Gacha Kingdom Building-Chapter 293: Detail in Execution

This morning, I took some time to visit Agatha’s clinic and check on how Lana and Marin were doing.

Inside, a couple of the beds were occupied by Snow White Wolves down with a fever.

The dark bags under her eyes told me Agatha had spent the night awake, tending to them.

Sitting in a chair between Lana and Marin was Raella.

Unlike the other healers, as a ghost, she didn’t need to sleep and offered to keep the two of them company through the nights.

Though she held a book in her hands, her eyes lifted from the pages every few moments to check on the two girls.

I approached Lana first.

She was still resting, so I was careful not to wake her up when removing the blanket that covered her leg.

Her condition had improved slightly. Yuri’s curse had receded a few centimeters below the tape’s marking.

There was still a long way to go before she’d been fully healed, and even more before any of us would let her out.

Still, seeing her treatment progress, regardless of pace, eased the tightness in my chest.

Marin: "My... You’re softer than butter."

Lily was visiting Lana every day after her work in the fields, without fail.

Given Lily’s high energy, I avoided staying more than necessary to give Lana a chance to rest.

Before gently covering her leg again, I snuck a few snacks under her pillow for the two to share before moving on to Marin.

Miwen: "...Yet, I can be rough when I need to. So, what’s it gonna be?"

Marin: "Ehe~ Soft please..."

I took my seat next to Marin.

On top of a drawer on the other side of her bed rested a bottle of rum.

I couldn’t take my eyes off it, or understand how Agatha allowed something like this inside her clinic.

Noticing my reaction and thinking I wanted a sip, Marin offered me a glass.

I took a quick look at Agatha, searching for an answer.

She crossed her arms and responded with a death glare, practically spelling out ’Don’t even think about it’.

It didn’t take much for me to imagine what transpired between them.

The two women were incredibly stubborn, but Agatha probably relented for the sake of Marin’s treatment.

Miwen: "Haah... I thought I told you not to?"

Marin: "I said today only. I got this one past midnight."

If even Agatha failed to beat some sense into her, I had little hope.

Instead of fighting a losing battle, I asked Marin to lift her hair so I could check her injury.

Agatha: "Avoid touching the bandages and the stitches. I’m not giving her another bottle."

I couldn’t assess her condition on my own, so Agatha stepped in.

She told me that, since the bleeding had stopped and there was no swelling around the cut, Marin was technically cleared to leave.

But Agatha wasn’t satisfied.

The risk of an infection concerned her, so she tried to force Marin to stay for a few more days.

After some back and forth between the two, they reached a compromise: Marin was allowed one bottle per day, and an extra one whenever her bandages were changed.

Sure enough, when I opened the drawer, I found another bottle inside.

That brought a smile to my face.

Despite everything, she seemed to be enjoying her stay.

Unfortunately, I could already hear Lily’s excited steps, joyfully humming her way up the clinic stairs.

I gave Lana a quick head pat, and after promising to share a drink with Marin after she had recovered, I returned to Earth.

Instantly, the quiet atmosphere of the clinic was replaced by that of my bedroom at Alpha Team’s building.

Half-awake, Mia gave me a strong hug, lovingly rubbing her face on my chest.

I fully indulged in it, hugging and giving her pecks on the cheeks.

After properly waking up, it took her a few minutes to realize how close we were, and how lovey-dovey we were being.

With her face bright red, she immediately pushed me off the bed, overcorrecting our distance.

Before I could say a word, she hurriedly apologized and entered the Kingdom for her training routine.

Despite everyone knowing about our current relationship, she still felt the need to maintain appearances.

Once her warmth faded, I headed to the kitchen, hoping for a quiet breakfast before the morning slipped away.

I prepared a few sandwiches, and after sitting on the sofa, I turned on the TV to watch the news.

This seemingly innocent action started a war the moment Piper arrived.

She was desperate to watch a dumb action movie with one of the cool, buff, macho characters she loved.

Upon seeing us fight, James tried to step in, asking if anyone could help him with his current mission.

