My Desertion Would Be Faster Than Heros' Obsession-Chapter 41Vol 2.

Leaving behind the wailing Jason, Dalin hurriedly made her way somewhere.

Soon, she suppressed her presence and stealthily entered a room. Inside, a man stood with his back turned toward the entrance. He was busy writing something on a piece of paper placed on the desk.

[There are no suspicious movements as of yet. However, the company commander secretly smuggled in a dark magic artifact that attracts monsters. By mistake, he detonated it near the border, and—]

Dalin instantly grasped the contents at a glance, but she feigned ignorance and addressed him in an innocent voice.

“Huh? What are you doing here?”

“C-Company Commander?”

The man who turned around was a non-commissioned officer from the Snowy Mountain Battalion—someone Dalin was familiar with.

‘This guy was the one Sir Salvia warned about.’

Salvia had once told her that there was someone in the Snowy Mountain Battalion who knew the truth about the contract magic. She had also warned that he might defect to the Imperial side at any moment and that they should keep an eye on him.

And now, seeing him writing such a suspicious letter to someone, it seemed Salvia had been right once again.

“Monsters are swarming in right now, yet you’re just standing around? Are you lacking... thoughts? Motivation? Something seems to be missing.”

“I-I’ll get moving immediately!”

The non-commissioned officer hastily shoved the letter into the drawer and attempted to leave.

But Dalin knew exactly what she had to do before she ended up in the detention cell.

She had to eliminate this non-commissioned officer! After all, she was an excellent spy.

And driving people to the brink of madness was her specialty.

“Non-commissioned officer? Are you, by any chance, a spy?”

“H-Hiek! N-No! A spy? What in the world are you saying?!”

“Writing a letter at a time like this seems awfully suspicious, don’t you think? Could it be... you’re a spy from the Kingdom of Butein?”

“That’s not true at all! I’m being falsely accused!”

“Oh really? Then you won’t mind if we impose a restriction on your letters from now on, right?”

“Huh? W-Why would you suddenly—”

“Huh? Do you have a problem with that? I knew it! You’re a spy!”

“I swear I’m not!”

“Wow! A spy is speaking! This could be some kind of coded message!”

“Aaaaargh!”

Thanks to Dalin, yet another man’s wailing echoed through the Snowy Mountain Battalion.

Whether she was thrown into detention or not, she would use her entire being to stop this spy.

Because the only spy allowed in the Snowy Mountain Battalion was Dalin herself!

***

The Emperor has most likely temporarily suspended the contract magic. To make use of the Arkons in war, they need to be relocated from the North to the Northeast.”

I explained the war strategy to the other members.

Read lat𝙚st chapters at fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓ Only.

“If the Arkons leave the border, they become free. They will be in a position to charge straight into the Imperial Palace at any moment. Of course, we need to fully the contract magic before that happens.”

The information regarding the Imperial mages had come from the existing revolutionary organizations. Their investigations into the Imperial Palace had been invaluable.

“But that doesn’t change the fact that they’ll still encounter the Kingdom of Butein’s soldiers in the Fleur-Rosen region, does it?”

El spoke again, sounding frustrated. I decided it was time to reveal the truth.

“It’s fine. Because we have already sold the country’s secrets.”

Our original plan was this: The Border Defense Army would deliberately lose the war against the Kingdom of Butein, allowing us to use that moment to incite the populace and storm the Imperial Palace while completely destroying the contract magic.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

But that would result in unnecessary casualties. So, I changed the plan.

The enemy forces of the Kingdom of Butein wouldn’t be in the Fleur-Rosen region.

Instead, they would follow the intelligence we leaked to them, board ships, and head for the northern lands that bordered the Adolph Empire.

An empty land.

I recalled the events of a few days ago, smiling faintly.

“So, someone has to go to the Kingdom of Butein and leak state secrets? Since the Border Defense Army will vacate the border for war, the Kingdom of Butein will use that chance to invade through that border?”

Altair asked in a dumbfounded voice. Selling state secrets—this was an extremely dangerous mission that could easily be dismissed as a ruse by the Butein side, leading to immediate execution as a spy.

“But won’t monsters still be blocking the path beyond the border? They wouldn’t be able to invade through that route anyway.”

“Oh, that’s been taken care of. There will be a temporarily vacant monster-free zone at the border.”

For that, I had given Dalin a dark magic artifact.

Dalin would use it to lure all the monsters beyond the border toward the designated area, creating a clear path for the Kingdom of Butein’s forces to cross.

Now, the only thing left was to deliver the classified information to the Kingdom of Butein, and I believed the perfect candidate for the job was Altair. Thanks to his peculiar mix of old-fashioned formality and smooth adaptability, he had a talent for negotiating with high-ranking officials.

“You want me to do it? Ha...”

