( Yuuki's POV )
Beyond the mountainous area that was the site of our battle against the homunculi lay the kingdom of Astrasia, the homeland of Chrodechild, after hearing the rumors of Anya, I decided to go out on a special mission.
I visited the kingdom of Astrasia, I passed through the order's checkpoints flying undetected, and it was unthinkable that an enemy could penetrate so far into the order's territory without being detected; so I walked through the streets of the kingdom without raising much suspicion, I was also wearing a necklace that used illusions to alter my appearance to something more in keeping with the Astrasians.
Yuuki: This place is beautiful, but the attitude of the people is not normal.
The order wasn't interested in changing a place's infrastructure; they were interested in corrupting the minds of the population, But it seems that the people of Astrasia were too strong-willed to be swept along by the order's teachings, It seemed more that they were bottling up their discontent and were just bidding time to strike back at the order, I see that the warrior pride of Chrodechild and the other Blades of the Night was passed on to their citizens.
I went to a general store and after proving I definitely wasn't a follower of the order, I got some information, It seems that the reason for the strong rejection of the order's beliefs was because they would never follow those who stole their land and attacked the royal family, they couldn't wait for their princess to return and reclaim her kingdom; it seems Chrodechild was very loved around here.
My next stop seemed to be the castle, so after telling the shopkeeper that I was a secret merchant who could supply goods not approved by the order, Basically weapons, I summoned Grimm and using a partial fusion, I plunged into the shadows and infiltrated the palace.
///////////////////////
The throne room of Astrasia Castle was a clean and elegant place, but it felt empty, devoid of life and purpose. I was observing everything from within, in the shadow of a pillar.
In this place where the future and prosperity of the kingdom should be discussed, there were only two people; one was an officer in charge of the order, nothing important, But the one sitting on the throne was a woman who looked just like Chrodechild but wearing the Order's robes; this was not another case of homunculi, era una sorpresa que Chrodechild tuviera una hermana gemela.
???: Beardsley, what is the situation in the city? Have the citizens already accepted the embrace of the order?
Beardsley: You don't have to worry about that, lady Fredegund, they will see the light soon, after all, that is already predetermined.
Fredegund: I suppose that's inevitable.
The agent of the order left the throne room soon after I arrived, and Chrodechild's twin was left completely alone, she didn't seem to have any real authority over what was happening in the kingdom, and the aura around her appeared somewhat distorted and erratic, I wanted to help Fredegund, but she was too indoctrinated; if I said anything against the order, she would immediately become defensive, kidnapping her outright was an option, but it was better to leave that as a last resort.
In the end, I decided to simply confuse the woman with random things to distract her thoughts from the teachings of the order; I began to emerge from the shadows in the middle of the throne room, and like the warrior that Fredegund was, she reached for the sword beside the throne, but I transported that sword to my hands.
I analyzed the sword and realized that it wasn't a normal weapon; with the amount of energy it was emitting, I'd say it was some kind of artifact.
Yuuki: um-huh this is a piece of equipment fit for the Princess of Blades.
Fredegund: ...Who are you and how did you get in here?
Yuuki: I'm just a humble wanderer who found the key under a rock and decided to let myself in, I saw that this place is dangerously lacking in entertainment, and I decided to do something about it.
Fredegund: There's no key under a rock, you're nothing but a common thief.
Yuuki, oh no, don't even think about it, I would never take your precious sword.
The girl rose from the throne and assumed a fighting stance to retrieve her sword, but when she blinked, her sword was back in her hands and I was juggling some balls.
The swordswoman maintained her stance for a moment but then she sat down on her throne, yielding to my strange whims, which I took as a sign to continue.
Yuuki: Princess, princess, tell me, what do an onion and an ogre have in common?
Fredegund: ...They both stink?
Yuuki: arg-rrhgg, ogres are definitely not known for their hygiene, but the correct answer is, they both have layers.
...
Yuuki: Tough crowd, huh?
Fredegund wasn't entertained by my act, so I leveled it up a bit, the balls I was juggling transformed into a large ball, which I jumped on and balanced on with one foot, with my hands and one free foot, I balanced some torches.
Yuuki: Princess, princess, tell me, what object do you have to dodge to prove you can dodge anything? .... Well, a wrench of course~
.....
Fredegund remained silent again; there was no smile on her face, but rather confusion and intrigue, and that was my goal here, the objects I used in my act were absorbed by my shadow, and I bowed and finished my act.
Yuuki: It seems I failed to put a smile on that beautiful face, but don't worry, tomorrow is another day. I'll leave for now, but I'll return with better material.
My body began to sink into my shadow, but before disappearing I called out by the princess.
Fredegund: Wait! ... What's your name?
Yuuki: The wonderful and mystical Mr. Y, at your service your Majesty, Yu for short.
With that, the seeds for my future plan had been sown; I just had to water them from time to time.
My next destination was the Magedome; I was a little more known in those parts, so I never left the shadows while I was on the move, as expected, upon entering the arcane academy I found magical barriers and alarms protecting the place, but this level of magic was nothing to me, even though seals weren't my specialty, I entered the academy and I found my target at the lowest level.