As the investigation team walked down the paved highway cutting through the wilderness, they couldn’t contain their surprise.
“It’s real...” one murmured.
“How the hell was that wall built in just a year?” asked another.
“And the road, look at the road! It would’ve taken decades to make something like this!”
They had been skeptical until now, but what they saw was beyond their wildest imagination.
“Lord Luke did all this?”
“So Dant was lying...”
“He hid this whole city from us. We have to tell Lord Raoul immediately!”
The most senior operative stepped forward. “I’ll stay behind to gather intel on the city’s layout and military strength. The rest of you, report back to Lord Raoul at the capital.”
He was an experienced spy who had infiltrated enemy territory more times than anyone could count. He’d also provided critical intel that helped House Arvale rise to dominance.
And he’d even carried out the occasional assassination.
Looks like I’ll need to dirty my hands again.
The rest of the team didn’t know it, but he’d received those orders from Raoul himself.
“Be careful out there.”
“Ha. Who do you think I am? I’ve been in far more dangerous situations than this.”
The rest of the group split off to start their journey back, leaving the other to investigate the town. But then, the ground suddenly yawned open beneath their feet.
“Huh?!”
The entire group plummeted into darkness before they even knew what happened.
“Arghhh!”
“Owww!”
“Oof!”
They hit the hard ground with a loud thud. Luckily, they hadn’t fallen far. A few were banged up, but it wasn’t anything serious.
Still, the shock of it left them rattled. It took them a few moments to gather their wits.
“Where...are we?”
“A-A jail cell?”
Although they couldn’t explain how they’d gotten there, they’d somehow ended up in a cell. Thick stone walls surrounded them on three sides, with an iron gate closing them in from the front. A long underground corridor stretched into the distance beyond it. It didn’t look like anything they’d ever seen before.
One moment, they’d been walking across open terrain; the next, they were falling into a pit. Now, they were trapped inside some mysterious underground jail cell...
Needless to say, they were completely baffled.
Then things took a turn for the worse as the jail cell started to quake.
Rrrrummble...
“I-It’s moving!”
“What the hell’s going on?!”
“Mommyyyy!”
It was beyond belief. Speechless, all they could do was tremble in fear. When the cell came to a slow stop, they let out a sigh, but their relief didn’t last long.
An ominous cackling echoed somewhere beyond the bars, and then a little old lady stepped into view.
“Heh heh heh! Welcome, boys.”
“Huh?!”
She was small and frail, yet her sheer presence sent a chill down their spines. One man even shivered.
“Wh-Who the hell are you?! What are you planning on doing to us?!”
“Heh heh... Now, now, boys. Before I answer, I’d like you to tell me something. What did you come here for, hm?”
“Eep!”
A cruel smile crawled across her wrinkly face, oozing with sadistic glee. Even the most seasoned spy couldn’t stop his face from twitching. He knew in his gut that the old hag was seriously dangerous.
✦ ✦ ✦
A group of refugees approached the village, but my map function immediately let me know that they were just wolves in sheep’s clothing. They showed up as a cluster of red dots.
Enemies.
I used the map’s customization function to create a tunnel directly beneath them and dropped them straight into a jail cell with an open ceiling. As soon as they fell, I sealed the opening, then relocated the cell closer to the village.
It didn’t take long for Granny to drag the truth out of them.
“So they really were Lord Raoul’s agents,” Myria said coldly afterward.
“Are you sure it’s okay to do this?” I asked hesitantly.
“‘Okay’?! According to the intel Granny wrung out of them, one was given orders to assassinate you, Lord Luke!”
“Exactly! They didn’t come here to play nice!” Seren snapped.
Well, I couldn’t argue with that.
It’s not like I’d been trying to pick a fight with Raoul, but I couldn’t turn a blind eye after this.