.

From the way Myst speak, the female adventurer recognized him as the same person she talked to in the Market Area.

The ringleader of the terrorist group.

 "Him? I just made him breathe in all the paralysis powder I have." Myst replied. "Of course, that's after lowering his resistance when I distracted him with my colourful paper show." 

Hearing his words, the guards and adventurers quickly summoned and checked their Status Plate.

Myst laughed after witnessing the scene.

 "Ahaha, don't worry guys. I didn't do anything to all of you, there just wasn't enough time for that and I don't even have that much of powder for all of you."

 "Enough with the banter already! Do you seriously think you are in the position for that?" The female adventurer pointed her weapon at Myst. "What are you after? Do not lie to us, depending on your answer we may make your death much painless!"

 "Wow, you have guts to threaten me even when I have a hostage?"

 "You think you can get out of this alive?" The female adventurer glared at Myst with killing intention.

 "I don't know about that." Myst shrugged his shoulders. "But there's one thing I do know, and that's you got your priorities in the wrong order."

 "Wrong order...?" The female adventurer did not expect a reply like that. "What do you mean by that?"

 "I am really disappointed that you seemed really uninterested..." Myst drooped his shoulders. "Even though I went through all that trouble to prepare for this climax."

 "Climax?! Shows?! Just what are you on about?" The female adventurer said in rage. "You talk nothing but shows you have prepared for us but all you have done was disturbing the peace of the city! Did you really think anyone would have fun with your terrorism? Is hurting people so much of an enjoyment to you? Just what are you thinking when you did such horrible things to the people?!"

 "Indeed what I did to those normal people was horrible." Myst shook his head in disappointment. "It's unfortunate to say that they don't have the qualification to stand on the stage and perform with the main characters."

 "Perform with the main characters... Is performance the only thing you think of?!" The female adventurer exclaimed. "You!! Just what are you trying to achieve with all this? Just what is your aim? Who in the world are you?!"

 "Now a series of questions, huh... It's troublesome to answer them one by one but I guess it's partly my fault for not introducing myself properly since the beginning." Myst then made a sudden realization. "You do remember me giving you that present, right? That lens thing that could let you see a person's stat!" He made a ring with his fingers trying to imitate the shape of the lens. "Why don't you use it now? It may save you some trouble."

 "..."

 "Don't worry, I won't do anything to you until the show starts. As a host of this performance I can at least assure that."

Hearing his words, the female adventurer took out the Spy Lens.

For some odd reason, the female adventurer felt she could trust his words... she did not expect she would be convinced so easily by a mere terrorist.

But part of her does feel curious about the identity of the evil man in front of her.

To do a grand scale of terrorism and still have the guts to face many top guards and adventurers all alone.

This person may be more dangerous than she thought so it would be wise to check his stat beforehand instead of rushing recklessly on him.

The female adventurer used the Spy Lens on Myst.

A transparent window appeared in front of her displaying his stats.

Immediately, the female adventurer was shocked.

 "Mys...tery? Mystery?! Your name is 'Mystery'?!" The female adventurer read out what she saw on the name field. "Something is wrong with the display! Why is your name being hidden? Did the Spy Lens fail? It can't be, it's a magic item so it can't fail!" She then glared at Myst. "Did you do something to this Spy Lens?"

 "I didn't do anything to it. It's the same thing that you can buy from stores. If you don't believe me then why don't use your own one?"

The female adventurer took out her own Spy Lens and used it.

She was surprised that she got the same result.

Looking at his stat display more carefully she could not believe her eyes.

There were even more strangeness to than just his name being a mystery:

NmAe MystEry TtLiE TsegnorsDemialcorpEht OuPcOtCaIn Retskcirt RcAe Namuh RnAk 1/1 Wut(LOL) N/A N/A 3 N/A 0 N/A 4 N/A 0 N/A 5 N/A 0

The female adventurer was even more surprised that she could not read any other things on the display other than the 'Mystery' on the name field.

She was lost for words to witness something she has never seen before.

Never had she seen a Spy Lens fail and even to the extent which she cannot even get a single piece of information from this mysterious person.

 Just who is this man?!

Myst noticed the female adventurer's confused look towards him.

 "I didn't think using that to read my stats would cause even more confusion... this is definitely a miss..." Myst made a sigh. Then, immediately, he livened up his mood. "Fine then, I will just introduce myself on my own. Since I originally planned to do so anyway, otherwise we can't get on with our show."

He waved his left hand towards his abdomen as he slowly bowed.

The opening he always say right before he starts the climax of his 'show':

 "I go by the name of Mystery. Gimmicks are my ploy and fools are my prey."

"I am but a normal Trickster."

"Worry not for I assure you a 'show' you shall never forget."

Myst finished his introduction.

However, the crowd did not react. They just do not know how to react to his words.

None of them fully understood what Myst has just said.

But Myst will not wait for them because...

 "The time for the climax has began!"

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