THAT DAY I BECAME A STAR

"Ahem."

One of the knights reminds me of the place where we are after a while.

"S-sorry."

I pat K'nor's head slowly and stand back up. The knights and Peter are looking at me with weird and angry looks. Only Cordel and Esteressa are slightly smiling.

"Anyway, unless somebody wants to know who he is working with, we will skip the presentations. I believe everyone here was handpicked by master Frankher."

"Yes." We all answer in unison then the knight who took the floor, with his grey beard, brings out a map and places it on the ground..

It is a big map, showing a forest, with a cross on it, then a city, in that city, which is vaguely represented, there is a certain mansion that is clearly and very well detailed.

"Our objective is the Grandcross mansion."

"Eh?"

"What is it?"

"We aren't going to the Flolerl's order?"

"No, the last informant here told us that most of the Flolerl's secret affairs are conducted in the Grandcross mansion. There are some secret meetings organized in the Silonia mansion as well. But the degree of activities isn't comparable." So Borgas is in this as well, huh. I am not surprised when I remember what he told Mark back then.

"Isn't there a chance that it is a trap? Should we not inspect the Flolerl's castle instead?" I mean, it was a pretty big trap the last time. I am pretty sure Veronica has prepared a good welcome party for us this time as well. And if Tatiana is here as well…

"There is. That's why we will divide ourselves in three teams." Of course. "Two people will go to the Silonia mansion. You and you." The knight points at Esteressa and another knight.

"What? No! I am going wi-" Esteressa immediately refuses but the knight's face hardens instantly.

"This is an order. You either follow it or go back."

"I…"

"It's okay, Es." Cordel pats her head slowly. I think I would speak for everyone if I say we don't need couples here right now.

"I understand. I will go." She finally resigns herself and takes a step back.

"Good. Then you two will go to the Flolerl castle." The knight points at two other knights. Sending only two people to the Flolerl's castle? That's a bit irresponsible, I think.

"Can I go there instead? Even if I am alone." The probability that I find something there is higher since I know the place a bit more. Anything that will tell me Tatiana's location is good.

"No. We stick to the plan. To my plan."

"…Okay." Well, I can still go there after this if everything goes smoothly.

"Your mission is only to inquire about the level of activities there. Then you will immediately join us back. For the rest, our mission is simple: we must find proofs of the experiments conducted by the Flolerl and the Grandcross."

At those words, Peter's face changes. The painful memories of what happened last time are still etched into our minds and on our bodies. Finding evidence became the hardest and most deadly mission we ever took on. If there are other Longinus like that one here, this will turn into a suicide mission. If only I can find Tatiana first and restore my draconic powers.

"Proofs, huh…"

"I know you two have already experienced something similar. I won't lie, this mission will be harder than we can possibly imagine. All of the people who were sent before, all of them, were slaughtered. In fact, the other reason I am sending some of us elsewhere is so that we aren't all killed at the same time."

"I won't let Cordel die here!"

Esteressa explodes instantly. The guy actually blushes like a shy maiden. There was no real need to tell us that. We knew already.

"Well, let just say we will all survive." You are too optimistic, Cordel.

"Let's indeed hope so. Now, I will explain the details of the mansion that we obtained and assigned a role and area to each person."

"Yes, sir."

***

"Is everyone ready?"

"Yes, sir!!"

"Good! Move out!!"

With a single jump, we advance towards Onklah. The big star on the map was our initial position and the rally point. We all have to go to the city then separate at the outskirts of the city. At least, this time, there are no goodbyes pronounced.

We move as quietly as we can into the city and even pass by the old warehouse where I found Lanuvel. We pass by the tavern as well and I notice something. The city is quiet. There aren't many people walking around. It might not be the middle of the day but still, it is the capital of a kingdom. I won't say this is bad but it might be worse than I thought.

Arrived at the Grandcross mansion, I almost don't recognize the place.

"Do Lanuvel know what has happened to her home?" Now is not the time for questions, Cordel.

But he is right, this place looks nothing like I remember. It's dirty, trashy, dark. And we are still outside. There are no maids in sight and the garden has turned wild as well.

"Let's go. Everyone knows what he has to do, right?"

"Yes, sir."

"Woof!"

"Good."

We disperse and enter the mansion through different areas. I am supposed to search the basement of the mansion. Apparently, Lanuvel helped Frankher drawing this map at the time she entered the academy. Which means that he was already prepared to investigate here for a long while.

In any case, there are supposed to be two floors in the basement of the mansion as well as a tower. That's where I was kept. To access the basement, you can either go by the kitchen or through a trap door located in the stables of the mansion. I go to the stables and find the entrance right where it is supposed to be.

I open the trap door and the smell that comes out almost destroys my nose. What the hell is happening down there?

"Sorry, K'nor. It's better for you to stay here, just in case."

"Woof!"

K'nor sits near the trap door like the good boy he is and I enter. The smell is really terrible here. I walk through an alley that is completely dark then at the end, I find a wall. Was there supposed to be a wall there? Maybe they sealed this entrance. Then it's better if I enter through here, they won't see it coming. But how can I bust it open without anyone…

Suddenly, I feel the presence of Longinus behind the wall. Well, I am not sure it is a Longinus but there is an active crystal behind this wall. I take a stance, ready to counter but the presence just stays there for a while then goes away.

"Wow." Seriously, there are Longinus patrolling inside?!!! We are in deep shit.

In any case, it won't be possible to enter through here without being noticed. It's better to take another path. I go back outside then bring K'nor to the kitchen. Unsurprisingly, there is nobody in the kitchen as well. In fact, this place really looks like it hasn't been used for the past couple of weeks at least.

While I am opening the door leading to the basement, I hear a noise. I don't feel anything Longinus-like so I guess it's either one of our guys or a resident of the mansion. Still, I hide near a drawer and K'nor enters the door leading to the basement. The noise is coming from the outside. After a while, Cordel appears inside the kitchen, carrying a small, ill-looking girl on his back.

"Fuuu…I hope he went through here."

"What are you doing?"

The guy shudders like a grasshopper and in an instant, brings his scythe out and up my neck. He has tied the girl on his back so she isn't restricting his movement.

"You scared me." I push his scythe away then look at the girl behind him.

"You were supposed to inspect the tower, right?"

"Yes."

"And you have finished already?"

"The stairs leading to the upper floors of the tower were broken. And I thought it was weird that this little girl was tied up like a prisoner in a room. So I-"

"It's okay. I don't really care." She doesn't have any crystals so I can lower my guard a little. "Has she woken up yet?"

"No. But she is still breathing."

"Okay. I haven't been able to access the basement through the trap door. And there is a high chance that there are Longinus down there from the noises I heard."

"So there really are humans cooperating with the Longinus. Such a tragedy."

"You will wait here?"

"No, let me just hide this girl somewhere and we will grab her while leaving."

"If we leave."

"We will."

"If you say so."