Sora’s POV

I am in such deep sh*t!

I promise you the grandest show Feladonia has ever seen?

I must have been crazy to say something like that.

What the hell was I even thinking!

I look around me, there are at least thirty or forty soldiers who have their gaze set on me.

[What will you do now Monster-san?] Sebastian asked me.

His question was echoing in my mind.

I had no clue what I am going to do now….My plan ended when I gave the Abbe the cryptic message.

I know how to escape if I am in mortal danger….but I have no clue what to do right now…

I could see the mages on my right side lifting their staffs.

I better do something quick…

***

“I SURRENDER!” Sora shouted out as he let go of the store keeper.

“I mean no harm.” He said as he raised his hands into the air. He opened them up to reveal that he held nothing.

[What are you doing?] The black butler asked as he watched Sora kneel down.

[Surrendering.] Sora replied. Sora would have smiled if he could however any criminal who just unconditionally surrenders would be treated suspiciously if he were seen smiling. [I rather surrender than die…]

The black butler would have accused Sora of lying however he knew that Sora would not give up without a fight. He knew so since the Abbe was still in the store hiding. Sora needed to create a big enough distraction so that the Abbe could get away unseen. However, the current situation of Sora surrendering was a complete downer and came as a surprise to the Butler.

[I’ll take care of him the first chance I see…] Sebastian thought to himself as he watched the show unravel from the roof top of a nearby building.

The store owner was too frightened to move away from the terrorist. The store owner honestly believed if he tried to run away now, Sora would stab him in the back.

Even the elite soldiers were perplexed by the situation. They had never encountered a situation where someone unconditionally surrenders…and to begin with Sora was not the person they were after…it just happened one thing led to another and before they knew it they found themselves with a hostage crisis. Normally, a store owner’s life isn’t a high value life however by the laws laid down by the Old Emperor of the Empire, the soldiers had to give due consideration to even the store owner’s life. Hence, the soldiers were willing to bargain….with Sora surrendering….the soldiers had no clue whether they could trust him or not.

The “elite” soldiers looked on at each other; their faces said that neither of them had a clue what to do next. They knew nothing about Sora or his powers. They didn’t know if he was a warrior or a mage…or an adventurer? And if he was an adventurer then there might be some rule or power in effect which may activate when they got to close to him…. In effect Sora surrendering could be a fatal trap….or so everyone thought.

Vanessa Tylor looked on at the situation grimly as her troops looked towards her for her command. She was the youngest commander of the elite forces in history and the only human to reach the position. The responsibility on her shoulders were doubled for those reasons. One single mistake on her part would bring about a tornado of criticism against her. Those jealous of her success would immediately demand her resignation and speak against those who favoured her. She did not really care about what people had to say however she did care about those who worked under her.

Right now, there were sixty people involved in the operation to take out the spy. The mission was supposed to be a simple one. They had received a tip off from one of their own informants that their nemesis’ best spy was hiding in town. The Abbe Faria as he would refer to himself had deceived the Empire for decades….however Vanessa was the first to realize that the Abbe was a spy. Her original plan was to disseminate fake information to the Abbe so that he conveys the same to the Alliance however after noticing that he was leading an honest life…working hard as a clerk inn…her plans came to naught…she was about to give up when she noticed that he requested for a border clearance…

A border clearance is something like a visa that the Empire uses in the absence of any form of identification. Again, these safeguards were implemented by the Old Emperor.

Vanessa thought she finally had the Abbe when she was the clearance. Using her special privileges she intervened in the border office’s affairs and approved the clearance. She had assumed the person the Abbe wanted to bring in was some sort of ally or another spy….but the Abbe’s strange behaviour continued to disappoint her. The Abbe brought a sick person into the town. He was wrapped up in bandages and he gave off a very feeble aura.

Vanessa couldn’t even feel the faintest of magical abilities from the person. Vanessa being gifted with extraordinary senses was certain that this sick person was incapable of magic (unless he had amazingly high distortion abilities ….which she doubted). Furthermore, she had the ability to read people’s basic stats. When she read Sora’s stats they all indicated him being below an average warrior. When she saw the stats it ruled out the possibilities of an assassin or some kind of a warrior…with no magical affinity it was impossible to be a mage or a spy…

She would have thought of other options however seeing the Abbe with him and a woman and child….Vanessa could only believe that this person was completely non related to anything to do with the Alliance…

She was suspicious as to Sora’s identity since she could not establish his identity…however she was not worried about him too much.

Vanessa rubbed her temples, massaging them to prevent the oncoming headache. ‘How did it come to this? Why was he working as a clerk? Wasn’t he the great spy I imagined him to be?’

Vanessa looked at the situation that unfolded….from a hostage crisis it turned into a mockery of a hostage crisis…. ‘What kind of terrorist surrenders unconditionally?’ She wondered. ‘He even let go off the hostage, held his arms up and knelt down…’

Vanessa was troubled. She was bothered because she began doubting her own reading abilities. The person in front of her was weak yet he walked in front of them with complete confidence and surrendered. Vanessa wondered if the person in front of her was actually very powerful and had hidden his abilities from her reading….if that were the case then all sixty soldiers present here would not be enough to stop the terrorist…

“Commander!” A soldier called out as he wondered why the commander of the elite forces was taking so long to decide.

Vanessa had to make a call, either Sora was an over powered terrorist or a coward weakling.