CH 93

Chapter 93 – Scheming I

No one can come close to sorcerers when it comes to specializing in scheming and plots.

Poisoning, hypnotism, memory manipulation, curse, quick information transmission through soul riding…….

First class sorcerers are the best units no matter who you compare them to.

If there’s no gap in the target’s heart, then hypnotism and memory manipulation is not possible.

You can artificially create one by restraining, capturing, drugging and/or torturing the target.

However, it’s not realistically possible to kidnap and do such things to an important person.

Therefore, from the very beginning, attacking the target with a ((hidden)) knife had been more efficient.

However, conversely, if such a gap in the heart exists, then such techniques are possible.

That said, complete manipulation…..or anything of that high caliber is impossible no matter how skilled the sorcerer.

What a sorcerer can do, from the very beginning, is to the extent of giving a light push to make a person do what he wants to do……arouse feelings of insurrection, and lightly hypnotize a person to extract information from them.

Nevertheless, there are still dangers. That’s because important people have escort sorcerers after all.

Basically, in sorcerery, disenchants and barriers often turn out better than curses while the same goes for reconnaissance over espionage.

To take down a target with escorts with an actual power of six, you’ll need to use sorcerers with an actual power of 10.

As such, they’d basically be targeting great clansmen that don’t have any major sorcerers as well as centurions or high commanding officers that don’t have any at all.

It’s become their jobs to extract information from these people.

Even so, the merit is big because they’d be able to obtain information reliably.

However, there’s a huge defect in these types of schemes using sorcerers. That is the capital cost per head of a first-class sorcerer is high.

When you consider child-rearing cost and time, they’re not suitable to be made into spies who are always at risk of dying.

Conversely, not only could you not expect anything great from expendable second-class sorcerers, they’d only get detected by first class sorcerers vigilant against enemy espionage.

It would bring down a typical small country to it’s knees just to be able to secure a counter-espionage sorcerer.

However, this talk about small countries is limited to a small country in the Adernian or Cretian peninsula with a population in the ten thousands.

This doesn’t apply to countries like the Rozel Kingdom that has a population exceeding 3,000,000 and the Persis Empire which exceeds 20,000,000.

In huge countries like these, they’d be gathering suitable baby girls all around the country, thoroughly train them, while at the same time conducting ideological indoctrination so they wouldn’t betray the country, and other such things using their national power.

By doing so, they’d be able to secure the quality, quantity, and loyalty of sorcerers.

They would then make them infiltrate the various countries all over the world as spies and create completely advantegous situations with other small countries.

“Lord Ledus, if it’s you, then you should be able to do it, you know. Our country will support you.”

Mari smilingly makes talk to Ledus.

It’s been several months since Mari had been invited as the First Consort’s house guest.

The reason everything had went this smoothly was that one of the sorcerers being employed by the First Consort is her disciple.

A large number of a country’s sorcerers flock around the king. Therefore, it would be extremely difficult for retainers to secure one.

You could say that they tend to thoughtlessly employ great sorcerers looking for work even if they are foreigners.

The one that told her that Ledus is an easy target is also that sorcerer.

“But can I really do it?……The enemy has a force several times more than mine.”

“You can, you know? Listen here……”

Mari indifferently speaks of a seemingly winning strategy. And included in those words is a small quantity of magic powers.

Sweet words and important talk easily enter his head.

The curse on those words are the same.

There’s nothing better than coating poison with sugar.

Naturally, there are also spies from Mari and the Rozel Kingdom within the Equus tribe but the tribe hasn’t noticed that Ledus is slowly getting hypnotized.

Rather, they’re even thankful ((to Mari)) for making him proactive.

She’s giving him small doses over time. That is an iron-clad rule in sorcery.

“Lord Ledus, it’s time for your meal.”

The servant opens the yurt’s curtain and informs such to Ledus.

Ledus stands up.

“Lady Merlin. How about you join me?”

“I’m sorry…..I have something I have to attend to. I would have to humbly pass on this one.”

Mari makes an apologetic place as she excuses herself from that place.

