57 – Chapter 20. Night Flight – 1
– 58 –
After the diplomatic conference, the Selmeier Kingdom delegation gathered in a large room to discuss the future schedule.
I stood quietly next to Felix of Team 1, the representative of the escort, and after the discussion, I asked the Minister of Foreign Affairs to stand alone.
“I need to stay here for a while.”
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, who heard me, was not surprised.
Should it be said to be grim, or should it be said that it is an expression of what is to come?
“We were the bridesmaids in this case, so we were guessing to some extent.”
The diplomat took off his monocle and wiped it with a cloth as he spoke.
“Is there anything I can do to help you at the kingdom level?”
Actually, there was nothing.
I wish I could just turn off my nerves, but people need to be able to talk a little bit softer.
“Now I am a member of the Guard, right?”
“Yes. He is.”
The foreign minister’s expression became mysterious as if he had guessed something about the intention I was talking about.
“Then, if military action is required, should I report it to someone?”
“That’s… ….”
No matter how high the diplomat may be, he will not be able to get involved in the military power.
It’s getting annoying, but should I beat the guard or the guard?
I tried on a conquest and wore the title of Royal Guard for a while, so I had no regrets.
To be honest, the stage of fooling the outside eye is over.
My identity was already being treated as an open secret among the guards, and the people of the Kamael Kingdom treated me like Arumanan.
I don’t like to talk back, so I notified the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
“Please prepare the defenders in the area of Stilon, especially in the area bordering the Kanbal Kingdom. To make it look like a normal situation, inconspicuous.”
The Minister of Foreign Affairs looked surprised and put on his one-eyed glasses again.
“You mean another attack from Kanbal?”
“Similar, but not. It is difficult to explain the details, but I will have to do it myself.”
“… I will ask the king for permission.”
He shook his head after holding the diplomat’s arm to stop him from taking out the communicator.
“It’s a bit like direct reporting. It’s a secret operation. Instead, just tell the story in an implied way. Only to the extent that the vicinity of Stilon is not unusual. And since I’m going to stay here for a few more days after meeting an acquaintance, I’ll be out of the escort squad.”
“Erif-sama, what is that…… ?”
It was a one-sided notice, but I decided to exclude our kingdom from this as much as possible.
I will organize it in the Canael Kingdom Army, I, and Sila line as much as possible in case Stylon is engulfed by the turbulent energy or the two main characters are affected.
I pray that this situation will be quietly settled and the defending forces of Stylon will be in vain.
Sir Felix, who was leading the escort despite my unilateral notification, was surprisingly convinced.
“Actually, there was an order from the Captain of the Guard. He was telling Erif-sama not to stop him if he wants to act alone.”
Felix raised his chin slightly and looked down at me.
“Are you sure you don’t want to seek exile in Canael?”
“No.”
In response to the firm answer, Felix nodded his head with a puzzled expression and backed away.
“I’ll leave a few guards for you when you come back.”
I tried to say that I didn’t need it, but if I refused even this, I had no choice but to allow it, fearing that it would seem like I was not going back.
The next day, Selmeier’s delegation returned, leaving two carefully selected members of the escorts.
“Whoa.”
I had nothing to do, so I intensively practiced the newly learned ‘spirit control’ for about two days.
The four intermediate wind spirits that came out of the pendant moved all at once as I thought.
[[This is a bit dizzy.]]
The eyes of the spirits who were spinning in place turned round and round.
I’m a little sorry that I’m watching as if I was watching a doll that moves by itself.
When the spirit control was released, the mid-level wind spirits slumped to the ground.
“But do you also have dizziness?”
Clearly, dizziness is caused by some organ in the ear.
[[We are sensitive to the direction of the material world. It’s like having a compass that keeps spinning in your head.]]
“Well.”
You can figure out the direction yourself.
I got some good information.
After a while, I was practicing control while giving the spirits a group dance, when one of the guards approached me.
“Erif. Arumanan is looking for you.”
