69. Plan of Action
Feb. 28, 2025
(gonna start doing dates like this. you'll see them edited in previous chapters later)
A/N: Hehe...chapter 69...
This chapter is a quite short, since I'm trying to recover from mental burnout. I'm also trying to figure out a good schedule and tempo to continue writing at a steady pace. Sorry to make you wait so long :')
Q: Have you ever experienced mental burnout?
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"Kill Ibara, huh?" You raised a brow in suspicion as your eyes stayed on the man before you. "Isn't he your boss?"
"He sure is. But that old fool's time is up and the harem needs to be under new management," Moz replied with a growing smirk--his eyes were completely grim and didn't match the rest of his face.
With a deadpanned stare, you commented, "I doubt the kingdom could run smoothly with you as the new ruler."
"Ouch. You don't have to be so blunt, (Y/N)-chan," he said, motioning his hands as he spoke. "But really, it needs a new ruler, and who else is a better choice than the old man? The only one standing in the way of that is the weapon."
"...and because of the weapon, I can imagine that my Kingdom offered up an opportunity to take it from her so you can get a chance of taking out Ibara," you deducted from the conversation.
He smiled wider with narrowed eyes. "They did, but because of you, they are all working under me. With you as a hostage, there was no way they could not obey me, especially that little victor of yours. And with you as a hostage, we can use that as an advantage to get close and assassinate the minister. How does that sound?"
"I...guess that sounds like a fine plan," you said, then started mumbling to yourself, "'Little' victor...? Is that what he thinks of Senku...?"
"Anyway, while you were asleep, your kingdom sent another message through this 'earpiece,'" the spearman informed you as he stood up, pointing at the earring on his ear. Using the tip of his weapon, he cut your restraints from a distance to keep you from avoiding him. As you rubbed your hands over your wrists, he continued, "We've got some sorcery items to pick up soon. They said they'd speak to us again when they've set it out."
Suddenly, the two of you heard scratching noises from the devices in your ears.
"What a coincidence..." you smiled gently.
Through the small device, you could hear Senku's voice speaking, "Yo. Listen up, fighters. Your new tools should be hidden outside of the palace by the cliffside. You'll be using these to go against the old man's army for our first show tonight. I'll give more details later in the day about our invasion, so keep your ears open. (Y/N), keep an eye out for the weapon. Safety and confirmation is priority."
"You got it, Mr. Sciencer," you quietly laughed to yourself, listening to the line cut off.
"'Sciencer?' Is that another word for sorcerer?" Moz wondered out loud. He shrugged his shoulders and said, "Whatever. Let's get going now."
The man started heading for the exit of the hut you were in. You got up to follow him, straightening your clothes out, which were thankfully cleaned, hopefully from the heavy rainfall from the night before. You used your hands to make sure that your appearance was alright, from your hair, to your face, to your body. The man looked down at you to see you standing by his side as he exited, a small smirk appearing on his face. The sun was rising, showing that a new day was about to begin.
"Any idea of what we should tell the minister? You did a number on my neck last night," you quietly asked him as you rubbed your hands against your neck. You also spotted soldiers already heading to their posts. Your (E/C) eyes could see the shock in their faces to see that you were still around, with Moz, after that stunt Kohaku pulled.
"We could tell them that we had a very rough night, (Y/N)-chan~" Moz chuckled, his gaze landing on your figure.
"Please drop dead," you dryly comment as your expression soured.
He slightly grinned, clearly having fun teasing you to hell and back. "I'm kidding. I already have an excuse. But I need you to work with me here when we tell the Ibara."
"I hope it's not something incredibly stupid."
"Don't worry, I'll even make sure you don't end up having to stay with that dirty old man."
"Well, aren't you considerate."
As the two of you got closer to the master's quarters, you could see a fair amount of soldiers surrounding the building. They were all working together to climb on top of the hut, trying to obtain your friend's petrified bodies from where they stood. There, at the foot of the building, was Ibara keeping an eye on them. It seemed as though he wanted them to be careful, seeing as the palace guards were being gentle as they lowered their bodies down to his feet.
Suddenly, Ibara's eyes seemed to open as he spotted both you and Moz heading his way. "Moz-kun, what is the meaning of this? Why did you bring (Y/N)-chan here?"
He replied smoothly, "I brought her here so she could say her goodbyes. After what happened to Kohaku-chan and Gin-chan, she felt distraught."
You slowly nodded. "Even though we've known each other for a short while, we were quite close..."
The old man's eyes narrowed, seemingly studying your features from head to toe. He asked you, "What happened to your neck?"
"I...I..." you started, then took a quick glance at Moz, hoping he'd answer for you.
"When the master used his power, an invader came and tried to kidnap her due to her blessings. Those injuries are from when they tried to kill her, but I saved her. The invader unfortunately escaped in the dead of night, so I could not see their face," Moz thoroughly explained to him. "Now that I've rescued her, she doesn't want to leave my side, seeing how clingy she is. Isn't that right, (Y/N)-chan?"
Your gaze told him that he was a dead man, but you started push your acting skills to the limit. Placing one hand over your heart, you took your other hand to pinch your leg as hard as you could. As tears pricked the corners of your eyes, you wrapped your arms around Moz's, gently embracing him. You turned your head to Ibara and softly wept, "If it weren't for Moz-sama, I would be dead...even with my power, the invaders are quite strong. Please...please let me stay with him...they'll surely appear once more to finish me off...I-I need him."
With a smirk, Moz raised a brow and stated, "So she says."
Ibara could only stare at your performance, as he was quite shocked to see you practically begging for your life before him. He placed a finger under his chin to think, then spoke, "I'm...sure the master will allow it...but I have a quick question for you, (Y/N)-chan..."
