If not handled properly, the initial question may very likely lead to suspicion of attempting to treason against the country.
This is the Adventurer's Guild, an independent organization, so there's no concept of "rebellion" against the Empire. That being said, if the Empire knew that the boss had betrayed information about their own base, they wouldn't let it go.
The Empire and the Adventurer's Guild had a tacit understanding that they would not ask each other about the deeper details of each other's affairs, so the boss was reluctant to reveal any information easily.
Although he didn't want to say it in his heart... the pressure emanating from this abnormal young man in front of him was increasing. If he didn't tell him, he might not end up well.
The boss had no choice but to sell out - no, he decided to introduce the person who had the information that Hajime wanted.
"...There's a man named Nedir in the Fourth Guard Squad. He was originally a jailer."
"Nedir... I'll go find him. Thank you."
Hajime originally didn't think that his boss would easily reveal the location of the prisoners held in the Imperial City, and there was also the possibility that he didn't know, so he thought it would be enough to just ask those who knew, and didn't ask any more questions.
The boss breathed a sigh of relief, while the other adventurers sweated profusely, their gazes still fixed on Shi. As they watched, Shi and the others left the Adventurer's Guild early.
They walked down the street again, and Shia asked Hajime about the previous conversation.
"Um, Mr. Hajime, the boss just introduced us to a former prison guard. Are you going to..."
"Yes, after getting the exact location of the captivity, I plan to infiltrate tonight. Yue and I will go gather intelligence now. You guys should find a place to eat. We'll be back in two or three hours."
Shia and the others looked puzzled at Hajime's instructions.
“? Why are you two the only ones going? If everyone goes together… ah!? You’re not planning on having some fun with Yue-san!? Just like you guys always do!!”
“What!? Is that so? Hajime-kun!? No! Absolutely not! What are you thinking in this situation!?”
"Is that so? Master, you always favor Yue alone. It's so unfair. Will you let me join the battle as well?"
"How could I possibly do that! What are you yelling about in the street?! Do you think I'm incapable of understanding the situation?"
Hearing Shia's wild thoughts, Kaori reacted sensitively; Tio touched her hips and asked to join in the group sex. Hajime couldn't help but scold her loudly.
At this time, someone pulled Shi's sleeve, Shi turned around and looked, Yue looked up at Shi with a red face.
"...We're going to do it outside?"
"No, I'm not going to do that."
"...So, do we need to find a place to go in?"
"No, it's not about the location. Let's not discuss this anymore, okay?"
"...Okay, I understand. I'll prepare for a night battle."
"When you say night battle, you mean infiltrating the Imperial Castle, right? That's what you mean, right?"
Yue was a master at joking… was it supposed to be a joke? Even when she licked her lips, her eyes as sharp as a wolf's locked onto its prey, she was definitely acting.
Meanwhile, Shizuku and the others were in a state of panic after hearing what Hajime and the others were saying.
"Shizuku-chan, what should we do?! Those people over here are talking about something really shocking! Suzu's brain is about to explode!"
"...As expected, they usually have that kind of relationship...but hasn't Kaori yet? What should I do? As a close friend, should I support her at this point? Or is it too early to advise her?...I don't know, this kind of conversation is too advanced for me!"
Even though she has a lecherous old man inside her, Suzu hides behind Shizuku with a red face. Shizuku keeps mumbling something that makes people want to complain: "Are you Kaori's mother?!"
Meanwhile, Ryuutarou glared at Hajime, cursing, "Damn it! Damn it!" Kouki turned his head away, maintaining a nonchalant attitude. Others, like A, B, C, and Z, blushed at the sight of the alluring Yue.
A group of people were discussing such a shameful topic on the street.
A vein appeared on Hajime's forehead, but he remained calm and resolved the misunderstanding.
"Don't talk nonsense. Yue and I are going because if that Nedir refuses to cooperate, we'll need to use more polite 'means' to persuade him. That's why I chose Yue, who's used to dealing with this kind of thing, and she can also use regeneration magic."
"As for regeneration magic, I can do that too..."
Kaori was only halfway through her words when Hajime shook his head in denial.
Since Nedir was an imperial soldier, he naturally wouldn't reveal the structure of the Imperial City without permission. In other words, he could only be forced to confess.
The usefulness of regeneration magic lies in the fact that it can be restored no matter what kind of "forced means" are used, but those methods are a bit too stimulating for Kaori. Shizuku understands Hajime's considerations and advises:
"Kaori, it's better to leave this to Yue."
"Shizuku-chan..."
Kaori seemed to have vaguely noticed it as well.
She should have continued arguing with Hajime, saying, "Putting that on Yue is a sign of weakness." Kaori, who had the highest aptitude for regeneration magic, wore a distressed expression, not so much for her own sake, but rather because she didn't want Yue to do all the dirty work.