“Okay.”
It’s not dinner time yet, are you talking about a strategy?
I thought it would take a few more days.
When I entered the conference room where Arumanan was, several people were discussing something for a while, then all turned their heads to look at me.
“Hello.”
Because it was the first time I saw them, I bowed my head lightly to say hello, saw Arumanan’s hand gestures, and approached him.
“This is the core force that will help you with this work.”
Arumanan put his hand on my shoulder and said that he was proud, but the expressions on the faces of the people present were not very bright.
“You just look like a teenager.”
“Are you saying to stop a situation that might lead to war with such a child? Even from Selmeyer, who treated us like a dog last time?”
In particular, there was a strong backlash from people in military uniforms.
It looked like he was from Canael’s army or special forces side.
As there were only air force-oriented units under Arumanan, it seemed to have requested cooperation from other units.
The atmosphere became increasingly harsh.
Should I reveal that I am a humanoid spirit?
At that moment, I suddenly felt the air in the entire conference room tremble.
Everyone was bewildered by the unknown energy emanating from Arumanan.
“Know that an insult to a friend of mine is an insult to me.”
Everyone shut their mouths at Arumanan’s words.
After she gave her her thanks, she took a step forward.
If you show me the evidence of defeating the demons in the last demonic token, I’m sure you’ll understand.
“Silla.”
I called Sila, the most obvious witness, but, as usual, he didn’t show up right away.
In a windowless room, the air vibrated and the wind gathered over my head.
Starting with the flutter of my clothes, the papers on the table fluttered, and then the things I couldn’t catch flew into the air.
The people gathered in the conference room looked at this with their eyes wide open, or even turned their heads in the strong wind.
[[Who wakes me up!]]
Where did the usual high girl’s voice go, and the emerald hawk appeared with a stormy voice.
Silah, sitting on her outstretched arm, had her feathers inflated, making her look extraordinarily large.
“Higher spirits?”
One of them shouted in surprise, and Canael’s guards standing at the entrance to the conference room came running.
After a while, the wind stopped and Arumanan raised his hand, and the running soldiers retreated.
“She has already broken her demonic tokens. Her contract spirit, Greater Wind Spirit, was also holding back her mark.”
The entire conference room was noisy.
Some people looked at me like I was cutting, and some people looked like I was about to get up from my seat.
Among them, a warm-hearted grandfather in a military uniform brought out his words.
“Sir Arumanan. Our paratroopers are ready to go into action at any time. However, I would like to ask you a few questions.”
“Tell me, Commander.”
The commander opened his eyes that were almost closed.
A sharp beam of light that seemed to cut people with its eyes turned towards me.
“First of all, I understand that this incident is very important not only for our country but also for Selmeyer. Their participation can’t be expected like last time.”
“That’s right, sir. Our kingdom army is strong elite soldiers, but the number of ground troops is insufficient.”
Aruma Nan nodded her head and said.
“I fully understand. Selmeier’s defensive forces will be sufficiently mobilized in the provinces near the border. If you leave, they will rush in.”
Aruma Nan turned to her side and saw her lieutenant holding the papers.
“A large force is gathering in the area of Stilon, near the border with Khanbal. Only confirmed vehicles reach three digits. The name of the notice to our military is summer training, and the Kanbals must be nervous.”
The young soldier grunted a little at her lieutenant’s words.
“If it was enough to mobilize three-digit tanks… ….”
“Stop. Didn’t I say it’s already over?”
He shut his mouth at Arumanan’s stern words.
The commander closed his eyes again and drank his tea.
“Do you want to continue the story of the operation with this person?”
“I will have a full-fledged conversation with the commander of operations, the chief of intelligence, and the commander of the 1st Army.”
The unnamed people rose from their seats, greeted Aruma Nan, and left her conference room.
Everyone was avoiding my eyes for some reason.
Is it because of Sila sitting on her shoulder with her eyes wide open?
The meeting room, where even the guards were absent, became a completely closed room.
