“…… Ruigne?”

A concerned voice was calling me as I sat with my eyes closed, trying to stabilized my mind frame that had stopped working.

“… Do you have anything I can wear to cover myself?”

Turning towards a worried Ghiscra who had averted her eyes, I think I made a pitiful expression as I asked that.

I entertained the thought of wearing a dress from her servant cloth but I’m not that desperate.

After a while, Ghiscra unsteadily unclasped her cloak and held it out towards me.

“…Thanks.”

I graciously took the cloak. Ah, this was like the time I got summoned, so nostalgic.

I tried to get up and turned this into a loincloth but I can’t.

……

It seems like the aftereffect of forcibly closing [Pandora] was severe as I couldn’t even move my leg muscles. I wrapped it around as I slightly able to get up.

Now then-

“… Ghiscra, I can’t move… can you carry me? The patrols are probably coming here after seeing the dome.”

I can die from embarrassment later, right now; we need to go back before anyone suspected that the decoys in our room aren’t us and the flashy dome are probably attracting some patrols nearby. We got out from the outpost in secret and we need to go back in secret.

Hesitating, Ghiscra was trying her best to get near me and after some clumsy manhandling; I was given a piggyback ride behind her.

Using ‘Wind Friend’ added with [Perfection], we swiftly move out from there. She was carrying me without any sign of struggling or imbalance. How strong is she? I guess Therius weren’t kidding when he said that Falskilan are a supreme master race, flawless in every aspect.

Along the way-

“You know, I just noticed; our positions are reversed. Remember last time, I was so weak that you had to carry me back to the Fhagec?”

“Oh, yeah that did happen although you were a mute who couldn’t even say anything other than ‘thank you’.”

“Well, put yourself in my position! I mean it’s hard talking to someone who you found awfully suspicious and being forcibly carried on his back and you’re a guy!”

Awfully suspicious? Fine, I concede to such point but being male is not a choice.

Both of us had small talks as we move through the trees. There were several times when I had accidentally grabbed her inappropriately whenever my hold faltered as she was practically gliding tenaciously. She shrugs it off in understanding although her face was slightly red.

Either way, she’s seems to be quite comfortable being around me now in contrast of back then.

As there was nothing else to do but holding and accidentally groping, I thought about the progress of my operation in Symokiva.

So far, we managed to improve our impression that the summoned are nothing like the rumours and the propaganda disseminated by the various powers in Symokiva. In the last three weeks before we came here, we’d done various visible and concrete works around except to the north to earn a favourable outlook from the tribes.

The only thing that mattered was that the general view of the eighty three tribes -which was the tribesmen-, was a positive one.

Although the chieftains of the tribes are the one who decides the course of their fate, they can’t leisurely decide something that can upset their fellow tribesmen.

So by being viewed in positive light, it served the purpose of us no longer being a material to keep the flames of revolution burning and the three Northern Houses, the governing entities that handle the tributary and supervision of the tribes would not suspect us to be colluding or sympathizing with the tribes.

Although the Fortress was rife with spies, Vefal had managed to identify which of them are from the tribes and which of them are from the Houses.

For the tribal spies, we let them do business as usual and control the information that we feed them while the Houses Spies were only there to check us or any signs of rebellion.

The tribes were quite subtle with their networking but even so, they slipped up twice so we fixed their mess with Vefal knocking out the Houses spies, bring them to Ghrukka and with the help from Light Purple, they would be under a hypnotised state to agree in memory erasure.

Of course, I am worried that after we left, the other summoned would mess up all our hard work but I can inform Rino, Aeriasus or Tevalini about the works and the status of the tribes here.

As for the north, originally, I was about to do the same thing but a chance discovery of Gervash flowers had changed it and so we supplement the original plan and judging by today, the result would at least be favourable… probably.

Now the only thing left to do was to solve this missing individual’s case and dispel the core of the rumour, which was originated from the Grey Star clan. I tried gathering information about that woman but there was nothing much, still, I should make an opportunity to meet her.

Oh and also that incoming show of unlawful mass gathering. While finishing the phase of the operation in the north, back at the Fortress, let see how they would play their card. Would they use the same reason or another stage show trying to undermine the Athryshiayl authority?

Either way, they are in for a surprise.

“We’re here, Ruigne.”

I peeked through her left side and saw the outpost from this distance.

“Okay, remember; act like we’d just finished our picnic and regarding my lack of clothing, let’s just say that we made love at the river and all of my clothing was accidentally washed away.”

“Alright, let us begin.”

