NOVEL NEXT Chapter 33: Counter Rebellion
"R666, you are a noble, right? You have been invited to a tea party, right?" R25B asked me in the middle of the night. Well, not exactly the middle of the night, but his timing annoyed me. I was about to doze off.
"Hm? So?"
"I want you to go to the castle tomorrow."
"Ugh… I don't wanna…" I whined. Facing that prince was such a chore. Moreover, I was tired from sneaking around all night for a week.
"R666, this is a serious matter. If this mission is successful, your reward could go up to 50 points. Bring a recorder with you."
"I don't care about rewards… I don't wanna go to the castle! I don't wanna skulk around spying! Let me kill something!" I could almost hear an audible sigh from R25B. But I am tired and bored. This menial work is not worth it. Even when he said 50 points. I am just a child and a mage. Why do I even need that much money?
"Please, R666. You are the only one who has a connection to the royals. We need to get into the castle tomorrow! Pweaseee!!" His childish tone to appease me irked me more. I am not a child. I am an adult on the inside.
"Alright. Alright, stop acting like a baby. I will go there…." He really knew how to butter up people, didn't he? I went to Prince Ludwin the following morning and asked for the tea invitation.
"Eh! You want to go to the second prince's tea party?" Alicia said, astonished.
"Yes!" I chirped. "Prince Ludwin, you said you wanted to invite me yesterday, right? Could I come there now?"
"Of course. My sister has been waiting for you! Please rest assured. You are also invited, Alicia." Ludwin smiled. His smile seemed 40% more genuine than usual. "I shall see you this afternoon. I hope you will enjoy our tea party, Lady Elidranthia. And you too, Alicia.
"As you wish, Your Highness."
"Listen, this phone is not registered with the royal guards. The castle is designed to prevent wind mana from sending information out. That means our communication will be a one-way street," R25B said as I was inside a carriage with Alicia on our way to the castle.
"Your mission is to sneak out from the tea party. Make some excuses, like going to pick flowers or something similar. Afterward, make your way to the underway."
"What's the underway?" I whispered to the card, hidden from Alicia's view. From her perspective, I should only appear to be gazing outside the window, enjoying the scenery.
"The underway is the secret passage royals prepared if there was an emergency. It leads to multiple passages outside."
"Wow, you guys knew that? Isn't that supposed to be a secret?"
"Of course. We even have a complete map of it. No secret could stay secret for hundreds of years. Well, I am afraid our enemy knows it, too. That's the target anyway."
"I see. The enemy will attack us from the passage?"
"No. From our intelligence, it is supposed to be a meeting."
"We don't even know when the meeting will commence. I can't stay there forever!"
"No. Your job is to open the passage. You see, to prevent infiltration from the outside, this underway is locked. You need to unlock it."
"Do you have the key?"
"You do not need one. It's just moving a lever from the other side. These passageways were meant for emergencies. If royals who passed it forgot the keys, they would be screwed. That's why they installed a simple lever instead."
"I see. Then?"
"Then, I will send R663 to your location. He will be the one to wait in the passageway with the recorder for two days. Hopefully, we will find the spy."
"Wow. How clever!" I exclaimed. "Alright! I will do my best!"
"Please do. We all rely on you, R666."
After I superimposed my cartographer tool inside my reaper card with the maps R25B sent me, I breached the castle. First was a welcoming greeting toward the prince and princess. Then, after one or two hours of waiting, I asked for the toilets.
However, big trouble occurred. A guard was escorting me to the toilet and waiting for me. Fortunately, the washroom had small windows, small enough for me to fit through. Using my skills, I jumped through the two-meter ventilation and hopped out, beginning to execute my mission.
I wish I had glasses that sync to my Reaper Card. If I did have them, I would have a HUD display about my whereabouts in this giant castle in real-time. However, since the said glasses cost fifty points, I had to make stops and check through my reaper card's maps.
The underway was not so hidden. I was expecting a magical tool like the one we had in the reaper's HQ, but the underway was located in a kitchen and covered by a door. Just like what R25B told me, after ten minutes of walking through the narrow and branching stone corridor reminiscent of a medieval dungeon, I reached a dead end.
It was a dead end, but R25B already told me how to open it. The wall at the corner here is actually a door. The fifteenth stone from the bottom could be pulled out to reveal a doorknob. Then, you only need to pull the lever inside, and the door could be pushed open.
