Chapter 29 – Guild Operations

“Now, now, everyone, please quiet down.”

This is the branch of The Double Winged Sword that is situated in the Royal Capital of Rulan Kingdom.

On the first-floor hall of the said guild, most of the available guild members were now gathered.

Standing on the improvised stage in front of the hall, was a beautiful woman with flaxen hair and chestnut-colored eyes called Elaine Hughner, who also goes by the second name, The Smiling Gun Princess.

In response, not even one voice was raised. Seemingly satisfied that everyone had quieted down, Elaine nodded and went to the back, while a man rose to the stage.

Golden eyes peeked from under the fine, brown hair. The name of the slightly hunched man was Kamina Roulans.

This person was also one of the Two-Name Holders, The Ingenious General.

“Yesterday, there was a notice from Jin-sama. Five infantry, three cavalries, two militia, two magic specialization units, one central security unit, two supply units… A total of fifteen units. Nine units other than the Central Military Guard, Cavalry, and Supply Units are assigned to me.”

“The member assignments will be the same as before. As for the commanders of each group, please confirm your roles again until Rulan Kingdom comes to meet us.”

“Aside from that, be prepared to head out with Elaine. Good luck!”

“I think it’s fine, but just to be sure, I will now confirm the flow of the plan. First, those who will be going to help Rulan Kingdom with Jin-sama, and proceed to Rideiran Kingdom, please raise your hands.”

Half of the people present raised their hands at Elaine’s instruction.

“Yes, that’s good. As I said earlier, those who have raised their hands now will join Jin-sama and the army of Rulan Kingdom and fight to capture Rideiran Kingdom. Each of the 9 units will be divided into 4 to 5 members each. I will inform you of your assignments later. Member requests will go here, so after you have been divided into each unit, please prepare for the final stage of the operation according to the instructions of your commanders.”

“By the way, my team, the 2nd Strike Force. If something happens, report it to me, okay?”

Those who raised their hands earlier nod to Kamina, who raised his small hand and waved.

“As for the remaining people, until the time comes, you and I will be on standby with the Master on the Shield’s Perch ship.”

“Lady Sylti and the others will let the Saintess finish the purification of the tainted lands. By that time, Rulan Kingdom will have already taken control of Rideiran Kingdom.”

A young man wearing glasses who possessed rust-colored hair and similarly colored eyes announced that he would be going on the stage after briefly bowing.

“Illusa-sama. You arrived late yesterday, so I was wondering if you would be resting today.”

“Master is still resting, but I’m fine if I can sleep for 3 hours.”

“Don’t force yourself, okay?”

“Don’t worry. Now then, shall I give you a progress report of the plan?”

With a thud, the stack of papers in Illusa’s hand made a loud noise.

“Lady Sylti and Alhart have joined up with Yuto-dono, and are now heading to the 3rd purification site. The lands requiring purification are down to 3 places, and, if it goes smoothly, the journey to purify the tainted lands will end in less than 4 months. Their last destination is Manrinia as originally planned. From there, they are scheduled to join up with Miss Clarina and make preparations for the last time.”

Everyone nodded in unison and listened as Illusa read the contents of the report from the stack of papers on his hand.

The papers were dropped to the floor after their contents were read aloud, while a type of magic that produced a small, crackling fire on the side burned the dropped documents.

“Next are Miss Clarina and Rain who went to Rideiran Kingdom to prevent the spread of damages caused by the demons. As scheduled, they have gone to Manrinia to finish the demon subjugation first. Miss Clarina’s familiar, Myra-sama, had also erected a barrier that would suppress the progression of the taint and the reappearance of demons. Miss Clarina is also going around other towns and villages to put up barriers, so it is safe to assume that demons will rarely appear except for the tainted lands. Rain is on standby near Manrinia, and is waiting for the allies inside Rideiran Kingdom to assemble.”

After seeing the last piece of paper burn with a crackle, Illusa surveyed the room.

“Everything up to this point is going extremely well…… but, what’s important right now is what’s going to happen from now on. Has everyone memorized the plan by heart?”

A variety of answers to Illusa’s question sprung up from the members.

Illusa nodded, once again brought a fresh stack of papers out of nowhere, and started reading.

“I will confirm just in case. Miss Elaine has mentioned this earlier, but those who will be working with Jin-sama and Kamina in cooperation with Rulan Kingdom’s army, please work properly with Rulan Kingdom as allies until Rideiran Kingdom is captured. Please standby and wait for Jin-sama’s instructions after gaining control of the Kingdom. When instructed, please immediately disable Rulan Kingdom’s soldiers according to your unit commanders. The rest of you who will go with Miss Elaine, Master, and I, will stay on standby in The Shield’s Perch Headquarter Ship for a while. We will also move as soon as Jin-sama’s instructions are received.

