The next morning.
Opening his eyes after staying awake all night, Naoki sat up from the futon on the floor and realized that there was no one else in the room besides him.
When booking the inn, he had only reserved one room. So last night, aside from Okita keeping watch outside, he and Angelica had slept together. But now, there was only a neatly folded blanket beside him, and Angelica was nowhere to be seen.
(She's downstairs, in a place like… the kitchen? Is Okita there too? Are they making breakfast?)
The clock on the wall showed half-past eight in the morning. Though Naoki hadn't intentionally woken up at that time, simply opening his eyes when he felt like it, the timing wasn't bad.
After changing into clothes hanging on a chair and leaving the room, Naoki headed straight to the kitchen on the first floor.
Since it was wartime, there were no other guests at the inn. If this place hadn't been passed down through generations, the owner probably would've fled by now.
Crossing the quiet corridor, before even entering the kitchen, Naoki could already smell the aroma of eggs. As if sensing his footsteps, Okita and Angelica immediately turned around.
"Master, you're awake?"
"Good morning, Natsukawa-sama."
"Yeah, good morning to you both." Naoki nodded. "Making breakfast? I could smell it before I even came in. Eggs, right?"
"Yes. But the facilities here are limited, so we couldn't make much. My apologies, Natsukawa-sama."
Angelica spoke as she served breakfast—plain rice porridge, scrambled eggs, and some pickled vegetables. Compared to Naoki's usual breakfasts, this could be described as pitiful. But it was wartime, and for ordinary people, being able to eat until full was enough. A breakfast like this, out in the open, would already be considered luxurious.
And why it was so simple wasn't hard to understand. As mentioned before, during wartime, this inn had no guests at all. Naturally, there were no chefs or cleaning staff. The reason there were still enough ingredients left in the kitchen for one breakfast was because the owner had kept them, and he shared a bit after Angelica gave him a gold bar.
"This is more than enough. I'm not picky about breakfast as long as it's edible."
To put it more extremely, as a fairy, Naoki only needed to absorb Mana to survive. He didn't need to eat at all.
Sitting at the dining table, he glanced at Okita beside him. Naoki cleared his throat. "By the way, Okita, what time did you come back last night? I was meditating and didn't notice."
"Huh? I came back to the room around dawn, then slept for a bit. At seven, I came down with Angelica-san and helped chop some vegetables."
Okita's response was natural, and she didn't seem affected by last night's events.
Naoki smiled. "Good to hear. Let's start breakfast. After eating, we need to begin the operation. We've got a heavy task ahead."
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Maps were useless for the Imperial Capital right now.
No one knew when or how the Imperial Capital would be attacked. The absolute defense line in the Pacific Ocean had already been breached, and it was only a matter of time before the fighting moved to the mainland. Even if there was a map, it would just be a piece of scrap paper.
So, a normal map of the Imperial Capital wasn't obtainable at the moment.
But Naoki had no intention of using a normal map. Compared to hand-drawn maps that might have errors, he trusted his own sensory abilities more.
*WHOOSH!*
Outside a shop in the Imperial Capital's commercial district.
Bringing Okita along, Naoki teleported from underground to the surface. He pulled out his special map from his pocket and crossed out one of the many red dots marked on it.
Using his sensory abilities, he had mapped out the entire topography of the Imperial Capital, then used Imaginary Manifestation to project his mental impression of the city into a two-dimensional form in the real world—this was the physical map in Naoki's hand.
"Not here either…"
"This is the fourth one."
Based on Naoki's perception, there were hundreds of military bases scattered throughout the Imperial Capital, including long-term bases used for extended periods, temporary bases used only once, and decoy bases meant to divert attention.
The creation of the Eighty-First Holy Grail Bomb was hidden among these bases—with this in mind, though he didn't want to search them one by one, it was the only method available now. To save time, the three of them had split into two groups.
Naoki and Okita had just infiltrated the fourth base. But this one was only a temporary base, and though it looked like it had been used just a few days ago, no important information was left behind.
"Then, onto the fifth one… Hm? Okita, what's wrong?"
Noticing Okita's dazed expression beside him, Naoki asked with concern. "Is your illness acting up? Want me to help suppress it?"
"No, it's not that. I just feel like the way people around me are looking is a bit strange."
"Looking?"
Naoki glanced around.
Indeed, many people were looking at Okita, but none seemed suspicious—they were all ordinary people. Faintly, he could also hear voices saying, "That must be the Shinsengumi."
"Shinsengumi… Oh, it's because of your clothes." Naoki explained with a laugh. "The Shinsengumi are still very famous in the future. Your Shinsengumi outfit must've been recognized."
At the moment, Okita was wearing a short white kimono, boots, and a light green haori. It was the iconic Shinsengumi uniform known to everyone in Japan. Only a few decades had passed since the Shinsengumi vanished from history—not even a hundred years—so it wasn't surprising they were recognized.
Of course, no matter what the passersby thought, they'd never imagine the person beside Naoki was an actual Shinsengumi member. They probably just assumed she was a fan or something.
"Does it make you uncomfortable?"
Okita nodded. "A little. I'm not used to being stared at like this, especially since I'm working… Can I switch to spirit form?"
Naoki firmly crossed his arms. "No way. If you go into spirit form, how can I see you? Stay in physical form like this—but… you're right. Your clothes are a bit conspicuous. Let's get you a change of clothes first."
"Huh?" Okita quickly shook her head. "No need, Master. There's no need to spend that much money on me."
"It's fine. The money comes from exchanging gold bars from Angelica's Treasure Vault—it's basically free money, so it's no big deal. Besides… let's just say I want to see you in nicer clothes, to satisfy my personal desires."