Chapter 282
Just before dusk, I was informed that a mount was ready. Accompanying the Duke to the courtyard, I found the prepared mount waiting there.
"Well now, I did say the fastest one, but...""Indeed, I prepared the fastest one among the mounts I possess."
From the royal capital to the northern provincial capital, it would take about a week on a normal horse. The distance is roughly 500 kilometers, give or take.
Naturally, that wouldn't make it in time for the soirée, so I had planned to use a Pendulum of Teleportation for the return trip, bringing the horse back with me. However, I could only offer a wry smile at the mount the Duke had proudly prepared.
"A Wyvern? Duke, didn't it occur to you that I might not be able to ride it?"
The monster I had hunted countless times was being calmly fitted with a saddle and reins by its handler, who was stroking its face. It's true, this creature could travel more than ten times faster than a horse.
However, piloting flying units is quite difficult. Let's think calmly: riding a creature that flaps its wings to take off and fly? Your center of gravity becomes unstable and precarious. Compensating for that requires the rider's skill, and maintaining balance in the unstable space of the air is considered an advanced technique.
"You can't ride it?""I *can* ride it...""Then there's no problem."
It's such a remarkable feat that those who have mastered it receive special treatment. The Duke, who understands this, prepared it fully confident I could do it, which is pretty ruthless.
If you have the Riding skill, adjustments make it easier, but generally, if you have the player skill, you can ride it normally.
"What about when infiltrating the town? I definitely can't bring it in, right?""You can just have it wait on a suitable mountain. It's trained to come when called.""If that's the case, then it's fine."
As I approached, it stared intently at me before gently bringing its snout closer. When I stroked it gently, it let out a cute cry, completely unlike the terrifying roar you'd expect from such a creature.
"Incidentally, its name is Draco.""Drako?" (female connotation)"Your pronunciation is slightly off. It's Draco." (male connotation)"Ah, yes."
What's with the naming sense of people in this world? I feel like I had a similar conversation before, but maybe I shouldn't think about it?
"Show this at the checkpoint to enter the northern territory. But we cannot risk your contact being discovered. Consider this just a precaution.""I understand."
And on top of that, suggesting a rather dangerous night flight instead of infiltrating during a suitable time like daytime? The Duke is a devil.
Accepting the offered pouch, I found travel expenses and a pass inside.
"By the way, I'll investigate the ruins as well. With a Wyvern, it's literally a single flight.""I'm counting on you."
Taking it, I jumped onto the Wyvern's back to mount the saddle. There's no such thing as a safety belt here. I secured myself by gripping its body with my legs, and that was the preparation complete.
"Well then, I'm off.""Indeed."
Pulling the reins, I signaled Draco to take off. It let out a cry, spread its wings wide, and due to the top-secret nature of the mission, the send-off was minimal. Flapping its wings under the gaze of the Duke and his subordinates, it took off from the Ducal mansion.
"Whoa."
My first time flying in a while. I sharpened my dulled senses, moved my body in sync with Draco's breathing, maintained balance in the air, and gave directions.
I calculated the direction by comparing the map in my head with the scenery and set the course. We steadily gained altitude.
Flying alongside the horizon where the sunset was visible, we headed relentlessly north.
We passed above the clouds, and once I thought we had reached high altitude, we began to glide, riding the wind.
The ground looked far below, towns and villages appearing only as small specks.
From here, I had to navigate using the stars and mountain shapes.
The provided goggles and hat kept me from getting cold, but the wind hitting my face was strong, and I had to maintain my posture or risk being blown off.
"......"
Flying over the sea of clouds with the slowly setting sun was quite beautiful. If this were a private trip, I could enjoy it more, but unfortunately, this is work. Although, acquiring a flying unit might be good for future considerations, I thought.
Gradually, the sun set, night fell, and only moonlight illuminated the sky. Relying on the moonlight, occasionally correcting our course, hiding in clouds to avoid being seen from below, we flew over checkpoints and continued north.
"Once we cross that mountain, it should come into view."
After about three hours of flight time, once we crossed one more mountain, the destination should be visible.
"Draco, we're landing on that mountain peak."
Feeling relieved at the familiar scenery, but knowing I couldn't just fly in, I gave instructions to Draco, who had flown me this far, and we began our landing approach. It replied with a cry audible only to me, began descending slowly, and spotted an open area near the mountain peak, descending directly onto it.
"Hmm... flying isn't bad, but having your feet on the ground is still better, huh."
After landing, I dismounted from Draco and stretched my stiffened body.
"Alright then. That's the northern provincial capital. Hokushi, huh."
Even though night had fallen and considerable time had passed, I could see lights.
"......Hmm, this might be tougher than I thought."
However, those lights were sparse. For a provincial capital, the heart of the territory, there should still be lively areas at this hour. Entertainment districts come to mind as prime examples, but even from this distant mountain top, the entire capital looked dark. It was so dark it seemed like everyone was about to go to sleep.
