Darkness turned to dawn, and by around 6 a.m. the Darleys were bathed in the gentle glow of the morning sun.
“We just had a messenger from Vesta’s group—they’ve caught the fifth spy. He was hiding in the caves overnight, and they couldn’t locate him until he tried to escape just before dawn...” Kate said, sighing. “Ideally, I wanted to have this finished by last night, but luck just wasn’t on our side. They’re on their way back now.”
Leo nodded. “Well, it did give us ample time to get things underway on our end at least. If anything, the delay was probably for the best.”
Kate smiled. “True—we wouldn’t have had any excuse to leave this stronghold after capturing the last target, would we? Master Godolphen would have found it suspicious if we weren’t using the remaining time to strengthen our fortifications here.”
They didn’t have to wait very long for Vesta’s team to appear with the spy (as indicated by the number “5” on his bib) in tow. Vesta entered the ruins alone, leaving his classmates and their captive outside the log fence. “Master Godolphen’s waiting outside,” he explained, before returning to join his team. Kate and Leo—and their respective teams—quickly followed, emerging to see their teacher in what seemed to be an extremely good mood.
“Well done, well done! I was watching you all quite closely throughout, and once again I was astonished by your most excellent teamwork. Indeed, you have surprised me time and time again in recent days. I must admit, I never imagined you’d be able to conquer my scenarios so easily. Now, there is someone I would like to introduce you to... Ah, but it seems a few of your classmates are yet to return?”
“Oh, Fey and Jewel went to retrieve Allen a little while ago, Master Godolphen. We had to send him to keep an eye on the old mountain path, just in case— Speaking of which, here they come now... What in the world are they dragging behind them?”
✦ ✦ ✦
“Who do we have here, then?” Godolphen asked, suspicious.
I shrugged. “No idea, really—just some random thugs who tried to kill me for no reason. I thought I should probably apprehend them, because it seemed like they were trying to flee over the border. I told you guys solo missions were dangerous, didn’t I?! Hopefully next time you’ll remember that loneliness can be fatal!” I proceed to recount the events of my solo mission in slightly more detail, though I omitted any parts relating to my new array of pharmaceuticals.
Godolphen frowned. “This rather unique attire is the same as that worn by military scouts from the Cucola City Federation’s forces... Hmph. Our nations have long held a mutually beneficial relationship, without any hint of hostility... But perhaps that relationship has changed, unbeknownst to me?” He paused, staring at the three men as though waiting for confirmation or correction. After a few seconds passed without either, Godolphen let out an ominous chuckle. “Oh? Very few have ever ignored Godolphen von Vanquish...” There was violence in his eyes now. “And even fewer have lived to regret it!”
Godolphen’s intimidating aura would have normally elicited at least a few screams by this point, but to the geezer’s obvious surprise, the spies remained silent. My classmates (who by this point were somewhat accustomed to Godolphen’s temper tantrums) were similarly unruffled.
Being the only one who knew the truth (well, the only one who also wasn’t currently paralyzed), it unfortunately fell to me to step in before things got out of hand. “Unbelievably, all three of them somehow ended up getting stung by some kind of insect during the fight, which is why they can’t move at the moment. Honestly, I would have preferred if they hadn’t—at least then I would have had someone to talk to while sitting all alone out there...” I sighed. “I’ll go grab an antidote.” The first antidote I’d administered—quickly whipped up with the ingredients I’d had on hand—hadn’t done anything to counteract the effects of the sedative, which had apparently been stronger than I’d initially thought.
“Er... Aren’t scouts meant to be a little more observant?” someone muttered dubiously as I vanished into the ruins.