Squeak, and the door opens.

Hmm? What--

"Oh, hey, how do you--

　The soldier on the other side of the door is distrustful of the door that opened by itself, and as he comes toward you, you slam your hand into his neck.

　As your companion suddenly collapses, the other soldier rushes up to your companion, and you deliver a high kick to the jaw to reap his or her consciousness.

　You can hear the sound of armor falling to the floor with a crunch, but no one notices the sound and comes over here.

　Now there are no more witnesses. This is secrecy.

　This is the ancient art of concealment - "active concealment"!

　Huh, great: ...... You've mastered a new skill.

　It seems like there is no need to defeat the enemy if you activate the covert skill, however, the covert skill will be watched because of spatial discomfort, distrust of the flow of magic, and if the user moves violently, the effect will be lessened.
　These areas become less and less obvious as the skill level increases, but it means that you can't become completely invisible.
　Well, even if you reach skill level 10, you'll still be easily detected by, say, Leffi.

　The current soldier was distrustful of the door that opened by itself, and if he had done nothing, his presence would have been discovered.

　--Now, the infiltration is going well. Soldiers in helpless positions are being actively preyed upon for covertness like this, and I'm using the Evil Eye at the same time as I search, so the map inside the castle is being filled up and the interior is being stripped bare.

　The only problem is that it's hard to find the way to ...... the crucial dungeons.

　This is the map I always use. There's no denying that this map is useful, but its specifications require me to keep it in my sight once.

　Therefore, I don't know what's beyond the door, and I can't see any hostile reactions if there's no map. You will not find any hidden passages. You'll have to see this area with your own eyes.
　Eventually, as the level of the dungeon increases, it may be possible to do automatic mapping like in the game: ...... Well, that's not the case now anyway.

　In addition, the castle has some intricate paths that seem to be designed to accommodate the enemy when they get inside, and in addition to that, it seems to have some sort of magic trickery that causes you to take your eyes off the map for a bit and find yourself back in the same place.

　It's probably the same kind of psychic magic used by Roe, one of the wraith girls in my house: ...... Isn't this an inconvenience to those who live here? I'm sure it's definitely inconvenient, but I wonder what they're doing about it.

　...Maybe they have some magic tools that are not covered by that magical device. It's a royal castle of a country, so it's natural that they have that much equipment.

　With that in mind, I scavenged the corpse of a fallen soldier (not dead) while activating my analysis skill: ...... Bingo .

　A thin card, found in the inner pocket of a soldier.

　Certification Mage: Disables impediment magic in certain areas as long as you have it. Quality: B-.

　This could possibly be the soldiers' identification card. It's probably some kind of dog tag, judging by the name and rank engraved on its surface.
　It also serves as a pass for free passage inside the castle. Very well thought out.

　I'll take this one gratefully.


　--And that's when I stopped rummaging and stood up.


　With a click, a nearby door opens and a maid appears through it.

　Our eyes meet, me and the maid.

............

"............

　Eye-to-eye BGM playing in my brain.

　The secrecy has gone to ....... I'm so caught up in fishing that I'm out of it before I know it.

　She looked away from me, looked at the fallen soldier, returned her gaze to me who was standing near him, and then, with a huge intake of breath, breathed in again.

............ c--

"Whoa! Well, wait!

　She rushes to cover the maid's mouth, which was about to scream.

Listen, calm down. For God's sake, stop screaming. You understand?

　As she said this, she shook her head with a blue face, as if she thought she would be killed if she didn't obey.

　After seeing that the maid had calmed down, she slowly let go of his hand and spun the words in a shaky voice.

You're going to be able to find out if you've killed ......?

No, I didn't kill him. Look, he's still breathing.

　Well, in fact, it's not at all obvious to look at, since it's kind of a dying thing, but she seems to have believed the words, and a little bit of a relieved look on her face.

Listen, maid. In a few minutes, the castle will be in an uproar. If you don't want to get involved, you need to get away with your workmates as soon as possible.

"...... may also save the king and his daughter, ......?

"Huh? Oh, yeah, something like that.

　Your daughter ......? I thought the king was the only one being held.

　When I nodded, she turned her head and took my hand with a serious expression on her face.

"Oh, please! Please save those people!

"Oh, um, yeah, okay.

"The way to the dungeon with the kings is over there, please, please, God bless you. ......


　　　* * *


　Thanks to the maid for the right way, you will easily find your way to the dungeon without getting lost afterwards.
　The dog tags you took from the soldier will be big too. It was a strange sensation, but it felt like your vision had opened up.
　Perhaps the magic that was planted was one that interfered with your brain's perception the moment you were distracted.

　Well, anyway, the way to the dungeon was outside. No wonder we couldn't find it even if we searched around inside the castle.

　There were two soldiers in front of them on guard, but they were concealed by active camouflage. The perfect assassinate. But I didn't kill him.

　Incidentally, that maid, having checked her movements on the map as far as she could see, obediently followed my advice and evacuated.
　You're lucky I didn't let the big guy tell you of my existence.



　I glimpse a soldier properly incapacitated and then open the solid door to the stairs that lead down to the basement.

　The air is slightly cooler, and the smell of rotten food has gone bad.

　You descend the stone staircase, trying to keep your footsteps to a minimum, and soon your hearing picks up on the sounds and voices.

　Over and over again, the sound of the beating (・・・・) and the sound of a crushed (・・・・・・) scream (・・・・・) that rises with each one.

"Iggh, yah, stop, te ......

I'm sorry, princess. I'm sorry, princess. You hate your father for being so stubborn. Ora!

　--The man who came into my sight right below me, in one of the prisons, was engrossed in beating and kicking the half-naked little girl, breathing heavily, huffing and puffing, with the lower half of his body enlarged, huffing and puffing.

'You! Stop, stop!

　In the next cell, with his expensive clothes smeared with dirt, he looks at her with hatred and rage in his eyes, while his body is torn to pieces, and he is approaching old age, clenching his teeth as if his blood is about to drip out.

　Your emotions are rapidly cooling off.

　...... let's kill that shit.

　You're going to be able to find out if you're going to be able to get a good deal more information on the subject.

You can also have a look at the following information

You'll be thriving in the afterlife, pervert.

　Bladed from his chest, the vicious ape spat out blood from his mouth with a look of euphoria on his face, and before he even realized what had happened, he fell down in a heap, like a puppet on a string - and died.
　Like a puppet whose strings had been cut, he slumped to the spot - and died.

　You're going to be able to find out if you're going to be able to get a good deal more information on the subject.

　Tsk. ...... disgusting .

　It's a good thing that the scum of the earth can be found everywhere.

"...... Yushasha-sama ......?

　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make your life easier and more fun.

...... Oh. You're all right now. You've been working hard.

　As I patted her head and said the words back, she looked truly relieved - and then let go of her consciousness.

You are ......?

　The man in the next cell, while expressing great relief that this girl, who seems to be his daughter, has been saved, however, he is unable to keep up with the sudden situation and screams in confusion.

　I drape a blanket over the half-naked girl from the item box and then, with a huff, I turn to the next cell.


"Hey, my king.


　He grinned behind his mask and spoke to the man - the king (...).