Despite James clearly looking straight into Piper’s eyes, our ever-so-generous leader forced me to join him.

Flaunting her authority, she had us leave early to "preserve the team’s image", all the while enjoying the sandwiches I had prepared.

Miwen: "I swear, that woman... And then she complains she can’t find a guy! Unbelievable."

James: "Haha! Make sure not to say that to her face, alright? I still wanna live a couple more years."

Miwen: "Oh, never. And you don’t tell her I said that either."

I was also looking forward to a few more years.

So, not wanting to gamble with death, I followed James to the chopper he requested for us.

Our mission this time was, strangely, on territory firmly under government control.

I questioned James about it since it wasn’t regular for Alpha Team to be sent on ’safe’ missions, but other than the objective being to escort a person of interest, he had no clue about it either.

Left with no choice and a lot of free time, given that the objective wasn’t far away, I studied the mission briefing to figure out what exactly we were dealing with.

It should’ve taken us only a couple of minutes to reach our destination by helicopter, but once we passed by a nearby park, James insisted on drawing it in his sketchbook.

He even asked the pilot to lower the altitude so that he could have the perfect point of view.

After the two-hour ride, we arrived at a mansion standing atop a vast green hill.

Surrounded by fences and guards, built upon tall crystal windows and white marble, the building shone under the sunlight.

Almost like a fallen cloud, extending from the sky itself.

Even my eyes, already used to marvelous buildings thanks to my time in Isa’s world, needed a moment to take it in before turning away.

Surprisingly, James showed no interest in registering the building in his sketchbook, despite its grandeur.

Instead, the surveillance team and I accompanied him inside the mansion, down a flight of stairs.

Carrying heavy equipment, our twenty or so feet echoed throughout the corridors with every step.

Aside from the man guiding us, no one stood to stop or question our presence.

At the end of one corridor, we were greeted by two large doors, closed like every other.

Once opened, we were met by a man surrounded by a dozen others. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

The very image of a bureaucrat, the man wore a dark, tailored suit, a simple tie resting perfectly centered against his chest.

His leather shoes were polished to perfection by hands that, without a doubt, carried far more calluses than his ever had.

The old man was a face I recognized, not only from the briefings.

He was the city’s mayor, and this afternoon, our escortee.

His security was composed entirely of buff, tall, macho dudes. The exact type Piper would flaunt over.

While packing the mayor’s things, they occasionally glared at James and me.

Their eyes, naturally intimidating, paired with the tension and suspicion, pressured us down.

James, slightly shorter than me, with a frail physique and a peaceful look in his face, looked like he was about to snap in two.

Even though he was powerful enough to decimate everyone inside the room, cold sweat ran down his face.

Mayor: "James Carter and..."

His eyes landed on me.

Like with his guards before, no matter how much he tried to read me, I had no reaction to give.

Mayor: "A young man I don’t know... Are you the only adventurers coming?"

He instantly returned his attention to some documents on his desk, separating them into those that went into his personal bag and those that didn’t.

James: "Yes, sir... Marcus is still injured, Alex has just returned from another mission, and Piper is currently busy with... Action..."

Mayor: "I see. It can’t be helped."

After his preparations were done, the mayor led us to the garage, where six black vehicles awaited us.

Every single vehicle already had a driver waiting, and some of them had more bodyguards inside.

The headcount of the mayor’s security detail easily numbered in the thirties.

However, that wasn’t what drew my attention.

Inside the mayor’s office, I had noticed a few black boxes.

Then, inside the garage, a few more.

I had an idea of what those were, but without Lana and Raella, I couldn’t check the locked rooms.

My only option, then, was to ask the mayor.

Miwen: "These black boxes... Are they-"

Mayor: "Bombs? Yes."

Miwen: "I see..."

There was only one thing those bombs could be used for, so I decided not to pry any further.

Once we were out of the mansion, the marvelous building was reduced to dust.

It existed only in memory now, its rubble set ablaze, illuminating the hilltop.

Thus, our explosive escort mission began.