"Yes, I'll answer anything, as long I can stay with Moz-sama," you said, clinging tighter to the spearman's arm. You could feel Moz getting excited just from his pulse, which made you regret embracing him so suddenly. But you couldn't let go just yet.
Standing tall, the minister asked, "Did Kohaku-chan or Gin-chan say anything...strange...about the master to you?"
You shook your head. "No."
"I see..." Ibara looked down at the statues. "Then, you shall leave now. Say your goodbyes right your friends before we dispose of them."
You immediately let go of Moz and approached your friends statues, kneeling before them. You pretended you were mourning, placing your hands together to "pray" for them, "Goodbye, and rest in piece, Kohaku-chan, Gin-chan. I hope to meet you again some sunny day..."
"That's quite the short goodbye," said Moz as you stood up. You were quick to head back to his side to not raise any suspicion in front of Ibara.
"It'll be okay, since I know I will see them again." You had a small smile on your face as your gaze lingered on them for just a few more seconds. Moz just stared at you, which made you wonder what he was thinking at that moment.
"Well, we better get going. I'm going to patrol the palace, but (Y/N)-chan is staying with me, Ibara. I need her as a lure for the intruders," Moz spoke up as he wrapped an arm around you. You clenched your teeth upon feeling his touch on you, but kept a small smile on your face.
"Yes, yes, I understand. Get going." The minister had seemed to shoo the two of you away as he inspected the statues in front of him. "Be sure to return her safely."
Both of you walked away, seeing that he was a bit occupied with Kohaku and Ginro now. The entire walk to the palace entrance was dreadful, as you had to continue clinging to the man since every soldier had their eye on you. As you and Moz were out of sight after leaving, you quickly removed yourself from the man's arms and shivered in disgust.
"Ugh, that was awful," you groaned as you crouched down. You placed your head in your hands as you apologized to thin air, "Ah...I'm so sorry, Senku. I'll make it up to you when I see you again..."
"Heh...that was quite entertaining, (Y/N)-chan. Wanna do it again?" Moz questioned you with a smile.
"Absolutely not," you tightly hissed.
A small laugh escapes from his lips as he spoke, "Kidding, kidding. Makes me wonder if this is how you act with your champion. Is it?"
You sighed and placed your hands on your hips. "I'm not answering that--"
Not even a second later, you and Moz both heard a static coming through the earpieces. "Listen up, fighters. We have an update. Once word goes out that our show is a hit, we'll all gather at Wavebreak Cliff once we are all properly equipped. Make sure to send any signals of your progress. We will keep our eyes open."
You felt much better now that you've heard Senku's voice once again. It was like music to your ears. You turned your head to Moz. "Let's start getting the equipment Senku left out for us. There's no time to lose."
"Heh, you're feeling better now, aren't you?" Moz says with a smile.
"Better than when I was with you," you reply shortly. You quickly head for the cliffside to retrieve your gifts from your boyfriend.
-Later-
"These clothes are quite strange, but I can see their usefulness."
It was already night and the moon was at its highest as the two of you awaited in the trees outside of the palace. You and Moz were wearing black cloaks that covered your bodies to hide your identities. With those cloaks, Moz had gotten a new and improved spear with a thick, metal end to it. Meanwhile, you had gotten your katana back from the gang, which you had sorely missed. It was quite nice to have a familiar weapon in your hand once more.
"They probably made them like this to make it easy to replicate. Plus, it can hide smaller weapons from the enemy," you told him as you surveyed the area.
A tiny, flicker of light appears in the corner of your eye as you spot your targets. Just in time, you could hear the sound of static crackling in your ear.
"Hey fighters. I hope you're ready for your first show. Our kingdom of science is sorely lacking in numbers and only way to win is with a sudden, brutal show of power. That's where you two come in, (Y/N), Moz," said Senku, the sound of confidence dripping from his voice. "You'll convince them we're not to be dealt with!"
You heard Gen's voice through the line, "Make sure you target a strong braggart! He'll exaggerate his tale to make himself look better!"
Moz looked down at you. Despite the cloak and mask covering his face, you could still see that shit-eating smirk peeking through. "Right...so, under the cover of darkness, we will play the part of 'invader.'"
You nodded as you eyed your targets. Pointing your weapon at them, the moonlight revealed its sleek, shiny blade. "Exactly. Let's put this plan to action then, shall we?"
You and Moz dropped down from the trees to land on a few of Ibara's soldiers, including Oarashi. The spearman would sweep them off their feet with a single blow with his new weapon, while you, as a swordswoman, would cut their weapons like they were paper. With nothing to fight back with, they were practically helpless under your strength. Using the back of your blade, you'd knock them unconscious, while Moz would use brute force to leave them with a concussion.
Senku suddenly opened the radio line through the earpiece, speaking, "Oh, and make sure Moz doesn't kill them, (Y/N). We need them alive to spread the word about how strong we are!"
"Heh, already done," said Moz, as though he were replying to your partner. He was stepping over the fallen bodies of Oarashi'a group, not caring about their well-being whatsoever. "You don't need to tell your woman to watch over me."
"He can't hear you, you know," you reminded him in a "matter-of-fact" tone.
"Oh, right. What a bother this sorcery stuff is," he sighed in response.
Heading back to the palace, you replied "It's the best we got, for now."
-To be Continued-
A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Sorry again that it's quite short. I'll do my best to make the next chapter longer.
Man, if I were to make another fic, it'd be only under 50 chapters because this is hard work, especially when I've got school work and a job. (ï¼^â^)
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