The game's focus didn't lie on the war brewing between the Union and the Republic.
Even though the main mission of the player was to find a way to stop the war, it was the undercover missions that the player should pay the most attention to.
Igor Vali, a First Lieutenant belonging to the armed forces of the Republic of Thavor, was the most renowned spy not only within the continent, but also the world. For a spy to be alive even when their identity was already out in the open was a testament to their abilities.
Every single instance that Igor Vali was sighted, the offended nations would mobilize almost all their available forces just to assay in catching him. The recollection of his last mission given by the system was a simplified version of the real events.
It might be an overstatement as a claim, but Igor Vali nearly had to evade the eyes of an entire nation in order for his escape to be successful. His photograph was released to the public, so even the citizens were able to actively report his location.
The question that needed to be answered was, how could Igor Vali continue undertaking espionage missions despite his infamy?
Well, that's something that Aectaeon had to answer in the near future.
For the time being, he should face the challenges afore him with complete concentration.
"Fi-- First Lieutenant, Sir!" The soldier then gave Aectaeon a salute, "Private Hunter Germont at your service, Sir!"
The soldier didn't throw any doubts at Aectaeon's statement. He had never seen Igor Vali's photograph before, but he believed that no one would dare claim Igor Vali's identity when his persona was that prominent.
Aectaeon didn't know how to address the soldier's vigorous greeting. He just returned the salute right away and gave a bow out of habit.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Private Germont."
"It's a pleasure to meet you too, Lieutenant Vali."
Once they were done with the formalities, Aectaeon scratched the back of his head before drawing a deep breath.
"Ah, you see, Private Germont. I have a favour to ask." Aectaeon asked, his voice a bit shaky.
Hearing the word favour, the soldier thought that it was something important. While standing stiffly, he responded, "Speak, Sir."
"You see, I'm in a rush to do something before the officers' meeting starts. However, I think I will be late since there's a lot for me to do."
The soldier kept his silence, remembering every word that Aectaeon had uttered.
"So, I was wondering if you can keep a secret."
"A secret, Sir? What secret?" The soldier blurted out all of a sudden, furrowing his forehead slightly.
"Can you not tell anyone that you've seen me? You know the Commander. He's really particular with the officers' attendance during meetings."
In reality, Aectaeon wasn't sentient of the Commander's preference. He merely brought up something that was common and simple for people in power. All the while waiting for the soldier's reply, Aectaeon was clenching his jaw.
A droplet of sweat quickly ran down the right side of his face. It made him take a breath to calm his furiously beating heart.
On the other hand, Private Germont just kept on staring at Aectaeon.
'If I say yes to this favour, I will basically be lying to the Commander. But…' The soldier proceeded to sigh, just a shallow one so Aectaeon wouldn't see. 'They might also not ask me. It's not like I'm committing a crime. Besides, it's not bad for an officer to be indebted to me.'
With that in mind, Private Germont slowly nodded his head. It made Aectaeon relieved, suppressing the urge to smile at the same time.
"Thank you, Private. I'll make sure to return the favour next time we meet."
"That's a promise then, Sir. I'm looking forward to it." The soldier said, a small smile plastered on his countenance.
Aectaeon's eyes narrowed on the soldier's expression. Though instead of addressing it, he just let the matter go. He didn't mind having debts to game characters. There's a limit to how long he could stay in this particular world. Hence, an opportunity to repay some favours might not even come to him.
Having removed the belt, Aectaeon went on to pick up the end of the rope. He coiled the belt around his hand and tied the rope to fasten it. Once he was done, he faced the window, circling his left arm all the while.
Right then, he threw the other end of the rope back to the other room. Actaeon did it perfectly, leaving only the tied part of the rope on the window for the outsiders to see.
'I'll just hope that no one will enter that room until I get back. Or should I be worried about whether I'll be able to stay in this world or not?' He asked himself as he stared at the empty room.
After a few seconds, Aectaeon turned towards the soldier again. Just as Private Germont agreed to his request without asking for additional details, Aectaeon didn't want to reconfirm his word.
He took a couple of steps forward and picked up the card lying on the floor.
The card in Aectaeon's hand depicted an infant -- holding a pole bearing a big red flag -- riding a white horse. Above it was an anthropomorphized sun that had a field of sunflowers beneath it.
Aectaeon immediately recognized the card and the meaning that it had. It might be an unexpected aspect of Aectaeon, but he knew every single tarot card there was.
His mother had a hobby of collecting the aforementioned deck. He would listen to her willingly whenever she wanted to share her knowledge about the cards, so it was a given that he was also knowledgeable.
As for the reason why his mother became interested in tarot cards, Aectaeon was only aware that his father was the one who had influenced her.
{{ Obtained Clue Number 2 }}
{{ Next Clue: "The Emperor" }}
"There's only one Emperor in this camp," Aectaeon said upon seeing the panel, now frowning at his fate.