Fairy 001 noticed that the town soldiers were relentlessly pursuing them and decided to take action. She rummaged through her leather purse, a common accessory among travelers of the Middle Ages. After a moment, she tossed out clips containing rubber bullets resembling berries that melted on contact, each labeled with a biodegradable symbol.
The soldiers quickly understood what to do and fired the rounds at the approaching soldiers from bygone days, rendering them incapacitated. Finally, Fairy 001 tossed a pouch full of gold coins, with a note attached. She knew full well that the soldiers might be unable to work for a few days and that they might even fabricate stories, painting their group as the scourge of the land.
The soldiers groaned on the ground from the onslaught of rubber bullets, bewildered by the situation. Usually, a bandit group would fight to the death or engage them to plunder their gold, armor or even their underwear, this time they were shot with small fruits that made them speechless, this was the first time they had a fight without any casualties just some bruises that made them wince in pain. The mysterious figures in black, who the soldiers had thought were bandits, even they even tossed a pouch that seemed to contain a generous amount gold coin, incomparable to the wages of a single man.
As the medieval soldiers struggled to stand up, they found it difficult to establish a stable footing. Some of the horses, however, were having an even harder time, their legs buckling under them as they foamed at the mouth, making pursuit impossible. The soldiers could only sigh in resignation.
Axel, a soldier dedicated to carrying out his duties down to the very last detail, found himself struggling to comprehend the situation. He had been briefed not to interact much with the local people of this era, but he was eager to understand how this might impact their mission. After a brief hesitation, he turned to Fairy 001 and asked, "Will that skirmish just now have any repercussions for our mission objectives?"
Seeing the worry in his eyes, Fairy 001 replied in a reassuring tone, "Yes, it does have implications. However, there's no need to worry. The gold, the information they have about us, the stories they might share, and the damages they've sustained were all calculated by one of my personal devices. In the worst-case scenario, we might just get a shout-out from one of the town criers in that area. The second worst-case scenario would be that we'd be talked about in the pubs for a week. While these possibilities are concerning, I'd say they are still well within the tolerable threshold for our mission."
While the Spacetime Operatives departed, leaving only a cloud of dust in their wake, the captain of the guards looked at the pouch of gold coins discarded by the Operatives. Suspicious and unaware of what might be inside, he cautiously used the tip of his sword to probe it, confirming that it was indeed gold, enough to cover a month's salary for his entire squad. Feeling relieved, the superstitious captain, initially focused on the coin, but his attention shifted when he noticed a note beside it. It read 'We purged the demons in the shadows, slayed the witches that hide from prying eyes, and grant no rest to the wicked.'
As a devout believer of the church, the captain was moved by the message. Thinking it thoroughly, these brave men that he encountered might be protecting their identity, so he refrained from showing the note to his soldiers, recognizing that these were not mere bandits but rather individuals who purged evil from their lands without asking for anything in return. Ashamed of having labeled them otherwise, he reaffirmed his stance to keep their true nature to himself. He then distributed the gold among his men and watched the Operatives vanish into the distance, his eyes filled with awe and reverence. He even contemplated the possibility of joining such a noble cause one day.
Meanwhile, back with the Spacetime Operatives, Alex was still grappling with the fluidity of military operations as he responded to Fairy 001's reassurances. "Copy that, Fairy 001. I may not be familiar with such operations, so you'll have to excuse my rigidity."
A sigh escaped him, masked from his companions but echoing in his heart. He felt a sense of inadequacy weighing him down. He had considered confronting Fairy 001 about her actions, but then he recalled that she had nearly four centuries of experience and had completed numerous operations. It was clear to him that she was a seasoned veteran in this line of work, and he resolved to trust her judgment as they navigated the complexities of their mission.
Sensing his anxiety, Fairy 001 couldn't help but chuckle softly. "This is your first mission, so there's no need to be so distraught about it. It's not really that bad. However…"
As she spoke, her expression shifted to one of solemnity. She activated a specialized one-to-one communication channel through their consciousness, a network only they could understand. It sounded like multiple voices overlapping with various static noises, making it difficult to hear what the speaker was saying. But if you focused closely on the voice you sought, you would be able to find it. The air around them felt charged as their minds connected, creating an intimate bubble of shared thoughts.
"Let me tell you something. In our line of work, there are eleven types of mission difficulties, each with multiple levels within those difficulties. This mission is rated as an Infant Stage mission, and at the lowest level of the Infant Stage, it means this can be designated as mission Infant Level One."
As they traversed the green plains of France, they gazed up at the expanse of twinkling stars that mirrored the uncertainties they faced. She paused, her attention drawn to a flickering light on the horizon.
"Some missions will see you integrated into hundreds of teams due to high casualties or a lack of Operatives in the field," she continued. "Others may involve trillions or quadrillions of beings, spanning from us Humans to our allies of various races. These are called Front Lines."
Her voice grew more intense, driven by memories of her own trials. "Do you remember the Campaign Sprayer One that mentioned to you through the communication? That operation involved a major assault on the front lines spanning thousands to tens of thousands of galaxies. It can either be a huge success or a massive farce."
Alex's eyes widened as he imagined the vast armies, the chaotic battlefield stretching beyond comprehension. He could almost hear the distant echoes of combat, the cries and the chaos, and a chill ran down his spine.
"The first time I joined a Front Line, it broke me," she confessed, her voice heavy with emotion. "For almost a decade, I went without a single night of sleep. I joined new faces day after day, and then the next thing I knew, they were all gone. I always wished I had died with them in that chaos."
In his mind, Alex saw a younger version of Fairy 001, standing amidst the destruction, eyes wide with fear and desperation, a battleground littered with fallen comrades around her.
"I even thought of surrendering, becoming just some breeding female for an alien race," she admitted, her voice a blend of pain and determination. "But I persevered. I gathered crucial information that was vital for our success. It wasn't something grand, but the intel I provided managed to remove one of those hellish missions from our mission board similar to this one we are currently at. That means humanity is permanently secured on that specific timeline."
Suddenly, a sharp gust of wind swept through the landscape, snapping Alex back to the present, and he felt the weight of her words.
"All the tempering I went through might sound tough, but still, it pales in comparison to what those who truly held up the sky endured. Remember this, Alex. Embrace this small mission. It may be Infant Level One, but it has its own value and significance. We are here, and we will face whatever comes our way together."
As the stars twinkled above, Alex took a deep breath, feeling his anxiety slowly transform into a sense of resolve. He felt the connection with Fairy 001 strengthen, and her spirit ignited a flicker of bravery within him. It dawned on him that her words might serve as a wake-up call, urging him to change his perspective. This was no longer the military he remembered, where he was tasked with targeting devious terrorist organizations who now seemed petty in the grand scheme of things. Now, he was not aiming his weapon at a fellow soldier or another man but at beings who could not be reasoned with, entities intent on eradicating not just a country but all of humanity itself.
Alex understood that most people feared the pressure of carrying such immense responsibility. However, deep in his heart, he knew there were many others silently bearing this burden. These individuals endured their pain in silence, offering no cries of despair or even groans of suffering. They continued to fight, sustaining the smiles of those they cherished while working tirelessly, striving to give the youth a life free from the violence of a war that spanned across both space and time.