"!!" I held back a scream as a young man with a scarf over his face greeted me.
"Good work, R666."
"Greetings. Please find the rebels and the spy."
"Of course! Rest assured. God save the King. Long live Althemer Empire." He then performed a military salute. The salute was crude compared to the knights. From that, I knew he was just mimicking the knights. He probably does it for money and merely says that to appease nobles. I smiled nevertheless at his encouraging words.
"May our mission be successful. You and I work in the dark. However, we serve the Light. Our failure will be seen, and our success hidden. Hidden it may be, nonexistent it will not, for it will be felt by many as natural as breathing air and eating bread. It was nice to see a fellow comrade. May God bless us all." I performed a noble curtsy while copying lines from games.
We then parted ways as I returned back to the tea party.
"Son, remember, we are not knights. However, our work is equally important," my father said countless times. We were on the veranda of an inn inside the capital.
"Yes, father. For the Althemer Empire!" I screamed my patriotism.
"Good! See this kingdom? It is not a paradise, but it is the only one we have."
"If only the nobility cared more for us and the mages were not so greedy. We could do far more." I complained.
"That's not right, son. That's not the problem this kingdom has. See there, that's the problem. The small part of it." He pointed toward a lazy husband making his wife do all the work. Then he also pointed toward some scums extorting storeowners.
"I see. They were small-time criminals, not worthy of being brought to justiciars or even local soldiers. However, small things accumulate, and then they fester in our society."
"That's the small fish. Sooner, they get smarter. You see over there, once they get enough money, they lend it to others or pull off scams or bribe soldiers to make their business more legitimate. Harass other stores, etc."
"We should kill them!"
"No. We should not. Our work is to shed light on the eyes of our leader. They will be the ones to sweep them away,"
"I see. You are awesome!" I reminisced about the time with my dad. He worked as an intelligence officer. We hopped around the empire, trying to gather information about criminal activity.
"Remember, society should not be repressed. We need to defend the weak. Corruption is intolerable,"
However, some corrupt nobles he investigated turned the tables on him, and he was killed. Knowing that my father had angered some prominent nobles, none of my relatives took me in, and I lived in a slum as a menial laborer with a salary of less than 5 silver per month. Just barely enough to eat. That was when I was only 12 years old.
I lived like that for two years. Work was hard to come by for someone who didn't have family, skills, or magic. In this world, the strong took from the weak. Many stole from us, and I resisted in vain until a man clad in dark approached. A single swing from his blade and all of my bullies were dead.
"Boy, wanna join my guild? You are that man's child, right?"
Turned out he was a member of the Reapers. Even in the slums, I knew about the infamous Assassin Guild. The members were feared by nobles, mages, and commoners alike. When he extended his hand to me, I slapped it.
"I won't be joining bad guys. You need to defend the weak! Not repress them!" I wavered. The guild paid its members well. Everyone knew that. However, my father's words kept ringing in my ears.
"Then do it. Defend the weak by joining us." His words shook me to the core. I could help the weak by joining them? He was right. If I was feared, I could defend the weak better. The guild could provide me with money, and I would do justice with it.
I extended my hand to him. He smirked. "Wise choice. You are certainly that man's child, huh?"
He then trained me for two years before I was officially recruited by the Reapers guild. Everyone knew what the reapers were. However, they also didn't. They only knew the reapers to be hired assassins or spies willing to do anything for money. But they didn't know we had a choice. I later learned that my dad was also a part of this guild. My dad and this man didn't take all commissions. They only took the ones that came from the government. That worked wonders for me. I could uphold my father's teachings, and my living environment would improve. And so, I worked tirelessly for them for two months now. The work was challenging. I am just a kid from the slums with no magic, no skill blessings, and no money. However, I will persevere, for I love this country.
"R663, we have reapers inside the castle. She will open the door for you," R25B briefed me about my mission.
"Roger."
"Greet R666 for me. She is our rising star."
"She is just a noble brat, right? Why would reapers recruit her? Do they need reapers inside nobility that badly?"
"She has talents. She possesses skills and magic, too. She was recruited by that R4, you know!"
"Why would someone like that join Reapers? Did she take proper commissions from us?"
"Ack! You hit the sore spot. My boss has been nagging me to increase her working hours, but she did take our commissions, mostly for spying and reconnaissance. Those damn seniors didn't even care they worked a minor here. Hahaha."
