Chapter 443: Raid Preparations "I... uhm..." The Teleportation Mage massaged his reddened face, still recovering from Mira slamming the door into him. "I had urgent business to attend to." "Whatever." Mira waved her hand dismissively and sighed afterward, rubbing her temple. "Just wait... I’ll wake them up and we’ll head back immediately." "Oh... About that." the mage said. Mira’s brows rose slowly. "What now?" "The Emperor said I should thank all of you for eliminating the monster," he began carefully, "but that’s not the end of your mission. You will cross over into the Aegis Empire borders for a meeting with the Knight Commander over there. You will receive a brief of your new mission once you’re there." Mira closed her eyes, breathed in, and dragged a hand down her face. "... Fine." The mage nodded quickly, grateful that she didn’t slam the door on him again. Mira closed it, and the mage walked down the short staircase with a sigh of relief. ’Is Mira really wearing his shirt...? Nah, I must have mistaken.’ He vanished into thin air... then popped back in a blink. "Right, I have to carry them over the borders." he muttered then folded his hands. ... Inside the room, Mira walked back in and found the other two still sleeping deeply, even after all the knocking and talking outside. ’How are they still asleep after that?...’ Mira thought as she rested both hands on the edge of the door. ’We have to get ready... the earlier we start, the earlier we get to the Aegis border and talk to their Knight Commander.’ She walked over to Azel. His crotch was still standing tall like the Empire’s flagpole and the sight still made her blush. It was massive even under the blanket. But she needed to wake him up, and she couldn’t exactly shake him awake by the shoulders. No, she decided to aim for his stomach. She leaned in over the bed but Mynes shifted unexpectedly in her sleep, rolling closer and bumping Mira off balance. Her hand slipped. Her palm came down... directly onto Azel’s morning wood. There was a loud smack. Mynes jolted awake instantly. Mira screamed. Azel sat upright like lightning hit his spine. Gwendolyn, who had returned from roaming, looked at them lewdly. ... Several minutes later... All three left the military lodge, fully dressed and somewhat composed. The Teleportation Mage stood waiting outside, his arms folded behind his back pretending he hadn’t heard the earlier commotion. "You’re still here?" Mira asked. She was now wearing her light armor with her sword at the waist, her beautiful face was stern though traces of a blush still clung to her cheeks. "Hadn’t you gone already?" "If what you said is true... then it’s great that he’s here," Mynes muttered, stretching her arms overhead. Her cheeks were also a little red, but hers was from embarrassment and remembering the morning incident. "He can take us through the border into Aegis." The mage’s eyes flicked toward her. She was pretty. A little bratty, sure, but the daughter of a Grand Mage often came with a spoiled streak. "That would be... yawn~ fine, I’m not sure I can walk all that way again." Azel said, yawning with both hands behind his head. He still looked a bit drowsy from being woken so abruptly. The Teleportation Mage looked him over. He had a good build... no, a perfect build for someone his age but the mage couldn’t tell if the shirt underneath Azel’s cloak was the same one Mira had been wearing. The cloak hid everything. "Yes, Lady Mynes is right," the mage said, stretching and smiling. "The meeting is in a few, so I’ll just take you to the meeting room immediately." "Please try to be gentle." Mynes said while tightening her gloves. "I don’t want to have a—" FLASH. They vanished mid-sentence. ... They reappeared instantly inside a meeting room. Several people were already inside, all sitting around a long rectangular table. Azel, Mira, and Mynes materialized onto chairs... thankfully though there was still that familiar, stomach-dropping unease from being teleported. The trio settled and glanced around the room. It was similar to the Starbloom castle meeting room, but much smaller. Several firearms... long rifles and compact pistols were neatly arranged on the table. "Ah... the three of you are here already?" the man at the head of the table said. He was middle-aged, with a thick blond beard and long hair tied back. His shoulders were broad and his eyes were sharp as well. "That’s great." Behind them, the Teleportation Mage placed a folded piece of paper neatly beside Mira. Then, without a word, he vanished again. Mira left the paper beside her on the table. "Thank you for welcoming us," she said with formal politeness. "May we know our mission?" "There’s no need to be so formal, Knight Commander Mira," the man chuckled, stroking his beard. "Your fame spreads far and wide. As young as you are, and already a Knight Commander." He leaned back slightly. "But yes, there’s a reason we requested Starbloom’s assistance." He picked up one of the guns from the table and tapped the barrel lightly with his palm. "As of yesterday... when you finished off the monster that devoured our soldiers, a gate opened in the middle." Mira nodded. "As you know, half of the Blood Zone belongs to the Starbloom Empire and the other half to the Aegis Empire, as per our treaty agreement so we weren’t able to cross over to your side without permission." "Exactly." He pointed the gun downward. "And a gate appearing in the exact middle of the Blood Zone means it is a problem belonging to both sides." He continued. "We reported it this morning, so we are quite surprised that you already arrived. It seems your Emperor must have known in advance." ’I seriously doubt that.’ Mynes thought, rolling her eyes subtly. ’He probably found out this morning, and since we were closest, he sent us. But...’ Memories of earlier flashed. ’I can’t believe I saw Azel’s dick this morning...’ She turned bright red again. The man cleared his throat. "We have requested sensors to discern the dungeon’s rank, and additional Mages as well as Aura Practitioners will assist your team... and mine." He tapped the table. "There will also be several students from the Aegis Academy. Please do your best not to scare them." Mira sighed but nodded. "Understood." "If I may ask," she said afterward, "what is your position in the military?" The man stood, lifting his gun and resting it against his shoulder. "Why me? I’m the Gun Commander." He flashed a grin. "A single bullet to the right spot from me can destroy a Rank 3 completely." Azel raised a brow. A gun that could destroy Rank 3 beasts? ’Come to think of it... this will be my first raid.’ he thought, a small smile tugging at his lips. Ever since he’d come to this world, he hadn’t properly experienced a real dungeon raid. Now he would. ’I hope it’ll be fun at least.’