第１９０１堀：頼むことは多岐になりがち (Part2)
"If we clumsily attack the lord's manor, the common folk will never side with us. In that case, our connection to Weed must be kept strictly hidden. It could easily become our greatest vulnerability. Well, it would be a problem if it were discovered from the start that the 'Hero of Justice' is linked to Weed, of course. I’ve given it much thought, but in the end, we aren't the ones who will be active on the ground. It all depends on how Vilia and her group move."
"Ah, leave that investigation to me. It’s my specialty, after all," Nina interjected.
Indeed, Nina was a Holy Sword User who had originally specialized in intelligence gathering. Such tasks were well within her wheelhouse.
"Wait, if you do that, won't the number of people rescuing the demi-humans from the church decrease? Or are you planning to stagger the timing?"
"Staggered. There’s no reason to spread our forces thin. Well, to be honest, if we did it simultaneously, it would scatter the enemy’s strength, which is good, but that would invite suspicion of a connection. We must make it appear as if these are isolated incidents. Besides, we have almost no time to investigate. We’ll have to observe the movements of the town and the lord after the church raid to get a bead on where the documents are kept."
"That’s reasonable. Still, even if we try to avoid suspicion, if that many incidents occur in such quick succession..."
Yuki-sama’s gaze drifted into the distance. It was true; if that much chaos erupted back-to-back, a connection would almost certainly be suspected.
"We’ll make sure it’s fundamentally impossible to trace back. The church raid for the demi-human rescue will be done openly, though."
"True. It’s not as if we’re operating under the assumption that we’ll be caught. Proceed with stealth for the rest."
That was right. Why had I assumed that the investigation of the lord’s manor was also a given to be exposed? Perhaps because the term "Hero of Justice" had conjured images of grand, public displays in my mind. But if there was no need to be discovered, there were countless ways to remain hidden. The rescue of the demi-humans was a different matter; it was impossible to do that quietly, so a bold approach was necessary. After all, it was a raid by only four people to secure hostages; they had to use forceful means, and it served as a perfect piece of propaganda to expose the church's atrocities.
"Um, we’ve discussed quite a lot, but to summarize: we are to rescue the demi-humans likely imprisoned in the church, identify their collaborators, and secure the documents that serve as evidence. And we are to do all of this while wearing these powered suits, correct?"
"Yes. I know it got a bit tangled, but Vilia summarized it perfectly."
Yes. Vilia has grown remarkably resilient. I nearly lost consciousness the moment I saw those weapons.
"...But, don't push yourselves. Vilia, your group's primary objective is to reach the Ioa Kingdom. If you can't manage this itinerary, ignore it. Understood?" Cleena-san emphasized.
She was right. This was a "if possible" scenario. Because we had shown our faces, the girls felt a sense of obligation to push themselves, but the most important thing was the investigation in the Ioa Kingdom. If Vilia’s activities were clumsily exposed, the entire operation would be rendered meaningless. It was obvious that infiltrating the Clearstream Church would become significantly more difficult. Therefore, pushing too hard was forbidden. Besides, if Vilia and the others were injured, that would be the worst outcome of all.
"Understood. In that case, I will select the transformation suits that best fit our current objectives."
"Right. And you can treat Comet and Agil over there as people to ask only about how to operate them."
"Ehh—?"
"Don't 'ehh' me. Even if you get an explanation on wide-area annihilation weapons, you won't have a moment to use them."
Exactly. Please, Yuki-sama, keep telling them that. The absurd weapons that Narjia-san and the others create are not only limited in where they can be used, but in the beginning, some were so powerful that the user would be caught in the blast themselves.
"But, you know, if we get surrounded by enemies, we could just go *whoosh*..."
"Yeah, yeah! If we say 'Explosion!' then *boom*..."
"There’s no need to wipe them out, is there?"
Indeed. If they cause unnecessary collateral damage, the backlash will be severe. And, more importantly, the fact that such things exist is concerning. I must remember those weapons shown on the screen. They have a habit of slipping experimental self-defense gear into our supplies quite often.
"By the way, what about the self-destruct function?"
"It has one."
"Disable it."
Naturally.
"Ehh—!"
Once you grant one request, they always start adding more. It’s the classic trap of being asked for this and that until you’re completely overwhelmed.