*Saffron*
"So hot," Milo said as he trailed behind us.
I sighed. Was he really complaining in front of his superiors?
Koyuki turned around and put her hands on Milo's shoulders, slowly releasing ice mana to cool him down.
"Aww, that feels nice," Milo mumbled.
"You spoil him, Koyuki," I said, glancing back.
She chuckled. "The heat might impact his performance in the mission."
True, but would we really encounter any of those raiders at this time of day? Most likely not. Raiders usually operated during dusk. At least back home they did. But maybe things were different here in the south. There were more darkness mana users after all.
Milo brushed Koyuki's hands away. "Thanks, Koyuki, but I'm good now."
"If you say so," Koyuki said, smiling slightly. Was she disappointed? She really liked dotting on her subordinates.
"Boss, aren't we flying?" Milo asked.
I nodded as we reached the lake's water. The palm trees at its banks provided us some much needed shade.
Koyuki looked around.
"What's the matter? You've been looking around every couple of minutes since we got out of the base," I said.
"I heard there would be two others from our base accompanying us on this mission," Koyuki said.
I crossed my arms. True. Major Kine said there would be five of us from Momotaro here. Yet they weren't here yet. Had they missed the train or gotten lost? No. Maybe something came up. If so, hopefully it wasn't something bad.
Koyuki sighed. "Maybe I misheard Major Kien."
"No, you're right. My briefing mention five of us. One of them is Gael and the other is Griff."
"Gael probably just wanted to skip the briefing," Milo said, snickering.
If that were the case, he would still have been at the base, hiding, only to pop up once we were out. Yet he hadn't. Nor had I sensed him.
Milo yawned. "Can't we get going already? The raiders aren't going to attack themselves."
"Patience, Milo. Don't be so rash," I said. My back tingled. Violet wings poked out of the barely visible slits on my clothes and spread out. Most were impressed by their size the first time they saw them.
Milo did the same with his orange wings. He stretched them a bit. Guess his wings were a bit stiff too.
Koyuki spread out a pair of white and blue wings. They reminded me of northern birds.
"So pretty," Milo said, blushing as he stared at them.
"You really think so?" Koyuki asked.
I coughed. "Save the flirting for later. For now, focus."
"F-flirting! I was just complimenting here!" Milo said, shaking his head.
Koyuki giggled.
Milo turned away.
"Let's get a move on," I said, taking flight.
Milo and Koyuki followed. As did Lt. Uneri who was stretching his azure wings.
We were flying so low that occasionally, a wave would hit us. Not a big deal for the three of us, but Uneri would furrow his brow occasionally. Was he not used to being so close to the water like this? Yet, he didn't complain at all when the major gave us her briefing.
We continued flying for about an hour before we reached the middle of the lake.
"This as far as we can go, right?" Milo asked.
Oh, so he was paying attention to the map after all.
"I'm surprised you noticed. You seemed zoned out the entire briefing," Lt. Uneri said, smiling slightly.
Milo crossed his arms. "I'm a private. I'm not used to such meetings."
Lt. Uneri laughed. "You might be a lieutenant before you know it."
"Really?"
I smiled slightly. The reason I had Milo accompany me was because Major Kine was considering promoting him. But that depended on his performance here.
"Well, where are these raiders of yours?" Koyuki asked, floating in place.
"It's possible they aren't active at this time. The cargo ships right now might not have what they seek."
"Maybe we should fly higher?" Milo asked.
"But then they will notice us."
He grinned. "Not if we fly so high that we look like birds to those below!"
"Not a bad idea," I said, flying higher.
Milo and the rest followed suit. We flew as high as I could and peered down at the lake below. The lake was but the size of a marble now and the base was indistinguishable from the rest of Taisho city.
"Boss, do you see anything?" Milo asked, staring downward.
I shook my head.
"Allow me," Uneri said, closing his eyes. Light mana gathered around his eyes. "Falcon Eye!"
So, he was using light mana to enhance his vision. Smart. Too bad I couldn't use it. Sure would've been useful. But at least I had darkness mana which helped out during night raids against smugglers.
"What do you see?" Milo asked, tilting his head.
"Nothing yet, but I'm sure the raiders are coming," Uneri said. "Major Kisara did leave out a few things from the briefing to make it short."
"Such as?"
"The attack patterns of the raiders are irregular. They make sure not to attack at the same time, nor around the same parts."
"So, they don't want us to catch wind of them." Seemed we were up against a craftier opponent than expected.
Uneri nodded. "There's another thing that the Major failed to mention, too."
"And that is?"
"Aside from their sand boats, they also have a small aircraft. We'll have to deal with it, if we are to have a chance at taking them all out."
"What's the aircraft look like?"
"It looks like an airship with propellers, only it's smaller. Like the size of a helicopter."
I furrowed my brow. "Does it look like they made it themselves? Or do they have the money to spend on such stuff?" Or worse, could Taahid's government be funding them?
"From the pictures the Major shared before you arrived, it looks like they put it together themselves."
"So, they're not getting help from a country. Good. That would complicate things."
"You can say that again," Milo said.
I glanced over at the lieutenant. "Why didn't Major Kisara tell us this earlier?"
"She hates repeating herself. Plus, that's why she sent me here."
"Makes sense, sort of," Koyuki said, scratching her head.
"So, we can expect the aircraft and sandboats at any moment, correct?" I asked.
"Given they could attack at any time, yes," Uneri said.
I crossed my arms. "Say, can you get me to Taahid?"
"Eh? Didn't you hear Major Kisara? That could cause a diplomatic incident!" Koyuki said.
"I know, that's why I plan to go not as a captain, but as a civilian."
"Ohh! Spy time?" Milo said, flying around in circles.
I nodded. "Spy time. We'll split into two groups. You're to go with Lt. Uneri. Koyuki and I will go together."
He sighed. "Why?"
"Well, guess I can have you come with me instead of Koyuki."
Milo's shoulders and wings slumped. "Alright."
"Think it's the right choice," Koyuki said.
"True. Captain doesn't talk much."
That's why I wanted him to go with either me or Uneri. The risk of him giving away our identity was there. But leaving him behind also had its own risks. Especially with Major Kisara disliking him.
"Think you can do it?" I asked, glancing at Uneri.
He sighed. "Your plan isn't something we haven't tried before."
"Did you guys get caught?" Milo asked.
"No, but it proved a waste of time."
"Maybe you didn't check the right spots."
"We went to each area, including the slums. Yet, we couldn't figure out where the raider hideout was. Plus, even if we do manage to find it, we can't attack it without risking being discovered by the local authorities."
"True, but my plan isn't the fight them on their land or waters," I said, smirking slightly.