Arc 2 Side Story 1 : Date

[Alisha PoV]

The holiday had arrived, and winter was drawing near. It seemed no snow fell here, unlike back in my homeland far to the north.

Southerners were truly fortunate, blessed with warm weather that made daily life and farming so much easier. Back in Slavia, we had to stockpile food before winter arrived, since finding any once the blizzards hit would be nearly impossible.

Right now, I was walking alone toward the academy gate. Ever since his loss to Brian, Leon seemed reluctant to always stay by my side. He'd been spending most of his time training in the dueling arena, striving to grow stronger.

It wasn't that I minded him taking his training more seriously. But with so little time left in my life, I wanted to make as many memories as I could with the people closest to me.

Arriving at the main gate, I saw a black-haired man waiting for me there. Hearing my footsteps, he turned around.

"How's your morning, Princess Alisha?" Raul greeted me.

"Same as usual," I answered him. "So, where are we headed today?"

"We'll be visiting a few districts around the capital," Raul answered. "Are you sure you don't want to take a carriage?"

"No need to worry. Walking lets me enjoy the atmosphere of the imperial capital much more."

We began walking away from the academy grounds. The city streets were bustling, even with winter already setting in.

I had to admit, the infrastructure of the Aragon Empire's capital far surpassed that of the Tsardom of Slavia's own capital. On top of that, the streets here were already paved with stone blocks, similar to the cities of the Republic of Venetia.

Seeing other nations so advanced and thriving left my heart feeling somewhat heavy. Unlike my own country, currently struggling to fend off wave after wave of monster attacks, the citizens here looked lively and cheerful, brimming with a sense of safety.

After walking around the city for several minutes, we finally arrived in an area filled with shops and upscale restaurants.

"This is the upper-class trading district," Raul said, coming to a stop. "Have you had breakfast?"

I simply shook my head in response to Raul's question.

"In that case, would you like to have breakfast somewhere I'd recommend?" Raul asked again.

Honestly, I wasn't the type to eat much in the morning. Still, I supposed there was no harm in trying some foreign cuisine.

"Of course."

Raul then led me to one of the restaurants in this district.

Stepping inside, I began hearing romantic music being performed live by musicians, creating a comfortable atmosphere throughout the restaurant.

"Sir, Miss, how may I assist you today?"

A waiter suddenly approached us. His manner was impeccably polished, almost like a palace attendant.

"A table for two, please," Raul answered the waiter.

"Understood," the waiter said, bowing his head to us. "Allow me to escort you both to your table."

We followed the waiter into the dining area, where people were enjoying their meals. Judging by the atmosphere, it seemed only well-off patrons dined here.

"Please, have a seat," the waiter said. "For appetizers, what would you like to order?"

Once seated, Raul looked over the menu on the table. He then selected my meal for me and relayed it to the waiter.

After ordering three dishes, the waiter poured wine into each of our glasses before leaving us alone.

Raul and I raised a toast before I took a sip of my drink. A wonderfully fragrant aroma reached me as the glass of wine drew close to my lips.

"What do you think, Princess Alisha? I believe this wine is imported directly from the Kingdom of Francia," Raul said, looking at me.

"Not bad. That kingdom's certainly known for producing some of the finest drinks on this continent," I answered casually.

As a member of a ruling family, I could easily enjoy luxuries like this back home. But I'd always felt reluctant to indulge in such extravagance while my own people suffered through the disaster of monster attacks.

This was the first time in months I'd had the chance to enjoy a truly fine wine.

"Speaking of the Republic of Venetia, how are relations between your country and them?" Raul asked me.

I suspected he was asking this to gather information about the Republic's relationships with other nations. That was because tensions between the Empire and the Republic had been escalating steadily over time.

"I believe we have a few trade agreements with them," I answered him. "I can't go into much detail about this with a foreign party, but I'd say our relationship with them remains cordial."

Most of my country's mineral exports went to the Republic. They needed materials and minerals from our land to build up their cities, striving to become the finest on the entire continent.

I still didn't know what stance my country would take if war actually broke out between the Empire and the Republic. Father and I hadn't discussed this matter in any depth yet.

After waiting a while, our food finally arrived. Raul and I paused our conversation and began enjoying our meal.

Once everything was finished, the waiter brought us dessert.

"I believe I tried this once in the Republic of Venetia, during our journey here," I said, tasting the dish. "If I'm not mistaken, it's called Misue, isn't it?"

"That's right," Raul said. "This dish does originate from Venetia and has been quite trendy lately."

For some reason, I noticed Raul's expression shift slightly as he tasted the Misue. Was something bothering him?

"Raul, is something wrong?" I asked him.

"Ah, it's nothing," Raul answered, still seemingly lost in thought. "It's just, this ice cream reminds me of home."

Huh? Ice cream? Home?

Wasn't he born in the Empire? Had I somehow misread Raul de Garcia's background information? I doubted it. So what exactly did he mean by "home"?

Once we finished our meal, we headed back out to continue enjoying the capital.