First, all 4 members assigned to each unit must head for the dismounted cavalry troops and supply units and take control. I think that the members of those units will be communicating in advance, so be vigilant. Jin-sama will keep the Central Guard unit silent for a while, so please complete the subjugation during that time.

All unit commanders have been handed magic circles for Magic Vision, so as soon as each unit completes the capture, please report to Jin-sama immediately. This will serve as a signal to Jin-sama and Lady Syltina to make the finishing touches.”

With a loud rustle, the stack of papers were thrown carelessly, shredded, and fluttered throughout the hall.

“For the remaining group on standby, please control the allies who have joined, along with Manrinia. That said, I don’t think it’s a big deal since there are no residents in Manrinia as it is a tainted land.”

With a snap of his fingers, the fluttering pieces of paper suddenly burned up and disappeared.

“Some of our allies will still be in Rideiran Kingdom until the final stage, so please be careful not to accidentally attack them.”

Just as Illusa was about to conclude his report, a small piece of paper suddenly leaps out in front of him.

The paper, which contained drawn geometric patterns, faced image side up and ran parallel to the floor as it floated by Illusa’s feet.

_______________________________________

(( )) —> the double parentheses in Syltina’s dialogue depict her talking to Elaine and the others through Magic Vision.

__________________________________

((Ah, great! It connected properly!))

A life-sized Syltina appeared above the shining pattern and sighed with relief.

It was as if the person herself appeared out of nowhere, but Syltina’s background was see-through so it was evident that it was not the real thing.

This was called Magic Vision, produced by image transmission magic.

“Syltina-sama, what happened to you? You used to write letters up until now.”

((Elaine! Long time no see. No, Al completely forgot all about the magic circle used for Magic Vision.))

“That person, really……”

“So that’s why you’ve been writing letters, right? I was wondering why you couldn’t use Magic Vision. Syltina-sama went there shortly after the previous mission, so I was not able to hand the magic circle over in time and handed it to Alhart-sama instead. Looks like I chose the wrong person, huh?”

((Yeah. I heard that the periodic reports were going to be done with Magic Vision, and I thought it was strange, but Al said nothing either, so I wondered if it was only us who sent the reports through letters. I’m glad that Yuto taught me. If I had done it poorly, then, we would’ve been stuck with writing letters until the end. Since, neither Al nor I can draw Magic Circles……))

“So you were just confirming if you properly activated the Magic Circle?”

((Yes. Additionally, please think of this as a report as well. Ummm…tomorrow, we will be arriving at the next destination for the purification. If it finishes without a hitch tomorrow, we will have only 2 places left. Manrinia will go last, so we will be heading to another location, but it’s a bit far……from our destination tomorrow to the next area, it will take about close to a month, and from there, it will take 2 months to reach Manrinia. Yeah, well, I’ve written it on my letter as well, but I think we will be finished in 4 months.))

“I see.”

((It seems Rulan Kingdom hasn’t informed their citizens about raising an army yet. It looks like the Kingdom has laid out a gag order. Well, I think that the people wouldn’t keep silent if they were invaded by demons and by other countries, but now it’s not a problem that can be managed by diplomacy anymore, and sooner or later they will find out…… There is a world of difference between being informed beforehand and being informed after the act, but I wonder if you can understand that? Well, it doesn’t really matter. Anyway, if things go public, we’ll make sure it doesn’t reach the Saintess’ ears. If it’s executed poorly, I don’t really want to deal with strange volunteers and weird demonstrations, you know?))

“Please do. Miss Clarina wants to talk to the Saintess, so I will be troubled if she dies in the middle of it.”

((Well, if that’s the case, then Yuto is doing a good job of making the Saintess move. Looks like they’re back. Things are going smoothly from this side though, so I’m leaving that side to you.))

“Understood. Be careful.”

((You, too!))

The paper with the magic circle dropped to the floor the same time as Syltina’s image vanished.

“Now, everyone, please go ahead and make your preparations. This branch will also be destroyed after we leave, so please don’t forget anything. Commanders from each unit, please remain in the hall.”

The people gathered at the hall started moving at Elaine’s words.

“Well then. It’s showtime.”

“Yes.”

Illusa and Kamina talked next to Elaine, who gave instructions to the commander who remained.

“Do you think this plan of taking over two countries will work?”

“Can. If not, no meaning.”

“That’s right.”

“Jin-sama made it, it’s fine. If not, we don’t, get on.”

“Right? We’re not stupid enough to lend our power to things that aren’t guaranteed to work. That Jin-sama is really serious, and we, who are the Two-Name Holders, are fully cooperating. We’ll make the impossible, possible as they say.”

“Yes.”

3 days after that, a messenger from Rulan Kingdom visited the branch with a message that they would be joining with the Royal Army, and 5 days later, the mercenary guild, The Double Winged Sword’s branch in the Royal Capital of Rulan Kingdom, disappeared without a trace.