Aruma Nan took off her human mask, revealing her spirit face.
Her sober and arrogant, her past seemed to have returned to her.
“Operation will begin shortly after 21:00.”
Even though there were only a few hours left, everyone calmly nodded.
“You are in a hurry.”
An average-looking middle-aged man looked at his watch and answered the words of the commander of operations, a grandfather with a warm impression.
“I don’t have much time. According to the information sent by our agent, the token has already entered the ‘house’.”
“Hey, I have to hurry.”
Operation commander opens his eyes once again and his eyes glow.
Arumanan clapped once, and her shadowy lieutenant unfolded the map on the round table in the conference room.
“The house with the token is near here. The road to Kanbal is blocked by a cliff, and if you go out of the forest, you will reach Stilon. It is a bit far from the border of Korea, but it is a location where you can turn in this direction.”
“Hmm. If it is exposed to this level, it will not be difficult to recover after an attack.”
“The problem is that when we mobilize our air force, the Kanbal side can use that as an excuse to invade the south of Zafir. Already Kanbal’s forces are gathered around it.”
When Aruma Nan pointed to her map and explained, she screamed in pain.
“So we have to approach the ground or mobilize something else. But the enemy’s defense force is quite large. So, the retrieval must happen at the same time as the attack.”
“If airlifting is impossible, don’t you know that it is not easy to do so.”
“I have to find another way.”
Arumanan’s gaze turned to me.
“For example, a new relic of the Kingdom of Canael.”
Everyone’s eyes were focused on me.
As I was receiving their gaze, I suddenly remembered a time in the past.
A barracks much narrower than a conference room.
The days when I slept with heavy drinking as a lullaby.
Faces never to be seen again.
It was a terrible memory to call it a memory, but it was a nostalgic memory rather than a painful one.
There were many days when I had a hard time transporting the troops on Arumanan alone.
“Everyone, do you know it’s Helibon?”
So, preparations for the full-scale operation began.
“Everything is ready!”
“Okay! Rest until work!”
“Four!”
After the paratroopers gave a loud reply to my grandfather’s commander’s order, I loaded my body into it.
They were the most carefully selected and most elite of the paratroopers.
With them, I skipped dinner and practiced helibon without a break.
The gist of the operation is simple.
I subdue all external enemies and drop the paratroopers to retrieve the Demon’s Mark.
After that, while Selmeier and Canael held out their flippers to Kanbal, they purify the demon’s mark in a thoroughly hidden place.
In case Kanbal recognizes me, the new relic of Selmeier, I have prepared a countermeasure.
It was also the reason the hunter was so close with the Valkyrie, and it had to do with the blue jewel that Arumanan gave me now.
“Remember this?”
“Of course. Ten minutes?”
“15 Minutes. It’s been a while since I made it and I’ve put it in plenty.”
“Thank you.”
I put a mana stone in my pocket full of the magical powers of wind and water, which are the attributes of Arumanan.
The time is now 21:10.
The son-in-law was already engulfed in darkness.
“I will give a blessing to everyone.”
Five people who are directly involved in the operation have gathered.
When Aruma Nan touched her shoulder and forehead, she felt her mind become clearer and the sensations in her body were awakened.
She now realizes that I can do something similar.
There are many things to learn from Arumanan.
“Then, I will go.”
“Go safely.”
Aruma Nan held her hand tightly as if shaking her hand, released it, and headed towards her body.
After getting on the main body, she briefly reviewed the operation with the commander of the airborne unit.
“Alpha 1 overcame the cliff and Alpha 2 waits on the cliff. After Seraph 1 cleans up the area near the ‘house’ below. Alpha Team Gather and Run. That is all.”
“If you rush in and need firepower, call me right away.”
“I see.”
I felt like I was responding appropriately because I didn’t know my firepower yet.
Don’t make me cry for help.
“It’s 21:00. Operation Night Flight, start.”
With the operator’s instructions, the helicopter that hid itself in the dark quietly emerged.