However, this operation concerns the safety of Xia's family, and they should not spend time discussing it.
Thinking of this, Kaori looked at Yue with an apologetic expression and stopped arguing.
Yue shrugged, indicating that Kaori didn't need to worry.
After everyone reached a consensus, when Hajime and Yue were about to leave, Shia called them back.
"Mr. Hajime! Miss Yue! Uh, that..."
Although I have something to say, I can't express it in words.
Seeing Shia hesitate to speak, Hajime gave a troubled smile. Even if he told Shia that it was okay, she would definitely think that he had gotten Hajime and the others into trouble before they even entered the Great Labyrinth.
Finally, Shia still seemed to be at a loss for words, and with the same troubled smile as Hajime, she said only one sentence to them.
"...You should exercise moderation when it comes to erotic things!"
"You've ruined the atmosphere! You sorry bunny!"
Hajime yelled at Shia, but Yue beside him somehow had a smug look on his face and gave Shia a thumbs-up. Then the two of them disappeared into the crowd.
After several hours——
In a restaurant in a corner of the imperial capital, the air seemed particularly cold.
The place where the cold air came from was of course the table where Hajime and the others were sitting.
Ever since Hajime and Yue came back from gathering intelligence, the female members had been looking at Hajime with unusually cold eyes.
Especially Shia and Kaori. Honestly, even Hajime couldn't help but feel a sense of fear. Behind Kaori, the usual Ms. Hannya vaguely appeared.
"You guys seem to be having a lot of fun, right?"
"Yue, you look so energetic. What did Hajime do to you? Tell me? What did you do? Tell me!"
Perhaps finally unable to bear the cold voices of the two, the guests at the neighboring table hurried out. Ryutaro and Kouki pretended nothing had happened and tried to follow them out, but Ling quickly cast a simple barrier to prevent them from escaping. The two men obediently returned to their seats.
Although Tio had a speechless expression that said "I really can't do anything about the master", even Shizuku's gaze was extremely cold, and the atmosphere was very tense. No wonder the two men wanted to escape.
In addition, the cause of this situation was that Yue was particularly energetic after returning, while Shi felt a little tired.
In other words, they were angry, "He was supposed to be out gathering intelligence, but he did something bad while they were alone!"
"...What are you imagining? Yue is so energetic because she sucked my blood, huh?"
“Huh?”
Hajime realized that Shia and the others had misunderstood him and impatiently told them the truth. Shia and Kaori were both stunned when they heard it.
"You didn't really think I was holding Yue, did you? Do you think I was a dog in heat? I didn't expect you to think so low of me."
"Ahaha, ahahahaha, how could it be~ We already knew it would be like this, right, Kaori-san?"
"Right, right! Of course, Shia. I knew from the beginning that regeneration magic consumes a lot of mana."
At Hajime's cold glare, Shia and Kaori looked away and tried desperately to defend themselves.
Then, Hajime's gaze swept towards Shizuku and the others. They immediately shuddered and turned their heads away with red faces. It seemed that they had also misunderstood.
"Never mind. Anyway, we have the intel we need. Tonight we'll infiltrate the place where Kamu and the others might be held. It's heavily guarded, but it shouldn't be a problem. Yue, Shia, and I will infiltrate. Just to be on the safe side, it would be best if we have someone who can use aura concealment and teleportation. Kaori, you two will stay outside the imperial capital with Palu and the others. I'll transfer you there directly."
"I understand your plan, but... is the information correct? That Nedir man could be lying..."
Shizuku raised a perfectly normal concern.
Shi shook his head in denial.
"That shouldn't be the case. That man watched helplessly as his balls were crushed, and before he could even faint, they were regenerated, and then crushed again... This happened over and over again. The pain was too much for a man to endure... After confessing everything, seeing Nedir covering his legs with his hands and crying, even I couldn't help but feel sympathy."
You're the one who did it! — Guanghui and the others wanted to complain loudly.
However, seeing Hajime feigning grief, they knew their words would fall on deaf ears and could only shake their heads and sigh. Shizuku breathed a sigh of relief, thankful she hadn't let Kaori go with them. Her thoughts were like Kaori's mother's.
Meanwhile, Kouki and Ryuutarou watched Yue calmly crush the man's balls, remembering the "crotch crusher" they'd heard about in the capital. The two men shuddered and vowed to never disobey Yue, their legs slightly turned inward under the table.
"Hey, Nagumo... It might be too late to say this now, but since Miss Shia's family is imprisoned in the Imperial City, can't we just ask the Emperor to release them? Now that Lily is here, and I'm a hero... As long as we negotiate with the Emperor, I think it should be okay..."