[??? PoV]

Right now, we were positioned not far from the building that would be our operation's target. Before beginning, the Captain gathered every member for a final briefing.

"Today's target is the ancient Armor artifact, a relic once belonging to the Hero Knight Pendragon," the Captain said, explaining the operation. "Our objective in stealing this artifact is to lower the Empire's soldiers' morale, should war ever break out between our nations."

We were a special unit under our nation's Intelligence Bureau. Nearly half a year had passed since we'd been assigned espionage duties, but this was the first time our superiors had entrusted us with a specialized operation.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

On top of that, thanks to the new weapon developed over the past several months, ordinary people like us would no longer need to rely so heavily on mages, unlike our predecessors' original vision when building our nation.

None of this would have been possible without Siena di Reginossa, a brilliant young talent whose guidance had made this weapon a reality.

"Two of our teams will hold off any city guards that respond, two teams will serve as decoys, and one team will carry the artifact out of this city."

Counting the team retrieving the artifact from the museum, the total number involved in this field operation reached fifty people. A fairly substantial number for an Intelligence Bureau operation.

"The first team will enter the museum to secure the artifact, sealed with specialized magic, once the first decoy team draws the city's security forces away," the Captain explained, laying out the operation's stages. "Two days ago, we finally obtained the magical seal code protecting the artifact's storage."

If I remembered correctly, it was Miss Siena who'd obtained this code and passed it along to our unit. She truly was the pride of our nation.

"Once we've secured the artifact, we'll clear out any guards who show up. The second decoy team will head out first, toward the main city gate, while the team carrying the artifact will pass through the ordinary trading district to exit the capital via an alternate route."

Getting the target safely out of the capital was going to be the hardest part of this operation. Every guard in the city would chase us relentlessly.

"Remember, if any of you get captured, you know exactly what to do, don't you?" the Captain asked, looking around at all of us.

Every member of the team simply nodded in response to the Captain's question.

As field members of an Intelligence unit, capture by the enemy was always an occupational hazard. They'd try to take us alive to extract information from us.

Which was exactly why every member carried poison, ready to end their own life before that could happen.

"Let's complete this mission, for the glory of our nation," the Captain said, raising his fist. "Glorio Patriossa!"

"Glorio Patriossa!"

"Glorio Patriossa!"

Everyone shouted our nation's rallying cry in unison, fueling our resolve.

We had to succeed in this mission. If our nation won the coming war against the Empire, our people would rise to glory on this continent.

[Raul PoV]

We'd been exploring the capital for nearly two hours now. After finishing our meal at the restaurant, I'd taken Princess Alisha to a music performance and a theater show. I figured those two spots would suit a first date with a woman rather well.

At least, that's how my own first date with Liana, my ex-girlfriend, had gone.

"Raul, do you happen to know where I could see the ancient Armor artifact belonging to the legendary hero Pendragon?" Princess Alisha asked, looking at me.

"Of course. That armor is currently housed in the national museum," I answered her. "I believe it's only about two kilometers from here."

We began walking toward the museum's location.

The Armor of the Legendary Hero Pendragon...

That artifact was the sole surviving relic of his, before he perished fighting the Demon King within the lore of the game Path of Destiny.

Actually, the armor had already been damaged during his battle against a dragon that once attacked the capital. He'd decided to retire it afterward and replace it with a new one.

Still, even though the artifact was damaged, remnants of Pendragon's own mana remained embedded within it, earning it S-class artifact status.

The Empire had since decided to display it in the museum, as a symbol of the Aragon knights' courage. They believed that as long as this artifact remained present in the imperial capital, the nation would endure, no matter how great a calamity might strike.

Something felt off...

I'd noticed the city guards looking noticeably anxious this whole time, whispering something among themselves.

"We need to hurry to the northern part of the city."

"What's happening?"

"A multipurpose building just exploded for no clear reason. Fire's spreading, causing quite a mess over there."

Hmm... an explosion? Wait, was there some major event scheduled for today in the game? I dug through my memory of the storyline, but I couldn't recall any event happening at this point at all.

After walking a few more minutes, the museum building finally came into view. But suddenly, I saw a crowd of people scrambling to flee out of the museum.

—Boom!

Before long, I heard a thunderous explosion coming from inside the museum. Smoke began billowing into the sky.

"Run from here!"

"There's a terrorist attack! Call the city guard, quick!"

We walked closer to try to figure out what was actually happening. Two carriages sat parked in front of the museum. Before long, several people emerged from within, carrying something covered in cloth.

"It seems they've stolen something from inside the museum," Princess Alisha remarked.

I didn't respond to her comment, my attention entirely fixed on the objects each of the thieves was holding.

There's no way... how could they possibly have that weapon!?

Three of the thieves noticed our approach, Princess Alisha and me, and immediately aimed the weapons they held directly at us.

I quickly wrapped my arms around Princess Alisha and dove behind a wooden table sitting at the edge of the street.

—Bang! Bang! Bang!

Loud gunshots rang out, wood splinters flying everywhere. Fortunately, the table was thick enough to absorb the bullets from their weapons.

