Book 5: Volume 4 Chapter 9, A Feeling of Discomfort

Translator: Kazumi

Editor: Silavin

 

News from the Capital quickly reached the Smith Kingdom shadows’ camp near Mount Gabont.

 

The camp itself was carefully positioned. It was close enough to act, removed enough to avoid detection by the dark guild, whose base occupied the mountain. It housed the strongest of the shadows, assembled not because the base was expected to be especially difficult, but because this was a battle they had decided they could not afford to lose.

 

That difference mattered.

 

When confirmation of Peach’s success arrived, the shadows moved.

 

The plan was to strike the mountain base at night. With time still remaining, they used it to break down the camp methodically, assessing the base’s current state one final time, allowing their preparations to reach as close to perfection as possible.

 

The mountain base occupied a position with significance that went beyond what the dark guild’s finances could possibly afford.

 

Control of the roads through Mount Gabont meant control of the traffic flowing to several countries. It was not just one neighbouring nation, but a chain of them. If that chokepoint remained compromised, the effect on the Smith Kingdom’s economy was far from trivial.

 

The dark guild had secured it through bribery and long-standing relationships.

 

In fact, if the money had been circulating purely within domestic borders, even the shadows might have let it be. But the influence of another country had entered the equation. Once that happened, the matter was no longer something that could be quietly tolerated.

 

Moving the military would have announced the operation before it began. Thus, the shadows were the best answer for this. Thus, they were sent here.

 

When night came, they began.

 

The opening move was fire.

 

In the Capital it would have been unthinkable. Here, in a remote stretch of mountain with minimal civilian presence, fire could be used. Naturally, it was an effective first strike.

 

Whether the enemy had not anticipated an attack, or had simply miscalculated the timing, the fire created immediate utter chaos. The base’s leader was trying to reassert control, shouting orders into a space that was no longer listening to him, as the shadows moved through the confusion.

 

The base held approximately fifty men. The fire attack alone brought down more than thirty. By the time the remaining fighters had collected themselves enough to pick up their weapons, the number of them was already too small for it to matter much.

 

The shadows’ leader made directly for the enemy’s leader, as if it was only natural.

 

The man barely defended against the opening attack. He had the bearing of someone accustomed to being the strongest person in a given room, which might have served him well in most of the rooms he had occupied.

 

However, this was not one of them.

 

“Damn it! Hey! Someone—”

 

He tried to call for help. No one came. The ones who were still standing had their own problems.

 

“Damn it,” he said, quieter now.

 

It did not take long after that.

 

The shadows moved to assist wherever they were still needed, and the base was cleared in a span of time that surprised even those doing the clearing.

 

Their leader stood at the edge of the dying fire, watching the last of it settle.

 

“…I may have overestimated them.” He said.

 

No one was close enough to hear him. So, he did not seem to mind.

 

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The report reached Peach through Iris.

 

“I see.” Peach was already smiling before the last word had landed. “Good. Then we can move forward with the next—”

 

“No.”

 

Mitsuki, standing just behind and to the side of her, spoke without hesitation.

 

Peach paused. “At least let me finish my—”

 

“No.” The second response came in with the same mild, immovable wording as the first.

 

Peach let her head drop slightly. Around them, the Succubus who had been present kept their expressions neutral.

 

Iris, watching this, found herself reacting the same way. It was a sense that she was observing the surface of a conversation without being able to read its depth, what was hiding behind those words.

 

Iris naturally had to understand why. She was not simply Peach’s liaison. She was assigned to this role because of her competence, and that competence included reading the situation.

 

Peach’s fighting ability was genuinely impressive. She was controlled, efficient, effective. Mitsuki’s sudden ‘no’ had been striking for precisely that reason. There had been no obvious necessity to refuse. Victory should already be in hand.

 

Yet this happened..

 

Something had occurred that the two of them knew about and had not explained.

 

Peach, perhaps sensing the unspoken question gathering around her, offered a small, resigned smile.

 

“You don’t need to look so puzzled. I’m not trying to keep it hidden.”

 

“If we were in a situation where keeping it hidden was possible,” Mitsuki added, with the same measured tone she used for everything, “I suppose that would be different.”

 

Iris considered whether to ask. Then… “What do you mean?”

 

“Anyone who’s spent enough time in underground work knows the feeling,” Peach said. “When something in your body shifts. Something is off. You will notice it without meaning to. Even something small. Especially something small.”

 

Iris went still.

 

Mitsuki watched her digest what was being said.

 

“We don’t know for certain yet,” Mitsuki said, before anyone else could speak. “A sense of unease isn’t confirmation of anything.”

 

“That’s true.” Iris’s voice was more careful now. “There were no symptoms before the fight?”

 

“None,” Peach said.

 

She placed one hand, almost absently, against her stomach. The gesture was quiet. The room noticed it anyway.

 

There was a murmur. Then someone said something about reporting to someone higher up, and then two or three others agreed too quickly, and the atmosphere shifted toward something unsteady.

 

Mitsuki let it run for only a moment before she spoke.

 

“Wait.” The word didn’t have to be loud to be definite. “It’s too soon. Feeling something unfamiliar isn’t the same as knowing. We wait until there’s more to go on.”

 

“That makes sense.” Iris paused. “It may take some time before the picture is clear though.”

 

Peach tilted her head, studying her. “You speak as though you have experienced this before.”

 

“I have a daughter. I stepped away from active work for a time because of her.” Iris’s tone was straightforward, almost clinical, “I’ve been called back due to circumstances. But I’m familiar with what you’re describing.”

 

“I see,” Peach said.

 

The sharpness in the room softened slightly.

 

There was still no answer. There might not be for some time.

 

But Mitsuki’s next words went unanswered by argument, which was perhaps its own kind of answer.

 

“That doesn’t mean you should carry on as though nothing has changed. You need to take care of yourself until we know.”

 

Everyone present, excepting Peach, nodded.

 

Peach sighed, and did not argue. That alone was its own kind of answer too.