Chapter 711 – Port City and Sea

000

Arnia, wearing a robe with a black cape, departed from Asteris following the direction indicated by the black magatama in her hand, and after traveling for several hours, she arrived at a city.

Eratus, a port city located far east from Asteris, at the eastern tip of the continent.

It was also the territory where Fleur, who is currently staying in Asteris, was the lord.

While the capital was bustling with preparations for the Eastern country’s largest festival, Eratus was also as lively as the capital, perhaps due to the large number of people from neighboring countries coming to the Eastern country using the sea route or sailors carrying supplies. .

[Is this the correct location where the maggot is pointing?]

When Cleon’s voice was heard from the small bird-shaped familiar riding on Arnia’s shoulder, Arnia nodded and looked at the magatama that was tied to her wrist to prevent it from being lost.

The compass of magic flowing from inside the magatama was still pointing to the deeper part of Eratus – towards the dock.

[It would be better to tell Fleur later…]

And, on top of the bird-shaped familiar, a smaller butterfly-shaped familiar was riding on top, and Lila’s voice came out from there.

Naturally, that butterfly was Lila’s familiar.

[Now that I think about it, you don’t know where you are? Didn’t you go in and out of that base first?]

“I’m sorry, but when I go in and out, I always use transfer magic. Therefore, the information of the physical path is not entered in me.”

[How secrecy is it that they don’t even leave information to the automata they operate… Well, I like it. If that’s the case, I have no choice but to run around and find it myself.]

“Yes, but before that.”

Arnia turned her head and looked around her.

[What’s wrong?]

＂I checked the biological reactions that have been following me since I left Asteris. It looks like they’re hiding their presence right now, but can you check there first?”

[… That can’t be right…]

[Ah, please.]

At the same time as Lila said something that seemed to indicate something, Cleon decided that it would be a good idea to check in order to prevent a situation where the Exiled Church’s pursuers were targeting them.

“Check. Track and subdue the target.”

[For a moment! It’s a bit difficult to suppress, but first, it’s better to meet and talk…]

[Story? That doesn’t sound like Laila…?]

Cleon tilted his head at Lila’s words, raising her voice in embarrassment, while Arnia quickly moved her body.

“Let’s test the new weapon Lila equipped us with.”

[I guess she didn’t say she was going to suppress it because she wanted to quickly test that new weapon…?]

As the lenses on her eyes scanned her surroundings, repeatedly zooming in and out, Arnia’s eyes finally looked towards the direction where she seemed to have found something, and then jumped high.

Passersby on the street screamed in surprise at Arnia’s sudden action, but she seemed not to care and jumped onto the rooftop of the building right next to her.

Then, there was definitely a figure wearing a black blanket and a hat standing there, panicking when she saw Arnia jumping towards her.

＂Sleep…＂

The moment she was about to say something to Arnia, the silver threads sticking out from both of her wrists stretched out with a sharp sound cutting through the air, and she flew towards the suspicious human.

The electric power flowing from Arnia’s body passed through that thread, and it was an excellent suppressive weapon that had the function of both tying up and paralyzing her target.

The person being attacked pulls out the sword hanging from his waist and tries to block the wire.

[Wait, stop, Arnia!]

However, Cleon must have realized who she was trying to attack and quickly ordered Arnia to stop through her familiar.

Then, Arnia, who puts her commanding officer’s orders first, immediately stops her attack, retrieves her wire that was about to extend, and returns to her default posture.

“Stop the attack.”

Even though her human body could not endure the inertia, her machine body made it possible for her to instantly attach her subordinates on her own and prioritize the execution of her orders, so fortunately, her wire attack hit the target.

[See… I said it would be better if I didn’t subdue it, right?]

[… It’s just as Lila said, but I never thought he would follow me…]

As the conversation between Lila and Cleon took place, the blanket human wearing a hat was slowly lifting the hat on his head and looking in this direction.

Although she was wearing a mask over her mouth, I could tell who she was just by the glimpse of her eyes between her bangs and the mask, and her flowing hair.

“Sorry. As expected, I can’t sit still…”

As she swept down her mask, unable to hide her apologetic expression, she was Aine, the eldest daughter of the three Bangui sisters.

[For some reason, I thought it was quiet. They might come to ask how the operation is going…]

When Laila said that while sighing, Aine lowered her head and looked as if she had nothing to say.

