## Chapter 280 – The Queen’s Fall (1)
“So, this is how it’s done, Brother?”
– Thud. Crack!!
A malleable, silvery liquid twisted a lock made of solid metal.
The lock clattered as it fell, but that seemed unimportant.
“Yes, you grasp it quickly, Carla.
That’s how the axis of rotation gets twisted, breaking the machine.
A lock isn’t much different.
You just need to choose the right method.
In that sense, that’s quite a practical thing, isn’t it?
Well, it’s only natural since Carla made it! Of course!!”
“Hehe…!! Brother…!! You’re embarrassing me…!!”
A sis-con brother, sparing no praise for his sister who held a squishy slime and smiled bashfully, and an innocent sister, blushing and delighted by the praise.
The sight of them carrying on like that made the faces of those watching from behind twist.
“Um… but shouldn’t you stop wearing that outfit…?
I’m worried someone will see…”
“You’re the one who told me to wear it…!! Hmph!!”
A slender and adorable silhouette, revealed in a sleek way.
Her appearance, covered in something silvery from head to toe, made even her brother clear his throat.
Of course, she was wearing clothes underneath, but the tight, silvery membrane seemed to completely negate the purpose of those clothes.
To ensure safety in unforeseen situations, Carla, covered in ‘Spider Troops,’ snorted and wiggled her plump bottom as she walked forward. Someone hurriedly stopped her.
“Carla!! Wait!! It’s a trap!!”
“Huh?”
A handsome young man stepped in front of Carla, grabbed her shoulder, and gently pulled her back.
“A crudely made trap device.
If we freeze this like this…”
As he pointed to a thin thread in front of her, Carla finally noticed the shimmering thread and stepped back in surprise.
Then, the boy took out several test tubes from his bag and began mixing them.
He sprinkled the mixture on a device visible along the thread. The device froze instantly and didn’t activate even when the thread was touched.
“Wow…!! Lucas, amazing…!!
Is that Frezia compound?”
“Yes!! Using the Bering conjugation reaction of Chaife solution and non-combustible compounds…
Ahem!! This… this is nothing…!!”
As the girl’s smiling eyes turned to Lucas, Antonio’s expression twisted as if he had been outmaneuvered.
And Lucas, glancing sideways at him with an awkward smile, also wore a slight smile that seemed to convey a sense of victory.
‘Tch… I don’t like that guy…’
Wasn’t that what they were both thinking?
Anyway, the group quietly sneaked through the secured passage. Their silent footsteps continued for quite some time.
This situation had arisen from a story that had unfolded not long ago.
Even if they entrusted the matter to the Academy as much as possible, Carla and her group were in a position where regaining their research was essentially on a time limit. They decided to take matters into their own hands to try and resolve the problem.
Eloise brought information, and Antonio joined forces thanks to Hyeryung.
Following that, Lucas, who happened to visit her workshop under the pretext of wanting to see Carla, also got involved.
After hearing the situation, everyone present ended up joining the operation.
The original action members—Carla, Yui, and Eloise—as well as Antonio, who joined later with Hyeryung quietly following him, and Lucas, who vehemently asserted his sense of justice at the mention of Carla’s situation, formed a hastily assembled strike force of six people.
It was a somewhat awkward combination, but at least half of them were combat personnel.
Hyeryung, who had demonstrated her skills multiple times, was a given. Eloise was a combat mage reservist who had directly demonstrated magical combat.
Moreover, Antonio had shown some skill in the special evaluation while facing Arachnella.
Similar to Carla’s ‘Spider Troops Mk-1,’ his golden eagle ‘Regulus’ provided considerable advantages in terms of defense, attack, and various applications.
According to Carla, his close younger sister, he was quite knowledgeable in martial arts as well…
Anyway, this group, with Carla and Lucas also contributing their fair share, was diligently walking through the alley that appeared after picking the lock.
Their goal was to retrieve Carla’s research, and they were currently in a hidden passage leading to the back door of the Mademoiselle brothel.
“Achoo!! Dust… Ugh… Achoo… Achoo!!”
“Carla, cover your mouth and nose.”
“Here’s a handkerchief.”
“Ugh… Th-thank you… Achoo!!”
This space, created by paving the underground tunnel, was a path that allowed entry into the Mademoiselle brothel through the basement, reminiscent of a secret passage.
Of course, to enter this place, they had to enter a building on the opposite side and put the guard who was guarding the place to sleep with the anesthetic that Yui had concocted.
It was said to be such a powerful anesthetic that even an elephant would be lying down for a day.
