Free Web NovelChapter 412: 412 Chapter: Hongmen Banquet_1
"With the strength of a prison warden like you, that number of people wouldn’t be a problem, right?" Daili forked the last small piece of strawberry cake into her mouth.
"For a brawl, your shadow demon seems more suitable." Aiden gave her a glance, "If you accidentally get killed, I will avenge you."
"Such tender concern really is touching, of course, if the warden would allow me to order a berry pie, I would be moved enough to want to marry you," Daili winked at Aiden.
"No, we agreed on just one dessert." Aiden firmly refused, "Also, it’s your turn to report."
"Ah, my heart, it’s broken." Daili sighed regretfully.
"Get on with it!"
"Alright, alright. I had that cat climb through the window and scout around the room. It turns out there aren’t many people visible inside; the entire hall is empty. There are two guards on the first floor, two people cooking in the kitchen, and one standing by a window on the second-floor corridor. We can’t get through the second-floor corridor. I wanted to climb the walls outside to check the attic, but then..."
"Then the patrol dogs in the yard spotted her and immediately chased after her; the person holding the dogs pulled out a gun and killed her." Presia added while tracing her fork around her dark chocolate crepe, her bird familiar had witnessed the entire sequence from a tree.
"Don’t talk as if it was me who got shot dead." Daili nudged Presia with her arm.
"Not even sparing a cat, the guards are really on edge," Aiden pondered, "Just this morning six people went in on a carriage, and we only saw that few inside... Did you notice how much food they were preparing in the kitchen?"
"Quite a lot, seems like it would be enough for at least a dozen people."
"A military fort without that many people would indeed be odd," Aiden nodded, "Were there any locked rooms?"
Daili shook her head: "I didn’t dare to check; I can control the cat to jump up and press the handle, but it can’t close the door when it leaves, and if someone were inside the room..."
"Okay, then were there any rooms that looked particularly suspicious?" Aiden continued, "On the first floor?"
"There’s a room that looks like a storeroom on the west side of the house, with a person sitting in a chair guarding the door."
"Considering the wine estate is built on such high ground, it’s unreasonable for there to be no cellar," Aiden looked at Presia, "Did you see any entrance leading underground in the yard?" freeωebnovēl.c૦m
"I haven’t seen one directly, but there’s a small shed that looks like it’s for storing tools," Presia replied.
"Cellars tend to have entrance both inside and outside; this cellar is large, and it most likely has an escape route. The real activity of this outpost is underground; the people above are all guards and logistics," Aiden nodded, "Hard to attack, easy to defend, it’s practically a military fortress. Not bad, it counts as some gain. It would be perfect if we could find the exit of their escape tunnel."
"Warden, there’s actually a question that I’ve been wanting to ask for a while..." Daili suddenly said.
"Hmm?" Aiden instinctively responded.
"You and Qiqimora, what happened?" Daili asked.
"You two seemed quite close before, didn’t you?" Presia followed up, "For a reconnaissance mission like this, Qiqimora alone could get it done, and surely better than us; why didn’t you ask her?"
"Did you really have a falling out?" Daili tilted her head.
"Broke up?" Presia also chimed in.
"You Great Witches really are all the same," Aiden shook his head, "She’s not in the autonomous state right now, so I can’t ask for her help."
"So that’s why we had the chance to taste the desserts from Seventh Street," Daili nodded. "Thanks to Qiqimora."
"Yeah, thanks to Qiqimora," Presia echoed.
"It should be me you’re thanking for footing the bill!" Aiden rapped the table continuously with his knuckles.
"So, Warden, what do you plan to do? The place they selected doesn’t look very safe," Daili shifted the subject back.
After a moment of thought, Aiden shook his head, "We can’t expect them to be as stupid as those pirates who jumped right into our home turf, eh? Better consider what kind of tricks they’ll play on this field."
"I don’t think you’re dumb enough to walk right into such an obvious trap and get yourself killed," Presia said, eyeing Aiden. "You’re doing this, there must be something in it for you, right? These soldiers... Are they related to ’that’?"
"Warden, can you give us a hint?" Daili also leaned in eagerly.
"I’ll tell you before we take action," Aiden chose to give them an affirmative response for now, rather than specific intelligence.
He did indeed intend to obtain the divine words from Heinz, which is why he was prepared to take the risk and go to this meeting.
Heinz had taken the initiative to expose such a vital stronghold to him and had outright proposed that kind of deal as a test of his stance.
The Royal Secret Police’s operations had been thwarted repeatedly and they were no longer able to act so conspicuously. If Aiden chose to inform the military police and take down this stronghold, the assassination attempt might be called off directly, and Heinz would likely leave the autonomous state as soon as possible.
Heinz was betting that Aiden’s eagerness to meddle in this matter was driven by the goal of acquiring the divine words. Thus, he believed that Aiden wouldn’t let him leave easily before obtaining them, prompting Aiden to figure out a way to attend this perilous banquet.
On this point, he was indeed right on the money.
"Are we all going together?" Presia asked.
"That I don’t insist on; you can choose for yourselves," Aiden said meaningfully, looking at Presia. "But I will consider your willingness to help as a factor in your rehabilitation."
"Doesn’t that mean we have to go?" Presia frowned. "Hmph, the core area’s inmates are nothing compared to how black-hearted you are."
Nominally, Daili and Presia each had a bit of divinity stored with Aiden. He had told them that he would consider returning it upon their release, depending on their behavior and reform within the prison.
"The same lineup as last time? Is Asenna coming too?" Daili asked.
"Better safe than sorry. But we need one more person," Aiden thought for a moment. "The inmate who’s recently been living with Asenna."
"By my observation, that guy seems to be a regular person, right? You’ve had Asenna protect a commoner, so I guess those people must be after his life, right?" Presia frowned. "Are you sending her to her death?"
"It is indeed to ’deliver death,’ but only by doing so will they let down their guard," Aiden smiled. "And, if we’re lucky, we might just be able to settle this without spilling any blood, thanks to her."
Presia was still a bit confused, but Daili got it and began nodding, "So, Warden, you’re saying you already have a plan?"
"Sort of."
"Having a plan is good news, and good news should be celebrated," Daili picked up the menu with a smile. "Let’s order another large dessert for the three of us to share. We’ll leave after we finish."
"Don’t even think about it. Finish this tea and it’s back to prison!"