The friendly banter soon ended when the wall inside the well was pushed open. This underway connected to many exits, one to the well inside noble quarters or the sewers to the slums, and it even extended outside the city. R4 asked me to wait at a particular spot with recorders in my pocket.
The hidden passage revealed a girl who can't be more than 12 years old. However, her eyes were different from that of an average kid. I felt an instinctive fear when gazing at her eyes.
"Good work, R666," I whispered, but my voice still echoed in the narrow hallway. She must have heard me. I then nodded to continue my mission. After entering, I was supposed to hide in the kitchen until someone else entered the passage.
"Greetings. Please find the rebels and the spy," she said to me in a polite, noble way. Oh yeah, we were reapers. We didn't know each other's identity. I knew she was a noble, but she didn't know I was a kid from the slums. So, she treated me like fellow nobles. How naive. But I liked it.
"Of course! Rest assured. God save the King. Long Live Althemer Empire," I said, offering a military salute. I had never enlisted, yet I wanted her to understand that, even within a faceless guild, my heart still beat for this nation and its people. However, her response astounded me.
"May Our Mission be successful. You and I worked in the dark. However, we serve the Light. Our failure will be seen, and our success hidden. Hidden it may be, nonexistent it will not, for it will be felt by many as natural as breathing air and eating bread. It was nice to see a fellow comrade. May God bless us all," she said. Her childish voice betrayed the contents.
It shook me to the core. She must have been at least 5 years younger than me. I was kidding myself. She could look at my attire and know I was a poor commoner. Yet she still called me a comrade. Moreover, she encouraged me. My dad died being hated. However, I knew his work was not in vain. Public order in the region where my dad worked turned for the worse after his passing. Extortion was rampant, and then the rich and capable people fled the region. Without any mages nor artisans, the region soon devolved into a rural, unknown village.
She left before I had a chance to react. She knew what work we did. She was a mage and noble. Unlike me, who worried about what to eat for tomorrow, she had all the luxuries in the world. Then, why would she risk her life to join a dangerous reaper guild like this? "I see. She was the same as my dad. She had something to protect, so she was the rising star, huh?"
"R663, heads up. You won't be able to contact me once you are inside."
"I know. I will do my best. I just need to hide in the underway and wait for two days. Right?"
"Yes. Don't forget to close the door."
"Roger."
I planned to spend two days living in the underway with recorders on me. I was residing in the slum. As long as I had something to eat and something to drink, it didn't matter where I lived. However, it turned out that I didn't need to camp out for that long. I hadn't even taken a single bite of my rations when footsteps were heard in the distance. R25B had mentioned the meetings should be tonight, but he still gave me rations for two days just in case.
A man walked suspiciously, glancing alternately to his left, right, and the map he held. I had already memorized this underway, and so had R666. This man was just a greedy noble, used by outside forces to undermine our kingdom. I wanted to kill him right here and now, but my mission was to gather intelligence.
“Damn! It stinks here. Why must a noble such as myself have to come to this godforsaken place? Couldn’t he set the meeting somewhere more aesthetic? A plebeian’s restaurant will do. Why here?” I photographed the grumbling man as he turned toward another exit at the end of the tunnel.
The man then opened the tunnel entrance while glancing at his pocket watch. I waited a little bit far behind with bated breath. I needed to find evidence of his wrongdoings. Doing so would save hundreds, if not thousands, of poor children in the slums.
Minutes felt like hours, but a man with a hat finally arrived. His wet shoes made distinct footsteps in the tunnel. The noble greeted him with a smile.
“Greetings, Lord Mala. We finally meet. As requested, I have opened the passage for you.”
The noble then spoke in a more elaborate and ornate manner to the man called Mala. It didn’t ring any bells. I needed to consult with R25B later about who this Mala was. He seemed important. Could he be a noble from another nation?
“Stop with your chattering. Now, with half of the weapons gone, we couldn’t overtake the castle. I will consult with Minister Sebastian from the mage tower. Meanwhile, I will use this passage for my agents. You said you wanted to kill someone?”
“Yes! That Prince Ludwin was an eyesore! Thanks to him, justiciars will be sent to my fiefdom, and my records will be checked. The royals too. He should stay quiet. Johan was easy to manipulate as he was easy to sway. But that damn Ludwin messed up my plans. That creepy child too. I underestimated that brat.”