There was no mistaking it — what I'd just seen were revolver-type firearms, the kind found back in my original world. But how could they possibly possess firearms!? I'd never set any nation in this world to be that technologically advanced, even at this late stage of the game.

"Raul, it seems you know exactly what they're using," Princess Alisha said. "I didn't detect any mana at all when they used that explosive spell against us."

Of course you wouldn't detect any magic — they weren't using magic at all. They were using firearms.

I needed to capture them and interrogate them about where they'd obtained these weapons.

Peeking toward the thieves, several climbed into the two carriages parked in front of the museum, while the rest mounted horses to escort them.

The thieves then split up — one carriage headed toward the main gate, while the other made for the trading district.

"Princess Alisha, could you wait here? I'm going after those thieves," I told her.

"No, I'm coming with you to chase them down," she answered. "I'm rather curious about those items in their hands, myself."

"Alright then, you go after the thieves heading toward the main gate, and I'll pursue the ones fleeing toward the trading district."

Parting ways with Princess Alisha, I activated Acceleration magic and sprinted after the thieves.

I cut through narrow alleyways to get ahead of them, then positioned myself to set up an ambush. If my prediction was correct, after passing through the trading district, they'd have to pass through the entertainment district to exit the capital via the southern route.

Arriving at the intersection leading into the entertainment district, I hid myself, ready to strike.

Before long, I spotted six horseback riders escorting a carriage positioned in the center of their formation.

The citizens around me looked panicked and confused by what was unfolding.

The group of thieves passed through the intersection, heading into the trading district. Seeing this, I quickly grabbed a trash can lid and leapt toward one of the riders.

The man's face showed shock, seeing me suddenly appear from the side.

I delivered a Flying Knee strike straight to his face, knocking him off his horse. I then grabbed the firearm he'd been holding and stashed it in my pocket.

"..."

"..."

The other thieves looked startled and immediately aimed their firearms at me.

—Bang! Bang! Bang!

Fortunately, I still had the trash can lid, and I positioned it in front of my body as a shield to block their gunfire.

Ahead of me, I spotted a rope dangling from the carriage.

"Kill the horse!" one of the thieves in the carriage shouted.

They then shot down the horse I was riding. Still, I managed to leap forward and grab the rope hanging from the carriage, planting the trash can lid beneath my feet like a snowboard.

—Bang! Bang! Bang!

They fired at me again, but I managed to dodge by controlling my footing on the lid, pulling off a quick maneuver.

Ahead of me, I saw a wooden plank propped against a pile of crates.

"You idiot, just cut the rope!" one of them shouted.

The rope I was holding was cut loose. I then slid onto the plank ahead of me and launched myself forward, flying past the front of the carriage.

Drawing the revolver I'd taken from the earlier thief, I aimed it at one of the horses pulling the carriage.

—Bang! Bang! Bang!

The horses collapsed, sending the carriage they were pulling tumbling over.

I landed on the road, and the six remaining riders dismounted, drawing their swords to confront me.

"How dare you ruin our plan!"

"I'll cut you to pieces, kid!"

Two of the six thieves rushed forward, swinging their swords at me.

I dodged easily and delivered a hard kick to one thief's leg, sending him tumbling to the ground.

The other thief unleashed a horizontal slash, but I ducked to dodge and countered with an uppercut to his jaw.

"Die!"

Another one lunged at me, but I grabbed his arm and locked it in place.

Two more of their companions charged at me, so I shoved this thief's body into them, causing all three to collide with each other.

After that, I easily took down all three of them.

That left only one remaining.

The last thief looked visibly panicked and began running to escape. But I easily caught up using Acceleration magic and kicked him hard into a nearby wall.

Walking over to him, I grabbed the thief's collar and lifted him into the air.

"Tell me, who gave you these weapons?" I asked him.

But he didn't answer my question, instead smiling.

"Gloria Patriossa..."

After saying this, he appeared to swallow something.

Before long, his body went limp. I checked for a pulse at his neck, but felt nothing at all.

It seemed he'd swallowed a poison pill previously concealed in his mouth, ensuring the enemy couldn't extract any information from him.

"Such a shame..."

Looking back at the other thieves I'd taken down earlier, it seemed they'd done the same thing, taking their own lives.

I examined the revolver I'd taken from the thieves earlier. I noticed a rune inscribed on the weapon, indicating it had been embedded with some kind of spell.

The rune on the revolver then began to glow.

—Crack!

The weapon I held suddenly shattered into pieces.

It seemed they'd embedded a self-destruction spell formation into this weapon, ensuring the technology couldn't be stolen by anyone else.

"Who gave them this weapon?"

That was the only question occupying my mind right now. I figured I needed to assign Karl Johnson to investigate this matter further.

It seemed these firearms hadn't been mass-produced yet, still existing only as prototypes.

That's because there had been absolutely no information about weapons like this circulating at all, throughout the nearly year and a half I'd been inhabiting Raul's body.

Had I disrupted the story's course once again? To the point where someone had managed to innovate and create firearms entirely on their own?