Nina and I went back to our inn room, which I renewed for another week, and we are currently discussing a strategy for the job while enjoying a bath. Sunset is fast approaching.
"I think it's a waste of time dealing with shady slavers – we're outsiders and finding the elves that way would be slow. I'd rather go in under the cover of darkness, exterminate everyone where they're being guarded, and bring the slaves to your old nest for temporary questioning and protection. We'll deal with any fallout there, then return them to their homes." (Mizuki)
Nina looks surprised by my proposal, but then seems to make it make sense to herself.
"Is this because the people keeping the slaves are crafty schemers like you, and you don't think they're worth the risk of trying to out-scheme?" (Nina)
I nod. I'm glad that she gets it.
"Yes. Also, based on Gerard's description this will be basically nothing but kidnapping victims and children. I'm not happy about the more mainstream slavery, but this is especially grotesque. Even if I knew I could get the same results by scheming and sparing them, I don't particularly want these slavers left breathing." (Mizuki)
For some reason, Nina finds that amusing.
"Fufufu…compassion or absolute destruction, you really know no compromise between the two, do you Mizuki?" (Nina)
Well…I think there might be some truth to that. I roll me eyes and then smile at her.
"You might not be entirely off the mark there." (Mizuki)
"So, what do you recommend doing first?" (Nina)
"First, and please don't get jealous, we need to go see Ilina and Klaus. I doubt it's a coincidence that there are suspected elf slaves in the same city she claimed to have business in. I want information from them about the situation before I go rushing in." (Mizuki)
Nina seems to purse her lips at Ilina's name, but she doesn't say anything. Instead, she nods her agreement.
"After that, I will use the same ability I used earlier today when tracking Levi. For him, I just tracked magic signatures, but that's not specific enough for this. If I can find an elf to practice the ability on, like Klaus, then I can learn to track where the elven slaves are anywhere in the city." (Mizuki)
Nina raises her eyebrows at that, impressed. Then, something seems to occur to her, and she smiles.
"So, since you've never been to Cedonia, I guess we can't teleport. Am I finally going to fly you somewhere in my dragon form?" (Nina)
Ohhh…right, she doesn't know.
"Uhm…actually it would probably be faster if I fly us, and I can do it while invisible." (Mizuki)
Nina looks surprised, but then smirks and continues.
"Fufufu…I'm impressed that you can fly, but I doubt that it's faster than me, Mizuki." (Nina)
I smile at her smugly.
"Oh, yeah? How long would it have taken you to fly from your nest to Elmesia?" (Mizuki)
Nina leans back in the tub, obviously impressed with herself.
"Only an hour, Mizuki." (Nina)
Truthfully, that's faster than I thought, but she still can't beat me. This is going to break her heart.
"I'll admit, that's pretty fast. However, the first time I came to find you I did it in, like, 20 minutes." (Mizuki)
Her eyes go wide in shock, not believing me, and she leans forward. However, after a moment she sees that I'm not joking and hangs her head dejectedly.
"Fine, we'll have you fly us." (Nina)
Poor dragon. Don't worry, though, I have a feeling we'll need you to fly us later for this job. I don't tell her that though.
After wrapping up our bath and grabbing some food, sunset is finally upon us. We gather our gear, and I teleport us to my training spot just outside Elmesia.
I focus on sending my magic sense out as far as I can in a roughly sixty-degree arc north to northeast, and I try detecting high elves. I get exactly one signature almost 400 km northeast of our location. If I'm gauging correctly, it seems like Ilina is already in Cedonia. Perfect.
I pull Nina close, then I activate my stealth flight skills and take us above the tree line. I orient us towards Ilina's signature, then take off at max speed.
Nina is in shock at the speed, and so am I, honestly. It's notably faster than the first day I used it. In what seems like twenty minutes, we can see the large city of Cedonia ahead of us.
In the dark, it looks like Elmesia minus the dense forest environment – a large city surrounded by a massive wall. I direct us towards Ilina's location within the city, and we arrive above a nice-looking inn towards the middle of the city.
[Nina, I'm going to set us down nearby. To avoid attention, I'm going to keep the concealment spells on us, so stay close to me. We're going to sneak through the inn, up to their room. Got it?] (Mizuki)
[Fufufufu…sounds fun!] (Nina)
I set us down on an empty part of the street near the inn, and I disable everything except the concealment spells. I wait until the foot traffic is lighter, then I walk us to the front entrance of the inn. I grab Nina and teleport us through the door to avoid ghostly activity.
Tracking Ilina's signature, I make my way up to their room on the third floor. When we arrive at their door, I scan the room with magic sense, just in case – yup, two people. I drop the silencing part of my concealment spell, then knock on the door quietly. I hear shuffling inside, then Klaus opens the door with his full cloak on.
While Klaus is looking around confused, I whisper while still invisible.
"Klaus, it's Mizuki. Open the door and let us in." (Mizuki)