Now then. How should I infiltrate the Sacred Country of Kamel?
I'm not too worried about finding someone to smuggle myself in. After all, I have Anko's "Darkness Transfer", so I can move anywhere as it is a shadow that can be seen. This makes checkpoints nothing to worry about.
The problem is after entering the country. If I wander around town without a disguise, I'm sure to encounter the question, "Isn't that person Second?" No matter how much of a closed-up religious nation this is, it won't be uncommon that the face of the first person to win a triple crown will be known.
But still, wearing a mask is just too suspicious. It would be like going around advertising "Look at me, I'm a suspicious person".
"Hey, would you happen to have something like a tattered robe?"
In a corridor of the Margrave's fort, I happened to see a man who looked like a soldier and asked him about it.
I thought that if I put on a ragged robe and cover my face deeply with a hood to hide my face, I would look like a beggar or something. Let's call it makeshift camouflage.
"Yeah. If you don't mind it being something I often wear."
"Please."
The man responded very briskly to my question. After I nodded, he pulled from his inventory a black robe as tattered as a used rag.
"It really shows its age. This will work."
"This is one of the items I wear during my reconnaissance missions. Please help yourself."
I received it and put it on to try it. It felt quite a nice fit.
I turned to the man and gave a short "Thanks".
...Huh? This man, where have I seen him...?
"Allow me to thank you for your help that time...!"
The man met my gaze and bowed his head with a look filled with emotion as he said so.
Ohh, I remember! This guy was one of the hostages taken by the Sacred Country's army!
"If it's the kind of robe a scout uses for disguise, I'm certain it will serve my purpose."
I said so alongside a small laugh. The man silently lowered his head further, sniffed and his body shook a little.
He and his peers were saved in a situation where all hope was lost, so I'm sure they have a great deal of gratitude. And if the others are the same as him, it really makes me feel good. Going out of my way to help others might not be a bad thing.
Saying "See you later," I put the hood on and left the fort feeling quite refreshed.
"Anko. Please move in that direction while taking care of not being seen by anyone."
"As you will, My Lord."()
Right now, it's 10 in the morning, and the weather is a clear and sunny winter day. The conditions are not very good for Anko, but the shadows are clear and dark due to the clear skies.
We moved from the shadow of a tree to the shadow of another tree.
Crossing a basin, crossing a mountain, while taking a detour from the grasslands, we entered the first city of the Sacred Country of Kamel.
While avoiding the crowds, we moved from alleyway to alleyway. Ignored checkpoints, moved to the highway, and went to the next town.
There were a few times when a chill ran down my spine thinking that the town's people had discovered us during the transfer. I almost regretted not deciding to travel during the night, but then I would have to move in total darkness with no lights except in the cities, so I wanted to avoid that as much as possible. Furthermore, there was a stupidly high chance that Anko would try to seduce me and end up not traveling at all.
Our goal was the capital of the Sacred Country of Kamel, 『Old Joh』――A place called the "Holy Land" among the Kamel religion.
In this small place, less than half the size of Vinceton, the capital of the Castall Kingdom, lay the headquarters of the Kamel faith. This was, without doubt, the most closed-off place in the Sacred Country. If Fran's letter was really a call for help, he must be in Old Joh, the Holy Land. The Old Joh I knew was such a terrible place that I was convinced of it.
However, there's one thing I just don't get. Why would a ranked player as good as Fran need rescue? I don't understand――
"Ohh, My Lord, you are truly mean. Your Anko feels I will lose my mind if I keep having your body this close to mine..."
Ah, it came, it came, it finally did! Anko's heat strategy!
The reason why our bodies are in close contact with each other is that when Anko summons me with "Darkness Summon" after "Darkness Transfer", she always activates it in the form of holding me in her chest, which is not my fault. In fact, I've seen with my own eyes that when Anko summons someone other than me, she always makes them appear at a distance from her. Therefore, I can say with total certainty that this is part of Anko's plan.
I knew this happening was just a matter of time, but it happened unexpectedly quickly. Anko's hot breath on my neck is starting to make me feel aroused.
Transfer and Summon each has a cooldown time of 60 seconds. That means, Anko transfers, summons me, then waits 60 seconds before repeating the cycle.
In other words. From now on, I will continue to be tempted by Anko, who has reached the limit of her patience, for 60 seconds until I make a move.
"...W-Wait until its night."
"Ohh, please don't be so cold about it."
Will we make it to Old Joh before it's too late...?
The answer: No.
I wonder if Yukari's special dinner still had effect today since even after the sixteen rounds from yesterday on which I should've been exhausted, I still managed to get three heavenly rounds today.
I fell into self-loathing for a while, wondering just what on earth was I doing in the middle of the day, but if you think about it, it wasn't my fault. No, it was my fault for giving in to temptation...
"My Lord, are you cold? This Anko will gladly warm you up."
...Anko has changed after a while of not being summoned. Specifically, she has become quite sweet.
I also think she's becoming less and less reserved. Maybe that's a good thing. At least I want to think it's a good thing.
"Nah, it's okay. Let's keep going."
"I-Is that so?"
When I refused her, her fluffy ears dropped, and a dejected expression dyed her face.
In the past, she wouldn't have made such an expression and would just follow what a said with a smile on her face.
