The Extra of The Lunerra

I didn't become an intern in my own company.

It would have been easier if I had... but instead, the prince registered me in a small unit directly under the royalty.

It wasn't... much of a problem, I guess. At least he could still make me look like I was still within the borders of Cevilian. And since he was directly involved in my plan, I didn't have to drag in someone like Ronald or Jonathan.

I wanted to do it without any outside help except Lucas.

So I didn't push too hard, even though I had a slightly different start than I had planned.

Like that, preparations began again.

I could have used the gates to get directly to Piarlin. Or a jet could have done the job.

But my preferred method of transportation this time, for obvious reasons, was by land. Piarlin was a neighboring kingdom located just below Cevilian. So land transportation was not too troublesome, it was just going to take longer than usual.

About... twenty-eight hours.

As I said, there was not much I could do about it, as it was necessary.

After I started the preparations for the trip, I wrote a message to the study group. Which... is actually no longer a 'study' group, although that's what we used to call it, saying that I might be unavailable for two months.

Well, I'm not exactly sure what I was expecting. But when I saw the messages…

<<------------------------------

Julian: Oh, again...?

Lucia: ...

Adrian: Well... I might have a similar situation, actually...

Julian: ...

------------------------------>>

I did nothing but look at the screen.

It was like... they were sure something was going to happen again this time, but they were holding back.

It was especially complicated when Adrian said something similar to mine.

Celine was already aware that I was going to be busy until August. So I didn't expect to see her in the group, but after a while, she joined the duo interrogating Adrian.

And that's when I realized a detail.

These guys... they didn't interrogate me or anything.

They just reacted like, 'Again?'.

But when Adrian said the same thing, they were all over him.

'I wonder why...'

I frowned the moment I heard Sith's voice.

"What? Are you implying something?"

But he simply sighed inside my mind.

'I don't know, am I? What do you think?'

I clicked my tongue. I was about to close the messaging app when a recent one caught my eye.

<<------------------------------

Lucia: I don't know how busy you will be but if you have any questions or want to talk, don't forget to write here @You.

Julian: Exactly.

Julian: It's a bit worrying because I have zero trust in Adrian, but I'm sure you know what you're doing. That's why we're not pushing it. Don't forget that we are still here.

------------------------------>>

...

Okay.

Just a little bit.

Not much, I may have misunderstood just a tiny bit.

<<------------------------------

Adrian: Hey, wait... why do you have zero trust in me?

You: Thanks, I guess?

Julian: Whatever you're planning, good luck!

Lucia: Likewise.

Adrian: Hey, don't ignore me! I asked something!

Celine: Bye Aiden!

Adrian: ...

------------------------------>>

I closed the app.

It seems I didn't need to worry about them, for now.

After all, the things I had planned for them were around August. I had other things to focus on until that time.

For the moment... I could give my all to Piarlin and Old Gundam.

And that's exactly what I was going to do.

*******

For "From the moment you step foot in Piarlin, Aiden, you will be alone."

The final talks were taking place.

"I'm aware."

Or rather... Lucas was giving his final warnings.

"I will have no influence in that land. Likewise, no one you know will have any influence."

"I know."

He knew the plan inside out.

He was aware of everything.

Furthermore, I had assured him that Cevilian would not be harmed in any way.

So there was no reason for him to refuse my plan. That's also why he agreed to help me.

But, for some reason, now that the time had come, he couldn't help looking worried.

Am I more valuable to him than I thought?

I looked at his eyes for a moment.

He seemed quite worried.

...

Ah.

I'm not really... valuable to him.

Well, I'd be lying to say I wasn't at all.

But what I am more valuable to is...

Cevilian.

What I've done so far, my sister being a seer, my potential future...

I'm one of the people this kingdom needs to pay the most attention to.

And he is the prince of this kingdom.

Right... now it makes sense.

"I hope you succeed in whatever you're planning..."

That was the last thing he said before I got on the bus that had been specially arranged for me.

And I stopped questioning it anymore, focusing on other things.

For example, the bus.

It was... more luxurious than I had expected.

It was one prepared just for me.

But the most important thing was that it could sneak me into Piarlin. From the outside, it was no different from a normal bus traveling between cities. At the border crossing, the prince would take care of it for the last time and make sure we crossed smoothly.

Once we were inside Piarlin and then at our destination... the second stage would kick in.

So, for the next thirty hours, all I had to do was sit back and rest.

But...

"I had no idea our next journey from our dungeon adventure would be so different."

I turned my eyes toward where the voice was coming from, toward the seat on my right diagonal.

What I saw were two brown eyes that weren't even looking in my direction, but rather examining the bus they were on.

"Did you even think we'd have another trip after the dungeon?"

Alex paused for a moment.

"I guess not."

He tore his eyes away from the bus he was going to spend a day on and turned them toward me.

"I was pretty sure I'd be working mostly in the background with Professor Ulka."

I shrugged my shoulders slightly.

"I can't waste your skill and you there, even though you're quite capable of that too. Besides... we're going to your kind of place."

"I don't know why you thought old Gundam would be my thing... but okay."

I opened my mouth and closed it. I thought about what he'd said for a brief moment.

Actually, he's not that wrong...

Why did I think it was going to be just right?

Is it because we would literally be infiltrating the mafia and Alex reminded me of an assassin?

When I think about it, Alex is exactly the type to be the right-hand man of a mafia leader. His personality, his composure...

...

Perhaps.

"Either way, I'm sure you'll be a great help to me. Both with your own skills and with that one."

Alex didn't say anything, he just looked away from me, then opened a screen in front of him and started flipping through it.

At first, I took my focus away from him because I thought he was just opening something to pass the time. It was most likely that he had a TV show, some video, news, or something.

But then...

"Franz Martin Inferesse, huh."

I realized that what he was looking at was not some random thing, but the plan we were going to execute in Piarlin.

"Where did you find this guy?"

"After months of research and a bit of digging in my own... special way, it wasn't hard."

Alex glanced at me briefly, then turned back to his front without saying anything.

"He doesn't seem to have a lot of influence within the Black Blood."

"Because he does not. He just has a small connection to one of the leaders."

I leaned back and looked out.

The bus was moving quite fast, which was somehow... nice to look out of the window on a trip.

"So, first we're going to get his name out there as a person of influence. Aside from the extra stuff that might be nice but not essential, we just need to be able to get into the main center in time for us to succeed."

The plan was simple. Leaving aside the details, the things to be done could be summarized quite simply.

Get into the headquarters, cause trouble at the headquarters while the leaders are meeting in the meeting room, then kill them.

That was the most basic gist of the plan.

Alex narrowed his eyes slightly.

"I don't know why, but I have a bad feeling."

"What kind of bad feeling?"

"Just a bad feeling, I guess. I can see how much you've been thinking about this as I look over the schematic you've prepared, and when I try to find something missing... I don't really succeed. But it still feels like something's wrong. Looking at this plan, I mean."

...

"We have a long way to go, Alex. We can go over the plan together, and I don't think it's a problem to ask for your opinion."

"It would be good... I don't think I will be able to sleep well today otherwise."

Having said that, he stood up, dragged the screen in front of him with him, pulled up a small table, and sat down in front of me.

"Now... let's start from the beginning."

I just focused on what he started reading with a sigh.

His senses are pretty sharp, huh...

Or is it a side effect of his skill?

Who knows...