Chapter 27: Successfully Persuading the Wicked Through Indirection

Roland, not expecting Kalia to be so cunning, finally realized that he had fallen victim to his own empiricism. Although Kalia often appeared just as dim-witted as "Tongzi," her ditziness stemmed more from a lack of social common sense, which was quite different from the genuine foolishness of the other.

"I was careless." Roland let out a long sigh, silently marking this lesson in his heart.

"Fine, fine, we'll go after we eat. But what am I supposed to do there? You should be clear by now that my magical specialty is different from a normal mage. I am a melee-specialized mage, more akin to an assassin. I can't help with purifying sewer pollution. The most I can do is use Blink to get you down there."

Kalia squinted and smiled. "It doesn't matter; I just want someone to keep me company."

"Alright, alright. I'll be a qualified spectator then."

Roland polished off his meal in a flash, consuming everything on the table. He then grabbed his cloak, which he hadn't had time to wash, from the sofa and stepped out the door with Kalia.

"So, what is the purification method Ms. Flam suggested? It’s not going to be having us walk through every single sewer line, is it? A month wouldn't be enough for that. Because the sewers in Ryscan connect to the coastal Storm Ocean, they were designed quite complexly to prevent seawater backflow from tidal changes. The sewer we visited the other day was just one of the main drainage channels in the city."

Kalia was in an especially good mood, walking with her hands behind her back and skipping ahead of Roland. Every now and then, she would press down on her wide-brimmed witch's hat to keep it from blowing away. "Don't worry, it’s not as troublesome as you think. Although Teacher can be unreliable at times, you can safely and boldly trust her when it comes to serious matters!"

Roland replied flatly, "It's you I don't trust."

"Pfft, I won't lower myself to your level." Kalia's good mood remained completely unaffected. She suddenly stopped in front of Roland and turned around to explain, "Teacher's plan is simple: she wants me to place several mana amplifiers in the main drainage channels. She will handle the rest. We just need to ensure that each amplifier can influence the others, guaranteeing that her mana can spread throughout the entire sewer system when the time comes."

Roland felt a lot more relaxed after hearing this. "That sounds simple enough."

"Exactly."

"Then why did you go through so much trouble to drag me along? The weather is so nice today; I should have just rotted in bed all day."

"Hey, hey, hey! That is not a healthy lifestyle! With such beautiful weather, of course you should come out and walk around!"

"There is no sunlight in the sewers."

"Oh, it's about the same! Aren't we basking in the sun right now?"

The destination arrived as they chatted. Odmeyer didn't look well, and Flam stood beside him, a pile of mana amplifiers stacked at their feet. As one of the most basic pieces of magi-industrial machinery, mana amplifiers were easy to find in a large city like Ryscan.

Kalia went up to talk to Flam, discussing the specific plan of action, while Roland walked over to Odmeyer.

"Colonel, did something happen?"

"Ah, it's you." Seeing it was Roland, Odmeyer's expression softened slightly. "Nothing much... forget it, there's no harm in telling you. It's only a matter of time before it's announced anyway. It's Clay. He's dead. The city guards found his body in the basement of the Governor's Mansion."

Odmeyer's tone carried a hint of regret. "I admit, I didn't like the guy. But we worked together for over a decade. Without his management, Ryscan wouldn't have developed this well... Regardless, let's not talk about this. There might still be some mutated rats in the sewers, so stay safe."

Odmeyer laughed, "I forgot, though. You were able to escape a Fifth-Circle Chaos Bishop; you'll certainly have no trouble dealing with a few rats."

"Thank you for your concern, Colonel."

After the pleasantries, Roland turned and walked over to Kalia. Flam noticed Roland—or rather, she had already noticed him yesterday.

"Ah, it's 'that guy'!"

The tone, calm yet tinged with surprise, left both Kalia and Roland confused.

"'That guy'?" Roland asked, puzzled.

Flam was silent for a moment. "It's nothing, just ignore it. Kalia should have told you the plan, right?"

"Yeah, placing mana amplifiers, right?"

"Not that plan. I mean the plan to take care of her at the academy. Kalia said you agreed?"

"That? Yes, I did agree."

Flam sighed upon hearing this. She walked up to Roland and stood on her tiptoes, trying to pat his shoulder, but she couldn't reach.

"Bend down!"

"...Oh."

Under the pressure of a Ninth-Circle powerhouse, Roland bent his knees slightly, allowing Flam to finally reach his shoulder.

"I'll leave her to you from now on. Lia is fine, but she tends to get into trouble. Don't be fooled by her looks. Even though she looks cute, her heart isn't cute at all. When she was little, she..."

"Hey!" Kalia quickly stepped forward to cover her mentor's mouth, stopping her from trying to spill her dark secrets.

Watching this, Roland could only offer a polite smile. He seemed to understand now: children really do take after their parents. This legendary mage didn't seem all that reliable either.

After some commotion, the two finally got down to business. Kalia used a shadow storage to gather all the mana amplifiers, and Roland used Blink to take Kalia into the sewers.

Watching where Roland had vanished, Flam exclaimed, "A spatial technique with such a high degree of completion? It's even better than what was written in the examination results. Interesting."

"When casting this kind of spatial technique, he doesn't need any hand gestures or incantations, and there isn't even any mana fluctuation? How on earth did he do that?"

After a brief analysis and confirming she couldn't replicate Roland's technique in a short time, Flam chose to put the question aside for now. Her thoughts wandered to whether Roland was truly "that guy" the Princess had mentioned. Based on the intelligence Flam could gather, the reason the Princess had granted her special access to the military teleportation array was likely for Roland's sake. After all, of the people who had recently been in contact with the Princess and resided in Ryscan, Roland was truly the only one.

But... what exactly was it about this unmotivated guy that attracted her?

...

After the two arrived in the sewers, Kalia rolled up her sleeves, full of energy. "Alright! Let's start! Sewer purification project!"

[Ding! Under the host's guidance, Night-Mare Witch Kalia has repented for her mistakes and is determined to help purify the city contaminated by the divine plague.]

[Progress towards abandoning evil for good (15/10000)]

[Progress exceeded 10 points for the first time. Congratulations to the host for receiving an additional reward: 5,000 experience points.]

Roland fell silent as he watched Kalia place the mana amplifiers one by one while using her innate magic to control shadows to clear the rat carcasses from the sewers.

*Oh, nice. So this is how this quest works?*

Roland suddenly felt he might have found a path to wealth! The feeling of getting a reward without doing anything was much better than the exhausting labor he had done before.

Kalia, who was placing the amplifiers with great enthusiasm, looked back at Roland, who was standing there in a daze. "Hey! Don't you dare slack off! Come over and give me a hand at least! Even if it's just casting a Light spell! It's so dark in the sewers!"

Roland was speechless. "Think about your own innate magic. You're actually saying you're afraid of the dark?"

"That's not the same thing, okay! Come, come, take this, and help me place them! Also, here is the map. I can't read this! Come over and be a proper guide!"

Kalia righteously shoved a mana amplifier and a map into Roland's hands and dragged him forward.

*Why is she suddenly so excited? Does she really like playing 'placement games' in the sewers? What a strange hobby. She was so resistant when we came down yesterday, yet today she's already fallen in love with roaming the sewers?*