That means either this town lacks vitality, or moving around at night is prohibited. It's one or the other.
"First, Draco, stay a bit further away. I'll call if anything happens."
I won't know the exact situation until I get inside, but for now, I need Draco to leave this area. It looked at me intently for a moment, then nodded as if saying 'Understood,' and I watched it take off into the night sky.
"Alright then, it's been a while. Time for a sneaking mission."
I began my move too. The area around the provincial capital was open, making infiltration difficult under normal circumstances. There were walls with watchtowers equipped and guards stationed.
Normally, even at night, walking boldly through the front would surely get me caught.
Using the stats honed up to Class 8, I brute-forced my way down the mountain. Moving at high speed, I erased my footsteps with Silent Walk, creating a scene where only the trees swayed as if a sudden gust had passed, descending to the mountain base and passing through the forest.
In less than 30 minutes, I reached the edge of the forest and paused.
"The guards... are a bit numerous, aren't they?"
The distance from the forest to the city wall was roughly 500 meters. This was the most optimal infiltration route. Vigilance on the mountain side was focused more on monsters than humans, so fewer soldiers were stationed there. In a way, that also made it a place where lapses in attention were more likely. Precisely because there were many soldiers, each thought someone else was watching, and as long as nothing appeared in their own field of vision, they considered it fine.
"From there, to there, using Shadow Clone midway..."
Watching the soldiers' movements, I traced their paths in my head, calculated, simulated...
"Only a 3-second window, huh..."
500 meters in 3 seconds. Normally, that would be utterly impossible.
"Yep, I can manage it."
With my current stats, even that is possible. I stared intently at the top of the wall, looking for an opening. Time passed moment by moment, and the night grew deeper. And then the moment came.
One soldier yawned. A superior-looking person saw it and glared reproachfully. Their gazes met, creating a blind spot in the area their eyes were covering. The instant that happened, I started running.
Their conversation would last at most a few seconds. 'Slacking off,' he'd say, 'Sorry,' the apology—that's about the extent of it. If they started chatting after that, it would be helpful, but that wasn't likely to happen soon. Well-trained, serious soldiers would return their gaze to its original position after being warned. Just as I covered 300 meters, their gaze started returning towards my direction. At that moment, I took another step, accelerating further, and activated Shadow Clone behind and to my right. The duration was just one second.
"Hey! Someone's over there!!""What!? Where!?""Right there, see... huh?"
I activated the Shadow Clone just where the soldier's returning gaze would see it. Combined with the skill, the attention of both soldiers focused on that single point. The soldier who had been warned shouted at the human figure floating in the darkness, and the superior reacted. Other soldiers reacted to the shout, but by then, I had already reached the base of the wall.
'Darkness under the lighthouse' is a fitting phrase. No one could spot me, hidden in the shadows, holding my breath. I pressed my back against the wall, held my breath for a few seconds.
"There's no one there.""That's weird, I definitely saw someone there.""First the yawning, now this. You're seeing things because you're slacking.""Sorry."
A report of seeing something that shouldn't be there, stemming from a lapse due to a yawn. Listening from the shadows to the superior's warning, 'Shape up more,' which capitalized on this two-stage blunder, I slowly began climbing the wall's protrusions. I climbed from a blind spot where I wouldn't be found unless someone leaned over to look, using Presence Detection to grasp the enemies' positions.
"Shadow Cloak."
Wrapping myself in shadows, turning black, I waited at the edge of the wall, watching for an opening. Calculating blind spots from the enemy's positions, I waited for the right timing for several minutes. With Class 8 stats, I could cling to the wall all night. But I didn't want to stick there forever.
That's why I concentrated, using Presence Detection and hearing to track the enemies' movements, picking up distant footsteps.
"Shift change.""Mm, good work.""Any abnormalities?""Just a subordinate's lack of attention. That's all."
Amid the 'all clear' report, laughter mixed in, and some casual conversation started. Suppressing my impatience, I waited for the timing, and it came. As they parted ways, the soldiers who had been on watch turned their backs and started walking towards the exit, while the relieving soldiers saw them off.
In that moment, a blind spot for crossing the wall appeared for just an instant. Quickly and silently, I scaled the wall, crossed it without attracting any gaze or making a sound, jumped down from the wall, used Air Walk not to land on the road but to leap onto a civilian house's roof, and dove into the shadows.
"Good, infiltrated without anyone noticing."
Maybe I could have just walked in boldly, but I didn't want to risk being seen by anyone this time. After all, the noble house I'm about to contact is one disliked in this territory for being overly righteous. Anyone approaching it would surely be watched.
If I could meet them openly in broad daylight, that would be best, but if that's not possible, I have no choice but to contact them secretly from the shadows.
Besides, this town has various watchful eyes. Even someone who looks like a vagrant lying on the street could be the eyes and ears of Duke Boltlinde.
This provincial capital is his garden.
Proceeding with utmost caution, I advanced through the darkness.