“Ah……I really can’t get used to the Equus tribe’s kumis. It tastes too horrible. Can’t we do something about it?”

“I understand what you feel. However, please don’t come to my yurt many times over. We’ll get suspected.”

Lydia…….a spy from the Rozel Kingdom……candidly gives advice to Mari who’s drinking tea.

Mari, however, just returns a smile.

“I told you it’s fine. Besides, you’re an Adernian after all. Aren’t you quite doted on by the First Consort? It won’t be a problem. Wouldn’t it be better for the setting to turn into us being personally intimate?”

The spy gives off a deep sigh.

Nothing’s going through this superior of hers.

“That said, you, aren’t you blending in quite well? I heard you did things like curing children’s diseases for free or something. Honestly, I’m quite touched.”

“The level of the Equus tribe’s sorcerers are low after all……”

A bit embarrassed, Lydia scratches her cheeks.

While drinking tea, Mari answers.

“The Equus tribe is a nomadic tribe after all, although they’ve started to settle recently and even do agriculture. It’s the weather that decides whether or not agricultural people would live or die. Therefore, they habitually pray to the gods and the spirits. Consequently, it’s easy for a sorcerer of high caliber to be born among them.

Conversely, nomads aren’t that dependent on the weather as much as agricultural peoples are, and so when push comes to shove, they could just do things like move to places where the harvest was good or take away their territory. Therefore, they don’t pray habitually. They try to make do with their own abilities without relying on the gods and spirits……..it’s the problem in their disposition, yes?”

In the same way, there’s a strong tendency for Adernians to be more excellent sorcerers than Rozel and Gallian sorcerers. Gallians are part-agricultural, part-pastural, and part-hunting peoples after all.

“It’s been fifteen years since I got initiated into sorcery, and another five since I infiltrated the Equus tribe…….the time has finally come for me to be of use.”

“It’ll still be after this, you know. Since you’ll become Prince Ledus’ head sorcerer. We’ll be relying on you when…….the Rozel Kingdom takes down the DeMorgal Kingdom and begins the full blown invasion to the Rosyth Kingdom.””

A smile appears on Mari’s face.

Lydia also makes an evil-like smile.

Meanwhile, in the Rosyth Kingdom.

“Ah, geez……everything’s not going well at all……”

Annabella is troubled.

Her duty is to assist the planted sorcerer in the Rosyth Kingdom and create divisions within the kingdom.

Her targets are important people in the state such as great clansmen and the like.

If it’s to the extent of setting curses on the common soldier and servant, then an average first class sorcerer, or even a skilled second-class sorcerer would be more than capable.

However, doing such to an important person that seemed to have received curse-defense training on top of being protected by several escorts is impossible except to an extremely first-class sorcerer.

It’s not strange for there to be a layer in one part of the former DeBell Faction that embraces dissatisfaction to King Rosyth. Even if they couldn’t fly the banner of revolt, they could still expect something along the lines of information smuggling.

If possible, it’s better if they’d be able to perform, with scrupulous care, a hypnotism similar to that of Prince Ledus.

Annabella’s style and figure are on the good side.

“Please!! I really want a job!! I’ll do anything! I won’t even mind letting you use my body!”

She’ll urge someone with something like that while casting a curse on the bed.

She has done such method since forever. Men are easy creatures.

Nevertheless, this is completely going nowhere.

The reason is simple.

The former DeBell Faction completely doesn’t have any dissatisfaction with the current king.

To make matters worse, the only sorcerer planted in the Rosyth Kingdom got killed.

The Rosyth Kingdom has a system of sorcery licensure that manages sorcerers.

Because of this system, if you do something suspicious, it’ll immediately get found.

That sorcerer got impatient in her surveillance and made a mistake, so she got detected and executed by a Rosythian sorcerer.

Since she’s wearing a spell that would rupture her heart should she start spilling secrets, Annabella still hasn’t been caught. However…….

“The quality of the Rosyth Kingdom’s sorcerers are higher than we’ve expected…….Haa, we need to do something…”

Annabella wants to curse, at the very least, one person.

