The [Tamer] team had finally returned. Upon their report to Martis, Jessa had immediately called for a meeting of all the various A-ranked personnel within the rebellion. Now, gathered in the room were over twenty people of various backgrounds and areas of expertise. Jessa smiled at everyone and said, "welcome, everyone. This is the first and last meeting of all of the A-ranked personnel we have before the start of our actual plans. I would like for everyone to report on where they stand. For us, we have compiled more than enough evidence to indict each and every single corrupt noble, government official, and guild personnel in the Empire. We have left no stone unturned. Once we succeed, we can instantly sweep every single one of them into prison or execute them outright."
Velphos, the A-ranked adventurer leading the [Tamer] team spoke up next. "We met a little bit of a setback a few months ago, but we have [Tamed] over 200 monsters in the [Labyrinth]. They're waiting for our command to distract the bulk of the cannon fodder in the military. Additionally, we've got a few rank-ups in our team. We should prove to be a decent distraction while the rest of the action goes on in behind closed doors."
"To aid your efforts, Velphos-san, I've already developed some area-of-effect weaponry that you may use. It isn't fatal, but incapacitating. They're explosives that will [Stun] anyone C-rank and below. While it's an exceedingly rare and difficult to access status condition due to how powerful it is, Ava-san's constant provision of [Mana Cores] allowed me to accelerate this process. I'll have about 400 ready for you to use. Also, I've developed a tool that everyone in the infiltration team can use to destroy any weak magical enchantments. For the stronger ones, though, you'll just have to brute force it, I'm afraid," Hura followed up.
"I'm joining you guys for the distraction force as well, by the way. I've got some A-ranked monsters lying around that would love to see some battle. Should draw out some of the higher-ups. Ah, of course, a number of you here were also recruited by me," added Catel.
"I'll be on crowd control-ssu. I don't expect to see too much battle as my
"Ah, one more. I've sent my [Tamer] to get some monsters as well, so use her as you wish," Ava interjected.
Nods went around from the involved people.
"Ou. My turn. I'll be with the inside fighting force, as will be most of the rest of you. I'm your commander for this operation. Name's Arlo. Jessa-sama's already given me the infiltration assignment routes, so we'll study up before heading there. We'll take out the targeted areas as planned, and then we'll back up Ava-jou and Rea-jou if they need us."
"Everyone, I hope you're pleased with the performance of your weapons after you've given them to me. I've tuned most of them and added an overclock function to those that can support it without breaking down or running out of durability. For those who haven't given me their weapons, please do so within the week. I'll also be a part of the infiltration team," Remil said.
"The rest of my squad will also join the infiltration force. They're well-trained, but work best as a team, so if you see the need, split them off as a splinter group and cover twice the amount of ground. They've just gotten back from escorting nobles friendly to us to safehouses in the city where they can take shelter. I'll handle teleporting all of you to the locations that you need before going to the Palace. Rea and I will handle the S-rankers stationed there," Ava said blandly.
"Eh, just the two of them...?"
"Oi, aren't you getting a little bit ahead of yourselves, huh?"
"Those are S-rankers, you know, S-rankers!"
"And so? I fight S-ranked monsters every day."
The room went silent at that. For most A-rankers, who could not even fathom trying to fight when confronted with an S-ranked monster, and often would travel in parties to subjugate A-ranked monsters safely, Ava's words had thrown them for a loop. In order to salvage the situation, Jessa interjected.
"Ava-san and Rea-san are our strongest war assets by far, in terms of pure combat. If they have to fight while protecting others, it would certainly only serve to slow them down. I can ascertain that they do indeed have the fighting power to go toe-to-toe with the S-ranked squad stationed in the Palace. If they say they will handle it, they will."
The grumbling almost completely vanished at that. While some people still could not fully believe that these two girls were capable of fighting against such existences as the S-ranked squad, they also trusted the opinions of Jessa and those who had brought them here.
"Now that we've heard from everyone, let me outline the rest of our plans. In a week's time, the last of the nobles will have arrived for the Nobles Conference held at the Palace. Once the Conference is well underway, that will be our time to strike. The nobles will be holed up in the Great Hall once the external attack begins, and once the majority of the military has been drawn away to deal with the distraction, the infiltration squad will begin their actions in the government building. Ava-san and Rea-san will then enter the Palace and work together with Freya-sama to capture the nobles, disable their entourage, and defeat the S-ranked squad. Once the infiltration squad has completed its mission, head over to the Palace immediately for support," Jessa explained.
