6-3 Part 2
Rescue Operation
— Retrieve the Alchemist Durin —
Translator : PolterGlast
I didn't say it was a disguise. It's merely a costume. I put
on a butler's livery, an exaggerated mustache that covers my cheeks down to my
mouth and entire chin, and just plain non-prescription glasses.
Furthermore, if I slick back my hair with styling oil, I'm
probably a different person. Probably.
"It’s about time I
should go to town soon. However, are you really going alone—"
"You're persistent. I leave that side to you."
Come to think of it, if I met my sister face-to-face, it
would be a hassle to calm her down each time. So, I decided to infiltrate the Detached
Palace myself while Jii went to
call her.
It was already late at night. Right now, it would be easy to
sneak in, and even if I snatch Dulin back, I can delay being
discovered until morning. Cutting off the
conversation with Jii halfway, I
used the lakeside underground tunnel to sneak into the stronghold of evil.
Now then, sorry Auntie, but I took the liberty of carving
out the floor from below. Few people place their living spaces in a damp
basement. Luckily, the place I connected to was an underground warehouse.
Lifting the floor from the bottom, the mole slipped into the
warehouse. I immediately returned the removed floorboard to its original place,
then carefully crept out of the warehouse to search for Dulin.
I have absolutely no intention of losing to the guards, but
being discovered lowers the success rate of the escape. Using the night vision
provided by the Dragon Eye, I searched for Dulin's confinement
location in the darkness. It seems there are no patrols in the
basement.
Before long, I found a suspicious room. Is it what you'd
call a communal cell? Beyond the locked iron bars were a guard soldier and a door
and small window that looked a bit too neat for a warehouse.
I want to know what's inside. I checked to see if it was
indeed Dulin locked in there, and if there were any other guards inside.
The guard seemed fed up with this dark, damp workplace. He looked tired and
spaced out. Not long after, I heard it.
"F-Fweeh... I dun wanna stay here anymore, pwease let
me out... I'll cwose the shop in the capital... I just wanna go home... I hate
this scawy pwace, help me, Big Sister... Firefly-shan..."
This distinctive way of speaking, it is undoubtedly Dulin
Andvaranaut. I struggled to suppress the urge to jump out and save her
right now.
"Shut up, stop sniveling! No one's coming to save you,
so give it up!"
"Hii-ih?! I-I'm sowwy... No, please don't yell..."
The guard is irritated. I'll save her immediately. I
retraced my path while counting my steps from there,
and descended from the warehouse back into the underground tunnel. Then, using
a small gardening scoop, I repaired the hollowed-out ground
from below.
With this, even if the jailbreak is discovered, not even a
trace will be found from the surface. This seems to be the power of Scoop LV 1.
Next is re-construction. I dug the underground passage
according to the number of steps I memorized. Beneath the path I had just
walked, I built a new path.
If my calculations are correct, I've just passed under the
iron bars and the guard's feet. Then that area should be the bottom of the
communal cell. Detouring in a slope, I connected the surface and the underground,
digging until only a single floor stone separated the two..
Next, I carefully carved out the floor
stone with the Shovel. Then, pressing my ear against it, I
listened to the situation above. Perhaps tired from crying, Dulin's
voice was gone. Still, after waiting carefully for a while, I heard her weak
sigh and the sound of sniffing back tears. There was no presence other than
hers.
"Eh..."
"Quiet. If the guard notices, everything will be
ruined, Dulin Andvaranaut."
"T-That voice... could it be..."
It would be much easier to do tunnel work without them, but
I reluctantly put the contact lenses I received from Father back into my eyes.
Then I slid the cut-out floor to the side and appeared soundlessly on the
surface.
"A-Aah... Firefly, Firefly-shan... It's Firefly-shan...!"
Since it was dark, she didn't notice my costume. Dulin
threw her small body onto the Firefly that appeared, so I hugged her
back to calm her down.
"I'm glad you're safe. I came to save you."
"U-Uuu... I was scawed... Dulin was so
scawed..."
From what I could see, she didn't seem to have been harmed.
The room was dark because the candle on the stand had gone out. Looking around,
there was a bed, a desk, a chair, and even books placed as if telling her to
read to kill time.
"Did the candle go out? Indeed, this is scary."
"Dulin put it out... If it was bright, it was
scawier... So, I made it so... I couldn't see anything..."
"You seem quite shaken. But it's okay now, calm
down."
Just when she thought she was charged with a crime she
didn't remember committing, she was captured in this overly neat communal cell.
She turned off the light because the things she could see were unnatural and
scary. I can understand that feeling.
"It doesn't feel like a dweam... Is this... an illusion
Dulin cweated because she missed Firefly-san...? Mwahhh!"
"W-What are you doing?! Woah!?"
Her lips were approaching, so I tried to push Dulin's
head away out of necessity. Then, perhaps any part was fine, she planted a wet
kiss on my neck...
"Ah... It's salty. Oh, this is real..."
"Yeah, it's real. Her Imperial Highness Princess Atomina
is worried too; we're getting out of here quickly."
"Big Sister Atomina...! Y-Yesh...!"
"Quiet, I ask you to be quiet. I want to escape before
the pursuers notice. Also, take the lantern."
When I pushed the lantern onto her and pointed to the escape
route, Dulin reacted naturally. A man who appeared from the ground is
telling her to get into the hole too.
Well, it's only natural.
"Eh, eh? Firefly-shan, did you come fwom here...?"
"Explanations later, is what a book from the other
world would say. It's an escape route, get in quickly."
"Y-Yesh! I will accompany you anywhewe...!"
When Dulin entered the underground tunnel, I
followed. Using the scoop again to conceal the gap, Dulin
and I turned back through the Detached Palace's underground.
Dulin was
silent. Was she surprised by the magical event, unable to find words, or
perhaps just tired? Pulled by the desire to escape, the girl's footsteps were fast.
"Huh... Firefly-shan, there are two paths?"
"Yeah, if you go straight like that, it's
outside."
"Then, what's over there...?"
Dulin held the
lantern toward the opposite path. With that weak light, one could only see the
abyss of darkness no matter how far it went.
"Beyond that, divine punishment awaits. You could say
it's something like the curse of an evil dragon."
"Hawawa?! T-That's scawy... Dulin won't go
there...?"
"Naturally. More importantly, let's hurry. We might be
keeping someone waiting."
"Who is it...?"
"That's a surprise."
Perhaps her energy had returned; from there on, I had to
chase after Dulin's running pace.
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