Ch.107Chapter 107. Smoothly (1)

Gray long hair, grown long enough to cover one eye.

A tiny frame that could be mistaken for a child’s.

Yellow eyes that appear dull but flash frighteningly in certain situations.

“What do you think?”

“…This place looks dangerous.”

“I see. Then we’ll avoid battle on this front.”

Hans, the vanguard commander leading the Laurellai Alliance forces, immediately revised his strategy based on the small woman’s words.

No one else around Hans offered any objections.

As if following the girl’s words was only natural.

“I’ll go this way.”

The yellow-eyed girl casually pointed to the frontmost position on the map.

At her words, the eyes of everyone participating in the strategy meeting, including Hans, lit up.

“Oh! You’ll do that for us? Then I’ll assign you support troops. It might be easier with soldiers alongside—”

“No. I’ll go alone.”

“I-if that’s more comfortable for you, then do so. Once you break through that battle line…”

The yellow-eyed girl cut off Hans’s words with a firm statement.

Though Hans might have been offended by being interrupted, he simply nodded without showing any displeasure.

“I’ll head out first. Let me know when you’re ready.”

“Of course! Rest well, Miss Jacqueline.”

The yellow-eyed girl, Jacqueline, tilted her head slightly and left the tent where the strategy meeting was in full swing.

Her yellow eyes somehow looked sleepy.

“Haaawwn.”

As soon as she exited, Jacqueline yawned widely and headed toward her tent.

Jacqueline had come to the western continent with Erika to investigate Black Magic.

Within just a week of joining the Laurellai Alliance, Jacqueline had become a crucial military asset.

It started when she killed a Black Sheep that no one had been able to properly counter until now.

The Black Sheep was a Creature created with Black Magic that became a killing machine whenever it appeared on the battlefield.

Jacqueline had destroyed the Black Sheep—which countless powerful fighters couldn’t handle—with a single strike.

That alone would have qualified her as a top-tier asset, but Jacqueline’s achievements didn’t end there.

Jacqueline possessed skills that completely contradicted her small stature and youthful appearance.

In the past week, she had destroyed at least dozens of Black Sheep on the battlefield.

And the number of enemies she had killed was several times that.

Thanks to her outstanding performance from the very first battle, Jacqueline had firmly caught the attention of the Alliance’s leadership.

In just a week, she went from being a mere mercenary to participating in strategy meetings.

‘I’m sleepy.’

Of course, Jacqueline didn’t think much about this.

She was just feeling sleepy because someone had woken her up at dawn to attend the strategy meeting.

‘Why hasn’t Erika contacted me?’

Jacqueline was faithfully following the instructions Erika had given when they last parted.

“Hold out well among the Laurellai Alliance forces on your own.”

She seemed to be holding out well enough without falling behind, but there had been no contact from Erika.

This was also why Jacqueline deliberately headed to the frontlines on the battlefield.

She hoped that by going to the front, she might meet Erika, who had gone to infiltrate the Flora Kingdom.

But that hadn’t happened in the past week.

‘Will I meet her today?’

Jacqueline scratched her head as she entered her tent.

On the first day, she had shared a common tent with others, but by the next day, she had been given a private tent just for her.

Thud—

Jacqueline threw herself onto the bedding that, while not as comfortable as her bed at home, was still fairly soft.

Thinking she needed to get some sleep because she was too tired.

‘They’ll call me if they need me.’

With that thought, Jacqueline laid her head on the pillow and closed her eyes.

Dorolong—

It took only a moment for Jacqueline to fall asleep.

In the quiet tent, the sound of Jacqueline’s snoring echoed very softly and quietly.

**

‘Finally made it this far.’

Erika looked around with a sigh of relief.

She was inside the Flora Kingdom military camp, dressed as a Flora Kingdom soldier.

It had taken her a full week just to obtain a soldier’s uniform and infiltrate the camp.

The Flora Kingdom’s security was extremely tight.

Tight enough to challenge even Erika, who could be considered a master of stealth and tracking.

Of course, having just entered the camp didn’t mean her mission was complete.

She had only gained the ability to move around the Flora Kingdom camp without arousing much suspicion.

‘The soldiers don’t seem to know much about Black Magic.’

From what she had observed while lurking around the Flora Kingdom forces for the past week, not everyone in the Flora Kingdom army was involved with Black Magic.

Rather, it was the opposite.

Only a very small number of people were connected to Black Magic, while most soldiers were unaware of it and feared it.

In fact, when new Creatures were supplied a few days ago, the general reaction of the Flora Kingdom forces was confusion and fear.

