It was said to be a departure, but Iri was currently in the vicinity of E-Rantel. It would definitely be too late to go collect the debt immediately after the Blood Emperor and Aura made contact, but this didn't stump Iri.
After the objective was announced, the other members of the Four Strategists Squad also perked up, planning to walk to E-Rantel and then go to the Empire. However!
"Jian Jian Jian..." Iri imitated a certain blue Fat Man's posture and pulled out a scroll from her small satchel.
That's right... when she left, she had already replenished the number and types of magic scrolls. This time, she even brought high-level teleportation scrolls, which meant that Xiao Di's scroll development work was progressing smoothly.
Iri had already been to the Bahaus Empire Capital, so she could directly teleport there using a scroll.
This time, Iri was indeed well-prepared. Not only did she have scrolls, but she also prepared a large number of various 'potions.' Although some of them were original products from the World Tree, most were prototypes of various effects made by Enphilia, probably intended for Iri to test while she was out and about.
Not only that, Iri also obtained two new pieces of equipment from Ainz Papa: an anti-detection ring, the effect of which was as its name suggested... After all, Iri was going out disguised as an ordinary human, so anti-detection was essential, hence this ring was prepared for her.
Then there was this satchel. Although it wasn't as overpowered as Ainz Papa's infinite backpack, its capacity was also ridiculous. It could hold a pile of scrolls, a pile of alchemy 'potions,' and even Iri's hammer without any problem. Iri also didn't have to carry that intimidating-looking thing around everywhere.
Naturally, when Iri took out the scroll and said she was going to use high-level teleportation, the members of the Four Strategists were stunned again, especially Miss Arshe. Before Iri used the scroll, she pleaded with Iri in various ways, asking her to show her what the scroll looked like.
Iri was still a bit reluctant, as she knew what the "raw materials" used to make the scrolls were, and she was afraid that Miss Arshe, who had special abilities, would see through the truth of the scroll.
However, facts proved that Iri was overthinking. Miss Arshe held the scroll and meticulously examined it for a long time but couldn't figure out anything, so she could only reluctantly return it to Iri.
To be honest, Iri also couldn't understand what the ghost-like characters on the scroll meant. She could only distinguish the effects of those scrolls by looking at the text from her own world at the top of the scroll. Of course... Miss Arshe couldn't understand those texts at all.
So, after Iri activated the scroll, the group was directly teleported into the small corner bar where the Four Strategists used to meet.
Fortunately, it was early in the morning, and only the boss was in the bar. The sudden appearance of the Four Strategists Squad out of nowhere almost scared the boss to death, but with Hellank's mediation (bribing him with money), the boss nodded and agreed to keep it a secret. In fact, it didn't matter if he didn't keep it a secret; they could just say it was a teleportation spell cast by Iri, which wasn't a big deal.
"Iri-meimei is really something, teleporting everyone there all at once... It wouldn't be good if others saw us," Imina still had quite a few complaints about this.
Iri could understand Imina's concerns. High-level teleportation was also a terrifying thing for the natives. If an unknown Black Worker squad suddenly mastered this... and other Black Workers or Adventurers found out, they would definitely be targeted.
"No choice! The most impressive place I remember in the Empire is only there. Besides the main street, I can't think of any other places with few people. You can't blame me for this," Iri replied quite wronged. She spent almost all the few days she was in the Empire looking for the Four Strategists Squad; she had no time for sightseeing.
"Alright, this is better than walking all the way here, isn't it? What should we do next?" Hellank came out to smooth things over.
"The noble's courtyard from before, I think... if the client knows that a group of people returned safely, the mastermind will definitely send people to contact us, so what we need to do now is to let the mastermind know that we are back!" Iri said.
...
"Nobody move!"
Then, as soon as Iri and the Four Strategists Squad entered the noble's courtyard where they had gathered before their departure, they were surrounded by a large number of Imperial Guards.
"Don't resist... Let me handle this!" Iri whispered to the other members of the Four Strategists Squad, and the members of the Four Strategists immediately disarmed themselves.
"Who are you! How dare you trespass into a noble's mansion?!" The guard who seemed to be the captain shouted loudly.
"What trespass... Didn't you let us in!" Imina muttered unhappily.
Yes, as soon as they arrived at the gate of the noble's mansion, after Hellank explained their purpose to the guards at the entrance, the guards generously let them in.
At that time, Iri had already noticed something amiss. According to this timeline, Aura and Mare should have already caused a ruckus with the Blood Emperor, so this scapegoat noble should have already died.
So why were there still guards at his mansion? Wasn't it obvious? It had to be said that the Blood Emperor was still quite cautious; he had set up an ambush here to silence any Black Workers who might have luckily escaped.
Of course... all of this was within Iri's expectations. Knowing it was a trap, the purpose of stepping into it was naturally to seize the opportunity to meet the Blood Emperor.
"We are the Four Strategists Squad who completed the commission. We are just here to collect the remaining commission fee!" Iri replied.
"What commission! Trespassing into a noble's mansion is a Capital crime! Kill them!" The guard who looked like the captain ordered.
Huh? I know you were ambushing here and wanted to silence us, but your palace has already been ransacked by Aura... Did the Blood Emperor really not show any reaction to this side?
Or was it that Aura's direct ransacking of the palace had already made the Blood Emperor so frantic that he didn't think there would be any survivors?
Uh... Is this all the Blood Emperor amounts to? It seems I expected too much from him. If that's the case, the only option left is to force our way into the palace. Iri thought so and prepared for battle.
"Wait! Wait a minute!!" At this moment, another guard stumbled over and whispered something to the captain.
"Are you the Black Worker team who completed the commission?!" Only then did the captain bring this up. Iri breathed a sigh of relief when she heard this. It turned out she had come too early, and the Blood Emperor's order had not yet reached this side.
"Yes! We are the team that has completed the exploration of the ruins! We are here to claim our reward!" Iri replied.
"Where are the others! You weren't the only ones who accepted the commission, were you?" The captain asked again.
"They all died. Only we escaped!" Iri said. This was not a lie; they indeed "escaped."
"Alright! The reward will be paid to you! Please come with us first." The captain said, then waved his hand. The guards surrounded them and confiscated the weapons of the other members.
"Iri-meimei, is this alright?" Hellank asked.
"It's alright, everything is according to plan," Iri whispered in response, then showed a very confident smile.
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