Originally, it was said that it would be advisable for her to wait in Asteris and act once she heard the results of Arnia’s reconnaissance.

I thought she gave up obediently, but maybe she couldn’t hold back?

[What? If you’ve gone that far, what’s the point of asking me to come back now… Why don’t we just end up like this and cooperate with Arnia?]

＂Because this operation has the nature of an infiltration operation, the more people there are, the more likely it is that we will be discovered. In my personal opinion, I do not recommend it.”

Arnia says so in response to Cleon’s words, but Laila seems to think about it for a moment and then speaks as if she has no choice.

[I can’t help it. As Cleon said, go with Arnia for now. What we are looking for is Mr. Quartz, so if there is a trace of it, you, Aine, will notice it better than us.]

“Thank you, Lila. I will not let it hold me back.”

Arnia looked at Aine for a moment as she bowed her head deeply toward Laila’s familiar and expressed her gratitude, then lifted the magatama in her hand.

“The magatama is facing the dock. It’s my first time at this place. Do you know something?”

“… I have visited Eratus a few times on missions, but I don’t know much about the details… However, I do know that you can go to the Descartes family mansion through the docks.”

[That’s right. Fleur’s house is at the bottom of the sea. Did you say it was made using ancient technology discovered by returnees…]

After hearing Cleon’s words, Arnia seemed to think about something for a moment, and then she spoke to Aine.

“Please follow me? I thought it was strange that the distance indicated by the magatama was much farther from here than the dock… But maybe we need to rent a boat.”

＂… A boat?＂

Arnia nodded her head in return, and then she held out her hand.

＂Do you have any money?＂

＂… There is, there is…”

Aine is shocked and speechless when Arnia suddenly asks her if she has money, as if she is trying to extort money from her, but Laila’s familiar lowers her head.

[Sorry… I didn’t know I would need money… I’ll pay you back when I get back]

“Oh, no. Even though you are helping me like this, I can’t do that.”

Aine immediately stops Lila from doing so, saying that it is natural for a person to repay her favor.
She was saying something quite right.

And the two people came down from the rooftop and headed to the dock.

001

＂Uhm. I’m sorry, but there are no boats you can rent with that money right now. As you know, because of the Five Elements Festival, the number of ships going to Asteris has increased. The small boats parked at the dock were put aside for a while.”

＂… Is that so… ＂

When Aine showed the money in her hand, the staff managing her dock shook her head with a puzzled look.

Then, as Aine dropped her shoulders and returned to her side, Arnia looked at her face and spoke.

“We recognized expressions of disappointment 38%, shame 22%, and self-destruction 40% on the subject’s face. The bottom line is that she failed to rent a boat.”

[Shh, shush…]

When Cleon stops Arnia, who speaks so ignorantly of people’s feelings, Aine bows her waist again and speaks.

“I’m sorry… I’m not usually the type to carry that much money around…”

[No need to apologize! Who knew you would suddenly need a boat?]

[That’s right, it’s not your fault.]

As I felt the comfort of Cleon and Lila seeping into my heart, I had to think about what to do now.

As expected, when they took out the magatama again, the tracking magic pointed a little further away from the dock – toward the sea on the east side of the continent, forcing the two people to use the waterway as a means of transportation.

Even though Arnia and Aine are not ordinary humans but automata and half-ghosts, swimming would be close to suicide.

＂Shall I steal it?＂

When Arnia said that and turned her gaze, there were several huge ships standing there.

They were probably carrying luggage while waiting for the departure time, and most of them, following the modern trend, were ships that automatically sailed using wind spirit stones, so most of them did not require rowing.

＂Oh, no…＂

Of course, since there were many flags other than those of eastern countries, if done incorrectly, it could turn into an international problem, and stealing a ship itself is also a crime, so Aine said in a trembling voice that there is no such thing as human ethics. It is to dry arnia that does not grow.

“I thought it was efficient.”

[I don’t think it’s a question of efficiency or inefficiency…]

Cleon sighs as he says that and then talks to the two people.

[What do you want to do? First, returning to Asteris and returning with enough military funds to rent a ship…]

[I think it will take too much time…]

“This is what happened, I pledged the sword I had as collateral…”

[What are you going to do in a battle situation…?]

“If stealing the ship doesn’t work, let’s try stealing the funds.”

[So, for now, get rid of the idea of ​​stealing!]

It’s been several minutes since the situation hasn’t progressed, and I haven’t come up with any worthwhile ideas.

