"I'm back, guys!"
Appearing within the lounge area, where I had sensed all the Outgroup Members, I declared my presence to everyone present.
It seemed that they had been engaged in a lively discussion moments earlier. Their odd stances and the noise they were generating when I initially appeared in the room proved that.
However, immediately after I appeared they all turned silent and froze.
"U-um…?"
Their eyes were on me for a moment, but they quickly moved in the direction of the girl beside me. The blonde with a child-like body.
"Ja… I mean, who is that?" Neron was the first to break the uncomfortable silence in the room.
I was still in his disguise, so Neron must have thought it was most appropriate not to reveal my name yet. That was a smart call.
He, as well as the other Outers, however, looked very anxious about my sudden appearance in the room. I suspected two reasons for their reaction.
One was my display of power mere moments earlier. I must have shocked them with my level of power—though, to be fair, I was the one who was more shocked by their lack of it.
The second reason—which I felt was the most pertinent at this point—was the fact that I had a stranger with me as I casually entered the base.
Based on the properties of the Outgroup's base, it had no way in or out. No doors or windows existed in the entire fort. It was also invisible and imperceivable from the outside. That was most likely how they had been able to avoid detection for so long.
Even the Outers teleported to their destination when they wanted to leave, and they teleported back—using their predetermined coordinates. Plus, this area was chock-full of different Magic Effects.
One of them was Time Magic.
'I noticed it more when I awakened my Aether Core. This place slows down time, doesn't it?'
If I had to guess, I'd say the ratio was about 3:1. For every three hours spent here, only one would pass in the outside world. It wasn't the best, but at least that gave them more time to prepare and practice.
It was fair enough.
In any case, since I couldn't teleport—thanks to my Arcanas which are currently out of commission—I had to resort to the next best thing.
[Phasing Magic].
I could already detect them, thanks to my Nano Automatons. Thus, it ensured that I wouldn't mistake their location for another. Once I had pinpointed their position and neared it, I activated [Phasing Magic] for both me and Ana.
'If I was the only one, I could have used my Original Magic to activate Damien Lawcroft's Magic.' That way, I would simply trade places with one of my Nano Automatons.
However, with Ana by my side, I had to resort to this.
"I understand your apprehension, but, please hear me out." I raised my hand in surrender, trying to show them that their apprehension was unnecessary.
At this point, I knew I could best most of them in Magic Combat. Not only were they weakened, thanks to their earlier mission, but their expressions proved just how amazed they were at my display of power earlier.
I could show them even more.
'But, we're at their base, so I'm sure they have many defensive measures and arrays in case it becomes necessary to fight.'
I was going off-track in my thoughts, though.
Currently, there was no need to fight or anything. I was on their side. Hopefully, Neron would be able to understand that.
"That girl's lab coat has the insignia of Jared's empire on it. The uniform she has under the labcoat is also the staple wear for the workers at the factory we just attacked." Neron added, obviously refusing to back down so easily.
"I appreciate the fact that you saved our lives. Words cannot express that. I am also glad that you are well. However, bringing a member of Jared's empire to this place is…"
Neron drew closer to me, his intimidatingly taller physique daunted me a little. I could feel the pressure exuding from his naturally charismatic aura.
'Haa… let's hear it.' I waited for him to chew me out.
"... Simply amazing! This is astounding!" Neron suddenly beamed, causing me to doubt if I had heard him right.
'E-eh?'
He placed his hands on my shoulder, grabbing them with such energy and vigour that I felt they would fall off.
"We've been trying to capture one of them for so long now, yet you got one. That's awesome!" He appeared genuinely happy, which was totally unexpected.
It wasn't just him, though. The other members of the Outgroup looked pleasantly surprised. It almost felt like I had brought a gift for all of them to enjoy.
"W-well, haha. You're… welcome?"
I didn't know they were searching for a hostage. Now that I considered it, though, that was a good idea. Hostages, especially compliant ones, were very useful.
eαglesnᴏνel In fact, one of the reasons I brought Ana with me was because she could divulge the information I wanted. It must have been the same for the Outgroup.
"How did you do it, though? We were sure they had all evacuated." Neron's excitement nearly caused me to start laughing stupidly as well, though I controlled myself.
It reminded me of how my world's Neron and I often joked about many things—Magic included. We even talked about our past lives often after the three months.
Despite what I initially thought, Neron and I had almost nothing in common. We were polar opposites in many areas—though, of course, there were a few things we shared.
And even that was mostly affiliations with people.
'I guess I didn't really know the true Neron until he got his memories back.' Brushing aside my thoughts about my world, I explained how and where I found Ana.
As expected, everyone was impressed with how I was able to find the place—and also how Ana, despite her small frame, had a workshop all to herself.
"So, you actually managed to get an executive staff of the factory? That's beyond amazing!"
Neron shared my sentiment as well. Having a higher-up was far more useful than simply capturing a footsoldier.
"U-um…" Ana's voice suddenly interrupted our conversation. "... I'm not an executive staff or anything like that…"
What was she talking about? Did that mean she was in an even higher position? I didn't want to overestimate her capabilities in this world, so I assumed she was simply of a high rank.
But, with what she was saying…
"Your workshop appeared small, though. Or was that just one of your workshops? Then that makes sense…"
It was possible that the place I found her was simply where she kept her secret stash. If that was the case, then it was possible that Ana was even more impressive than I gave her credit for.
How impressive, though? I was about to find out.
"I'm… I'm… I'm just an ordinary factory worker!"
For a moment, Ana's voice did not properly register in my head. It appeared to be the same for Neron.
However, the moment we heard this, both of us widened our eyes at Ana at the same time.
"WHAT?!"
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[A/N]
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