Operation

 

“Well, I was ready to take a bollocking from the Church if you were wrong but it seems we are going to have to do a full scale investigation of the church instead. They got away with it last time but now we have undeniable proof. Tom, You know I would never…” The blonde guy whose name is Tom speaks up for the first time.

 

“I understand Captain. I saw it myself. I have to follow this up. I'll talk to my father when we get back.”

 

“Sorry, also Shaun, this needs to be brought to the Guildmaster straight away. Tell him to come immediately, no questions asked, also make sure he brings an Appraiser.”

 

“Yes sir!” The brown haired man runs off again. 

 

“Tom, Take him to the prison room and make sure he is tied up with ropes, chains and the Magic Sealing Manacles. Have 2 guards posted on him, swords at the ready.” Tom seems surprised at this but does the same as Shaun and leaves the room quickly. “Now as much as I’d like to postpone this operation in light of all this we have to crack on. I'll keep Hank's assignment the same but now I want Talou and Yui on the team with me. Yui do you have any magic?”

 

“Water Magic. Level 1”

 

“That's enough. I can't tell you the whole operation but Talou, You and I will be watching a fellow, once he leaves in a panic and goes to report to someone we are to follow him. You will follow him as close as you can without getting discovered. I'd like for you to stay in Stealth the entire time. Leave behind a trail of water as much as you can, make sure to use a little more when turning corners so we can follow you safely. When he enters a building we will wait for a few minutes so I can signal guards to surround the premises then us three will enter the building killing all of the small fries. I would like to capture the higher up but that's only if it is possible. Don't kill them if you can incapacitate them. That goes for you as well Talou.”

 

“Yes sir.”

 

“And Yui. I'm trusting you on this. Mostly off mine and Talous Intuition but don't mess this up ok.”

 

“As long as bad guys die I'm happy.”

 

“Yea. Just remember to not kill the higher ups ok? Please.”

 

“Nn if I can. I can kill small fry though?”

 

“Yeah. There’s no point in capturing any others.”

 

“I'm good then.”

 

“We'll discuss payment based on your performance but you'll probably end up with the same as Talou, Probably a little more since you sniffed out Evil in the church but that will be confirmed by the king.” What's a king? “Alright. We only have a little while before we need to get started so you can take the room next to Talou to get cleaned up and get rid of all that blood. Talou show her the way.”

 

I look down at my clothes and it seems he is right. There is way too much blood on my new armor and clothes. I usually wouldn't mind but it is brand new.

After getting led to a room that only has a small bed, a desk and a bucket of water, I cleaned my clothes with a cloth Talou gave me. Although he panicked when he came in to give it to me. I had just taken off my clothes to start cleaning them so I couldn't help him with whatever it was but I'll ask when we head out.

 

Having gotten cleaned and ready I headed over to Talous' room to see that he had also taken his clothes off to start getting ready along with Hank. He still seemed panicked and told me to wait outside so I did so. Eventually he opened the door and let me in.

 

“So? What have you been so panicked about since we started getting ready?”

 

“Haaaa?”

 

“Well, when you came to give me the cloth you acted panicked and when I came just now you were panicked so I thought something happened? Is it the bad guys?” Hank buts in here.

 

“Hoooh. You're pretty innocent for an old fart huh.”

 

“Shut up. Not like you're any better. You nearly passed out when she busted in here.”

 

“So? What's the matter?”

 

“Ummm. Did you not feel anything at all when I saw you naked?”

 

“Was I supposed to? Is there something wrong with my body? I heard that wings aren't usually on Foxkin. Are you talking about that?”

 

“Sorry, I don't know anything about Beastkin but usually girls would be a little more embarrassed about showing their body.” I think about it for a second before putting my hands above my skirt and saying

 

“kyaaaa?... Like that?”

 

“I guess?”

 

“I did what you did… Did I do it wrong?”

 

“No… Just… Nevermind. There’s nothing wrong with your body anyway. Just ignore it. We should probably get going.” Talou looks away from me but for some reason Hank backs him up.

 

“He’s right! There is absolutely nothing wrong with your body! In fact, I think it's awesome! Especially the wings!”

 

“Oh. Cool. I like Talous’ hair and I like that your so forgettable Hank. It's mysterious how you seem to just blend into a room and people just forget about you. I can only ever tell your in a room if I'm concentrating or you say something, otherwise I'll completely forget you exist!!”

 

“Talou!” Hank seems to have tears in his eyes and turns to Talou.

 

“She’s saying it as a compliment, Hank.” He pats Hanks back for some reason. I don't get it. Should I have tears when someone compliments me? “Anyway let's go meet up with the squad.”

 

I follow Talou until he leads us into a room filled with people. We wait there for a few minutes until the Captain comes in and starts talking loudly.

 

“Alright folks. You each know your part of the plan. I have gotten all of the guards out tonight so when you're finished with your part send one of your team to find the guards and they’ll do the rest. Stick around until I call you back. Good luck men.” I don't know why but I was expecting a little more, the atmosphere seemed to call for a little more as well but everyone ended up filing out. Talou whispers to me. 

 

“He has never been great at speeches. It's usually the Vice Captain who does those but he's gone ahead.” I don't get it but I kind of do after that display.

 

I follow Talou and he leads us to another room where the Captain joins us and Hank leaves us then the Captain leads us outside. After a few minutes he says. “Time to be stealthy boys… I mean everyone...” Both of their presences get thin and I have trouble perceiving them. I activate Stealth and follow them along, I’m struggling to perceive them so I make it a little easier.

 

<Presence Detection Skill upgraded to Level 4, 1 Point spent, 4 Points remaining>

 

Hmmmm. Now I’m not struggling to detect them but I feel if I lost them once I would have trouble finding them again. Eventually we entered a small shack with a bunch of wood stacked up.

 

“Were here. Can you guys see that fellow there on the bench?” The Captain points us toward a fellow who is dressed like a Civilian but he has pure black hair, sharp features and is way too clean to be a Civilian. I nod along with Talou. “We wait and watch him…” The Captain then looks at me. “By the way, weren't you way too good with your Stealth just then. I completely lost you. Almost thought you ran off.”

 

“Hmph. Wouldn't run off from killing bad guys.”

 

“Yeah I know. I just forgot to give you this.” He hands me a small crystal. I Analyze it but it just says it's for storing Magic. I tilt my head and look back to the Captain but Talou explains.

 

“It's for use in Stealth missions. If you have several of the same magic crystal with the same magic inside, it helps perceive the others’ location. Speaking of which, you followed along perfectly even though me and the Captain were using Stealth at full blast. You have really good senses.”

 

“Nnn.” I point at the Fox ears on top of my head. “Enhanced Perception.” Oh shit, that's right. That's why I could hear those guys' conversation from further than usual earlier. “Although I did almost lose you a bunch at the start, I got used to it. I also think I'll decline using the crystal. I'm happy with the water method we discussed earlier.”

 

“If you can sense us, that's fine. Now we keep quiet and watch that fellow there. When he takes off, Stick to the plan, Follow him as close as you can and leave a trail for us. If we can't perceive you following us I think it'll be worse for them.” I nod and then we quiet down, just watching this fellow laze about.

 

Eventually we see a bunch of guards jog past us, break open a gate to a house nearby and swarm in. That's when the fellow we have been watching casually walks off.

 

“Go.”