SWNOVELXO Chapter 186 - The Divine Cat Mii-chan, Operation Commence.
186 The Divine Cat Mii-chan, Operation Commence.
For breakfast, we kept it simple: grilled soy sauce rice balls and miso soup.
“Is this rice?” Jin-san asked curiously as he ate the grilled rice ball.
“Yes, it is.”
“When you say ‘rice,’ isn’t it supposed to be dry or kind of mushy?”
If you cook it normally, it is dry. Maybe he’s thinking of risotto when he says mushy?
“If you put some effort into how you cook it, it turns out like this. Pretty tasty, right?”
“It’s delicious.”
“The parts that are nicely grilled are particularly good.”
“This soup goes well with the rice too, it’s really tasty.”
“It’s called miso soup. You can buy instant miso soup at the Divine Cat Trading Company, so please feel free to support us.”
“Mii.”
“……”
How many are Letty-san and the guide planning to eat? Both of them are already on their fifth rice ball. Does the Thieves Guild not feed its members?
“That’s not it, boy. We’re just so busy that we need to eat whatever can fill our stomachs quickly. What you’ve prepared is not only easy to eat, but also delicious. It’s like a dream meal for us.”
The guide nodded in agreement as he continued to eat his grilled rice ball.
By the time he finished his sixth, breakfast was over. Wow, they really ate a lot. Rather than being amazed, I was impressed.
“Mii.”
Finally, it was time to depart. Since the rebel army is marching westward along the highway towards the royal capital, we veered off the road to the northeast, aiming to circle behind them. We’ll infiltrate the rebel camp at night when they set up camp.
Following the guide, we pushed forward through the unmarked paths on Sumire. Several times along the way, members of the Thieves Guild made contact with the guide to exchange information. According to Letty-san, they were intentionally guiding the enemy scouts away from our direction.
Thanks to that, by late afternoon, we had successfully circled behind the rebel army and were trailing them from about two kilometers behind.
According to the Thieves Guild’s report, the rebel army was beginning to set up camp. We arrived at a hill from where we could see the enemy camp.
Peering through the trees, the sight of nearly ten thousand soldiers was quite a spectacle. The camp seemed divided into several sections, likely separating nobles from regular soldiers.
Letty-san pointed towards the rear section of the camp, which seemed to be the Lotharingian camp. There were about ten large tents, and one of them likely housed the fellow summoners from my homeland.
“How are you going to infiltrate, boy?”
“It’ll be tough to sneak in without getting caught with all that security.”
“I don’t intend to sneak in. We’re going in through the front, openly.”
“Mii.”
“?!”
I had everyone except Letty-san remove their gear and change their clothes. Jin-san and the others would act as servants, while Letty-san donned her usual robe, hiding her face under the hood, and equipped her sword as a bodyguard. I also brought Lu-kun along since he would have a role to play.
We loaded barrels of liquor and other supplies onto the horses, leaving Sumire behind.
Yes, the plan was to infiltrate the rebel army camp by posing as merchants. Since they had left their supply unit behind, they were likely short on goods. That’s our opening.
“Alright, let’s go.”
“……”
Since I couldn’t bring Sumire and Lar-kun along, they stayed behind with the guide. With a worried shake of the head, Sumire and Lar-kun saw us off as I patted their heads.
“Qyu~”
“I’ll be back soon.”
“Mii.”
We approached the front of the rebel camp openly, and soon, a mounted scout rode up to meet us.
“Halt! Do you know you are approaching the Eastern Border Marquis’s army?!”
“We are traveling merchants. Upon hearing that the Marquis’s army would be here, we put everything we had into gathering supplies. Please, could you allow us to do business?”
I handed a pouch of money to Roselinde-san, who then passed it to the soldier. After checking the contents, the soldier nodded.
“Hmm, well, that’s commendable. But I still have a job to do. Show me your merchant guild ID.”
I handed Roselinde-san another pouch of money, which she passed to the soldier.
“We hope to use this business opportunity to establish ourselves as merchants in the capital. Please, have mercy.”
After checking the second pouch, the soldier pondered for a moment. As expected of a noble’s soldier—so greedy. I handed over yet another pouch.
“I see. A business opportunity, huh? That could indeed lead to our victory as well. Fine, seize your opportunity. Who knows, you might end up as a court merchant for the nobles in the future! Wahahaha!”
Fools. The fate of your army is already sealed, and while the head of the Divine Cat Trading Company loves ships, I have no interest in boarding a sinking one.
“Mii.”
After handing over several barrels of liquor to the Marquis’s soldiers, we were granted permission to set up shop in the center of the camp, where the nobles were stationed. As expected, supplies were scarce, and our goods sold out almost immediately. Some soldiers even paid double the price, not caring about receiving any change. They were clearly overly confident about their victory.
Easy money, huh? People heading to the afterlife don’t need cash.
So, what should we do next? As I pondered, the soldier from earlier returned, this time with a noble in tow.
“So, you’re the merchant? You’re pretty young. Is this all you have left?”
“We still have some stock, thanks to a party member with a storage skill.”
“Good. In that case, take the rest to the mercenary camp at the far end.”
“The mercenary camp, sir?”
“No need for unnecessary questions. Just focus on your trade.”
“Understood.”
Lucky for us! Though it was probably an attempt to accommodate Lotharingia, they’re far too careless.
Guided by a soldier, we transferred the goods to Lotharingia’s soldiers and set up shop in front of their camp. The currency was slightly different since it was a foreign nation, but Roselinde-san knew the exchange rate, so we accepted Lotharingian coins as payment. Once again, our goods sold out almost immediately.
“Who’s in that grand tent?” I asked.
“Ah, that one? It’s the tent of our capta… well, our boss and some guests.”
“What kind of person is your boss? Someone big and burly like a bear?”
“Hahaha, quite the opposite. He’s a thin, nervous type who barely shows himself outside.”
“And what about the guests?”
“Young folks, really. They’re probably future leaders.”
“I see…”
“Say, do you have anything interesting? Something that might amuse our guests?”
“How about these rare sweets?”
I presented red bean and sweet soy sauce dumplings. Anyone from my homeland would recognize them immediately.
“Sweets, huh? Well, that might just do the trick.”
The soldier took the dumplings and walked toward the large tent.
Let’s see if we get a reaction.
After selling quite a bit, we began to pack up. But the soldier returned, asking if we had any more dumplings. I told him I could make more, and we were promptly escorted into the tent.
“Listen, no disrespect will be tolerated towards the people inside. Just make the dumplings and serve them quietly. The rest of you wait here.”
I nodded at everyone, then entered the tent with Mii-chan and Lu-kun in my arms.
“He said he could make more, so I brought him.”
“Lu-kun, if you would.”
“Growl.”
Lu-kun gave the soldiers a creepy smile, instantly making them slump with unease.
First phase of the plan: success.
“Mii.”