“Now, now, you're going to ask me to kill a royal? And a mage on top of that? You must be joking. Where are your loyalties?”
“They are not my liege. My loyalty lies with money.”
“I see. Baron Denah. Elderan Empire will surely grant you your promise. 1000 gold to you and Baron Kharn for this rebellion. You should prepare yourself to flee outside the capital.”
”Yes, sir!”
“Hm… hold on a moment. Let me step away for a bit.” He stepped outside the door while holding a box beside his ear. He must have phoned someone.
“Yes. If we could kill Slane members or Luca members, they would surely petition Bron to pull the troops, and Shadowsteps would be ours. Yes. Hmm? Okay. Just put that thing here? Alright. No action, huh? Wait. Who’s there!”
My heart jumped. I almost instinctively ran, but I held my breath. I didn’t make any sound. How did he detect me? Is it a skill? No, if it is a life-detecting skill, he would have found me long ago. As he walked closer to me, I saw a rat scurrying away. Did it sneak up on me to steal my rations?
As soon as it was out in the open, the man unsheathed his blade, and the rat was bisected in two. My eyes popped from their sockets. The man was a skill holder. Fear gripped me. If he found me, I would be dead. I began to tidy up my belongings. I already have enough evidence. It was time to go.
“Fucking rat. Should have set this meeting in the restaurant instead of here!” The noble cursed. They were so close that I feared they heard my heartbeat. Only one intersection separated us.
“Someone is here. That rat was carrying bread in its mouth,” he said.
I sprinted at once, forgoing all of my stealth. The two men immediately ran after me upon hearing my footsteps. However, I was already far away. The winding path proved to be to my advantage. The path reached a dead end. My hands scattered to the wall. Not bothering to count the fifteenth stone from the bottom, I scrambled my hands to each of the bricks before I found the one I was looking for. Pulling the lever, I slammed the door open.
“25B!! I am being chased!” I grabbed my big-ass phone used for commoners as I climbed the well. The world was unfair. Mages only needed a card, while a commoner needed a box.
“Where are you? Who chased you? The guards or the target?”
“The spy! I got it! I found the spy! He is from Elderan!” I breathed air in and out of my lungs as my racing heart began to settle.
“How many?”
“Just one! With that bastard Denah. Kharn was also involved,” I said while taking a breather on top of the well. No noble used this well; it was merely for aesthetics ever since the invention of tap water. But that only applied to nobles. Not us in the slums. My clothes were not fancy enough to go unnoticed here. If anybody caught me, I would be screwed.
“Roger. Did you need reinforcement?”
“Yes. I am in the noble quarter. I need someone to get me out of here. I couldn’t get back to the underway.”
“Roger! Help is on the way. R666 will support you.”
“Thank you.” I was ashamed to ask for help from a kid. But she is a noble. At least she could get me out of here.
“Stay alert! Did you lose him?”
“Yes. Maybe? No. I didn’t lose him!” I unsheathed my shabby sword as a figure jumped out from the well. I looked around and judged I needed to make my last stand here. If I turned my back to him, I would meet the same fate as the rat he bisected earlier.
“Damn it. We have been found out!” The man cursed. The noble soon followed him, climbing pitifully like apes.
“Kill him quickly!”
“We have been found out. He already took out his phone. That means the reapers have found out about us. The plan failed.” The man said. Hope started rising within me.
“Yes. You are right. If you leave now, I won’t chase you. You will have the time to escape before the guards arrive.” I said. My voice was shaking, which made him smirk.
“You must kill him now! Destroy his camera and recorder. If they send proof to the ministry, I am finished!”
“Ah, you are correct. It seems like I can’t let you go now. I would be troubled if you were to be executed.” He unsheathed his sword and swung at me from over ten meters away. I paid close attention to his blade as if my life depended on it. As soon as I saw his sword swing, I rolled out. The slash made a small gouge behind my position a second ago.
“Damn it!” he cursed as he dashed at me. He knew I figured out his secrets.
*clang
Our blades crossed. Visible chips started to appear on my blade. Each time we crossed blades, cracks began to form. Then, with an upward swing, my blade broke.
“Ack!” a croak sounded from the noble. A few seconds later, a knife flew at the hat man. He blocked it with his sword. A dark figure arrived.
“Hm… a small figure clad in darkness from magic. Hehehe. So, you are her?” The spy muttered. He knew her?