“—Anyways, once night falls, all the teams will move together. We will go in from the four sides and gather at the large mausoleum in the center.”
“I see, we will be spotted easily if we do it in broad daylight.”
“—That’s true.”
They had a clear view of the surrounding area and saw no signs of surveillance or travelers. It didn't seem to be a problem to invade it now, but they should prepare for the unexpected. Moving in the dark was safer.
Although the operation began at nightfall, they might be able to gain further information by continuing to observe the ruins. They had limited time to complete their job, but the time used here would be well spent, at least according to the brains of the operation.
It wouldn’t have been a surprise if they had spent several days observing the site.
“Wouldn’t it be safer to scout the place with ‘invisibility’?”
“—We considered that, but there is a chance things might get hairy anyway, so we might as well do it together. Even in the worst case scenario, we will at least find out something.”
There were numerous ways to detect invisibility, so it was not a perfect spell. If the workers approached after using magic and were detected by the security of the ruins, the level of security of the opponent will rise even if they don’t know who the intruders might be. If they screw it up, they might not be able to infiltrate the place for days.
To avoid that from happening, they came up with the plan to move in at the same time.
Hekkeran nodded in understanding. There were flaws, but the plan was still balanced between the risk taken and the chance of completing the mission.
“I hope they give us some time to rest.”
“—Is that so. ‘Darkness’ and ‘Screaming Whip’ will take care of security. To play it safe, we will take turns standing guard. We will go in the order we arrived at the Earl’s home, two hours each.”
“Got it, so we are going last.”
“—That’s right. We will take the stage at the very end.”
Arche turned her head and shrugged after saying that.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
Roberdyck nodded at Arche.
“—How tiring. It took so long because that scumbag suggested invading via brute force. It took a lot of effort to convince him. He really doesn’t know what coordination means.”
“Ahh, that sword genius-san…”
“Calling him a shitty bastard would be enough.”
In the face of Imina’s murderous words, Hekkeran smiled wryly and changed the topic.
“Well then, let’s go back to camp and wait for our turn.”
“Agreed. It probably won’t rain for the time being, but it would be too late to prepare if it does. Imina-san, you’re up next, don’t keep showing that scary face.”
“Okay, ah, how infuriating. I really feel like stabbing him. Let’s set up camp far away from them.”
“It is fine as long as it is around the assigned spot.”
To be honest, it wasn’t fine, but it would be worse if they were too close to each other and started quarrelling.
Turning their backs to the ruins, the four of them started walking.
“—But the more I think about it, the more baffling it is. I don’t understand why the Earl would give out such a request.”
As they turned back because of those words, they found Arche had stopped to stare at the ruins.
“I couldn’t find anything about the reason, or the period these ruins were built. It’s like they suddenly popped up. The statues resemble those from the period before the Demon Gods Uprising, but have a more eastern feel about them. And the cross shaped tombstones… I don’t understand it at all.”
After listening to Arche’s mumbling, Hekkeran suppressed his smile and excitement with great effort.
“Which means the chance of finding something just as interesting is high, correct?”
“That’s correct. There must be frightening things inside.”
“...There will probably be horrifying undead inside, everyone.”
“—Uwah~, how scary.”
“—Too fake, Hekkeran. That doesn’t sound like me at all. And imitating my voice is creepy.”
“Ah, sorry about that.”
“But—it will be interesting.”
“Yup. Why does this cemetery exist? Who is entombed here? It stimulates my curiosity and thirst for knowledge.”
“I agree. Discovering the unknown is exciting.”
“—And finally money. It would be great if there is plenty of it.”
Hekkeran was satisfied by the smiles of his companions. There were times they did dirty work for money, but that wasn’t something they could talk about happily. Doing adventurer-like jobs suited them better.
Arche might not join in their adventures after taking custody of her sisters. It would definitely take some time to find another member to replace Arche, and more time was needed to adjust their team work. It was necessary to choose jobs that had lower difficulty.
This might be the last and hardest job they would take as a team.
From now on… Like adventurers… it would be nice to explore the unknown by taking on requests to adventure …
Hekkeran looked towards the sky that extended everywhere.
♦ ♦ ♦
As night enveloped the world, the workers came out from their well hidden low tents. For secretive individuals like themselves, it was time to go to work.
The adventurers began preparing food.
After lighting the kindling, which was a white, solid material, coal was added into the flames. The light from the flames were concealed by the effect of ‘Darkness’. ‘Darkness’ concealed the brightness, but not the fire itself. In the darkness, the flame boiled water extracted from the Infinite Waterskin.
The boiling water was poured into wooden bowls. The travel rations placed inside lost their shape and became fragrant soup. After adding hard bread, this was the food that was served to all.
The rest was up to their personal preference.
Although the bowl only had yellow soup—which workers liked for its nutrition and storage life, some people added thin slices of meat, other condiments, or they drank it as it was.
Everyone stopped after having a bowl. Considering the job ahead, this amount was too little.