Chapter 11.3 – The Jig is Up, so in Ad Lib We Trust

After arriving back, Klaus made everyone some tea while the rest of us took seats at the table. Nina is admiring the marble that she grabbed from the tree stump earlier before we left, and she seems disinterested. Ilina begins the discussions.

"So, it sounds like you both wanted time to think over my request. Considering how much faster than expected we found Lady Nedonera, that shouldn't be a problem at all. However, I would also like to take care of some business in neighboring countries, so I can't stick around here for your decision." (Ilina)

Ilina gives an apologetic look.

"In other words, you'd like to discuss logistics for relaying our decision?" (Mizuki)

Ilina makes a face like she's impressed. Should I be offended by that? Eh…better to be underestimated.

"That's correct. Soon, Klaus and I will be traveling back and forth between the wolf-kin village in the demi-human country and Cedonia in the Ralzen Empire for other business. I was considering asking for your help with it, but I no longer think that's a viable option. I don't know specifically which days or weeks we will be in which place, so that makes meeting again troublesome." (Ilina)

Oh? I'm a little curious what she wanted our help with, and why she changed her mind, but I guess it isn't the most important matter right now.

"So, we need to devise a way to determine your location and set a meeting time and place covertly when we've made our decision? (Mizuki)

Ilina nods.

"Exactly. It's unsafe for us to communicate through written letters. The Ralzen Empire is antagonistic to non-humans, so it'd also be dangerous to meet up without careful planning. While we could just plan to meet back here at this inn exactly 100 days from now, or some other timeline, that leaves us with very little flexibility. Do you have any ideas?" (Ilina)

Hmmm…I could use magic sense to track Ilina and bring us to her with flying. Power level only magic sense wouldn't be very reliable in unfamiliar and crowded cities, though. I could give her a marble, but while those are rare enough here, there is no guarantee that the material itself is unique in these other regions. I'd prefer something that she can't lose or ditch, and that she wouldn't be aware of.

Hmm…I might be an evil genius. I hope this works.

[Nina, please play along with me, okay? Say, 'Mizuki, you could try testing one of those', okay?] (Mizuki)

I sense surprise and curiosity from Nina.

[Fufufu…another scheme? Very well.] (Nina)

"Mizuki, dear, perhaps you could try testing one of those?" (Nina)

Ilina looks at me with a quizzical expression. Perfect.

"Ah, yes, an excellent point Lady Nedonera. How shameful, I'm supposed to be the advisor here. I can't be sure that it will work, but it's worth testing." (Mizuki)

I turn towards Ilina and give her a warm smile.

"Ilina, what Lady Nedonera is referring to is an item that lets her sense your location as long as you have it on you. We'd need to test it first to make sure it's compatible with your magic, but that's not harmful to you. Also, you carrying the item is not something that anyone other than us would be able to exploit, and you could always get rid of the item to avoid our tracking. Would this be acceptable?" (Mizuki)

Ilina seems surprised, then looks like she's thinking it over. She narrows her eyes at me and responds cautiously.

"Perhaps…could I see the item, then have you explain how it works and what you need to test? That would go a long way to put my mind at ease." (Ilina)

A reasonable request. I hope I can give a logical sounding piece of fiction about this. I reach into my travel pack and pull out a small piece of one of Nina's scales from our fight. It's about the size of a US quarter. I display it to Ilina, and she inspects it suspiciously.

"This is a piece of one of Lady Nedonera's scales from her dragon form. For a couple of years after a scale is lost, it remains connected to her magically. She can sense it as part of herself and know its general location. If you carry this, that will extend to you as well. However, for reasons I don't understand, this connection can sometimes be perturbed by the scale's proximity to certain magic energies. The test would be to make sure this isn't the case for you." (Mizuki)

Ilina listens to me while she inspects the scale, then seems to determine that my answer was satisfactory.

"Okay, that makes sense. What do you need from me to test this?" (Ilina)

"Ah, that's easy. Could you please give me your hand?" (Mizuki)

I offer my hand out to take hers, and she looks at me hesitantly. I nod to reassure her, and I also sense surprise and agitation coming from Nina. Ilina places her hand gently in mine, and Nina's agitation spikes.

[Nina, please calm down. Say, 'Mizuki, I just need one or two minutes', okay?] (Mizuki)

Nina doesn't seem to calm down, or respond to my thought message, but she does as I ask otherwise.

"Mizuki, I should only need a minute or two." (Nina)

I nod as though acknowledging Nina. Then, as I hold Ilina's hand with her palm down, I take Nina's scale fragment and place it on the back of Ilina's hand, then move it up to her arm.

At this point, I close my eyes and focus on tuning my magic sense…to Ilina. I expect that this won't let me track Ilina, specifically, but rather high elves. Fortunately, those are rarer outside her kingdom than Elder Dragons, so it should work.

After almost a minute, I'm satisfied that my magic sense can react with her, and I notify Nina by thought message. She's been growing more agitated during the process, so I sense relief from her at this point.

"That's enough, Mizuki, I think it should work." (Nina)