[‘Eo, Alt, Corpori, Mutati’]

Both of us simultaneously cast Deep Purple ‘Stolen Body’ Basic Spell on ourselves. This was a spell that was used by those terrorist, The Sons of Eoum, when they were impersonating the guards.

It’s one of those rare spells that can last longer, almost a day and it’s only a basic level but one of the prerequisite to be able to cast ‘Stolen Body’ was that you needed to cast a supplement channelling spell of a light orange colour called ‘Body Visualizer’, another long-lasting spell in which you need to cast on the physical body that you want to change into in order to obtained a data of the body for ‘Stolen Body’ to work. To fully obtain the data, you need to keep a physical contact with the body on a certain amount of time.

Of course, after casting ‘Stolen Body’, ‘Body Visualizer’ would dissipate as the rule of only one enhancement applied.

The drawbacks of ‘Stolen Body’ were that you can’t make prolong physical contact with any other bodies during the state and it is dispelled if you cast other enhancement spells on yourself.

Our appearances change into a pair of native tribesman and woman that looked human but with transparent hair like Kadar Nara. Those people that we took appearance of were also a couple helping around the outpost. It was their off-day but with some goods, we managed to bribe them to borrow their identities for today and as it was also their off-day, we had to give out extra.

Only our clothes were unaffected but we had spare clothes of what servants would wear around here in our bags we carried but mine was obliterated.

As we walked casually, side by side, towards the entrance of the outpost, the guard that had seen us out was still the same.

“Karv, what happened to your cloth?”

The guard was staring at me in bewilderment as I wore purple loincloth.

“I lost all of them when I accidentally dropped my bag into the river.”

“Shit luck, man!”

I smiled sadly towards him as he laughed.

It seems like only about seven dots had passed since the morning we left earlier.

We were stopped by some soldiers about the same thing about my cloth and I gave them the same answer.

Ghiscra and I stopped short in front of the door to my room as I was hearing strange sound coming from inside the room. If it’s what I think it is, it’s only appropriate that I knock first.

After I knocked, the sound abruptly stopped, replaced by the sounds of frantic in nature. After a while, the door opened and the one who I doppelganger-ed was standing in between the slit of the door gap.

“M-master, you’re back.”

In a hushed tone, he whispered as he peered through.

“Yup, I did say it wouldn’t take a day. Anyway, we’re coming in. Both of you got your cloth on right?”

“Y-yes.”

He opened the door and Ghiscra and I entered. It smells of sweat and something salty. Seriously, in this span of time, were they procreating the entire time? I guess telling them to confined themselves in a room just give them reason to be horny.

Inside the room, the figures of a man and woman dressed in servant clothing albeit dishevelled was standing in front of my bed.

Ah, they did it on my bed…

Well, I’m not angry though since this guy got lucky. A bro gotta support other bro in their endeavour… yeah that’s consoling enough.

I held Ghiscra’s right hand and after what seems like ten seconds, our illusion dispersed.

“Ghiscra, you go change first.”

“Mhm.”

She murmured as she went into the bathroom.

“Well, good job you two, both of you had helped me a lot. Here’s half of the payment as I promised.”

Taking out several Quilens, I gave it to the man. His face became excited along with female behind him. I’m not afraid if he or his lover would leak this out since they don’t know what we were doing during our borrowed identities time.

“Thank you, master!”

“Yeah and remember to keep this a secret, alright?”

He nodded incessantly as he put all the Quilens into his pocket. They left the room and I sat on the floor waiting for Ghiscra to finish changing.

When she finally finished-

“Ghiscra, can you use Deep Green to get rid of the smell?”

She sniffed her nose and wrinkled her face.

“Were they playing something salt-based?”

“… Playing something salt-based... Ghiscra, what did you think they were doing?”

I was genuinely surprised. Was she joking or she really thought that…

“I mean, I heard some creaking sounds and some moaning, is it a physical game where the loser drinks salted water?”

……

Could she be one of those legendary sheltered princesses!? I’m going to play along.

“Yeah, you know, I heard it from a guard in the fortress that in Symokiva, there’s a game where a couple can play on the bed. It’s called ‘Chaven’ or simply ‘the creaking game’. The rule of the game is that the couple will make jump up and down on the bed for five whole minutes. If the bed got cracked and broke by one of them, then he or she is declared the loser and has to drink a cup of salted water.”

“Huh, that’s kind of an expensive hobby if you think about but… wait… as far as I know; most of the tribes use cots for sleeping so it’s impossible for making them creak!”

Watching her face realizing how absurd my explanation had said prompted me to burst into a laugh.