Picking Up a Spear Instead of a Shield

That night, Kyle and Sylvia secretly secured lodging outside the Imperial Palace and set out to meet Vermillion and Anise, who were staying there alone.

“You’ve arrived.”

“You’ve found a pretty secluded place for your lodging.”

“What else could I do? It’s best to avoid the eyes of others as much as possible.”

Kyle bluntly spat out a complaint to Vermillion, who opened the door at the sound of the knock, and Vermillion gave a bitter smile as he led them to their seats.

Although they were hiding their faces through transformation magic, it was still best to avoid places with a lot of people as much as possible.

Especially considering that Kyle and Sylvia were attacked in the capital last time, it was clear that Artas was already a place where the Eyes of Dawn could exert their influence, so it was good to be safe.

“Welcome, Sylvia. You’ve been through a lot.”

“Been through a lot? More importantly, what have you two been doing all day alone?”

“We just went out for a bit. As expected of the capital, there were many things to see.”

“I suppose so.”

Over there, the conversation between the women continued.

As Kyle always felt, Sylvia and Anise were good at continuing conversations even without any special topics.

To be precise, Anise mainly spoke and Sylvia responded, but they seemed to like that position, so the conversation rarely stopped.

Kyle, chuckling that it was a skill if it was a skill, sat down on an empty chair.

It was to tell them about the conversation he had with the Emperor today.

“So, how did it go? What was His Majesty’s reaction?”

“He seemed convinced. I didn’t want to cause any unnecessary misunderstandings, so I told him as much as I could about you and your family.”

“That would be right. Even if I apologize for my mistakes later, I have to do that now.”

Although he didn’t participate in the evil deeds of the Eyes of Dawn, it was also true that he once tried to pursue his ambitions with their backing.

The shadow of that time was still following Vermillion, so he nodded with a bitter smile.

Chak.

Covering Vermillion’s hand with her own, Anise looked at him without a word.

Words can convey many things, but sometimes silence conveys more than colorful words.

Feeling the emotions in Anise’s eyes, Vermillion expressed his gratitude and held her hand.

Sorry for interrupting when you’re busy being lovey-dovey, but Kyle couldn’t waste any more time, so he decided to get down to business.

“First, we’ll carry out the operation as we discussed earlier. I could help if you find it too much to handle alone, but…”

“No, it’s alright. I was planning to do it from the start.”

He couldn’t guarantee that he could do it alone, but he didn’t want to ask Kyle for help to unravel the clues related to his family.

Vermillion concluded that they should proceed as discussed before and waited for Kyle’s words.

“Okay, then we’ll take care of Anise as promised. But, as I said before, it’s best not to do anything unnecessary. If our guess is wrong, and Drake-kyung is actually targeting you, it would be a complete disaster.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be careful. Even like this, I have the ability to get myself out of trouble.”

Even if you searched the entire Empire, there aren’t many magicians who can compare to Vermillion.

The light is just a little dimmed because of the peerless genius in front of him and the owner of the Magic Eye. Vermillion was also not an easy man.

So, when he affirmed his will with a confident expression, Kyle didn’t add any more words and nodded, saying, ‘Okay.’

“If anything happens, take refuge in Kaintreche Castle immediately. I’ve told Alf, so he’ll guarantee your safety.”

“Thank you for your consideration, Kyle.”

Originally, he was trying to prevent this information from leaking out as much as possible, but Kyle trusted his servant Alf, so he only told him.

Even if an emergency occurred and Vermillion had to urgently return to Kaintreche Castle without him, his safety would be guaranteed.

However, one thing that bothered him was that Alf had previously spread gossip about Kyle and Sylvia all over the neighborhood, but he was basically tight-lipped, so there was nothing to worry about.

“Then what are we going to do, Kyle?”

Sylvia asked because she already knew about Vermillion’s future actions, but she hadn’t heard the other three’s course of action in detail.

