Chapter 43: First Move Completed

"Ready when you are."

Under his robe, he wore a belt of small razor-shaped daggers wrapped around his waist. Benign tossed the sachet into the air.

"Throw it," Areus said.

The evening breeze caught the sachet as it rose. Areus drew a razor-shaped dagger from his belt. A soft blue glow clung to the dagger.

His wrist flicked once, and the dagger pierced the sachet without losing speed.

The moment it struck, the soft blue glow spread from the dagger to the sachet, making it as weightless as the dagger itself.

Still carrying the sachet, the dagger rose another foot before a pale cloud of powder spilled from the torn fabric, drifting west as it slowly settled over the grass.

The dagger curved back toward Areus’s waiting hand, the empty sachet still caught on its hook.

"First move completed." Benign crouched beside the grass. "Now, we wait." He watched the young man take the dagger from the sachet.

"So you make daggers become boomerangs?"

Areus faced him with a frown. "Anti-gravity by touch. You are horrible at observing."

While he walked away, the soldier looked ahead, trying to understand how it worked. By the time they walked back to headquarters, the sun hid behind the trees.

Unlike the walks around Noria’s desert realm, this was awfully pleasant with the evening breeze and scented leaves. Olien looked more like paradise than the nature-loving elves’ haven.

The portal opened at the entrance into the headquarters. The moment they stepped in, two children in white robes grabbed Areus by both sleeves and immediately started dragging him away without explaining.

Areus sighed but offered no resistance. "What is it now?"

"Branch meeting!" one yelled. "Lady Alana called everyone!"

"You come too, Benign. You are a member of the Fifth Branch now."

The two children stopped together. Both turned toward Benign at the same time.

"You too!" the other child pointed at the soldier. "Come."

Benign smiled before nodding. He watched Areus allow himself to be pulled through the long stone hallway.

The children whispered while dragging the young man ahead. Benign watched them and wondered how anyone convinced such little kids to become headquarters messengers. It was strangely adorable.

As they rounded a corner, his shoulders brushed against someone’s. He stepped back immediately. "Sorry."

A dark-skinned elf looked him over from head to toe. Long silver curls framed her face, the rest tied into twin ponytails with blue ribbons, giving her an almost innocent appearance.

Her gaze lingered on his red hair before dropping to the badge on his chest and finally to the black-hilted sword resting at his belt.

One corner of her mouth curled into a lazy smile. "So you’re the new Hero."

Benign shrugged. "I was told I am."

She chuckled once before falling into step beside him. Her brown leather trousers disappeared into tall heeled boots, while the Protector jacket rested loosely over her shoulders. Her physique was practically all legs. Benign looked away when she faced him again.

"Are you heading to the branch meeting too? What branch did you join?"

"Yes, I joined Lady Alana’s squad."

"Oh?" Her brows lifted. She placed her arm over his shoulder like it was the most natural thing to do. "She stole you before I even had the chance."

Benign glanced at the young woman. He never realised that there was a quest for him. Her demeanor seemed laid back enough for him to relax. "Are you the leader of a branch?" he asked.

"Yes, the branch that raised the last Hero." She waved a careless hand. "If Lady Alana ever runs out of advice, come visit Third Branch instead."

Benign chuckled. It sounded like there was some rivalry. "I’ll keep that in mind."

The doors ahead opened before either of them spoke again. The moment the woman stepped inside, every Protector around the long table lowered their heads in greeting. Even Lady Alana lowered hers slightly.

"Greetings, Commander."

Benign slowed his steps. His eyes moved around the room before settling on the woman beside him. "What..."

The woman smiled at the rest without looking at him. "Thank you. Hope we have all been well despite the ruckus."

Areus pointed toward an empty chair beside Fifth Branch. Benign hurried over before drawing any more attention to himself.

"I can’t believe you were outside before the Commander arrived," Areus whispered as she passed behind him. "I told you to come with me."

Only then did the soldier understand why the children had dragged Areus with such urgency. They were rushing to beat the Commander.

He glanced around the silent chamber. Lady Alana, Rox, Areus, Suera... then unfamiliar Protectors seated in groups around the massive table. Five branches, yet fifteen people. Either the Protectors were far smaller than he imagined, or many seats were yet to be filled.

Every conversation stopped when the Commander settled at the end of the table.

Her eyes swept through the rest with the confident smile still on her face. It lingered in Benign before she looked down at the files on the table.

"Now, I already told you all about the problem. What solutions would you suggest?"

A hand shot up before Lady Alana’s. She calmly took it down with a slight frown.

A man with curly mustaches started speaking eloquently, but his words never made sense to Benign.

"So your suggestion is to send the tenth representative to Olien and hope for a response?" The Commander summarized with a blank expression.

Meanwhile, Benign stopped listening. His attention wandered elsewhere.

Nobody had a suggestion other than requesting Olien stop their allied party from attacking the Protectors’ headquarters, since it was a neutral body.

From his experience in his own world, those efforts were futile. If Olien really cared that the Protectors were a neutral body, they would’ve stopped the attack on the shelter from the get-go.

At the edge of the room, the two children he saw earlier tiptoed behind the chairs. Benign’s eyes wandered forward to them as he kept thinking.

The children looked left and right, but not forward and behind, before quietly slipping a handful of dried berries into Suera’s hands

Suera blinked, smiled faintly, and accepted them as though this happened every day.

The Commander breathed out before she raised her voice. "Since we had agreed that sending a spy would be a profitable move for now? Is there any volunteer?"

The hall grew quiet. That was the only reasonable question, but as he expected, no one was thrilled to answer. Every branch believed its members were more suited to confrontation than espionage, with its uncertainties.

Benign watched the two children disappear behind his chair to hand snacks to Areus as well. An idea struck him at that instant. He sat upright and raised a hand. "What about kids, Commander?"

The room fell silent. Even the children froze halfway through sneaking another snack toward Areus.

Areus looked behind him, sighed, and lightly smacked the nearest one on the head. "No sneaking during meetings." The child rubbed his head sheepishly before hurrying out with the other.

A few chuckles escaped around the room before Orita folded her arms. "No soldier volunteered because execution awaited anyone caught inside." Why do you suggest a child should do it?"

Benign shifted toward Rox. "I believe you can create life from your slimes. Especially children. What are the rules around them and their movement?"

The entire room turned to Rox, with the other branch members watching with raised brows. Benign wondered if they had no idea what she could do, and he revealed a top secret.

But Rox looked at him for a moment before nodding. "I can do that. They can’t think independently, and they only act while within my sight and inside my effective range."

"And if they leave your sight and effective range?"

"They become dormant."

Benign smiled. "That’s perfect. We don’t need a spy that can survive."

Several Protectors exchanged confused looks.

One asked. "If it gets caught."

"If it gets caught, that keeps the enemy soldiers alert and worried." Benign raised a pen from the table. "We only need one that can get inside."

Understanding slowly spread across a few faces.

Benign nodded along with them. "The smaller the target, the harder it is to notice. We watch through it, gather what we need, and if it’s destroyed... we lose slime instead of a soldier."

He shrugged. "This is almost no risk." He glanced at Rox. "As long as you don’t get emotionally connected to your slimes, of course."

Rox shot him a glare while Suera seated beside her, chuckled softly.

No one said anything else but agreeing hums, and small discussions with themselves.

A young girl with large glass frames raised her hand, just when Lady Alana almost did. Again, Lady Alana dropped her hand with an even deeper frown.

The Protector asked. "How do you intend to get close enough to drop it without being seen?"

"I don’t."

That answer earned several confused stares.

Rox glanced at Lady Alana, then at Benign.

"So you plan to get caught as well?"