Humanity's Hero Of Despair

The return to Pedgas Castle is not fun, to put it lightly.

All of us talk to each other in hushed whispers while wearing masks of happiness, just in case we are still being watched. We plan to act normal during dinner with the Grand Duke and pretend we didn't learn anything about the conversation I overheard last night. The sound of the Pedgas Castle gates opening grates on my ears.

It feels like it is touching my very soul. I take a deep breath.

We enter the castle again, and the Grand Duke is standing by the main entrance, waiting to greet us with a friendly smile. Friendly my butt. My friends greet him with a smile, and I do as well. The meal room is already prepared for us to eat dinner.

"So, how was all of your guys' day in Pedgas? Do anything fun?"

The Grand Duke casually asks us as he takes a bite of juicy steak.

We all look at each other, and I decide I would speak up.

"Yeah, we did have a lot of fun! We walked around the city to sightsee, and we also had a fun trip to the Pedgas Museum of Ancient Artifacts. It's fascinating, all the cool things your Grand Duchy has collected and displayed in the museum. You should be very proud of all of it."

The Grand Duke laughs as he seems flattered.

"Thank you, Grand Duke Lotus, for the compliment. It is the work of our great archaeology team, who has, over many decades, collected those artifacts."

We all continue to eat dinner and make small talk. It seems like nothing has changed, though all of us know deep down that something has changed. The Grand Duke stays with us this time throughout the entire dinner. Once we finish, we all wish each other goodnight and head to our bedrooms.

It is not being said, but we all agreed silently that we should think on this overnight and figure out what to do about it in the morning. After all, there is only so much information one can handle in a day. Also, we know the imperial agents will figure out what to do, and they will let us know.

Making any rash moves now would be a very stupid thing to do, I think to myself as I open my bedroom door.

Once my door is closed, I head to my bathroom to take a quick shower. The hot water calms my thoughts and body down. There is no need to overthink things I cannot change right now. I get out and put on my sleep clothes. Then I head to sleep.

The next morning, I wake up. This time, I didn't sleep in the wrong position, but the thoughts of yesterday still weigh me down. My morning routine goes on autopilot as I distract myself from those thoughts. Today, we have to do something about it.

I briefly walk out onto my balcony to get some fresh air.

It is another day of sunshine, and the city looks just as lively as the first time I came out onto the balcony. Then I walk back into my room, throw on my clothes, grab my wands, and head out toward the meal room. It's game time.

Breakfast is normal as usual, and the Grand Duke says he has to leave early as usual. Except this time, he tells us he has to go out for a special reason. The Grand Duke had a new building recently built called the "Pedgas Assembly Building," which is part of the deal he made with the Emperor for standing down as rebels.

The Grand Duke happily explains how the assembly building is meant to show some form of democracy so the citizens of Pedgas can have some control over what goes on in the Grand Duchy.

We let him talk about it until he eventually leaves to visit the building.

We wait about ten minutes after we hear his carriage pull away from the castle just to make sure. The imperial guards are in the room still, so we all tell each other out loud we are going to do our own things as usual around the castle.

We walk out of the meal room and pretend to do our own thing.

I walk into the library and pretend to be interested in a few books. I scan the room and notice a few castle guards around the area. Just as I am about to give up on figuring out how all of us can meet up together without looking suspicious, the guards in the library suddenly fall to the ground softly.

The mysterious figure from before appears out of nowhere and throws back his hood.

"Hey, it's me again. Thanks to you and your information, we were able to infiltrate the castle security. We will guide your friends in here one by one. The castle guards who are stationed by the third floor are the strongest, so we still must be careful. For now, let's group everyone into the library. Wait here."

The imperial agent says as he looks around the library.

I nod my head in response. The imperial agent made zero noise and one hundred percent startled me. Who knew these imperial agents could be so dangerous? I sit at one of the library tables as my friends slowly enter one by one.

Once the imperial agent explains everything, my friends and I start talking about our plan. I cast stealth magic just to be safe so nothing could be heard outside of this room.

The Grand Duke mentioned he isn't going to be back at the castle until late at night, so we have the entire day to retrieve the Elemental Sphere of Earth, pack, and escape from Pedgas back to the Imperial Palace.

We each figure out our roles in the plan. I will be in charge of using my illusion magic to secretly knock out the main guards at the base of the stairs. Then Zephyr and Matteo will follow me for backup. Quillen will follow behind us, making sure there aren't any magic traps, and if there are, knowing how to disable them.

Leena and Neve will be the rear guard in case all the guards find us and call for backup.

This is our plan, which we will execute once we finish packing. Just in case we are found out and have to sprint out of this damn castle.

Only time will tell.