After she and Iroha split up, Carol went to a part of town she hadn’t been to before. She had to carry her own weight and find something to help Iroha find Ririna. Otherwise, she’s nothing but talk. “What is this place? Am I really gonna find anything here?”
“Stalls… That’s not gonna help.” Carol strolled down a street somewhat far away from the castle. The houses were pretty basic, so they were probably for normal folk. There were some merchants around, and the people on the streets were carrying food and other goods. Is this some kind of storage district? Carol wondered. No… They’d need carriages if they were moving large quantities around. There’s nothing like that here.
“Right… Fast-travel…” There’s no carriages because of fast-travel, of course. With long-distance transportation being uncommon, carrying bags and crates by hand becomes the obvious solution! But this still doesn’t look like a storage district. There are too many houses here. Then again, separating cities into strict districts is probably more of a modern thing. This mishmash is just what naturally happens, I guess.
“!?” While pondering the nature of her location, Carol heard a small sound coming from a gap between houses. “Cloaks?” For a split second, Carol spotted two people turning a corner in an alley. “Are those…” Demons? She thought to herself. They look just like the ones who attacked us on the way here.
“Time to put the tailing training into action.” I gotta check if they’re demons or not. With perfectly natural moves, Carol entered the alley. If anyone was watching her, they would think she’s a local with a destination in mind who knows her way around. To make the matter even easier, the floor was dirty enough that she could easily follow their footsteps. She was able to tail them while remaining at a distance that made it impossible for them to spot her back.
“Another barrel…” There were some barrels between the buildings that looked out of place. Every once in a while, she’d pass by a gap and bam, another barrel. There weren’t a lot of them, but they were frequent enough for her to take notice. Their condition was pretty decent, meaning someone must have placed them recently. “And this smell again… What is this?” An intoxicating yet familiar scent occasionally reached Carol as she moved forward. She couldn’t quite put a finger on what it was, but she knew she had smelled it before.
“Woah… Stop…” She was about to turn a corner when she saw the two people from before had stopped. She peeked around the corner and saw one of them knock on a door. A few seconds later, the door opened, and they quickly went inside. The place they entered was a modest house with two floors.
“Were those really demons? Why would they go into a random house? Could it be some sort of hideout?” I’ll have to check with Iroha later. I got the location down. We can figure out what to do later. Before Carol was satisfied, there was one thing she wanted to check.
“What’s the deal with these barrels? This one stinks, but… I can’t get it open. How about this one…? Oh? Opened.” Some of the barrels were made in a way that was impossible to open, while others had a detachable lid. “Powder?” Carol reached inside with her hand and recognized the contents. “G- gunpowder!? Are these all filled with gunpowder?”
She put the lid back and went back to one she couldn’t open. The weird smell was back, and it was coming from the barrel. The gunpowder one didn’t have the same smell. “Nope… Can’t open this one… Is it fine if I break it open? Isn’t this an emergency?” Carol wobbled the barrel left and right and felt something strange. “It’s liquid?” It’s not gunpowder then… There was a small gap at the top, so she turned the barrel to the side, and a small pool formed on the ground.
“It’s black… I remember now! This is like the smell at a gas station! Is this gasoline?” Carol put the barrel back up, and her heart began to beat faster. Barrels of gasoline and gunpowder lying around… This place is a ticking time bomb! Carol took a few steps back when she felt her phone vibrate.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
“Is it Hecate again? Iroha? Let’s go to the castle?” Why? Carol asked in reply to Iroha’s message. I found something important to tell Bea, was more or less the next message she received.
“Well… I need to get out of here before an explosion happens.” And she’s probably gonna wanna know about what I found. Guess I’ll meet up with her.
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“That’s very valuable information, Iroha. Unfortunately, it restricts our movements even further.”
“What do you mean?” After reuniting with Carol, we went back to Bea’s office for yet another visit. I told her how I found one of the demons’ hideout places and that Ririna was in some kind of mansion. All that was left now was to find which mansion she’s in and save her. At least that’s what I was hoping for.
