A special investigation team set out from Snow City in the Land of Ice and Snow. There were nine of them, all traveling light in carriages.
Their destination was the Tatshaw Territory, home of the Giant Eagle Druid.
By the queen's command, they were to investigate in the Tatshaw Territory and establish whether the Giant Eagle Druid had truly returned alive. If Romon's return proved to be nothing more than a rumor, they were to withdraw to their own country without delay.
If the Giant Eagle Druid really had returned alive, they were to use whatever means necessary to discover exactly what Romon had encountered before his return, where he had gone when the Great Tsunami struck, whether he had met the young prince's party, and what had happened afterward. They were not permitted to return until they had thoroughly investigated all of it.
Their mission was no easy undertaking.
For that reason, they had made suitable preparations before setting out.
First, they had forged appropriate identity papers.
Every resource was available for a mission personally assigned by the queen. Although the Shavigo Kingdom was a sparsely populated northern country with vast lands, it still had agents planted across the continent. Fabricating identities was naturally effortless.
Among the nine were two female court officials disguised as female adventurers. They were responsible not only for directing the entire operation, but also for lulling their targets into complacency and creating favorable opportunities.
Of course, if there was truly no other option, seduction was not out of the question.
The other seven consisted of a Level-Four Druid, a Fourth-Level Mage, four knights, and a genuine, battle-hardened adventurer well versed in adventuring.
This composition was intended partly to avoid attracting attention by making the party seem as plausible as possible, but it also allowed