"Among those I know, Lord Altair is the most capable person for this task."

I spoke in a serious tone. Altair fell into brief contemplation before responding.

"Salvia, this is an extremely dangerous mission. I could be accused of being a spy."

He was right. Even if he was «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» lucky enough to meet the king and deliver the classified information, the Kingdom of Butein might still suspect him to be an agent of the Adolph Empire and execute him.

"That’s exactly why I chose you, Lord Altair. You have a way of earning people’s trust."

"That’s not the only issue. Even if I safely arrive in the Kingdom of Butein, how do I meet the king?"

"Ah, of course, we have a contact to assist with that."

The ship Altair would board belonged to the wealthiest landowner in our country.

And that landowner was none other than—

'Matty’s father!'

Indeed, every now and then, even Patty and Matty could prove useful.

"Oh, right. Benny, do you happen to know who Patty and Matty’s fathers are?"

"Huh? I remember hearing about them before, but why—"

Benny, who got along well with his juniors, was also acquainted with their fathers. That was a great advantage for me.

I contacted Matty’s father, and he agreed to safely escort Altair to the royal court, where he regularly delivered goods.

After that, it would be up to Altair to arrange a secret meeting with the king of Butein.

"So... I have to do this..."

Altair muttered in a low voice, looking troubled.

"Well, if I exclude you, I suppose I am the best suited for this mission. But still..."

With a grim expression, Altair raised his head.

"This is a matter of life and death for everyone. Do you truly believe I can pull this off?"

"Yes, Lord Altair. You have never failed to complete a mission, no matter the circumstances."

“...Hmph.”

Altair let out a bitter chuckle before finally giving his answer.

"Then I suppose I should write a will before I leave."

"That will is never going to be needed, Lord Altair."

And so, by now, Altair should have arrived in the Kingdom of Butein, selling off state secrets.

'Lady April, is this enough for you?'

I spoke inwardly to April, wherever she might be.

I had altered the plan in a direction even more underhanded than she had anticipated. Surely, this should satisfy her.

"Then, Lady April, may you rest in peace..."

"...Salvia, Lady April isn’t dead."

"Be quiet, Ishina."

I shot Ishina a sharp glare before continuing.

"The Emperor must have already received word of the border invasion. That means we need to infiltrate the Imperial Palace as soon as possible—"

"Three... days from now?"

Yuri asked, her voice tinged with hope. But I shook my head.

"What do you think about three... hours from now?"

"Why did ‘three’ suddenly turn into ‘three’ again?! You’re doing this on purpose!"

As Yuri fumed, Winter shook his head and spoke briefly.

"No, Salvia. Tomorrow would be better. A dawn infiltration has a higher chance of success."

"Ah."

That made sense. It would be easier to infiltrate under the cover of darkness than in broad daylight.

And so, we set our palace infiltration for tomorrow. Now, we needed to discuss the detailed method for breaking the contract magic.

"To get past the palace gates, we’ll need to pass the security checks. But of course, I have a plan for that—we’ll sneak in through a merchant caravan."

"A caravan? Which one?"

Someone asked, and I answered with a soft smile.

"A caravan that has promised to cooperate with us. The merchant leading it isn’t an Arkon himself, but his son was unlucky enough to have the contract magic manifest, forcing him into the Border Defense Army. Because of that, he agreed to side with us."

That person was none other than Patty’s father!

Among those who had offered me help, it wasn’t just Matty’s father but Patty’s father as well. Truly, every junior had their uses.

"Once we infiltrate the palace via the caravan, some of us will act as a distraction—a bait, so to speak. Meanwhile, the rest will sneak into the Emperor’s chamber, use the artifact to threaten him, and force him to reveal the location of the contract magic’s medium."

As my comrades focused on me, I continued.

"However, there is one problem. Only the Emperor knows exactly where the medium is. Infiltrating the palace and finding it will be a difficult task."

Even the revolutionary groups had no idea where the medium was. The letter we received from them contained details about the palace structure, along with the following observations:

[Every year, some newly appointed palace attendants disappear without a trace.

A retired attendant was once overheard drunkenly saying he had worked in an underground chamber.

The exterior and interior measurements of certain palace buildings do not match. This suggests the existence of a hidden space.

Based on these findings, we suspect the presence of a hidden underground chamber.]

The most suspicious location right now was that ‘hidden underground chamber.’

If there was a secret vault for storing valuable items, the contract medium was likely hidden somewhere within it.

"So, our plan is to break into the underground chamber and search it?"

"Hmm... the best approach would actually be..."

Lowering my gaze, I spoke slowly.

"To be honest, we should just threaten the Emperor."

"Pfft! Cough, cough!"

Someone let out a startled cough, but I ignored it and continued.

"If necessary, we may have to kill the Emperor."