Thanks to Eloise, who had somehow obtained this information and brought it to the group, they were able to quietly infiltrate Mademoiselle through the back door.
“But when was a place like this made…?”
“I don’t know… But it doesn’t seem to have been used much.
There’s a lot of dust… and cobwebs… Ugh… Ptoo ptoo!!”
Yui’s answer came as she looked around in response to Carla’s question, who seemed curious.
Creating such a rarely used space might have been in preparation for a potentially dangerous situation in the future.
In that sense, through one of Laratina’s contingency plans, they were ironically heading right under her nose. The group’s footsteps, continuing inward, were becoming heavier.
“A door…!!”
“It seems we’ve arrived.
Then let’s stop here for a moment.”
Finally, a door leading inside came into view. Eloise, in a low voice, stopped the group and gathered everyone in a circle.
“Let’s review what we need to do again.
Our top priority is Carla’s research data.
If there are any other materials, we should try to secure those as well.
Presumably, those are with the alchemist brothers who are related to Laratina.
So… we need to remember the faces we memorized as best as we can and find them…
Unfortunately, only two people will be able to actually search for them to secure an escape route.
Does everyone understand what I’m saying?”
“So, we need to find the alchemists first.
While we’re looking for the alchemists, the others need to defend this place.”
Perhaps because she was a person belonging to the military, even though she was only a reservist, everyone was listening to Eloise’s voice as she explained the tactical objectives.
In response to Yui’s words, Eloise smiled and nodded.
“Exactly. That’s our basic tactic.
Antonio, you said you were confident in your skills, right?
Then you and I will cause a commotion to draw attention.
And we’ll block any enemies that might come here and secure the escape route.”
Antonio nodded at Eloise’s appearance, who was scattering magic power on the dirt floor and drawing a diagram. He would become the first line of defense, guarding the door.
“Lucas and Yui are non-combatants, so…
Please block the door and make sure we don’t give up the escape route.”
“We will…”
“Yes!! Leave it to us!!”
Even if they were non-combatants, they could at least block the door. Lucas and Yui were assigned as the second line of defense, guarding the door.
They also agreed with Eloise’s words and gave their answers.
However, when they thought about it, something was strange about the personnel arrangement, and their expressions gradually became filled with surprise.
“Wait a minute… If we do this…!?”
“Then, the person who can ultimately go around inside and find the data…
It would be best for Hyeryung, who can move quietly, to do it…
Since it’s her own research data… she’ll be able to recognize it best…
Carla, can you do it yourself?”
“Hmm… Wouldn’t it be difficult for Carla, Professor?
I’d rather go…”
Antonio belatedly stepped forward to suggest changing roles, but Eloise firmly said,
“It would be difficult for me to defend this place alone…
Even if I’m a combat mage, mages always assume they have protection…
If Antonio can’t help me, I’ll collapse quickly.”
And Eloise, continuing her words, began to glance at Hyeryung, who was leaning against the wall.
Feeling her gaze, Hyeryung glanced at Eloise as usual, then turned her gaze away.
“If we exclude Carla, Hyeryung has no choice but to go alone.
Then we’ll lack the hands to search this vast brothel…
And the success rate of our operation will be greatly reduced…
Is that okay?”
“I’ll do it…!! I…
I can do it now…!!
I have the Spider Troops too…
I can protect my own body…!!”
“Carla…”
“I’ll hide as best as I can…!!
Even if something happens, if I have the Spider Troops…
I can somehow manage like last time…!!”
Recalling how she had used the silvery iron membrane she was currently wearing to slam the mage into the ceiling, Carla clenched her fists.
Even if her inherent strength was terrible, she could draw enough power just from the existence of the Spider Troops.
Moreover, since she was wearing a metal membrane on her body, the possibility of suffering dangerous injuries from a knife was significantly reduced.
In the end, Antonio, who couldn’t stop her firm will, and Lucas, who wanted to step forward instead of Carla, were disappointed.
Carla followed behind Hyeryung, who was starting to walk ahead, and began to walk towards the door in front of her.
Thus, everyone gathered in front of the door with a determined resolve, and at the very moment when Eloise, who was holding the doorknob and taking a deep breath, was about to open the door.
“Then good luck, everyone.
I’ll open the door as soon as I count to three.
One… two… three…!!
Uh… huh…?”
Eloise, sensing something, tilted her head and slowly began to open the door.
The screams and impacts flowing out through the slowly and gradually opening door made the expressions of the others, who were waiting nervously in front of the door, also fill with surprise at the unexpected situation.
“It’s a mess…?”
“I… It seems so…?”
