While Jezel was unintentionally leading a revolution quite well, Jiang and Titosso smoothly made their way into the October Palace within the Imperial Palace.
“Divide the items you brought according to the tags assigned by Her Highness the Fourth Princess.”
━━━
[Delivery List]
*Alice from Wonderland Set (12/12)
Blue Headband (Cachucha).
Blue Dress.
White Apron.
White Waistband.
White Tank Top.
White Underpants.
White Sports Bra.
White Bear Panties.
White Gloves.
White Over-Knee Socks.
Black Lolita Shoes.
Gray Cloak.
*Props Set (5/5)
White Rabbit Plush Toy.
Potion Belt.
Potion Bottles.
Cake Box.
Cake.
━━━
Upon seeing the list, I realized it immediately.
This was a full-body equipment set.
With a side of snacks.
“Is this really the list you picked for a rescue request…?”
“Doesn’t seem like it.”
Titosso and Jiang quickly picked up on it.
Oknodie was just shopping comfortably.
“Aww, how unfair. We were actually worried!”
“I believe it’s true that they were captured. Oknodie is efficiency-driven, so they might as well gather equipment while they’re captured.”
Titosso regained her motivation thanks to Jiang actively showcasing her insight.
“The headband is still missing. Don’t move it now!”
“Starting the enhancement on the white over-knee socks. Begin transporting!”
“Move all the stock of sports bras to the warehouse. The Fourth Princess is furious because it hit level 13. If you’re late, you’ll get whacked with a candy cane! Move quickly!”
The sight of maids and attendants frantically carrying two or three boxes filled with massive amounts of goods, some with lumps on their heads and tears shimmering in their eyes, made Jiang and Titosso want to ask what kind of mess they had caused.
Quickly, Titosso lifted a box of over-knee socks.
“You guys are stronger than you look, huh?”
“Hmph. Of course. This much is nothing at the Academy…”
“Academy?”
“Gasp!”
“Tito, you fool.”
Just a little praise made Titosso puff up, saying things she didn’t need to say.
Thinking she would have to throw sleep darts around if her identity was exposed, Jiang slipped her hand into her pocket.
The Head Maid positively glimmered at Titosso and brought a few more boxes.
“Which Academy are you from? The Imperial Academy? Gift Academy?”
“Uh, uh… Gift…”
“Perfect! Then you move five boxes!”
Thud.
“Yikes! I can’t see in front of me!”
“Haha, what a drama queen. Just use mana scan or sense mana to figure it out, right? There’s no problem using magic for work even when it triggers a magic detector.”
The lucky first-year, even when falling, picks up a cafeteria ticket, managing to gain crucial intel for the infiltration mission!
Jiang thought with that kind of luck, she could be an assassin and answered nonchalantly to the Head Maid.
“I didn’t attend the Academy.”
“Jiang, you liar!”
“It’s your own fault for being unnecessarily honest. I’ll carry a few, so shut up.”
As she turned on her sensing aura and looked around, she saw attendants and maids using light techniques.
Acceleration spells speeding up their steps.
Strength spells increasing their power.
Sneaking techniques dampening their footsteps.
Mana scanning that senses surroundings with every step while carrying a ton of goods.
“Hm? Wait, what’s this energy…?”
Jiang noticed that a few rough but boisterous mana waves were swirling around her and Titosso.
Looking closely, other maids and attendants were also bouncing such waves off each other.
“Hm. Is that what we saw during lecture time?”
Against the bored professors’ tedious lectures, students had mastered a collective technique.
[Mind Link].
A type of telepathy that allows multiple individuals to connect their minds, sharing their thoughts invisibly through mental voices!
‘Should I connect it?’
As she took in the energy, voices erupted around her.
– Who do you think you are, trying to act cute? Where did you put on your makeup?!
– Newbies should keep quiet and lay low, why are you acting up in front of the Head Maid?
– Idiots. They’re talking out loud, and the Head Maid will come and scold us!
Jealousy, reproach, advice.
Amidst all the bustle, the attendants and maids exchanged such petty communications behind the scenes!
Thinking whether to tell Titosso, she decided to keep it a secret out of fear that the scared Titosso might start bawling and throw away the boxes.
But they couldn’t just sit still.
The Gift Academy’s rule.
If you get seen as a pushover, you’ll be exploited to the bone, isn’t that the reality of the Academy?
Having spent her days making sure not to be looked down upon by professors or upperclassmen, she had no reason to buckle under the harassment of mere palace attendants and maids.
[Mind Link]
[Type of Transfer – Crying Sound: Fire Hound]
– Roar!
“Oh my gosh! What was that!”
“Is there a fire?!”
Channeling mana’s flow to deliver a response with an attack, Jiang executed a move that Oknodie had done, but since the original’s skill was exceedingly high, it was recreated excessively well.
The attendants and maids who had been teasing each other with Jiang’s top-quality Fire Hound roar were sent into complete disarray.
“What’s that noise over there!”
“Where is the fire?!”
