The group of three finally entered the pub. Legault quickly approached the bartender and ordered an alcoholic beverage. Jaffar stayed silent, and his silence was taken by Legault as a way to say that he did not want to drink anything. Either that, or he was just still playing the role of the mute and deaf person. Legault simply had no idea which one Jaffar really meant, but he knew better than to ask. Matthew on the other hand, silently approaching the bartender and whispered his order slowly, as if he did not want anyone but the bartender to listen. The plan backfired, the robust bartender laughed loudly that the whole pub could hear, and all the patrons immediately turned their attention to them.
"Listen up, fellas! This young kid here ... orders milk!"
Everyone in the pub laughed at Matthew, who could only stare at his own feet, trying his best to hide his face. When he finally listened that the laughter had slowed down, he braved himself to lift up his face and look at the world once again. Legault was the first person he saw, and the purple haired spy started to laugh once again the moment he looked at Matthew's red face.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA" laughed Legault while pointing his finger toward Matthew.
Jaffar approached the two of them, "Shut up, Hurricane. You're getting unnecessary attention from people. We're supposed to try to be as invisible as possible, not the center of attention. And you, Matthew, what were you thinking? Ordering milk in a pub? No wonder you're being laughed at."
"Sorry, Jaffar" said Matthew, trying to apologize.
Legault apologized as well, "Yeah, sorry. Who would've thought that this kid would order milk? Even my pet cat doesn't drink milk."
After they realized that the attention was not on them anymore, apparently there was someone who got drunk already, even before the sunset. So the bartender, helped by a few other patrons, tried to prevent the drunken person from destroying the chairs and tables. With the attention being distracted to another person, the three Ostian spies quietly sneaked to a table just at the corner of the pub, and patiently waited for Vaida's appearance.
About an hour later, finally the woman that they had been waiting for made the expected appearance. Wearing a cloak to hide her face, Vaida immediately approached the table at the corner, the table that she shared with the three men working as spies. She didn't remove the hood of the cloak to keep her face in dark, but the voice clearly let the men acknowledged that the person sitting with them was indeed General Vaida, the leader of the Wyvern Knights of Bern.
"Now let's get down to business, boys. Shut up and don't ask me questions until I'm finished. Or I'll tie you up as a snack for Umbriel just like the stupid books. Understand?" asked Vaida.
The men simply nodded without making any sound. Then Vaida continued her explanation, "Okay, the target is a guy named Levan. He appeared out of nowhere and take the position as the advisor to King Zephiel. He introduced himself as a relative of Queen Hellenne, but even her Highness the Queen seemed to be a different person a few days prior to Levan's appearance. I haven't managed to confirm this, but I have a suspicion that Levan drugged the Queen somehow and he is now controlling the Queen while continuing to give ill-advice to King Zephiel as if he were a toy to play with."
General Vaida stopped for a while, and the three Ostian spies could easily sensed that the General was furious even by just thinking of what Levan could have done. She then continued the briefing, "Now what I want you to do is to help us keep an eye on Levan, find out what he's up to, report both to House of Ostia and to me, and if needed to, kill Levan if he becomes a big threat."
The nod by them was enough for her to know that they understood how important this mission was, not just for her sake, but both to House of Ostia, and the Kingdom of Bern. The four of them realized that if Levan really controlled King Zephiel, then Levan practically controlled the whole Kingdom of Bern, and he could do anything he wanted to, even at the cost of other people's lives. This was something that needed to be stopped no matter what.
Legault thought, "Hmm ... I think I'll sneak into Levan's room and steal his stuff after I kill him."
"If Levan becomes a threat, I'll inform Lord Hector, General Oswin, and Lord Uther immediately. If I need to kill Levan, I will do it. He must be stopped," thought Matthew.
"Sneaking in while he's asleep, and stab him again at the same spot I did a few years ago. It would be easy .." thought Jaffar.
Vaida thought, "I'll tell people about Levan's intention, then Umbriel can have lunch."
After they all finished with their own respective thoughts of what they would have done if it were that easy, they once again discussed on the detail of what to do, and how they would do it. Since there were three of them, they decided that splitting up would be a better option than to stick together. More people at once would be more easily spotted and might attract attention as well.
Legault spoke up, "I think one should be the messenger, one should be the observer, and one should be the one inside."
General Vaida agreed with the idea, and mentioned that she could have sneaked one of them as a Wyvern Knight. Then Heath could have helped the spy once inside the castle. Legault immediately suggested that he was supposed to be the one working inside the castle, but Vaida confidently refused.
"You're a thief, I don't believe thieves. Who knows if you're going to steal something from the castle? You'll be the messenger, Legault. That's it. No objection. You. Messenger." commanded Vaida.
Legault tried to object, but it was useless. He had no choice but to accept the decision. Then it was the matter of who was going to be the observer, and who was going to be working inside the castle. Jaffar said that he did not mind either of the two options, while Matthew was actually trying to avoid working inside the castle with General Vaida, but he was afraid to say it out. Too late!
General Vaida simply said, "You, Matthew. You're coming with me back to the castle. We'll leave in the morning together."
"Wha? Wha ... ? WHA?"
Jaffar added, "I'm the observer. You're working inside, Matthew. Good luck."
The next morning, Jaffar and Legault left the inn just a few hours after the sunrise. They still managed to eat breakfast silently, continuing the play that Jaffar was a mute and deaf. The innkeeper asked about the other man, but Legault told her that he was still asleep, and the two of them were going to leave separately.
Not too long after Legault and Jaffar's departure, the man known as Matthias walked toward the innkeeper and paid for the room. The innkeeper noticed the woman who walked beside Matthew, and asked whether they just got to know each other the day before because they shared the room the night before.
To his surprise, Vaida answered, "Yes, we hooked up last night. But it's a secret, if you know what I mean."
General Vaida gave the innkeeper a wink, while Matthew was left flabbergasted as he was dragged out by the so called girlfriend.