“I’m very grateful for the information, Iroha. It’s a very important part of the puzzle. Who would’ve guessed the demons were planning something like that? We might have made a big mistake without you. We need to take things slowly and carefully plan our every move.” Bea frowned while crossing her arms. She looked like she was in a really hard position.
“Can’t we stop their plans right away now? All that’s left is finding where Ririna is.” With a sorrowful smile, Bea shook her head.
“It’s not that easy. You heard the demons talk about a distraction and burning the city to the ground, right? Do you understand how much of a problem that is?”
“I mean… You obviously don’t want them burning the city to the ground. But now that you know it’s a distraction, we can go after the main target and solve everything.” Seemed pretty obvious to me. I glanced over at Carol. She was quietly focused on Bea, like she was trying to figure something out.
“The problem is that they have a distraction like that ready. Even if their primary goal is something different that we can stop, spreading chaos in the capital is something that needs to be addressed. From what you’ve said, they’ve infiltrated into the general population and are in position to cause damages at any moment.”
Bea got up from the chair, straightened her dress and looked out the window behind. “It’s an absurd but robust plan. Truly something that only the demons with their fancy gadgets would come up with. Now, even if we find where their main base is, we still can’t go after them. We need the bulk of our elite troops ready to quell their potential rampage rather than trying to stop them. It’s an incredible deterrent.” Bea shrugged her shoulders and turned back to us. “It’s a wonder they’re still waiting for the right opportunity. They clearly have the advantage. Are they scared of something? They’re usually not the type to hesitate.”
“That’s awful… What about Ririna then? Does that mean you’re not gonna save her?” The mansion has gotta be their main base. If we can’t go after it, we can’t save Ririna!
“Our goal is still to rescue Ririna and stop their plans. We’re just going to have to take things slowly. We need to uproot the demons and tighten up security around the capital first. It might take a while, but we’ll do whatever it takes to stop them.”
Ughh… This is not how I was expecting it to go… But I understand… It’s so frustrating! I don’t wanna just sit around and wait. I wish we could just go after them and finish things off for good. We’re at war with them after all! Well, I’m the only one at war with them, I guess… I was the one who spouted out in the heat of the moment… I meant it, though. I won’t let them mess with Ririna’s life anymore. “What should I do, Bea? I can try to spy on them again. See what else I can find. Maybe even infiltrate their hideout?”
“No…” Bea shot down my idea with a sympathetic smile. “It’s probably better if you don’t involve yourself in this for a while.”
“Huh?”
“A single mistake can lead to thousands of people losing their lives. I’m thankful for your help, but you should stay put for now.” Stay put? How am I supposed to stay put when Ririna’s in trouble?! We now know for sure the demons have her… We have to save her before it’s too late! “Are you unsatisfied? Sorry, but the situation is really dangerous right now. I promise you one thing, Iroha. When the time to save Ririna comes, you’ll be the first one to know.” Yeah… That doesn’t make me feel better…
“Can we really afford to take things slowly? Something bad might happen to Ririna while we’re sitting around doing nothing!”
“We can only hope that whatever is making the demons hesitate continues to do so. I wish I could help more, but I can’t put the lives of my people at stake because something bad might happen to one individual. I hope you understand, Iroha.” Bea looked genuinely sorry, and, well… I do understand. She’s the princess of Ebrilyon. Her duties and her goals are different than mine. I don’t want anyone to die because of me if I can avoid it, but if it means saving Ririna, then…
I understand her decision… I understand, but I hate it. I think Carol may have had a point… Bea’s not a bad girl, but right now, I can’t count on her. If I want to save Ririna, it looks like I’m on my own. “I understand. I’ll try not to cause any trouble then.” I briefly bowed and turned to leave.
“Eh? We’re done here? Wait!” Carol was startled by the sudden shift and left Bea’s office after me. Wait for me, Ririna. I’ll find where they’re keeping soon enough.
The doors closed, and Bea was left alone. She let the tension escape her body and sat down sloppily. “That wasn’t the look of somebody who’s going to stay out of trouble… *Sigh…*”