“Looks like you need to experience what it’s like when a fire falls on your feet to straighten out, huh? You, add five more boxes!”
“I really heard it, though?!”
“Afterwards, you collect all the labels.”
“No, really…”
“You’ll clean the empty boxes too.”
“…”
“Is there still more?”
“No…”
As they couldn’t even fathom the idea that someone could produce a Fire Hound’s cry, the attendants didn’t suspect Jiang at all!
“Gasp, Jiang. Is that you?!”
As Jiang’s minor revenge concluded, the sight of attendants carrying boxes like ant workers came into view.
A massive amount of mana was swirling and congealing, with colorful light flashing and popping sounds continuously triggering in the area.
“It looks like a Light Stand production site!”
“Ugh, I definitely don’t think so.”
Titosso showed blatant disappointment.
“Ugh. Too bad… I was sometimes curious about how Light Stands are made.”
“Since we’re almost there, stop the chit-chat and follow me.”
When they arrived at the place to drop off the boxes, the strict Head Maid was checking the number of boxes coming in with a Mana Panel.
“Who are you two?”
Upon spotting Titosso and Jiang, the Head Maid frowned.
“That outfit belongs to the nine-month palace maids Itachi and Momochi, so explain why you’re wearing their maid outfits.”
With a single glare, she intimidated people with her strong charisma, causing Titosso’s shoulders to immediately shrink.
Jiang noticed as the Head Maid pushed up her glasses, and she felt the intent to deploy confinement magic at any moment from the
Recalling Professor Pinkberry’s Disguise Lecture, Jiang casually initiated a Mind Link.
– Head Maid, we are Treasury Chasers from the palace’s treasury, and we are currently verifying if the special expenditures for incoming girls’ equipment are being executed as reported, to check if there is any mischief with terrorist supplies.
– … I’ve never heard that there’s such a position in the treasury, though?
– There shouldn’t be. We usually operate when high-ranking officials are likely to face problems soon.
– Understood. Then please provide the access code for the treasury’s identity check.
There’s such a thing?
So picky.
Jiang nodded and casually approached the Head Maid.
She slipped her hand into her pocket to distract all of the Head Maid’s attention and quickly bound the Head Maid with [Shadow Step], stripping her of the bracelets, necklace, and various artifacts she had on her waist.
Nullifying any artifacts with effects like status detection, automatic release, or alarm notifications, she stuffed them into her nullification pouch before Jiang sent a mental message to Titosso.
– Titosso, shoot a beam at the Head Maid’s glasses.
“Gasp! Got it!”
As she replied, Jiang thought, how foolish to respond while she was meant to shoot.
In that brief moment, the Head Maid deciphered the workings of Shadow Step and emitted light from her body, reversing the direction of the shadows.
[Palace Martial Arts]
[Swift Movement]
With agile and quick movements, she elegantly transitioned, cornering Jiang into an unfavorable position.
She aligned Titosso and Jiang simultaneously to prevent Titosso from supporting Jiang!
However, being in a reversed stance gave Titosso an advantage as a light manipulator.
“Titos Beam!!”
“Ugh?!”
The Head Maid was momentarily blinded as the light hit her glasses head-on.
In that fleeting moment of her halted movements, Jiang rushed in, alternating between paralysis and sleep needles, incapacitating the Head Maid outright.
‘To think the level of a freshly appointed mediocre princess’s Head Maid would be this low; the Empire isn’t half bad.’
Jiang assessed the standard of the fallen Head Maid’s notes in her hand.
Her capabilities as an assassin could stack up against an upper-level expertise.
It seemed the Emperor didn’t think so carelessly when he appointed Oknodie as Princess.
He hadn’t placed a highly skilled person capable of stopping Oknodie’s escape as head maid.
On the contrary, he must’ve intended to set a keen-eyed, meticulous figure as the Head Maid to prevent misfits from concealing their identities or attempting assassination.
There was even a thought that perhaps he genuinely wanted to elevate Oknodie to princess status.
“Head Maid! When are the enhancement materials coming in?”
The sly voice of her minxish best friend echoed from within.
What kind of expression will Oknodie make if she manifests here?
A faintly surprised and “Yikes!” expression?
Or a “I knew it, haha!” smirk?
As the clothing box burst in, Jiang’s face flushed with excitement to find out the answer.
“Yikes!!!”
Oknodie turned pale, deploying five layers of barriers while pressing her foot on the desk’s iron plate.
This was… a far more Titosso-style surprise than what Jiang had expected.
Why was Oknodie so shocked to see her?
Feeling a little sulky, Jiang said.
“What’s up? Are you that surprised to see my face?”
“Jiang, tell me the truth!”
Oknodie glared at Jiang like a furious cat beastfolk who had invaded her habitat.
“Which professor sent you? Who told you to kidnap me and take me to the laboratory while the other professors were unaware? It must be Professor Sadako, right?!”
Ah… this was definitely surprising.
It was a very rational and understandable suspicion.