At that time, Arnia saw nobles who seemed to be from another country being led by people into a dark building that looked like a warehouse.

“Question. Nobles from other countries are entering buildings like that.”

When Arnia says that and raises her finger, the eyes of the two familiars and Aine also turn in that direction.

“Ah. That is…”

Aine looked at him and nodded as if she knew. She was about to say something, but then closed her mouth for a moment.

[Aine?]

When Cleon asks what’s wrong with her change, she stays still, pulls out her own sword and scabbard from her waist, and hands them to Arnia, who was standing next to her.

And, if you remove the memorization and other weapons that were hidden in her thighs and place them all on the ground, you will say that to Arnia.

“Could you take care of these for a moment?”

＂What should I do? Master?”

[It doesn’t matter… But what are you trying to do?]

Aine was talking to her companions with a not-so-bright expression as she closed and opened her eyes.

＂… I will seek funds.＂

[Eh. Didn’t you just look at that warehouse-like building and talk about it?]

[… It looks suspicious no matter where I look, I guess it’s a child…]

When the two familiars voice concern, Aine answers the group with a bitter smile.

＂… If it’s for Quartz, I… I wouldn’t waste this body. ＂

[Wait…!]

Even Lila seemed to have sensed her intention and raised her voice to stop her, but Aine ran into the room where her nobles entered without even looking back.

A little while later, about 20 minutes later, when Aine returned, she returned with a bag full of gold coins bigger than her head, filled with the most valuable coins from the Eastern Kingdom.

While Cleon and Lila were speechless while looking at it, Arnia lifted a piece of it and moved her eyes to check it.

＂… Confirmed. Everything is genuine.”

“Did you think it was fake…”

When Aine talks while looking like she’s going too far, Arnia answers.

“It was hard to believe that we could secure this much money in such a short period of time.”

[… I understand Aine’s determination. Who would have thought that she would go so far as to throw away her own body…]

When Lila spoke in a somewhat resentful voice, Aine shook her head.

“No. It wasn’t that difficult. It’s been a specialty for a long time.”

[Specialty from long ago!? Ah, Aine, wasn’t this your first time with Cleon!?]

[Wait a minute, Lila, you can’t say that in a place like this…!]

When Lila is shocked and Cleon’s voice is loud to stop her, Aine listens to Lila’s story and closes her mouth for a moment, then raises her voice and says, ‘Ahh!?’

“Now, just a moment! Laila, you misunderstand! The place I just went to is not that kind of store!”

[Yes, but if there is a place where you can make that much money so quickly…]

“Gambling…! It’s a gambling place! Illegal gambling house! Didn’t you say that you came once before on a mission? This is the place I saw at that time.”

＂Gambling… That is, gambling with money?＂

When Arnia narrowed her eyes and spoke, Aine nodded her head as if she was a little embarrassed and answered as if making excuses.

“Originally, it would have been right to crack down on it, but Mr. Quartz told us to just leave it alone. What they have to do is cut down the ghosts that attack humans. Human work can be left to officials.”

[What was that? But since it has been a specialty for a long time, I never would have guessed that Aine was a gambler…]

“Oh, no, my specialty is games that are used for gambling. Because you can’t lose if you read the opponent’s gaze, breathing, and the cards reflected in the eyes…”

[… I see…]

From now on, Cleon and Lila thought it would be best not to play that type of game with her.

“This should be enough to rent a boat of appropriate size. Let’s use it to go to the sea.”

002

The boat the two rented was literally a small boat of an appropriate size.

Since I had no intention of going out to sea anyway, I didn’t need a ship that big, and as long as it had a sail, I could use the wind spirit stone to go.

＂It’s here. Please stop the spirit stone.”

And, Arnia raises her voice to stop the moving ship.

“… There’s nothing.”

However, when they look around, all they can see is the dock where they started and the vast sea.

With only the sound of her beat resonating, when Aine raises her voice with her doubts, Arnia shows her a magatama to guide them.

She stopped pointing the magatama she was holding in her hand in front of her, and started pointing downwards at herself.

“… Under? Are you talking about being in the sea?”

“I guess so. The base of the Exiled Church is an underwater base… And the entrance is a place that can only be moved through magic.”

As Arnia spoke, Aine put on a dazed expression and leaned out of her boat to look at the bottom of the water.

On the other side of the blue shining sea, there was nothing to be seen.