Disguise and Departure

That night, inside the Royal Capital's guardhouse prison, Li Qi was resting on a bed.

After demonstrating his 'talent' to Bolent, Bolent left without saying a word.

Li Qi didn't know what Bolent was thinking, but seeing how excited he looked when he left, Li Qi figured Bolent probably wouldn't do something like kill him out of jealousy.

If that were the case...

Li Qi might have had to find a way to escape.

But thankfully, things hadn't turned out for the worst.

Late that night, someone familiar arrived outside Li Qi's door.

"Squad Leader."

The prison cell door opened, and a familiar voice woke up Li Qi, who was resting.

Li Qi looked up and saw a military officer in a greatcoat standing before him.

"Generro?"

Li Qi called out the other person's name, his voice full of surprise.

Why was Generro, who was supposed to be forming his own squad on the front lines, here?

Meeting Li Qi's eyes, Generro took off his military cap and smiled at Li Qi, saying:

"Squad Leader, long time no see."

"Why are you here?"

"Commander Bolent sent me. He told me to escort you to the border."

Generro stated his purpose.

Hearing it was Bolent's order, Li Qi finally relaxed.

Although he had guessed earlier that Bolent wouldn't abandon him, a guess was just a guess. Without concrete evidence, who knew how Bolent would treat Li Qi?

What if he thought Li Qi was a threat, or couldn't withstand the pressure from the Granger family and handed Li Qi over?

At that point, the only option would likely be to break out of prison and run.

But looking at the situation now, Bolent was still following his original plan: sending Li Qi to Inglis to carry out a spy mission.

Sitting up from the bed, Li Qi glanced at Generro's attire and the bag on his back, asking:

"Leaving now?"

"If possible, yes, because now is when the guards are most relaxed."

Generro answered seriously.

Li Qi didn't hesitate. Since he hadn't taken off his clothes, he didn't even need to change. He could just get out of bed and leave with Generro.

Generro led Li Qi out of the prison. Miraculously, they didn't encounter any patrolling guards along the way.

Clearly, Bolent had given instructions.

They smoothly arrived inside a building nearby in the city. Generro led Li Qi in, then threw him a box, saying:

"Squad Leader, change into the clothes inside. The Commander has prepared an identity for your escape. You'll need to use this identity until you reach the border."

"Okay."

Li Qi didn't think much of it. He opened the box, took out the clothes, and prepared to change.

However, upon seeing the clothes inside the box, Li Qi instantly fell silent.

He silently took out the Lolita-style noble lady's dress that noble ladies liked to wear from the box, and expressionlessly raised his head to look at Generro:

"...Generro, can I ask what this is?"

Generro looked at the clothes in the box and was also stunned. After a long time, he answered dryly:

"It's... it's the clothes the Commander prepared for you."

"Are you sure you didn't grab the wrong one?"

Li Qi's death stare came over, and Generro instantly broke out in a cold sweat:

"Probably... right? Should I go back and ask Commander Bolent?"

Staring at Generro for a long time, Li Qi finally let him off the hook and said:

"Forget it, this one will do."

Actually, from the size of the clothes, Li Qi knew there was no possibility of Generro grabbing the wrong box.

Because these clothes were tailor-made for Li Qi.

It was just that Li Qi didn't really want to put on these clothes, which was why he asked Generro to confirm.

But doing so was just making things difficult for Generro, as he was truly just following Bolent's instructions and knew nothing else.

The identity Bolent prepared for Li Qi was a female identity, named Angela Angulo, the second daughter of a common baron's family on the border.

Although the identity was fake, the Angulo Family actually existed.

This family is part of the Reformist Faction, one of the many forces under Bolent.

There were two reasons for preparing this identity for Li Qi. First, a female identity is less likely to be scrutinized, as everyone knows that the Li Qi who was captured and then escaped from prison is male.

Second, a female identity is easier to overlook. No one would suspect that a seemingly delicate and frail young lady possesses the strength of a Strategic Rank Mage Master.

Li Qi likely understood these reasons, so after a slight internal struggle, he found the dress acceptable.

It was just a disguise; there was no need for so much psychological burden.

Having experience dressing up Berry in the past, even though the dress was quite elaborate, Li Qi didn't waste much time changing into it.

Putting on the decorative wig and using a special Magic Power technique to change his eye color, Li Qi transformed into a completely different person in the blink of an eye.

When Li Qi finished changing and walked out of the room, the most surprised person was Generro.

He stared at the emerging Li Qi in disbelief and asked in astonishment:

"Squ... Squad Leader?!"

"Is there a problem?"

Li Qi glanced at Generro with an indifferent gaze.

His hands, covered in white silk gloves, were clasped in front of him, his posture elegant, standing by the doorway like a true noble young lady.

From Generro's perspective, the 'young lady' in front of him, aside from her eyes, bore no resemblance to Li Qi!

He had never known his Squad Leader possessed such a talent for disguise!

Looking at the Squad Leader's face, which was even more beautiful after being made up, Generro's mouth slightly opened, and after a moment, he said blankly:

"Squad Leader... it's better if you wear a veil when you go out. Otherwise, I'm afraid there might be other troubles on the way..."

"Yes, I understand."

Li Qi didn't say anything.

In this era, it was common knowledge for noble women to wear veils when going out. Even if Generro hadn't mentioned it, Li Qi would have done so.

Adjusting the skirt of the dress uncomfortably, Li Qi finally looked up at Generro:

"It seems your current identity is my butler?"

Generro was wearing a crisp butler's uniform. Although with his sturdy physique, putting on this outfit looked a bit awkward.

But at first glance, he looked quite decent, giving off a butler-like feeling.

"Yes, Squad Leader... no, Young Lady."

Generro smiled and performed a noble bow, while also changing his address for Li Qi.

His noble bow looked like he had just learned it, a bit stiff. Li Qi looked him up and down, then walked to the window and looked outside.

It was almost dawn; the horizon was already showing the first light. Thinking about it now, the guard department should have already discovered Li Qi's 'escape'.

"How did Officer Bolent arrange things?"

Li Qi withdrew his gaze from the window and turned back to ask.

Generro replied:

"When it's light, I will escort you to the station. The officer has already prepared direct tickets to the border city for us. Someone from the Angulo Family will meet you there."

"And then?"

"Then... we will cross the 'Shipu Federation' with our current identities. Once we reach the border between the Shipu Federation and Inglis, you will use your other identity to cross over."

Generro explained the next arrangements for Li Qi.

The Shipu Federation was a neutral, federal state located between Inglis and Uno.

Li Qi's next stop was there.