Kyle, who was contemplating this, stroked his chin and opened his mouth.

“First, we need to find those bastards. Last time, they came to us first, but now the tables have turned.”

The positions of hunter and prey have been reversed.

Now that the offensive against the Eyes of Dawn will become even more intense, they must take action in response.

In particular, it is important to find someone who is watching this situation and playing the role of a mastermind behind the scenes.

That woman who conveyed the message through the Archbishop they encountered a while ago must be the mastermind.

In the end, if you bring down the top dogs, the rest will naturally collapse.

“Isn’t it dangerous for us to move first?”

Meanwhile, Sylvia understood the reason for his course of action, but she seemed a little hesitant because it was a high-risk task.

She thought it would be better to lie low until she found some clues in the Imperial Palace.

Kyle shook his head slightly.

In his opinion, that wasn’t a very good idea.

In the end, what protects me from the enemy is not a shield, but a sharp spear and sword.

You can’t overcome this situation just by cowering in a corner.

Rather, now is the time to strike those bastards, with justification on your back.

However, it was true that they had to take risks as she said, so this was the policy they put forward to solve that problem.

“That’s right. So, I’m thinking of acting alone as much as possible then.”

That is, to carry out solo actions like Vermillion.

However, the problem is that Sylvia is not someone who will easily let that happen.

“That’s not allowed. Even if Anise is taking refuge in Kaintreche Castle, take me with you.”

“I knew you’d say that.”

Kyle nodded with a bitter smile at her firm tone.

In fact, even though he said that, he didn’t even think he could get permission.

Besides, this course of action is not a very excellent choice either. In the end, if the two of them leave, the people who will protect Sylvia and Anise will disappear.

Even if Kaintreche Castle is perfect for avoiding the eyes of others, it is not very safe considering that there was an ambush by the Eyes of Dawn before.

Even if Sylvia has learned magic and has somewhat opened her eyes to the power of the Magic Eye, there is no guarantee that she can defeat all the enemies that come at her.

In the end, you have to take a risk in either case, so Anise proposed a compromise.

“Then, Kyle, how about this?”

“Do you have a good idea?”

“I don’t know if it’s a good idea. I just think it might be a compromise.”

“Tell me.”

Since they have to move together anyway, Anise’s opinion is also an important issue, so Kyle gave her the floor and nodded.

“The problem now is that if the three of us move, the possibility of the enemy catching our tail increases, right? But if we act separately, we’re worried about our safety being uncertain.”

“That’s right.”

Kyle expressed his agreement, thinking it was a very accurate point.

“Then we’ll create temporary residences every time we move to find information. Of course, it will be a bit uncomfortable, but we’ll just build a suitable shack in the forest or mountains near the village we move to and live there.”

“A shack?”

“Yeah. If there are just trees and Kyle can help with magic, I can build it quickly. Actually, I made the house I lived in back then myself.”

“Hoo.”

Kyle’s eyes lit up at the plausible suggestion.

Of course, if you ask if the house Anise lived in was that great, of course it wasn’t, but it was fine for staying for a few days.

Besides, as she said, if they don’t borrow an existing house or lodging, but create a new residence and live there, it will be easier to avoid the eyes of the enemy.

If they even put up a barrier around it to disguise it as if there was no house, they can avoid surveillance enough.

In the first place, they wouldn’t even think that someone would live there.

They can get food and information from nearby villages.

Above all, the biggest advantage of this method is that even if they lose a new residence, there is no major damage.

“I think it’s okay too.”

“If Sylvia’s okay with it….”

The only thing he was worried about was whether Sylvia would be uncomfortable, but since the person involved readily agreed, Kyle had no reason not to accept the proposal.

“Okay, let’s do that. Vermillion, I’ll have a familiar send you regular updates, so keep that in mind.”

“I will. Then it’s decided.”

In that way, their full-fledged advance to counter the Eyes of Dawn was finally about to unfold.