She wants to live up to Merlin’s expectations.

*knock**knock**knock*

Someone is knocking on the door.

Annabella opens it while thinking about who could it be.

“Good day. I’m Lulu, a national sorcerer.  Actually, you’re under suspicion of using sorcery without a license. Please show your license.”

Cold sweat runs down through Annabella’s back.

To tell the truth, Annabella is an unlicensed sorcerer.

In order to get a license, it’s necessary to go to the palace and receive tests and interviews from several sorcerers.

Naturally, if she did such a thing, then it’s highly probable that she gets discovered as a spy.

Annabella is a sorcerer temporarily dispatched in order to direct and aid the one planted at the actual place.

She’s someone who has to return to Gallia someday, so a license could only be a shackle.

That said, she made sure to not use sorcery before anyone.

In other words, the license or something like that is just a front.

(This girl, she noticed that I’m another country’s spy!?)

Thinking back on it, she also probably got a little impatient and did some unreasonable actions.

“Your license, please.”

“Yes, I understand. I’ll take it out immediately.”

Annabella takes out a smoke ball from her pocket and throws it on the ground.

Smoke covers the area.

“Kkuuhh!!”

“Like hell I’ll get easily caught.”

She nimbly retreats into the interior of the house.

She then takes out another smoke ball and throws it.

The house gets filled with smoke making it impossible to see.

“Surround the house!! Don’t let her escape through the windows!! You guys come with me!!”

Lulu orders her squad to surround the house while taking some of the elite along to invade the house.

The target will escape after all should there be any secret passage.

And her choice had proved correct, inside the house is one.

However, Annabella takes out a crossbow, points at Lulu and her squad, and pulls the trigger.

An arrow flies close to Lulu’s ear.

“It’s a crossbow. I’ll warn you – I’m using sorcery to understand your whereabouts! Don’t move if you don’t want to die.”

As such, Lulu could only resign to staying put.

Since they couldn’t move, Annabella used this opportunity to escape through the secret passage dug underground.

“Ah, geeze! This is no good! They’re knowledge of counterespionage is too high!”

The troubled Annabella writes a letter to Mari stationed in the Equus tribe.

To Lady Merlin

Are you well? I, on the other hand, am not. The reason is that the former DeBell faction seem to hold no discontent against the present king. Although they do embrace sentiments of fear and awe towards him, they completely have no spirit to go against him.

Normally, those in the King’s faction would ride on his coattails from the beginning and attack people in the opposition.

However, the present king has seemed to remonstrate those who got in on themselves and impartially judged them in trial. Then what about those from the Kings faction from the start, you ask? That’s what I also thought but it seems a lot of them are receiving increasing favors so even they are completely unexploitable.

Since they don’t have gaps in the heart, nothing can be done.

Furthermore, the enemy’s counterintelligence capabilities are higher that we previously thought that our planted sorcerer had been captured.

Even I had almost got captured.

What should I do?

Yours truly,

Annabella.

To Annabella

Are you well? I, on the otherhand, am very well. However, I’m just so sick of Kumis. Ledus had been completely hypnotized, so he’s motivated enough.

Now then, regarding my advice…

Please retreat.

There’s nothing that can be done if there’s no gap in the heart. If you, who is my best pupil, couldn’t do anything, then there’s nothing I could do.

This time will be our loss.

King Rosyth seems to have quite the considerable sense of balance, yes?

I think it’s not impossible to torture him or even drug him with a strong drug.

However, I can’t say that realistically. It would be extremely dangerous, so we should just stop trying it.

It’s a much less objectionable fate to moving poorly and getting discovered by the enemy, after all.

Besides, I’ll be sad if my adorable number one pupil were to die.

I’m more hurt seeing my beloved people die even more than the thought of me dying.

For the meantime, put a light hypnotism on a servant or whatnot and wait for orders in the Rozel Kingdom.

I also plan to return soon. I want to eat some pork buns.

P.S.

That said, why do we get all polite when exchanging letters? It’s strange.

From Lady Merlin,

The Greatest, Most Beautiful, and Forever Virgin Witch.