For the next day or so, Kuromi started to set up a system of sorts through all three of the locations that they chose as a base. She made it so that information could be passed along quite easily without being discovered since having a large group of people in one place was quite suspicious from an outsider’s point of view.
If they saw quite a few people going into the same alley, they would naturally be curious about what was in that alley. Since it was quite a stressful time at the moment, any acts that might be suspicious, even a little bit, would get high priority.
Right now, Shiro and Kuromi were in the base near the city walls as they discussed the information that Shiro had collected from the old compound.
“Hmm… do you think the weapons have something to do with this trial? It told us to resolve the corruption so if you think about it, the opposite of corruption would be good and celestial is technically ‘good’.” Kuromi asked while they sat side by side on the sofa.
“Maybe. I mean, I did get this spear quite early on so maybe it’s like a tutorial level in a game? Ones where you get a really good weapon but it’ the weakest of the bunch and better weapons can be found later.” Shiro replied while leaning her head on Kuromi’s shoulder.
Glancing at the book, she could make out an image of a gauntlet that was pretty similar to the one that she saw when she fought Rialin.
“If that’s the case, do you think this corruption is something that can only be solved once we get all of the weapons?”
“Perhaps. We can either go on a genocide and collect the weapons that way or try to solve it peacefully. Though that woman from the royal family has one of the weapons so I doubt they’ll just hand it over since she pretty much hates my guts. In addition to this, we don’t exactly have a long standing ‘presence’ of sorts so we can’t convince them either. If we were given a month or so to solidify our presence then there might be a small chance. However, since we’re apparently on a time limit, that might be a bad choice since friendly relations take a while to form.” Shiro replied while closing her eyes for a brief moment.
“Well slaughters aren’t exactly the best way to go about things. Remember a few quests that you had gotten a low grade previously due to rushing through everything with violence?” Kuromi smiled and poked Shiro’s nose.
Furrowing her brows slightly, Shiro rubbed her nose to get rid of the itch but kept her head on Kuromi’s shoulder.
“I guess… but it’s better than failing isn’t it? Though I suppose you’re right. How about this, I’ll only kill those that we absolutely have to if they won’t hand over the weapons. If they do, I’ll spare them. Of course, if they’re just down right evil then it’s the torture route.” Shiro suggested.
“I’ll accept that.” Kuromi chuckled before glancing at another pile of doc.u.ments by the side.
This was the information she had the Shadow Guards gather on the current defences spread throughout the city along with their manpower. Any exceptional guards had more in depth information written about them while the cannon fodder had nothing.
Reading through the notes, Shiro guessed that she could probably take on all of them as long as they didn’t have a celestial weapon like Rialin. Of course, that was under the assumption that she could finish things before they’re given a chance to perform their bigger spells which were much stronger than what she could manage at this moment.
“Do you think we should spark up some conflict between the two armies? They’re quite on edge and a single spark would probably set things off.” Shiro asked.
“Hm… maybe. The thing is we don’t want the Teriu guards to lose quickly since we need them to wear down the royal army. If we spark the conflict at a bad time, everything will be over in a flash.” Kuromi replied while glancing out at the windows.
Standing up, she looked towards the city walls and wondered to herself for a moment.
“However, since you mentioned the time limit not too long ago, I think we might need to stir things up ahead of schedule.” Kuromi said while narrowing her eyes.
“If that’s the case then should I go sneak my way into the royal army and try to assassinate Rialin so that it sparks a chain reaction? Plus, I need to get her gauntlets.” Shiro suggested with a smile.
“. . .I want to say yes but there are some worries. We don’t know how many powerful guards they have nor do we know their skill sets. If there happens to be a person like Phillip in their army, then you would have basically delivered yourself on a platter.” Kuromi shook her head.
“Hmm… Troublesome.”
“indeed. Just be patient for now and I’ll think of something for you.”
“Are you sure? I mean, you’re already quite busy with trying to improve the spell aren’t you?” Shiro asked with concern.
“It’s ok, I can deal with it.” Kuromi shook her head as Shiro only raised her eyebrows.
“Big sis, I know you think that you need to take on everything by yourself since you’re the big sis but I don’t need babying you know?”
“Really? Because I recall that you’ve been babying your party quite a bit despite them being competent in their own right. After all, they did hold off against you when you were brainwashed for a short moment during one of the raids. There are very few people that can do that around your level.” Kuromi chuckled while pinching Shiro’s cheeks.
“I suppose we are the same person so it makes sense. But both you and I know that I can handle it.” Shiro replied while trying her best to talk properly.
“True. I mean, if you really wanted to, I can’t stop you can I? In that scenario, the only thing I can do as your big sis is to support you as much as I can. After all, this is YOUR trial, not mine. I’ve already died and it’s a miracle for me to even be here.” Kuromi smiled softly.
Thinking about it for a moment, Shiro closed her eyes and smiled.
“Then what do you think is the most ‘Shiro’ thing to do right now?” Shiro asked.
“You’ll invade their army before they have a chance to get more reinforcements and take the gauntlet from that woman.”
“Yup. They say she’s essentially immortal but I know that as long as I cut her head off, she’ll die. Why else was she so desperate in our last battle when I tried to stab her in the neck?” Shiro grinned and hopped off the sofa.
Seeing Shiro acting so excited for murder, Kuromi couldn’t help but chuckle softly.
“If you go to the second base right now, you should be able to get one of the stronger swords that we have found in this city. You can use it as a substitute for when you fight that woman since we don’t want the spear to be broken.” Kuromi said as Shiro nodded.
“In that case then I’ll see you soon big sis.” Shiro waved her hand and left the building.
Making her way to the second base, she glanced towards the city walls and saw that there was a significant increase of soldiers stationed on the top of the wall.
‘Seems like they’re getting more worried about the battle starting soon. If I wait any longer, it might be hard for me to get a chance to kill that woman without others interfering.’ Shiro thought to herself while increasing her pace towards the base.
Once she arrived, she asked one of the shadow guards about the sword and was led to a spare room they had in the base. Looking in the room, Shiro could see different weapons being displayed as the guard handed her a sword.
“This is one of the sharpest swords we’ve found. While it may not compare to the Celestial Spear, it is much better than normal weaponry.” The guard said with a smile.
Holding the sword, Shiro gave it a few test swings and smiled in satisfaction.
“This should do for now. Anyways, keep up the good work.” Shiro nodded to the guard before leaving the base.
With a spare weapon in hand, it was time for her to assassinate Rialin so that she could get her hands on the Celestial Gauntlet.