Everyone nodded seriously. For some, it had just been a few months since their introduction to the rebellion, such as Ava and Rea. However, for others, it had been years in the making. This was their best - and possibly only - shot at getting this done. No one had the gall to take it lightly. Having said that, though, as this was the first and last time they would all be gathering before the actual rebellion itself, Jessa had catered for tea and light refreshments to be provided for all of them, albeit with a rather unwelcome atmosphere due to the poor lighting in the meeting house.
"Alright, everyone, you may leave as you see fit, but I've prepared some refreshments, since this is our one meeting with everyone here before we go and fight for real. The next time we see each other, we'll either be dead, having a banquet in the Palace, or in prison. Although the location and atmosphere isn't ideal, I hope you'll stay and chat with each other just so you're all aware of who you're working with."
As she said that, Jessa noted the tension ease a bit, and as her [Nocturnes] began to bring out sweet treats and finger food, the tension noticeably abated. People began to mill around a little more and strike up conversations with each other. She too, decided to move around the room and speak with people.
Near her, she noticed Ava approach Velphos with slight embarrassment.
"Eto, Velphos-san. The setback that you mentioned while you were in the [Labyrinth]...I do apologise. That was me."
"E-e-e-eh??? That was you? Um, was it really?" Velphos stuttered, shocked and confused.
"Nn. At that time, I didn't know what you all were doing, and I was training to exit the [Labyrinth]. I believe I must have slaughtered all of your [Tamed] monsters along the way without realising what they were for."
"A-ah, well...we did manage to come back in time, so I suppose it's alright but...just what do you mean by 'training to exit the [Labyrinth]'?"
"I was reincarnated in the [Labyrinth] and had to fight my way out. I do apologise for getting in your way."
"Um-well, no, I mean, it's alright..." Velphos still seemed a little taken aback, so Ava simply bowed slightly and left, having delivered her apologies.
Really, what a purposeful girl she is... once she's done with what she wants to do, she's gone. It wouldn't hurt to be a little more relaxed.
"Ava-san, may I speak with you for a moment?" Jessa called out as she and Rea returned with their food.
"Of course. What is it?"
"Ah, um...haven't you two gotten ridiculously stronger yet again???"
"Huh? Isn't that just common sense when preparing for an upcoming battle against unknown quantities? In all the documents you provided to me, I still haven't received even the slightest bit of information about the S-ranked party, you know? I only know that their name is [Sword of Daceli], and that they are estimated to have between 12 and 18 people."
"Eh... I suppose that's true but... no one else seems to think this way, I guess."
"I hope they're prepared to die then," Ava's cold response made Jessa blink in surprise, before remembering that this was the girl whose life was constantly on the line when struggling for the strength to survive. Of course she would make as many preparations as possible with the time she was given if she had to fight such a number of unknown enemies. In her eyes, anyone who thought about going up against such an elite roster of enemies without further preparing themselves as much as possible simply deserved it if they died.
"Hmm. Oh, Ava-san, a word of advice."
"Nn?"
"As much as possible, keep your strength hidden. If they underestimate you, it'll be much easier."
"Oh right. I forgot that I was trying to do that earlier."
As she said that, the surging power around her suddenly vanished as if it had never been there. Jessa blinked in surprise. Never had she seen someone so effectively and simply collect the mana that rampaged around them and hold it hidden. Even for her, someone who was proficient in espionage, couldn't help but leak out some of her mana. For anyone who was extremely sensitive to mana, they would uncover her presence in an instant. However, Ava made the mana around her vanish completely, almost as if she had next to no strength at all. Save for the look in her eyes and the way she carried herself, one would think that they were looking at a teen who hadn't undergone any training.
"Ava-san...just how...? I mean, I know that you're so far out of the norm that it doesn't make sense to ask you either way, but I would really like to know."
"Ah, it's hard to do it if you don't have [Mana Manipulation] and [Mana Vision]. I only just figured it out in the past month."
"Is that so..." Jessa mumbled, having neither of the
"Ah, Ava-san. This is certainly a rude question and you don't have to answer me but...just how many skills do you have?"
"Oh, un. Maybe around 10
"Are? Yes? Around 10 of each you say...?" Finally, Jessa's common sense also gave out. Normally, A rankers would have between 2-5
As Jessa felt that the last threads of her common sense were being thoroughly annihilated by Ava, the latter bade her farewell, leaving the meeting house with Rea in tow.