Chapter 711: Two Little Rebels

Henwell doesn't quite know what to make of the two young people beside him.

Only after the expedition sets out does he realize something is wrong with Daisy's identity.

A girl from Peace Haven has infiltrated the King's Shield by posing as a member of the Military Intelligence Office.

Daisy has Knight-rank combat ability, but Henwell is certain that she does not belong to the Military Intelligence Office.

A mission like this would require one of its field officers.

Henwell knows every field officer in the Military Intelligence Office by name.

The office employs few women, and Henwell remembers every one of them.

It also avoids sending women on missions abroad whenever possible.

When a woman must be deployed, a full team operates around her to provide support and keep her safe.

Daisy has no outside support, and her intelligence training is plainly half-baked.

Henwell suspects she is the daughter of an official from the Military Intelligence Office or another civil or military department. She probably noticed the King's Shield while visiting Ika and decided to play at being a spy.

She may have brought the danger on herself, but now that Henwell has found her, he can't let her die here.

The girl does have talent. With a few deliberate pointers from Henwell, she improves quickly.

His latest headache is that Daisy has somehow set her sights on his current cover.

It is probably because standardized extraordinary equipment from Peace Haven appeared among Solomon's people, even though every serial number and mark linking it to Peace Haven had been removed.

Daisy likely comes from a well-connected family. One of her relatives may be a mid-ranking or senior military officer, which would explain why she knows Peace Haven's standardized extraordinary equipment so well.

A quick glance is enough for her to identify where it came from.

More than ten sets of advanced military equipment have leaked abroad. That cannot be a minor matter.

The hotheaded rookie follows the trail until it leads her to Henwell, the head of the Qili Guild.

She tries to draw intelligence out of him so she can eventually track down the "traitor" inside Peace Haven.

Daisy tries everything she can think of to get close to Henwell, even a painfully clumsy honey trap.

She is at least clever enough to approach him under the pretext of gathering information for Solomon.

Henwell has tried to shake off this little liability throughout the journey, but the Lady of Calamity and Alex demand too much of his attention. No good opportunity ever presents itself.

He has no choice but to find a way to protect this daughter of a decorated Peace Haven military family during the operations ahead.

Miller, for his part, really is from Peace Haven.

He also has a connection to Henwell, and most of what he previously said about Peace Haven is true.

Miller's brother-in-law, Jefferson, was a junior officer who broke the law to avenge his wife and killed the entire family responsible for her death.

Jefferson was later sent to Peace Haven's Technical Research Institute as a test subject, where he happened to meet Henwell during a riot.

Henwell pardoned him and used the opportunity to plant him inside Veil.

The operation's codename is Operation Stepping Stone.

Jefferson's personal codename is Bourne.

His identity is so highly classified that fewer than five people in all of Peace Haven know the truth.

Jefferson is Miller's brother-in-law, and Miller is the younger brother of the poor woman murdered by that wealthy family.

Miller admired Jefferson from childhood. While still in school, he constantly pestered Jefferson to teach him swordsmanship.

After Jefferson was "executed," Miller grew angrier the more he thought about it. In the end, he resigned from active service and left Peace Haven altogether.

Several years later, Henwell happened to find him working as a caravan guard in Lumir.

Henwell pulled a few strings and recruited Miller to work under his Qili Guild cover.

Miller has now been away from home for nearly ten years. Although he visits from time to time, he has always refused to settle in Peace Haven again.

Miller was never part of Henwell's plan to use this operation to purge the guild's disloyal members.

Yet somehow, Philir brought the young man along.

Jefferson is still serving Henwell and Peace Haven as their most endangered covert operative. Henwell cannot stand by and watch a member of his family die.

So now Henwell has two young troublemakers to protect, and the situation is giving him a headache.

Miller is sharp as well. Today's conversation has already made him suspect that Daisy might truly be from Peace Haven.

After several years together, Henwell knows the young man well.

Miller claims to hate Peace Haven, but he rarely tolerates anyone else speaking ill of it.

When he encounters caravans from Peace Haven while working as a guard, he goes over to talk with them and offers whatever help he can.

He also uses those caravans to send word home, along with money and gifts.

Miller is torn. He still cares about Peace Haven, but he cannot move past his resentment.

He has turned down more than one offer from Peace Haven caravans to take him home.

Miller is no ingrate. During both invasions by the three kingdoms, he requested leave to return and fight for Peace Haven.

He always claimed that he was going back to protect his family and take them away from the conflict.

Yet every time, he left alone as usual and allowed them to remain in Peace Haven.

Years spent traveling have made him understand that Peace Haven is already the best place to live on the entire continent.

It is precisely because Miller is not ungrateful that Henwell has invested so much in his training.

Henwell lets him study the military books brought from Peace Haven and train in various martial and combat techniques alongside Lodar.

Miller scoffs at the lessons in public, but studies and trains relentlessly in private.

In Henwell's judgment, Miller is already capable of handling a command of his own.

Once this mission ends, Henwell plans to put him in command of a unit in the Military Intelligence Office's Wind Raider Cavalry.

Over the next few days, Henwell visits Sir Dimoson's estate as Adolf, accompanying the Lady of Calamity to build rapport with the local lord.

The Lady of Calamity's Lady Thatcher identity already has interests in mining development.

Their cover story is that Lady Thatcher, a wealthy woman from Ika Kingdom, has brought a team to survey the area for mineral deposits.

She negotiates a partnership with Sir Dimoson. Once a deposit is confirmed, the two sides will develop it together.

Most minor lords in this world are dirt-poor because of their crude management.

Very few nobles would reject another source of steady income.

They like such arrangements even more when all they have to provide is the land, while someone else invests the money and sends them a share of the profits.

After three days of rest, the Lady of Calamity brings one piece of good news and one piece of bad news.

The good news is that they have permission to survey freely within the territory.

The bad news is that Sir Dimoson is exceptionally eager to protect his potential golden goose.

He insists on sending men with them to prevent the local herders and wandering bandits from causing trouble.

Solomon's expression darkens. "Can't we shake off this knightly lord? We need complete freedom of movement for what comes next!"

The Lady of Calamity replies, "This is already the best possible outcome!"

"It isn't entirely bad, either. His name alone will save us a great deal of trouble."

"Summer is almost here, and Sir Dimoson doesn't look like a man who enjoys hardship."

"I doubt he'll stay long before returning to his castle to escape the heat."