The brilliant words really came too late.
It was just as Guanghui had said. As a hero, the Empire couldn't just ignore his words. As long as he asked Liliana for help, she would surely help. Hajime could also demonstrate his strength and force her to agree.
however--
"What are you going to pay for it?"
"what?"
"Kamu and his men entered the country illegally and killed Imperial soldiers? And while they're Bunnymen, they possess strengths unlike any other Bunnymen, capable of engaging in fierce battles with the Imperials. Furthermore, the Emperor has likely heard the Princess's revelation of the truth about God, so the position of 'Apostle of God' is useless. Under these circumstances, you don't think they'll release you unconditionally just by asking for your help, do you?"
"this……"
"They'll definitely demand a price, and they'll be asking for a hefty price. The Empire also has to consider its reputation and won't give up easily. This might affect the Princess's negotiations, you know? Is that okay with you?"
Guanghui remained silent, because that was indeed a possibility.
Of course, Hajime didn't care about Liliana's negotiations, and if asked to pay a price, he would be happy to pay (fire) tens of thousands of bullets and missiles.
In other words, since there is a high possibility of using force from the beginning, it is easier to recapture the person early than to fight the other party face to face.
"The price is fine, but if it causes trouble for Lily... that's not good. Although it's not good, but..."
As for Guanghui, it was a rare opportunity for him to come along, so he wanted to do his part. After what had just happened with the demihuman slaves, he seemed restless and began to think about what he could do.
Hajime had a bad feeling and glanced at Shizuku, who looked at Hajime and shook her head. It seemed as if Kouki was beginning to lose control.
Guanghui might cause "huge trouble" when he invaded the Imperial City, so Hajime had no choice but to take precautionary measures.
"Amanokawa, I have a favor to ask of you..."
“!? Wha… what? Nagumo wants to ask me for something? Impossible…”
Hearing Hajime's sudden request, Kouki was stunned and stiffened. Ryutaro and Suzu beside him were also in the same state, as if they had suddenly bumped into Uma on the street.
Based on Hajime's previous words and actions, Hajime's "please" was just impossible for them.
However, Hajime had anticipated their reaction, and even though he was a little angry, he remained calm and continued:
"Ah~ No, forget it. I can't ask you to do something this dangerous. Sorry, forget what I just said."
"Wait, wait a minute! Tell me what you want me to do first."
"No, we're going to invade the Imperial City, but it's certainly heavily fortified. So, to maximize our chances of success, I wanted you to make a feint to the east and attack in the west... maybe rescue suffering demihumans like the dog-eared boy just now, create a scene, and draw the attention of the Imperial soldiers... Ah, but that mission is far too dangerous. Please forget it."
Of course, even with the most stringent defenses, Hajime and his men wouldn't be unable to break in. Having someone to help with a diversion would be helpful, but it wasn't absolutely necessary. Hajime simply couldn't think of a better excuse.
But Hajime thought that if Guanghui was going to do something reckless and bad because he had nothing to do, it would be better to give him something to do. At least he wouldn't sneak into the Imperial City out of the desire to help...
"A diversion...save those children...I'll do it! Nagumo! Leave the diversion to me!"
"Oh, oh, so, are you willing to take on this mission? As expected of a hero... Hmm."
The perceptive Shizuku seemed to understand everything and glared at Hajime with dissatisfaction. It was unclear whether she was dissatisfied with her childhood friend being easily deceived, or dissatisfied with herself for being inevitably involved.
Hajime pretended not to notice her gaze and opened the "Treasure Vault".
"Alright, as a reward for your assistance, I'll give this to this team of brave warriors full of justice."
Hajime said as he took out several ores from the "treasure house" and quickly refined them to create four masks.
The masks, in red, blue, yellow, and pink, are full-face, reminiscent of a wargame hero. The masks are meticulously crafted, specially designed to neither obstruct vision nor breathing. Such a high level of skill is beyond the reach of ordinary refiners; it's truly a skill honed without effort.
“…Nagumo…what is this?”
"As you can see, it's a mask."
"………………Why?"
"You're still asking why? Isn't it terrible for heroes to cause trouble in the imperial capital for no reason? You must conceal your identities, and when it comes to concealing your identity, the best way is to wear a mask. Heroes, both ancient and modern, Chinese and foreign, have always worn masks. Heroes begin and end with masks. I specially divided them into different colors to make them easier to identify, you know?"
"Eh? No, I'm confused by your sudden insistence... I understand it's better to conceal my identity, otherwise it will cause trouble for Lily... But this mask..."
Guanghui looked at the mask in front of him, and his cheeks twitched.
"...Don't worry, hero (laughing), I'm giving you the 'red' that represents the captain."
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