After leaving the king's study, Shade did not immediately leave Yodel Palace. Instead, he waited in the reception room until Director Anlos had finished his own audience, then had lunch with his superior at The Club inside the city.
The director of Military Intelligence Section Six was extremely cautious. Beneath the dim lights of The Club, which appeared to be a laundry shop, he emphasized the importance of this mission to Shade. The Club's dining area consisted of widely spaced booths. It was also one of Military Intelligence Section Six's bases within the city, and its atmosphere and secrecy perfectly matched ordinary citizens' imaginings of a covert intelligence organization.
Shade's task was not actually difficult. All he had to do was monitor that Kasonlik Princess in social settings and observe, as much as possible, whether she came into contact with any unusual people. Overall, the key to this mission was to present himself as a young gentleman attempting to develop a friendly relationship with a foreign princess.
Shade made no comment on the nature of the assignment, but he was quite curious what Miss Galina thought of it. Director Anlos, who belonged to Miss Galina's faction as well, gave him the answer at The Club:
"The Duchess also strongly supports you carrying out this mission. If you manage to gain something from it, with a little maneuvering next spring, becoming a baron from a knight may still be difficult, but at the very least, your status in the Sixth Office will certainly be different."
Contacting Margaret Anjou had already been part of Shade's plans. After all, he needed a suitable reason to approach Mr. Legenes Presia, who possessed the Core Ling Rune of "Guiding Moon." Gathering the spiritual light of someone else's Core Ling Rune was not something that could