Chapter 8: What will we need?

Another day, another busy morning at the inn.

"What do we have for specials today, Sammy?"

"Oh, I think Lily was making a salad bowl."

There was a line even before they opened up, and right as they did, much of the dining area was full of people who stopped by for their morning breakfast.

It had become a routine for many of them: having a cup of good coffee and the special breakfast menu for the day before going to work.

It was a small town with people who went to work at different times so, the Puzzles had their fixed menu, their morning specials and a special item for their night meals.

The things they made weren’t just local things one can find on streets. It was rumoured that the chef, Lily, used to work for a noble house in a different kingdom.

For those who had seen her cooking in action, the show itself was worth more than the food they were eating here.

She was like those so-called mages or priests conjuring miracles to the people of this town.

They loved her dishes, and also her unique charm.

"Will you take the usual toast coffee, Miss Kaal?"

"Oh, yes dear. And, you know?"

"Yes, of course. I’ll ask him to make it exactly as you like it~."

It’s early morning and the older working people still cannot go on with their work without a few drops of the enchanting liquor that they can only get here.

Coffee was just the pretext. The honey wine that they can have inside it was a whole new experience.

"Here you go, Miss."

"Say my thanks to Andrew."

"Yes~!"

Thanks to the things that he made out of seemingly common ingredients, the town was experiencing a boom in work efficiency and health in recent years.

The food here, unlike in most places, was healthy.

They felt much better than they did when they were cooking food in their own house when they ate here.

There was some magic in this place.

"Beth, can we reserve a bottle of your candy syrup for the night?"

"Oh? Oh! It’s young Jem’s birthday! Happy birthday, little one~." Beth greeted a family who seemed to be going out to have some fun.

They were regulars here so Beth would certainly know the special occasions in their lives.

Truthfully, Beth knew absolutely every known thing about each person that lived in this town, including those who frequented here for trade or other reasons.

"I’ll have one reserved for you along with a table, yes? Come anytime you want~."

"Oh, thanks a lot!"

This was their daily life: interacting with the customers who were like a family to them, serving them, earning a living through them, and behind all that, planning for their ongoing missions.

< "I will upgrade the comms so that we can use it anywhere inside the castle. We won’t have to worry about the castle security system with that." >

They had specially crafted communication devices implanted inside their ears, something that allowed them to communicate through their ’thought voice’.

Beth had made them with the same principles that were used in actual telepathy magic so they were one of their most important assets during all the missions.

< "After you’re done with it, can you please help me with the control box? We will need that to hack into the castle security system." >

< "Yes, certainly." >

While Beth, the pink haired magic engineer was a genius when it came to all mechanical devices of current and old era, Sammy, the mage was a master of magic systems.

Even though she wasn’t a mage in the traditional sense (someone with demonic powers) she could cast spells and interfere in existing magic formulas.

If Beth was something of an encyclopaedia who remembered everything, Sammy could process the complex mathematical aspects of all spells almost instinctively.

The two of them were a crucial aspect of any of their missions.

< "I might not be able to use my sword this time." >

Since they were planning to infiltrate the royal castle, she couldn’t bring a sword as attractive as hers.

Not only would she have to limit her power to about thirty percent compared to the forty percent upper limit of the last mission, having her sword would cause more problems to them.

< "I’ll make you a good sword you can hide on you, Lily. Ah, and just to be safe, I’ll prepare an energy knife as well." >

Beth was excited to start working on the new things. But, as happy as she was to work, they didn’t have too much time on their hands.

< "Beth, we will use the ones you already have on display. We should aim to depart in a week." >

< "What? But Drew..." >

A week wasn’t a short time in any way.

If a family who has lost their young son doesn’t find him even after doing everything they could, even as royals, the restlessness would eat them from the inside.

The more time they spend without him, without any news of him, the worse the situation will get.

And seeing how no power had contacted them about ransom, it is less likely that the prince was captured by a hidden power.

< "In addition to the weapons, we will need a few magic scrolls as well so I want you to start working on them with me, Sam." >

Engraving magic on a special parchment produced scrolls that could be used the same way as magic. But both the parchment and the knowledge to engrave the magic on it was rare.

Sammy could do it, and Andrew was going to be the guide since he had the most knowledge about the (true spells) among the humans.

He was the master of a unique ’artifact’ after all.

< "What else, ladies?" >

Andrew was shaking a blend in the shaker as he asked the question.

< "Protection?" >

But the response from Lily, the chef in their kitchen, almost made him drop the shaker.

< "Right, Lily is right. We will need contraception. That’s basic." >

Sammy didn’t miss the chance to tease him along with the other two.

But then again, the one they were teasing was their husband.

< "I’ve already prepared the necessities so you don’t have to worry about that, dear sweethearts. Just..." >

He looked across the room at Sammy who was passing by in a playful manner, almost making her stumble down.

< "If you ladies have forgotten, might I remind you what happened in the beginning days of the last mission? Oh, or should we talk about the Red bottle incident again." >

< "What! No!" >

< "I told you all not to bring that up! Ugh! Drew!" >

< "They started it, Beth." >

The brown haired young lady suddenly got upset and slammed the dishes in her hand on the table before walking inside the kitchen.

She had dragged Sammy with her as well so the people present there worried if something had happened.

But then they saw the helpless sigh on their bartender as he continued his work without worrying about them, so it seemed like there was nothing to worry about.

"Ahem."

And there certainly was nothing to worry about as the two ladies came out of the kitchen soon and went back to their work.

The four of them really were as strange as ever.

< "Back to the main topic." >

They were going to infiltrate the royal castle so they will need new identities, which was a piece of cake for Beth.

Aside from the basic knowledge required about the castle and the people inside the castle, once they find out more about the disappearance, they will need a place to go forward with the plan.

And if one is talking about a place inside the palace that will serve as a good temporary base, then the best option was the annex building used by the servants.

Still, not all four of them should take the roles of the servants. So, they’d need at least one unique identity.

< "I have an idea." >

It wouldn’t have been easy, but thanks to the reward they got for finishing their last job, they could now walk inside the palace from the very front gates.