Jean and I take off into the air as I cast a flying spell on Jean. Maybe because I was blessed by fairies, this kind of spell is easy for me, but to be honest, I never see any non-avian races other than myself using this spell so easily. Perhaps Master Merlin can do it as easily as I can, since she has mastered space magic, but even she rarely floats or flies. Alaric can do it because he's a vampire. Empress Elizabeth, though I've never seen her, is the vampire queen who is said to rule the skies when she's in battle. Jean, even though she has a very good control of wind magic, still struggles with it.
"It's usually the opposite direction, right?" [Diana].
"That will be a good guess, but in reality, it could be anywhere" [Jean].
"Then we have to try harder" [Diana].
"Can you use the wind whisper?" [Jean]
"I know the theory behind it, but I never use it. I'll ask Wind Fairy Sylph for help" [Diana]
"Good. Up in the sky, where the wind carries the voice of the living, oh wind, give me your strength and become my ear. Whisper of the Wind" [Jean].
As she casts her spell, I repeat after her. It's a spell I've never used before, even though I know how to use it.
Wind Whisper allows the wind to carry the voice of the living to you. From daily conversations between a mother and her son to a political argument between two ministers. It carries it all. Unfortunately, this spell has many drawbacks. It carries everything at once, so it's hard to tell what is what. It requires someone with a very keen sense of hearing, as the Wind Whisper, as its name suggests, is like a whisper. Prolonged use can also cause deafness, but someone like Jean, who is a paladin, wouldn't really suffer much since she can always get the best treatment from the Church. She's also the daughter of a duke, so she has access to the best treatment whenever she needs it.
"Found it. Go there" [Jean].
"So fast!" [Diana]
"I can't make out the fog of their conversation, but the keywords heroes and distraction are good enough clues" [Jean].
"I see... Well, full speed ahead!" [Diana].
So, instead of listening for every conversation, she just focuses on a few words and makes a deduction afterwards. I see. I thought I was supposed to listen to everything. Theory and practice are really two different things.
The direction we're going is nowhere particularly noteworthy, although it is the area ruled by one of the dukes that Nar forbid me to befriend.
The Amleth have dukes who rule the northern, eastern, southern, and western parts of the lands, respectively, with Aunt Amleth as the central figure. Aunt Amleth is also the governess of this central city. The four dukes, although they rule in different places, all have a mansion here.
"What are you doing here? I thought you were doing community service?" [Alaric]
"Ah! It's Mr. Alaric in bat form." [Diana]
"The four of us caught wind of some suspicious activity. Nar and Sas are currently tracking one of them. To be honest, if one of them hadn't panicked, we wouldn't have even caught wind of it" [Jean].
"I guess when the three of them were cleaning, it must have looked like a covert operation, that's why they panicked..." [Alaric]
"This is the influence of heroes. Though completely unintentional, it makes the villains warier" [Jean].
"I guess I need to get stronger like them so I can do the same thing" [Diana].
We landed on the spot where Sister Jean heard those key words she mentioned. No one is suspicious enough. Everyone seems to be looking at us, wondering why we suddenly landed from the sky. Apart from that, not much.
"There" [Alaric]
"How?" [Diana]
"He ran away as soon as he saw us. That means he knows we are following him." [Jean]
"Then leave it to me! Earth Magic: Big Hole! Ice magic: Ice wall! Cover their exit!" [Diana]
They're running away with a cart in the alley. The cart isn't anything big, as it can fit into the alley, and since I couldn't see anyone else besides them, I confidently cast a big hole underneath them, so they couldn't escape. I also cast an ice spell above them so that they couldn't escape, but suddenly, a loud explosion can be heard.
"I see... Weapon smugglers" [Alaric]
"If I'm not mistaken, the weapon he's holding is a military grade bormbadement from the Empire" [Jean].
"Strong, but if there's one thing I've learned this year, a strong weapon doesn't make a strong user. Ice Fairy Shiva, help me freeze them. Absolute zero!" [Diana]
They're shattering the ice I created with a powerful weapon, so to make sure they don't act rashly and cause serious injury to others, I'm using Absolute Zero to freeze them. Better safe than sorry
It's a group of four people. They dress normally like any other Amlethian. The only downside to their covert operation is that they panic when they see Nar, Sas, and me cleaning the streets of Amleth, thinking they've been sniffed out. Really, that's their only downfall.
"The cart is filled with fresh fruits and vegetables, a typical cart you can find everywhere, but after unlocking the special hidden mechanism, you'll find this" [Alaric]
"So many weapons! Some I don't even know about!" [Diana]
"Hmm... They're really military grade. Aeron has investigated them as well. I wonder why they have them?" [Jean]
"Is this the uncalculated movement that Teacher Tiara mentioned? The one that caused her date with gloomy Aeron to be abruptly postponed?" [Diana]
"Yes... I mean, no! They're just having a meeting!" [Jean]
So it really is that