Noroi advanced toward the fortress until he was a little more than twelve meters away.
He knelt down on one knee, placing Mini beside him on the ground as soon as he made sure the robot was secured in place. He looked around until his eyes fell on a small pebble, murmuring what he was thinking in a low voice.
"We need to find out how sharp their hearing is."
He picked it up from where it lay and rolled it between his palms several times while turning his head to run a few calculations, before resolving himself. Then he stood up slowly, moved his arm so that it aligned with his shoulder, and threw the stone from where he stood, his eyes remaining fixed on the two guards.
The faint sound of the pebble hitting the ground did not catch the guards' ears, so Noroi recorded that as a note in his mind before bending down again to pick up the same stone and throw it a few meters farther.
One of the trolls turned toward the sound, narrowing his small yellow eyes in its direction and letting out a low gurgling noise. He found nothing but tall trees and green grass.
The second troll turned to his companion, tilting his head in confusion at the cautious reaction, and asked with curiosity.
"What's wrong?"
The first troll shook his head before looking at the second one in response to his question, still filled with caution and suspicion, both clearly present in his tone.
"I don't know… but I swear I heard something."
The conversation didn't last long before the thread of thought for both guards was cut the moment a flying insect passed in front of them. Their yellow eyes followed the movement of its wings until it disappeared from their sight, and the first turned to the second, tilting his head in confusion.
"What were we talking about?"
The second pressed on his head, trying to remember what had been happening before the insect appeared, but all he found was the sound of emptiness inside his skull, so he replied to his friend.
"I don't know…"
From a nearby spot, Noroi was hiding behind a tree, holding his breath and keeping the robot still between his arms. He had retreated quickly and hidden when the sound of the fall caught the monsters' ears.
Once he made sure the guards' attention had shifted away from him, he released the breath he had been holding, lowering his head forward, resting his forehead on Mini's metallic head while his black hair fell down both sides of his pale face, sweat dripping from him.
He whispered to Mini, his voice cut by short breaths.
"Calculate… the intensity of the sound at the distance separating them from… the stone's point of impact."
The small vial's screen lit up before it began displaying a flood of numbers and rapid calculations until the results appeared.
Noroi leaned his head back to look at the results and hummed in understanding, saying to himself.
"Five times the hearing capability of a normal human."
Noroi withdrew from the location with steps as light as a breeze so as not to draw any unwanted attention as he returned to where Haruki and Yamka were after gathering the information he needed for his plan to be ready.
***
When night fell and the moon took the sun's place at the top of the sky, reflecting its rays in the form of a gentle gray light that returned the weary to the peace of sleep, calmness dominated the place so that every movement had a sound and was counted a thousand times.
The three were a few meters away from the eastern wall, hiding among the tall, dense trees lined close together.
Yamka was leaning against a tree trunk, her arms folded under her chest, her axe resting beside her. Her head was lowered and her orange hair fell over her face, hiding half of it. One might assume she was dignified and experiencing pre-mission tension, but in truth, the girl was asleep sitting up out of boredom.
On the other side, Noroi was sitting on the grass, running his fingers across the screen of his small assistant, adjusting its settings in silence with a focused scowl on his face, while Haruki sat beside him watching him, swaying left and right like a child forced to stay in place.
It didn't take minutes before Haruki's patience ran out, so he let out a big sigh, exhausted from waiting. He tilted his head to the side, placing it on Noroi's shoulder as he complained.
"When are you going to finish? I'm bored."
Noroi clenched his teeth together in annoyance at Haruki's physical gestures and his invasion of his personal space. He lifted his hand and pushed Haruki's head off his shoulder, throwing the boy a look of disgust before answering his question.
"I have a few steps left."
Haruki frowned when he was pushed away like that, but his eyes fell on Mini's screen as he tried to figure out what Noroi was doing exactly. When he failed to understand, he asked in confusion.
"What are you doing anyway?"
___
Thank you for reading! If this moment touched you even a little , please consider adding it to your library.💐