Chapter 88: Disguises and Rivalries
Even so, Shiao Yi had agreed to go, for the sake of others.
Dominic couldn’t help but hold him tighter in his arms, feeling moved by Shiao Yi’s kindness.
Dominic had taken off his military uniform and now wore a tailored gray butler’s outfit made of twill.
He was acting as Aaron’s butler and assistant.
Sitting on his lap, Shiao Yi wore an outfit that made him look like a thirteen-year-old apprentice: a blue and black checkered jacket with a large frilled white collar, cropped blue pants that came to mid-calf, and white socks.
Even though he was supposed to be just an apprentice in disguise, the outfit made him look far too cute.
"I’m not a kid! I’m nineteen!" Shiao Yi had pouted and insisted, even though his birthday was still over two weeks away.
But no matter how much he protested, he simply didn’t look like a nineteen year old.
He had reluctantly agreed to wear the outfit, but he stayed grumpy about it for a while.
To Dominic, though, even that sulky face was endearing—so charming, it only made Shiao Yi more precious in his eyes.
This time, the annoying fact that Aaron was traveling with them was due to two main reasons: they needed to use a new type of magic tool he had created and because Aaron was originally from the Pristina City, where he came from a major merchant family.
His family was well connected with the nobility through marriage and they had arranged everything necessary for disguising their group as merchants. For that, Shiao Yi was thankful.
However, what he couldn’t stand was the way Aaron looked at Shiao Yi.
"Shiao Yi is my master," Aaron often said, claiming it was out of respect and admiration.
However, Dominic was sure that the man was just waiting for the chance to get closer to Shiao Yi—perhaps even to steal him away.
With how quickly Aaron followed any suggestion Shiao Yi made, there was no way not to be suspicious.
"If I don’t open this lid, the magic energy inside won’t be detected, right?"
Shiao Yi was holding one of the magic tools and testing how it worked.
This tool had been designed by Aaron after he listened to stories about devices from Shiao Yi’s original world.
It was a small cylindrical object with a very compact teleportation magic circle built inside.
Although it was a fixed-type tool, the size was small enough that it required very little magical power to function.
That was the key feature.
By passing paper or other small items through the internal circle, it could send them to a receiving device of the same type.
However, the messages would only arrive at tools that had been harmonized in advance to match the sender.
This was just a prototype. Aaron had said with great excitement that if it worked well this time, he wanted to develop a more flexible version in the future.
One unit was carried by Shiao Yi. The others were held by Aaron, Dominic, the commander of the Korisha Fortress, and Quintus back in the royal capital.
They had already tested the devices and confirmed that messages could be sent properly.
The small size made them easy to carry in a pocket, which was very convenient.
"I see the inn up ahead. We should get there before it gets dark and stay the night,"
came the voice of Louis from outside the wagon as he leaned in to speak.
He was riding alongside the wagon to protect it.
Once it got dark, the roads became much more dangerous and they couldn’t risk putting Shiao Yi in harm’s way.
It would take ten days by wagon to reach Rebanastre, the capital of Dalmasca.
But before that, they planned to stop in Mitrovica City, one of the largest cities in the country.
They were going to gather information there first.
It would take about eight days to reach Mitrovica City.
...
Guf, guf, gufufufufu.
It was hard for Aaron to hold back his laughter.
Everything had been going just the way he wanted.
From the moment Mr. Vundo had asked about Shiao Yi , Aaron had made sure to stick close to the old man like a shadow and It had paid off wonderfully.
Thanks to that effort, he had managed to catch wind—before anyone else—that Supreme Commander Quintus had secretly assigned Shiao Yi a special mission.
Aaron had immediately volunteered to help him with the disguise.
After all, he came from one of the largest merchant families in Pristina City.
This time, he had made full use of that background.
To him, his family was only useful for its money and influence. It was just tools he could use.
Aaron himself was simply an alchemist who wanted to live freely and continue his research.
And now, he had even managed to showcase the magical communication device he developed, using it as part of the mission.
Two birds with one stone.
That meant the mission couldn’t even function properly without him now.
"I really am brilliant," he thought proudly. "It’s like both my family and the kingdom exist just to support my genius."
He had been looking forward to charging into enemy territory together with Shiao Yi, just the two of them.
That thought had him all excited.
But then, a powerful guardian and an overly helpful nuisance decided to tag along.
To Aaron, Captain Dominic was practically his natural enemy.
At first, Aaron had been drawn to the man’s sharp, striking looks and his strong, well-trained body.
He had even approached him, thinking maybe he could become his lover.
However, he quickly learned that the nickname Iron Knight wasn’t just for show.
In truth, Aaron hadn’t even been able to speak a word to him.
Just one sharp glare from Dominic and Aaron’s delicate heart was gripped by pure fear.
Even after he returned to his private quarters in a separate wing, his body wouldn’t stop shaking.
It had been a long time since he’d felt that terrified.
Not since the time he accidentally blew up the entire room containing his mother’s favorite painting.