This meant that if she could identify those behind it, things might be easier than expected.

If Black Magic wasn’t widespread in Flora, tracking it would be simple.

And Erika had finally taken the first step toward that goal.

She had somehow infiltrated the Flora army.

“I heard a lot of Creatures have been destroyed recently.”

“Ugh. How does anyone destroy such creepy things?”

“It’s practically a global alliance. There must be plenty of powerful mages supporting them.”

“Sigh. Doesn’t that put us at a huge disadvantage?”

Erika was moving around, eavesdropping on soldiers’ conversations.

The mood among the Flora Kingdom forces was certainly not good.

In addition to the prolonged war, they were facing not just the Laurellai Kingdom but soldiers from countries around the world.

Even a child could understand that the longer this war continued, the more disadvantageous it would be for them.

Erika sat on the ground, pretending to rest while focusing on the conversation between two people behind her.

“They say a girl who specializes in fighting Creatures has appeared in the Alliance. Apparently, she destroys Black Sheep with a single blow.”

“Can those things even be destroyed? Don’t they just divide?”

“She turns them to dust before they can. That’s why they say new Creatures are coming.”

“Ugh. What kind of monster are they going to deploy now?”

‘Hmm.’

Erika nodded involuntarily at this useful information.

Infiltrating the army really did make it incredibly easy to gather quality intelligence.

‘A girl, huh. Surely it can’t be Jacqueline.’

While Erika thought Jacqueline wouldn’t have put herself in the spotlight like that, she still felt uneasy.

A girl who destroys Black Magic Creatures with a single blow.

In Erika’s mind, Jacqueline was the only girl she could think of with such abilities.

“Sigh. How did the situation end up like this?”

“What situation, sir?”

“Ah! Your Highness! It’s an honor to see you!”

The two chatting men jumped up in surprise.

Erika also reflexively stood up and turned around at their reaction.

‘Who is that…?’

What entered Erika’s sight was a woman wearing an elegant dress despite being in the middle of a war.

Princess Arte Flora of the Flora Kingdom.

“I asked what the situation is like.”

“Ah, w-well…”

Princess Arte asked the soldier who had been chatting once more.

Though she was smiling as she spoke, anyone could tell there was an edge to Princess Arte’s words.

‘When did she get here? I didn’t sense her at all.’

Even though she had been focused on the conversation between the two soldiers, Erika was surprised.

She hadn’t properly noticed someone coming this close.

“I’m curious. What do our loyal soldiers who serve the Flora Kingdom think?”

“We believe without doubt that the kingdom will be victorious!”

“Hmmmm.”

Princess Arte made a meaningful sound and frowned at the soldier’s answer.

‘I should leave now.’

Erika carefully took a step, feeling that getting caught up in this situation would unnecessarily complicate things.

And that’s when it happened.

“You there. Come over here, would you?”

“…”

‘Damn it.’

Her uneasy premonition was right.

The moment she took a step, Princess Arte looked directly at Erika and spoke.

“I said come here.”

‘Stay calm.’

Gulp—

Erika bowed at a 90-degree angle toward the princess and swallowed.

Then she slowly approached Princess Arte.

The faces of the two soldiers standing at attention beside the princess showed evident fear.

“You heard everything from over there, right? What these extremely loyal soldiers were saying.”

“…”

Erika couldn’t answer Princess Arte’s question.

She didn’t understand the princess’s intentions, and revealing her voice also posed a risk.

Princess Arte frowned even more when Erika didn’t immediately respond.

“Answer.”

‘What…?’

Whoosh—

Erika suddenly felt chills all over her body.

The gentle atmosphere that had existed with the princess’s smile until just a moment ago changed in an instant.

The beautiful smile that matched her pretty appearance disappeared, and the soft atmosphere turned cold and rigid.

Beyond cold and rigid—to the point where it evoked fear.

“I… heard, Your Highness.”

“Hmm? A woman?”

‘What’s with this atmosphere?’

Erika felt an instinctive uneasiness as she watched Arte completely change the mood with just one word again.

This princess was not to be taken lightly.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Wow, there are female soldiers too? I’ve never seen one before.”

“…Yes. I volunteered for the kingdom.”

“Hmmmm.”

Princess Arte’s attention shifted to Erika in an instant.

She seemed completely uninterested in the answer to the question she had just asked Erika.

‘This could be an opportunity.’

Erika’s mind began working quickly.

Turning crisis into opportunity.

Erika adjusted her posture and looked at Princess Arte with a stance full of respect.