She might feel lonely...Maybe, it would be better to spend some more time together.
"...I just changed my mind. Let's just stay like this for a while, just listen to my plan."
"Ah...Yes, as you wish!"
The atmosphere around Anko brightened instantly as if a flower had bloomed. Her eyes were still sharp, but the corners of her mouth were clearly higher than usual.
As I laid down, she hugged my upper body with her abundant chest and then began to stroke my head lovingly.
I surrendered myself to the unusual comfort and slowly spoke.
"We'll infiltrate the city of Old Joh. I'll stay hiding, so I need you to visit the monastery at the headquarters alone and make contact with a nun named Renko."
"Okay, Renko is it."
The monastery is basically off-limits to all men except those who are related to it. A man in a beggar's rags is out of the question. Or rather, if a person like that is found wandering the area, it's over for them. That's why the only way to make contact with Renko is to ask Anko.()
"Yeah. At that time put on the habit and disguise yourself. Pretend to be a nun and meet Renko."
"As you wish."
Anko only showed her face to the public once, during the fight against Vogue. And it was only for a few tens of seconds while in the raging black flames.
There's no way someone in Old Joh, the deepest part in the Sacred Country of Kamel to remember the face of Anko with just that time. In addition, who could expect to see a monster walking in a nun's habit?
"Also, don't be foolish enough to say something like you're there as my messenger. You don't know who might be watching."
There's no such a thing as freedom of speech in Kamel. Eyes and ears are lurking everywhere in this society, and anyone with "anti-church" sentiments is immediately purged. This is that kind of country.
"Then, what is it that I should say?"
"Just say something related to '7'."
"As in the number 7?"
"Right."
If the letter sender's really Fran, and if the nun named Renko is Fran's point of contact, then this should definitely work.
"Just use the number seven in a casual, everyday conversation. If there's no reaction, then it's a miss, just come back.
"I understand. Please leave it to this Anko."
She's extremely excellent. A deadly strong, smart, and beautiful wolf, she's truly the best.
"Well then, shall we go?"
"Very well, let's go."
＊ ＊ ＊
"――Hello. Is Renko-san in here?"
"Yeah. What kind of business do you have with Renko?"
"My name is Ann. I promised to meet with Renko-san today."
"Ann-san, is it? Please wait a moment."
At the reception of the monastery of the Kamel church, located in Old Joh, the capital of the Sacred Country, was Anko dressed in a nun's clothes, requesting a meeting with Renko.
The nun at the reception then walked to Renko for confirmation and conveyed the message: "Ann, a nun who promised to meet you today has come".
She could only see Anko as a nun. And since in the Sacred Country of Kamel nuns didn't have human rights, she was less alert and talked to Renko without asking which branch of the church she belonged to.
"Ann, is it...?"
A nun named Renko was indeed in the convent. She was a beautiful young woman with long, waist-length black hair pulled back in a ponytail, and a sharp gaze.
When she received that message, she instinctively thought it might be about 'that' letter.
However, at the same time, she felt a sense of discomfort. If that person, who was supposed to live in the Castall Kingdom, took action after receiving the letter, it would still be too early.()
"...Certainly, we promised to meet today. Please lead her to the visitor's room."
Thinking she had to meet her and see for herself, Renko decided to meet with Ann.
Then, after about ten minutes, Anko and Renko were in the visiting room.
"It's been a while, Renko-san. Was it perhaps seven months since the last time we saw each other?"
"...It's been a while indeed, Ann. Did you grow taller again?"
Thus, the farce began.
Renko was convinced right at the start by the words "seven months". This person is related to him.
Anko also sensed it. Renko's tone of voice was not what it was supposed to be. She must be a nun hiding something, or in other words, the person they were looking for.
Recognizing each other as the person they had been looking for, the pair passed the time making small talk for a while, with no substance whatsoever.
"It was nice talking to you today."
"Yeah, it was a pleasure."
With the visiting hours about to end, they parted ways.
Renko then stopped Anko as she stood up and was about to leave.
"Ohh, that's right, this is for auntie. It's a handmade good-luck charm."
"Ohh, thank you. This will surely help with my mother's illness."
With an expression of a friend worried about their friend's mother, she handed over an amulet.
She kept saying to herself 'don't act unnatural, you don't know who might be listening'.
Until the visit ended, the pair continued their act as if they were friends to the very end.
"...Haa...!"
A while after Anko left.
Renko couldn't stop her shivering and cold sweat.
While facing each other at a distance of only one desk away she could feel it whether she wanted it or not――The difference in ranks.
From the moment she stepped into the visitor's room, without a sign, without a sound, without a moment to defend herself, in an instant, one-sidedly, and extremely brutally, she could've been twisted and killed at any moment. She had the ability to sense that gruesome fact.
"Shit! Just what the hell was that, thing...!?"
The woman sent by the triple crown winner, Second.
There's a limit to being abnormal...Renko looked towards the ceiling while thinking so.
Simply put, that thing was a monster.
She herself had raised her [Martial Arts] skill to a high level, but that person there was a genuine monster to whom even a dozen people would be no match.
"...For now, I just have to report it."
To whom?
That would only be revealed at night, after everyone had fallen asleep――